O Gentle Savior!

Acts 10:1–8 (NKJV)

1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. 6 He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.” 7 And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually. 8 So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.

In our previous study of the resurrection of Dorcas and Peter’s time spent with Simon, the tanner, we uncovered the Jewish animosity toward the trade of ‘tanning’ and the Gentile heritage. Peter’s understanding of the Hebrew law was being stretched, like a tanner would stretch a piece of animal skin as preparation for its leathering/maturing, through a series of revelations that was and is preparing him to extend the gospel beyond the Samaritan and Hellenist Jews into the homes of the Gentiles. The new administration of the Holy Spirit that once was only accessible through the nation of Israel is now administrated through the authority of the local churches, so far as they are united to the teachings of Jesus Christ (Jn.15:6-7; Eph.3:2). The administration of the Spirit has departed the Temple and the nation of Israel to a chosen foundation that has been laid in Jesus Christ and His apostles (1Cor.3:10-15; Eph.2:19-22; 2Tim.2:19-20). These men have been chosen to establish all authority for church government in matters of faith and entrance into the kingdom of God. Together they make up the body of Holy Scripture that was tested and witnessed through the chosen signs of miracles that demonstrated their authority and calling (Acts 2:22; 14:3; 2Cor.12:12; Heb.2:4). The miracle of Dorcas through Peter’s faith was a sign to this local body that God has come to them for the establishment of His authority in Joppa and the surrounding villages. In this study, we will observe the apostles’ administration of the Spirit established in Caesarea among the Roman Gentiles. The goal of our studies surrounding Cornelius will be to witness the Spirit being poured out in full measure to the Gentiles, as it had been to the Jews. Both Jew and Gentile peoples are being made into the full image and administration of the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ and baptism into His (the) faith (Eph.4:5; Jude 3).

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, . . .

As Luke is writing the book of Acts, he wants the reader to draw their attention to specific individuals God has chosen to establish His church in these particular, strategic towns. In Damascus, he called out Ananias; in Lydda, he called out Aeneas; in Joppa, he called out Dorcas and Simon the tanner, as a team for ministry in the area. Luke begins this section with the transitional conjunction de in relation to the previous events at Joppa. It could be translated, “During this time there was a certain man in Caesarea . . .” Therefore, the Spirit is shifting His attention from the original Hellenist seaport of Joppa to a Roman seaport called Caesarea. In this city, Philip the Evangelist was last recorded to have penetrated the area and ceased his progression up the coastal plain with the Gospel; and a pivotal figure to the establishment of the church in this city is seen in a Roman centurion through a divine calling of God. Luke calls him “a certain man,” signifying the Spirit’s focus on his life. At this point, in the Spirit’s calling on Cornelius’s life, he is not a disciple of Christ, as the other prospects for leadership were in the previous towns of Philip’s crusade. The Spirit first identifies him as merely “a certain man.” What then, at this point, is the Spirit drawing our attention to in this particular man?

The Holy Spirit in Luke draws our attention to the character of service in this man, for he was a centurion of the Italian Regiment. The Italian Regiment may have been a famous division in the Roman Army that operated like the Rangers of the elite branch of the U.S. Army. The Latin root of the name of Cornelius is cornu which means ‘horn.’ The horn was a symbol of power and strength, and Cornelius represented an elite wing of the Roman army that was a source of power and stability of the ‘pride’ of Rome. Luke calls particular attention to the popularity of this Regiment to identify ‘the pride’ that was attached to its name. He was a sincere and dedicated officer who was entrusted with one hundred soldiers of the Roman army. He understood the concept of authority and practiced it with integrity. Not many people live up to the names given to them, but in this case, Cornelius lives up to the light of his name. By human standards, he was a good man in the sight of ‘his people’ of Rome, but in the presence of God, he desperately needed salvation from his sins. For the Spirit declares him merely a man. He is not seen as a man of God, or a good man, or a righteous man, but a ‘particular’ man (Rom.9:10-13). God does not single him out because he is good, but because he needs salvation from sin and ignorance of the Lord’s ways (Hos.4:6). However, he possesses characteristics that the Spirit admires for leadership in the churches of God. Though not yet, he will be brought to repentance and salvation to the Lordship of Jesus Christ by the sovereign decree of God.

. . . a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

Moving on then from making the distinction between how Cornelius’s own people observed him and how the Holy Spirit observed him, we will labor to understand how the church in Caesarea observed him. The Hellenist Jews observed him as a devout man.

Devout [Heb. ḥeseḏ] (Isa. 57:1); AV MERCIFUL; NEB “of good faith”; [Gk. eulabḗs] (Lk. 2:25; Acts 2:5; 8:2; 22:12); [eusebḗs] (Acts 10:2, 7); NEB also RELIGIOUS; [sebómenos] (Acts 13:43, 50; 17:4, 17); AV also RELIGIOUS; NEB WORSHIPPER, GOD-FEARING. The “devout” men of Isa. 57:1 were the God-fearing men who had been faithful to the covenant with Yahweh. On the concept of ḥeseḏ, see Kindness.

