WWUTT 2626 Salvation has Come to Gentiles Also (Acts 11:1-18)

After Peter had preached at the house of Cornelius, there were some Jews that contended with him. They said he went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. But Peter testified to them, the Holy Spirit has come to them also when we understand the text.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Peter Reports on the Gentiles Receiving the Holy Spirit

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study in the book of Acts, picking up where we left off last time. So we finished up chapter 10 and remember there that Peter came to the house of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, shared the gospel with Cornelius and all of his Gentile household, and they became believers in Christ.

This was demonstrated even to the Jews who had accompanied Peter there when they saw the household speaking in tongues, evidencing to them that the Spirit had come upon the Gentiles just as the Spirit had come upon the Jews.

So we jump into chapter 11, where this report is now being shared with the Jews that the Spirit has come to the Gentiles also. Let me read in Acts 11 verses 1 through 18 here the word of the Lord. Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from heaven.

And it came right down to me. And when looking closely at it, I was observing it and saw the four-footed animals on the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the sky. And I also heard a voice saying to me, rise up, Peter, slaughter and eat.

But I said, by no means, Lord, for nothing defiled or unclean has ever entered my mouth. But a voice from heaven answered a second time, what God has cleansed, no longer considered defiled. And this happened three times.

And everything was drawn back up into heaven. And behold, immediately three men appeared at the house in which we were having been sent to me from Caesarea. And the spirit told me to go with them without taking issue at all.

These six brothers also went with me and we entered the man's house. And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house saying, send a Joppa and summon Simon who is also called Peter.

And he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household. And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as he did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he used to say, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, if God gave to them the same gift as he gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could prevent God's way? And when they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God saying, well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.

Amen to that. Because we have certainly all benefited from the advancement of the gospel that has gone out throughout the world that we may believe in Jesus and be saved. And here, Peter and the Jews who are with him, six brothers as he mentions here, and now the testimony that has been shared with the Jews, they all know that the Holy Spirit of God, that salvation that has been offered through the gospel has come to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews.

The Gospel Goes to the Ends of the Earth

Now let's consider this again, going back up to the top here of Acts 11. The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also received the word of God. Now, remember what I had said about this, that what we're seeing here now jumping into chapter 10 is the gospel going to the ends of the earth.

We have seen how the gospel had gone to Jerusalem and it's gone throughout Judea and Samaria, and now it is going to the ends of the earth. This is exactly what Jesus had commissioned his disciples to do at the beginning of the book of Acts, Acts 1 .8.

Was it Acts 1 .8 or was it Acts 1 .9? I stumble on this every time I think. 1 .8, you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the end of the earth. That was the outline of the book that we got there basically.

So the gospel goes first to Jerusalem. We have in Acts 2, Peter preaching at Pentecost. And remember something that Peter said at Pentecost, that when the Holy Spirit had come upon the people, well, when the Holy Spirit had come upon the apostles and they're preaching to the people and they're speaking in languages that all the people who were there could understand.

You know, the Parthians, the Medes, the Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus Asia, all the different people that are mentioned there in Acts 2 and they can understand the gospel that is being preached to them.

They know what it is that the apostles are saying. Even though they were uneducated men, they were Gentiles, they are speaking miraculously in their midst, speaking languages they would not have otherwise known.

And this obviously baffled the people. They were startled, they were astonished by this because they had never seen anything like this. So the speaking in tongues has to be a miraculous occurrence. And everything that we see about speaking in tongues mentioned in Acts, it's only that.

It's only in reference to an ability or a gifting rather to speak other languages. It's not the random gibberish. We'll come back to this again. But it's only mentioned the gift of speaking in tongues.

This miracle in particular is mentioned only three times in the book of Acts. So we saw it happen at Pentecost in Acts 2 with the apostles and preaching at Jerusalem. We see it again in the household of Cornelius so that the Jews may be able to witness that the Holy Spirit has come to the Gentiles just as the word of God had come to the Jews.

The next time we will see the gift of tongues being granted to somebody, it's in Acts chapter 19, when the apostle Paul selects to himself disciples who are gonna go with him throughout Ephesus and the surrounding area of Asia Minor preaching the gospel to people.

And it is seen that the Holy Spirit has come to them when they are speaking in foreign tongues. Those are the only three times in the book of Acts that speaking in tongues is even mentioned. The only other time that we get it in the New Testament is in 1 Corinthians, where Paul mentions it in chapter 12 and he mentions it in chapter 14.

