Acts 11:15–16

Peter also told them how the three men sent by Cornelius, a Gentile, appeared in person at that very moment before the house in Joppa. He told them how the Spirit told him to go with them without a question. Nothing could break such a threefold cord. Each part stood on its own, and all of them came from God. For Cornelius in Caesarea had a vision no less than Peter in Joppa. But Peter had something more. While he was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit directed him to go with the messengers of Cornelius. This was before he knew that the three men were asking for him at the gate.

This was as far as the apostle had got. He tells us himself that it was only the beginning of what he intended to say (Acts 11:15). Then a sign of precious significance stopped him. There was no baptism first, as there had been with the audience at Pentecost. There was no laying on of the apostles' hands, as at Samaria. The Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word! God again was the Mover. He answered in advance every question anyone might raise. He set aside all thought of a human line of succession, or of a gift passed on through a ritual. The Gentiles received the Spirit by "hearing with faith" alone (Gal. 3:2), and in this way God gathered them into the church.

The greater the distance from God, the more freely His grace comes out. The Gentiles were the furthest away, and they had no claim on God at all. The scene sparkles with the brightness of the grace of God. The rebellious Jew must repent and be baptised in public. The Samaritan, religious only on the surface, hears the gospel, believes it, and is baptised in the name of Jesus. But he must wait until the apostles come down, pray for him and lay their hands on him, before the Holy Spirit comes. The Gentile was far off. As a nation he had no link with God — and that is where you and I come in. He hears the truth, believes the gospel, and gets the Holy Spirit on the spot, without any of these steps first.

In verses 15 and 16 we see what Peter recognised. The gift of the Spirit to Cornelius was a baptism of the Spirit, added to what the believers in Jerusalem had known at the beginning. It was God doing for believing Gentiles what He had previously done for believing Jews. God put both on the same footing, and who was Peter, or anyone else, to withstand God?

This baptism of the Holy Spirit took place with Jewish believers at Pentecost (see Acts 1:5; Acts 2:1-4). It took place with Gentile believers at the call of Cornelius and his friends (Acts 10:44; Acts 11:15-17). The baptism of the Spirit involves the setting aside of all that is after the flesh. Natural distinctions, such as Jew or Gentile, and social positions, such as slave or free, have no place in the one Body.

We have an example of this in Acts 2, but He baptised only one hundred and twenty then. It then had to reach Gentiles who believed as well (see Acts 11:15). Still, there is no repeat of this baptism now, though some look for one.

When Peter told the believers in Jerusalem what had happened (Acts 11:16), we learn from him what was in his heart at the time. We also see why he was so quick to command that the Gentiles be baptized. He said that when he saw the Spirit fall on them, "I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" It was just the right word for the occasion. Coming to him at that moment, it gave him the guidance and authority he needed to receive the Gentiles publicly into the company of believers.

At some point in your life you may come to a difficulty, and you will say, I really do not know what to do. If you had the Scriptures filling your mind, you would know what to do. "And I remembered the word of the Lord" (Acts 11:16) saved Peter from error.

Baptism with the Holy Spirit is distinct from baptism with water. John's baptism is contrasted with it, Acts 11:16; Matthew 3:11. Christian baptism, though distinct, was in view of the reception of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), but does not give it. Acts 19:5-6. Baptism of the Holy Spirit took place at Pentecost. The Lord said to His disciples, "You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). So at Pentecost the saints were all baptized by the one Spirit into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Baptism with water was nothing new; John had administered such a rite. The disciples too were empowered to baptize with water. The Lord Jesus alone has baptized with the Holy Spirit. But only twice do we have any hint that such a baptism took place. On the day of Pentecost in the upper room in Jerusalem it was first administered. In the house of Cornelius (must we not say?) it again took place. (Acts 11:16.) … But Christians have no hint to ask for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit again, and no hint to ask for the baptism of the Spirit again. There is no ground to look for it.

He does not give a hint that the baptism of fire had taken place. He speaks of that of the Holy Spirit. He is completely silent about the other, and rightly so. That still awaits its fulfilment. But were there not tongues like fire seen in the upper room? Certainly. Was that the baptism of fire? We firmly believe it was not. The Lord in the Acts did not mention it; and Peter never referred to it.

In verses 15 and 16 we see that Peter recognized the gift of the Spirit to Cornelius as a baptism of the Spirit. It came in addition to what the believers in Jerusalem had known at the beginning. It was God doing for believing Gentiles what He had previously done for believing Jews. God put both on the same footing, and who was Peter or anyone else to withstand God?

Notice again that the gift of the Holy Spirit belongs to those who believe. It is not His work in enabling souls to believe, but a precious gift given to those who believed. … The Spirit of God alone gives life through faith in Christ. Without the action of the Holy Spirit faith is impossible. But this enabling power and the gift of the Holy Spirit are two very different things. The gift follows the enabling power.