The Fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant

The Will of Man

Acts 11:1–15 (NIV)

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.

So here we have the third repetition of the story of Peter and Cornelius. This story was obviously significant to the church and how the church moved forward, but the need for repetition also speaks to the unwillingness of the hearer to accept the validity of the story and respond accordingly to the truth presented. We see this opposition as chapter 11 opens. News travelled of what had occurred in Caesarea to the believers in Jerusalem.

Take notice of the heart condition of the believers. They responded to the story by being fixed on the areas of the story that gave credence to their rebuking of the events. We are called to test everything in accordance with the Scriptures, but testing against the Scriptures is the key. The Law of God did not expressly prohibit a Jew to enter the house of a Gentile. This was an inference to the oral Torah, the teachings of the rabbis as they had interpreted the Law as a whole. While the Law does speak about not intermingling with Gentiles that one might be given over to the worship of other gods, it did not forbade the entrance into the house of a Gentile. As believers, our hearts are to be fixed on things above. Col 3:1-3

Colossians 3:1–3 (NIV)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

The believers in Jerusalem were fixated on earthly things, the fact that Peter would defile himself by entering the house of a Gentile, instead of being fixed on the things above, Cornelius and his household received salvation and the Holy Spirit.

The Will of God

Acts 11:16–18 (NIV)

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.”

In the face of God’s hand at work, Peter could not help but be fixated on what God was doing. When was the last time that you were fixated on what God is doing?

As believers, we have been set free from having to be fixed on earthly things because we have been made citizens of heaven. Our hope does not rest in making right the things of earth for we have been made citizens of heaven. We have been given insight by the Lord of all things that this earth will pass away. Matthew 24:35-36

Matthew 24:35–36 (NIV)

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

This does not mean as believers that we are not called to be actively involved in the things or the people of earth. We are called to be salt and light. We are called to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. We are called to loose on earth so that they might be loosed in heaven. We are called to snatch those from the fire.

Matthew 5:13–16 (NIV)

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Romans 12:15 (NIV)

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Matthew 18:18–20 (NIV)

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Jude 22–23 (NIV)

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

You see, we are called to fulfill the will of God. Let us not be distracted by the temptation to stand in the place of God and cast judgment over the sins of others or to critique the method and means by which others fulfill or fail to fulfill the will of God.