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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Acts 10:44 - 10:48
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act_10:44-48
44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47"Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" 48And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
Act_10:44 Notice that Peter had not yet finished his sermon when the Spirit fell (cf. Act_8:16-17; Act_10:44; Act_11:15).
▣ "upon all those who were listening to the message" The real theological tension was not Cornelius. He had been fully accepted by the local synagogue. It was all the friends! They had no apparent previous contact, even with Judaism, and now God had fully accepted them. This acceptance was demonstrated and confirmed by the same manifestation of spiritual power and presence shown at Pentecost.
Also notice that the order of events changes. The Spirit comes before water baptism, not in conjunction with it (cf. Act_2:38) or after it (cf. Act_8:17). Luke records what happened, not what "should have happened." Be careful of trying to turn one of these gospel encounters recorded in Acts into "the" gospel encounter!
Act_10:45 The same supernatural manifestation of the Spirit (cf. Act_10:46) that occurred at Pentecost, occurred again involving Romans! This special sign was not for Cornelius and his friends only, but primarily for the circumcised believers (cf. Act_10:47). It showed in a powerful, undisputable fashion that God had accepted Gentiles (cf. Act_11:17), even Romans!
Luke is setting the literary stage for Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council. Both Peter and Paul had been convinced along with the Hellenistic believing Jews that God fully accepted Gentiles through Christ.
▣ "the gift of the Holy Spirit" The ministry of the Spirit can be seen clearly in Joh_16:8-14. In one sense, conviction of sin is a gift from the Spirit. Salvation itself is a gift of the Spirit. The indwelling presence is a gift of the Spirit. This is the new age of the Spirit (cf. Act_2:38; Act_8:20; Act_11:17). Nothing permanent and effective happens without the presence and power of the Spirit.
▣ "had been poured out" This is a perfect passive indicative. Pouring was part of the OT sacrificial system. It was predicted of the Spirit in Joe_2:28 and quoted by Peter in his Pentecostal sermon (cf. Act_2:17; Act_2:33). The Spirit has been fully and permanently given to believers by God.
Act_10:47 This is a rhetorical question which expects a "no" answer. This question was to gain the consensus of the Jewish believers who accompanied Peter from Joppa. See hyperlink at Act_2:38.
Act_10:48 "he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" Notice that baptism was immediate. Also, notice that it was done in Jesus' name as in Act_2:38; Act_19:5. The baptismal formula in Acts was "in the name of Jesus," while in Mat_28:19 it was in the name of the Triune God. The formula is not the key, but the heart of the candidate!
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