Suppression and Spread of the Gospel

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

We've been going through a series in the book of Acts.

We're in chapter 8, verses 1 to 25 this evening.

And we pray now for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, it is so easy, we confess, for us to think hard thoughts of you, small thoughts of you.

We pray that this evening that you would address us from your Word, magnify our vision of you,

that we might see your glory in all its grandness,

and your grace in all its tenderness, compassion.

That we might be empowered and emboldened to be witnesses of Jesus Christ in our lives.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Acts chapter 8, verses 1 to 25.

Acts 8:1–25

And Saul approved of his execution, Stephen's execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.

And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.

But Saul was ravaging the church.

Entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the Word.

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

And the crowds, with one accord, paid attention to what was being said by Philip.

When they heard him and saw the signs that he did.

For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them,

and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.

So there was much joy in that city.

But there was a man named Simon,

who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria,

saying that he himself was somebody great.

They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying,

This man is the power of God that is called great.

And they paid attention to him,

because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

But when they believed Philip,

as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,

they were baptized, both men and women.

Even Simon himself believed,

and after being baptized, he continued with Philip.

And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

Now, when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God,

they sent to them Peter and John,

who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

For he had not yet fallen on any of them,

but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Now, when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands,

he offered them money, saying,

Give me this power also,

so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.

But Peter said to him,

May your silver perish with you,

because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.

You have neither part nor lot in this matter,

for your heart is not right before God.

Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours,

and pray to the Lord that, if possible,

the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness

and in the bond of iniquity.

And Simon answered,

Pray for me to the Lord,

that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.

Now, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord,

they returned to Jerusalem,

preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Every year, Open Door USA publishes the World Watch List,

which lists 50 countries

where the persecution against Christians is most intense.

And according to the 2021 report,

more than 340 million Christians today

live in places where they experience high,

very high, or extremely high levels of persecution.

That's one in eight Christians worldwide.

340 million.

That's up from the 260 million

and 245 million persecuted Christians

from 2020 and 2019, respectively.

For many Christians around the world,

even though that might seem so foreign to us,

the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ

is very high.

In milder, subtler ways,

Christians in the West

also experience sometimes rejection

and ridicule for their faith.

And we know that powerful men and women,

powerful religions, philosophies, and ideologies,

and powerful evil spirits

oppose the advance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How, then, are we to bear witness to Jesus?

This passage teaches us

that we are to proclaim the gospel

wherever we go by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And it beckons us to look at our world

not with our eyes of sight,

but with eyes of faith

by telling us about the great persecution

and the great power

and the great promise

that we see in this passage.

First, let's look at the great persecution

that the early church endured

when Stephen, the first martyr of the church,

was being stoned to death by his persecutors.

We looked at that passage last week.

It said in chapter 7, verse 58,

that the witnesses laid down their garments

at the feet of a young man named Saul.

This was our first introduction to Saul,

whom we know by his better-known Greek name, Paul.

And prior to his conversion,

Saul was a notorious persecutor of the church.

He says of himself in 1 Timothy 1, verse 3,

1 Timothy 1:3

that formerly he was a blasphemer,

persecutor, and insolent opponent of the church.

And when Stephen was being stoned to death,

Saul provided the coat check service.

Watching the garments of the witnesses

in Stephen's trial,

who by law were required

to cast their first stones.

Since we know that Saul was educated

at the feet of Gamaliel,

we know that from Acts 22, verse 3,

Acts 22:3

who was a prominent member of the Sanhedrin,

the highest Jewish ruling court,

it's possible that Saul is present

at the trial as an assistant to the Sanhedrin.

But lest you think that Saul

was reluctantly complying

with orders of his superiors,

it tells us in chapter 8, verse 1,

that Saul himself approved of his execution.

Saul thought that that was well-fitting,

well-deserved, just.

As we noted last week,

even though the Jewish council

sanctioned Stephen's execution

because the Jews did not have the authority

to mete out capital punishment

under Roman governance,

this was essentially a lynching.

And the agitated mob that lynched Stephen

is not satisfied.

They are sun-soaked and sweaty

after exerting themselves

and casting heavy stones at Stephen,

but the air is still palpable

with the heat of anger

and hatred

toward the church

of which Stephen was a member.

