God's purpose was to prepare Peter to defend Paul and the Gentile believers at the Jerusalem council.
According to Les Feldick, the salvation of Cornelius's household was real, but the larger divine purpose was Peter's preparation for Acts 15. Twelve years later Peter cited that experience to show that God saved Gentiles without the Law, and his testimony silenced the opposition and protected Paul's ministry. Without Peter's defense, Les says Christianity could have been stopped in its tracks.
Acts 15:7 — Peter explains that God chose him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles through Cornelius.
Acts 15:8-9 — God confirmed the Gentiles by giving the Holy Spirit and purifying their hearts by faith.
Acts 15:11 — Salvation for both Jews and Gentiles comes through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture record shows Peter himself connecting the Cornelius event to God's purposes when he stood before the Jerusalem council. After much disputing, Peter said, 'Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.' He explained that God, who knows the hearts, bore witness to the Gentiles by giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did to the Jewish believers, and 'put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.' Peter then warned against putting a yoke on Gentile disciples that neither their fathers nor they were able to bear, and affirmed, 'we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.'
Les Feldick teaches that God sent Peter to Cornelius not mainly for the household's sake but to prepare Peter for a controversy that would erupt twelve years later in Acts 15. Peter, a law-keeping Jew, did not want to go from Joppa to Caesarea, but God sovereignly forced the visit. There Peter saw Gentiles saved by simply believing, even before baptism. When Jewish believers later demanded that Gentile believers be circumcised and keep the Law, Peter came to Paul's defense by reminding the council that God had used him to take the gospel to the Gentiles years earlier. Les stresses that had Peter not had that experience, he likely would not have defended Paul, and Christianity could have been stopped in its tracks.
The controversy arose because Jewish believers said Gentile believers at Antioch had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. Paul refused, and a great confrontation followed. Peter came to Paul's defense, reminding them that a good while ago God sent him to the house of Cornelius and that God could save Gentiles without making them proselytes of Judaism. After Peter spoke, the multitude kept silence and listened to Barnabas and Paul describe what God had done among the Gentiles.
Les says God certainly wanted the house of Cornelius saved. But the bigger picture was that God had to prepare Peter for Acts 15 to come to Paul's defense. Peter did not want to go, but God forced the visit. Had Peter not had that experience, he likely would not have defended Paul, and Christianity could have been stopped in its tracks.
No. As Peter was preaching to Cornelius's household about Jesus as Israel's Messiah, he wondered why he was giving this to Gentiles. He had no idea that God was moving in His purposes to go out to the Gentile world. Only later, in Acts 15, did Peter see that God had prepared him for that moment.
Peter Cites the Cornelius Event
Les takes Peter's words in Acts 15:7-11 as the explanation of the Cornelius visit: Gentiles were saved by faith, purified by faith, not by the yoke of the Law, and this is what silenced the council.
Peter's Defense Twelve Years Later
Les shows that about twelve years after Cornelius, Peter finally comes to Paul's defense in Acts 15 because God had used him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles — this is what spared Paul's ministry.
Sovereign Preparation
Les teaches that Peter never wanted to go to Cornelius, but God sovereignly forced the visit so that Peter would be ready to defend Paul in Acts 15; without it, Christianity could have stopped in its tracks.
Paul's Deliverance Depends on Peter's Experience
Les says if Peter had not had his eyes opened at Cornelius, Paul would never have gotten off the hook and Christianity would never have gotten off the ground.
Peter's Unawareness of the Divine Purpose
While preaching, Peter wondered why he was giving these things to Gentiles; he had no idea God was moving to go out to the Gentile world, showing a distinct divine purpose in the visit.
Bigger Picture than the Household
God certainly wanted Cornelius's house saved, but the bigger picture was preparing Peter for Acts 15 so he could say God had saved Gentiles by his preaching years earlier.
The Council's Silence and Hearing
After Peter shared his experience, the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, showing Peter's testimony opened the way for Paul's report.
Gentiles Saved Without the Law
When the demand was circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses, Peter came to Paul's defense, recalling that God saved Cornelius's household without Judaism, without repentance and water baptism.
Acts 15:7: And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Peter points back to the Cornelius event as God's own choosing.
Acts 15:8: And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
God confirmed the Gentiles by giving them the same Spirit.
Acts 15:9: And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Faith, not legal ceremony, cleansed Gentile hearts.
Acts 15:10: Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Peter rejects the Law as a yoke that Israel could not bear.
Acts 15:11: But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Salvation comes by grace for both Jews and Gentiles.
God's sovereign purpose, according to Les Feldick, was to prepare Peter to defend Paul at the Jerusalem council. Peter saw Gentiles saved by simple faith, and twelve years later he used that experience to show that Jewish believers should not burden Gentiles with the Law.
No. While Peter preached to Cornelius, he wondered why he was giving these promises to Gentiles. He had no idea that God was moving toward the Gentile world; only later did the purpose become clear.
Les says very likely. If Peter had not come to Paul's defense, Paul would not have gotten off the hook, and Christianity could have stopped in its tracks.
Watch the Teaching: Why Mixing Law and Grace Cancels the Work of the Cross