Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Then the churchThe term "church" (Greek: ἐκκλησία, ekklēsia) refers to the assembly or gathering of believers in Christ. In the early Christian context, this was not a building but a community of faith. The church is seen as the body of Christ, a living organism that grows and functions under His headship. Historically, this period marks a significant transition from persecution to peace, allowing the church to consolidate and expand its mission. throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria
These regions represent the geographical spread of early Christianity. Judea was the heartland of Jewish tradition, Galilee was known for its diverse population, and Samaria was often viewed with suspicion by Jews due to historical and religious differences. The mention of these areas highlights the fulfillment of Jesus' command in Acts 1:8 to be witnesses "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." This spread signifies the breaking down of barriers and the universal nature of the Gospel. enjoyed a time of peace
The Greek word for "peace" (εἰρήνη, eirēnē) implies not just the absence of conflict but a state of well-being and harmony. This peace was likely due to a lull in persecution, possibly following Saul's conversion. It allowed the church to focus on internal growth and discipleship. Historically, this period of peace was crucial for the church to establish its identity and teachings without external pressures. It was strengthened
The strengthening of the church (Greek: ἐπιστηρίζω, epistērizō) suggests a fortification of faith and resolve. This strengthening is both spiritual and communal, as believers support one another and grow in their understanding of the Gospel. The church's foundation in Christ and the apostles' teachings provided the stability needed to withstand future challenges. and encouraged by the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit (Greek: Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον, Pneuma Hagion) is the divine presence that empowers and guides the church. The encouragement (Greek: παράκλησις, paraklēsis) provided by the Holy Spirit involves comfort, exhortation, and motivation. This divine encouragement is essential for the church's mission and resilience, reminding believers of God's presence and purpose. It grew in numbers
The growth in numbers (Greek: πληθύνω, plēthynō) indicates the church's expansion as more individuals came to faith in Christ. This numerical growth is a testament to the effective witness of the early Christians and the work of the Holy Spirit in drawing people to the truth of the Gospel. It reflects the church's obedience to the Great Commission and God's blessing on their efforts. living in the fear of the Lord
The "fear of the Lord" (Greek: φόβος Κυρίου, phobos Kyriou) is a profound reverence and awe for God. It is not a fear of punishment but a recognition of God's holiness and authority. This reverence leads to a life of obedience, worship, and ethical conduct. The early church's commitment to living in the fear of the Lord ensured that their growth was not just numerical but also spiritual, rooted in a deep relationship with God. Persons / Places / Events 1. The ChurchRefers to the early Christian community, which was growing and spreading throughout the regions mentioned. 2. JudeaA region in ancient Israel, significant as the location of Jerusalem and the early center of the Christian faith. 3. GalileeA region in northern Israel, known for being the area where Jesus conducted much of His ministry. 4. SamariaA region between Judea and Galilee, historically significant due to tensions between Jews and Samaritans, yet included in the spread of the Gospel. 5. The Holy SpiritThe third person of the Trinity, who plays a crucial role in empowering and guiding the early church. Teaching Points Peace and GrowthThe church experienced peace and growth, showing that God can provide stability and increase even in challenging times. Fear of the LordLiving in the fear of the Lord is essential for spiritual growth and maturity. It involves reverence, awe, and obedience to God. Role of the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is a source of encouragement and strength for believers, guiding and empowering them for ministry. Community and FellowshipThe early church's growth was not just numerical but also spiritual, emphasizing the importance of community and mutual edification. Mission and ExpansionThe spread of the Gospel to Judea, Galilee, and Samaria highlights the church's mission to reach all people, breaking down cultural and ethnic barriers. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the peace experienced by the early church in Acts 9:31 reflect God's sovereignty in times of persecution and hardship? 2. In what ways can we, as modern believers, live in the fear of the Lord, and how does this impact our daily lives and decisions? 3. How can we rely on the Holy Spirit for encouragement and strength in our personal and communal faith journeys? 4. What lessons can we learn from the early church's growth and expansion that can be applied to our local church's mission and outreach efforts? 5. How do the regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria symbolize the breaking of barriers in the spread of the Gospel, and how can we apply this principle in our diverse and multicultural world today? Connections to Other Scriptures Acts 1:8Jesus' promise that the disciples would receive power from the Holy Spirit and be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 9:31 shows the fulfillment of this promise as the church grows in these regions. Philippians 2:12-13Encourages believers to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in them. This connects to the church living in the fear of the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:11Encourages believers to build each other up, similar to how the early church was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit. People Aeneas, Ananias, Barnabas, Dorcas, Grecians, Judas, Lud, Peter, Saul, Simon, TabithaPlaces Azotus, Caesarea, Damascus, Galilee, Jerusalem, Joppa, Judea, Lydda, Samaria, Sharon, Straight Street, TarsusTopics Assemblies, Built, Church, Churches, Comfort, Continued, Edified, Encouraged, Encouragement, Enjoyed, Fear, Galilee, Ghost, Greatly, Grew, Holy, However, Increase, Increased, Indeed, Judaea, Judea, Multiplied, Numbers, Peace, Receiving, Rest, Samaria, Sama'ria, Spirit, Spiritually, Strengthened, Strong, Throughout, WalkingDictionary of Bible Themes Acts 9:31 3025 Holy Spirit, personality
