Acts 10:21, commentary and pictures

Peter went down to the men sent from Cornelius, told them he was the one they were seeking, and asked why they had come, opening the way for them to explain their errand and for him to receive them and go with them. He obeyed promptly and against his own feelings and Jewish prejudice, going with Gentile messengers doubting nothing because God had sent them. He acted after prayer on the housetop and the vision, recognizing the Spirit's voice telling him of the three men and showing him what to do. The meeting was God's careful work to convert Peter himself and break down the barrier between Jew and Gentile, teaching that no one is to be called common or unclean, for God is no respecter of persons but accepts in every nation those who fear Him and work righteousness. It was the first opening of the gospel to the Gentiles, in which angels set in operation the circumstances that brought them together, yet the light was to be imparted through human agency as Peter carried it to Cornelius and his household.

Peter's Obedient Response

Peter went down to the men sent from Cornelius, declared that he was the one they were seeking, and asked the cause for which they had come. His question opened the way for them to explain their errand, that Cornelius had been sent by an angel to summon Peter and hear his teaching, and for Peter to receive them and agree to go with them. In obeying the direction just received from God, this meeting brought Peter into connection with Cornelius and opened the way for the gospel to reach the Gentiles, who had been strangers but became fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household. It was part of obeying the angel's direction and joining Cornelius so he could hear the message God had for him, as God prepared Peter to preach to the Gentiles and carry out that mission through chosen human messengers.

He obeyed promptly even though the command ran against his own feelings and Jewish prejudice, going with Gentile messengers doubting nothing because God had sent them. He dared not act by his own feeling but recognized the voice of the Holy Spirit telling him that three men sought him, and undertook the trying duty laid on him by divine revelation and divine command. He went reluctantly at every step, defending his action not on general principles but as an exception done because of divine revelation, and the result was a great surprise to him. Angels of God were directing every step of the meeting, setting in operation a train of circumstances to bring Peter into connection with Cornelius so that Cornelius might learn the truth and receive advanced light.

He acted after preparation on the housetop in prayer and vision, obeying the Spirit after being prepared to accept Gentile messengers without doubting and to seek their errand in order to go with them. He recognized the Spirit's voice and direction about the three men, going down and speaking to them as God had instructed him. So God instructs His servants in vision what to speak and do, and can show a person what to say, with the showing repeated again and again until the message is clear.

His question led to lodging the messengers and courteously entertaining and hosting them overnight, then agreeing according to God's direction to accompany them on the morrow. He set out the next morning for Caesarea, taking with him six disciples and fellow believers as witnesses of all he would say and do among the Gentiles. He did so knowing he would be called to account for such direct opposition to Jewish faith and teachings in visiting Gentiles, and the meeting began the breaking down of the ceremonial distinction between Jews and Gentiles as God granted them repentance and the Holy Spirit through the gospel.

Ending Prejudice Against Gentiles

This going down to the men sent from Cornelius is part of God's careful work to convert Peter himself and to overcome the prejudice against the Gentiles fixed in him by all his Jewish training. God dealt with him by vision on the housetop to correct him and prepare him to preach to the Gentiles, for visions are given for the comfort of God's people and to correct those departing from Bible truth, not to establish a new rule of faith. That correction began the taking away of the barrier between Jew and Gentile and the opening of the Christian church to Gentile believers as equals with Jewish disciples.

The lesson taught is that no man is to be called common or unclean, and those who have had no opportunity to hear the truth are not to be belittled. God is no respecter of persons but accepts in every nation those who fear Him and work righteousness. The vision and the meeting ended the ceremonial distinction of circumcision and uncircumcision, so Gentiles are not to be treated as unclean but are granted repentance unto life and the Holy Spirit through the gospel.

Gentiles are therefore to receive the gospel on equal terms with Jewish believers, without being required to be circumcised or forced to keep the rites of the ceremonial law. The message of salvation was no longer to be restricted to the Jewish people but was given to the world. Peter's response is the first work and the first opening of the gospel to the Gentiles, leading to the preaching of Christ to Cornelius and his household and to their conversion as the first conversion of importance among the Gentiles.

