• Acts 8:14-17
• 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.
17 Then Peter and John placed their
hands on them, and they received the
Holy Spirit.
Saints Spread the Gospel
Acts 8:14-25;
Peter and John went to Samaria.
The apostles sent Peter and John to
Samaria so that the people might receive a
gift from the Holy Spirit. (vs 14-17)
– Simon offered Peter and John money for
this ability. (vs 17-19)
Peter rebuked Simon and told him to
repent. (vs 20-23)
– Simon repented of his sin. Peter and
John returned to Jerusalem. (vs 24-25)
Acts 8:9-25;
•
Simon the sorcerer was converted to the truth. He
then put is soul in jeopardy by sinning. Simon later
repented of his sin.
The story of Simon teaches us that a saved
person can jeopardize his own soul.
–
–
The Bible teaches that a person can leave God’s
fellowship. (1 John 1:5-10)
–
The Bible teaches a “fearful expectation of
judgment” will await those who sin willfully.
(Heb 10:26-27)
The “Coming” of the Holy Spirit
meaning the giving of a miraculous gift
• Being obedient to God in baptism brings the Holy
Spirit Himself as the Gift (singular – Acts 2:38-39;
5:32) and promise of God into the Christian’s life.
• But baptism does not automatically bring the
supernatural power, or gifts (listed in 1 Corinthians
12) of the Holy Spirit to a person. These gifts were
usually passed to others by having an Apostle lay his
hands on him or her.
• This is why the two Apostles came down to Samaria
and laid their hands on them.
The “Coming” of the Holy Spirit
meaning the giving of a miraculous gift
• The two exceptions to this practice are found in
Acts 2:1-4; (on the Apostles themselves) and in
Acts 10 (Cornelius and his family) when no
human was said to pass on the gifts but rather
the Holy Spirit himself could be said to give or
impart the gifts in a miraculous way.
• In both these cases the purpose was the same
NOT for salvation or a SIGN of being saved
but as CONFIRMATION of the MESSAGE
• Their sins had been forgiven but they did not
have the power to perform signs and wonders
until an Apostle had laid his hands on them
(Acts 6:6; 19:1-7). Then the Spirit is said to
have “came upon” them, meaning they
received a miraculous gift.
In similar manner it was at Ephesus that
Paul baptized 12 disciples, then laid his
hands on them, after which they could
perform miraculous signs.
Gifts of the Spirit v.
the Gift of the Spirit
• The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey
Jesus (Acts 2:38 & 39; 5:32; Romans 8:9).
• The Gift of the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit
Himself given to each person who believes,
repents and is baptized.
• The gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians
12:1-11) are miraculous gifts conferred
through the laying on of an Apostle’s hands.
• Acts 8:18-19
• 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."
• Simon understood that only the Apostles
had the power to give the miraculous gifts of
the Holy Spirit by laying their hands on
baptized disciples.
• He wanted the same power to be able to
give or, as he thought, sell it to others.
No Part or Share
• Acts 8:20-21
• 20 Peter answered: "May your money
perish with you, because you thought
you could buy the gift of God with
money! 21 You have no part oar share in
this ministry, because your heart is not
right before God.
• I think Peter means that Simon could not be
involved in anything having to do with the
Holy Spirit because of his attitude.
What was Peter’s Meaning?
• I think Peter was telling Simon that as long
as his heart was not right with God, thinking
he could buy God’s gifts with money, he was
not fit to even have an Apostle give him a
miraculous gift from the Holy Spirit.
• I do not think he meant that if Simon’s heart
was right he could have the same powers
the Apostles had, that he could then pass on
the gifts.
“Repent and Pray”
• Acts 8:22-24
• 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to
the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for
having such a thought in your heart. 23
For I see that you are full of bitterness
and captive to sin."
• 24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the
Lord for me so that nothing you have
said may happen to me."
