Acts 8:4-38 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 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. 7 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. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
Simon the Magician Believes
9 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. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 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. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to 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 on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
25 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.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. —Acts 8:4-38
Arabic Proverb: “To not know a thing is to despise that thing, but to know that thing is to love it.”
1.Religious, But
In Acts 1:8, Jesus commanded his disciples to preach the Kingdom in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. He wanted that particular group of people to know him.
So when the gospel was proclaimed, Simon saw the power that Philip had was superior to his, and he immediately repented and proclaimed faith in Jesus.
But Simon wanted this faith for a reason that was not necessarily pure. He saw it as a new religion, not as the good news of grace.
Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. —Romans 8:9
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. —I Corinthians 12:13
Bottom line: You cannot join the Body without the Spirit drawing you in, as 1 Corinthians 12:13 says, and you cannot be a Christian and not have the Holy Spirit, as Romans 8:9 says.
What was happening here? God was preserving the unity of the church. This is not about a separate experience, but about unity in the body.
We are all called to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5) and to not quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
How could we quench it? By not walking with the Spirit we put His power on hold.
The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze— so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it. —Oswald Chambers
The individual approach that is needed here?
Truth—straight to the heart.
Some of you need to hear this same truth today. You have not believed in the gospel. You have believed in some combination of the way of the world and the way of Jesus.
2.Seeking, But
The Eunuch had something in his past that prevented him from becoming a full member of the faith, and there was nothing he could do about it.
John MacArthur points out that the eunuch may have been reading Isaiah because this passage was particularly comforting:
Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”
For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.—Isaiah 56:3-5
And so we find this man reading very near that passage in Isaiah 55:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.
This man is totally different that Simon. He instead is apparently frustrated that he is not able to have full acceptance into the presence of God, but wants to know God’s heart. He is seeking the will of God, but he is convinced that God is angry at him.
What does he need? Someone to tell him the truth of the Scriptures.
Philip tells him of Jesus, the cross, the resurrection, and that he can be received by God, no matter his condition!
And that is what some of us need to do with those in our lives. We need to help them understand the Scriptures.
Discovery Bible Study method is in the back of your Release book.
We desperately want to be in fellowship with God, but we are convinced that something we have done is in our way between us and God.
Taking the time to explain the Scriptures to those in your lives is meaningful and can have incredible legacies down the road.
This is why we strive to be the sorts of people who read, engage, and understand the Scriptures.
We know it so we can speak the truth to those who need to hear it, so we can explain the Scriptures to ones who want to understand them, so we can know the truth of the gospel for ourselves.