In the NT eulabḗs is used only of Jews. It always refers to one who is punctilious in his observance of the law. The participle sebómenos (from verb sébomai, “worship”) and the cognate adjective eusebḗs are generally used in Acts to refer to a class of Gentiles who attended the synagogue and observed the Jewish laws but were not full proselytes, inasmuch as they were not circumcized. (The usage in 13:43 appears to be an exception, as sebómenos is used with prosēlýtos.) This class of sebómenoi was the most receptive to Paul’s preaching, since circumcision was not a condition for salvation.

Opperwall, N. J. (1979–1988). Devout. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 1, p. 941). Wm. B. Eerdmans.

In defining the term ‘devout,’ we must understand it in the context through which the Jews observed it. Cornelius was a Roman but was not a Roman pagan. He, at this point, would have rejected the Roman pantheon and would not have been in agreement with the Roman Catholic Church that is known today. He would have rejected the Roman Catholic understanding of Mary and the Saints. He was a monotheist who feared God – the God of Israel. Though without the Spirit and without Jesus Christ, he sought the Creator to know Him as Father, and because of this, he is observed through the eyes of the Jews as devout in his service of them. In other words, he was respected for his kindness and mercy towards the worship of Yahweh, but he was not observed to have been a convert of Judaism or included in the fellowship of the Jews, not having been circumcised. However, due to the evangelism of Philip, the ‘Christian’ church may have begun to open their eyes more toward the salvific acceptance of men like Cornelius within the Church of Christ while opposing the views of their countrymen who were blinded by Judaism. I am of the opinion that the Christian church was praying for the ‘particular’ salvation of this Roman leader, for he was not like most Roman soldiers who often robbed the people and were corrupt in their government of the people.

The Jews were known to hate the Roman soldiers who ruled them with an iron fist and maybe rightly so; therefore, Christ preached a different message to the citizens of Israel than what the Jewish rabbis were teaching in that day; because not all Romans were of the same caliber. 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:38–48 (NKJV)

It was the saints in Caesarea, and possibly Philip, who was praying for Cornelius; and thanking God for his generosity in protecting the city and for his ‘almsgiving.’ His alms were devoutly given to the people and not reserved for his own power and honor. It is clear that he was a server ‘of the people’ and not merely a Roman soldier. Again, Roman soldiers often robbed the people they were sent to tax and control. Because Cornelius was not like most soldiers, the saints in Caesarea would have been praying spiritual and material blessing upon him and to grant him more power to be a blessing to the people. When Jesus says that we are to bless those who curse us, he doesn’t mean that the church is not to seek justice through prayer or that the church has no enemies. What he means is that the enemies of the church are not to be brought under the justice that is of the world (turn the other cheek (Eph.6:12; Matt.5:38-43)), but to pray for their enemies to be brought under the Justice of God; whether it be for the salvation of their souls or the destruction of their flesh. When the church is praying for the destruction of the flesh of a corrupt leader, they are praying for the salvation of souls who would be potentially deceived through the corrupt leadership of a ‘particular’ leader. In this case, the church recognizes the devoutness of Cornelius’s love for the Hellenist Jews.

In spite of how the Hellenist Jews observed Cornelius and his faith, he feared the God of the Jews. I don’t exactly know what he personally observed or respected about Judaism that caused him to train his whole household to fear the God of the Hebrews, but he labored to be accepted by them to get nearer to God. He must have studied the history of the Jews and God’s miraculous preservation of them as a people, through the wars of the kingdoms, and how they held onto worshiping one God as Creator of all men (Acts17:26). Indeed he saw the truth of God that was hidden in the mystery of the Jews. Cornelius is not a Hellenist Jew, as some might confuse the term ‘God fearer’ with how Luke identifies him here. A Hellenist Jew is a true Jew of Gentile heritage like Stephen the first martyr, or of half Gentile and of half Hebrew heritage like Saul of Tarsus, which were refugees of the Exile to Babylon and Persia; and are now dominated by Rome. However, after Cornelius’s conversion, he is considered a Hellenist Christian, retaining a Gentile heritage, as opposed to the circumcision who retained the Hebrew heritage. The distinction has nothing to do with race in the eye of God but with cultural and historical heritages. Therefore, Cornelius had a measure of faith (fear), but it was not near enough to be a ‘saving faith.’