Even in other gifts of the Spirit that's mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, speaking in tongues doesn't appear in those lists. It's only in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. And there Paul says specifically what the gift of tongues is for.

Paul even says there that this is in fulfillment of the scriptures, by men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers, I will speak to this people and even so they will not listen to me, says the Lord.

That's in 1 Corinthians 14, 21, that's quoting from the prophet Isaiah. Then verse 22 says, so then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. But prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers, but for those who believe.

So that's the purpose of speaking in tongues. It is a sign to unbelievers. Now that might be a little confusing in the context that we have of Cornelius' household in Acts 10 because who is it that's speaking in tongues there?

Well, it's the believer speaking in tongues and who witnesses the speaking in tongues. It's other believers who witnessed the speaking in tongues. The Jews witnessed that the Gentiles are speaking in tongues and the Holy Spirit has come upon them as well.

So how can in that circumstance tongues be assigned to unbelievers when it's only believers who are in that house now? Now that the Gentiles are speaking in tongues, it's a sign to, well, a sign. It's everybody in the house is believers.

That's the point that I'm making. So how can tongues there in that instance be a sign unto unbelievers? Well, the point that Paul is making in 1 Corinthians 14 is that the purpose of speaking in tongues really doesn't function in the corporate gathering of the church.

That's the context that you have there in 1 Corinthians 14 because Paul says that you must earnestly desire to prophesy. Prophesying benefits the body, that they may hear the word of God and believe it and so do it.

So that's what you should aspire to be able to do is to prophesy. But speaking in tongues does not edify the body since nobody understands what it is that's being said. Now in the context of Cornelius's household, whatever it was that the household of Cornelius was saying speaking in foreign tongues, those who were with Peter understood what it was that they were saying.

So they were probably speaking Hebrew or Aramaic or something like that. Something that it would not have been thought of the Gentiles being able to speak. And here they were speaking it and those who had accompanied Peter are witnessing this and they're going, okay, well, I guess that means the word of God has come to Gentiles as well.

Now, when the Jews are thinking about Jesus Christ being a savior for the Jews, remember Jesus is the King of the Jews. He is the savior that has come to the Jews. They think that he's only saving the Jews.

They really don't think that Jesus is going out to be a savior unto Gentiles. Now, Jesus had talked about this even though they didn't understand what it was that he had talked about. Even when Jesus had visited with Cornelius, or not Cornelius, I'm sorry.

Jesus had visited with Nicodemus, another us name at the end, anyway. When Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus, he had said to him that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.

Remember that? That was John 3, verses 14 and 15. What's John 3, 16? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And so after you have it said that the son of man must be lifted up.

So first of all, you have Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. That was obviously just a salvation to the people of Israel. They had grumbled against God. You had the serpents that were sent into the camp.

They were biting the people and killing them. But Moses had raised up on a standard a bronze serpent so that whoever looked at the serpent, though he was bit by a snake, he would not die if he looked to the serpent on the standard.

And so now the son of man, Jesus, is the fulfillment of that. He's gonna be lifted up on a cross. And whoever looks to him will be healed of the poison that's in them, sin which leads to death. And we will have everlasting life looking to Jesus.

Now, Jesus says to Nicodemus, whoever believes in him will have eternal life. But it's then stated in verse 16 that God so loved the world, meaning this was more than just the Jews. It was also going to include the Gentiles.

These references to nations or to the world means Jew and Gentile together. He gave his only begotten son, not just to the Jews, but even to Gentiles so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

So Jesus had talked about this previously, but the Jews still did not understand this. And as God is unfolding before them, his plan of salvation, like Peter will later say in 2 Peter 1, we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed.

Well, here in Acts 11, they didn't have that word more fully confirmed until they're seeing the Gentiles speaking in tongues. And now they're understanding, well, Jesus said that he will draw all men to himself.

So not just Jews, but even Gentiles. So now we're seeing that. The speaking of the word of God to the Gentiles even has led to their salvation because they believe and are saved. So the Holy Spirit is being poured out on more than just Jews, even being poured out on Gentiles.

So I was making this point for Acts 2, but I never finished what it was that I was saying there. So after the Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles and they're preaching there at Pentecost in Jerusalem, they're being accused by some skeptics of being drunk.

They're full of new wine. But Peter says to them, no, they're not full of new wine. It's not even the third hour of the day, or it's only the third hour of the day rather. But what you are witnessing is the fulfillment of what was said through the prophet Joel.

