Cornelius is not Our
pattern!
Among believers,
some want to hold the position that Cornelius, the Roman Centurion, in Acts
Chapter Ten, is a pattern of Gentile salvation into the body of Christ. This is
based on the assumption that "the kingdom was withdrawn at the stoning of
Stephen" and so anyone who believed after that time is automatically included in
the body of Christ. Most people who hold this view will point to Acts Chapter
Two as the beginning of the Church. In other words, the message gradually moved
from predominately Jewish to predominately Gentile believers. Most who hold this
view only see one body of believers, or only one church, in the so-called "new
testament" time period. The bible, however, is clear that God recognizes THREE
churches. Not just one. There is the ?church in the wilderness,? Moses was the
leader; there is the ?church at Jerusalem, Peter emerged as the spokesman; and
then there is the church the body of Christ, a new creation only revealed to
Paul. Paul was saved in Acts chapter Nine, hence someone who is able to see
these distinctions in scripture will acknowledge that Paul is the FIRST member
and the PATTERN of the church, the body of Christ. (1 Timothy 1:15-16)
There are some, however, who believe that the body of
Christ began in mid-Acts, but who still point to Cornelius as an example of
"transition." Those seem to hold the belief that anyone who was saved after the
stoning of Stephen (which is the last time the bible indicates that ?national
repentance? was being offered to Israel) fall into what they call "the but now
revelation" and therefore MUST be in the body of Christ.
I believe that this position is in error for several
reasons, and I'd like to go over some of the more important ones. The most
important, first of all, is to state that all men, of all ages, Genesis thru
Revelation, are saved by faith. But NOT ALL are saved by grace through faith.
Some were saved by faith plus WORKS....or in other words....the doing of
something. All salvation is by FAITH IN WHAT GOD SAID. But it is clear in the
bible that God says different things to different people at different
times.
A prime example of this would be Cain and Abel. God
established the blood sacrifice in the Garden of Eden when He made Adam and Eve
"coats of skins and clothed them" in Genesis 3:21. Obviously, Adam taught his
sons how to worship God, when to worship God and WHAT TO BRING in order to
worship. Abel brought the acceptable offering, Cain did not....and the bible
records, in Genesis Chapter Four that " the Lord had respect unto Abel and to
his offering: But unto Cain and his offering he had not respect." Another
example would be Noah. The bible says that ?Noah found grace in the eyes of the
Lord.? In order to ?find grace? it only follows that Noah did something in order
to find it. Actually, Noah was the only man alive who still kept the blood
sacrifice as Abel above did. So God told Noah to build an ark ?to the saving of
his house.? Noah did it. In your case, however, you were not told to DO
something, you were told to BELIEVE something. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved.
Now in Acts Chapter
Ten, Verse 34, Peter says to Cornelius, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no
respecter of persons." That is a very qualified statement, because in the very
next verse, Peter proves that GOD IS a respecter of persons, dispensationally,
because he says, "But in every nation he that FEARETH HIM and WORKETH
RIGHTEOUSNESS is accepted with him." The negative of that statement is that even
though a man feared God, unless he ALSO WORKED RIGHTEOUSNESS he would not be
accepted. It would compare to what James wrote in the book of James, that ?faith
without works is dead.? (Please note that GRACE without works is NOT dead!) Paul
later wrote, in Titus 3:5 that our salvation is NOT by works of righteousness
which we have done. The two verses are at odds with each other unless you
recognize the DIVISIONS in scripture.
Now the entire basis
of the salvation of Cornelius in Acts Chapter Ten is not at all within the
"dispensation of the grace of God" because Peter was not a "dispenser of the
grace of God" and never says that he is, nor does the bible anywhere say that
any apostle other than Paul was a "steward of the mysteries of God." (1
Corinthians 4:1) Paul says in I Corinthians 9:17 that "a dispensation of the
gospel is committed unto me." Paul says that ?by grace ARE YE SAVED.? On the
contrary, Peter writes from a totally different perspective in I Peter Chapter
One, verse thirteen:
1 Peter 1: 13
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the
grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ;
Peter expected to
receive grace at the end if he endured unto the end, just as the Lord had told
him:
Matthew 24: 13 But he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved.
In II Peter, 1:10 he
warns them to "make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things,
ye shall never fall.....and an "entrance......into the kingdom.....would be
given to them." At the end of his life Peter says: "beware, lest ye fall from
your own stedfastness"....II Peter 3:17. In the TIME PAST message preached by
Peter and the 12, faith plus works of faith was necessary for salvation. Their
salvation would be at the end, either the end of their lives, or the end of the
tribulation, whichever came first. They were given power to endure. (Nobody
today has the ?power to become the sons of God,? as in John 1:12. That doctrine
belongs to a time past message.)
