Cornelius was a “God-fearer,” a moniker that designated a Gentile who worshiped the God of Israel as the only true God, and who followed the moral code of Israel (while not participating in the ritual sacrificial system). They were not full converts to Judaism, but they did worship on the periphery of the faith. In Acts 8 we hear of the Ethiopian eunuch, who had gone to worship in Jerusalem at the temple and was met by Philip on his way home. Through Philip he encountered Christ. It appears that God saw to it that these God-fearers had the opportunity to hear and know about Jesus in the early days of the church.
