Lesson 2752

(Lesson 2752)(07-07-19) Acts 10:44-48
    “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. 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. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

   The first part of today’s quote makes reference to the fact that, upon hearing Peter’s message about Jesus, those Gentiles present at the house of Cornelius, recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost since Peter and the others witnessed them “speak with tongues, and magnify God”.
    After seeing their reaction to his message, and hearing them testify, Peter then asked, “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?”
    As was established in Peter’s experience with Simon the Sorcerer, (Acts 8: 18-35) the Holy Ghost will not abide in someone who is not a child of God, someone who has not understood nor believed in Jesus Christ crucified; Therefore, those who had gathered in Cornelius’ house must have been saved at the very moment they understood the message and believed in, or accepted Jesus Christ.
    After those people had been eternally saved and received the Holy Ghost, Peter commanded that they be “baptized in the name of the Lord.” To me, that part of today’s quote can be confusing to some, in that those people had already been saved and received the Holy Ghost, therefore, when Peter commanded that they be “baptized”, he could NOT have been implying that they should be “baptized by the Holy Ghost or be “baptized into Christ, because that would have been redundant and totally unnecessary seeing that they had already believed and received the Holy Ghost. So, what does it really mean to be “baptized in the name of the Lord”? Since it has already been established that the phrase, “the name of Jesus Christ”, or “the name of the Lord”, refers to something that can be preached, or conversly, learned, I believe Peter’s intentions were that those present at the home of Cornelius, who had believed in Jesus, and who had already received the Holy Ghost, were to be given further instructions, (be baptized in) things pertaining to the obligations of a child of God. If, on the other hand, Peter intended that they be baptized in water, those instructions are completely out of context with how water baptism was originally applied under the old laws of the Jews.~
 NOTE: There is one other valuable part of today’s quote that we will discuss in tomorrow’s lesson.