The Acts of the Apostles
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 14: A Seeker for Truth
This chapter is based on Acts 9:32 to 11:18.
In the course of his ministry the apostle Peter visited the
believers at Lydda. Here he healed Aeneas, who for eight years had been
confined to his bed with palsy. "Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee
whole," the apostle said; "arise, and make thy bed." "He
arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to
the Lord." {AA 131.1}
At Joppa, which was near Lydda, there lived a woman named
Dorcas, whose good deeds had made her greatly beloved. She was a worthy
disciple of Jesus, and her life was filled with acts of kindness. She knew who
needed comfortable clothing and who needed sympathy, and she freely ministered
to the poor and the sorrowful. Her skillful fingers were more active than her
tongue. {AA 131.2}
"And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick,
and died." The church in Joppa realized their loss, and hearing that Peter
was at Lydda, the believers sent messengers to [132] him,
"desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose
and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber:
and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments
which Dorcas made, while she was with them." In view of the life of
service that Dorcas had lived, it is little wonder that they mourned, that warm
teardrops fell upon the inanimate clay. {AA 131.3}
The apostle's heart was touched with sympathy as he beheld
their sorrow. Then, directing that the weeping friends be sent from the room,
he kneeled down and prayed fervently to God to restore Dorcas to life and
health. Turning to the body, he said, "Tabitha, arise. And she opened her
eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up." Dorcas had been of great
service to the church, and God saw fit to bring her back from the land of the
enemy, that her skill and energy might still be a blessing to others, and also
that by this manifestation of His power the cause of Christ might be
strengthened. {AA 132.1}
It was while Peter was still at Joppa that he was called by
God to take the gospel to Cornelius, in Caesarea. {AA 132.2}
Cornelius was a Roman centurion. He was a man of wealth and
noble birth, and his position was one of trust and honor. A heathen by birth,
training, and education, through contact with the Jews he had gained a
knowledge of God, and he worshiped Him with a true heart, showing the sincerity
of his faith by compassion to the poor. He was known far and near for his
beneficence, and his righteous life made him of good repute among both Jews and
Gentiles. [133] His influence was a blessing to all with whom
he came in contact. The inspired record describes him as "a devout man,
and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people,
and prayed to God alway." {AA 132.3}
Believing in God as the Creator of heaven and earth,
Cornelius revered Him, acknowledged His authority, and sought His counsel in
all the affairs of life. He was faithful to Jehovah in his home life and in his
official duties. He had erected the altar of God in his home, for he dared not
attempt to carry out his plans or to bear his responsibilities without the help
of God. {AA 133.1}
Though Cornelius believed the prophecies and was looking for
the Messiah to come, he had not a knowledge of the gospel as revealed in the
life and death of Christ. He was not a member of the Jewish church and would
have been looked upon by the rabbis as a heathen and unclean. But the same Holy
Watcher who said of Abraham, "I know him," knew Cornelius also, and
sent a message direct from heaven to him. {AA 133.2}
The angel appeared to Cornelius while he was at prayer. As
the centurion heard himself addressed by name, he was afraid, yet he knew that
the messenger had come from God, and he said, "What is it, Lord?" The
angel answered, "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 seaside."
{AA 133.3}
The explicitness of these directions, in which was named
even the occupation of the man with whom Peter was [134]
staying, shows that Heaven is acquainted with the history and business of men
in every station of life. God is familiar with the experience and work of the
humble laborer, as well as with that of the king upon his throne. {AA 133.4}
"Send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon." Thus
God gave evidence of His regard for the gospel ministry and for His organized
church. The angel was not commissioned to tell Cornelius the story of the
cross. A man subject, even as the centurion himself, to human frailties and
temptations, was to be the one to tell him of the crucified and risen Saviour. {AA 134.1}
As His representatives among men, God does not choose angels
who have never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they
seek to save. Christ took humanity that He might reach humanity. A divine-human
Saviour was needed to bring salvation to the world. And to men and women has
been committed the sacred trust of making known "the unsearchable riches
of Christ." Ephesians 3:8. {AA 134.2}
In His wisdom the Lord brings those who are seeking for
truth into touch with fellow beings who know the truth. It is the plan of
Heaven that those who have received light shall impart it to those in darkness.
