CORNELIUS was, as we read in the 10th chapter of The Acts, “a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”
“What a lovely character!” I hear a humanitarian of today say. “What a Christian, and what an example to Christians!” And yet this man was divinely bidden in a vision, to “send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved” (Acts 11:13, 1413And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; 14Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. (Acts 11:13‑14)). Cornelius walked faithfully according to the light which he had; he put all that he knew into daily practice; and God ordained that further light―full light―should be brought him.
Peter, to whom Christ had given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, to open the door to Jew and Gentile, was at Joppa. And there he learns in a vision that he, the exclusive Jew, may no longer call common or unclean that which God has cleansed. Three times the vision came to him, that he might be fully assured of the mind of God in the matter. And then, being willing to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, Peter had no hesitation concerning his clear duty, when he heard that three men sought him, who had come from the Gentile centurion of Caesarea, Cornelius.
On the morrow Peter took certain brethren with him, and went down to Caesarea. There he found the kinsfolk and near friends of Cornelius gathered together, in order that they might share in the blessing which God was ready to bestow by the hands of His servant Peter.
What a sight for heaven! ―a vessel prepared to impart the blessing, and vessels prepared to receive it. “We are all here,” said Cornelius (vs. 33) “present, before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.” A blessed time, indeed, was granted to the preacher. How easy it was for him, out of his full heart, to tell the message with which he was entrusted!
What was that message? To whom did it relate? Did the divinely-commissioned Apostle announce to Cornelius that his devotedness had saved him, that his almsgiving and prayers had gained him a place among the redeemed, that no more could be required of him, or of any other man, than to live up to the light which he possessed? Such doctrines may, or may not, be preached today, but they do not comprise the message which God sent His servant to deliver to Cornelius and his household.
No; the message contained no reference to Cornelius personally. It was the Gospel, good news, and God has no good news to tell about man; it is the Gospel “of God, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord” (Rom. 1:1-31Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; (Romans 1:1‑3)).
To Cornelius and the little company whom he had gathered together, Peter told seven things about the Lord Jesus, His work and place.
God sent the word to the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ.
Jesus was anointed by the Holy Ghost, and went about doing good.
Jesus was slain and hanged on a tree.
God raised Jesus the third day, and showed Him openly.
5. Jesus was shown not to all the people, but unto witnesses, chosen before of God, who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead.
6. The witnesses were to testify of Jesus, that God had ordained Him to be the Judge of quick and dead.
7. Whosoever (the word is here used for the first time in the Apostolic preaching) believeth in Jesus shall receive remission of sins.
Here was good news indeed. It was news which Cornelius and his friends could never have obtained under the old order of things through any work or effort of their own; but it was now freely proclaimed, and “whosoever” expressed its scope.
Mark the result of gathering together to hear God speak―not to listen to the Reverend Somebody, or the great Dr. Someone else―but to receive the Word of God, delivered by His servant, “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word” (Acts 11:44). The word “heard” here denotes “believed,” or “heard believingly.”
The message delivered by Peter was from God; it was received in all its fullness, and the effect had been cleansing by the precious blood applied by the Divine Word to the souls of the hearers. The Holy Ghost had come to take up His abode in the sanctified bodies of the believers, to give them new power, and to be answerable for their safe conduct through this scene of contrariety and conflict, till the heavenly home was reached. Light and joy unspeakable were to fill their souls, and they were “saved,” indeed.
Baptism follows for the converts―a true figure of death to earth and sin; it pointed to the fact that the converts belonged no longer to earth, but had their part with Christ in heaven. They go out of sight under the water, as those who have no title to a place here, and then rise to take their resurrection place; they own Christ, not only as Saviour, but also as Lord.
Thus we see that the Roman centurion, a seeker after light, becomes a Christian, for he has heard of, and believed in, the Lord Jesus Christ. E. C―P.