Acts 15:13

And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After these things I will return, And I will built again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old.

JAMES' SUMMARY

James ... This was James the Lord's brother who at that time had come to occupy a very influential place among the Christians in Jerusalem.

After they had held their peace ... suggests that the report of Paul and Barnabas had received an overwhelming ovation, this referring to the end of the applause. It may also have the meaning that all arguments had been answered and that the Pharisee-Christians were speechless.

Simeon ... James here reverted to Peter's original name. It might have been a little embarrassing to the apostle, under the circumstances, to have called him The Rock (Peter)! James, Cephas and John had probably met with Paul earlier, before the formal assembly, and formed a solid agreement on the course of the meeting. Dummelow suggested that:

Before the conference a complete settlement was reached. The Twelve acknowledged Paul's teaching as orthodox, recognized him as the apostle to the Gentiles, conceded his demand that the Gentiles should be free from the observance of the Law, and gave him the right hand of fellowship. After this the result of the Council was a foregone conclusion.[4]

It is evident that Dummelow is correct in this, which means that the decisive part of the confrontation in Jerusalem took place before the formal gathering, that it was dominated and controlled, not by the Pharisee party in Jerusalem, but by the apostle Paul. James' great message here appealed to Scripture as an effective means of achieving the unity of all.

To take out of them a people for his name ...

This was the usual Old Testament word designating Israel as the true people of God. The Gentiles were now included in this people. The "rebuilding of the tabernacle of David" must therefore refer to the salvation of the Jewish remnant, "the Israel within Israel" (Romans 9:8; 11:1-5).[5]

All of the Old Testament promises to Israel are fulfilled in Christ and the church. Christians are the "seed of Abraham" (Galatians 3:7,29). He is a Jew who is one inwardly (Romans 2:28,29), etc.

Gentiles upon whom my name is called ... The Scripture to which James appealed in this is a free rendition of Amos 9:11, his purpose being to show that the Gentiles were prophetically included in the people of God.

Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old ... All of the stirring events of that great day were known from of old by the Father and revealed unto men in the holy prophets. This is only one of a great many such prophecies that James might have quoted, but this alone was sufficient.

[4] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 838.

[5] Everett F. Harrison, Wycliffe Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 435.