Acts 3:6 records Peter declaring that he has no money to give a beggar, but that he can give something better: healing in the name of Jesus Christ. The verse shows that the early church drew its power from Jesus rather than from wealth or status. Peter speaks these words to a man crippled from birth who sits daily at the Beautiful Gate of the temple in Jerusalem, asking for alms.
But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
Acts 3:6 (WEB)
What Acts 3:6 Means
Peter begins by admitting a plain fact: “I have no silver or gold.” He does not pretend to be richer than he is. The man has asked for money, and Peter honestly says that he has none to hand over. That honesty matters, because it means the miracle that follows cannot be credited to a wealthy benefactor or a clever gift.
Then Peter turns to what he does have: “but what I have, that I give you.” The phrase points to something unseen rather than something in a purse. In the verses that follow, that gift is the power to walk, given through the authority of the one Peter names. The verse does not promise that every believer will heal every sick person they meet. It describes one specific act at one specific gate, and it shows how Peter understood his calling: to share what he had received from Jesus.
The command, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”, links the healing to a person rather than to Peter himself. Calling on a name in the New Testament usually means acting by that person’s authority and in their character. The verse teaches that the power is Christ’s, and the apostles simply speak it.
The Context of Acts 3:6
The book of Acts was written by Luke, the same author who wrote the Gospel bearing his name, and it traces how the message of Jesus spread from Jerusalem outward into the wider world. Luke addressed his account to a reader named Theophilus and likely wrote for a largely Gentile audience, though the early chapters focus on Jewish believers in Jerusalem. The healing at the temple gate sets up the sermon and public conflict that follow, so it works as a turning point in the book’s opening section.
Just before the verse, the lame man is described as expecting to receive something from Peter and John, and the narrative stresses that he looks at them directly. Just after, he leaps up, walks into the temple, and praises God, and all the people see him doing so. Read in that setting, Peter’s words are not a brush-off. They are the start of a miracle that gives God the glory and draws crowds to hear the gospel.
Key Phrases in Acts 3:6
2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.
(WEB)
This verse says that Jesus, though rich, became poor so that others might become rich. It connects with Peter’s words by showing that the giver’s poverty and the gift’s richness both come from Christ’s own generosity, which the apostles were passing on to the world.
Acts 4:12
There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
(WEB)
Written shortly after the healing, this verse states that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. It deepens the logic of Acts 3:6 by explaining why the name of Jesus carries the power to heal and to save, and why the apostles speak it so boldly.
A Short Prayer From Acts 3:6
Lord Jesus, I confess that I often look for help in what I can see and count, and I forget that you are the true source of every good thing I have. Give me the honesty of Peter, who admitted what he lacked, and the generosity to share what you have placed in my hands. Where I feel empty, fill me with your strength, and where others are waiting for help, let me point them to your name. Teach me to walk in your power each day. Amen.
