God is No Respector of Persons
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What does it mean that God is no respecter of persons?
What does it mean that God is no respecter of persons?
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,
Context of Acts 10
Acts 10:1-8
Cornelius - a “centurion of what was known as the Italian cohort”.(Verse 1) Despite being a Gentile, Luke describes Cornelius and his family as “devout and God-fearing”, and Cornelius “gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly”. (Verse 2)
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.
Acts 10:5
An angel of God appears to Cornelius in a vision and instructs him to “send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter”
Cornelius did exactly as the angel instructed him to do (verses 7-8)
When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
As the messengers approach Joppa, Peter receives a vision from the Lord
Acts 10:9-16
In Peter’s vision, a large sheet descends from heaven, containing “all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air,” including clean and unclean animals (verse 12). Suddenly, a voice comes to Peter and commands him to “kill and eat” (verse 13). Peter, a devout Jew, refuses the command: “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean” (verse 14). To which the Lord respons, “What God has made clean, do not call common” (verse 15) This vision is repeated three times for emphasis (verse 16).
Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate
Shortly after Peter’s vision, the messengers arrive in Joppa
Acts 10:17
The Holy Spirit then instructs Peter to “accompany them without hesitation”
Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”
The next day, Peter travels to Caesarea with Cornelius’s messengers (verse 24)
When Peter enters Cornelius’s home, Cornelius falls at his feet and begins to worship him (verse 25)
Peter promptly lifts him up and refuses to receive the worship (verse 26)
And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”
Peter acknowledges the unusual circumstances that led him to Cornelius’s home (Acts 10:28-29) Although it was unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile, God showed Peter that he should not despise or reject ANYONE (verses 28-29). In response, Cornelius recounts the vision that he received from an angel of the Lord (verse 30-32). He then expresses a desire to hear what Peter had to share with him and his household (verse 33). It is at this point that Peter declares, “I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (verse 34)
And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”
And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’
So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
The statement “God is no respecter of persons” means that God does not show favoritism or partiality. In other words, the free offer of the gospel is available to all - Jew and Gentile alike
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
In the Old Testament, God established a covenant relationship with Israel (Deuteronomy 7:6). This led many Jews to believe that Gentiles were “unclean” and beyond the reach of God’s saving grace.
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Peter’s vision and subsequent encounter with Cornelius shattered the Jewish notion of exclusivity. God revealed to Peter that His redemptive plan included Jews and Gentiles (John 10:16)
Peter’s declaration that “God is no respecter of persons” affirms that the gospel of Jesus Christ is available to all, irrespective of nationality or social status. This profound truth breaks down national barriers and unites people from diverse backgrounds (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
As Christians, we are called to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptiing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Conclusion:
This is but one area in God’s word that we see God’s character of love and acceptance. We are commanded to love God with all our heart and love each other as ourselves. As we look upon each other at work, at the store, at church, or anywhere, we must look at each other as fellow created ones by our God. He is no respecter of persons. When we meet Him face to face, talk to Him 1:1, I anticipate we will walk away from Him thinking we are each His favorite...and indeed we are. If we look upon each other as fellow favorites of the Lord, we can look upon each other and love one another with the same eyes as Christ.