¹⁷ And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”

⁴⁷ “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”

²⁰ No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? ²² In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. ²³ He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. ²⁴ And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

²⁵ Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,

²⁶ And,

³⁶ For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

¹⁵ For God said to Moses,

¹⁶ So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

⁸ God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. ⁹ He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith.

¹⁵ “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning.

⁴⁵ The Jewish believers^[a] who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.