Zealous, But Not According to Knowledge:

” ¹ There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, ²A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”

Many misinterpret Cornelius religious habits to be a sign that he was already converted to Christ. However, were that the case, what would have been the urgency for him to call for Peter to come declare to him the Gospel of Christ? He rather depicts an elect sinner, who being a gentile, for a time, devoted himself to the law and attempting to keep the law, and yet, like so many of the Jewish faith, “had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge,” Romans 10:2.

The Wakeup Call:

“ ³ He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. ⁴ And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, LORD? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. ⁵ And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: ⁶ He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.”

What is certain is that all whom God the Father has chosen from eternity, and for whom the LORD Jesus came, lived, died and rose again, the Spirit of God does in time call out. Here we see the second phase of Christ’s commission to the apostles to begin the preaching of the Gospel at Jerusalem, and then in Samaria, and then into the uttermost parts of the earth. This was Cornelius’ wakeup call by the Spirit of Grace. The text states that an Angel of God came to him, but his response, ‘What is it, LORD?’ indicates that He was before none other than Christ Himself, THE ANGEL of GOD (the Messenger of the Covenant-Malachi 3:1). Cornelius prayers and alms were as a memorial before God, as a sacrifice well-pleasing unto God, as an odor of a sweet smell (Rev. 8:4). Some may ask, ‘How could this be, seeing as He had not yet been brought to Christ in faith?’ The answer is that his acceptance before God had already been accomplished in the death of the LORD Jesus Christ, and the memorial was God ‘remembering’ that he was one for whom Christ had already paid the debt, and therefore already accepted in the Beloved, Ephesians 1:6. His offering of prayers to God and alms were a reminder of the beginning of the work of the Spirit of Grace in him, and now would be the time when Christ must be revealed in him, as was the case with Paul, Galatians 1:15,16.

Effectual Grace:

“ ⁷ And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; ⁸ And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.”