A beginning, and its answer
The First Gentile Convert
Cornelius, a Roman centurion who feared God, becomes a landmark first: the gospel opened to the Gentiles as the Spirit falls on his household. It is the moment the church learns that in Christ the good news is for every nation.
“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,”Acts 10:1
The first
The first. In Caesarea lives Cornelius, a centurion "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). An angel tells him to send for Peter. Meanwhile God prepares Peter with a vision of a sheet let down from heaven full of creatures once counted unclean, with the voice, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:15). Peter goes, though it was unlawful for a Jew to keep company with a Gentile, and confesses, "God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean" (Acts 10:28). He preaches Jesus, crucified and risen, and how "whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43). "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word" (Acts 10:44). The believers of the circumcision are astonished that the gift is poured on Gentiles too, and Peter has them baptized. It is honest to note that the Ethiopian eunuch, baptized in Acts 8, was also a Gentile convert; Cornelius is remembered as the landmark first because through him God publicly opened the door to the Gentiles and settled the matter for the whole church.
What it means
What it means. The conversion of Cornelius establishes that the gospel is for all nations, not for one people only. God Himself breaks down the barrier, giving Peter the vision and then pouring out the Spirit on Gentiles before they are even baptized, so that no one could doubt that He had accepted them. Peter draws the lesson aloud: "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him" (Acts 10:34-35). This opens the church to the world and fulfills the ancient promise that in Abraham's seed all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). It also settles a question the early church had to face: Gentiles are received by faith in Christ, on the same terms as Jews, without first becoming Jews. The event is so decisive that when Peter is questioned, he recounts it, and the church concludes, "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" (Acts 11:18). The wall is down; the family of God is now as wide as the world.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. The opening of the gospel to Cornelius is the outworking of who Christ is and what His death accomplished. Peter preaches that Jesus "is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36), not of one nation only, and that all who believe in Him receive remission of sins (Acts 10:43). The cross tore down the dividing wall: "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" (Ephesians 2:14). In Christ the old distinctions no longer bar the way, "there is neither Jew nor Greek ... for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Cornelius is a firstfruit of the countless multitude Christ purchased, "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Revelation 5:9). The seed of the woman, the true Passover, the risen Lord proclaimed at Pentecost, is Saviour of the world, and the day the Spirit fell on a Roman soldier's household, the church saw it plainly. In Christ the door stands open to every nation, and it will never be shut.
Questions people ask
Was Cornelius really the first Gentile convert?
He is remembered as the landmark first, since through him God publicly opened the gospel to the Gentiles and settled the matter for the whole church (Acts 10-11). In fairness, the Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8 was also a Gentile who believed and was baptized earlier, so Cornelius is best called the decisive, representative first rather than strictly the only candidate.
Why did God give Peter the vision of the sheet?
To overturn Peter's reluctance to associate with Gentiles. The voice, what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common (Acts 10:15), taught Peter that God was making the gospel available to all, so he should not call any person unclean.
What does Cornelius' conversion mean for us?
That the gospel is for every nation and God shows no partiality (Acts 10:34-35). In Christ the wall between peoples is broken down, and salvation by faith is offered to all, a firstfruit of the multitude from every nation that Christ redeems (Revelation 5:9).