Contrary to the
opinion of some, the Pentecostal believers.....and that includes ANYONE who was
in Peter's ministry.....or the ministry of James, or John, or Steven, or
Philip....or any other kingdom apostle or evangelist, HAD A PERFORMANCE-BASED
SALVATION. Acts Religious men have wrestled with Hebrews Chapter 6, verses 4-6
and Hebrews 10:26 and other Hebrew scriptures ever since the Baptists came into
being and have insisted that those described in such passages are "false
professors." That is NOT TRUE. John 1:11 says, "He came unto his own and his own
received him not...." And verse twelve says, "But as many as received him, to
them gave he POWER TO BECOME the sons of God." Notice that it neither says that
they were MADE sons of God, that they received the atonement, or that they were
baptized into the body of Christ. None of those things are in view in the
passages.
The baptism WITH the
Holy Ghost was for POWER, the power to suffer, the power to endure, the power to
"love not their lives unto death" BUT IT DID NOT TAKE AWAY THEIR FREE WILL. God
did not overpower their free will and God never relieved them of the
responsibility to MAKE A CHOICE. Their salvation was by faith ON TRIAL. So,
there were 8,000 baptized believers who were NOT SAVED, and would not be saved
until the deliverer roars out of Zion and fulfills the covenant of Jeremiah
31:31, Hebrews 8:8 and Romans 11:27: "For this is my covenant unto them when I
shall take away their sins." The salvation of Cornelius, the Roman Centurion is
in one accord with this and is no different.
Cornelius was blessed by God in one accord with God's
promise to Abraham in Genesis Chapter Twelve, Verse Three: "I will bless them
that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee." You can see this promise at
work also in the case of the Syro-Phonecian woman in Matthew 15, the Centurion
in Matthew 8:5, the Centurion in Luke 7:6 and Cornelius, the Centurion, in Acts
Chapter Ten. These people BLESSED the seed of Abraham.....and God blessed them.
They were not SAVED by blessing the seed of Abraham, by blessing Israel, but
because they did they were in a position of being ?dogs under the table eating
the crumbs of the children?s bread.? (Matthew 15:26) Keep in mind that ONLY in
the dispensation of the grace of God is both Jew and Gentile equal before God.
Previously, Israel was exalted above all nations. In the future the Israel of
God (not the Israel of the television nightly news) will once again be in that
position. The bible says that ?all Israel SHALL BE saved.? Peter and all those
involved in his ministry certainly qualify.
How could Cornelius be saved by Paul's gospel? If
Cornelius was saved by Paul's gospel, the only gospel by which you are baptized
by the Spirit into the body of Christ, then why didn't the angel tell Cornelius
to send for Paul instead of sending for Peter? At the time of Acts chapter ten
Peter had never heard Paul?s message. He only learned it at the time of Acts
15. ?Faith cometh by HEARING and HEARING by the word of God.? The only way
you can be saved IN ANY DISPENSATION is in response TO WHAT YOU HEAR. Cornelius
heard what Peter said, and Peter said that fearing God and WORKING RIGHTEOUSNESS
makes you acceptable to God....the implication being.....that without working
righteousness you are not acceptable to God.
Peter preached to Cornelius, (Acts 10:43) that to
Jesus Christ "give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever
believeth in him shall receive the remission of sins." That remission was UNTO
the second coming of Christ. In other words the blotting out of their sins,
according to Peter in Acts chapter three, verse nineteen and twenty, was at the
second coming of Christ. Sins in remission is not sins blotted out. That
doctrine is contrary to Paul?s doctrine, which says Christ died for ALL of our
sins, and by whom (Jesus Christ) we (in the body of Christ) have NOW RECEIVED
the atonement. The atonement for Israel, according to Peter, is at the second
coming.
