Acts 10:44 - Meaning and Application

Here we see the result and effect of Peter’s sermon to Cornelius and his friends. He did not labor in vain among them, but they were all brought to Christ.

First, God showed that he approved Peter’s message by giving the Holy Spirit to the listeners, and he did it at once, while Peter was still speaking (Acts 10:44). Peter may have intended to say more, but he was suddenly interrupted by clear signs that the Holy Spirit, in his miraculous gifts and powers, had come on all who heard the word, just as he had come on the apostles at first, as Peter later said (Acts 11:15). Some think this came with a sound like a rushing wind and with divided tongues, as at Pentecost.

Notice when the Holy Spirit came, it was while Peter was preaching. In this way, God confirmed what Peter said and gave it divine power. This was one of the marks of an apostle, signs and wonders done among them (2 Corinthians 12:12). Peter could not give the Holy Spirit himself, but since the Spirit came together with Peter’s message, it showed clearly that Peter had been sent by God. In other cases, people received the Spirit after baptism, as a confirmation. But these Gentiles received the Spirit before baptism. That showed God is not tied to one set pattern, and he does not limit himself to outward signs. The Holy Spirit came on those who were neither circumcised nor baptized, for it is the Spirit who gives life, and the flesh does nothing.

Second, the way the Spirit’s coming was shown is important. They spoke in tongues they had never learned before (Acts 10:46). Perhaps they spoke Hebrew, the holy language. Since the preachers were enabled to speak the common languages so they could share Christ’s teaching with the hearers, these hearers may also have been taught the sacred language at once, so they could examine the Old Testament proofs in the original text. Or their ability to speak in tongues may have shown that they were all meant to be ministers, and that this first coming of the Spirit prepared them to preach the gospel to others, which they had just received themselves.

But notice what they did when they spoke in tongues, they praised God. They spoke about Christ and the blessings of redemption, just as Peter had been doing, and all to God’s glory. That is what happened to those on whom the Holy Spirit first came (Acts 2:11). No matter what gift we have, we should use it to honor God, especially the gift of speech and all that grows out of it.

Third, consider the effect this had on the believing Jews who were present (Acts 10:45). Those of the circumcision who believed, the six men who had come with Peter, were amazed. It astonished them deeply, and perhaps even troubled them, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles too, which they had thought belonged only to their own nation. If they had understood the Old Testament Scriptures, which pointed to this, they would not have been so surprised. Wrong ideas about things often make us stumble over the ways God works in providence and grace.

Second, Peter recognized God’s work by baptizing those on whom the Holy Spirit had fallen. Though they had received the Holy Spirit, they still needed baptism. God is not bound by the outward ordinances, but we are. No extraordinary gifts place us above them. Instead, those gifts make us more responsible to follow them. Some in our day might say, “These people have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, so why should they need water baptism? That would be beneath them.” But it is not beneath them, since water baptism is an ordinance of Christ, the entrance into the visible church, and a sign of the new covenant.

Though they were Gentiles, they had received the Holy Spirit, so they could be admitted to baptism (Acts 10:47). “Can anyone,” Peter asked, even the strictest Jew, “forbid water, so that these people should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” The argument is strong. Can we deny the sign to those who have received the reality it points to? Surely those who have received the grace of the covenant have the right to the covenant signs. Those who have received the Spirit as well as we ought to receive baptism as well as we, for we should follow God’s leading and welcome into fellowship those whom he has welcomed.

God had promised to pour out his Spirit on the children of the faithful, on their offspring. So who could forbid water, so they should not be baptized, when they had received the promise of the Holy Spirit just as we have? Now we can see why the Spirit was given before baptism. Otherwise, Peter might not have dared to baptize them, any more than to preach to them, unless God had first directed him by a vision. At the very least, he would have faced criticism from the believing Jews of the circumcision. So God kept opening one unusual door of grace after another to bring the Gentiles into the church. How good it is that God’s grace is far wider than the charity of some good people.

Peter did not baptize them himself, but commanded that they be baptized (Acts 10:48). It is likely that some of the brothers who came with him did it by his direction. Peter may have avoided doing it himself for the same reason Paul did, so that no one would think too highly of the person who baptized them, or think he had baptized them in his own name (1 Corinthians 1:15). The apostles were given the charge to go and make disciples of all nations by baptism, but they were to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. Paul also says that he was sent, not to baptize, but to preach, which was the greater and more excellent work. So the task of baptizing was usually given to lesser ministers. They acted under the apostles’ orders, and so the apostles could be said to do it themselves. What a man does through another, he is said to do himself.

Finally, the listeners showed their approval of both Peter’s message and God’s work by asking Peter to stay for several days. They could not ask him to live with them permanently, because they knew he had work elsewhere and was expected at Jerusalem for the time being. Still, they did not want him to leave right away. They earnestly begged him to remain a while so they could be taught more about the things of God’s kingdom.

Those who know Christ even a little cannot help wanting to know him more. Even those who have received the Holy Spirit still need the ministry of the word.