And it says in verse 1,

There arose on that day

a great persecution

against the church in Jerusalem,

and they were all scattered

throughout the regions

of Judea and Samaria

except the apostles.

The persecution was so intense

that it broke up

the church in Jerusalem completely.

All the believers

had to scatter

throughout the regions

of Judea and Samaria

except the apostles.

The apostles,

who are the foundation

of the church

of which Christ is the cornerstone,

are the only ones

remaining in Jerusalem.

If you think of the early church

in Jerusalem as a house,

it looks as though

the entire structure

has been raised

and all that remains

is the foundation.

So Saul, it says,

was ravaging the church

and entering house after house.

He dragged off men and women

and committed them to prison.

With the zeal

of a religious fanatic

completely convinced

of the righteousness

of his cause,

Saul was ravaging the church

and he wasn't content

to just go to the temple,

Solomon's portico,

where Christians

were often gathering

and speaking and teaching.

He wasn't content

to just go to those public places

to round up the Christians.

No, he's interrogating people

to find out

where these Christians live

and he's going from house

after house

to drag off

against their will

men and women

to put them in prison.

That's the great persecution.

But against that great persecution,

we see a still greater power.

It says in verses 4 and 5,

Now those who were scattered

went about preaching the word

and Philip went down

to the city of Samaria

and proclaimed to them the Christ.

This is a remarkable turn of events.

The great scattering of the church

by persecution

led to the great spreading

of the gospel

by those very believers.

Ironically,

the attempt to snuff out

the gospel

actually spread the gospel

even further

so that it's no longer

confined to Jerusalem

and Judea,

the surrounding towns.

It's now,

through the ministry

of Philip and others,

penetrating even

the city of Samaria.

The persecutors of the church

are unwittingly

aiding the church.

And this is really encouraging

Noah and in light of

what Lauren shared earlier as well.

It's not just the apostles

who are proclaiming the gospel.

The apostles are all

left behind in Jerusalem.

All those scattered believers.

It names Philip as one of them,

but he's not the only one.

All of these believers

are going about

and sharing the gospel.

If you have ever gardened

or had a lawn,

you know that dandelions,

which you're seeing

all over the place now,

are extremely difficult weeds

to get rid of.

You could spend

an entire summer

mowing down dandelions

or hauling them

out of the ground,

but even if you work tirelessly

to remove every single one,

just weeks later,

even more yellow

dandelion flowers

sprout up again

in different parts of the lawn.

That's because of

the extraordinary way

in which dandelion seeds spread.

The pretty white

spherical heads

of the dandelions

contains approximately

150 seeds per flower.

And each plant

can produce up to

10 flowers.

So that means

each dandelion plant

can produce up to

15,000 seeds.

And each dandelion seed

is shaped like a parachute,

enabling it to travel

over half a mile

over a kilometer

by wind alone.

That's remarkable mileage

for a little tiny flower seed.

And for this reason,

when you're cutting down

the dandelions

or uprooting them,

you can unwittingly spread

hundreds of its seeds.

It's a losing battle.

You might as well

start calling them flowers

rather than weeds

and learn to enjoy

seeing them in your lawn.

The early church

was like these dandelions.

In this passage,

we see that the believers

in Acts

were effective carriers

of the seed of the gospel.

In verses 45,

those who were scattered

went about preaching the word

wherever they went,

including Philip to Samaria.

Verse 25 also says

that after visiting

the Samaritan believers,

the apostles returned

to Jerusalem

preaching the gospel

to many villages

of the Samaritans.

It begins and ends

with people sharing the gospel

wherever they go.

In fact,

the whole section of Acts

from chapter 8

to chapter 11,

verse 19

can be described

as examples

of believers

sharing the gospel

wherever they go.

And every Christian,

that means,

is a carrier

of the seed

of the gospel.

And we must not

lose our germinating potential.

Whether we are scattered

by persecution

or deliberately

moved somewhere

to do missions work,

or whether we move

somewhere for school

or work,

wherever we go,

wherever we are,

we must not forget

that we are carriers

of the gospel.

That's also an encouragement

for us not to be discouraged

when faced with persecution

or even seeming failure

in our ministries.

Outwardly,

if you were to visit

Jerusalem that day

when that great persecution

broke out,

it would have looked like

the church was decimated.

