May 23: Celebrating His Victory.
HIS EXCEPTION.
"Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"--Acts 10:47
I had the privilege of visiting ancient Caesarea. Built by Herod the Great and named in honor of Caesar Augustus, it is an impressive town on the coast. Several structures, such as the ancient Roman amphitheater and the aqueduct, witness to its flourishing society during New Testament times. It is in this town that a centurion by the name of Cornelius saw the vision of an angel instructing him to send someone to Joppa (a town thirty-eight miles south of Caesarea) to fetch Peter, so that he could explain the gospel to him (see Acts 10:1-8).
Immediately Cornelius sent for Peter, who was staying at Simon the Tanner's house in Joppa. As we discussed yesterday, God had to convince Peter, through visions and the voice of the Spirit, to go with these men (verses 9-20). In Caesarea, Cornelius had gathered his relatives and close friends, and Peter preached the gospel to them. Then God did something out of the usual sequence, astonishing Peter and all his companions. "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God" (verses 44-46). Then Peter ordered that they be baptized. Wow! You see, with visions and all, Peter wasn't ready to baptize Gentiles into the community, so God got ahead of him. In acts, the order is always as follows: the gospel of Jesus is preached, people are baptized, and the Holy Spirit falls on them, except this time. God chose the Gentiles and had to get out of sequence because His own people were not ready to recognize His choice. The Spirit fell on them first, and then they were baptized. God loves all and often chooses people who are outside the box. If you were left out of the "in" group or were told that you need to change in order for God to love you, may this story convince you that God's love is not subject to human barriers.
My Response:___________________________________________________________
HIS EXCEPTION.
"Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"--Acts 10:47
I had the privilege of visiting ancient Caesarea. Built by Herod the Great and named in honor of Caesar Augustus, it is an impressive town on the coast. Several structures, such as the ancient Roman amphitheater and the aqueduct, witness to its flourishing society during New Testament times. It is in this town that a centurion by the name of Cornelius saw the vision of an angel instructing him to send someone to Joppa (a town thirty-eight miles south of Caesarea) to fetch Peter, so that he could explain the gospel to him (see Acts 10:1-8).
Immediately Cornelius sent for Peter, who was staying at Simon the Tanner's house in Joppa. As we discussed yesterday, God had to convince Peter, through visions and the voice of the Spirit, to go with these men (verses 9-20). In Caesarea, Cornelius had gathered his relatives and close friends, and Peter preached the gospel to them. Then God did something out of the usual sequence, astonishing Peter and all his companions. "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God" (verses 44-46). Then Peter ordered that they be baptized. Wow! You see, with visions and all, Peter wasn't ready to baptize Gentiles into the community, so God got ahead of him. In acts, the order is always as follows: the gospel of Jesus is preached, people are baptized, and the Holy Spirit falls on them, except this time. God chose the Gentiles and had to get out of sequence because His own people were not ready to recognize His choice. The Spirit fell on them first, and then they were baptized. God loves all and often chooses people who are outside the box. If you were left out of the "in" group or were told that you need to change in order for God to love you, may this story convince you that God's love is not subject to human barriers.
My Response:___________________________________________________________
RSS Feed