“v 23 Full of Bitterness”
• Peter gives us insight into the condition
of Simon’s heart. He had believed and
been baptized. He would not have to be
baptized again. He would be a disciple if
he repented.
• He was bitter because he had lost his
prestige among the people. He thought
that getting the power to give or sell the
Holy Spirit’s gifts to whomever he chose
would help him to regain his power and
prestige.
Pray for Me
• Peter must have described in ghastly detail
what would happen to him if he did not
repent. I assume he had told him about the
eternal punishment in the fires of hell that
await those who reject the grace of God.
• It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of
an angry God (Hebrews 11:31).
• Simon asked Peter to intercede for him.
• There are several principles we can learn
from the story of Simon the Sorcerer: Only
the Apostles can transfer the supernatural
powers of the Holy Spirit.
• This also shows that everyone who was
baptized in water was not also baptized with
the Holy Spirit.
• It also shows that “RECEIVING THE HOLY
SPIRIT” in this context means being given a
special gift which could be tongues or
healing or any mentioned in 1 Cor 12
Also In Acts 10 when Cornelius receives the
gift to speak in tongues it is not given by the
Apostles but Peter refers to it as similar to
that which happened to the Apostles at
Pentecost,
A unique gift of power given by the Holy
Spirit to convince those Jewish Christians
with Peter, that the Gentiles were now
ACCEPTABLE to God through the blood of
Christ if they would obey the message that
Peter was preaching to them
• We also learn here that the gifts of God
cannot be purchased with money.
• Another thing we learn is that when a
baptized believer sins, he does not
need to be re-baptized for the
forgiveness of sins but when he prays
sincerely to ask God for forgiveness.
God will forgive him if he repents.
• Acts 8:25
• 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.
• Do you think Jesus’ conversation with the
Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4)
and the effect her testimony had on the
people of the nearby town had anything to
do with the success of Philip’s
evangelism? Had they also heard about
Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan?
Saints Spread the Gospel
Acts 8:26-40
•
Philip preached the gospel to the Ethiopian treasurer.
An angel directed Philip. (vs 26)
– Traveling on the same road to Gaza was a man
of Ethiopia. (vs 27-28)
•
An angel told Philip to go to the chariot. Philip
asked the man if he understood what he was
reading. (vs 29-33)
–
–
Philip taught the man about Jesus. (vs 34-35)
–
–
The man asked to be baptized. (vs 36-38)
The Spirit caught Philip away and the man
from Ethiopia “went on his way rejoicing.”
(vs 40)
Philip is Directed by an Angel
• Acts 8:26-27
• 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to
Philip, "Go south to the road-the desert
road-that goes down from Jerusalem to
Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his
way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an
important official in charge of all the
treasury of Candace, queen of the
Do Ethiopians.
you see the road from Jerusalem to Gaza?
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH
• People of many nationalities had converted to
the Jewish religion through the centuries.
These people were called “proselytes.”
• Some say that this eunuch, Treasurer for the
Ethiopian Queen, was a Gentile, a native
Ethiopian who had converted to Judaism,
because of the language used to describe him.
He is called an Ethiopian, not an Israelite or
Jew of Ethiopia. Compare the description here
with Acts 2:5.
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH
Others say No- Ethiopian “Jews” (a misnomer)
have been accepted back into Israel as the
Biblical tribe of Dan, one of the so-called “lost”
tribes of the Northern Kingdom that was
scattered into the nations.
According to THEIR tradition, they have called
themselves “Beit Yisrael”for at least 3000 years.
They brought with them a strict form of Torah
obedience, First Temple practices, and little
knowledge of the later prophets
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH
Need to PUT IN MORE
ABOUT THE EUNUCH
Acts 8:26-29; Question:
• Why didn't the angel or
the spirit talk to the
Ethiopian Eunuch
instead of sending
Philip?
By Man to Man
• “An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go
south . . .”
• Note that it is a heavenly being who tells the
preacher, in this case Philip, to go teach a
man the gospel.
