Subject 12 : The Faith of the Apostles Creed
● Sermon on the Holy Spirit 7 : The Holy Spirit Fell upon the Gentiles
( Acts 10:44-48 )
“While
Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all
those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed
were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the
Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard
them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, ‘Can
anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received
the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized
in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.”
The
biblical events surrounding Cornelius provide the answer to the
question of whether or not it is by keeping the Law that one receives
the Holy Spirit. They show us that those who received the Holy Spirit
from God did not receive Him by keeping the law, but by believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit.
That
the Holy Spirit descended on Cornelius and his household shows us that
this phenomenon is also related to their faith in the baptism and blood
of Jesus. Like this, the faith that could enable all the people in the
world to receive the Holy Spirit was only the faith that enables these
people to receive the remission of their sins. Peter said in Acts 11:17,
“If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand
God?” For the faith of Peter, receiving the Holy Spirit and receiving
the remission of sin were the same. Therefore, the widespread belief in
today’s Christianity, that the faith that enables people to receive the
Holy Spirit can be attained through the prayers of repentance, is a
profoundly mistaken and completely fallacious belief. It is only by
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we receive the
Holy Spirit.
Seeing
the Holy Spirit descending on Cornelius and his family, Peter said,
“Who was I that I could withstand God?” (Acts 11:17) This means that the
Holy Spirit comes to us as a result of believing in the baptism that
Jesus received and in the precious blood of the Cross.
Acts
2:39 states, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to
all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Now,
people throughout the whole world have been enabled to receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit by hearing the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
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