Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
So the church (h men oun ekklhsia). The singular ekklhsia is undoubtedly the true reading here (all the great documents have it so). By this time there were churches scattered over Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (Galatians 1:22), but Luke either regards the disciples in Palestine as still members of the one great church in Jerusalem (instance already the work of Philip in Samaria and soon of Peter in Joppa and Caesarea) or he employs the term ekklhsia in a geographical or collective sense covering all of Palestine. The strictly local sense we have seen already in Acts 8:1, Acts 8:3 (and Matthew 18:17) and the general spiritual sense in Matthew 16:18. But in Acts 8:3 it is plain that the term is applied to the organization of Jerusalem Christians even when scattered in their homes. The use of men oun (so) is Luke's common way of gathering up the connection. The obvious meaning is that the persecution ceased because the persecutor had been converted. The wolf no longer ravined the sheep. It is true also that the effort of Caligula AD 39 to set up his image in the temple in Jerusalem for the Jews to worship greatly excited the Jews and gave them troubles of their own (Josephus, Ant. XVIII. 8, 2-9).
Had peace (eixen eirhnhn). Imperfect active. Kept on having peace, enjoying peace, because the persecution had ceased. Many of the disciples came back to Jerusalem and the apostles began to make preaching tours out from the city. This idiom (exw eirhnhn) occurs again in Romans 5:1 (eirhnhn exwmen, present active subjunctive) where it has been grievously misunderstood. There it is an exhortation to keep on enjoying the peace with God already made, not to make peace with God which would be eirhnhn sxwmen (ingressive aorist subjunctive).
Edified (oikodomoumenh). Present passive participle, linear action also. One result of the enjoyment of peace after the persecution was the continued edification (Latin word aedificatio for building up a house), a favourite figure with Paul (1Co. 14; Eph. 3) and scattered throughout the N.T., old Greek verb. In I Peter 2:5 Peter speaks of "the spiritual house" throughout the five Roman provinces being "built up" (cf. Matthew 16:18).
In the comfort of the Holy Spirit (th paraklhsei tou agiou pneumatov). Either locative (
in) or instrumental case (
by). The Holy Spirit had been promised by Jesus as "another Paraclete" and now this is shown to be true. The only instance in Acts of the use of paraklhsiv with the Holy Spirit. The word, of course, means calling to one's side (parakalew) either for advice or for consolation.
Was multiplied (eplhquneto). Imperfect middle passive. The multiplication of the disciples kept pace with the peace, the edification, the walking in the fear of the Lord, the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The blood of the martyrs was already becoming the seed of the church. Stephen had not borne his witness in vain.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Acts 9:31:
Acts 2:41
Acts 4:36
Acts 13:15
Acts 13:52
Romans 5:1
Galatians 1:13
Galatians 1:22
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