Next, God's Word tells us about a Gentile-person, a person who was not a Judean/Israelite in background (see Acts 1:8 and 2:39). Much of the following record is summarized by Peter in Acts 11:4-18 and 15:7-11.
Acts 10:1-3:
10:1But some adult-male in Caesarea, Cornelius by-name - a centurion out-from (the) corps, the (corps) being called Italian, .2reverential and being fearful (towards) God together with all his house, doing many merciful-deeds for the people and supplicating God continually - .3manifestly saw in a seen-object as-though about (the) ninth hour of the day an angel of God having come-into (his house) towards him and having said to him, "Cornelius."
Cornelius was a military officer commanding a hundred men from the Italian body of men-at-arms in Caesarea, on the coast (refer to Acts 8:40, 9:30) which is not far from Joppa (refer to Acts 9:43). Even though he was not a Judean/Israelite by descent, he recognized that the only true God was the only true God, and Cornelius lived accordingly as best he knew how together with all the people who dwelled in his house with him. He was…
At that time Cornelius was only able to pray with his mind's understanding towards God because he had not yet received God's gift of holy spirit whereby he would be able to pray with his holy spirit-life, to pray with tongues.
However, on this day at about 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon Cornelius clearly and evidently saw within a seen-object (something presented to his eyes so that he would see and perceive and know it) – what? – an angel. This angel was a spirit-being sent from God with a message for Cornelius. This angel said Cornelius' name.
Let us continue on and see what Cornelius' reaction was.
Verses 4-8:
.4And he, having gazed-intently-on him and having become fearful-within, said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your merciful-deeds ascended into a remembrance in-front-of God; .5and now you must send adult-males into Joppa and you must send-after Simon, someone who is called Peter, .6this-person is lodged-as-a-guest with someone (named) Simon, a tanner, whose house is beside (the) sea." .7And as the angel, the (angel) uttering-forth to him, went-away, having sounded (for) two of the household-servants and a reverential soldier of the (people) being strong-with him, .8and having told-out all-things-together to them, he apostled them into Joppa.
When Cornelius fixed his eyes intently upon the angel and had become fearful within himself, he asked "What is it?" And he addressed this angel as "Lord" - not because he thought that the angel was God or the Lord Jesus Christ, but because from Cornelius' viewpoint the angel had more authoritative-power and ability than he had.
Then the angel spoke his message - he didn't sing it or fly around while he was saying it! The angel told him that his prayers to God (his communications to/with God, his general speaking towards/with God) and his giving of alms to help people, had gone-up for a remembrance (a memorial, a calling-to mind) in front of (before) God. God did not ignore Cornelius' prayers to Him just because he was a Gentile who did not have holy spirit-life within him!
The angel also told Cornelius what he must do to get Simon Peter to his house and very specifically let him know where he was staying at that time (refer to Acts 9:43).
As the angel who spoke with him went away, Cornelius sounded for (voiced, summoned) three of his people who were attending-constantly to him - men he could rely on - and he told-out to them (he led the details out, recounted, related, unfolded) what happened and sent them forth to Joppa according to the angel's instructions to him.
Verses 9-16:
.9But on the morrow (during the) journeying-on-the-way of those-people and coming-near to the city, Peter ascended onto the roof to pray about (the) sixth hour, .10and he became hungry and intended to taste (food), but (during) their preparing (of food) a bewilderment came on him, .11and he views-with-attention the heaven having been opened2 and some vessel with four corners having been bound2 being left-down onto the earth .12in which began-to-be all the quadrupeds and creeping-things of the earth and birds of the heaven; .13and there became a sound towards him, "Having stood-up, you must sacrifice and eat." .14But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, because I never ate every common-thing and unclean-thing." .15And (there became) a sound again for a second-time towards him, "The-things-which God cleaned you must not make-common." .16And this came-to-pass on three-times and the vessel was taken-up into heaven.
