Several years later, there was a controversy over the circumcision of Gentiles. During the debate, Peter refers to the events of the conversion of Cornelius to prove that Gentiles do not need to be circumcised to be saved. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. The wording indicates that the events in Acts 10 were not routine, but they were special and they provided special proof to the Jews that the Gentiles were acceptable to God, just as the Jews were. There are two cases of baptism of the Holy Spirit and both times tongue speaking was involved.
Tongue speaking is a sign to unbelievers.
1.On the day of Pentecost, tongues were a sign to unbelieving Jews to convince them that Jesus was the Christ. 2.With Cornelius, the gift of the Spirit was to prove to the unbelieving Jewish Christians, that Gentiles were acceptable to God. Baptism of the Holy Spirit was not for salvation, but for special purposes. The first time was to bring Jews into the Kingdom of God. The second time was to bring Gentiles into the kingdom of God.