When the Lord
revealed to Paul that he should go up to Jerusalem, at the time of Acts chapter
fifteen, and COMMUNICATE UNTO THEM that gospel that I preach, you can see Peter
witnessing the same ?endure to the end? message of salvation for those Kingdom
Saints. As a matter of fact, Peter stands up and gives an account of his LONE
SERMON to Gentiles. There is no bible record that Peter ever preached to a
Gentile other than what Peter talks about here:
Acts 15: 7 And when there had been much disputing,
Peter rose up, and said unto them, 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: 8 And God,
which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as
he did unto us;
Acts 15: 9 And put
no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Now some believe that since Peter said there is "no
difference between us and them" that this means Cornelius is in the body of
Christ. Usually, those who believe that believe that Peter is also in the body
of Christ. But that cannot be so. Peter is not in the body of Christ and there
is "no difference between us and them." If Cornelius is in the body of Christ
here, then so is Peter and so is the entire Pentecostal church. If Peter and
those from Pentecost are in the body of Christ then God is the author of
confusion, and that cannot be. The doctrine written by Peter in 1 and 2 Peter is
quite contrary to the doctrine written by Paul in Romans through Philemon. There
is no way you can believe and obey the doctrine written by Peter while at the
same time believe and obey the doctrine written by Paul. (A classic example of
the difference, and there are dozens of them, is a comparison between 1 Peter
2:9 and Galatians 3:28. One is about a ?holy nation? while the other is about a
?joint body? in which there is no nationality.) The truth is, as in verse
Eleven, Cornelius SHALL BE SAVED. There is NO DIFFERENCE in the salvation of
Cornelius and the salvation of Peter. Both must endure to the end:
Acts 15: 11 But we believe that through the grace of
the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
When is it that Peter believes that they SHALL BE
SAVED?
1 Peter 1: 13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your
mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Now James verifies
this in verse sixteen and seventeen, when he quotes from the Prophet Amos. The
DAY in view in the passage is the second coming of Christ:
Amos 9: 11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle
of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up
his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
Amos 9: 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom,
and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth
this.
According to prophecy, Christ will return again and
Israel will be exalted above all nations, will be a kingdom of priests and an
holy nation, and Gentiles will be taught (teach all nations as in the so-called
?great commission?) by the priests of the Lord, the people of Israel. The
church, the body of Christ, is not the subject of prophecy. Such a thing as a
joint body of believers made up of both Jews and Gentiles, all equal in one
body, is something that is foreign to any prophecy in the Old Testament. The
body of Christ is not in the Old Testament. So one man says, well he was in the
body of Christ.....he just didn't know it....but God did. Well, faith cometh by
hearing. How can you have faith in something you have never heard? Cornelius
never heard the gospel of Christ, didn't believe the gospel of Christ and was
not in the church, the body of Christ.....he was "enduring to the end".....just
like Peter. He, and Peter, will be resurrected....and enter the kingdom. Paul?s
message is different. In Paul?s gospel, Jesus Christ endured to the end IN YOUR
BEHALF.
The Gospel of the
Kingdom was to be preached in all the world, beginning at Jerusalem. When
Stephen was stoned to death the offer of NATIONAL REPENTANCE to Israel was
withdrawn, but the offer of salvation based on the gospel Peter preached was
not. After Stephen was stoned to death, all of the believers at Jerusalem were
all ?scattered abroad? except the apostles, here are some of the events leading
up to Peter?s one and only sermon to Gentiles:
Acts 8: 5 Then Philip went down to the city of
Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Acts 8: 6 And the
people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing
and seeing the miracles which he did.
Acts 8: 12 But when
they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the
name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Acts 8: 14 Now when the apostles which were at
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them
Peter and John:
Acts 8: 17 Then laid
they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
Will the Samaritans enter the kingdom? Yes. Phillip
preached the same gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch and he was baptized WITH WATER.
Will he enter the kingdom? Yes. Now we come to the account of
Cornelius:
Acts 10: 1 There was
a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the
Italian band,
Acts 10: 2 A devout
man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the
people, and prayed to God alway.
Cornelius heard
Peter preach, believed what Peter said, was baptized WITH THE HOLY GHOST.....not
by the Spirit into the Body of Christ.....and was also baptized with water. Six
other Jews had gone with Peter to the home of Cornelius and they all heard them
speak with tongues, the SIGN to the Jews that Cornelius had the same baptism
that they had. The power to endure to the end. Will Cornelius enter the kingdom?
Yes.
Peter had Apostolic authority throughout the world
until the time of Acts Fifteen. The record shows, however, that Peter never went
anywhere. He stayed in Jerusalem. Their ?great commission? had a specific order
of business. It was FIRST in Jerusalem, according to the Lord?s instructions in
Acts 1:8. They never finished that job. All of the twelve apostles remained in
the vicinity of Jerusalem. They were prepared for and looking for the second
coming of Christ and the Kingdom being established. What happened with Peter?s
encounter with Cornelius prepared Peter to stand and defend Paul?s ministry
later on. At the meeting in Acts 15, Peter, James and John "perceived the grace
that was given to Paul" as in Galatians Chapter Two, verse nine. By a handshake,
because of the revelation given to Paul, they agreed to go only to the
circumcision.....and so after that time, Peter had no authority among Gentiles.
