God is a God of order! Interestingly, with all His power and dominion, He looks for a man (Female and Male included) to send whenever He is out to do something. I call this, the ministry of men. Unfortunately, God’s agenda may be delayed when He lacks a man to cooperate with Him (Ezekiel 22:30). Psa 115:16 The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of mankind. As much as God is powerful, He needs a ministry of men to collaborate with Him in what He intends to do on the earth.
In Acts 10, one man’s good deeds and prayers had attracted the attention of heaven. Heaven had approved his blessings. Cornelius was not a simple person, but his humility was remarkable and outspoken. He was in charge of 100 men, influenced his household to be devoted to God, was a God-fearing man and always prayed to God (Vs 1-2).
Cornelius Encounter An Angel
Unexpectedly, at his place of prayer, heaven decided to visit Cornelius. The angel came with a confirmation that his alms and prayers had become memorable before God. The author’s choice of words like ‘terrified’ shows that Cornelius was not expecting such an encounter. Perhaps, we would have expected the angel to tell him what he should do. However, the Angel instructed him to dispatch men and call Peter who was to inform Cornelius what to do Vs 5.
Lessons from Acts 10:4-8: Ministry of Men
Despite God’s approval of Cornelius’ great memorable deeds, there was still a place for the ministry of men. Men have the legal mandate to operate on the earth while the heavens belong to God. The Angel gave Cornelius specific directions on where to get Peter, at Joppa in the house of Simon the Tanner. He obeyed and sent out men to get Peter just as instructed. Possibly, he knew the culture of the Jews that prohibits them from visiting or associating with non-Jews, but he still obeyed (vs 28).
ALSO READ: The Letter to Ephesians – An Introduction to Ephesians
God’s Commands men to be Blessings to Men
It was after Cornelius had obeyed and dispatched men to Joppa that God reached out to Peter preparing him for a unique mission to Caesarea (Vs 9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city…). The call for this mission was very interesting, Peter felt hungry and the Lord used the hunger to speak to him. God uses our current situation to capture our attention. Moreover, The three times repetition of the vision shows how hard it was to have Peter accept the directives from the Lord. Perhaps, we can understand this was Peter’s position since he was born.
Since birth, Peter was taught and practised that a Jew should not associate with a non-Jew. It was considered illegal. Furthermore, verses 9-16 show Peter was a devoted disciple and a rooted Jewish. However, the scriptures also show that Peter regarded Jesus’ Lordship above His Jewish cultural beliefs. This is confirmed by his acceptance to visit Cornelius, a non-Jew, at the command of Jesus.
Verses 15 and 19 show Peter’s submission to Christ’s Lordship. First, Christ ordered him not to consider unclean what He has declared clean. He was Lord over the cultural beliefs. Secondly, by accepting to go with the men to Caesarea under the Lord’s command.
No Jews, Nor Gentiles | Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit
God’s approval of Cornelius’ deeds was also a learning opportunity for Apostle Peter. Peter, a devoted Jew, grew up knowing that the God of the universe only highly regarded the Jews. Nevertheless, Peter was now certain that God shows no partiality, but from every nation, He accepts whoever fears Him and does what is right.
As Peter was sharing with the gathering at Cornelius’s house about Jesus, suddenly, just as it happened in Chapter 2, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message (Vs 44). Possibly, even Peter was not expecting this to happen. The Jews who came with Peter were also amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles (Vs 45).
One Man Brings Blessings to Friends and Family
It is amazing that through Cornelius, his close friends and family received the Lord’s blessings courtesy of Cornelius. Through one man, God reached out to tens of others who were close to him. It is a lesson that sometimes we can receive blessings (or curses) through close association. Ministry of Men.