And it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind, not just Jews, but even Gentiles. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.

And this is exactly what they were witnessing there at Pentecost with the apostles preaching in these different languages, preaching in tongues. They were seeing a fulfillment of what was said there in Joel.

So what we're seeing here in Acts 10 and 11 is that the spirit being poured out on all mankind, suddenly it's triggering in the minds of these Jews that this is not just, it does not just mean Jews. It means even Gentiles, of course.

It's kind of like they're having a no-duh moment. I will pour out my spirit on all mankind. Oh, okay. So that's why the spirit has been poured out even upon the members of Cornelius's household. And we can see it's manifested through the speaking of tongues that the spirit is upon them.

Just as he came upon Jews in Acts 2, so he has come upon Gentiles in Acts 10. Now, look at what it is that the Jews say when Peter comes to Jerusalem, he is confronted by those who are circumcised, meaning Jews.

They're taking issue with him saying, verse three, you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. Now, when I did that teaching in Acts 10 on Peter's vision, remember I did two days of that lesson where the Lord says to him, rise, kill and eat.

Peter says, no, no, no. I've never eaten anything defiled. Jesus says, therefore what God has cleansed no longer considered to be defiled. Okay, so Peter is supposed to therefore be comfortable with going into this Gentile household and is not supposed to consider like the dietary laws and things like that, which had been given in the law to be a cause from separation with Gentiles.

And it's even being stated clearly there in Acts 10, we may eat whatever we may eat. There is no food that is considered to be unclean because those laws that had caused separation between Jew and Gentile were no more.

As said in Ephesians, what is it? Chapter three, he is broken down the dividing wall of hostility, which had separate us by all of its rules and regulations and legal demands. Christ has fulfilled that in his body by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

Now, after doing those lessons, I had a few people who were like the Torah observant folks, those who still think that the dietary laws in Leviticus 11 are still in effect. And I got contacted by a couple of them who were saying to me, you don't understand what that means there in Acts chapter 10.

That was only about Gentiles. So what God has cleansed our Gentiles, that did not have anything to do with food. Well, look at what is said here to Peter in Acts 11 .3. You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.

Yeah, this was about food, but only because the dietary laws again, were among those things that created distinction between Jew and Gentile. And there was no longer any distinction anymore. So Jesus is saying, don't worry about what it is that they put in front of you.

You will go into their homes, which Jews previously did not do. Remember, Peter said that even when he came into the house of Cornelius in Acts chapter 10, he said, you know that Jews don't come into the homes of Gentiles.

But I am here because the Lord told me not to take issue with this. So even in their home, Peter ate, and he was not defiled by what he ate. There are Jews now that are arguing with Peter and saying, you should not have done that.

Why did you go eat with them? You ate with uncircumcised men. You ate the food of the Gentiles, which we were explicitly told not to eat because it would make us unclean. And now Peter goes through and shares his story.

I've read it to you. You know everything. We've already read it even in Acts chapter 10. And he shares this story. And he says in verse 16, I remembered the word of the Lord, how he used to say, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, if God gave to them the same gift as he gave to us after also believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could prevent God's way? And then when they heard this, they quieted down and they glorified God.

They were no longer arguing with Peter. They no longer saw any cause for separation between Jew and Gentile, because God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life. Verse 18, and amen to that.

Because we have also received this message of life that has come to us through the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He who died on the cross, who rose again from the dead, and whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

And my friends, all those laws in the Old Testament, they were pointing to the one who would fulfill that law. And that is Christ. We are no longer to be distinct from one another because of what we eat.

And we should no longer think that we get holier because of the food that we eat or don't eat. We are made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ, and now walk in the righteousness that we have been given, obeying his statutes and his rules.

And one of those rules that Jesus said is, do not call unclean that which God has cleansed. So let there be no cause for division among us any longer, but let there be unity of peace in the gospel of Christ.

Faith in Christ, Not Food Laws, Unites Jew and Gentile

Heavenly Father, we are thankful for this gospel that has come to us. And may it be that message that we continue to share with others, because it is only by faith in Jesus Christ that a person can be saved.

Save us from this depraved and crooked generation. Let us not be stained by the ways of the world and the culture that is around us, but help us to not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, Romans 12 to, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen.

Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website, www .wutt .com, and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page.

Join us again tomorrow as we continue our Bible study, When We Understand the Text.