The next morning, as the three men sent from Cornelius were approaching Joppa, Peter went-up to the top of the house where he was staying which had a flat roof to pray around 12 noon. The flat roof was one of the places where people would go to be alone and pray, plus if the house were inside the city-walls then the roof was also used to make an announcement and to spread some message among the neighbors. But Peter was outside the city in Simon the tanner's house which was beside the sea.
Peter got hungry and wanted to eat something, but while he was waiting for the meal to be prepared something outstanding came down-on him. From Peter's viewpoint it was bewildering, totally-puzzling, so-much-so that he was awestruck in his mind, as though out of his normal senses based on what was happening.
What was this bewildering thing that he saw? He viewed with contemplation in his mind the heaven which had been opened and some kind of utensil with four extremities which were tied being sent-down onto the earth. Within this there were all varieties of four-footed animals, and creeping-things (reptiles) of the earth, and birds (winged, flying things) of the heaven - both 'domestic' and 'wild.' Peter heard and understood a sound (voice) telling him that when he stands-up he must kill one of these creatures and offer it in sacrifice to God and then he must eat it.
But Peter's response to this shows that he still was basing some of his decisions, opinions and thinking-patterns on the Judean/Israeli laws and customs - instead of basing them on what God had accomplished with the Lord Jesus Christ and on the holy spirit-life which was made available to mankind on the day of Pentecost!
Peter told the source of this voice, addressing it as "Lord" that in no way was he going to kill and eat because he said that at no-time had he eaten any common (defiled) or unclean (ceremonially impure) piece of food, which all of those creatures were from the Judean/Israeli point of view.
However, the voice's reply to Peter's response was to repeat it again, plus the voice adds, “The things which God cleaned (purified) emphatically you must not make-common (you must not go against God by considering or treating them as being common, in the Levitical sense of being defiled, ceremonially unlawful and unclean, and therefore not fit or permitted to be eaten).” See Leviticus chapter 11.
Again this was repeated. Three times altogether - and then this vessel was received-up into heaven away-from Peter's sight.
Verses 17-20:
.17And as Peter wholly-despaired in himself what ever the seen-object which he saw may be, look!, the adult-males, the (adult-males) having been apostled2 by Cornelius having throughly-asked (for) the house of Simon, stood on the gate, .18and having sounded they asked-to-learn if Simon the (Simon) being called Peter is lodging-as-a-guest in-there; .19and (during) Peter's thinking-through-within concerning the seen-object, the spirit said to him, "Look!, three adult-males seek-after you, .20but having stood-up you must descend and journey together with them throughly-judging-yourself (in) nothing because I apostled2 them."
Peter was thoroughly perplexed within himself, entirely without resource regarding the seen-object (what was presented to his eyes so that he would see and perceive and know it) which he saw (perceived, knew). He knew what he had seen and heard but he did not yet comprehend as to the significance and what to do about it.
At the same time – look (see, behold)!, the men whom Cornelius had apostled (sent forth, away from himself) to go get Simon Peter, after they had diligently inquired where Simon the tanner's house was, stood on (approached and stood near outside) the gate of his house and called to the occupants inside voicing their request asking for information if Simon Peter was lodged (received as a stranger and thus a guest) in that place.
However, Peter did not physically hear them, but while he was thoroughly thinking (revolving or fermenting his thoughts, intensely and passionately considering) about the seen-object, the spirit said to Peter (either referring to the holy spirit-life within him or to the angel giving him God’s message for this specific situation): look!, three adult-males (grown men) are looking for you, but contrary to thinking it all through for yourself (trying to put it together in your mind about the seen-object), after you stand-up you must go-down and you must go in conjunction with them, separating yourself or judging yourself to be different from them in not-one-thing because emphatically I apostled them (I sent them forth on this assignment).
God was the source of what happened to Cornelius and Peter, making information known in different ways to both of them.
