“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (NIV)
The essential thing to appreciate about this verse Richard is that dispensationally it happened after the conversion of Paul, and after God gave Peter his vision which was to communicate to him the dispensational change from Peters strictly Jewish Kingdom ministry/ gospel into the New Dispensation of Grace and universal salvation unto all.
Prior to this conversation Peter had just witnessed the conversion of the gentile Corneileus… and this was a new thing! Peter had previously only preached to Jews.
Things were changing.
The Jews had rejected Peters post-resurection re-offer of the Kingdom, and God was about to set them aside for rejecting Christ for the second time. God was turning instead towards the Gentiles. This is what it means when the scripture records Peter saying…. I *now* realise that God is no respecter of persons…but accepts from every nation the one who fears him … This was a New Revelation to Peter and to the Jewish believers he was addressing…