The Holy Spirit in Acts
Day 18 — The Holy Spirit for the Gentiles
Acts 10:1-11:18
1. Cornelius
A. Centurian of Italian cohort,
B. Devout man, feared God along with household
C. Gave alms to Jews
D. Prayed to God continually
E. Vision
i. Angel from God
ii. Came in and said, “Cornelius, your prayers and alms are seen by God
a. dispatch men to Joppa and get Simon who is Peter with the tanner
b. He sent 2 men to Joppa
2. Peter
A. On the roof, 6th hour to pray.
B. Became hungry, wanted to eat
C. Fell into a trance
i. Saw the sky opened up
ii. Object like a great sheet came down by 4 corners to the ground
iii. all kinds of 4 footed animals and crawling creatures and birds
iv. Voice came and said to kill and eat.
v. Peter says, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy.”
vi. Voice: What God has cleansed is no longer considered unholy.
vii. This happened 3 times and the sheet was taken into the sky
D. Peter perplexed as to what this might be
3. Cornelias’ men show up and ask for Peter
A. While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Holy Spirit said:
i. 3 men are looking for you
ii. Go downstairs and go with them without misgivings
iii. I have sent them Myself
B. Peter goes down to them and ask why they came.
C. The men explained that Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.
D. Peter invites them in and next day goes with them with some brethren from Joppa.
4. Next day in Caesarea, Cornelius waited with friends and relatives
A. When Peter entered, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshipped him.
B. Peter responds:
i. I too am just a man, stand up
ii. Many people: “You know its unlawful for a Jew to associate with a foreigner.”
iii. Yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unclean.
iv. That is why I came without objection. So why did you send for me?
C. Cornelius repeats the vision and says we are here to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.
5. Peter’s message:
A. God does not show partiality
i. In every nation the man who fears Him and does right is welcome to Him.
ii. He sent peace to Israel through Jesus (Lord of all)
iii. You Gentiles know what took place in the life of Jesus
a. Jesus baptized by John
b. How God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and power
c. He did good and healed all oppressed by devil, God was with Him.
d. We are witnesses of all the things He did
e. They put Him to death on a cross
f. God raised him from the dead on the 3rd day.
g. He was seen by many witnesses chosen by God
h. We ate and drank with Him after He arose
i. He ordered us to testify and preach Jesus as Judge of living and dead.
j. Prophets told of Him
k. Through His name, believing in Him, receive forgiveness of sins.
6. While Peter speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the message.
A. Circumcised believers amazed because Holy Spirit poured out on Gentiles also.
i. Speaking in tongues
ii. Exalting God.
B. Peter sees evidence of the Holy Spirit falling on the Gentiles concludes:
i. This is like what happened to the apostles
ii. Can’t deny them water baptism.
iii. Ordered them baptized into Jesus’ name.
C. They asked Peter to stay a few more days. Then Peter returns to Jerusalem
7. The word spreads about Gentiles receiving the Word
A. Peter is criticized by the Jews for eating with the Gentiles
B. Peter explains:
i. He recounts his vision of unclean animals coming down
ii. What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.
iii. The Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius like it did on us.
iv. I remembered Jesus saying “John baptized with water, but you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
v. If God gave them the same gift as us after believing—who am I to stand
in God’s way.
C. The Jews hearing this
i. quieted down
ii. Glorified God
iii. “God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”
Presence of the Holy Spirit
1. Appearance of an angel to Cornelius letting him know that God hears and send for more information from
Peter.
2. Peter, in a trance, sees a sheet from the sky with animals, and hears a voice, but no angel. He argues with
the voice & hears it say, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”
3. While perplexed about the vision, ponder it, the Holy Spirit gave him specific instructions about the men
who came to bring him to Cornelius.
4. Peter hearing the men’s story invited them in. (These are Gentiles, not to be brought in.)
The Holy Spirit impressed upon Peter that something was up so as to break the law of men.
5. Holy Spirit prepared Peter ahead of time to go to a place he ordinarily wouldn’t go.
6. Cornelius knew that Peter was staying with Simon, a tanner. Special knowledge, he couldn’t Google it.
7. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power. (Came down like a dove.)
8. While Peter is presenting the gospel, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening.
9. Jewish believers standing by were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit given poured out on
Gentiles also.
10. The Holy Spirit was in them before baptism into Jesus by water.
11. Peter when questioned in Jerusalem presented the case in orderly fashion without being offended or
counter attacking. This is the fruit of the Spirit of peace, patience, kindness, self-control.
12. Peter recalled the words of Jesus (John 14:26) when He said, “John baptized with water, but you will be
baptized by the Holy Spirit.”
13. The Jerusalem believers changed their minds about the Gentiles.
Application Questions:
1. Peter was instructed to go against something that he was taught from his rabbis his whole life. Gentiles are not to be brought into your home, they are not to be sharing a meal and they are not to be considered worthy of being part of the family of God. It took the sheet coming down three times to get him to understand God’s heart toward the Gentiles.
Are there traditions in your Christian upbringing that you would have a difficult time accepting if the Holy Spirit was trying to convince you otherwise? What would it take to get you to back off a tradition? Obviously, we are not talking about adultery or murder or salvation by grace.
Samples from my observations:
a. Music– drums, instruments, hymns vs choruses…
b. Appearance—hair length, tattoos, modesty…
c. Social media—worldly chatter, arguing politics instead of presenting gospel…
d. Education—Christian vs secular.
e. Health—Vaccines, seeing doctors vs praying like James 5.
2. Peter and Cornelius both heard from the Lord in preparation for their encounter. Two culturally different people from 60 miles apart were given supernatural information that would change the church for all time. It started with prayer and seriously seeking God. Is prayer a thing that is difficult for you to commit to doing? Is there a difference between praying without ceasing and going to a rooftop to pray at the 6th hour? Have a conversation with the Lord about His desire for this area without the trap of feeling like you have to tell someone. Just please Him, not men.
3. How did Peter keep his cool when he was being questioned?
* The Holy Spirit in Acts
Day 19 Antioch Church Born, Barnabas Encourages, Agabus Foretells Acts 11:19-30
Reflection, Notes and Prayer