Intro
Let’s catch you up on what’s happened as we come to Acts 8. In Acts 6 there’s a potential crisis in the church that is resolved by calling and equipping a new group of leaders who are filled with the Spirit. One of those is a Hellenistic Jew- meaning he was born and raised elsewhere than Judea- named Stephen. Stephen speaks so persuasively that he is hauled in front of the ruling council of the Jews. He the launches into a speech showing how some core elements of Jewish faith, like the temple and the law, have been fulfilled by Jesus. What really angers the leaders is when Stephen calls them stiff-necked and uncircumcised. They proceed to stone him to death while he prays for their forgiveness. In all of this, we saw a number of parallels between Stephen and the one that he followed, Jesus.
Something we haven’t talked about is the role that a man named Saul played in all of this. Saul was another Hellenistic Jew, part of the sect called the Pharisees. Pharisees were rigorously devoted to the law of Moses and believed salvation would come to Israel through widespread Jewish obedience to that law. For Saul, these Jesus followers and their subversion of core elements of Jewish faith were dangerous. It could undo all their human efforts to bring about the Kingdom of God! He was determined to snuff that out. And even though Saul was young, he was clearly seen as a leader. When Stephen is stoned to death, his executors lay their coats at Saul’s feet, which was a sign of authority. Saul may even have led the charge against Stephen, and is instrumental in forcing Christians out of Jerusalem. However, the focus this morning is not actually on Saul, or on Philip, or on Peter and John. The focus is the Holy Spirit. This passage tells us a lot about the Holy Spirit, about who he is and what he does. Let’s get into it.
1. The Spirit Directs the Mission (Acts 8:1-5)
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
Acts 8:1-5
Here’s the first thing we see about the Holy Spirit in this passage: He directs the mission of the church. You might not think that at first because at first glance, the church is being driven out of Jerusalem by persecution and outright opposition. Christians are just responding to Saul, a ravenous tyrant marching from home to home and dragging Jesus-followers to prison. But this is what God does. He uses the circumstances of the world, even the stuff that initially looks really evil, to accomplish His purposes. As Psalm 2 says, and I’ve repeated this over and over again and won’t stop until I hear you quoting it, and even then I’ll probably keep bringing it up, the nations rage in vain against the Lord and His anointed one. It’s in vain. Because God is still on the throne, working to accomplish His purposes.
What are those purposes? In Acts 8, God’s purpose is to move the church outwards and beyond Jerusalem. Up until now in Acts, the action is all happening in Jerusalem. And generally, things are going great. The church is growing. There is much joy. New believers every day. People being healed. People sharing possessions and meals and worshiping together. If you asked anyone who was part of the church in those early years, they would have told you how wonderful it was in Jerusalem. But God wanted to move them out. This is a bit of a warning to those of us who get comfortable and resist the idea of moving into something new. One of my teachers and mentors, Bruce Milne, wrote a commentary on Acts. He writes that if God scattered the church in Jerusalem that had so much going for it, in order to spread the word, we should be careful about getting comfortable with our little “Jerusalems”. What are your “Jerusalems”? Are you prepared to be obedient if God calls you to get beyond that comfortable known and follow Him into the unknown? If you’re not, He might allow something to force you to anyway!
That’s what happens here. Many Christians, especially the Hellenistic ones, flee Jerusalem. But verse 4 says that they don’t flee and cower, but instead that wherever they went, they preached the word. They preached the news about Jesus. Remember what the context is here. They have just seen what can happen if someone preaches Jesus. Right? They saw Stephen murdered! They saw a crowd of rabid opponents pelt him with rocks until he had breathed his last! Most people say they want to die without pain and in their sleep. That’s not what happened to Stephen! And so you would think that these Christians would look at that and go, hmm, maybe I should shut up a bit. Maybe I should keep quiet, because I could really get into trouble. Nope! Everywhere they go, they preach the word. They preach the thing that could get them killed, because that’s how passionate they are about Jesus.
We read particularly about Philip, and where he goes. Philip is one of the seven leaders chosen and called in Acts 6:5 along with Stephen. He is most likely a Hellenistic Jew, accustomed to life outside the confines of Israel, accustomed to interacting with people who do not share his faith. He is going to be the guy the Spirit uses to break new ground in the Kingdom of God and bring the Gospel to a new group of people. Is that a coincidence? No way! The Spirit uses the experiences of our past as part of our calling to share Christ with others. Philip is a great candidate to break this new ground.