There was nothing

much to see there.

I mean,

the apostles were left,

but that was about it.

It was like a tree

with only its stump.

What happened

to all the believers,

all those thousands

that had been converted

and baptized

in recent months?

The persecution

looked like

a smashing success

if you were to go

and visit Jerusalem

that day.

But not visible

to the naked eye

was the spread

of the gospel

that God

had sovereignly

orchestrated

through this persecution.

Faithful gospel ministry

often invites

criticism,

opposition,

and even persecution.

Faithful gospel ministry

sometimes experiences

setbacks

and disappointments.

Faithful gospel ministry

will sometimes

look like

a complete failure.

But even then,

we must never despair

because we do not see

all that the Holy Spirit

is doing.

God is sovereignly

at work

and we are to do

our part

of sowing,

trusting that

the wind of the Spirit

will carry forth

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As Philip did this

in the city of Samaria,

the response was electric.

It says in verses 6 to 8,

And the crowds

with one accord

paid attention

to what was being said

by Philip

when they heard him

and saw the signs

that he did.

For unclean spirits,

crying out

with a loud voice,

came out of many

who had them,

and many who were paralyzed

or lame

were healed.

So there was much joy

in that city.

These verses highlight

two things

that Philip did.

It says in verse 6,

When they heard him

and when they saw

the signs he did.

So the Samaritans

with one accord

paid attention

to what was being said

by Philip.

We know that

what he was saying

was proclaiming the Christ.

So they heard the good news

of Jesus Christ.

And they also saw signs,

miraculous signs

that confirmed the message,

which included

healings

and exorcisms

of unclean spirits.

And the response

of the Samaritans

to Philip's message

is contrasted

with their former

way of life

in verses 9 to 11.

But there was a man

named Simon

who had previously

practiced magic

in the city

and amazed

the people of Samaria

saying that he himself

was somebody great.

They all paid attention

to him

from the least

to the greatest

saying this man

is the power of God

that is called great.

And they paid attention

to him

because for a long time

he had amazed them

with his magic.

Simon was a famous

magician at that time

that many ancient writers

actually write about.

And by magician

I don't mean

people,

someone who practices

sleight of hand

and illusions.

I mean someone

who practices

sorcery,

witchcraft,

a person associated

with the occult

and the realm

of spirits

and demons.

Simon

unashamedly

styled himself

to be

somebody great.

And he was quite

successful

in promoting himself

because people

from the least

to the greatest

paid attention

to him.

The poor

as well as the rich,

the educated

as well as the uneducated,

the weak

as well as the strong

and the powerful,

they all regarded

him highly

saying that this man

is the power

of God

that is called

great.

This is likely

a divine title

that Simon

claimed

for himself.

Early 2nd century

Christian apologist

and philosopher

Justin Martyr

who was himself

a Samaritan

before coming

to faith in Jesus

writes in one

of his books

that his fellow

Samaritans said

that Simon

the magician

is God

quote,

God above all

power

and authority

and might.

2nd century

pastor Irenaeus

also says

in his book

Against Heresies

that Simon

the magician

quote,

represented himself

in a word

as being the loftiest

of all powers

that is a being

who is the father

over all

and he allowed

himself to be called

by whatsoever title

men were pleased

to address him.

So he was quite

a self-absorbed man

who had grandiose

claims about himself

but because

of his powers

of sorcery

people actually

believed him.

but all of this

changes

when people

of Samaria

are confronted

with a truly

great power

the power

of the living God

and when they hear

the good news

of Jesus Christ

the true God

incarnate

their transformation

is seen

here

look at the word

pay attention

paid attention

it says in

verses 10

and 11

that the Samaritans

paid attention

to him

to Simon

but now

it says in

verse 6

the crowds

with one accord

paid attention

to what was being

said by

Philip

their attention

is shifted away

from Simon

the magician

as a result

of Philip's

ministry

and notice

what exactly

people are paying

attention to

in verse 6

formerly they all

paid attention

to him

to Simon

himself

they were amazed

by him

and thought him

to be the great

one

the power of God

but look at

verse 6

it says

the crowds

with one accord

paid attention

to what was

being said

by Philip

this is carefully

phrased

and I believe

intentionally so

because the same

phrase is used

later in Acts

Acts 16:14

chapter 16

verse 14

to say that

the Lord

opened Lydia's

heart

to pay attention

to what

was said

by Paul

charlatans

false messengers

always bring

attention to

themselves

as Simon

the magician

did

but true

messengers

of the gospel

always bring

attention

to the message

because they

know well

that they

themselves

have no power

to save

because they

know that

only Christ

and only his

gospel can save

because they

know that they

themselves have

no power to

perform signs

and wonders

because they

know that they

are merely

conduits

instruments

in the hands

of God

so Philip

is not

interested in

bringing

attention

to himself

garnering

the acclaim

of men

he's simply

concerned with

being faithful

to his

Lord

by faithfully

conveying the

message

that he

was entrusted

and due to

Philip's

faithful ministry

and the power

of the Holy

Spirit

many men

and women

are converted

and baptized

it says in

verse 12

in fact

verse 13

says even

Simon himself

believed

and after

being baptized

continued

with Philip

and seeing

signs and

great miracles

performed

he was amazed

in verses

10 to 11

Simon called

himself great

and amazed

the people

in verse 13

Simon is himself

amazed

by the great

miracles that

God performed

through Philip

the man who

used to have

crowds of people

flocking to him

and gawking at him

now follows

Philip around

like a groupie

no great

powers

or boasts

of men

can hold

a candle

to the power

of God

sometimes I

see articles

or books

written about

Christian ministry

and they say

we're competing

with Hollywood

and Netflix

so we need

to make our

sermons

more entertaining

they say

we're competing

with pop artists

and concerts

so we need

more professional

worship bands

and to complete

with LED

stage lights

and fog machines

hear this

Simon

was a sorcerer

who had

captivated

the people

of Samaria

from the least

to the greatest

he was so

compelling

that people

thought he was

a deity

and yet

he can do

nothing

when the Holy

Spirit

does his

signs and wonders

and brings the

gospel of Jesus

Christ to bear

with conviction

on the hearts

of man and woman

he can do

nothing

to stop the

conversion of his

audience

and the loss

of his business

in fact

Simon himself

who is

who had made

a career

of wowing

people is

wowed and

won over

so let's

not

patronize

God

and treat

him

like a

has-been

act

or a gig

that needs

some extra

help from

our amazing

creative minds

instead

let's humble

ourselves

before him

confess

our own

inadequacies

and weaknesses

and ask

for his

help

ask

for his

power

because when

the power

of the Holy

Spirit

comes upon

his church

there is

nothing

that can

stand in

their way

this also

means we

have nothing

to fear

when we

face powerful

manifestations

of the

spiritual

forces of

evil

often in

foreign

missions

contexts

when facing

literal

witch doctors

and sorcerers

who claim

and manipulate

supernatural

power

people who

captivate

and rule

others

hearts

with fear

when they

threaten us

with curses

and incantations

and whatever

else

we have no

need to be

afraid

the

rulers

and the

authorities

the

cosmic

powers

over

this

present

darkness

the

spiritual

forces

of evil

in the

heavenly

places

have no

power

over the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

who is

seated

at the

right

hand

of the

Father

whose

name

is

exalted

above

every

name

that

is

named

in

heaven

or on

earth

or under

the

earth

the

spirit

of the

risen

Lord

Jesus

indwells

us

empowers

us

and goes

with us

and there

is nothing

that can

stand

in his

way

we are

to proclaim

the gospel

wherever we

