What Does Acts 3:16 Mean?
And by leaning full weight on his nature, his nature has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the full-weight leaning which comes through him has given him this complete wholeness in the face of you all.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.THE KEY
The name that makes this man strong carries Jesus’ nature, and the trust through which it acts comes through Jesus himself.
THE MEANING
The strength you see comes through Jesus’ name, his nature and character, and through trust in him, a trust that itself comes through him. The result is complete, visible wholeness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that a name is only a label or that the power belongs to the human observer: the name points to Jesus’ nature, and the trust involved comes through him.
THE ROOT
ὄνομα
onoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνοματ-
onomat-
Name, designation, or reputation; here, the person and character carried by a name.
“his nature” in this verse is onoma. The verse repeats ὄνομα (onoma, name), tying the man’s strength to Jesus’ name and to trust in it. His name holds the nature of the one trusted, so the word points to a living person rather than a bare label.
ALSO GROWS
onomazō: To name or call by name.
ὀνομάζω
This naming word shows how a name makes someone known; here, the name points to the one whose nature is present in the restoration.
epōnymos: Named after or bearing a name.
ἐπώνυμος
This form shows how a name can be carried as part of an identity, illuminating the verse’s link between Jesus’ name and his character.
πίστις
pistis
GROWS FROM
πείθω (peithō), πειθ- (peith-)
To persuade or be persuaded; trust arising from reliance.
“the full-weight leaning which comes through him” in this verse is pistis. The verse speaks of trust in Jesus’ name and then of trust that is through him. This is reliance bound to the one trusted, rather than an abstract force detached from him.
ALSO GROWS
pisteuō: To trust, believe, or entrust oneself.
πιστεύω
This verb makes the relational movement of πίστις (pistis, trust) explicit: reliance is placed in someone.
pistos: Trustworthy or faithful.
πιστός
This branch describes the dependable character that makes trust possible; the verse locates trust in Jesus and says it comes through him.
ὁλοκληρία
holoklēria
GROWS FROM
ὁλόκληρος (holoklēros), from ὅλος (holos) + κλῆρος (klēros)
Whole and complete in every part; the related noun means completeness or sound condition.
“complete wholeness” in this verse is holoklēria. ὁλοκληρία (holoklēria, completeness or soundness) names a condition of wholeness. The phrase reaches beyond the man’s strengthened limbs to describe his complete, visible restoration.
ALSO GROWS
holos: Whole or entire.
ὅλος
This component carries the sense of wholeness into the phrase “perfect soundness.”
klēros: Lot, share, or allotted portion.
κλῆρος
This component combines with ὅλος in ὁλόκληρος (holoklēros, complete) to form a word for something whole in its entirety.
THE PATTERN
God’s restoring agency makes wholeness visible in the body.
He sends his word and heals them, and slips them free from their pits.Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the nature of Jesus the Anointed One of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands here before your faces, sound.THE THREAD
Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the nature of Jesus the Anointed One of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, by him this man stands here before your faces, sound.Acts 4:10 names Jesus directly as the source and describes the man’s restored condition as standing whole. The repeated Greek word ὄνομα (onoma, name) links this verse’s trust in his name to the visible wholeness the name brings.
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