But Peter said, not so, Lord
God forbid I should do this, so contrary to the law of God, and
to my own practice, throughout the whole course of my life:
for I have never eaten anything that is common or
unclean;
in a ceremonial sense, which was in common use with Gentiles, but
unclean by the law of Moses: this shows that Peter as yet closely
adhered to the ceremonial law, nor did he know that it was
abolished by Christ; and notwithstanding the commission given to
him and the rest of the apostles to preach the Gospel to every
creature, and the extraordinary gifts of speaking with divers
tongues for that purpose, bestowed on them at the day of
Pentecost; yet he and they remained greatly strangers to the
calling of the Gentiles, and the admitting of them to a civil and
religious conversation with them; the knowledge of every truth
was not at once communicated to them, but gradually, as it
pressed the Lord to enlighten their minds.