go

not by

our power

but by

the power

of the

Holy Spirit

that's the

great power

that we see

and now we

turn to the

great promise

in verses

14 to

25

it says

in verse

14

now when

the apostles

at Jerusalem

heard that

Samaria had

received the

word of God

they sent

to them

Peter

and John

this is the

first time

in the book

of Acts

that Samaria

has received

the word

of God

throughout this

passage

Luke

emphasizes

the fact

that the

gospel

is going

beyond

Jerusalem

and Judea

into Samaria

five times

in this

passage alone

he mentions

Samaria

and Samaritans

to make sure

we don't miss

the significance

of the fact

that the

gospel ministry

is now taking

place in

Samaria

and this

is connected

to the

great promise

of Jesus

in Acts

Acts 1:8

chapter 1

verse 8

which is

the

programmatic

verse of

the entire

book of Acts

it's like

the thesis

statement

but you

will receive

power when

the Holy

Spirit

has come

upon you

and you

will be

my witnesses

in Jerusalem

in all

Judea

and Samaria

and to

the end

of the

earth

the book

of Acts

follows this

outline

recounting

the spread

of the

goodness

of Jesus

in Jerusalem

in chapters

1 through

7

in all

Judea

and Samaria

in chapters

8 to

12

and to

the end

of the

earth

in chapters

13 to

28

Jerusalem

was the

center of

Jewish

worship

and further

out in

Judea and

Samaria

you found

syncretic

Judaism

mixed with

folk

spirituality

and elements

of other

religious

traditions

and then

the end

of the

earth

represents

the realm

of the

nations

the Gentiles

who practice

pagans

we are now

at this point

of the book

in the second

stage of the

gospel's advancement

where the gospel

multiplies among

the Samaritans

Samaria was the

capital of the

northern kingdom

of Israel

when it was

divided into

two

Israel and

Judah

and the name

Samaria

eventually came

to be used

to refer to

the district

and sometimes

even to the

entirety

of the

northern kingdom

and when

the Assyrians

captured

Samaria

in 722

BC

they deported

all the

Israelites

of substance

and means

and then

left behind

other Israelites

and then

settled that

land with

foreigners

who then

intermarried

with the

remaining

Israelites

leading to

a form of

syncretized

Judaism

and when

the Jews

had been

the Jews

had been

deported

who had

been deported

returned to

their homeland

from exile

they viewed

the Samaritans

as kind of

half Jews

people who

were

sub-Jewish

both in their

ethnicity and

religion

and one

notable

religious

difference

between them

I mentioned

last week

is that the

Samaritans

saw the

Mount Gerizim

in Shechem

in the city

of Shechem

as the center

of worship

while the

Jews saw

Jerusalem

and Mount

Zion

as the center

of worship

and considering

this it's

notable that

Stephen in

the previous

chapter in

Acts chapter 7

Acts 7 · chapter mention

pointed out

that Joseph

one of the

Jews revered

by the

patriarchs

was buried

not in

Jerusalem

but in

Shechem

he did

this to

emphasize

that God's

presence

is not

confined

to

Jerusalem

and that

God's

powerful

and gracious

work

transcends

the boundaries

of Israel

and with

that detail

Luke

deftly

prepared

a way

for chapter

8

where even

Samaria

receives

the word

of God

and when

the apostles

at Jerusalem

heard of the

reception of

the gospel

in Samaria

it says

in verse 14

that they

sent to them

Peter and

John

the reason

for ascending

them

is given

in verse 15

they came

down and

prayed for

them

that they

might receive

the Holy

Spirit

this was

necessary

because

as verse 16

says the Holy

Spirit had

not fallen

not yet fallen

on any of us

but they had

only been

baptized in the

name of the

Lord Jesus

this raises

the question

of how did

they know

that the Holy

Spirit had

not come

upon the

Samaritans

earlier in

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

17 and 18

at Pentecost

Peter explained

that the

descent of

the Holy

Spirit is a

fulfillment of

the prophecy

in Joel 2

28 to 32

and Peter

and John

knew

likely from

Philip's

report

that the

Holy Spirit

had not

fallen upon

them yet

because there

was no

spirit of

prophecy

evident among

them

when we

repent and

believe in

Jesus and

are baptized

in his

name

the Holy

Spirit

indwells

us

he brings

genuine

conviction

of sin

and joy

of salvation

as we see

in this

passage

he sheds

the love

of God

upon our

hearts

so that we

love God

in response

and seek

to please

him

he produces

his fruit

within us

and distributes

his gifts

among us

gifts such as

tongues

prophecy

healing

he transforms

us

and this is

not

an

imperceptible

thing

it's

