The Church Persecuted and Christians Scattered (Acts 8:1-17)
By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts
Ministries:Biblical Precepts & Gospel music
Scriptures reading (Acts
8:8-25)
8 And Saul was there,
giving approved to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against
the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were
scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to
house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Philip preached in
Samaria
4 Those who had been
scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went
down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When
the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs, he did, they all paid
close attention to what he said. 7 with shrieks, evil
spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So
there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had
practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted
that he was someone great, 10and all the people, both sigh and low,
gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as
the Great Power.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them
for a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as
he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,
they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself believed and
was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs
and miracles he saw. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that
Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15
When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy
Spirit, 16 Because the Holy Spirit had not yet come
upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received
the Holy Spirit.
18
When
Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he
offered them money
19 and said, “Give me also this
ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because
you thought you could buy the gift of God with money. 21You have no
part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22Repent
of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having
such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to
sin.” 24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that
nothing you have said may happen to me. 25 When they had testified
and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem,
preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Verse 9 Sorcery. Simon was a
practitioner of magic, quackery, and various kinds of sorcery. He may also have
made messianic claims.
Verse Simon himself believed. Peter’s
denunciation(vv.20-23) indicates that Simon’s faith was not unto salvation
(James2:14-20).
Verse 14-17 Though the Samaritans had been baptized in water (v.12), the
gift of the Holy Spirit was delayed until Peter and John came and laid their
hands on them. Normally the Spirit is given at the moment of faith
(10:44; 19:2.Eph.1:13) in this instance, however, it was imperative that the
Samaritans be identified with the apostles and the Jerusalem church so that
there would be no rival Samaritan Christian church.
Verse 16 This does not mean that the believers in Samaria did not receive
the Holy Spirit within them essentially when they believed in the Lord. According
to the teaching of the New Testament in Eph.1:13 and Gal.3:2, they must have received
the Holy Spirit essentially when they believed for their regeneration (John3:6,36).
But they had not yet received the Spirit economically to identify them with the
Body of Christ. The reason the Holy Spirit did not fall upon them outwardly and
economically was so that the apostles, through whom the practical establishing of
the church had been initiated in Jerusalem, might come to bring them into identification
with the Body of Christ. This case is different from that of the ones in the house
of Cornelius, who, when they believed in the Lord, received the Holy Spirit both
essentially within them for regeneration and economically upon them for baptism
into the Body of Christ (1Cor.12:13) and identification with the Body of Christ.
That was because the gospel was preached then directly by Peter, who played the
main role in the initiation of the practical establishing of the church.
Verse 16 had been baptized into the
name of the Lord Jesus. Be Not to the name but into the name. The name denotes
the person. To be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into
the person of the Lord, to be identified with the crucified, resurrected, and
ascended Christ, to be put into an organic union with the living Lord. In Matt.28:19
the Lord charged the disciples to baptize the believers into the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But later, in practice, the believers were
baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, here and in 19:5, and into Christ, in
Rom.6:3 and Gal.3:27. This indicates that (1) to be baptized into the name of the
Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, because the Lord Jesus is the Triune God, the embodiment
of God Himself(Col.2:9), and (2) to be baptized into the name of the Triune God
or into the name of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the person
of Christ.
Since the Samaritan believers had been baptized into the name of the Lord
Jesus, that is, into the Lord Himself, they surely must have received the Spirit
of life essentially within them that they might be not only born of the Lord but
also joined to the Lord (1Cor.6:17), although they had not received the Spirit of
power outwardly and economically.
Verse 17 Peter and John were sent to Samaria not only to confirm the preaching
of the gospel by Philip, one of the seven appointed to serve tables, but also to
bring the church in Samaria, composed of Samaritans, with whom the Jews had no dealings,
into identification with the Body of Christ by laying their hands on them. The Holy
Spirit honored this laying on of hands and fell upon the Samaritans, signifying
their identification with the Body of Christ. In this way the Samaritan believers
received the Holy Spirit economically in addition to their having received the Holy
Spirit essentially when they believed in the Lord Jesus.
Acts 8:18-24 Simon thought he could buy the gift of God (v.20). When Peter
urged him to repent, Simon replied, in effect, “Pray for me that I may escape punishment” (v.24). He was still thinking in terms of magical powers rather than
repentance of heart.
Verse 20 “you have no part or share
in this ministry” Not eternal perdition but a punishment, as in Heb.10:39
and Matt.7:13. Simon had believed in the gospel and had been baptized (v.13).
hence, he must have experienced salvation in its initial stage, but he had not
been saved from his wicked though and act concerning money. Therefore, he
needed to repent of this wickedness that he might receive the Lord’s forgiveness;
otherwise, he would go with his silver into punishment.
Verse 25 To testify the word of the Lord is to witness according to personal
experience of the Lord, and to speak the word of the Lord is to preach and teach
according to the revelation of the Lord.
Bibliography,
Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim,
CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV). Chicago,
IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.
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