“Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.”
- KJV Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
- NKJV “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
- NASB “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?”
- NLT “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Peter asks whether anyone can withhold baptism from those who have received the Spirit just as the apostles did. God's prior acceptance makes baptism the fitting response.
Overview
Since God has plainly given the Gentiles His Spirit, Peter sees no ground to deny them the water of baptism. The inward gift is matched by the outward sign of belonging to God's people. Peter's question puts the burden on any who would still exclude Gentiles, for God has already received them.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Acts 8:36As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”
- Acts 11:15–17As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.
- Rom 10:12For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
- Acts 15:8–9And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.
- Gen 17:24–26So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
- Acts 8:12But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
- Acts 2:4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
- Rom 4:11And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 10:47 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.