As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.
But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” (Acts 10:25-26)
Although Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, he was not the first apostle to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Peter was. The reason God arranged for Peter to be the first person to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles was that Peter was the leader of the church at that time. Not only did Jerusalem and the churches at that time obey his leadership, but so did the apostles. Because of Peter's identity at the time, God caused him first to receive the revelation of evangelizing the Gentiles. It was more authoritative for the church. For example, when they debated whether the Gentiles should obey being circumcised, Peter argued that the Gentiles could believe in the Lord without circumcision.
When Peter came to Cornelius' home, Cornelius not only greeted him but even showed respect to Peter by bowing and kneeling at Peter's feet. However, Peter rejected this. From the perspective of the social background at that time, Peter ’s refusal was correct because Cornelius was a Roman centurion and also a Roman citizen. In society at that time, Peter’ status was not comparable to that of Cornelius’.
Peter refused Cornelius's respect and prostration. The reason was not that Peter was a Jew or a civilian, but that he was also just a human being. The implication is that he was not a god. His purpose was to lead Cornelius to God, telling him that only God deserves such respect. Peter's refusal also kept himself from becoming proud and arrogant.
Some pastors in the church today are respected by their brothers and sisters due to their devotion to and willingness to serve the Lord. They gradually forget about being humble and start to enjoy the respect of others. Slowly, they develop an inflated sense of self, speak arrogantly, making official speeches, nose up, looking down at people. They are not gentle or humble like Jesus Christ. The most terrible thing is that these people often end up in the situation of taking God’s glory instead of giving it to God, who deserves it . They always attribute the effectiveness of their service and the revival of the church to themselves, regarding themselves as the lord of the church, the church as their own property, and they themselves holding the authority of the church.
Such arrogant people cannot please God, and will eventually fail because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble (1 Pet. 5: 5b). No matter who they are, what kind of identity they have, or how much they have devoted to God, as long as they are proud, God will oppose him or her because the proud person not only seeks glory for themselves but also takes the glory of God. Therefore, no matter who they are, they must not be proud of their identity, their service to God, or respect from others, otherwise, God will oppose them.
We must also remember that the respect for the pastor by the brothers and sisters is because of God, because of God’s teaching, and because of one’s service to God. Therefore, as a pastor, you should be humble before God and not take His glory. As a pastor, you should also learn from Peter. No matter how much others respect you, you must do your duty to lead people to God, and give glory to him, so as to avoid being proud and arrogant.
(Note: The author of this article is a full-time co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian.)
-Translated by Abigail Wu
使徒行传灵修系列：警醒人的尊重
彼得一进去，哥尼流就迎接他，俯伏在他脚前拜他。彼得却拉他，说：“你起来，我也是人。”（使徒行传10:25-26）
保罗虽然是外邦人的使徒，可他并非是第一个向外邦人传福音的使徒，而是彼得。神之所以会安排彼得成为给外邦人传福音的第一人，是因为当时彼得是教会的领袖，不仅耶路撒冷和各地的教会都以他为领袖，连使徒们也以他主导。正是彼得当时的身份，所以神让他最先领受向外邦人传福音这个启示，这样对教会来说会更加具有权威性。事实也证明了，在出现外邦人是否要遵行割礼而争论时，彼得的见证，维护了外邦人信主的事实。
当彼得来到哥尼流家的时候，哥尼流不仅主动来迎接他，甚至准备用俯伏跪拜在彼得的脚前这种方式，来表示对彼得的尊崇。但是彼得在此不仅没有接受这种尊崇，他反而是拒绝这种的尊崇。彼得的拒绝从当时社会背景的角度来说这是正常的，因为哥尼流作为罗马的百夫长，同时也是罗马公民，在当时那种社会下论身份，论地位都不是一个彼得所能比拟的。
可是彼得拒绝哥尼流这种俯伏跪拜的尊崇，其理由并不是说我是犹太人，也不是说我是平民百姓，而是说我也是人，言外之意他不是神。其目的就是要将哥尼流引向神，告诉哥尼流唯有神配得这样的尊崇，而且彼得的这个拒绝，也是防止自己在这个尊崇中变得骄傲自大。
