Using now this part of
scripture in the book of Acts, is being done primarily for
the reason that many ministers argue these days that the
gifts of the Spirit have ceased with the Apostles and there
is no such thing as a special gifting or anointing to equip
the Church.
Many things have ceased,
but there is no reason to believe that the Holy Spirit has
stopped the gifting and supply the anointing; the people
have not changed, the world has not changed, the enemy did
not stop coming against the people of God, or willingly
gives up the people he possesses. The gospel must be
preached to all the world, and signs and wonders will follow
the true teaching, in spite of false teachers and false
miracle workers and false healers, there is still the truth
of the gospel and the God of miracles. For nothing is
impossible with God, and these attributes belong to the
Church of God and should be practiced as such.
Therefore in order to
convince the skeptic or the fearful and the unbelieving and
those that have been taught wrong; I have taken this part of
scripture to show you that there are things in addition to
being saved and baptized in water; in these we have received
the spirit of God for sanctification and deliverance and the
power given to every believer to overcome the world and live
a life pleasing to God, for he is God's ownership as a child
of God.
The gifts are given to
whom the Spirit wills and not for everybody since there is
no need for everybody to have this special gifting for
service in the Church of Christ.
Act 8:5-8
5 And Philip went down
to the city of Samaria, and proclaimed unto them the Christ.
6 And the multitudes gave heed with one accord unto the
things that were spoken by Philip, when they heard, and saw
the signs which he did.
7 For from many of those that had unclean spirits, they
came out, crying with a loud voice: and many that were
palsied, and that were lame, were healed.
8 And there was much joy in that city.
Acts 8:14-17
14 ¶ Now when the
apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and
John:
15 who, when they were
come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy
Spirit:
16 for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they
had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received
the Holy Spirit.
Using also Gill's
Commentary :
Verse 15 who,
when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Spirit:
Who when they were come
down, To the city of Samaria, where Philip was, and these
converts dwelt:
prayed for them; for
some of them, unto God: that they might receive the Holy
Ghost; the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, as to be
able to speak with tongues, to prophesy and work miracles:
they might pray for them all, that they might have a larger
measure of grace, and more spiritual light and knowledge;
and that they might be established in the doctrines of the
Gospel, and hold fast the profession of their faith unto the
end; but it can hardly be thought that they should pray for
them all, both men and women, that they might have the above
extraordinary gifts, which were not necessary to them all:
and that these are meant by the Holy Ghost is clear from
what follows, since he was not yet fallen on any of them,
which cannot be understood in any other sense; and seeing it
was something visible, which Simon could discern, and
therefore cannot mean internal grace, and an increase of
that.
Verse 16 for
as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only they had been
baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
For as yet it was fallen
upon none of them: only they had been baptized into the name
of the Lord Jesus.
Verse. 16. (For as yet
he was fallen upon none of them, &c.] They had received him
as a spirit of illumination and sanctification, and as, a
spirit of conversion and faith; they had been regenerated,
enlightened, and sanctified by him; and were converted by
him, and brought to believe in Christ, and live, by faith
upon him; they were baptized believers, and no more; as yet,
none of them had gifts qualifying them for the ministry; and
still less could any of them speak with tongues, or
prophesy, or work miracles; the Holy Ghost had not yet
descended on them for such purposes:
Verse 17 Then
laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy
Spirit.
Then laid they their
hands on them, &c.] The Ethiopic version adds, "who had been
baptized"; but not upon all of them, men and women, only on
some they were directed unto by the Spirit of God; whom he
had designed, and now would qualify for the work of the
ministry, that so this new church, might be supplied with
proper officers, pastors, and teachers, to feed them with
knowledge and with understanding, and who might not only
have ministerial gifts to qualify them for preaching the
Gospel, but extraordinary ones, which would serve for the
confirmation of it; and for this purpose the apostles,
"both" of them, as the Arabic version reads, laid their
hands on them: for it will not seem probable, that they laid
their hands upon the women, on such an account; and it will
hardly be received, that they should lay their hands on
Simon Magus, otherwise he would have received the Holy Ghost
too; so that it seems a plain case, that imposition of hands
was not used to them all:
As many ministers argue
that the gifts have ceased with the disappearance of the
apostles, and that the epistles do not give extensive
information of the the "second blessing" of the baptism of
the Holy Spirit, and the speaking in tongues, It must be
noticed that indeed there is very little mention in the rest
of the new testament about this experience, only is it
mentioned in the letter to the Corinthians which were
seekers after outward appearances and regarded these things
as very important, [for the wrong reasons] yet Paul
reprimands the church for their worldliness, and their
eagerness of possessing these attributes of the Holy Spirit,
It is clear to understand that these outward gifts had
little to do with the inner state of the believer as such,
in right standing with God and holiness, these things were
received through the rebirth by the spirit of God in the
believer and the gifts were given to the believer by choice
of the Holy Spirit to equip men for the ministry.