Verses 21-23:
.21And Peter having descended towards the adult-males said, "Look!, I am whom you seek-after; what (is) the cause because-of which you are present?" .22And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous adult-male and being fearful (towards) God and being witnessed-of by the whole nation of the Judeans, was instructed-with-business by an holy angel to send-after you into his house and to hear spoken-matters from you." .23Therefore, having called (them) into (the house), he lodged them as-guests; but on the morrow having stood-up he went-out together with them, and some of the brothers, the (brothers) from Joppa, went-together with him.
Peter came down to the men and told them emphatically that he was the one whom they were looking for. Then he asked them what reason did they have to be there, and they explained as much as they knew to him.
Following-on from what they told him, Peter invited them to stay in that house overnight. Then in the morning Peter and the three men went on their way together towards Cornelius' house, plus Peter took with him some of the brothers who lived in Joppa (six holy-people of the Judean/Israeli background).
Verses 24-26:
.24And on the morrow they went into Caesarea, and Cornelius was expecting them having called-together with-himself his family-kinsmen and constrained friends; .25and as the coming-in (of) Peter came-to-pass, Cornelius, having met him (and) having fallen on (Peter's) feet, worshipped (him), .26but Peter caused him to rise saying, "You must stand-up (for) also I myself am a man."
The next day they came to Cornelius' house and Cornelius was watching for their arrival. He had invited his relatives and his necessary and close friends (those who loved him with the brotherly or friendly kind of love) into his house in preparation for what Peter was going to say.
As soon as Peter arrived, Cornelius came out to meet together with him and fell-down at Peter's feet and worshipped him (paid him homage, was obeisant towards him). But Peter made him get-up telling him that he must stand-up because emphatically Peter himself was also a man physically as Cornelius was.
Verses 27-29:
.27And talking-in-company-together with him he went-into (his house) and finds many-people having come-together2, .28and he said towards them, "You well-know as it is unlawful for a Judean adult-male to be glued-together-to or to come-towards a person-from-another-tribal-descent, and to me God pointed-out to say nothing common or unclean (regarding) a man, .29on-which-account also I came without-objection having been sent-after, therefore I ask-to-learn: for what word did you send-after me?"
As Peter was accompanied by Cornelius entering the house, he found a lot of people inside. He made it clear to them that it was forbidden by the law (against custom) for a Judean adult-male to adhere-to (cleave himself to, be stuck with) or to approach a person from another nation, a Gentile, someone who was not of the Judean/Israeli descent.
Then Peter told them that God had indicated emphatically to him that he was not to say that a man from a different nation is common (defiled) or is unclean (ceremonially impure) and that this is why he also came to Cornelius' house without any objection when he had been summoned.
Peter was making sure that they realized that he was not in the habit of breaking laws, but he had a very good reason for doing what he was now doing - the only true God was his reason! In the seen-object that was shown to Peter there was no man/human in the vessel (verses 11-16) – but now Peter understood that God was pointing out to him to say nothing common or unclean regarding a man/human.
Then Peter inquired to find out from Cornelius what word (collection of words, which spoken account) did they send for him.
It is interesting to note also that God had not revealed everything to Peter, but that Peter had to ask some questions himself to find out regarding these events.
Verses 30-33:
.30And Cornelius said, "From four days up-until this hour I was the ninth (hour) praying in my house, and look!, an adult-male stood before me in shining clothing .31and he says, 'Cornelius, your prayer was heard and your merciful-deeds were remembered before God, .32therefore you must send into Joppa and you must call-to-yourself Simon who is being called Peter, this-person is lodged-as-a-guest in (the) house of Simon, a tanner, beside (the) sea'; .33therefore from-this I sent towards you and you did beautifully having arrived; therefore now all we are-present before God to hear all-things, the-things having been arranged-towards you from the Lord."
Cornelius explained to Peter what happened, describing the angel as an adult-male who stood in his sight and presence in splendid, ornate clothing which was shining (bright, brilliant, radiant, beaming-light). Cornelius didn't describe him as being winged or flying around the place or singing!
The angel had told Cornelius that his prayer was heard (listened to favorably and his request granted) and that his merciful-deeds (his giving of alms by mercy to those who were in need, his withholding merited judgment and punishment from others) were remembered before God. See Acts 9:43 and 10:3-8.
