Devotional #20
“While Peter thought on the vision the Spirit said unto him, Behold three men seek thee” Acts 10:19 “And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting….” Acts 11:12 “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” Acts 10:44 “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning.” Acts 11:15
After His resurrection, Lord Jesus appeared for forty days to His disciples and spoke to them of the precepts of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord asked them to wait in Jerusalem till the day of Pentecost and that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for “when you receive the Holy Spirit you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost of the earth”(Acts1:8). Accordingly, as they waited, the Holy Spirit descended upon them as promised. (Acts 2:1-4). The Lord’s word, that they ‘shall’ be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, got realized before Acts chapter 10.
Peter was prepared through a vision, and a voice from the Holy Spirit that asked Peter to go to Caesarea,(to fulfill the word of the Lord that they shall be witnesses unto the uttermost part of the earth). Cornelius, a Roman centurion,(the home Peter was called to) was also prepared similarly, but through the vision and the voice of an angel of God (differently here than Peter, who was addressed by the Holy Spirit to go without any biased in the heart).
Peter arrived in Caesarea from Joppa with six “circumcised” converts (Acts 11:12), to the house of Cornelius. He spoke about the life, death, and resurrection of Lord Jesus, that He is God-appointed Head of power and authority, and that forgiveness of sins can be received through believing in Him. (Acts 10:36-43). As he was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all of them who heard the word. But in Acts 11:15 we read, as Peter began to speak the Holy Spirit fell on them. It is thus apparent that the message Peter wanted to convey was abruptly interrupted by the Holy Spirit coming upon all who heard the word. The intervention of the Holy Spirit in Acts 11 manifests that He prepares the hearts of the hearers to believe and need be, can curtail the message as He sees fit. Circumcised believers were both, astonished and quietened into acceptance that gentile believers could also speak in tongues. Thus, with true understanding, they magnified God for the sign of their baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The message in Acts 2:38 for the circumcised Jewish hearers was to repent and
be baptized to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Samaritan believers did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit even after baptism till Peter and John came and laid hands on them (Acts 8:14-17). In Caesarea, as Peter spoke, the gift of the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word, without Baptism and without laying of hands (Acts 11:15). The marked progression and uniqueness in each receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, beginning from Jewish converts to Samaritan believers to gentile hearers is worth noticing.
God wanted to teach the Jewish converts that they need a new life operated by
the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life acceptable to God. Accordingly, they were baptized to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The animosity between Jews and Samaritans needed to be broken, and accordingly, the Holy Spirit taught them both through the laying of hands that they needed each other in the body of Christ and that they are also equal.
In the case of Gentiles, the dividing wall of enmity between Jews and Gentiles was broken in the body of Christ. Jews took pride in the fact that the Oracles and promises of God were given to them. Gentiles were looked down upon by the Jews as outcasts till the gift of the Holy Spirit fell upon them. “Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; …” Acts 11:17. It is that same gift that came upon Jews which also fell upon Gentiles to dismantle all the differences that the world carried for so many centuries.
Ever since God called Abraham, He spoke to the world through Jewish people. He gave the law, promises, and the hope of Messiah. Gentiles were kept aside by God till the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world. He preached the message of God’s love to Jews as well as Gentiles, and offered salvation to both, based on faith rather than the works (to the Jews, their Law, and to Gentiles, their conscience). Those who believed regardless of whether Jew, Samaritan, and Gentile all were promised the same gift of promise, the Holy Spirit.
In granting the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles, God’s abundant grace abounded magnanimously. Thus they received the gift without Baptism and laying of hands. Peter was shown that Gentiles are equal to Jews and there is no difference between them at all. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” Gal 3:28.
Till the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, a man was either a Jew or a Gentile. Through Him, God broke the barriers and made a new man that is Christian. The New man consists of all who are Baptized in the Spirit and are joined to the Lord who is our head and also joined to one another whether that is Jew, Samaritan, or Gentile. (Eph 2:15) who are members of His body? This is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the work of any man, nor made by human hands. How beautiful it would be if we, those who claim to be Christians learn to function in this light. Though we are all one in Christ, there are many divisions and differences brought in by the enemy, in the name of Nationality, language, and other barriers, and sadly many have fallen prey to it. One of the signs that we are sealed by the Spirit is, joined to the Lord and joined to fellow believers burying all earthly differences. “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit…” Ephe 4:3-4.
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