Acts 8, verses 1-25
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8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
witness in Jerusalem and then spread out
God is always telling us to go and multiply (Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham)
Judea - close by, other Jews, people you are close to
Samaria - little further out, half Jews, people you are familiar with but different, might not get along
remotest part of the earth - all the way out, people you don’t know, non-Jews (Gentiles)
1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Saul was in agreement - this is the same guy who would become the Apostle Paul
Saul was his Hebrew name, Paul was his Gentile name (father was a roman citizen)
Christians were content in Jerusalem, but persecution causes them to go to Judea and Samaria
what will it take for you to do what God has told you to do? (Acts 1:8)
sometimes God uses troubles to get us where we need to be (Joseph, Moses)
however the 12 apostles stayed in Jerusalem
I believe led by the Holy Spirit to establish headquarters, roots
this is the EARLY church, stability is needed, even at the risk of persecution
2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.
maybe mentioned because it would take courage to show you were on Stephen’s side
but they were devout/dedicated, and apparently had a lot of respect for Stephen
3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.
Saul is one of the chief persecutors - but not a traditional bad guy. He really thought he was doing God’s work
4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
as you go through life, even in tragedy, you should be preaching the word
preaching means spreading, not standing behind a pulpit
you are likely the preacher for your group/tribe
Verses 5-8
Philip (1st deacons) went to Samara (Jews hate Samaritans), so this is big
he preached, cast out demons, healed the sick, and there was much rejoicing in the city
9 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great;
10 and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.”
11 And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.
called Simon the sorcerer - he was doing some type of magic, enough to where people thought he was great, and that his power came form God. He had received a lot of attention because of whatever power he had
As Christians we have to beware of two types of fakes
fakes with fake power - tricks and manipulation
fakes with some power - power from evil spirits, manipulation
usually short term feel good with long term failure and worse consequences
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.
the people heard the message of Christ and believed and were baptized
13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.
Even Simon was believed and was baptized
Questions - is this an observation or information about Simon
looked like he accepted Christ or did he really accept Christ
Philip did signs and wonders, apparently greater than Simon, because Simon was amazed too
he followed Philip around
14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,
church sent the leaders down to check out these new Converts
this is big news . . . Samaritans?????
cannot overemphasize how most Jews thought they were better than all races, and how much they detested “half-breeds”
they would travel around Samaria and go the long way just to avoid them
15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
wait, what???? They didn’t have the spirit? Apostles laid hands on them and then they received the Holy Spirit
This Scripture has caused much controversy in understanding Salvation and the Holy Spirit
before this, were they saved or not?
Holy Spirit comes at belief or not?
This is a perfect example of why we must always use context
context within the chapter, book, testament, and Bible
this is Bible Study, so let’s deal with this and go to work!
let’s go back to the beginning of Acts
Was the day of Pentecost ordinary or extraordinary?
Was the day of Pentecost ordinary or extraordinary?
something that happened one time?, or we should as Christians expect to see all the time?
When the Holy Spirit comes in a person’s life, should there be a sound of mighty rushing wind, flames of fire, and speaking in foreign language? Just like the day of Pentecost
no one preaches/teaches that
some denominations say speaking in heavenly tongue, but that’s not what happened on the day of Pentecost
so the Day of Pentecost was an extraordinary event . . . not an example for us to pattern every time
other one time events
Moses on Mt. Sinai - start of a nation
Jesus on the cross and rising again - The Lord’s redeeming work
Here we have the start of the church - God’s people not by natural birth, but by faith (spiritual birth)
and at this one time/first time event - extraordinary things happened
Let’s look at other events and see if they are one time/first time
1st new converts on the day of Pentecost
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.
Jewish people believe, and the Bible says nothing about how/when they received the spirit, no mention of miraculous, no laying of hands, just baptized
Later on, more Jews become Christians
this was after the healing of the lame man
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
More Jews get saved, no description but, “heard message and believed”
could more have happened?
sure, but this is all we are given
Later on, more Jews become Christians
after death of Ananias and Sapphira, and many miracles by apostles
14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number,
More Jews get saved, no description but the word, “believers”
after 7 “Deacons” chosen, and apostles could concentrate on prayer and the word
7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
More Jews get saved, only description is disciples/believers, obedient to the faith
When becoming a Christian, what has been repeatedly described? What is ordinary?
When becoming a Christian, what has been repeatedly described? What is ordinary?
people believing the news about Christ
sounds like John three sixteen
Were they speaking in tongues too? Bible doesn’t say
laying of hands? Not even mentioned yet
We must trust that the Bible is conveying the main message
In Acts 8, what is similar and what is different?
In Acts 8, what is similar and what is different?
similar
believed in Christ is similar
baptized is similar
different
Holy Spirit has not come upon them
This is a group of Samaritans
different preacher (non apostle)
14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John,
15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.
somehow they knew that they had not received the spirit, how?
no signs?
Holy Spirit told them, just like He told them about people lying?
Why couldn’t Philip do it?
He preached to them
He was described as being full of the HS
he was doing great miracles himself
only reason is that God is orchestrating this exactly how he wants it
One obvious reason, is that he wanted them officially connected to the church through the apostles
and not just any apostles, but the “big boys” Peter and John
otherwise they could only claim connection through a Hellenistic Jew
seems God wanted them to be seen as 100% members of the body
seems God wanted to open believers eyes that the gospel was indeed for everyone!
no stronger witnesses than Peter and John participating and seeing with their own eyes
Samaritans becoming Christians is a huge moment in the church!
it takes for anyone to see past their own culture, background, and upbringing
remember they had trouble already dealing with two types of Jews
left with three real options
this is an extraordinary event - the beginning of people who are not 100% Jews becoming Christians, so this was their first time getting the HS
So God did a one time thing for the sake of unity in the faith (didn’t send the HS at first)
apostles needed to be a part of this since the church is so young
all of the other conversions, the apostles had been a part of, so they certainly needed to be a part of this
this is an extraordinary event - the beginning of people who are not 100% Jews becoming Christians, so This receiving of the Holy Spirit was a filling of the HS
because then it would be very evident that they have the Holy Spirit because Apostles need to see that
16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
verse 16 verb for fallen upon - fall upon with the implication of damage, seems to be talking a lot more than indwelling, poured out
or God sends the HS different ways/different times sometimes (worst option)
let look at Conversion of Gentiles
Peter is preaching
it took an angel, a vision, and the Spirit speaking to him, just to get him there
Jews wouldn’t even enter the house of Gentiles
many would spit if a Gentile passed by
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
something new happens at the conversion of Gentiles!
apostle is there
but no laying of hands
not even baptized yet
they apparently believe in their hearts, and the Holy Spirit fell
word fell is used again
when other Gentiles are converted - just their belief is mentioned, and baptism
in Summary
Initial coming of the HS - Day of Pentecost, no laying of hands
Conversion of Samaritans - first we hear of apostles laying hands
Conversion of Gentiles - no laying of hands, no baptism first
Conclusion - we see extraordinary events described at key moments, so definitely God was teaching the church that salvation was for all, and gave them irrefutable proof
my present convictions - I go back and forth between God did something different, and that this passage is describing a filling of the HS
Conclusion - key component is belief, that’s what is needed for salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit
The rest of the story to verse 25
Simon tries to buy this laying on of hands power and is rebuked
can’t buy the gift of God with money
and you shouldn’t sell it (money lines)
called Simony today - buying of an office in the church
25 So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
Peter and John started preaching to Samaritans too!