反观现今教会有些牧者由于愿意为主摆上，去服侍主，因此得到弟兄姊妹的尊敬，渐渐的就忘乎所以，开始享受他人的尊重。慢慢的就养成一种高高在上的样子，说话傲慢、打官腔，用鼻孔看人，走到哪都一副架子，完全没有耶稣基督那种柔和谦卑的样式。最可怕的是，这些人往往到最后都会陷入夺取神的荣耀的境况中，不将神应得的荣耀归给神。总是将服侍的果效，教会的复兴归功于自己，把自己当成教会的主人，把教会当成自己的个人产业，把持着教会的权柄。
这种自高自大的人不仅不得神的喜悦，最终也一定会走向失败，因为神阻挡骄傲的人，赐恩给谦卑的人（彼前5：5b）。无论他是谁，拥有什么样的身份，或者为神摆上多少，只要他骄傲，神都会抵挡他，因为骄傲的人，不仅为自己寻求荣耀，也夺取神的荣耀。所以无论是谁，切不可因着自己的身份、对神的服侍，或者他人的尊重而感到骄傲，因为神阻挡骄傲的人。
同时也必须要知道，弟兄姊妹对牧者的尊敬是因为神的缘故，一个是神的教导，另一个是因为你对神的服侍，所以作为牧者更应该谦卑在神面前，不可夺取神的荣耀。作为牧者也应当学习彼得的样式，无论他人怎样尊重自己，也要谨守自己的本分，懂得将人引导归向神，将荣耀归给神，这样才能避免自己骄傲自大。
（注：本文作者为福建一基层教会全职同工）
As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.
But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” (Acts 10:25-26)
Although Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles, he was not the first apostle to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Peter was. The reason God arranged for Peter to be the first person to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles was that Peter was the leader of the church at that time. Not only did Jerusalem and the churches at that time obey his leadership, but so did the apostles. Because of Peter's identity at the time, God caused him first to receive the revelation of evangelizing the Gentiles. It was more authoritative for the church. For example, when they debated whether the Gentiles should obey being circumcised, Peter argued that the Gentiles could believe in the Lord without circumcision.
When Peter came to Cornelius' home, Cornelius not only greeted him but even showed respect to Peter by bowing and kneeling at Peter's feet. However, Peter rejected this. From the perspective of the social background at that time, Peter ’s refusal was correct because Cornelius was a Roman centurion and also a Roman citizen. In society at that time, Peter’ status was not comparable to that of Cornelius’.
Peter refused Cornelius's respect and prostration. The reason was not that Peter was a Jew or a civilian, but that he was also just a human being. The implication is that he was not a god. His purpose was to lead Cornelius to God, telling him that only God deserves such respect. Peter's refusal also kept himself from becoming proud and arrogant.
Some pastors in the church today are respected by their brothers and sisters due to their devotion to and willingness to serve the Lord. They gradually forget about being humble and start to enjoy the respect of others. Slowly, they develop an inflated sense of self, speak arrogantly, making official speeches, nose up, looking down at people. They are not gentle or humble like Jesus Christ. The most terrible thing is that these people often end up in the situation of taking God’s glory instead of giving it to God, who deserves it . They always attribute the effectiveness of their service and the revival of the church to themselves, regarding themselves as the lord of the church, the church as their own property, and they themselves holding the authority of the church.
Such arrogant people cannot please God, and will eventually fail because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble (1 Pet. 5: 5b). No matter who they are, what kind of identity they have, or how much they have devoted to God, as long as they are proud, God will oppose him or her because the proud person not only seeks glory for themselves but also takes the glory of God. Therefore, no matter who they are, they must not be proud of their identity, their service to God, or respect from others, otherwise, God will oppose them.
We must also remember that the respect for the pastor by the brothers and sisters is because of God, because of God’s teaching, and because of one’s service to God. Therefore, as a pastor, you should be humble before God and not take His glory. As a pastor, you should also learn from Peter. No matter how much others respect you, you must do your duty to lead people to God, and give glory to him, so as to avoid being proud and arrogant.
(Note: The author of this article is a full-time co-worker of a grassroots church in Fujian.)
-Translated by Abigail Wu
Devotional Series from Acts: Be Cautious about Others' Respect
