Acts 14:22

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Confirming

1 Peter 5:10

Exhorting

We

Bible References

Confirming

And Judas and Silas, who also were prophets, exhorted and strengthened the brothers with many [other] words.

After spending some time there, he left and traveled through the district of Galatia, [and] then through Phrygia, strengthening [spiritually] all the disciples [along the way].

He will also make you stand firm [in the faith] to the end [of your lives], so that you will be [considered] without just blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ [returns].

and so we [i.e., I] sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow-worker in [the ministry of] the Gospel, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

And the God who bestows every unearned favor [upon His people], who invited you to partake of His eternal splendor through Christ Jesus, will restore, confirm, strengthen and stabilize you people [in the faith], after you have gone through a brief time of suffering.

Exhorting

When he got there and saw how God was favoring the people [with salvation] he was very happy and [stayed on and] encouraged everyone to remain close to the Lord with a heartfelt purpose.

Now when the synagogue service was over, many of the Jews and devoted proselytes [i.e., converts to the Jewish religion] followed Paul and Barnabas, who urged them to continue accepting the unearned favor of God.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who had believed [in Him], "If you people continue [obeying] my message, then you are truly my disciples.

Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains united to the vine, so neither can you people [bear fruit] unless you remain united to me.

[This will happen] if you continue in the faith [Note: This means either "continue to observe God's teaching" or, "continue to believe"], firmly grounded and established, and not moved away from the hope offered by the Gospel message, which you have heard and which was preached to people throughout the entire created world under heaven. I, Paul, was made a minister of this Gospel.

Dearly loved ones, as I was very eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we share in common, I felt it necessary [instead] to write urging you to contend earnestly for the faith [i.e., the teaching of Christ] which was once and for all delivered [by the apostles, See verse 17] to the saints [i.e., God's holy people].

We

[At that time] a person will turn his brother over to be killed, and the father [will do the same to] his child. And children will rebel against their parents and turn them over to be killed.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and lift up his cross [of responsibility] and [then he can] become my follower.

Now you apostles are the ones who have remained with me throughout my trials,

Was it not necessary for the Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one] to suffer these things, and [then] to enter His glorious state [with the Father]?"

The person who loves his [earthly] life will [eventually] lose it [forever], but the person who hates his life in this world will retain never ending life.

[Jesus continued], "I have told you these things so that you men would not fall away [i.e., from the faith].

And if we are [His] children, then we have an inheritance from God [i.e., blessings here and hereafter] and are fellow-sharers with Christ [of such blessings], providing we [are willing to] suffer with Him, so we can also be honored with Him [i.e., in the future life. See verses 18-25].

For even when we were with you, we warned you that we were going to be persecuted, and as you know, it has turned out that way.

So, do not be ashamed to testify for our Lord, or ashamed of [being associated with] me, His prisoner, but [be willing to] suffer hardship with me for the sake of the Gospel, relying on God's power [to sustain you].

This saying is trustworthy: For if we have died with Christ [i.e., stopped the practice of sin, See Rom. 6:1-11], we will also live with Him [i.e., both here and hereafter].

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in [the service of] Christ will be persecuted.

Loved ones, do not be surprised that you people are undergoing extremely difficult trials, as though something strange were happening to you, for it is [only] a test [of your faith].

Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. [For] look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. [But], you should be faithful [to God] even to the point of dying [for Him], and I will give you the crown of [never ending] life.

And I answered him, "Sir, [surely] you know." And he said to me, "These are the people who have come through the terrible persecution, and they have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb.