What God has cleansed you must not call common

After encountering the angel, this messenger from God told Cornelius to send for Peter. He also told Cornelius to do everything Peter instructed him to do.

“And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually. So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa (verses 7-8).

However, before they reached Peter, the Lord caused Peter to go into a trance and he saw “heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air” (11-13). Then a voice came to Peter and told him to kill and eat. He obviously objected saying he never ate anything common or unclean (verse 14).

Now, here is the verse that every minister should pay attention to. A voice spoke to Peter again a second time,“What God has cleansed you must not call common” (verse 15). The Bible says that was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

Peter analyzed his vision of course. Then the Spirit informed him that Cornelius's men were looking for him. The Spirit actually said, “Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them” (verses 19-20).

You see, Cornelius was a gentile, which meant he did not live like the Jews (did not follow their religion), and was considered a “dog” to the Jews.

However, God needed to send someone to lead Cornelius to Christ, so that was why Peter had that vision where God told him “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

Otherwise, God's will, which was to eternally bless Cornelius and his household, would have been aborted because of ignorance. When Jesus died, He called all men unto Himself, but Peter needed the Holy Spirit to reveal that to him.

God needed Peter to be a type of Moses, the person who would enter Cornelius's house and lead him from Egypt to salvation. Whenever God is about to do a great deliverance, He commands us to stand still and see His salvation. Peter needed to be still and know that Yahweh is God, so that an entire family could be saved.

Stay tuned to find out what happened when Peter meets Cornelius.  

What can you learn from this?

• "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17, King James Version)
  

•  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12, King James Version)