Humanity, drawing its efficiency from the great Source of wisdom, is made the
instrumentality, the working agency, through which the gospel exercises its
transforming power on mind and heart. {AA 134.3}
Cornelius was gladly obedient to the vision. When the angel
had gone, the centurion "called two of his household servants, and a
devout soldier of them that waited on him [135]
continually; and when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them
to Joppa." {AA 134.4}
The angel, after his interview with Cornelius, went to
Peter, in Joppa. At the time, Peter was praying upon the housetop of his
lodging, and we read that he "became very hungry, and would have eaten:
but while they made ready, he fell into a trance." It was not for physical
food alone that Peter hungered. As from the housetop he viewed the city of
Joppa and the surrounding country he hungered for the salvation of his
countrymen. He had an intense desire to point out to them from the Scriptures
the prophecies relating to the sufferings and death of Christ. {AA 135.1}
In the vision Peter "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 four-footed
beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the
air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said,
Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything 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." {AA
135.2}
This vision conveyed to Peter both reproof and instruction.
It revealed to him the purpose of God—that by the death of Christ the
Gentiles should be made fellow heirs with the Jews to the blessings of
salvation. As yet none of the disciples had preached the gospel to the
Gentiles. In their minds the middle wall of partition, broken down by [136]
the death of Christ, still existed, and their labors had been confined to the
Jews, for they had looked upon the Gentiles as excluded from the blessings of
the gospel. Now the Lord was seeking to teach Peter the world-wide extent of
the divine plan. {AA
135.3}
Many of the Gentiles had been interested listeners to the
preaching of Peter and the other apostles, and many of the Greek Jews had
become believers in Christ, but the conversion of Cornelius was to be the first
of importance among the Gentiles. {AA 136.1}
The time had come for an entirely new phase of work to be
entered upon by the church of Christ. The door that many of the Jewish converts
had closed against the Gentiles was now to be thrown open. And the Gentiles who
accepted the gospel were to be regarded as on an equality with the Jewish
disciples, without the necessity of observing the rite of circumcision. {AA 136.2}
How carefully the Lord worked to overcome the prejudice
against the Gentiles that had been so firmly fixed in Peter's mind by his
Jewish training! By the vision of the sheet and its contents He sought to
divest the apostle's mind of this prejudice and to teach the important truth
that in heaven there is no respect of persons; that Jew and Gentile are alike
precious in God's sight; that through Christ the heathen may be made partakers
of the blessings and privileges of the gospel. {AA 136.3}
While Peter was meditating on the meaning of the vision, the
men sent from Cornelius arrived in Joppa and stood before the gate of his
lodginghouse. Then the Spirit said [137] to him,
"Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go
with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them." {AA 136.4}
To Peter this was a trying command, and it was with
reluctance at every step that he undertook the duty laid upon him; but he dared
not disobey. He "went down to the men which were sent unto him from
Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore
ye are come?" They told him of their singular errand, saying,
"Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of
good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy
angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee." {AA 137.1}
In obedience to the directions just received from God, the
apostle promised to go with them. On the following morning he set out for
Caesarea, accompanied by six of his brethren. These were to be witnesses of all
that he should say or do while visiting the Gentiles, for Peter knew that he
would be called to account for so direct a violation of the Jewish teachings. {AA 137.2}
As Peter entered the house of the Gentile, Cornelius did not
salute him as an ordinary visitor, but as one honored of Heaven and sent to him
by God. It is an Eastern custom to bow before a prince or other high dignitary
and for children to bow before their parents; but Cornelius, overwhelmed with
reverence for the one sent by God to teach him, fell at the apostle's feet and
worshiped him. Peter was horror-stricken, and he lifted the centurion up,
saying, "Stand up; I myself also am a man." [138] {AA 137.3}
While the messengers of Cornelius had been gone upon their
errand, the centurion "had called together his kinsmen and near
friends," that they as well as he might hear the preaching of the gospel.
