Cornelius
Cornelius is not the 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kingdom was withdrawn at the stoning of Stephen" and so anyone who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.
