I would submit yes, there is. Firstly, in proper context of the whole of the chapter you first excerpt from in Acts 15 I believe we have to first consider that contrary to your order of posting scripture,
Acts 11 events led to the
Acts 15 debate. Acts 13 & 14 would also however, 11 is pertinent to the matter of Peter and his teachings.
In this way we learn of a debate and the factors present at the JC.
I think we should consider what is the Jerusalem Council in order to understand the context of the entire debate. Would you agree?
First I think we should inform readers who may not know what the Jerusalem Council was, as pertains to Acts 15.
Jerusalem Council
When the early Christians met in Jerusalem, the leaders still saw themselves as full-fledged Jews. Thus the meeting was about whether or not Gentiles needed to follow Jewish religious law, including circumcision, dietary codes.
In addition, Jews were also not sure if they could eat at the same table as their new Gentile brethren – observant Jews did not eat with Gentiles because by definition Gentiles were unclean, according to the Law of Moses. Peter and Paul are at each other's throats – seemingly because of James' opinion on this issue. Paul, the new kid, took Peter to task over the issue of Jews sharing table fellowship – eating a meal – with Gentiles.
Then we may wish to consider Acts 11 precedes the gathering of the council and their debate as described in
Acts 15.
With regard to your question then, I think the best answer is surmised in the Footnote of Acts 11.
- Acts 11:17 tn Or “gave us when we believed”; or “gave us after we believed”; or “gave us who believed”; or “gave them when they believed the same gift as he also gave us.” The aorist dative plural participle πιστεύσασιν (pisteusasin) can be understood in several different ways: (1) It could modify ἡμῖν (hēmin, “us”) or αὐτοῖς (autois, “them”). Proximity (it immediately follows ἡμῖν) would suggest that it belongs with ἡμῖν, so the last option (“gave them when they believed the same gift he also gave us”) is less likely. (2) The participle could be either adverbial or adjectival, modifying ἡμῖν. This decision is primarily a contextual one. The point Peter made is not whether or not the Gentiles believed, since both groups (“us” and “they”) had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The point was whether or not the Gentiles received the Spirit when they believed, just as Jewish Christians had received the Spirit on the day of Pentecost when they believed. Translated as an adjectival participle, πιστεύσασιν only affirms the fact of belief, however, and raises somewhat of a theological problem if one realizes, “Would God have given the Gentiles the Spirit if they had not believed?” (In other words, belief in itself is a theological prerequisite for receiving the Spirit. As such, in the case of the Gentiles, it is assumed.) Thus in context it makes more sense to understand the participle πιστεύσασιν as adverbial, related to the time of belief in connection with the giving of the Spirit. (3) The participle πιστεύσασιν as a temporal participle can refer to action antecedent to the action of the main verb ἔδωκεν (edōken) or contemporaneous with it. Logically, at least, the gift of the Spirit followed belief in the case of the original Christians, who had believed before the day of Pentecost. In the case of Cornelius and his household, belief and the reception of the Spirit were virtually simultaneous. One can argue that Peter is “summarizing” the experience of Jewish Christians, and therefore the actions of belief and reception of the Spirit, while historically separate, have been “telescoped” into one (“gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed”), but to be technically accurate the participle πιστεύσασιν should be translated “gave them the same gift as he also gave us after we believed.” A number of these problems can be avoided, however, by using a translation in English that maintains some of the ambiguity of the Greek original. Thus “if God gave them the same gift as he also gave us after believing” is used, where the phrase “after believing” can refer either to “them” or to “us,” or both.
Therein, while Acts 15 covers a number of matters debated or at issue between Jewish faithful to Christ and Gentile believers, Gentiles referring to all non-Jews, then we can presume those who believe received the holy spirit regardless of their being a Jew or Gentile.
I think that would be applicable given what Paul said in Galatians 3. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus.
And all that is predated if you will by God's plan as described in
John 3: 16 For this is the way[a] God loved the world: He gave his one and only[b] Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish[c] but have eternal life.[d]
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