Though the middle wall of partition was broken down by the death of Christ, it still existed in the minds of the apostles and excluded Gentiles from the privileges of the gospel, even while many Gentiles listened with interest and Greek Jews embraced the faith of Jesus. Peter had not yet preached the gospel to the Gentiles, and this visit sets God's plan in motion so His will is done on earth as in heaven. In this meeting Peter is dispatched with the message of salvation to a Gentile stranger, and those who had been strangers become fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household.

Heaven and Human Agency

Angels direct every step of the meeting between Peter and the men sent from Cornelius, sending messengers and setting in operation a train of circumstances to bring Peter into connection with Cornelius so that Cornelius may learn the truth. God employs angels to communicate with human beings, giving instruction to men by immortal messengers and sending His angels as powerful helpers and guides of His chosen messengers on earth. Heaven is much nearer to the Christian engaged in the work of soul-saving than many suppose, showing God's regard for every human being and that each person should treat his fellow man as one of the Lord's instrumentalities for His work in the earth. By angel ministration Peter is brought into cooperation with inquiring souls who have all things in readiness to hear the truth and receive advanced light, and the conversion of his household that follows is only the firstfruits of a harvest to be gathered from the world.

God knew exactly where Peter was, lodging with Simon the tanner, and told Cornelius through an angel where to find him, giving every particular, and it all worked out as directed. The Lord knows every person by name and just where they live, the spirit they possess and every act of life, and ministering angels pass through noting faithfulness in each individual line of duty.

The angel could have told Cornelius the gospel message directly, but that is not God's way. God requires members of His church to connect together and impart to each other what He has given them, so the light He had given to Peter would be given by Peter to Cornelius and to all his family. He purposed a personal connection between Peter and Cornelius to bring them into close connection with Him and with each other, as the pattern for unity and for loving, honest, just and true dealing with one another.

Cornelius, though devout and accepted by God as far as knowledge goes, with prayers and alms acceptable, needed an advance in faith and a new experience to do his work intelligently through Jesus Christ. Having believed God's Word promising a Messiah, he must now receive the fulfillment of the promise, since neither prayer nor almsgiving can take the place of Christ Jesus, in whom all fullness dwells, and all is complete only in Him. Jews and Gentiles alike are by faith to be joined to Jesus Christ.

God can give instruction through visions and show a person what to say, instructing His servants in vision what to speak and do, with the showing repeated again and again until the message is clear. Visions were given for the comfort of God's people and to correct those who depart from Bible truth, not to establish a new rule of faith, as God dealt with Peter through vision to correct him and prepare him to preach to the Gentiles. Peter's experience in the home of Cornelius also corroborates the promised blessing of power from on high in which believers speak in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.

Cornelius the Gentile Seeker

Cornelius was a Roman officer, a centurion, a just and energetic and faithful man who feared God and glorified Him, who had a good report among the Jews, who followed the light he had received and was seeking God. He had been longing and praying for light from heaven and received a special message from heaven. When Christ was revealed to him he received Him gladly, with gladness, showing God's compassion and tender love for those who seek and pray for light and His answering of prayer. This is great encouragement to workers to pray for the Lord to open the way for truth to enter strongholds where Satan has set up his throne and to dispel his shadow.

He is the type of men in responsible, higher-class positions of stewardship whom God sees and would connect with the church, who fear God and follow principles of righteousness yet are not fully informed regarding truth for this time. Such men sympathize with believers but are held by the threads that bind them to the world and by worldly ties, lack the moral courage to take their position with the lowly ones, and bear responsibilities with temptations that come to them in their stewardship. They need special labor because of those responsibilities, requiring special care and more determined, earnest, courageous effort, for if converted through the Holy Spirit they will be bright lights and give strength and solidity to the cause instead of bringing in objectionable elements, and will use their influence and resources to share the truth with others.

