The Meaning of Acts 2:16 Explained

Acts 2:16

KJV: But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

YLT: 'But this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel:

Darby: but this is that which was spoken through the prophet Joel,

ASV: but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  this  is  that which was spoken  by  the prophet  Joel; 

What does Acts 2:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Acts 2:14-24 - The Outpoured Spirit
The exulting joy of these Spirit-anointed people was accounted for by some through charging them with drunkenness. Peter dismissed the charge as absurd, seeing that the day was yet young. With a readiness that the Spirit had inspired, he declared it to be a partial fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. This is that, Acts 2:16. Alas, we cannot say as much! This might be that; this shall be that-these are all that we can affirm. Shall we ever be able to say, This is that?
In the pre-Christian times the Spirit was given to mountain-top saints, but from Pentecost onward, sons and daughters, old and young, servants and hand-maidens, were to participate in His gracious influences. It is for the democracy of the Church, for the whosoevers who call on the name of the Lord, for the valleys as well as the hills.
Notice that God's determinate counsel and pre-arrangement did not take away the guilt that lay upon the murderers of the Christ. The hands that slew Him were wicked ones, Acts 2:23. But God vindicated Jesus by the Resurrection, which reversed the judgment of men and proved Him the Son of God with power, Romans 1:4. [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 2

1  The apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, and speaking various languages,
12  are admired by some, and derided by others;
14  whom Peter disproves;
37  he baptizes a great number who were converted;
41  who afterwards devoutly and charitably converse together;
43  the apostles working many miracles,
46  and God daily increasing his church

Greek Commentary for Acts 2:16

This is that which hath been spoken by the prophet Joel [τουτο εστιν το ειρημενον δια του προπητου Ιωηλ]
Positive interpretation of the supernatural phenomena in the light of the Messianic prophecy of Joel 2:28-32. Peter‘s mind is now opened by the Holy Spirit to understand the Messianic prophecy and the fulfilment right before their eyes. Peter now has spiritual insight and moral courage. The power (δυναμις — dunamis) of the Holy Spirit has come upon him as he proceeds to give the first interpretation of the life and work of Jesus Christ since his Ascension. It is also the first formal apology for Christianity to a public audience. Peter rises to the height of his powers in this remarkable sermon. Jesus had foretold that he would be a Rock and now he is no longer shale, but a solid force for aggressive Christianity. He follows here in Acts 2:17-21 closely the lxx text of Joel and then applies the passage to the present emergency (Acts 2:22-24). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 2:16

1 Corinthians 12:10 Divers kinds of tongues [γένη γλωσσῶν]
I. Passages Relating to the Gift of Tongues. Mark 16:17; Acts href="/desk/?q=ac+10:46&sr=1">Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 14. Possibly Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:11. II. Terms Employed. New tongues (Mark 16:17): other or different tongues ( ἕτεραι , Acts 2:4): kinds ( γένη ) of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10): simply tongues or tongue ( γλῶσσαι γλῶσσα , Acts href="/desk/?q=ac+2:4&sr=1">Acts 2:4; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:13, 1 Corinthians 14:14, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 1 Corinthians 14:27): to pray in a tongue ( προσεύχεσθαι γλώσσῃ , 1 Corinthians 14:14, 1 Corinthians 14:15), equivalent to praying in the spirit as distinguished from praying with the understanding: tongues of men and angels (1 Corinthians 13:1). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
III. Recorded Facts in the New Testament. (1.) The first recorded bestowment of the gift was at Pentecost (Acts href="/desk/?q=ac+10:44-46&sr=1">Acts 10:44-46. (3.) Certain disciples at Ephesus, who received the Holy Spirit in the laying on of Paul's hands, spake with tongues and prophesied, Acts 19:6. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
IV. Meaning of the Term “Tongue.” The various explanations are: the tongue alone, inarticulately: rare, provincial, poetic, or archaic words: language or dialect. The last is the correct definition. It does not necessarily mean any of the known languages of men, but may mean the speaker's own tongue, shaped in a peculiar manner by the Spirit's influence; or an entirely new spiritual language. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
V. Nature of the Gift in the Corinthian Church. (1.) The gift itself was identical with that at Pentecost, at Caesarea, and at Ephesus, but differed in its manifestations, in that it required an interpreter. 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:30; 1 Corinthians 14:5, 1 Corinthians 14:13, 1 Corinthians 14:26, 1 Corinthians 14:27. (2.) It was closely connected with prophesying: 1 Corinthians 14:1-6, 1 Corinthians 14:22, 1 Corinthians 14:25; Acts 2:16-18; Acts 19:6. Compare 1 Thessalonians 5:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:20. It was distinguished from prophesying as an inferior gift, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:5; and as consisting in expressions of praise or devotion rather than of exhortation, warning, or prediction, 1 Corinthians 14:14-16. (3.) It was an ecstatic utterance, unintelligible to the hearers, and requiring interpretation, or a corresponding ecstatic condition on the part of the hearer in order to understand it. It was not for the edification of the hearer but of the speaker, and even the speaker did not always understand it, 1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:19. It therefore impressed unchristian bystanders as a barbarous utterance, the effect of madness or drunkenness, Acts 2:13, Acts 2:15; 1 Corinthians 14:11, 1 Corinthians 14:23. Hence it is distinguished from the utterance of the understanding, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:14-16, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 1 Corinthians 14:27. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
VI. Paul's Estimate of the Gift. He himself was a master of the gift (1 Corinthians 14:18), but he assigned it an inferior position (1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:5), and distinctly gave prophesying and speaking with the understanding the preference (1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:3, 1 Corinthians 14:5, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 1 Corinthians 14:22). -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
VII. Results and Permanence. Being recognized distinctly as a gift of the Spirit, it must be inferred that it contributed in some way to the edification of the Church; but it led to occasional disorderly outbreaks (1 Corinthians 14:9, 1 Corinthians 14:11, 1 Corinthians 14:17, 1 Corinthians 14:20-23, 1 Corinthians 14:26-28, 1 Corinthians 14:33, 1 Corinthians 14:40). As a fact it soon passed away from the Church. It is not mentioned in the Catholic or Pastoral Epistles. A few allusions to it occur in the writings of the fathers of the second century. Ecstatic conditions and manifestations marked the Montanists at the close of the second century, and an account of such a case, in which a woman was the subject, is given by Tertullian. Similar phenomena have emerged at intervals in various sects, at times of great religious excitement, as among the Camisards in France, the early Quakers and Methodists, and especially the Irvingites. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
[source]

Ephesians 1:13 Spirit of promise []
Strictly, the promise. Denoting the promise as characteristic of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit which was announced by promise. See Acts 2:16sqq.; Joel 2:28; Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:3; John 7:39; Acts 1:4-8; Galatians 3:14. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 2:16 mean?

but this is that having been spoken by the prophet Joel
ἀλλὰ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰωήλ

τοῦτό  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
τὸ  that 
Parse: Article, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
εἰρημένον  having  been  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to utter, speak, say.
προφήτου  prophet 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: προφήτης  
Sense: in Greek writings, an interpreter of oracles or of other hidden things.
Ἰωήλ  Joel 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰωήλ  
Sense: the second of the twelve minor prophets, the son of Pethuel, probably prophesied in Judah in the reign of Uzziah.

What are the major concepts related to Acts 2:16?

Loading Information...