What God Has Made Clean

What God Has Made Clean

Many people think of the concept of clean versus unclean as a relic of the old covenant which is no longer relevant. But, considering some things to be clean and some unclean... some things common and some things holy is very much a part of new covenant teaching and understanding.

Today, we are going to look into the new covenant perspective on clean versus unclean using the vision Peter experienced in Joppa as our starting point.

Peter's Vision

While at Joppa Peter was given a vision. A collection of animals categorized as unclean in the old covenant was presented to him. He was told to stand up, kill one of them and eat it. Peter says "no way, I have never done such a thing"... God then says "if I say something is clean, its clean, If I say something is sanctified… its sanctified".

Peter does not accept the vision at face value and he wonders about its true meaning. Then God gives him the meaning: Gentiles (non-Jewish people) are not the be considered unclean and unable to become sanctified.

Peter's instincts were right. The message was not about changing the categories of animal flesh we are forbidden to eat... it was about people. God was once again correcting the errors of humanly devised religious tradition... which were being taught as though they were the commandments of God.  Now, let’s go through the verses of Acts 10.

God Sets the stage

Acts 10:1-8 before Peter's vision a Roman man (whom the Jews would consider unclean) also experienced a vision. God was going to use this man to teach the Church of God an important lesson about clean and unclean... a lesson that would rid them of some bad ideas they had inherited from Jewish culture.

Acts 10:9-10  God chose the time well... it was at lunchtime when Peter would be hungry. He would have a strong biological incentive to satisfy his hunger... but Peter did not.

Acts 10:11-16 a lot of people take these verses and say "take the message at face value; God is doing away with the classification of certain animal as unclean and forbidden for food". But, that's not how Peter reacted.

Didn’t Jesus' Teach Peter all Meats Were Clean?

Peter's vision comes about 10 years after Jesus' death. This is significant because many say Jesus declared all animal flesh clean for eating (in Mark 7 and Matthew 15). But after 3.5 years as a disciple of Jesus that's not Peter’s take. Because that's not what Jesus was teaching .

 10 years later... when told to kill and eat, Peter responds... "surely you can't mean this, I have never done such a thing".

What is the Meaning of the Vision?

Three occurrences make the message significant and reliable! Peter would not be able to discount this as some random thought flitting through his mind, or a hallucination.  Three times the sheet with the unclean animals was lowered, three times the command came to "rise and eat", three times Peter replied "how can this be?" ...  

Most significant is that three times God says "do not call anything that I have cleansed ...common". This is a key verse and the wording is significant. God does not say "do not call anything that I have cleansed... unclean". God uses a different word, COMMON. Which has a different meaning (KJV and ESV get this right, NIV is less accurate, the NLT is just plain wrong).

The flip side of unclean is clean... the flip side of common is sanctified (or holy). They mean very different things. We'll come back to this later.

Acts 10:17-23 Peter doesn't think the vision is about categories of animal flesh... he thinks there is another meaning here. So, if Peter does not accept the vision at face value... why should we? Furthermore, Peter IS given the ACTUAL meaning of the vision BY GOD... and it doesn't concern animal flesh for food.

To show the true meaning God has staged a sequence of events (going back to the vision given Cornelius). While Peter is pondering the vision,  men from Cornelius arrive at the door with an invitation to teach gentiles in the home of Cornelius. In this way, through the timing of events and the prompting of the holy spirit Peter is given the real meaning of the vision.

Acts 10:27-29 this is the meaning of the vision.

Acts 10:34-35 then he proceeds to preach the good news to these gentile people.

The vision is not about reclassifying animal flesh... its about correcting a fundamental error in how God's Church had been classifying people.

Jewish Traditions

Acts 10:28 at that point (@43 AD.) the Church of God was entirely made up of converted Jews... AND Jewish people considered gentiles (non-Jews) to be unclean. Interaction with such people caused a Jew to become unclean. Hence the prohibition on entering the house of a gentile (John 18:28).

When Jesus interacted with gentiles... people were scandalized!

Important Point: this teaching about gentiles is a Jewish commandment... not a commandment of God. Jesus did not break any commandment of God by interacting with Gentiles. Declaring gentiles unclean is another example of what Jesus sought to correct over and over  Mark 7:6-8.