What is that new ground? Samaria. Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along. Jews looked down on Samaritans because they were seen as traitors, compromisers, even “half-breeds”. Samaritans had a kind of syncretistic faith that involved elements of Judaism. For example, on the basis of Deuteronomy 18:15-19, they looked forward to some kind of Messiah or prophet. And there were other seeds planted there too. Jesus himself had visited Samaria in his earthly ministry, causing word to spread in some parts of Samaria that this Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Despite all this, we can still say that Philip travels to what would have been for a Jew an unlikely and unappealing location. And it is there that he shares the news about a Jewish Messiahs. Now, what’s the connection between this and the Holy Spirit? Go back to Acts 1:8: “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In Acts 8 we see the Holy Spirit at work, fulfilling the itinerary of Jesus, driving Philip to a region that Jesus had promised would receive the Gospel witness.
Even when it’s behind the scenes, the Holy Spirit directs the mission of the church. He directs the mission of individual believers. Do you know what we need as a church. Do you know what you need if you are a follower of Jesus? You need to be yielded to the Holy Spirit. You need to learn to hear His voice and respond in obedience. He may ask you to leave your comfort zone. He may ask you to do something you’d rather not do. But He’s got a plan and His plan is far better than my plan or your plan and His plan will lead to Kingdom blessings galore.
2. The Spirit Empowers (Acts 8:6-8)
6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
Acts 8:6-8
Philip travels to Samaria, just north of Judea, and stuff happens! People who couldn’t walk before are healed and restored. Impure and evil spirits are sent fleeing.
By the way, I want to make a quick side note that I make often when I speak about stories about exorcism in the Bible. Lots of Western people doubt the existence of such things as demons and evil spirits. They think that’s all relics of a superstitious past, and that every strange manifestation is just mental illness which can be medically treated. And sometimes it is. But not always. Which makes our worldview simplistic in some ways- to a hammer, everything is a nail and to a Westerner, everything is materialistic. Actually, you could say that in some ways, this Western denial of supernatural evil is also a very ethnocentric thing. Almost every other culture in the world today, and throughout history, understands that there are such things as evil spirits. A great concern has been how to ward off these beings. We see ourselves as finally having received an enlightenment none of those poor other cultures have. But could that ignorance and denial of anything not observable empirically actually be to evil’s advantage? An old saying, mistakenly attributed to C.S. Lewis, is that the devil’s greatest trick is to convince people that he doesn’t exist. His fight gets a lot easier if he can pummel us and oppress us without us even knowing where these attacks are coming from.
Back to the point. If you ever come across an impure or evil spirit, try overcoming it on your own. Actually, because I care about you, don’t. There’s a story later on in Acts about that, and it doesn’t turn out well for the people who try. The only way this happens in Samaria is by the power of the Holy Spirit. The only way Philip can pray and see healing among people is by the power of the Holy Spirit. The only way Philip can speak persuasively about the kingdom of God is by the power of the Holy Spirit. And just to skip ahead a few verses, all of this bears great fruit. Not only is there great joy in the city, but verse 12 tells us that many believed in Jesus and were baptized. Both the word and the actions of Philip displayed a power greater than himself, and people were brought to faith because of it.
We said that the Holy Spirit directs mission. What these verses remind us, without telling us directly, is that the Spirit also empowers us for that mission. The Holy Spirit gives us strength and ability and gifts that we would never have on our own in order for the Kingdom of God to break in and transform lives.
3. The Spirit Glorifies Jesus
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorceryin the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
Acts 8:9-13
Here we see that not only does the Spirit direct and empower our mission, but in the process, the Spirit glorifies Jesus.
We read about a man named Simon. He’s described as a magi, someone involved with sorcery. Don’t just dismiss this as him being a magician or illusionist in the Netflix-special sense today. It is likely that Simon drew his power from the demonic. That’s what Justin Martyr, a second century Christian, wrote. He also wrote that Simon was later honored in Roman religion as a god in his own right. And you get the sense that Simon didn’t mind that one bit. He is self-promoting. He boasts that he is great and he doesn’t reject this title that people have given him: “the Great Power of God”. He was a celebrity in Samaria, a rock star with an entourage that followed him in awe and wonder everywhere he went. He was on the pedestal and he loved it.
