Read Part One HERE
A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS
PART XI - III
"I, Peter, noticed all the believers looked intently at me... I had begun to share with them about my visit to Caesarea.... When I had gone to see a Roman Centurion Cornelius.... They obviously did not want to miss a word I said.... I had first of all shared with them my God-given vision.... I had then told them of the visit of three men from Caesarea... I had told them as well that the Holy Spirit had made it clear to me that I should welcome these men.... And the Holy Spirit had shown me I should go back with them to Caesarea...And that I had done so....I had then shared with them details of Cornelius' vision....And how that had been followed by me sharing the Gospel with the people in Cornelius' home.... And that while I was still speaking the Holy Spirit had come upon them....And it happened exactly as it had happened to us on the Day of Pentecost..... So God had obviously given them the same gift He had given us.... Who was I to think that I could oppose God?...After I had spoken these words I saw the faces of the believers in front of me light up....They understood... God had accepted Gentiles and they should as well."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of Peter's meeting with the Jewish believers....
ATTACHMENT A WALK THROUGH THE BOOK OF ACTS
PART XI - III
Peter continued his sharing with the Jewish believers in Jerusalem by telling them that after he had had a good night's rest, he, some other believers from Joppa, and the three men from Cornelius' household set off for Caesarea the next morning. Once they arrived at Caesarea they went straight to the house of Cornelius as you can read in Acts 11:12b
"These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house."
Peter explained that he still did not know what his mission was until Cornelius shared with him that an angel had appeared to him. And the angel had told Cornelius to send some men to Joppa where they were to look for him, Peter, so that he could bring them the message of salvation as you can read in Acts 11:13-14
"He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, "Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved."
Peter saw these Jewish believers listening very intently to his words. After all, they had never imagined that God cared about Gentiles and that He cared about them so much that He would even send an angel to a Gentile so that he and his household could hear the message of salvation.But they did not dare question Peter's words for they did see the sincerity with which he spoke these words. Moreover, they had heard him say that the Holy Spirit Himself had sent him to Caesarea. So they continued to listen to Peter as he told them that he had begun to share the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ with all those who were present at the home of Cornelius. Moreover, he told them that as he was still speaking the Holy Spirit came upon these people just as He had come upon them on the Day of Pentecost as you can read in Acts 11:15-16
"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as He had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said, "John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit."
The believers in front of Peter could hardly believe their ears: Did they hear it right that the Holy pirit had come upon these Gentiles just as He had come upon them on the Day of Pentecost? That could only mean one thing: These Gentiles were truly born again after they had heard the message of salvation just like they themselves had been born again and had been baptised with the Holy Spirit at the Day of Pentecost. And this meant that God had accepted these Gentiles in the same way that He had accepted them.
Peter then ended his speech to his Jewish brothers by saying to them that since God had given the same gift to the people at the home of Cornelius that He had given to them he dare not oppose God as you can read in Acts 11:17
"So if God gave them the same gift as He gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
Peter was watching the faces of those in front of him while he was speaking these words to them and he could see that the Holy Spirit had indeed been able to transform their minds for their face were totally softened and this was confirmed by the words they spoke as you can read in Acts 11:18
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
Peter's recollection of events of the day that he visited the house of the Roman Centurion Cornelius helped the Jewish believers to understand that God loved Gentiles as much as He loved them and they praised God for it.
Read Part Four HERE
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