that speaks of the ministry of Ananias, to which allusion has already been made. Twice in this chapter do we read of

a plot to kill Saul, and twice is his boldness in testifying for the Lord recorded (Acts 9:27,29). Twice also is he

obliged to make his escape, once by a basket let down over the city wall, at Damascus, and again to Cæsarea, and

thence to Tarsus.

We shall hear no more of Saul until the important revelation given to Peter in Acts: 10 is recorded, and then we

shall find Barnabas travelling all the way to Tarsus to seek Saul and to bring him back to the important centre,

Antioch, whence as the apostle of the Gentiles Saul is sent on his first great missionary journey.

Of how much that has been passed over in this wonderful chapter, we are very conscious, but time flies, and we

desire to make full proof of our ministry. This must be our excuse, if excuse be needed.

After an examination of Peter's testimony to Cornelius, the rest of the Acts will be found to be so interwoven

with Paul's early epistles as to demand the most careful and painstaking study. We trust, however, that what has

been brought forward in these studies already, has indicated with certainty the main trend of events in the Acts,

commencing with Jew and kingdom at Jerusalem; passing on to Jew, Gentile and reconciliation at Antioch; and

ending at Rome with the Jew set aside and the dispensation of the grace of God to the Gentile at length conferred

upon the Lord's prisoner.

The vision that Peter had of the great sheet, and his subsequent visit to Cornelius, form part of the great

movement that we see taking place in Acts 8 to 11, which prepares the way for the work of Paul, the apostle to the

Gentiles. It will be found that there is nothing in Acts 10 to warrant the idea that Peter had a ministry among the

Gentiles, for the vision of the sheet and the visit to Cornelius were exceptional. They accomplished their purpose,

but Peter was left free to pursue his ministry among the circumcision.

The subject before us falls into four parts:

THE VISION OF CORNELIUS

(Acts 10:1-8).

THE VISION OF PETER (Acts 10:9-24).

THE MINISTRY OF PETER (Acts 10:25-48).

THE EFFECT UPON THE CHURCH (Acts 11:1-18).

As we have already seen that the burning words of Stephen anticipates the wider ministry of the apostle Paul, so

it is possible that the way was partly prepared for Peter, by the work done among the Samaritans and in the

interview with the Ethiopian, by Philip. Speaking humanly, it is most certain that, had Peter not received this

revelation from heaven, and had he not been instrumental in the conversion of the Gentile, Cornelius, the opposition

that met Paul's emancipating message would have been even more bitter and intense than it was. The God of grace

is all-sufficient, and Paul would have endured to the end, whatever had happened to Peter, but God in His grace uses

means, and Stephen, Philip and Peter were used to prepare the way for this new and wider ministry. There is a most

marked contrast between the character of Cornelius and that of the heathen to whom Paul was sent. Cornelius is

described as

`A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to

God alway' (Acts 10:2).

Paul's converts are described variously as:

`Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led' (1 Cor. 12:2).

`When ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods' (Gal. 4:8).

`At that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the

covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world' (Eph. 2:12).

Yet it is abundantly clear from Acts 10 that had he not had the vision of the sheet Peter would have called the

devout, prayerful Cornelius, `common and unclean'. How is this attitude possible if it is true that the Church began

at Pentecost? Many commentators incline to the opinion that Cornelius was a proselyte, and it will be of service if

we pause here to make sure that all our readers appreciate the status of a proselyte.