3035 Holy Spirit, presence of
3130 Holy Spirit, Counsellor
3209 Holy Spirit, and love
3215 Holy Spirit, and peace
4018 life, spiritual
5763 attitudes, positive to God
5846 enjoyment
6670 grace, and Holy Spirit
6704 peace, divine NT
7026 church, leadership
7027 church, purpose
7560 Samaritans, the
8334 reverence, and God's nature
8335 reverence, and blessing
8348 spiritual growth, nature of
8413 edification
8416 encouragement, promises
8443 growth Library 'This Way'
'Any of this way.'--ACTS ix. 2 The name of 'Christian' was not applied to themselves by the followers of Jesus before the completion of the New Testament. There were other names in currency before that designation--which owed its origin to the scoffing wits of Antioch--was accepted by the Church. They called themselves 'disciples,' 'believers, 'saints,' 'brethren,' as if feeling about for a title. Here is a name that had obtained currency for a while, and was afterwards disused. We find it five times …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The ActsA Bird's-Eye view of the Early Church
'So the Church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, was multiplied.'--ACTS ix. 31 (R.V.). A man climbing a hill stops every now and then to take breath and look about him; and in the earlier part of this Book of the Acts of the Apostles there are a number of such landing-places where the writer suspends the course of his narrative, in order to give a general notion of the condition of the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts Grace Triumphant
'And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2. And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them hound unto Jerusalem. 3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? 5. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts Copies of Christ's Manner
'And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed.... 40. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down and prayed; and, turning him to the body, said, Tabitha, arise.--ACTS ix. 34, 40. I have put these two miracles together, not only because they were closely connected in time and place, but because they have a very remarkable and instructive feature in common. They are both evidently moulded upon Christ's miracles; are distinct imitations of what Peter had …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts Directions to Awakened Sinners.
Acts ix. 6. Acts ix. 6. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do. THESE are the words of Saul, who also is called Paul, (Acts xiii. 9,) when he was stricken to the ground as he was going to Damascus; and any one who had looked upon him in his present circumstances and knew nothing more of him than that view, in comparison with his past life, could have given, would have imagined him one of the most miserable creatures that ever lived upon earth, and would have expected …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration Paul's First Prayer
First, our text was an announcement; "Behold, he prayeth." Secondly, it was an argument; "For, behold, he prayeth." Then, to conclude, we will try to make an application of our text to your hearts. Though application is the work of God alone, we will trust that he will be pleased to make that application while the word is preached this morning. I. First, here was AN ANNOUNCEMENT; "Go to the house of Saul of Tarsus; for behold, he prayeth." Without any preface, let me say, that this was the announcement …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855 Paul a Pattern of Prayer
"Go and inquire for one called Saul of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth."--ACTS ix. 11. "For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting."--1 TIM. i. 16. God took His own Son, and made Him our Example and our Pattern. It sometimes is as if the power of Christ's example is lost in the thought that He, in whom is no sin, is not man as we are. Our Lord took Paul, a man …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession Prov. 22:06 the Duties of Parents
"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."--Prov. 22:6. I SUPPOSE that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the head of this page. The sound of it is probably familiar to your ears, like an old tune. It is likely you have heard it, or read it, talked of it, or quoted it, many a time. Is it not so? But, after all, how little is the substance of this text regarded! The doctrine it contains appears scarcely known, the duty it puts …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times "To Me to Live is Christ"
PHILIPPIANS i. 21. In connection with ACTS ix. 1--18. THERE is no more significant sign of the days in which we live than the interest society seems to be taking in the biographies of great men. Almost all the more popular recent books, for instance--the books which every one is reading and has to read--come under the category of biography; and, to meet the demand, two or three times in each season the market has to be supplied with the lives, in minute detail, of men who but for this would perhaps …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life The Future of Christ's Kingdom First Group of Epistles the First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians Introduction to the Epistles of Paul +Epistolary Writings. + --The
STUDY VII THE FUTURE OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM FIRST GROUP OF EPISTLES THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PAUL +Epistolary Writings.+--The New Testament is composed of twenty-seven books, twenty-one of which are Epistles. Of this latter number thirteen are ascribed to Paul. It is thus seen how largely the New Testament is made up of Epistles and how many of these are attributed to the Great Apostle. In the letters of men of great prominence and power of any …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul The New Testament Text and Its History.
The history of the New Testament text naturally falls into two main divisions, that of the manuscript text, and that of the printed text. A few remarks will be added on the principles of textual criticism. See PLATES at the beginning of this book. [Transcriber's Note: Transcriptions of the Plates are at the end of this e-book.] I. THE MANUSCRIPT TEXT. 1. The preservation of the primitive text of the gospels from all essential corruptions, additions, and mutilations has already been shown …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Sharon. Caphar Lodim. The Village of those of Lydda.
