“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.”
My Notes
What Does Acts 3:16 Mean?
Peter has just healed a lame man at the temple gate, and the crowd is stunned. Peter's explanation credits the healing entirely to Jesus' name and faith in that name. The repetition is deliberate: "his name through faith in his name" — the name is mentioned twice because the name is the entire mechanism.
The healing wasn't Peter's power (he already said that in verse 12). It wasn't a magical formula. It was faith in the person behind the name — Jesus, whom they crucified and God raised from the dead. The name carries authority because of who the name belongs to.
"Perfect soundness" (holoklēria — wholeness, complete health) describes not just the healing of the man's legs but his total restoration. The word means every part is whole. Nothing missing. Complete soundness in every dimension. And it happened publicly: "in the presence of you all." The evidence is standing right there.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does it mean to you that the name of Jesus carries authority — not as a formula, but as a person?
- 2.Where do you need 'perfect soundness' — complete restoration, not just partial improvement?
- 3.How does Peter's insistence on crediting the name (not himself) challenge how you talk about what God does through you?
- 4.Do you use Jesus' name in prayer as a magic word or as an invocation of a living person's authority?
Devotional
His name. Through faith in His name. Peter says it twice because the name is everything.
The lame man is standing. Walking. Leaping. In front of everyone who watched him beg for years. And Peter, with the entire crowd staring at him, says: don't look at us. Look at the name. Jesus' name. Through faith in that name. That's what did this.
The name isn't a magic word. It's a person. The name of Jesus carries authority because of who Jesus is — crucified, risen, seated at God's right hand. When Peter says "in his name," he's invoking the full identity of a living Lord, not reciting a formula.
"Perfect soundness" — holoklēria — means complete in every part. The man's ankles weren't just functional. He was whole. Every joint, every muscle, every tendon that had atrophied over decades of sitting at the gate — restored. Completely. Publicly. Undeniably.
And it's all credited to the name. Not to Peter's faith (though he had it). Not to the man's faith (though he exercised it). To the name. The name is the power source. Faith in the name is the connection. And the result is soundness so complete that even the crowd can see it.
The name of Jesus still heals. Not because the syllables are magical, but because the person behind them is alive, reigning, and powerful. When you speak that name in faith, you're accessing the authority of the risen Lord.
His name. Through faith in His name. That's still the mechanism.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And his name, through faith in his name,.... That is, the name of Christ, or the power of Christ, through the faith of…
And his name - The “name” of Jesus is here put for Jesus himself, and it is the same as saying “and he,” etc. In this…
And his name - Jesus, the Savior: through faith in his name, as the Savior, and author of life, and all its concomitant…
We have here the sermon which Peter preached after he had cured the lame man. When Peter saw it. 1. When he saw the…
And his name, &c. There is more force in retaining the order of the Greek, And through faith in his name, his name hath…
Cross References
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