Acts 11:21

Luke stressed the Lord Jesus’ blessing of their witness. "The hand of the Lord" is an Old Testament anthropomorphism that pictures God’s power (cf. Isaiah 59:1; Isaiah 66:14). The early disciples put Jesus on a par with Yahweh; His deity was not a late development read back into the early history of the church. [Note: Robertson, 3:157.] Response to this evangelistic work was very good. Perhaps these Gentiles were "God-fearers" similar to the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius. [Note: Longenecker, p. 401.] Perhaps they were pagans who were not Jewish proselytes but were open to the message of life because of their dissatisfaction with paganism. [Note: Neil, p. 144.] Probably both types of Gentiles responded.

"The combination of faith (pisteusas) and of turning (epestrepsen) is another common way to express salvation in Acts." [Note: Bock, "Jesus as . . .," p. 149.]