Acts 15:9

No difference. That is, “no distinction.” God had given to the new Gentile converts, without circumcision, the same outpouring of the Spirit as He had first given at Pentecost, making no distinction between Jews and Gentiles. This obviously meant the complete acceptance of Gentiles into the church. See Paul’s later statement of the same principle (Rom. 10:12).

Purifying their hearts. Faith had purified the hearts of Cornelius and his house. The observance of the law of ceremonies was superfluous and meaningless when the heart was clean before God, who alone can judge purity. The ceremonies of the law were for purification, but here was a higher ideal of purity than that upon which the Pharisees insisted. They put the Gentiles under a blanket indictment of impurity because they did not observe the ceremonial law and the traditions of the elders. Peter had learned that no man may be called common or unclean (ch. 10:28), and that purification must be of the heart rather than of the flesh (see Titus 1:15).