• There is a principle introduced here that will
be further developed in this chapter and the
next. The principle is that an unsaved man
will be taught the gospel by man, not by
visions of Jesus, not by an angel and not by
the Holy Spirit directly.
• Acts 8:27-29
• This man had gone to Jerusalem to
worship, 28 and on his way home was
sitting in his chariot reading the book of
Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told
Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near
it."
• Note that first an angel, then the Spirit told
Philip what to do. But it was Philip who told
the Eunuch what to do.
• Acts 8:30-31
• 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and
heard the man reading Isaiah the
prophet. "Do you understand what you
are reading?" Philip asked.
• 31 "How can I," he said, "unless
someone explains it to me?" So he
invited Philip to come up and sit with
him.
• Can we understand the Bible on our own or
do we have to have someone explain its
meanings to us?
Acts 8:26-40
•
Philip taught the man of Ethiopia beginning with an
Old Testament prophecy concerning Jesus.
–
Philip asked the man if he understood what he
was reading.
Are we that knowledgeable to ask such a
question to a stranger whom we see reading the
Bible?
The Old Testament is important to
understanding the death of Jesus Christ. (Cf.
Romans 15:4; Galatians 3:23-25)
–
–
• We can understand the Bible ourselves
because we now have the whole story in
the completed Bible.
• The Eunuch didn’t know the facts about
Jesus’ birth, life, teachings, death and
resurrection until Philip told him.
• Having this new information he could
then understand Isaiah’s prophecy.
Prophecies are Understood in
Retrospect
• Prophecies were not given to forewarn or to
give information that will enable men to
change history. There is always an element
of mystery about a prophecy until it has been
fulfilled so that God’s enemies cannot thwart
His plan.
• Prophecies were to serve as proofs of the
inspiration of the prophet so people would
believe that he spoke for God. Therefore they
are understood fully only after their fulfillment.
• Acts 8:32-33
• The eunuch was reading this passage of
Scripture:
• "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
• 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of
justice.
• Who can speak of his descendants?
• For his life was taken from the earth."
The Eunuch did not Know the
Fulfillment; We Do
• Acts 8:34-35
• 34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me,
please, who is the prophet talking about,
himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip
began with that very passage of Scripture
and told him the good news about Jesus.
• When the Eunuch learned the fulfillment, then
he understood the meaning.
• Acts 8:36-38
• 36 As they traveled along the road, they
came to some water and the eunuch said,
"Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be
baptized?" 38 And he gave orders to stop
the chariot. Then both Philip and the
eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him.
• If what Philip told him was the good news
about Jesus, how did he find out about
baptism, that it was a command to be
obeyed? Is baptism a part of the gospel?
• If sprinkling a few drops of water on the head
is baptism, why didn't Philip use a little water
from the Eunuch’s water jug to baptize him?
Was it because the Eunuch couldn't afford to
lose any of his water?
• “Baptize” is a Greek word spelled with
English letters. Its true translation is
“immerse.” They both “went down into the
water.”
• Scriptural baptism is putting the whole body
under water, then bringing it up again.
• Acts 8:38-9:1
• 39 When they came up out of the
water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly
took Philip away, and the eunuch did
not see him again, but went on his way
rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared
at Azotus and traveled about,
preaching the gospel in all the towns
until he reached Caesarea.
• We learn from Acts 21:8 that Philip the
evangelist lived at Caesarea on the Sea
and that he had four unmarried daughters
who prophesied.
Acts 8:26-40
•
The man of Ethiopia was baptized. This
is the first full record and conversion
process in action after Jesus's death.
Philip preached Jesus.
The man asked about being
baptized.
The man professed his belief.
Philip took the man into the
water and baptized him. Cf.
Mark 16:15-16; Matt 28:18-20.
•
•
•
•
Note of the Day:
• Jesus started at water for the woman at
the well
• Paul started with an alter in Acts 17
• Philip started at the verse the man was
reading.
