"The Groundwork" (Acts 11:1-18)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/26/2018 10:51 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  The Groundwork

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Acts 11:1-18

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." 4 But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, 5 "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 the sky; and it came right down to me, 6  and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. 7 “I also heard a voice saying to me, ’Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 “But I said, ’By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 “But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ’What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ 10 “This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11 “And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 “The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings. These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. 13 "And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ’Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14  and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 “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.’ 17 “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 stand in God’s way?" 18 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.’”

            It looks to me like the news traveled very fast from Caesarea to Jerusalem as to what happened to Peter, and of course not all of what happened was reported by these people, and so Peter takes the time to report exactly what had happened in the case of the first Gentiles coming to know the Lord as their Savior and Lord. 

            The problem with the Jewish people who were believers when it came to what should happen to a Gentile who became a believer was that they thought that they first had to become a proselyte, that is become Jewish and then become a Christian afterwards.  However this is not the case as a Gentile could receive Christ in the same way that all of the Jewish believers received Him, and that is by grace through faith.

            Peter did not want to get into a heated debate with these believers and so he simply recounted exactly what had happened from his vision, to the vision of Cornelius and also mentioned those who accompanied him when they went to Caesarea.  He concludes his defense with verse 17 “17 “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 stand in God’s way?’”

            I have to admit that one thing that I am not sure of, which is new to me as I studied this passage is the kinds of animals that Peter was told to kill and eat.  Perhaps the animals that he saw were both clean and unclean according to the Jewish Law, and if that is the case then it makes sense to me as both Jews and Gentiles can receive Christ as Savior. 

            After Peter’s accusers heard this account they calmed down, especially after learning that the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentile believers in the same way as the Jewish believers at the beginning.  Not only did they calm down but were rejoicing that the Lord had saved Gentiles too.

            John MacArthur concludes “This was the beginning of the divine effort to lay the groundwork for the first Gentile church.  At least seven years elapsed from Pentecost until the founding of that church at Antioch.  There were several reasons for that delay.  First, apostolic authority had to be established.  It took time for the believers to become grounded in the apostles’ teaching (cf. Acts 2:42) and for the development of leaders.  During those seven years, the apostles laid the doctrinal foundation for the church.  Second, individual believers needed to be brought to a sufficient level of maturity before they could be sent out.  Immature believers would not make effective missionaries.  Third, it took time to tear down the long-established walls of prejudice.  That was startling to be achieved (cf. Ga. 2A:11-14), so the time was right to give birth to the church in a Gentile land and to move to the last phrase of our Lord’s plan for evangelism—‘to the remotest part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Patience is something that was needed as far as all of this process to take place, and patience is one of the most difficult things to have, that is why the statement “Patience is a virtue.”

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to cause me to trust His timing for what He is doing in my life, and not be in a big hurry.

Memory verse:  Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Cast not your pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Am I not better to thee than ten sons’?”

Answer in our next SD.

1/26/2018 11:26 AM