Bible Strands
Acts 8:37
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
King James Version
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Study note
Setting — Philip addresses the Ethiopian eunuch at a roadside water source, responding directly to the eunuch’s inquiry about what prevents his baptism.
The words — The Greek εἰ πιστεύεις (ei pisteueis) translates literally as “if you believe,” coupled with ἐξ ὅλης (ex holēs) meaning “from all,” which establishes the conditional framework for the rite.
The thread — This pattern of faith preceding baptism runs through Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9, and Mark 16:16, where confession of Christ consistently anchors the water rite.
Why it lands — The text explicitly requires a wholehearted confession that Jesus is the Son of God before the baptismal act proceeds, establishing belief as the necessary precondition rather than a subsequent result.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.