In verse 30, some Greek texts include the words "fasting and" before the word "praying." "Fasting" literally refers to abstaining from physical eating, but figuratively refers to doing the will of God, which includes praying to Him, listening to Him, doing what He says; refer to Isaiah 58:3-8.
Having told Peter what had happened, Cornelius said:
Even though they were physically in Peter's presence, Cornelius understood that God (the Creator) had put these events in motion and that God (being the ultimate Lord/Master in His covenant relationship to that-which He has created, Jehovah, Yahweh) had communicated certain information to Peter to speak-forth to them. Cornelius did not yet know the fullness of what God had accomplished by means of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses 34-43:
.34And Peter having opened (his) mouth said, "On truth I comprehend that God is not a receptor-of-face .35but in every nation the (person) being fearful (towards) Him and working righteousness is acceptable with Him;
.36He apostled the word to the sons of Israel good-messaging peace by means of Jesus Christ – this (Jesus) is Lord of all;
.37you knew2 the spoken-matter having come-to-pass down-to the whole of Judea, having begun from Galilee after the baptism which John heralded-forth,
.38Jesus the (person) from Nazareth, as-that God anointed him with holy spirit and with ability, who went-through working-good and healing all the (people) being oppressed by the devil because God was with him;
.39and we (are) witnesses of all-things which he did both in the country of the Judeans and Jerusalem, whom also they eliminated having hung (him) on a wooden-stake;
.40God raised this (Jesus) up the third day and He gave him to become manifest .41not to all the people but to witnesses, the (witnesses) having been chosen-by-hand-beforehand by God, to us, the-people-who ate-together with and drank-together with him after his being resurrected out-from dead-people,
.42and he charged to us to herald-forth to the people and to throughly-witness that this (Jesus) is the (one) having been marked-out-definitely2 by God (as being the) judge of (people) living and dead-people;
.43to this (Jesus) all the prophets witness (that) by means of his name every-person believing into him (is) to receive dismissal of sins."
Peter again opens his mouth and begins to speak with the help of his holy spirit-life by telling Cornelius and all those Gentiles gathered with him that he comprehends that God is not a receptor-of-face....
In verse 34, the verb "comprehend" is in the middle voice and therefore means that Peter received the information in a downward motion, seizing or overtaking the information that was presented to him into his mind with eagerness and took-hold of it. From the time recorded in verse 10 above, Peter was receiving information pertaining to this situation, thinking about it, and now he comprehended.
Also in verse 34, Peter says that God is not a “receptor of face” – He is not a receptor or a respecter of a person's face. God does not 'play favorites.' God does not receive the face or countenance which is presented or turned to His eye to be seen by Him – like an actor on stage would wear a mask and present it forth to take-on the outward-appearance of another person to make the audience think of him in a different way. God does not have partiality or favoritism based on a person's outward-appearance. He is not a receptor or respecter of persons, of faces, of "masks," even when there is no intention of pretence on the part of the one presenting himself before God. [Reference: Deuteronomy 10:17; I Samuel 16:7; II Chronicles 19:7; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25.]
Peter opened his mouth saying: "On truth I comprehend that God is not a receptor-of-face, but contrary to a receptor of face, any person who is a member of any nation (every ethnic group, Israelites are included) who is…
…is acceptable with Him (is welcome, receivable by the only true God – “acceptable” does not mean that that person is saved, as we can see from the following verses).
