"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed," (Gen.12:1-3).
"And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell," (Acts 7:2-4).
Harmonizing these passages shows that God called Abram to leave the familiar associations of his family, friends, and place of birth, to go into a land for which he and all of his posterity would inherit. Our focus in this study regards the particular portion of God's promise to him that through his seed, all nations would eventually be blessed, meaning the inclusion of the Gentiles.
"And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name," (Isa. 62:2).
Peter and the apostles, having tarried in Jerusalem at the Lord's direction to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, begin to preach the gospel for the first time in the name of a crucified, buried, and resurrected Messiah. Peter points out how prophecy is coming to fruition:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved," (Acts 2:17-21).
We notice as the apostles continue to preach from the Old Testament scriptures that the consciences of many people that day were convicted by the truths presented, and they responded by asking what they must do in order to cleanse themselves of this sin. They are told to repent and to be baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), just as Jesus had said that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name beginning in Jerusalem, (Lk. 24:46-47). Again, for the purpose of this study, observe what Peter says as he continues his instructions to them:
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call," (Acts 2:39).
Notice the connection in these passages of the pouring out of God's Spirit upon all flesh, which first was extended to you (the Jews), and to your children (the posterity of the Jews), and to all that are afar off, i.e., the Gentiles. That this phrase all that are afar off refers to the Gentiles is confirmed by Paul:
"Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ...And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh," (Eph. 2:11-17).
One typical mistake made in studying the scriptures which perpetuates endless confusion is that of not discerning the difference between the Old and New covenants, the transition between the two, and the differences between the Jews and Gentiles. It is necessary to understand these differences in Biblical history in order to fully appreciate the conversion of Cornelius.
The Jews had a number of misconceptions regarding the Messianic kingdom, one of which was that it would be an Earthly restoration of the kingdom of Israel, and at one point, Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews," (Jn. 18:36). This is why Peter illustrated on the day of Pentecost that David, who was still entombed, spake of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Messiah, whom they had crucified, but had been raised up by the power of God to sit on the throne of David at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven, (Acts 2:22ff).
Another aspect of the kingdom which was difficult for the Jews to grasp was that under the reign of the Messiah, the national barriers between the Jews and Gentiles would be removed, and to the fulfilling of God's promise to Abraham, all nations would be brought together in one body / kingdom.
"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby," (Eph. 2:13-16).
"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do," (Acts 10:1-6).
The conversion of Cornelius is one of the most remarkable events in the history of mankind in that it signaled the beginning of God's eternal plan of redemption coming to fruition in fulfilling His promise to Abraham. Another extraordinary aspect of this account is that of Cornelius himself, a Gentile (allophulos), who gave much alms to the poor, and was of notable rank in the Roman army, being a centurion, i.e., he was the commander of 100 soldiers; furthermore, the fact that he was a devout person who not only prayed to YHWH, the God of the Israelites, but also led his family and servants in the fear of God.
The account reveals that the angel appeared to Cornelius during the usual time of the Jew's evening prayers, i.e., approximately 3:00pm and tells him that his prayers and alms, accepted as an evidence of his piety, are come up before God as a memorial. This term, memorial, from the Greek is, "μνημόσυνον - mnēmosunon, From G3421; a reminder (memorandum), that is, record: - memorial," (Strong's). This figure of speech seems to be borrowed from the sacrificial system of the Jews:
"And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD," (Lev. 2:9; Cf. Lev. 2:16; 5:12; 6:15).
Because the prayers and alms of Cornelius come up for a memorial does not charge God with being absent-minded in that He forgot something and needed to be reminded of it, but rather it suggests that something has not been forgotten, i.e., it is ever present in the mind, as man creates a particular monument and dedicates it in memory of a notable person, or a tragic event.
"When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them," (Deut. 4:30-31).
"Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her," (Mat. 26:13).
Later, Cornelius tells Peter that the angel said, "...thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God," (v. 31). This phrase are had in remembrance is translated from the Greek term, "μνάομαι - mnaomai, Middle voice of a derivative of G3306 or perhaps of the base of G3145 (through the idea of fixture in the mind or of mental grasp); to bear in mind, that is, recollect; by implication to reward or punish: - be mindful, remember, come (have) in remembrance. Compare G3403," (Strong's; emphasis added RNR). It is used in the sense of something not forgotten:
"He hath holpen [helped] his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;" (Lk. 1:54).
"Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;" (2 Tim.1:4).
"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets," (2 Pet. 3:2).
Just as Peter said the promise was to them that were afar off, Cornelius' honest exemplification of his faith, worshiping YHWH in all the knowledge he had acquired of Him, stands as a memorial to the fact that God has not forgotten His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his seed.
Some very interesting observations are to be made here:
1) Recalling that Paul said, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed," (Gal. 1:8), the angel did not preach the gospel to Cornelius, nor did he tell him his prayer made him a child of God.
2) Seeing an angel did not lead Cornelius to believe that he was saved which is obvious because he did exactly what the angel directed him to do in sending men for Peter.
3) IF an angel of the Lord appeared to man today, he would not tell him anything different than what is revealed in God's word already.
4) Peter was given the keys to the kingdom (Mat. 16:18-19), and opened the door of righteousness into the church for the Jews on the day of Pentecost, and here, the angel directed Cornelius to send for Peter who would also open that door to the Gentiles. The reason God did not simply declare Cornelius saved is because:
"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe," (1 Cor. 1:21).
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us," (2 Cor. 4:6-7).
It is God's plan that the gospel be carried to the lost by earthen vessels, i.e., men. Christ appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, and did not speak salvation to him, but directed a certain disciple to go to Saul and tell him what to do (Acts 9:1-18); the same principle exists here in that the angel of the Lord did not tell Cornelius what to do to become a child of God, but directed him to send men to Joppa to bring the apostle Peter who would preach the gospel to him, because faith comes by hearing and being taught of God.
"It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me," (Jn. 6:45).
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," (Rom. 10:17).
"On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, Act 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate," (Acts 10:9-17).
The term common which Peter uses here is from the Greek term, "κοινός - koinos, Probably from G4862; common, that is, (literally) shared by all or several, or (ceremonially) profane: - common, defiled, unclean, unholy," (Strong's). We should understand the implication here that the term common stood in opposition to what was sacred, and to indulge in, or associate with something or someone that was unholy would certainly defile the person.
"And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault," (Mk. 7:2).
The significance of this vision is obvious: Peter, being hungry, fell into a trance where he sees animals which are ceremonially unclean and prohibited by the Mosaic law, and was told to kill and eat. When Peter stated that he had never eaten anything common or unclean, i.e., forbidden by the dietary restrictions of the law of Moses, he was told that what God had cleansed was no longer to be considered common or unclean. This could only mean that the ceremonial restrictions of the law (Lev. 11 & Deut. 14) were in the process of vanishing away, (Heb.8:13; 10:1). At this time, the Jews would not eat with, nor even abide in the same house with a Gentile; yet, Christ died for everyone, and even as Peter thought about the meaning of this vision, the Gentile messengers stood knocking at the door. Oh, the impeccable timing of the Lord! The purpose, therefore, of this vision was to show Peter that it was God's will that he should go with them, because the time had come for the gospel to be extended to the Gentiles. The Spirit reveals that He has sent these 3 men, and directs Peter to go with them without reluctance. After they relay their errand to Peter, they depart the next morning on the journey to Caesarea.
"And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man," (Acts 10:24-26).
Though commendable on the part of the character of Cornelius in reverence toward heavenly things, notice how Peter's actions here are in stark contrast to the Papacy, which claims this apostle as the first pope! The ambassadors of Christ never required adoration / worship from men; rather, they always rejected it, (Cf. Acts 14:14ff; cf. Rev. 19:10 & 22:9).
As Peter, the 6 Jewish brethren, and Cornelius' servants journey to Caesarea, Cornelius, who has been waiting for them, no doubt with the highest expectations of the Divine authenticity of the words which will be spoken to him, has also gathered his close friends and relatives to be able to share in these blessings. As Peter converses with Cornelius, he finds that many people are gathered together as Cornelius rehearses the angelic appearance with Peter.
"And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him," (Acts 10:30-35).
It comes as no surprise, realizing the pious attitude of Cornelius, that the purpose in heart of those who are gathered is to hear all things that are commanded of God. If all who professed Christ had the attitude of these uncircumcised Gentiles, I dare say that there would be much less division in religion!
A huge truth is stated here by Peter as confirmed in not calling any man common or unclean, that God does not show partiality to one person, or one class of people. If only Christians would exhibit this attitude toward one another.
"Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift [bribe]: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous," (Deut. 16:19).
"For there is no respect of persons with God," (Rom. 2:11).
"But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons," (Col. 3:25).
"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work," (1 Pet. 1:17).
A principle should be realized here that God will not show respect to the baptized Christian who lives wickedly, but will render, "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil" (Rom. 2:8-9); likewise, the sinner who as naturally as Cornelius, has an humble and contrite spirit; who does good to all men, and seeks to worship God will be afforded the opportunity to hear and obey the gospel.
"And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 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," (Acts 10:39-45).
This is the point at which many people's thought processes become muddled and confused, which has given birth to a number of false doctrines, and flawed notions, such as salvation by faith only; water baptism is not essential to salvation; they were saved because of or as the result of the Holy Ghost falling on them; infant baptism, and women receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues, just to name a few. As with studying any subject in the Bible, the only means of achieving a sound conclusion is to first harmonize all the writings on the particular subject, and then, if we would all have the attitude of Cornelius, i.e., we want to hear all things that are commanded of God, it would go a long way in defeating denominational subterfuge. That the Holy Ghost fell on them, and that they spake in tongues is not questionable; however, the theories of infants being baptized and women speaking in tongues is not supported by what this text says; rather, it is based on absolute conjecture, fabricated in the shadows of what is not stated.
"And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying," (Acts 11:1-4).
The phrase Luke uses here, by order, comes from the Greek term, "καθεξῆς - kathexēs: 1) one after another, successively, in order," (Thayer). This adjectival phrase is used to describe how something is explained or listed, i.e., the chronological sequence of events, and is used by this same writer, Luke, at the outset of his record of the gospel:
"It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus," (Lk. 1:3).
Luke states that Peter explained precisely how these events transpired, in sequential order, and he preserves the marks of authenticity; therefore, it would do anyone's study a great disservice to ignore what the inspired writer records here. Noticing then the chronological order of events:
"And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house: And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning," (Acts 11:12-15).
We recall that the angel told Cornelius to send for Peter, and "...he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do," (10:6); again, when Cornelius recounts the angel's words, to send for Peter who, "...when he cometh, shall speak unto thee," (10:32); therefore, when we harmonize these statements with what Peter says here, we conclude that he was sent to preach the gospel to them, for the gospel, "is the power of God unto salvation," (Rom. 1:16), i.e., the gospel was the words whereby they could be saved. At the Jerusalem conference, Peter said, "...Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe," (Acts 15:7). There will be no contention nor confusion when mankind will simply accept what these verses plainly state, as is the case elsewhere, that the gospel must be preached in order to produce faith, (Rom. 10:17).
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (Rom. 10:13-15).
"But without faith it is impossible to please him:" (Heb. 11:6).
Peter, the preacher, was sent to bring glad tidings of good things so they could hear the gospel whereby they could be saved. Now, notice in particular how that Peter, who is explaining these events in their chronological sequence says, "And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning," (Acts 11:13-15).
Peter reveals, according to the specific sequence of events, that the Holy Ghost fell on them as he began to speak, i.e., the Holy Ghost fell on them before they heard those words whereby they could be saved. They had not heard the gospel yet, for Peter had just begun to speak; therefore, IF they were saved when or as the result of the Holy Spirit falling on them, then they were saved without faith, for it was stated plainly, that they were to hear words whereby they would be saved, and nothing is said of salvation being the product of, nor confirmed by, the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. As Peter stated at the Jerusalem conference, "And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us," (Acts 15:8); and as Luke records of this event, "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," (Acts 10:45); therefore, harmonizing these plain statements of scripture, the only logical and unbiased conclusion to be made here is that the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Gentiles also, as the Divine signification to the Jews that God has now opened the door of salvation to the Gentiles, even as He had to the Jews approximately a decade earlier, and that the Gentiles were no longer to be considered common or unclean. This sign achieved its intended purpose, for the scriptures say, "they of the circumcision which believed were astonished...that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." Peter said, "Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life," (Acts 11:17-18).