Even today the church
needs to be desperately equipped with people and leaders
that have received these gifts by the Holy Spirit to edify
the Church, and adequate teaching, discernment, faith,
miracles, healing, pastoring, evangelizing and so on. All
these and more are extra ordinary gifts by the power of the
Holy Spirit, given to men for edifying the church.
You may find these
experience important enough to separate yourself from
other-thinking believers, I don't think that scripture puts
enough importance on the experiences for separation, when we
look at the rest of the New Testament,
The inner state of the
believer is the believers true whiteness, and the
righteousness of Christ is imputed to everyone that believes
on His name and received Him as Lord and Savior. This will
give every believer the power to overcome sin and the world.
And that is where most of the New Testament puts its
emphasis. To overcome and to live a righteous life, that we
love one and other, and that the believers will be known by
the love he or she will have for each other, and not by the
"power" as many think will convert all men to Christ in
these last days.
The power to overcome is
by the power of the Holy Spirit in the believer, [being
available for all who have been cleansed by the blood of the
Lamb,] and the testimony of Jesus.
John 13:35 By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another.
1 John 3:23 ¶ And
this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name
of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he
gave us commandment.
1 John 4:7 ¶ Beloved, let us love one another: for
love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of
God, and knoweth God.
1 John 4:12 No man hath beheld God at any time: if
we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is
perfected in us:
The right inner state of
the believer will give the power to hold on to the testimony
of Jesus even onto death.
Let us she
what's really important for the average believer to be
equipped in these last days and the days to come.
Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and
because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not
their life even unto death.
Verse. 11. And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, The Lord Jesus
Christ, by whose blood they were redeemed and ransomed out
of the hands of Satan, that was stronger than they; and by
which they were justified from all sin, and so all charges
and condemnation were of no avail against them, whether of
Satan or the world; and by which they were cleansed from all
pollution, both internal and external; and by which even
their conversation garments were washed and made white; by
this they also, drew nigh to God with boldness, as to their
own God, notwithstanding the accusations of Satan; and this
they could, and did make use of as a shield to defend them
against all his charges; and this being sprinkled upon them,
as it gave them an inward conscience peace amidst all, so it
was their security from the destroying angel; and under this
purple covering they went triumphantly to glory, having
through it obtained an entire conquest over Satan: as also
and by the word of their
testimony; either by Christ, the essential Word, they bore
record of, who is sharper than any two-edged sword, and
through whom they were made more than conquerors; or rather
by the use they made of the Scriptures of truth, the sword
of the Spirit, the word of God, to which they bore a
faithful testimony, and to which they adhered, and by so
doing gained the victory over Satan and his instruments,
whether false teachers or persecutors; and particularly by
the Gospel, which they embraced, professed, and preached
with constancy and courage, and by their last testimony they
bore to it at their death, on the account of it, as it
follows:
and they loved not their
lives unto the death; they did not value them; they made no
account of them; they were not anxiously careful to preserve
them; they chose to lose them; they ran to the stake, and
willingly and cheerfully laid them down; they did not count
them dear unto them, as said the Apostle Paul, that they
might finish their course with joy, and testify the Gospel
of the grace of God, or bear a testimony to it, # Ac 20:24;
yea, as Christ has directed, # Lu 14:26; they hated their
lives in comparison of him, and when in competition with him
and his Gospel; and by dying thus they conquered Satan; had
they loved their lives, and saved them by denying Christ and
his truths, Satan would have conquered them; but dying in
the cause of Christ, and for it, they got the victory over
him. Amen.
It is my sincere hope
that many if not all all of you reading this letter, would
be filled with the Holy Ghost, and having received the
anointing to be a true witness for Christ by the testimony
of Jesus, through word and deed in holy living separated
from the deception of the world and that what the world has
to offer, having your mind set on things to come, building
up treasure in heaven, becoming more and more into His
likeness in these last days. Being begotten by God and
knowing God; having been perfected in love for the love for
one another.
God Bless!!