As God worked for Cornelius, so He works for true standard-bearers in every sphere who work on principles God accepts, whose devout lives are a clear, pure, undefiled testimony and an example others may follow, even as bright and shining lights in high positions of responsibility among accomplished worldly men. He prepares the way for them to take the place of those who were given a knowledge of Bible truth but disappointed the Saviour. They remain true to pure, holy principles in investigating the laws that rule the world, and they obtain a knowledge of God as Cornelius did through the visitation of angels from heaven. To give them advanced light God places them in connection with men of superior knowledge of His Word, and men of nobility and influence will thus be called into His work and used as His witnesses, standing for God in true integrity in sharp contrast with those who have sacrificed His cause and misinterpreted and falsified His Word. Though they face fearful odds and falsehood after falsehood in a hard battle, if they heed the message for this time God gives them strength to conquer and enables them to testify by purity and nobility of character to the power of unadulterated principles, for Christ does not acknowledge a hypocrite but acknowledges and honors those who truly serve Him, lets the sunshine of His favor be seen upon them amid unfaithful stewardship, holds them by the hand of Infinite Wisdom in the narrow way cast up for the ransomed of the Lord, and guides them along the path to everlasting life.

The conversion of Cornelius and his household that follows Peter going down to the men is only the firstfruits, the first fruits, of a harvest to be gathered in from the world, and from that household and home a widespread work of grace is carried on in a heathen city. The event is a pattern for the last days, when many will prize the wisdom of God above any earthly advantage and will obey the Word of God as the supreme standard. These will be led to great light and will come to the knowledge of the truth, and will seek to get this light of truth before those of their acquaintance who like themselves are anxious for the truth. Thus they become conscientious lightbearers to the world, themselves constrained by the love of God constraining others, improving every opportunity to invite and urge others to come and see the beauty of the truth and to give their abilities to advance the work of God. Cornelius as a man taught by God is the kind of man God calls for now, and his honesty and desire for light make him an example of people who can be won to truth through patient, loving work rather than antagonism. Lifelong profession does not make true men; true men are sanctified and ennobled through the truth and keep spiritual discernment, in contrast to those who have been losing spiritual discernment and are in very perilous condition.

Call to Earnest Service

Workers are to read and pray over Peter's going down to the men sent from Cornelius and asking their errand until its meaning is opened, and then to work earnestly for souls in the home field and in home missions for Jews and Gentiles alike with no barriers erected. The experience belongs to the Lord's working for one who feared His name, and it teaches the way God works on human minds to break the power of oppression and tyranny and to dispel dark clouds of ignorance and superstition. Failure to arouse to this home mission duty will leave workers wanting in the day of God.

The simplicity of the Lord's plans joins the agencies of heaven ever ready to cooperate with human agencies. Peter's going to meet the messengers teaches readiness to make personal efforts for those who have not received the whole truth yet are serving God with sincere, earnest purpose, for there are many such souls in the world and even in the churches much nearer the kingdom than is supposed. God may direct His servants to serve where they would not have chosen to go, because someone there needs their help, and the duty at hand is to be accepted and done as God's assignment. In this dark world of sin the Lord has many precious jewels walking in all the light they have received, and angels cooperate with His servants to guide them to those jewels and bring them into the full light of truth.

Far more earnest, devoted, and determined effort should be made for honest souls like Cornelius in associations such as the W.C.T.U., for it is the Lord's design that work be done for them so that seekers of light may be gathered out from those bitterly opposed to the message. The conversion of Cornelius and his household that followed Peter's reluctant obedience was only the firstfruits of a harvest to be gathered from the world, and from that household a widespread work of grace was carried on in a heathen city. In every age God works in this same way by setting in operation a train of circumstances through heavenly messengers to bring honest-hearted inquirers into connection with those of His people who can best reach their individual needs, different workers being fitted by special knowledge and training to help different classes.

Heaven is much nearer to the Christian engaged in soul-saving than many suppose, and God regards every human being, so each person should treat his fellow man as one of the Lord's instrumentalities for accomplishing His work in the earth. The light given to Peter had to be imparted by Peter personally to Cornelius and all his household rather than by the angel directly, bringing them into close connection with God and with each other, which means believers must unify, love one another, and pass on received light instead of weakening themselves by faultfinding. That pattern calls for loving, honest, just, and true dealing with one another. God's compassion and tender love answer those seeking and praying for light, and this encourages workers to pray for the Lord to open the way for truth to enter strongholds where Satan has set up his throne and to dispel his shadow.