By Timothy W. Burnett
A very important thing to know about Cornelius is that he was a Gentile. In Acts 10:3-7 he saw an angel of God come to him. This angel instructed him to send men to a nearby town called Joppa and ask for a man named Simon Peter. According to verse 8, Cornelius did as he was told. In verses 9-20 Peter was on the roof meditating and praying to God. He was given a vision of a sheet with all kinds of meats being drawn down from the sky, and heard a voice say, "rise, Peter; kill and eat." (verse 13). Peter debated the matter and said that he had never eaten anything common or unclean. After this interaction occurred three times, the sheet rose back up to the sky. Peter was perplexed by this vision. While he thought about it, the spirit of God told him that three men were looking for him. And that he must stand up and go with them, without any doubt. Peter meekly did as he was told.
In verses 21-33, Peter met the men and the next morning traveled with them back to Cornelius' place. He found that all of Cornelius' family, servants and many friends were together to hear what God had to say through Peter. Both Cornelius and Peter shared their stories that lead to the meeting. The record of Peter's teaching is found in verses 34-43. In essence, he taught about Jesus who was anointed by God with holy spirit and authority. He shared about Jesus the Lord who did many good deeds by the power of God, who the Jewish leaders slew and hung on a tree. He also taught about Jesus the Christ whom God raised up on the third day, and showed him openly to those witnesses chosen by God.
We come to verse 43, "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins." Does this sound familiar? To have remission of sins is simply to be filled with holy spirit when they believe with their hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead. (See also Romans 10:9-10 & Acts 2:4). The words "shall receive" came from the Biblical Greek word "lambano" which meant to lay hold of, or seize onto something. Peter instructed them to lay hold of, or "lambano" holy spirit after they were filled with the same holy spirit.
Verse 44, "While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word." How did they know the "Holy Ghost fell on" them? See verse 46, "For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God." There it is, right before our very eyes. In verse 47, Peter noted that the Gentiles received the Holy Ghost just as they did as recorded in Acts 2:4. They were first filled with holy spirit, then they began to speak with other tongues.
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