Luke 7:1–10 (NKJV)

1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

The faith of the centurion in Capernaum was very similar to the faith of Cornelius. However, both centurions lacked a faith that saves. I personally never exegeted Luke’s account in chapter seven before, so I used to assume (as I read) that the Capernaum centurion possessed a saving faith, but upon close examination, he is only esteemed to have greater faith than the Hebrews but was not yet brought to the full knowledge of God. The Old administration of the Spirit did indeed produce God’s desired intent and effect – a proper ‘fear of the Lord.’ But this measure of faith could not produce the Spirit which cries, “Abba Father.” Matthew’s account of the same facts adds an additional conclusion to the events:

Matthew 8:11–13 (NKJV)

11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Notice that the faith of the centurion, though recognizing Jesus’ Lordship, didn’t recognize His Lordship to the point of forsaking all and following Christ as a disciple. The centurion’s faith was measured by his love for his servant and his inferiority to the nature of Jesus Christ, which the Hebrews did not fear. The faith of these men is similar in regards to the fear that separated them from God, which is a necessary element to one’s salvation, for the recognition of the sin that separates men from God is the first element of repentance. However, this fear must drive us to turn from sin and follow ‘the Way’ of Christ. Therefore, it will be through the knowledge of the purpose of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that will lead to a newer and fuller administration of the Spirit, operating through the church, to bring the fear of these Gentiles to a complete and full acceptance “in the love of God.” The Lord commends the man’s faith (as you have believed) to the measure of his faith in Jesus. At this point, the centurion feared God but only approached him for His benefits and chose to know Him no further than Lord and healer. The centurion would not have Christ as Savior and as perpetual Lord. Jesus was Lord enough to bless his house, but not Lord enough (in his mind) to give full allegiance. Either Jesus is Lord or Caesar is Lord, and the disciple of Christ cannot serve two masters.

But the faith of Cornelius differs in that he continually offered up prayers to the God of the Hebrews and that he consistently gave alms to the poor in the city of Caesarea, who were to be most likely the saints who were the first to believe the gospel. Therefore his faith is of the caliber that was more than mere curiosity of the character and nature of God. However, the soldier’s repentance will not come until he hears a particular message of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over ‘all nations.’ This will be the testing grounds to which Cornelius will be saved through trials and tribulations, for he was a soldier of another nation; and would be required to serve the Lordship of his Savior over the nation of his birth, to prove the genuineness of his faith. 1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:1–4 (NKJV)

A soldier’s character is often used to illustrate a type of dedication and separation from the concerns of worldly matters to the cares and concerns of a master who is greater than oneself. This is the necessary form of repentance that the Lord is looking for from this man Cornelius; and I believe that because of his works, his heart has already been made ready to receive the knowledge of Christ’s Lordship and the forgiveness of sins that only God has the power to effect.

About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

None of the English translations do us justice in getting to the truth of Cornelius’s experience. It appears from this rendering that an angel did not literally appear to Cornelius and call him out by name but that it was only a spiritual vision like in a daydream. But that is the furthest from the truth. First of all, the original Greek is taken out of its original order of wording to be translated into English which is sometimes necessary, but not in this case; if we labor to understand some history behind the words. It would be better translated, “Searching to know more clearly all spiritual insight, about the ninth hour of the day, he saw an angel of God come to him and call him, “Cornelius!” When we understand the author’s original intent, we see deeper into the character of this man Cornelius. He was laboring profusely to know and understand the God of the Hebrews, more certainly for himself and his household. He was obviously a rich man and was able to possess Old Testament parchments for himself and may have had some additional commentaries of the Old Scriptures (2Tim.4:13). There were other books used to aid the study of the parchments in that day. It could be said that Cornelius was “in the Word,” which is another way of saying that he was “in vision” or “searching spiritual insight.” This is also what we discovered in a previous study of Ananias, who was also known to be “in vision” when the Lord also gave him instruction concerning Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:10). Cornelius was seeking to know the purpose of God in his providential circumstances, which he was enslaved to, in his relationship to the Lordship of the God of the Hebrews. He was probably thinking, how does being a Roman centurion fit into the will of God for the service of the God of the Hebrews? And here, he is found searching to understand from the only reliable source – the source of truth.

I don’t intend to bring myself or you to the conclusion that this was an angelic messenger of God in this particular context. Lord willing, we may look at that later, but nonetheless, we need to see that this was a messenger sent by the one true God of the Hebrews. The Greek word for angel is angelon and literally means messenger, and can be interpreted to be either a human or supernatural messenger depending on context. We may be able to establish the facts of the type of messenger in the more extended context later, but for now, there is simply not enough information; and I want to stay in context to establish the backdrop of the cultural context and character of this man Cornelius and his faith. Without this, we will not be able to correctly apply the truth presented here to our personal lives. It is important to notice that this man was not a saved disciple of Christ but was only a seeking disciple of Judaism, which is powerless to save men from sin. Therefore we have a genuine seeker, but not genuine saving faith, at least not at this point in the life of Cornelius, and it was necessary for God to send a messenger to give further revelation to a genuine seeker. Therefore an angel was sent. Those who are genuine seekers of the truth of God will not be left to go without the proper knowledge that leads to repentance and saving faith. God never turns those away whom He draws to Himself but keeps drawing them to Himself; until they are at rest and peace in His salvific presence.

John 6:35–40 (NKJV)

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”