Contrast that with Philip. Philip also has power, a power that is evidently greater than Simon’s. After all, what are all these people doing, being oppressed by evil spirits, if the “Great Power of God” is present in Simon? But Philip shows up and people are healed and set free. The power of the Spirit is greater than any counterfeit. And then there’s this: unlike Simon, Philip doesn’t soak up the attention. He doesn’t embrace the rock-star life. Instead, in verse 12, he points them to Jesus and directs the Samaritans to put their faith in Jesus, not him.
This is what the Holy Spirit always does. It’s what the Spirit does through us. The Spirit glorifies Jesus. That’s what Jesus says to his disciples in John 16:14. In John 15:26, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit and says that the Spirit will testify about him. That’s the Spirit’s job description: to point people to the truth of Jesus.
This is maybe the number one way to identify if someone is truly empowered by the Holy Spirit or if they’re speaking on their own, or worse, by some other kind of spirit. Is Jesus glorified? Is Jesus being pointed to? There is a bad tendency in the church to exalt individuals. Big churches are often built around the celebrity of their pastor. A man becomes a brand. The allure of that can be intoxicating.
I remember years ago listening or reading the pastor and author Francis Chan talk about what happened to him at a conference. Everybody was given a magazine on their seat, and on the front cover was Francis Chan. He heard people whispering about him, pointing at him. He kind of liked it. And then, during worship, before he went up, he became deeply, deeply convicted. He began weeping, just out of control bawling because he realized he had become everything he didn’t want to become. He had become prideful and desiring attention. He realized in that moment that people should be looking to Jesus, not him. And then in the middle of his out of control cry session, the host goes, “hey, let’s welcome Francis!” Great timing! Francis Chan had to remember, in the midst of becoming a kind of celebrity, that the Spirit works in us to point people to Jesus.
Simon just doesn’t get that. Now, Simon does recognize that Philip’s power is greater than his. He’s actually in awe of what Philip can do. So he is baptized. But then we read this: he followed Philip everywhere (verse 13). The word has the sense of “devoted”, like in Acts 6:4 with regards to the apostles’ commitment to prayer and the word. Simon wasn’t devoted to Jesus. He was devoted to Philip. That’s going to be a problem for him.
See, the issue isn’t just that people speak and act in order to gain attention instead of pointing people to Jesus. It’s that people hear words or receive ministry from another person, by the power of the Spirit, and they give that person devotion instead of Jesus. They receive whatever that person says without question or discernment. They become disciples of this or that famous Christian teacher. In the worst case scenario, they become involved in cults that lead to complete destruction. Hear this clearly: your devotion is not to me. It is not to some Twitter or TikTok Christian celebrity. It is not to your favorite author or megachurch preacher. It is to Jesus. If the Holy Spirit has worked in you through someone’s ministry, don’t glorify them for that. Glorify Jesus.
4. The Spirit is God’s Seal on His People (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 Samaria.15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:14-17
This is the part of the story that probably causes the most confusion for people. The church in Jerusalem hears about what’s happened in Samaria. They send Peter and John, the leading apostles of Jerusalem who were instrumental in what God did in the first chapters of Acts. We then find out that the Samaritan believers have believed and been baptized, but they haven’t received the Holy Spirit. It’s only when Peter and John lay hands on them that this changes and the Holy Spirit comes. Somehow, this was evident- maybe they spoke in tongues like the apostles did in Acts 2, maybe they were filled with an experience of God’s love. But here’s the big question: why didn’t the Holy Spirit come when they believed?
One possibility is that their belief was insufficient, or that Philip wasn’t truly anointed. But neither of those things seem to be consistent with the text. They do believe, and Philip is absolutely filled with the Spirit. Another possibility is that the Spirit doesn’t always come when we believe. This is what some Christians, including some Pentecostals, believe. They hold that there is perhaps a two stage process. Two blessings. You believe and are saved, and then perhaps much later, you are baptized by the Holy Spirit. That seems to be what happens to the Samaritans.
However, I don’t believe that this is the normal pattern. I think there’s something contextual going on here. The Samaritans were related to the Jews, but were a distinct group of people from them. Again, in Jewish eyes, they had long before forsaken their status as God’s people. But the Jews knew they were God’s people, and unlike the Samaritans, they had the promises of the prophets. Among those prophetic promises was that God would make a new covenant with them characterized by the giving of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 36:26-27, for example, says “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you…and I will put my Spirit in you.” Jeremiah 31:33 promises a new covenant where God’s law will be in our hearts and minds and “I will be their God, and they will be my people.” See, the Holy Spirit is the promise given to God’s people. It is to mark them out as His own. This is what Paul says in Ephesians. He writes that “when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit is a seal. One of the things a seal does is mark out ownership. This is what the Holy Spirit does, He marks out God’s people as His own in fulfillment of the promised new covenant.
