SEV Biblia, Chapter 14:27
Y habiendo llegado, y reunida la Iglesia, relataron cun grandes cosas había hecho Dios con ellos, y cmo había abierto a los gentiles la puerta de la fe.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Acts 14:27
Verse 27. Had gathered the Church together] The Church by which they had been sent on this very important and successful mission. They rehearsed all that God had done with them] Not what they had done themselves; but what GOD made them the instruments of working.
And how he had opened the door of faith] How God by his providence and grace had made a way for preaching Christ crucified among the heathen; and how the heathen had received that Gospel which, through faith in Christ Jesus, was able to save their souls.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 27. And when they were come , etc.] To Antioch: and had gathered the church together : which was in that place, and who came together at their request; for as they were sent out by them, they judged it proper to call them together; and give them an account of the issue of their work they were recommended by them to the grace of God to fulfil: and being come together at their usual place of meeting, they rehearsed all that God had done with them ; and by them, as instruments; what grace and strength he had given them to preach the Gospel; what numbers of souls were everywhere converted by it; what miracles were wrought by them for the confirmation of it; and what persecutions and sufferings they had endured for the sake of it; and what deliverances were vouchsafed unto them: and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles ; the phrase, the door of faith, seems to be Jewish; it is to be met with in Jewish writings: it is said f727 , there are two women found in the world, that express the praise of God, so as all the men of the world have not; and who are they?
Deborah and Hannah: Hannah, according to ( 1 Samuel 2:2) there is none holy as the Lord, for there is none beside thee and all proclaim that she aml[l atwnmyhmd ajtp tjtp , opens the door of faith to the world, as ( Acts 14:8) he raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill, lo, the door of faith; to set them among princes, lo, the faith that is above.
The sense here seems to be, that God had given an opportunity to the apostles to preach the doctrine of faith unto the Gentiles, and the Gentiles had had an opportunity of hearing and embracing it; God had opened the mouths of his ministers to preach to them, and he had opened their hearts to attend unto it, and receive it; for it may be understood of his giving of them the grace of faith, by which they received Christ, and his Gospel, into their hearts: so a like phrase is used by the Targumist on ( Jeremiah 33:6) who paraphrases the words thus; behold, I will bring unto them healing and redemption, and I will heal them, and I will reveal, or open to them, abwyt [rt , the door of repentance; that is, I will give them repentance: so here, when God is said to open the door of faith to the Gentiles, the sense is, that he had given the grace of faith to them, which came by hearing the word of the Gospel, which he sent them; and gave them encouragement to believe in Christ; so the phrase a door of hope is used in ( Hosea 2:15).
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 19-28 - See how restless the rage of the Jews was against the gospel of Christ The people stoned Paul, in a popular tumult. So strong is the bent of the corrupt and carnal heart, that as it is with great difficulty tha men are kept back from evil on one side, so it is with great ease the are persuaded to evil on the other side. If Paul would have bee Mercury, he might have been worshipped; but if he will be a faithfu minister of Christ, he shall be stoned, and thrown out of the city Thus men who easily submit to strong delusions, hate to receive the truth in the love of it. All who are converted need to be confirmed in the faith; all who are planted need to be rooted. Ministers' work is to establish saints as well as to awaken sinners. The grace of God, an nothing less, effectually establishes the souls of the disciples. It is true, we must count upon much tribulation, but it is encouragement tha we shall not be lost and perish in it. The Person to whose power an grace the converts and the newly-established churches are commended clearly was the Lord Jesus, "on whom they had believed." It was an ac of worship. The praise of all the little good we do at any time, mus be ascribed to God; for it is He who not only worketh in us both to will and to do, but also worketh with us to make what we do successful All who love the Lord Jesus, will rejoice to hear that he has opene the door of faith wide, to those who were strangers to him and to his salvation. And let us, like the apostles, abide with those who know an love the Lord __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
παραγενομενοι 3854 5637 V-2ADP-NPM δε 1161 CONJ και 2532 CONJ συναγαγοντες 4863 5631 V-2AAP-NPM την 3588 T-ASF εκκλησιαν 1577 N-ASF ανηγγειλαν 312 5656 V-AAI-3P οσα 3745 K-APN εποιησεν 4160 5656 V-AAI-3S ο 3588 T-NSM θεος 2316 N-NSM μετ 3326 PREP αυτων 846 P-GPM και 2532 CONJ οτι 3754 CONJ ηνοιξεν 455 5656 V-AAI-3S τοις 3588 T-DPN εθνεσιν 1484 N-DPN θυραν 2374 N-ASF πιστεως 4102 N-GSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
27. With them (met autwn). In connection with them; assisting them. And how (kai oti). Better, that. The and has an incressive and particularizing force: "and in particular, above all."
Robertson's NT Word Studies
14:27 {Gathered the church together} (sunagagontes ten ekklesian). Second aorist active participle of sunagw. It "was the first missionary meeting in history" (Furneaux). It was not hard to get the church together when the news spread that Paul and Barnabas had returned. "The suitability of the Gospel to become the religion of the world had not before been put to the test" (Furneaux). Doubtless many "wise-acres" had predicted failure as they did for William Carey and for Adoniram Judson and Luther Rice. {Rehearsed} (aneggellon). Imperfect active. It was a long story for they had many things to tell of God's dealings "with them" (met' autwn) for God had been "with them" all the while as Jesus had said he would be (#Mt 28:20, meth' h-m"n). Paul could recount some of the details given later in #2Co 11. {And how} (kai hoti). Or "and that" in particular, as the upshot of it all. {He had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles} (enoixen tois eqnesin quran pistews). Three times in Paul's Epistles (#1Co 16:9; 2Co 2:12; Col 4:3) he employed the metaphor of "door," perhaps a reminiscence of the very language of Paul here. this work in Galatia gained a large place in Paul's heart (#Ga 4:14f.). The Gentiles now, it was plain, could enter the kingdom of God (verse #22) through the door of faith, not by law or by circumcision or by heathen philosophy or mythology.