(Anyone who claims to follow Peter, or James or John should furnish bible proof
for the authority to do so.) At the time of Acts 28:28 he had no Apostolic
authority at all....anywhere. So during the time period of the book of Acts,
there were two groups of people, two bodies of believers....one following Paul
and Paul's doctrine and the other following the rule of the Kingdom Apostles.
The doctrine to each of the groups was different.
The Kingdom program faded away during the book of
Acts while Paul's ministry increased. As a matter of fact Paul said in
Collosians 1:24 that his gospel was preached to "every creature under heaven."
That couldn't have been Peter's gospel because the Lord said, in Matthew 24 that
the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world and then the end
would come. Now you will notice in your bible that there is no record of any of
the Kingdom apostles, in other words, Peter and the 12, having any preaching
ministry after the time of Acts chapter twelve. At that time, James, the brother
of John, was killed by the sword and Peter was arrested and put in prison. An
angel freed Peter from what was to be certain death and the bible says that
Peter ?went to another place.? We are never told where that place was, and the
only thing you know about Peter, or any of the 12, after that time is that they
wrote letters to the Kingdom believers.
But Paul said, in
Romans 15:20 that he strived to preach the gospel where Christ was not named,
lest he build upon another man's foundation. The foundational truth that Christ
died for our sins and was raised for our justification was different than the
foundational truth that Peter preached to Cornelius, that through Jesus Christ
he would receive remission of sins. Sins in remission is not the same as sins
blotted out. The blotting out for the Kingdom group, for the ?little flock,? is
at the second coming of Christ. In Paul's gospel, the believer is eternally
secure by faith in the finished work of Christ, but in Peter's gospel, as he
preached to Cornelius, WORKS of righteousness were involved and enduring to the
end was required, in order to be a partaker of the atonement AT THE
END.
Those in Hebrews 3:6 had to hold fast their
confidence to the end and in verse fourteen they would be made partakers of
Christ "if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast to the end." There
is a big IF in that Hebrews salvation and it stands in stark contrast to Paul?s
doctrine of being ?complete in Christ.? (Collosians 2:10-14) Even though they
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, having "tasted of the heavenly
gift......and the powers of the world to come" it was possible for them to FALL
AWAY and could not be "renewed again." Now some claim this is talking about the
apostate nation. No, this is talking about people WHO HAVE BEEN RENEWED BUT
CANNOT BE RENEWED AGAIN. In Hebrews 10:26 it is clear that they could not
commit a WILFUL SIN and still be saved.
I John 1:9 says,
concerning those kingdom believers
(1 John 1:9
KJV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Some people use the verse to promote a ?salvation
maintenance program? for members of the body of Christ. The truth is that 1 John
is not even written about the body of Christ, but is about Israel?s priesthood
in a tribulation context. The cleansing that John writes about is the cleansing
IN THAT DAY of Zechariah 13:1. It is associated with the second coming of
Christ. When a person is cleansed from ALL unrighteousness there is no more need
for a ?daily, weekly or monthly cleansing? as some claim. 1 John 1:9 stands in
contrast to Collosians 2:13.
And in I John 5:16
"there is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it." An example
of that would be Annanias in Acts Chapter Five who sold some property, but
instead of laying it at the apostles feet....he kept back part of the money and
lied to God about it. Paul says that greed is a form of idolatry.
Annanias.....and his wife....fell down dead because they lied to God. Not slain
in the spirit....slain BY THE SPIRIT! Wilful sin was DEATH then and so will it
be in the Kingdom. The overcoming power is available to the Kingdom
believer....but the choice is always his.....and HE CAN FALL AWAY. Hence, at the
end of his life, Peter writes:
(2 Pet 3:17
KJV) Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware
lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own
stedfastness.
Peter's gospel to
Cornelius in Acts Chapter Ten is NOT YOUR PATTERN. Here's yours:
(1 Tim 1:15 KJV) This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners; of whom I am chief.
(1 Tim 1:16
KJV) Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus
Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
Paul wrote Timothy to charge some that they teach "no
other doctrine" and to "be ye followers of me as I also am of Christ." The
revelation of the mystery pertaining to the church, the body of Christ was
committed to Paul, not to Peter. Peter said that the things Paul writes are hard
to be understood. Peter?s doctrine is a TIME PAST message that is decidedly
different than Paul?s.
Spiritual things are
words, according to the Lord, and in I Corinthians 2:13 Paul says "we speak, not
in words which man's wisdom teacheth but that which the Holy Ghost teacheth,
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. When you compare the WORDS spoken by
Peter with the WORDS spoken by Paul they are clearly different. Cornelius NEVER
HEARD PAUL'S WORDS. He heard Peter's words and was saved by faith in what he
heard. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto
God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.