God apostled the word to the sons of Israel (sent forth the spoken-account of His inner thoughts to the descendants of Israel) good-messaging peace by means of Jesus Christ (gospelizing, evangelizing peace through Jesus the Messiah) –
Emphatically you knew and still know the spoken-matter (you are people who perceive the portion of God’s Word containing the specific discourse) that has happened throughout the whole of Judea, the spoken-matter that started from Galilee after the baptism which John heralded-forth (proclaimed; refer to Matthew 3:1-17)…
The word translated "devil" comes from the words: "through" and "throw" – the devil throws (casts) things through people, like stabbing a person from outside through the person and out the other side with an accusation, slander, etc. "Satan" is the name that emphasizes the devil's opposing and adversarial attributes being in total opposition to the only true God. There are many names used in the Bible to describe his characteristics, qualities, etc. The devil is the chief of the devil-spirits (demons), which are the other evil-spirits in subordination to the devil. These spirits are evil because they willingly, actively, and malignantly went against and continue to go against what God says and does. God has judged them and the complete fulfillment of His judgment will come to pass at a future time. See Genesis 3:14 and 15, Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:11-19, I Peter 3:19 and 20, and Revelation chapters 12, 19 and 20, which are some of the prophecies that include information about the devil’s past, present, and future.
Peter continues: “We are witnesses (people who have information, knowledge of what we are attesting to and can therefore confirm these things that I am saying to you on the strength of our own authority)…
God raised this Jesus up the third day (72 hours after his burial) and God gave him to become manifest (evident, shown-forth, openly-seen), not to all the people, but on the contrary, among witnesses…
…to this Jesus all the prophets witness (those who have spoken for God to people and some of their prophesies are recorded in the old covenant writings, all of them bear witness regarding emphatically this Jesus) that…
In verse 38, the Greek verb chrio translated "to anoint" literally means to touch the surface of a body slightly, to graze or rub something over with something else. Here it is referring to God's having poured holy spirit and ability on Jesus. It is interesting to note that the word "anoint" comes from the same Greek word translated "Christ" which means "the anointed-one." In the lands and during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured on the high priest of God to begin his ministry for God and it was also used to anoint kings. Many people and things were anointed with holy oil to signify their making holy, sanctified for a specific purpose, etc, which can be read about in many scriptures in the Bible (for example, Exodus 29:7; Numbers 6:5, and 7:1; I Samuel 9:16; Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; Hebrews 1:9).
Also in verse 38, we need to understand that the spirit which God gave Jesus at the time immediately after his water baptism by John (Matthew 3:13-17) was not the same as the spirit that is now available to mankind. It was only after Christ's resurrection and ascension into heaven that he could shed forth the gift of holy spirit, which is the spirit of Christ, on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter 2.
In verse 40, the word “gave” refers to the action of giving, which is an unforced presenting or yielding something which one already has to someone else who does not have it yet.
In verse 43, a name is a word or phrase given to a person, etc, to be called and known-by, in order to designate and describe the distinguishing and distinctive constitution, character, quality, workings, etc. Regarding the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it includes all that the name of "Lord" and the name of "Jesus" and the name of "Christ" represent and stand for. "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" means: within the sphere of action of all the authoritative-power, and ability, etc, that God gave to Jesus when he raised him up out-from the dead-people, and gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ (refer to Acts 2:21 and 38; 3:6 and 16; 4:7-12, and 30; Romans 1:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 2:9 and 10; II Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-4).
[Reference: Matthew 3:13-17, 4:15, 16:21, 17:23, 18:6, 20:18 and 19; Luke 24:30-48; John 5:22-30, 21:12-14; Acts 1:1-11 and 22, 2:21, 32, 36 and 38, 3:15, 16 and 24, 4:10-12, 5:30 and 31, 8:12, 13:26-37, 17:31, 26:18; Romans 1:4, 2:11, 3:21, 10:8-17; Galatians 3:13, 14 and 22, 4:1; I Corinthians 15:4-7; Philippians 4:18; Colossians 1:14; I Thessalonians 1:10; II Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 1:1-4 and 9, 11:33; I John 5:10-13.]
Verses 44-48:
.44Yet (during) Peter's uttering-forth these spoken-matters, the spirit, the holy (spirit), fell on all the (people) hearing the word; .45and the believers out-from circumcision, as-many-as went-together with Peter, were bewildered because the free-gift of the holy spirit was poured-out2 also on the Gentiles, .46for they heard them uttering-forth with tongues and expressing-the-greatness-of God; then Peter answered, .47"Someone is not able to hinder the water for these-people not to be baptized, the-people-who received the spirit, the holy (spirit), as also we, is he? - (no) - .48even He arranged-towards them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Then they asked him to remain-on some days.
