Why is Peter's command to baptize significant for Gentile inclusion in the Church? Setting the Scene at Caesarea Acts 10 tells how Peter, a Jewish apostle, enters the home of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. While Peter speaks, “the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (Acts 10:44). These Gentiles then speak in tongues and magnify God—clear evidence that God Himself has already accepted them. Peter’s Command Recorded “‘And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.’” (Acts 10:48) Why Baptism, and Why Now? Peter could have ended the meeting after the Spirit fell, yet he gives an explicit order to baptize. That single command carries weighty meaning: • Completion of Conversion – Baptism publicly identifies the believer with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). – What began internally with faith and Spirit baptism is now affirmed externally with water baptism. • Visible Equality – Jews and Gentiles receive the same ordinance, no second-class ritual. – Peter had earlier told Jews, “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). Now the same call goes to Gentiles, showing one salvation path for all (Ephesians 4:5). • Rejection of Circumcision as Entry Mark – Circumcision marked Old Covenant belonging (Genesis 17:10-14). – By commanding baptism instead, Peter signals that faith in Christ, not ethnic identity, grants covenant membership (Galatians 3:26-29). • Apostolic Confirmation – An apostle’s authoritative word silences objections later in Jerusalem (Acts 11:17-18). – The Church cannot dispute what God has already done when Peter himself has sealed it with baptism. Baptism as the Public Seal of Inclusion Think of baptism here as a stamped passport into the community of faith: 1. It acknowledges God’s prior act—the Spirit already fell. 2. It places Gentile believers on level ground with Jewish believers. 3. It testifies before witnesses that these newcomers now belong to “one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). Echoes Across Scripture • Isaiah 49:6 foretold salvation reaching “the ends of the earth.” • Jesus predicted, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). • Acts 15:7-9 cites this very event to prove God “made no distinction between us and them.” • Ephesians 2:13-19 celebrates the demolition of the dividing wall, making Gentiles “fellow citizens with the saints.” Implications for the Church • No believer is relegated to a lesser tier; baptism proclaims full family status. • Gospel outreach crosses every cultural barrier because God has shown His acceptance first. • Every congregation mirrors the heavenly vision: “a great multitude from every nation” (Revelation 7:9). Peter’s command to baptize Cornelius’s household turns a living room in Caesarea into the doorway through which the nations march into Christ’s Church—equal, welcome, and washed. |
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