Acts 2:38

2:37-41 From the first delivery of that Divine message, it appeared that there was Divine power going with it; and thousands were brought to the obedience of faith. But neither Peter's words, nor the miracle they witnessed, could have produced such effects, had not the Holy Spirit been given. Sinners, when their eyes are opened, cannot but be pricked to the heart for sin, cannot but feel an inward uneasiness. The apostle exhorted them to repent of their sins, and openly to avow their belief in Jesus as the Messiah, by being baptized in his name. Thus professing their faith in Him, they would receive remission of their sins, and partake of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. To separate from wicked people, is the only way to save ourselves from them. Those who repent of their sins, and give up themselves to Jesus Christ, must prove their sincerity by breaking off from the wicked. We must save ourselves from them; which denotes avoiding them with dread and holy fear. By God's grace three thousand persons accepted the gospel invitation. There can be no doubt that the gift of the Holy Ghost, which they all received, and from which no true believer has ever been shut out, was that Spirit of adoption, that converting, guiding, sanctifying grace, which is bestowed upon all the members of the family of our heavenly Father.

Repent, which includes amendment of life, Matthew 3:8 Luke 3:8 . In the name of Jesus Christ; not excluding the name of the Father and the Holy Ghost, in whose name, as well as in the name of the Son, they were to baptize, Matthew 28:19 : but the name of Jesus is here mentioned, because they had not yet known (but persecuted and slain) him, whom henceforward they must profess; and that they look for pardon and salvation only through him. For the remission of sins; thus Saul, or Paul, is said to wash away his sins by baptism, Acts 22:16 ; and this apostle elsewhere says, that baptism saves us, 1 Peter 3:21 ; which he explains to be, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience, & c. The gift of the Holy Ghost: 1. His internal gifts, confirmation and strengthening in the faith. 2. External gifts, as that of speaking with tongues, which they heard. Both, or either of these, according to their conditions or stations, God would bestow upon them.

Acts 2:38 . Μετανοήσατε ) repent , viz. towards GOD. Thus in this verse there is contained by implication the Holy Trinity [comp. ch. Acts 3:19-20 , where the same truth is implied].— βαπτισθήτω , let each of you be baptized ) He speaks as of a thing already known to all: for both John and Christ [by His disciples] had administered baptism .— ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ [22] in name of Jesus ) See note on Matthew 28:19 . [The confession of the Holy Trinity and their offices was the preliminary of baptism. The creeds are but an expansion of this baptismal confession. The Jews, as being already in covenant with God (the Father) by circumcision, were to be baptized in the name ( ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι ) of Christ , and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit : the Gentiles, as being wholly aliens from God, were, according to Matthew 28:19 , to be baptized into the name ( εἰς τὸ ὄνομα ) of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost .]— ἁμαρτιῶν , of sins ) viz. of that sin which you committed in having crucified Christ (for it was on account of that sin especially that they were suffering such distress of conscience), and of all your other sins. λήψεσθε ) ye shall receive ) alike as we. We are a living proof to you of the fact. [22] The fuller reading, Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ , is preferred in the margin of Ed. 2, which is followed hy the Vers. Germ.—E. B. Iren. omits Χριστοῦ ; but the other oldest authorities have it: and DE de Vulg. Amiat. Cypr. and Lucifer prefix τοῦ Κυρίου , which ABC and Rec.

{8} Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (8) Repentance and remission of sins in Christ are two principles of the Gospel and therefore of our salvation: and they are obtained by the promises apprehended by faith, and are ratified by us in baptism; and with our salvation comes the power of the Holy Spirit (Ed.).

