“And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;”
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us — Peter's centerpiece argument: God's acceptance (martyreō) of gentiles is evidenced by the Holy Spirit's gift to them. The phrase God knows the heart (kardiognōstēs theos) recalls 1 Samuel 16:7 and emphasizes God's penetrating knowledge, rendering external observances irrelevant to salvation. The parallel just as he did to us affirms equality in the Spirit's reception between Jewish and gentile believers.
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