“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. “
2 Timothy 3:16-17
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JANUARY 24, 2025
In this week’s passage, God orchestrated an amazing series of events to bring Gentiles to full salvation through Jesus Christ! Cornelius and his household exemplify the process of initial repentance, as they believe in Jesus Christ and are forgiven and saved. But they aren’t the only ones transformed. Peter and the Jewish believers demonstrate the process of ongoing repentance, as they submit to God’s correction. Let’s read as the story moves to Jerusalem.
“The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, ‘You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.’
Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: ‘I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
‘The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
‘Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
‘As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?’
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Acts 11:1-18 NIV)
From the establishment of His covenant with Israel, God promised to bless all nations through them (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). This promise is fulfilled in Jesus, the Savior of the world! But the early church, made up primarily of Jewish believers, has yet to fully grasp the implications of this profound truth. Therefore, God sets out to show them.
First, He pursues Peter, then the Jewish believers at Cornelius’s house, and now the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, challenging their assumptions and correcting their misunderstandings. Each of them submits to God’s training and changes their position. Peter realizes that God accepts people from every nation (Acts 10:35). The Jewish believers at Cornelius’s house recognize that even the Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:45). Now the Jewish believers in Jerusalem acknowledge that God has even granted Gentiles repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18).
A believer’s initial step of repentance is just the beginning of a lifetime of repentance and transformation into His image. God does not leave any of us where we are. When we earnestly seek Him in His Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers, He will teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us in righteousness. Then we will have remarkable stories, too!
Questions for reflection and discussion:
- What is God teaching you?
- How has God been rebuking or correcting you lately?
- What might you need to repent of today? Take some time to seek God in His word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers. And rejoice that God will help you obey and transform you into His image!
Church Reading Plan:
- Today, January 24: Genesis 25; Matthew 24
- Saturday, January 25: Genesis 26; Matthew 25
- Sunday, January 26: Genesis 27; Matthew 26