The baptismal measure of the Holy Ghost fell only on the apostles on the day of Pentecost, because Luke, who, "had perfect understanding of all things from the very first," (Lk. 1:3), recorded specifically that, "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues..." (Acts 2:4), and only men were speaking, (Acts 2:13); therefore, because Peter said, "...the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning," (Acts 11:15), the fact that only men were specified to be speaking at the beginning would verify that only men were speaking at the conversion of Cornelius.
The prophecy of Joel, began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, being poured out on the Jews, but the prediction was that the Spirit would be poured out on all flesh; thus, it finds its fulfillment when the Holy Ghost fell upon this group of Gentiles. This event stands alone, in the entirety of the New Testament, as the only occurrence of God pouring out the gift of the Holy Ghost on a group of Gentile people prior to hearing the gospel, for in all other instances, the gifts of the Holy Ghost were given, both, after baptism, and only through the laying on of the apostles' hands; yet, in spite of the overwhelming evidence that this was a unique event transpiring as the fulfillment of the Divine edict, people will pureé this incident in the blender of opinionated-supposition and conclude that men and women today, receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which can occur before, during, or after water baptism, and speak in tongues.
It is a fierce and desperate contention of some that the Holy Ghost being poured out on Cornelius' house is undeniable evidence that women received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and spoke with tongues. The huge flaw with this assertion is that if house must of necessity include women, then by the same logic, it must also include infants! If the Holy Ghost falling on Cornelius' household proves women spoke with tongues, then infants also received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and spoke with tongues; furthermore, all whom the Spirit fell upon were commanded to be baptized in water (Acts 10:47), therefore, by the exact same reasoning, infants were also baptized. Problems will always arise when men concoct theories based on what the Bible does not say.
For argument's sake, let's assume that there were women present, who also received the baptismal measure of the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues on this occasion; in what way would it support the current practice of women walking the isles and repeating some rhythmic syllables for a noise which no one understands? Not only did Paul give specific instructions that a member was not to speak in a foreign language without an interpreter present, he specifically and emphatically forbade women to speak at all in the assembly of the church:
"If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God," (1 Cor. 14:28).
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church," (1 Cor. 14:34-35).
"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence," (1 Tim. 2:12).
"And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also," (2 Tim. 2:2).
"If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord," (1 Cor. 14:37).
"For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church," (1 Cor. 4:17).
Yet, in the face of emphatically explicit, Spirit-inspired gender-specific statements like these, men have the gigantic gall and colossal cheek to contend that as long as women speak softly and not in a disruptive manner, then women can speak in tongues in the assembly. Sadly, some will always follow their emotions regardless of what the Bible says. It truly amazes me how satan's ministers can manipulate the minds and emotions of the gullible, and the intelligent well-educated alike. Men will read a text such as this, and fabricate doctrines from what is not said, nor even implied, while at the same time, rejecting what is specifically commanded, saying it isn't necessary. Jesus commanded that the apostles preach the gospel and baptize the believers; Peter said here, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord..." (Acts 10:47-48), and while nothing is said of women speaking in tongues, nor of infants being baptized, both are strongly held doctrines; conversely, water baptism in the name of the Lord IS specifically commanded, but denominationalism rejects it and says it isn't necessary. Did the apostles ever teach or command anything that wasn't necessary? The scriptures clearly state that man is not to add to, nor take way from the word of God (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18-19); yet, this has never deterred man from adding to God's word things like, women speaking in tongues, and infant baptism, while at the same time, taking away from the commands of God by saying that the commandment of baptism isn't necessary.
The Divine outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon Cornelius, his family, servants, and friends, stands as one of the most remarkable events in the history of mankind, as it extended salvation to the entire human race, regardless of gender, race, or occupation. The baptism of the Holy Ghost, which occurred on the day of Pentecost, endowed the apostles with the ability of speaking multiple languages, which they had never been taught, for the purpose of carrying the gospel into all the world. The Holy Ghost was poured out on this group of Gentiles as a Divine signification of the inclusion of all mankind in the scheme of redemption. This gift enabled them to speak in languages which magnified God (Acts 10:46), rather than establishing the practice of men and women speaking in an indiscernible noise in a religious assembly. This outpouring of the Holy Ghost was a unique event which was never duplicated in the New Testament, nor is it recorded again in some 19 centuries of secular history. The imparting of miraculous Spiritual gifts, such as speaking in tongues, prophesying, healing the sick, etc., was and ability peculiar only to the apostles and ceased at the consummation of the Jewish age.
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