Between Lydda and the sea, a spacious valley runs out, here and there widely spreading itself, and sprinkled with villages. The holy page of the New Testament [Acts 9:35] calls it Saron: and that of the Old calls the whole, perhaps, or some part of it, 'the plain of Ono,' Nehemiah 6:2, 11:35; 1 Chronicles 8:12... The wine of Sharon is of great fame, with which they mixed two parts water: and remarkable is that they say concerning the houses of Sharon. R. Lazar saith, "He that builds a brick house …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Caphar Tebi.
And this village neighboured upon Lydda, situate on the east of it. "R. Eleazar had a vineyard of four years' growth; on the east of Lydda, near Caphar Tebi." Of it there is this mention also:-- "They sometime brought a chest full of bones from Caphar Tebi, and they placed it openly in the entrance to Lydda. Tudrus the physician and the rest of the physicians go forth"--(namely, that they might judge, whether they were the bones of men or no; and thereby, whether they were to be esteemed clean or …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Sources and Literature on St. Paul and his Work.
I. Sources. 1. The authentic sources: The Epistles of Paul, and the Acts of the Apostles 9:1-30 and 13 to 28. Of the Epistles of Paul the four most important Galatians, Romans, two Corinthians--are universally acknowledged as genuine even by the most exacting critics; the Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians are admitted by nearly all critics; the Pastoral Epistles, especially First Timothy, and Titus, are more or less disputed, but even they bear the stamp of Paul's genius. On the coincidences …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I The Knight of God
Heinrich Suso Acts ix. 16 As the song of him who singeth, Playing on a harp of gold, So to me was Christ's evangel In the days of old. Thus across the lake of Constance Went I forth to preach His Word, And beside me sat the squire Of a noble Lord. None in all the ship so knightly, None so bravely dight as he-- "Tell me," I besought, "thine errand Yonder o'er the sea." "I go forth," he said, "to gather Many a knight and noble bold; They shall tilt at joust and tourney, Whilst fair eyes behold. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others Such, we May Believe, was that John the Monk...
21. Such, we may believe, was that John the Monk, whom the elder Theodosius, the Emperor, consulted concerning the issue of the civil war: seeing he had also the gift of prophecy. For that not each several person has a several one of those gifts, but that one man may have more gifts than one, I make no question. This John, then, when once a certain most religious woman desired to see him, and to obtain this did through her husband make vehement entreaty, refused indeed this request because he had …
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead. Whether any Preparation and Disposition for Grace is Required on Man's Part?
Objection 1: It would seem that no preparation or disposition for grace is required on man's part, since, as the Apostle says (Rom. 4:4), "To him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt." Now a man's preparation by free-will can only be through some operation. Hence it would do away with the notion of grace. Objection 2: Further, whoever is going on sinning, is not preparing himself to have grace. But to some who are going on sinning grace is given, as is …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether the Form of this Sacrament Is: "I Absolve Thee"?
Objection 1: It would seem that the form of this sacrament is not: "I absolve thee." Because the forms of the sacraments are received from Christ's institution and the Church's custom. But we do not read that Christ instituted this form. Nor is it in common use; in fact in certain absolutions which are given publicly in church (e.g. at Prime and Compline and on Maundy Thursday), absolution is given not in the indicative form by saying: "I absolve thee," but In the deprecatory form, by saying: "May …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether one Ought to Dispute with Unbelievers in Public?
Objection 1: It would seem that one ought not to dispute with unbelievers in public. For the Apostle says (2 Tim. 2:14): "Contend not in words, for it is to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers." But it is impossible to dispute with unbelievers publicly without contending in words. Therefore one ought not to dispute publicly with unbelievers. Objection 2: Further, the law of Martianus Augustus confirmed by the canons [*De Sum. Trin. Cod. lib. i, leg. Nemo] expresses itself thus: "It is …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Beginning of the New Testament
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Coin of Thessalonica] Turn to the list of books given in the beginning of your New Testament. You will see that first come the four Gospels, or glimpses of the Saviour's life given by four different writers. Then follows the Acts of the Apostles, and, lastly, after the twenty-one epistles, the volume ends with the Revelation. Now this is not the order in which the books were written--they are only arranged like this for our convenience. The first words of the New Testament …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making The Doctrine of the Church i. Definition; Distinctions.
1. OLD TESTAMENT. 2. NEW TESTAMENT. 3. THE CHURCH; CHRISTENDOM; KINGDOM. II. THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH. 1. IN PROPHECY AND PROMISE. 2. HISTORICALLY FOUNDED. III. MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH. Conditions of Entrance; Characteristics. 1. REPENTANCE AND BAPTISM. 2. FAITH IN THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 3. REGENERATION. 4. PUBLIC CONFESSION OF CHRIST--BAPTISM. 5. ADHERENCE TO THE APOSTLES' DOCTRINE. 6. CHARACTERISTICS. IV. FIGURES UNDER WHICH THE CHURCH IS PRESENTED. 1. THE BODY OF CHRIST. 2. THE TEMPLE OF …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible Links Acts 9:31 NIVActs 9:31 NLTActs 9:31 ESVActs 9:31 NASBActs 9:31 KJV
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