‘And they said, “Cornelius a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well reported of by all the nation of the Jews, was warned of God by a holy angel to send for you to his house, and to hear words from you.” '
They informed him that Cornelius, a Roman centurion, but one who was a God-fearer and a righteous man highly respected among the Jews, had been warned by God through a holy angel to request that Peter come to his house. For God had told Cornelius that Peter would have something special to say to him.
‘One who fears God.' Not the technical term for a God-fearer but conveying the idea and emphasising the genuineness of his state of heart. (Compare for the expression Acts 10:2; Acts 10:35; Acts 13:16; Acts 13:26; Acts 13:43; Acts 13:50; Acts 16:14; Acts 17:4; Acts 17:17; Acts 18:7).
It must be stressed that this description of Cornelius was not given in order to suggest that he deserved that God would be good to him. It was rather in order to stress to Peter that he was not dealing with someone who was against the God of Israel. They knew perfectly well the feelings of the Jews about Gentiles, and they would have no doubt that this Jewish ‘prophet' would have similar views. They were trying to get Peter's goodwill, not God's (God had already shown His).