If interaction with gentiles was forbidden how could Israel ever fulfill her commission to bring the gentile nations to accept God's laws through their example... How could all nations be blessed through the descendants of Abraham if Gentiles were categorically "unclean" and all contact was off limits?

Isaiah 19:23-25 How could the messianic prophecies about  gentile nations joining Israel in worship come to pass if gentiles were considered categorically unclean like a bat, or a lizard, or a pig?

Human traditions and interpretations were getting in the way of what God wanted to accomplish.

Categorizing human beings as clean, or unclean, based on race is not of God... and needed to be swept away. Categorizing animal flesh as either clean or unclean based on kind, or species, is commanded by God and is not being changed. Peter had the sense to know that, how about you?

Common, Unclean, and Cleansed

In Acts 10:15 God's voice said "do not call anything common that I have cleansed". In Acts 10:28 Peter concludes "God has show me that I should not call any man common or unclean".

Again the flip side of clean is unclean... and the flip side of common is sanctified (set apart for God's service, use or purpose, holy). [Diagram]

l Things can be designated as unclean or clean based whether they cause contamination or because they have been contaminated.

l Things which are common can be designated as holy and set apart for God's use. Before something common can be designated as holy it needs to be clean.

For example: an everyday object like a metal water jug is neutral... its considered clean and common. You might use it in your kitchen. That same water jug can become unclean if it comes in contact with something categorically unclean, like a mouse or human bodily emissions. The jug then needs to be cleansed. Neither the mouse or bodily emission are cleansed…

A metal water jug could also be fashioned for use in the temple. When its made its considered clean and common. It can then be sanctified and set apart for temple usage. It is then considered holy. Something designated as holy should never then be used for common purposes.

Something that is unclean cannot be made holy.

OT itemizes certain things as causing contamination and uncleanness, such as; certain animal flesh, bodily emissions, skin diseases, dead bodies. Sin also causes contamination and uncleanness.  

NT itemizes certain things as causing contamination and uncleanness, such as: demonic spirits, skin diseases, association with idols and idol temples. Sin is a major cause of contamination and uncleanness.

God's message to the Church (through Peter) was; Gentiles can be raised from common to holy if God cleanses them from the defilement and contamination of sin.

Cleansing in the New Testament

In both OT and NT the most common cleansing agent is blood... the other most common cleansing agent is water.

Blood: - Under the new covenant the only blood that matters is Christ's blood, which operates on at least two levels:

l it provides redemption - through His blood He has paid the penalty for sin you earned. The penalty for sin is death and His life takes the place of your life. God's requirement for justice is served Revelation 1:5.

l it provides cleansing - Hebrews 9:11-14 the cleansing of your conscience is similar to the renewing of your mind, putting on the new man, embracing the fullness of Christ etc.

Water: Under the new covenant the cleansing power of water is primarily pictured through baptism - Acts 22:16. Through baptism you publicly lay claim to the power of Jesus blood... and you are cleansed.

The washing and cleansing process continues through the washing and cleansing power of God's word Ephesians 5:26, John 15:3. God's word cleans up your life… it helps you identify sin, determine good from evil, encourages you towards choosing good over evil, and life over death.

1 Corinthians 6:11 washing and cleansing from sin leads to sanctification... as a common thing you are made clean... then through the presence of the holy spirit placed within you you are sanctified IE. moved from the category of common to the category of Holy.

The Cleansing of Cornelius the Gentile

Acts 10:44-48 God's message to the Church (through Peter) was that gentiles were not a category of things that caused contamination like bats, or pigs, or feces, or skin disease, or sin itself... they were people who had themselves been contaminated by sin and become unclean.

They were like common things... they could be cleansed (and God Himself would cleanse them through both blood and water)... and once cleansed they could be moved from common to sanctified and set apart for God's holy purpose.

Romans 9:24-25, 1 Peter 2:9-10

That's the message of Acts chapter 10.

The vision was used by God as a teaching tool. Its not a change to God’s instructions about unlean meat. Its about changing and over-riding human traditions about clean and unclean as applied to people.

The verses themselves tell us plainly what the lesson was about.

 A human being made in the image of God should never be considered an unclean thing. They may have become unclean through sin but they can be cleanses and made  eligible for sanctification and holiness.