Acts 2:39–41

Context

Acts 2 records the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the first sermon of Peter. The Christian feast that commemorates this event is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost was a Jewish feast, and at that time Jews and proselytes from many regions had gathered in Jerusalem. Quoting Joel and the Psalms, Peter testified that Jesus is the Christ. When his hearers were "pricked in their heart" and asked what they should do (2:37), Peter answered that if they would repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, they would receive the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (2:38).

Verse 39 gives the ground for this answer, verse 40 is the closing exhortation of the sermon, and verse 41 reports its result. The following passage, 2:42–47, describes the life of the newly formed community.

Interpretation

• The content of the promise: Most commentators identify "the promise" in verse 39 with "the gift of the Holy Ghost" mentioned in the immediately preceding verse. The expression "the promise of the Holy Ghost" also appears in 2:33.
• "All that are afar off": Some read this as referring to Jews of the Diaspora, while others see it as anticipating the inclusion of the Gentiles. The latter reading appeals to Ephesians 2:13, 17, where Gentiles are addressed as "you which were afar off."
• "As many as the Lord our God shall call": This expression recalls the closing words of Joel 2:32, "the remnant whom the LORD shall call." It is therefore read as indicating that God's calling determines the scope of those who receive the promise.
• "Three thousand": Some preachers contrast this verse with the golden calf incident in Exodus 32, when about three thousand people died, using the two events to illustrate the difference between the law and the Spirit. Scholars differ, however, on whether the text intends this contrast.

Debates and Issues

Infant baptism: Both sides of the infant baptism debate cite this passage.

• The paedobaptist reading: Presbyterian, Reformed, Methodist, and Anglican churches, among others, following covenant theology (a theology that reads Scripture with the covenant between God and his people at its center), regard "you, and … your children" as the same covenantal formula as "thee and thy seed after thee" in Genesis 17:7. They therefore hold that the children of believers may also receive baptism as the sign of the covenant. Acts 2:38–39 is known as one of the proof texts cited for the section on infant baptism in the Westminster Confession of Faith.
• The credobaptist reading: Baptists and others take "children" to mean succeeding generations as a whole. They also point out that the promise is limited to "as many as the Lord our God shall call" and that verse 41 records that those who "received his word" were baptized. On this reading, baptism follows the hearing and receiving of the word. This issue is also treated in Baptism and Immersion.

Does the promise of the Spirit continue today? Pentecostal denominations hold that because this promise was given to every generation, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts of Acts 2 continue today. Those who hold to what is called cessationism read the promise as referring to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit given to every believer at conversion. They therefore hold that it does not imply the continuation of sign gifts such as speaking in tongues. For further detail, see Cessationism and Continuationism.

Translation and manuscripts

• "Be saved" in verse 40 is a passive imperative in Greek. Some English Bibles render it "save yourselves."
• In verse 41, the Byzantine manuscripts underlying the King James Version include the additional word "gladly" ("they that gladly received his word"). This word is absent from modern critical texts.

Questions of application: Verse 41 reports that baptism was administered on the same day the word was received. For this reason, some ask how this passage relates to the practice in Korean churches of baptizing only after a period of catechumenate.

In the Korean Church

Verse 39 is used in infant baptism services and in prayers for children as a passage expressing the covenant promise. The "three thousand" of verse 41 is frequently cited at evangelistic meetings and in sermons on church revival.

Related Passages

• Joel 2:32
• Acts 2:16–21
• Acts 2:42–47
• Ephesians 2:14–17
• Acts 16:30–34