Acts 10:43-48

 

Acts 10:43 (KJB)

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

 

Remission - Forgiveness

 

Peter continues his discourse stating that the prophets of old had given testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. The last Old Testament prophet was John who bore witness to Jesus while he was baptizing. The prophets of old did not only come with a message of condemnation concerning the sins of Israel and Judah, but they came with the gospel message embedded in those writings. Some examples are below:

 

(Micah 5:2 KJV) But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

 

(Zec 9:9 KJV) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

 

(Hag 2:9 KJV) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

Then the verse goes on to state that salvation is not found in something that we do or the keeping of the Mosaic law, it is by belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 3:18 KJV) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Peter also brings up the fact that only in Christ is their salvation. (Acts 4:12 KJV) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

 

Acts 10:44 (KJB)

While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

 

As Peter was speaking to them, there was a great salvation which took place in the house of Cornelius. Those whom the Lord had chosen for salvation had received the Gift of the Holy Ghost which meant that they were saved. Before Peter came to the house of Cornelius, they had only the Hebrew Scriptures with the accompanying Mosaic law but for them to be saved, they had to hear the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 10:17 KJV) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. At this time, they did not have the written Scriptures of the New Testament so the word of God was proclaimed verbally and as Peter brought the Gospel to them, they heard about the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation took place. This is why it is important that whenever we are called upon to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, that we keep the focus on Him and preach Him to the hearers. We do not preach worldly things but the true Gospel. (Mat 7:29 KJV) For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Whenever we preach the true unadulterated Gospel, we are preaching with authority and that will bear fruit.

 

Acts 10:45 (KJB)

And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 

Astonished - Amazed, surprised, or wonder

 

There were also many Jews who were present in the house of Cornelius and they too learned the same lesson that Peter did, that God was no respecter of persons. Those Jews who became saved were amazed that the Gentiles which were present had also become saved in the same manner they did. There was no keeping of the Mosaic law, just the bestowing of salvation through Grace in which they just received salvation as a gift of God. (Rom 6:23 KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The promise of the Gospel going forth to all nations had begun and no longer was the word of God limited to only one nation. Worldwide evangelism had begun!

 

Acts 10:46 (KJB)

For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

 

Magnify - Extol, make great, or praise

 

The Jews had become amazed because they had heard the Gentiles who became saved speak in tongues. It is not the gibberish of modern day tongues but they were the speaking of a legitimate language which they never heard before. This would have empowered them to bring the Gospel to those people whose language God gave them to evangelize in. While they were speaking in these languages, they were also magnifying God. It seemed they knew what they were saying because they were praising God in those tongues. Today’s gibberish could be swearing at God since they have no idea what they are saying or from what devil they are receiving the gibberish from. That is what makes the modern tongues movement so dangerous. To speak without knowing what you are saying can be a very dangerous thing.

 

Acts 10:47 (KJB)

Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

 

Since the evidence was present that these people had become truly saved, they were now allowed to be baptized in water as an outward witness to the inward transformation. The Jews even thought it was all right that the Gentiles be baptized along with them since they all had evidence of becoming saved by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Just as the Ethiopian Eunuch had become saved and was baptized by Phillip, these are now to be baptized because of their salvation.

 

Acts 10:48 (KJB)

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

 

Peter did not hesitate at all and gave the command that they were all to be baptized. The instructions were that they were all to be baptized in the name of the Lord. After all of them had been properly baptized, they had asked Peter if he would remain with them for a period of time. They probably wanted to be able to learn from him as he could teach them much about the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. To be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is not just the saying of a few words. The “name” means that you are calling on that name because you are true child of God and in Christ which means you have the right to say you are in the name of Christ because you are in Christ. For example, two people become married and the woman takes the last name of the man. She is married to him so she is in his name and because she is in his name, she too shares in all the authority his name carries. We are in Christ and we too are in His name and therefore we pray in Jesus name, not just as a trite saying, but we invoke all the authority of His name. (Col 3:3 KJV) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Since we are married to Christ we invoke the authority of His name.

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