The Early Church

God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—

not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.

All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message.

All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. Then Peter said,

“Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!”

So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him

and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events:

“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.

I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.

Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’

‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’

This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven.

Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.

The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home.

He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.

He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.

Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’