While Peter was still speaking these spoken-matters to Cornelius and the other Gentiles gathered together…
Cornelius and all those who were come-together with him in his house received the gift of holy spirit because they believed what Peter was saying to them, which was what God has given mankind to believe concerning Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ (refer to Romans 10:8-10). The usage of the verb translated “fell on” indicates that the gift of holy spirit had come from a higher to a lower place, referring to the fact that these people had evidenced their holy spirit-life in the physical/natural realm such as speaking with tongues, which the apostles had done when they received holy spirit (refer to Acts 2). As we read on we see that this is exactly what happened.
The believers (those who had previously believed and received holy spirit-life) who were of the Judean / Israeli / circumcision background who had traveled with Peter to Cornelius' house, were bewildered (were awestruck, totally-puzzled, outside their normal way-of-thinking) – why? –
The word translated "free-gift" emphasizes the fact that the gift is freely given, even though the actual gift is a valuable quality item – it is holy spirit, which includes the manifestation of itself to the person in whom it is. How did they know that the Gentiles had received the free-gift of the holy spirit? Because they heard them speaking with tongues, which can only truly be done by means of holy spirit, and they heard them expressing the greatness of God. Speaking with tongues was the proof in the natural/5-senses realm that these Gentiles had received holy spirit, God's supernatural life - and they expressed the greatness of God in words that the Peter and the other six Israelites/Judeans understood (compare this to what happened in Acts chapter 2).
Re-reading some verses: .44Yet (during) Peter's uttering-forth these spoken-matters, the spirit, the holy (spirit), fell on all the (people) hearing the word; .45and the believers out-from circumcision, as-many-as went-together with Peter, were bewildered because the free-gift of the holy spirit was poured-out2 also on the Gentiles, .46for they heard them uttering-forth with tongues and expressing-the-greatness-of God. Then Peter replied with what was needed to respond to the reaction of bewilderment by those Judean / Israel / circumcised believers who had traveled with him:
"To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" referred to their being immersed and surrounded within the name of Jesus Christ, not the name of Peter and not in physical water. These people, who were not of the Judean/Israeli descent, had become spiritually sons of God and under the lordship of the resurrected Christ, the Lord. They had been baptized in holy spirit (proved by their speaking with tongues). This gave them the right to live their everyday lives in accordance with their Lord and using his name, living within the name of Jesus Christ, which includes all the power, all the authority, all the ability, plus everything else which is involved within that name. They now had the spirit of Christ in them, just the same as Peter and the six Judeans who traveled with him to Cornelius’ house.
Following these events, Cornelius and the other new believers asked Peter to stay with them some more days. This verb translated "asked" implies familiarity between all of them.
This is the first place in the Book of Acts to record that people who were uncircumcised, Gentiles, belonging to nations other-than Israel, different tribal ethnic descent - became holy-people by receiving the spirit of Christ in them. They did not have to become proselytes first. They received the promise of the Father just the same as the twelve had received it on the day of Pentecost some years before this!
God had worked both with Cornelius a Gentile and with Peter a Judean/Israelite in different ways to help Peter to use the keys to the kingdom of God and unlock the door to allow admission for Gentiles to also become sons of the only true God (ref. Matthew 16:19). These Gentiles legally became subject to the sovereignty of God - they were now God's children with holy spirit-life within them.
[Reference: John 4:6-26, 7:37-39; Acts 2:1-11 and 17-38, 5:13; 8:15-17 and 20, 11:12-18, 15:7-11, 20:10 and 37; Romans 5:5 and 15-17, 10:8-17, 15:3; I Corinthians 6:11, 12:13; II Corinthians 9:15; Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 4:7, 5:26, 6:17; Colossians 1:27; Titus 3:4-6; Hebrews 1:3, 6:4. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]