Verse 38. - And for then , A.V.; said (in italics) for said, A.V. and T.R.; repent ye for repent , A.V.; unto for for , A.V.; your sins for sins , A.V. Repent , etc. We have in this short verse the summary of Christian doctrine as regards man and God. Repentance and faith on the part of man; forgiveness of sins , or justification, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, or sanctification, on the part of God. And both these are expressed in the sacrament of baptism, which as it were ties the act of man to the promise of God. For the sacrament expresses man's faith and repentance on one side, and God's forgiveness and gift on the other. Acts 2:38

38 . Repent ] This was in accordance with the directions of Jesus before His ascension ( Luke 24:47 ), “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name.” be baptized ] Also enjoined by Christ ( Matthew 28:19 ), and while there the baptism is “to be in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,” and here it is only said “in the name of Jesus Christ,” we are not to suppose any change made from the first ordinance, but only that as the Church was to be called Christ’s, so in mentioning the Sacrament for the admission of its members His name was specially made prominent. It was belief in Christ as the Son of God which constituted the ground of admission to the privileges of His Church. This made the whole of St Peter’s creed ( Matthew 16:16 ) when Christ pronounced him blessed. ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost ] This is expressly stated to have been given to some of the converts (see Acts 8:17 , Acts 10:47 , &c.), and we cannot doubt that it was largely bestowed on these earlier penitents.

Acts 2:38 . What a definite and complete answer and promise of salvation! The μετανοήσατε demands the change of ethical disposition as the moral condition of being baptized, which directly and necessarily brings with it faith ( Mark 1:15 ); the aorist denotes the immediate accomplishment (comp. Acts 3:19 , Acts 8:22 ), which is conceived as the work of energetic resolution. So the apostles began to accomplish it, Luke 24:47 . ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι ʼΙησ Χριστοῦ ] on the ground of the name , so that the name “ Jesus Messiah ” as the contents of your faith and confession, is that on which the becoming baptized rests. Βαπτίζ . is only here used with ἐπί ; but comp. the analogous expressions, Luke 21:8 ; Luke 24:47 ; Acts 5:28 ; Acts 5:40 ; Matthew 24:5 , al. εἰς denotes the object of the baptism, which is the remission of the guilt contracted in the state before μετάνοια . Comp. Acts 22:16 ; 1 Corinthians 6:11 . καὶ λήψ .] καί consecutivum . After reconciliation, sanctification; both are experienced in baptism. τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ] this is the δωρεά itself. Hebrews 6:4 ; Acts 10:45 ; Acts 11:17 .

(38) Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ. —The work of the Apostles is, in one sense, a continuation, in another a development, of that of the Baptist. There is the same indispensable condition of “repentance”— i.e. a change of heart and will—the same outward rite as the symbol of purification, the same promise of forgiveness which that change involves. But the baptism is now, as it had not been before, in the name of Jesus Christ, and it is connected more directly with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The question presents itself, Why is the baptism here, and elsewhere in the Acts ( Acts 10:48 ; Acts 19:5 ), “in the name of Jesus Christ,” while in Matthew 28:19 , the Apostles are commanded to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Various explanations have been given. It has been said that baptism in the Name of any one of the Persons of the Trinity, involves the Name of the other Two. It has even been assumed that St. Luke meant the fuller formula when he used the shorter one.

But a more satisfactory solution is, perhaps, found in seeing in the words of Matthew 28:19 (see Note there) the formula for the baptism of those who, as Gentiles. had been “without God in the world, not knowing the Father;” while for converts from Judaism, or those who had before been proselytes to Judaism, it was enough that there should be the distinctive profession of their faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, added on to their previous belief in the Father and the Holy Spirit. In proportion as the main work of the Church of Christ lay among the Gentiles, it was natural that the fuller form should become dominant, and finally be used exclusively. It is interesting here, also, to compare the speech of St. Peter with the stress laid on baptism in his Epistle ( 1Peter 3:21 ). Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.—The word for “gift” (dôrea) is generic, and differs from the more specific “gift” (charisma) of 1Corinthians 12:4; 1Corinthians 12:9; 1Corinthians 12:28. The Apostle does not necessarily promise startling and marvellous powers, but in some way they should all feel that a new Spirit was working in them, and that that Spirit was from God.