So what is the significance of the Spirit coming when Peter and John lay hands on them, instead of when Philip preaches? It says that the Samaritan believers are part of the same new covenant, the same people of God, that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem are. This is not something separate. There can be no more definitive way of signifying that than with Peter and John, the leaders of the Jerusalem church. And this is true at the next stage of expansion as well, when the Gospel reaches the Gentile centurion Cornelius. You know who’s there when the Spirit comes on Cornelius and his household? Peter. Because just like the Samaritans, Cornelius is part of the same covenant, the same people of God, that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem are. There are no first tier and second tier believers. There are not two “separate but equal” movements. As Paul says in Ephesians, “there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6) One. I believe that’s why, at this stage, the Spirit waits until representatives from Jerusalem are present.
If you have the Spirit- if you have experienced the love of God in Christ Jesus, if you know that you are God’s adopted child, if you have been filled with a power not from yourself- you are marked out as God’s own, His possession, just like those first apostles. That is incredible!
5. The Spirit is a Gift
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.” 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 or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may 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.” 25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Acts 8:18-25
We have said that the Holy Spirit directs our mission, empowers our mission, does this to glorify Jesus, and that His presence is a seal that marks out God’s people. Here, we see that the Holy Spirit is a gift.
Once again, Simon doesn’t get that. He was in awe of Philip’s words and works. He’s even more in awe of Peter and John and that the Spirit is poured out once they lay hands on the Samaritan believers. He wants that ability too. And he figures it’s something he can purchase. He figures it’s like the sorcery and magic he’s operated with his whole life, that it’s a technique that can be taught, that can be manipulated. You also have to wonder if Simon thought this was a great opportunity for him to retain his standing among the Samaritans. If he could gain this ability, then he would be a leader in this new movement. Maybe he could hold on to his rock-star status after all.
This isn’t just an innocent mistake by a new believer. His heart is very, very far from God. That’s what Peter sees, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter sees that Simon is full of bitterness, captive to sin, and that his heart is not right before God. He urges Simon to repent and seek forgiveness from God in order to avoid judgment. This starts to sound a bit like the Ananias and Sapphira episode in Acts 5, except here Simon is given a chance to repent. But does he? The text doesn’t say. What we end with in v.24 is Simon pleading with Peter to intercede for him. Why isn’t Simon himself praying? What isn’t Simon doing what Peter had told him to do? Maybe it’s because, as we have seen again and again, Simon’s faith is not in Jesus. It’s in created things. It’s in himself and impressive humans and his money. And because of his misplaced faith, he misses out on the Holy Spirit and the life that would otherwise be his.
The Holy Spirit is a gift- that’s what Peter says in verse 20. And a gift is by definition not something that can be purchased, whether by money or good works or anything else. If I give Natalie or Zachary a birthday gift and they go, “thanks Dad, can I give you $20 for that?” I think they’ve dramatically misunderstood the situation. If your kid does say that, that’s weird. You should talk to them about that. The Spirit is the gift of God. Our role is simply to receive the gift, and we do that by trusting in Christ and surrendering our lives to Him.
Conclusion
But there’s an issue here, and this is the thought I want to close with. Most people I know are not like Simon. It’s not that they see the power of the Holy Spirit and try to obtain it through faulty means or with a hardened heart. It’s that they have little desire for the Holy Spirit at all. They are perfectly content, it seems, to live a powerless, spiritually barren life, as long as the bills are paid and they get their four weeks vacation.
Here’s what A.W. Tozer, a well-known pastor and writer in the 20th century said:
“The church has tragically neglected this great liberating truth- that there is now for the child of God a full and wonderful and completely satisfying anointing with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.”
A.W. Tozer
What Tozer was getting at was that yes, every believer has the Holy Spirit by virtue of faith in Christ. But it is also possible to quench the Spirit, to live in ignorance of the Spirit’s power, to rely on your own strength. What he was saying was that many people and many churches have neglected the reality of the fullness of the Spirit. That won’t change unless we desire it. Simon at least had that part right.
But if we desire more of the Spirit and surrender our lives to Christ through faith, things change. We are directed and empowered, Christ is glorified, we are at peace through confidence in our status before God. Revival comes. May that be true of you and us today.
