From the Elder's Pen "Cornelius" Part 2 11/17/02 Past/Future Articles

 Cornelius was a good and devout man.  He must have known something of the God of the Jews and of the Christians, because Caesarea was the home of Philip (Acts 8:40-21:8) who told the Gospel Story in all cities from Azotus to Caesarea (Acts 21:8, 9).  But, though Cornelius prayed to the God of the Jews, he and his household were still Gentiles outside the Church.  It was of God that Cornelius was chosen to be the first Gentile to whom the Gospel Door would be opened.  God Himself directed the whole proceedings.  In Acts 10:5, God told Cornelius to “Send men to Joppa and “fetch” one Simon, whose surname was Peter.”
 In Joppa Peter was staying with a tanner of whom God told Cornelius about, even giving directions where the house was (by the sea), and that Peter would tell him what to do (10:6).  As the men sent by Cornelius approached the city (v. 9), Peter went upon the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.  He became very hungry, and would have eaten, but he fell asleep.  It took a special vision from God to persuade Peter to go to Caesarea (v. 9-23).  Three times God showed Peter a vision of a certain vessel descending from heaven containing all manner of four footed beast of the earth (wild beast, and creeping things, and fowls of the air).  A voice said to Peter to rise and eat.  This would have been in direct violation to what the Jews had been taught all their lives, as God had directed them under the Mosaic law what to eat.  Therefore, it was hard for Peter to accept eating unclean meat (v. 17).  However, the voice instructed Peter (v. 15), “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”
 While Peter was much perplexed what the vision meant, the men sent by Cornelius stood at the gate inquiring for Simon’s house.  Just as Peter had preached the first Gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost, opening the door to the Jews, he was now going to take the Gospel key and open the door to the Gentile world.  God put His own seal of approval on the reception of Cornelius and his house into the Chruch (vs. 44-48).  The First Fruits of the Gentile world would be Cornelius.  It is interesting to note that as far as we know, Cornelius was not required to quit his army work.
 This probably was about 10 years after the founding of the Church in Jerusalem, possibly about A. D. 40.  Knowledge of it, no doubt, gave impetus to the founding of the Gentile Church in Antioch (Acts 11:20).  The baptism of the Gentiles into the Church was truly hard for many of the Jews to accept.  Chapter 11 of Acts tells the procedures Peter went through to prove to the Church at Jerusalem these happenings were sanctioned of God.
 As we have stated, it was from Joppa (v. 5) that God sent Jewish Peter to Gentile Cornelius.  From this same Joppa, 800 years before, God had to use a little extra persuasion on Jewish Jonah to get him to go to Gentile Nineveh (Jonah 1:3).  Wherever we are, whatever we do, we can stand as stalwart soldiers in the Kingdom of God and shine that beacon of light that will draw men and cause them to obey and glorify that great, high, and holy name.  Let us march onward!!!!