Acts 10:44–46

Context

Chapter 10 of Acts tells the story of Cornelius, a Roman centurion living in Caesarea, and Peter, who was staying in Joppa. Each receives a vision, and the two then meet. Peter proclaims the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the relatives and close friends whom Cornelius has gathered (10:34–43). This passage describes how, before that sermon ended, the Holy Spirit fell "on all them which heard the word." "They of the circumcision which believed," that is, the Jewish believers who had come with Peter from Joppa, were astonished that the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles as well. As evidence of this outpouring, the text records that the Gentiles spoke with tongues and magnified God. Peter then commands that they be baptized with water (10:47–48). This scene parallels the Pentecost event of Acts 2 and is often called "the Gentile Pentecost." It also differs from the scenes in Acts 8 and 19 in that the Spirit came upon the listeners while they were hearing the sermon, without the laying on of hands.

Interpretation

• Pentecostal reading: Pentecostal denominations, such as the Korea Assemblies of God, note that speaking in tongues accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, 10, and 19. On this basis, they read the passage as one of the proof texts for regarding tongues as the initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
• Reformed reading: Presbyterian theologians in the Reformed tradition view this event as a one-time turning point in redemptive history. In their view, it was a sign confirming to Jewish believers that the gospel had been extended to the Gentiles. They hold that the Holy Spirit is received at the time of faith and conversion, and they do not generalize this scene into a sequence that all believers must follow.
• Wesleyan-Holiness reading: The Holiness tradition, including the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, reads this passage together with Acts 15:8–9, where Peter, recalling the event, says that God was "purifying their hearts by faith." It accordingly connects this passage with the purifying work of the Holy Spirit.

Controversies and Issues

• Pentecostals and other denominations differ over whether speaking in tongues is the necessary evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. Whether tongues continue today remains a point of contention in the debate between cessationism and continuationism.
• Interpreters also differ over whether the tongues mentioned here were actual foreign languages, as in Acts 2, or the same as the tongues described in 1 Corinthians 14.
• In this scene, the Holy Spirit came before water baptism. For this reason, the passage is often cited in debates over baptism, which address the order of baptism and receiving the Spirit as well as the meaning of baptism.

In the Korean Church

In Pentecostal churches, the passage is frequently cited, along with Acts 2 and 19, in sermons on baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. In many denominations, it also serves as a sermon text emphasizing the mission to the Gentiles and the universality of the gospel.

Related Passages

• Acts 2:1–4
• Acts 11:15–18
• Acts 15:7–9
• Acts 19:6
• Acts 1:4–5