When Peter arrived, he found a large company eagerly waiting to listen to his
words. {AA 138.1}
To those assembled, Peter spoke first of the custom of the
Jews, saying that it was looked upon as unlawful for Jews to mingle socially
with the Gentiles, that to do this involved ceremonial defilement. "Ye
know," he said, "how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a
Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me
that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you
without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent
ye have sent for me?" {AA
138.2}
Cornelius then related his experience and the words of the
angel, saying in conclusion, "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." {AA 138.3}
Peter 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." {AA 138.4}
Then to that company of attentive hearers the apostle
preached Christ—His life, His miracles, His betrayal and crucifixion,
His resurrection and ascension, and His work in heaven as man's representative
and advocate. As Peter pointed those present to Jesus as the sinner's only
hope, he [139] himself understood more fully the meaning of
the vision he had seen, and his heart glowed with the spirit of the truth that
he was presenting. {AA
138.5}
Suddenly the discourse was interrupted by the descent of the
Holy Spirit. "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. For they heard them speak with tongues,
and magnify God. {AA
139.1}
"Then answered Peter, 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." {AA 139.2}
Thus was the gospel brought to those who had been strangers
and foreigners, making them fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the
household of God. The conversion of Cornelius and his household was but the
first fruits of a harvest to be gathered in. From this household a wide-spread
work of grace was carried on in that heathen city. {AA 139.3}
Today God is seeking for souls among the high as well as the
lowly. There are many like Cornelius, men whom the Lord desires to connect with
His work in the world. Their sympathies are with the Lord's people, but the
ties that bind them to the world hold them firmly. It requires moral courage
for them to take their position for Christ. Special efforts should be made for
these souls, who are in so great [140] danger, because of their
responsibilities and associations. {AA 139.4}
God calls for earnest, humble workers, who will carry the
gospel to the higher class. There are miracles to be wrought in genuine
conversions,—miracles that are not now discerned. The greatest men of
this earth are not beyond the power of a wonder-working God. If those who are
workers together with Him will be men of opportunity, doing their duty bravely
and faithfully, God will convert men who occupy responsible positions, men of
intellect and influence. Through the power of the Holy Spirit many will accept
the divine principles. Converted to the truth, they will become agencies in the
hand of God to communicate the light. They will have a special burden for other
souls of this neglected class. Time and money will be consecrated to the work
of the Lord, and new efficiency and power will be added to the church. {AA 140.1}
Because Cornelius was living in obedience to all the
instruction he had received, God so ordered events that he was given more
truth. A messenger from the courts of heaven was sent to the Roman officer and
to Peter in order that Cornelius might be brought into touch with one who could
lead him into greater light. {AA
140.2}
There are in our world many who are nearer the kingdom of
God than we suppose. In this dark world of sin the Lord has many precious
jewels, to whom He will guide His messengers. Everywhere there are those who
will take their stand for Christ. Many will prize the wisdom of God above any
earthly advantage, and will become faithful light [141]
bearers. Constrained by the love of Christ, they will constrain others to come
to Him. {AA 140.3}
When the brethren in Judea heard that Peter had gone to the
house of a Gentile and preached to those assembled, they were surprised and
offended. They feared that such a course, which looked to them presumptuous,
would have the effect of counteracting his own teaching. When they next saw
Peter they met him with severe censure, saying, "Thou wentest in to men
uncircumcised, and didst eat with them." {AA 141.1}
Peter laid the whole matter before them. He related his
experience in regard to the vision and pleaded that it admonished him to
observe no longer the ceremonial distinction of circumcision and
uncircumcision, nor to look upon the Gentiles as unclean. He told them of the
command given him to go to the Gentiles, of the coming of the messengers, of
his journey to Caesarea, and of the meeting with Cornelius. He recounted the
substance of his interview with the centurion, in which the latter had told him
of the vision by which he had been directed to send for Peter. {AA 141.2}
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"As I began to speak," he said, in relating his
experience, "the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then
remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with
water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 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?" [142] {AA 141.3}
On hearing this account, the brethren were silenced.
Convinced that Peter's course was in direct fulfillment of the plan of God, and
that their prejudices and exclusiveness were utterly contrary to the spirit of
the gospel, they glorified God, saying, "Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life." {AA 142.1}
Thus, without controversy, prejudice was broken down, the
exclusiveness established by the custom of ages was abandoned, and the way was
opened for the gospel to be proclaimed to the Gentiles. {AA 142.2}
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"Delivered From Prison"
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