• Great Preachers and teachers of the
Bible started where people were. Both
Jesus in John 4 and Philip started also
with a question instead of a statement!
Note of the Day:
• We should also note however, that
all of these great personal
evangelists also all ended up
speaking the gospel.
• Sometimes people and churches
start where people are and just
stay there. That is a mistake.
Question:
• Some Bibles leave out v 37.
• If these words should not be
in the Bible
• What does this change about
our understanding of
confession?
Scripture:
• “That if you confess with your mouth,
"Jesus is Lord," and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is
with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that
you confess and are saved.”
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
Scripture:
New King James
• 1 John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus
is the Son of God, God abides in him, and
he in God.
International Standard Version
• 1 John 4:15 God abides in the one who
acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
and he abides in God.
Remember the key points seen in our
study:
•
–
–
Persecution led to the scattering of the
saints in Jerusalem.
– Multitudes in the city of Samaria
believed and was baptized. There was
great joy in the city.
Simon the sorcerer was converted to the
truth. He then put is soul in jeopardy by
sinning. Simon later repented of his sin.
– Philip taught the man of Ethiopia
beginning with an Old Testament
prophecy concerning Jesus.
– The man of Ethiopia was converted.
Conclusion
• This chapter is primarily about the work of
Philip who is called “the evangelist,” meaning
one who announces good news. The good
news Philip announced or preached was the
good news about Jesus.
• He was directed by an angel and by the Holy
Spirit. An apostle had laid his hands on
Philip enabling him to perform signs and
wonders to confirm the divine source of the
message he preached.
• Because of his work many souls were saved
and made to rejoice that their sins were
forgiven and they possessed eternal life.
• We learned that the gift of miraculous powers
could NOT be given by a person who was
not an apostle only by an Apostle laying his
hands on a person.
• We learned that an unsaved man will only be
taught by man, not by an angel, the Spirit or
a vision of Jesus. This last one, the vision of
Jesus, will be seen in chapter 9. Note when
we get there that Jesus did not tell Paul what
to do to be saved, a man, Ananias, did.
• We also saw that baptism is a necessary part
of the message about Jesus and that it
involves going down into the water and
coming up out of the water. It is immersion
of the whole body under water and coming
up again out of the water.
• As the Eunuch did, a baptized person will “go
on his way rejoicing,” knowing his sins are
forgiven and that he possesses eternal life in
Christ.
• In the next chapter we will read the story of
Paul’s conversion.
Saved by a Work (of Faith)
• by Ellis Jones
• The LORD is our righteousness;
• Without Him we’re not right.
• Would you be a slave to sin,
• And live in sin’s dark night?
There’s a form you can obey,
To re-enact His death.
By it your soul can live again,
By the Spirit’s “breath.”
By “water and the Spirit,”
You can be born again.
And it is the only way,
To rid your soul of sin.
Salvation cannot be of works.
No sinful man may boast.
But a “dead man” cannot work,
As some may have supposed.
But he must be “buried,”
And in water must be lowered.
And thus united in Christ’s death,
The Spirit comes aboard.
Then from that “grave” of water,
To new life God will raise.
A work of God there is performed.
So God gets all the praise.
Go Teaching
by Ellis Jones
Matthew 28:18-20
As we travel through this world
Let's tell folks as we go,
The blessed story of the Christ;
Just tell them what you know.
Just teach the same things you were taught
For your conversion day.
If you can just remember that
Then you'll know what to say.
Let the story of God's love
Slide smoothly from your tongue.
Point men to that Ladder
And help them find a rung.
Christ has no hands but your hands A saying old but true.
He has no mouth but your mouth
That's how he speaks - through you.
In earthen pots His treasure
For mankind is entrusted.
What if the pot is cracked?
What if it should be "busted"?
The rule must still be followed,
"By man must man be taught."
It's by our life and teaching
The fight of faith is fought.