noticeable

to the

apostles

that the

Holy Spirit

had not

fallen upon

a Samaritan

this is a

very intriguing

and surprising

situation

you can see

on the screen

what Peter

preached in

Acts 2

38 to

39

repent and

be baptized

every one

of you

in the name

of Jesus

Christ

for the

forgiveness

of your

sins

and you

will receive

the gift

of the

Holy Spirit

for the

promises

for you

and for

your

children

and for

all who

are far

off

everyone

whom

the

Lord

God

calls

to

himself

so

scripture

ties the

reception

of the

Holy Spirit

to

baptism

in the

name

of

Jesus

Christ

and in

this

passage

we see

that the

Samaritans

have done

exactly

what Peter

said

they needed

to do

they've

repented

and they

believed

and they've

been baptized

in the name

of the

Lord

Jesus

and yet

where's

the Holy

Spirit

what gives

this is

supposed to

be an

odd

situation

Luke

acknowledges

the strangeness

of this

when he

notes that

the Holy

Spirit

had not

yet

fallen

on any

of them

but they

had only

been baptized

in the name

of the

Lord

Jesus

the word

only

highlights

this

conspicuous

absence

of the

Holy

Spirit

because we

saw earlier

in chapter

1

verses

46

Jesus

commanded

the

apostles

to wait

for the

promise

of the

Father

but he

said

you heard

from me

for John

baptized

with

water

but you

will be

baptized

with the

Holy

Spirit

not many

days

from now

the days

of John's

baptism

of water

has passed

now is

the age

of baptism

of the

Holy

Spirit

so it

is unique

that these

Samaritan

believers

have not

yet received

the Holy

Spirit

despite the

fact that

they have

received the

word of

God

so what's

the reason

for this

unusual delay

why did

God wait

to send

the Holy

Spirit

until Peter

and John

came to lay

their hands

on them

and pray

for them

the best

the best

explanation

seems to

be that

this is

a special

moment

in God's

salvation

plan

when salvation

which is

from the

Jews

is extended

to the

Samaritans

Samaritans

were accustomed

to being

treated as

second class

Jews

they were

never fully

received into

the covenant

community of

God

in Ezra

Ezra 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

when the

Jewish

exiles

returned

to Jerusalem

to rebuild

the temple

the Samaritans

approached

these Jews

and said

to them

let us

build

with you

for we

worship

your God

as you

do

and we

have been

sacrificing

to him

ever since

the days

of Eserhaddon

king of

Assyria

who brought

us here

but the

Jews

rejected

them

and said

you

have

nothing

to do

with us

in building

a house

to our

God

but we

alone

will build

to the

Lord

the God

of Israel

this ancient

rivalry

and enmity

between them

were so

strong

that they

wanted

nothing

to do

with each

other

as we

see in

John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

it's in

that context

of hostility

Peter

and John

representatives

of the

twelve

apostles

who according

to Luke

22

30

sit on

thrones

judging

the twelve

tribes

of Israel

in the

kingdom

of God

personally

come to

Samaria

to physically

lay their

hands on

the Samaritans

Samaritans

and offer

them the

right

can of

fellowship

laying on

of hands

in the

book of

Acts

occurs

in context

of appointing

someone

for a

special

ministry

or for

healing

or for

impartation

of the

Holy

Spirit

it seems

to be

an outward

representation

of an

inward

transfer

of the

Spirit's

power

the

application

of the

Spirit's

power

God

this is

God's

way

in sending

Peter and

John

of

authenticating

and legitimizing

the inclusion

of the

Samaritans

to the

church

of God

this is a

momentous

occasion

there

cannot

be

two

separate

churches

the

Jewish

one

and the

Samaritan

one

there

can only

be one

church

of

Christ

this

was

not

a

case

of

Philip

the rogue

evangelist

offering

salvation

to

Samaritans

when God

himself

had no

plans

of doing

that

God

is

himself

putting

his

stamp

of

approval

on

Samaria's

reception

of his

word

Samaritans

are no

longer

second

class

Jews

they are

not

half

brothers

but

full

brothers

and

sisters

in the

family

of

God

they are

not

resident

aliens

but

full

citizens

in the

kingdom

of

God

they're

not

visitors

or

observers

but

full

members

of

the

church

of

God

this

is

the

Samaritan

Pentecost

and

God

had

delayed

it

to

reveal

and

confirm

his

salvation

purposes

the

spirit

of

God

fell

upon

the

Jews

in

chapter

2

he

now

falls

upon

the

Samaritans

in

chapter

8

and

then

he

will

fall

upon

the

Gentiles

in

chapter

10

of

course

the

Holy

Spirit

can

descend

upon

a

group