Exegeting

Acts 15 v.7b

*
PCJB
PP Presentation
devised and prepared
at
Gujranwala Theological Seminary
may be copied for non-commercial use only
February 2005
 Acts 15 v. 7b

“…God made a choice among

you that the Gentiles might
hear from my lips the message
of the gospel and believe.”
 Step 1
PRAY

Ask GOD to SPEAK to you first

(with a personal message for you!)

and then

ask Him to guide you

as you study this passage
in order to expound it to others
 Step 2
Note the GENRE

Do we know who wrote the book

in which this passage occurs?

What form did the writer use here

to express his thoughts?
 The GENRE used
by the AUTHOR

Luke
who was both a doctor and a historian
He was writing
an account of what happened
from the time Jesus ascended into heaven
to Paul’s imprisonment in Rome
In this passage he is reporting
an explanatory speech by Peter
 Step 3
List the IDEAS

God made a choice among you that the

Gentiles might hear from my lips the
message of the gospel and believe
 Step 3
List the IDEAS

God made a choice among you

that the Gentiles might hear
from my lips
the message of the gospel
and believe
 Step 4
Observe the STRUCTURE

Re-arrange the lay-out of the verse

to show its structure by
indenting the text
Underline the actions
 Acts 15 v. 7b WORKSHEET

God made a choice among you

that the Gentiles might hear
from my lips
the message of the gospel
and believe
 Acts 15 v. 7b (1st Draft)

God made a choice among you

that the Gentiles might hear
from my lips
the message of the gospel
and believe
 Structure Shape (2nd draft)

God made a choice among you

that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and believe.
 Acts 15 v. 7b (best version?)

God made a choice among you

that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and [might] believe.

Note:
 Relationship between “hear” and “believe” (Conjunction
“and” is consequential (links cause with effect)
 Toggle (inter-change) structure of “from my lips” and
“the message”
 Step 5 – Analyse the CONTENT
Ask QUESTIONS (Kipling‘s “six serving men“)
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and [might] believe.
Analysis:
 Who was involved in this activity? – “God” – “you” – “the
Gentiles” – Peter (“my”)
 From where did God make a choice? – “among you”
 How did the Gentiles hear? – “from my lips”
 What did they hear? – “the message of the gospel”
 When did they believe? – after they heard this message?
 Why did God choose Peter? – “that Gentiles might believe”
 Note the ACTION

God made a choice among you

that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
Who is doing and believe.
what?
God
makes a choice
of a
messenger

The Gentiles
hear the gospel
and respond
 Step 6
Check the CONTEXT
When they arrived in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were welcomed by the whole church,
including the apostles and elders. They reported on what God had been doing through
their ministry.
But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion stood up and
declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and be required to follow the law
of Moses.
So the Apostles and church elders got together to decide this question.
At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows:
“Brothers, you all know that

God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they
could hear the Good News and believe.
God, who knows people’s hearts, confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the
Holy Spirit, just as he gave him to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he also cleansed their hearts through faith.

Why are you now questioning God’s way by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke
that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?

We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the special favor of the Lord Jesus.”
There was no further discussion (Acts 15:4-12- NLT)
 Situation
(Context before the passage)

What has been happening

beforehand?
Peter is speaking to the Council of Jerusalem
about whether Gentiles need to undergo
the rite of circumcision
to be accepted as true believers
 Situation
(Context after the passage)

What follows on afterwards?

Peter asks the former Pharisees
why they want to question
God’s way of doing things
by burdening the Gentile believers
with requirements that
even they themselves could not bear
END OF STORY! – No further discussion!
 Step 7
Decide the over-all SUBJECT

What is
the subject of the passage
that covers
all the topics / ideas?
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and believe.
Preaching
 Step 8
Identify the TEACHING
Key Points (about the Subject)

What does the text

say about this
subject -
preaching?
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and believe.
 Key Points (about the Subject)

We can see
how God’s sovereignty
works out
in preaching….
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles
might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel

and believe.

…when we consider:

 The preacher (Peter chosen from “among you”)

 The audience (“the Gentiles”)
 The method (“hearing from my lips”)
 The message (“the message of the gospel”)
 The outcome (“believe”)
 Step 9
Check for CONSISTENCY
Biblically Sound?

Is your interpretation of the passage so far

in agreement with
the rest of Scripture?

Refer to Commentaries
Check a doubtful point with a Concordance
(or with the NIV Thematic Study Bible Index)
 Step 10
Expose the HEART-BEAT

God made a choice among you

that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message
of the gospel
and
believe.
 The HEART-BEAT
of the text

God has chosen preaching

as an effective way of
bringing His truth to the world
 Acknowledgements
are due to J.A.Motyer whose Preface to Haddon
Robinson‘s “Expository Preaching“ provided the
inspiration for the lay-out of Frame 27
Also to Toni William for the Urdu translation and its
computer setting
 Step 11
Apply the LESSON

 Without preachers who preach God’s own

message (not their own) people will not be
able to hear and respond to the Gospel
 So pray for more God-chosen preachers
(not simply man-appointed) to answer the
call to the Ministry of the Gospel
 Pray for your own ministers that they bring
God’s message (not their own thoughts)
each Sunday when they preach
 Step 12
Get a RESPONSE!
The End