How does Acts 10:12 connect with Genesis 1:31 about God's creation being good? Setting the scene Peter is in Joppa, hungry, praying on a rooftop. Suddenly “he saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners” (Acts 10:11). On that sheet lay “all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air” (Acts 10:12). A voice commands, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” (Acts 10:13). The heavenly vision: Acts 10:12 • “All kinds” means clean and unclean species alike—nothing excluded. • God Himself presents these creatures and calls them suitable for eating. • The vision repeats three times (Acts 10:16), underscoring divine certainty and permanence. Echoes of Eden: Genesis 1:31 • “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) • The Hebrew kol (“all”) embraces every creature, plant, star, and human. • “Very good” (tov me’od) marks God’s final, comprehensive verdict on creation before sin distorted it. A unified testimony: all things declared clean and good 1. Same Creator, same creatures – The animals Peter sees are the very beings God formed in Genesis 1. – God’s original pronouncement of goodness still stands; the vision re-affirms it. 2. Temporary distinction, lasting goodness – Dietary laws in Leviticus 11 were never about intrinsic uncleanness but about setting Israel apart (Leviticus 11:44–45). – Through Christ, those ceremonial boundaries are removed; “By saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19). 3. New-covenant clarity – “I am convinced, and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14). – “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:4). Implications for Peter—and for us • Salvation extends to Gentiles (Acts 10:34–35). If the animals are no longer off-limits, neither are the nations once considered “unclean.” • God’s goodness in creation undergirds His goodness in redemption; both flow from the same heart and the same Word. • Practical freedom arises: we may enjoy what God calls good, steward it wisely, and receive it with gratitude (Psalm 24:1; Colossians 1:16). Practical takeaways • View the created world as essentially good, marred by sin yet affirmed by God. • Honor God’s generosity—receive food and fellowship with thankful hearts. • Let the goodness declared in Genesis motivate evangelism: no person is beyond God’s cleansing reach. |
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