The story of the Holy Spirit falling on Cornelius and his household while Peter preached is sometimes called the Third Pentecost. Jesus had given instructions about the first Pentecost before He returned to heaven. Acts 1:4b“Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”…8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” [1]
The Jewish believers gathered in Jerusalem to wait and pray for this event. In God’s timing, the Holy Spirit came with tongues of fire and wind. The disciples became bold and began to speak in languages they had not learned. This fulfilled the witness in Jerusalem and Judea.
The Samaritan Pentecost
When persecution came to the church in Jerusalem, many believers left, taking the Gospel with them. Philip was one of these, and he began a church in Samaria. Jews looked down on the Samaritans because they were only partly Jewish. When the church in Jerusalem heard of this new church, Peter and John traveled to Samaria to check it out.
Acts 8: 15 As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. [2] Scholars call this the Samaritan Pentecost, and it fulfills the next area Jesus prophesied. They were witnesses in Samaria.
The Gentile Pentecost
Now, all that was left to fulfill Jesus’ instructions was for the believers to witness about Jesus to the ends of the earth. But there was a problem: the rest of the earth was Gentile, and Jews did not mix with them. God supernaturally gave two different visions to initiate a meeting between Cornelius and Peter. Peter obediently broke tradition and preached the Gospel to Cornelius, his family, and friends.
Acts 10: 44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. [3] This was the third Pentecost Peter participated in.
The Work of the Spirit
All three Pentecosts were initiated by God and at His timing. In the first two, believers had experienced water baptism before the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the third, water baptism came after the Holy Spirit baptism. God works uniquely each time. Only in the second did someone lay hands on and pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit. In the third, the Spirit fell before Peter could even finish preaching.
This shows us that there isn’t a formula for how God works. We must be open to His guidance for the situation. F.B Meyer has a great quote: “God will not give us the Holy Spirit to enable us to gain celebrity or to procure a name or to live an easy, self-controlled life. The spirit’s passion is the glory of the Lord Jesus, and [the Spirit] can make His abode [only] with those who are willing to be at one with Him in this.”[4]
To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/the-gentile-pentecost
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). Acts (p. 184). Tyndale House.