Acts 8:5 Now Philip went down to a city in Shomron and was proclaiming the Messiah to them; 6 and the crowds were paying close attention to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was doing. 7 For many people were having unclean spirits driven out of them, shrieking; also many paralytics and crippled persons were being healed; 8 so that there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a man named Shim‘on in the city who for some time had been practicing magic and astonishing the nation of Shomron, claiming to be somebody great. 10 Everyone gave heed to him, from the lowest to the highest, saying, “This man is the power of God called ‘The Great Power’.” 11 They followed him because for a considerable time he had amazed them with his magic.
12 But when they came to believe Philip, as he announced the Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Yeshua the Messiah, they were immersed, both men and women. 13 Moreover, Shim‘on himself came to believe; and after being immersed, he attached himself closely to Philip; and he was amazed as he saw the miraculous signs and great works of power that kept taking place.
14 When the emissaries in Yerushalayim heard that Shomron had received the Word of God, they sent them Kefa and Yochanan, 15 who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Ruach HaKodesh. 16 For until then he had not come upon any of them; they had only been immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua. 17 Then, as Kefa and Yochanan placed their hands on them, they received the Ruach HaKodesh.
Quick backstory on Philip.
One of the seven chosen to feed the poor, Philip is the only person in the Bible referred to as an evangelist.
Acts 21:8 The following day, we left and came to Caesarea, where we went to the home of Philip the proclaimer of the Good News (euaggelistes), one of the Seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters with the gift of prophecy.
Euaggelistes is the noun form describing the person that is doing the verb form, euaggelizo. Back track this through the LXX and you land on the verb form of basar:
H1319 בָּשַׂר basar (baw-sar') v.
Report: When good news is brought, a feast with meat is prepared.
And the noun version is:
H1320 בָּשָׂר basar (baw-sawr') n-m.
Flesh: The skin and muscle or the whole of the person. Also meat as food.
Philip is therefore known as one who announces the Body. Evangelism is more than getting people to come to a church service of a particular denomination. It’s about laying down your old life altogether and joining yourself to a group of people that have (hopefully) done the same.
The conversation you have is in no way watered down just to get them in the door. That’s a gross disservice to the Good News. It should never be a deceptive hand waving at all. The truth should be told: they need to be prepared to give up everything and let all of their old ways perish. The person they are is put down so the person they were created to be has room to grow.
Will things get better? Not necessarily. But absolutely!
The only promise in this new life is that things may get a little bit tougher -- but oh, so much better! It’s even more exciting that no matter what happens in this age, there is hope in the age to come. The trade here (if properly communicated) is 100% worth it.
So here we have Philip the Evangelist…a man known for bringing people into the Body, not just into church.
Let’s move on and look at the fascinating progression we see take place in this story…
I find it interesting how things progress here in this 8th chapter of Acts:
Just so we understand, people believed, were immersed, then some time later, they received the Holy Spirit. So you can be a believer, get baptized and not have His Spirit within you?
But it does eventually happen -- to some of them.
Acts 8:14 When the emissaries in Yerushalayim heard that Shomron had received the Word of God, they sent them Kefa and Yochanan, 15 who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Ruach HaKodesh. 16 For until then he had not come upon any of them; they had only been immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua. 17 Then, as Kefa and Yochanan placed their hands on them, they received the Ruach HaKodesh.
Once they received the Word of God they were imparted with the Holy Spirit. But not everyone.
How do we know this?
Acts 8:13 Moreover, Shim‘on himself came to believe; and after being immersed, he attached himself closely to Philip; and he was amazed as he saw the miraculous signs and great works of power that kept taking place.
Simon was a believer that was baptized. But he did not receive the Holy Spirit despite attaching himself closely to Philip. That’s odd. Peter and John were there giving out the free gift of the Holy Spirit, and Simon, who got close to Philip, was skipped over? Maybe not. Maybe he was just waiting his turn in line.
Acts 8:18 Shim‘on saw that the Spirit was given when the emissaries placed their hands on them, and he offered them money. 19 “Give this power to me, too,” he said, “so that whoever I place my hands on will receive the Ruach HaKodesh.” 20 But Kefa said to him, “Your silver go to ruin — and you with it, for thinking the free gift of God can be bought! 21 You have no part at all in this matter; because in the eyes of God, your heart is crooked. 22 So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps you will yet be forgiven for holding such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are extremely bitter and completely under the control of sin!” 24 Shim‘on answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that none of the things you have spoken about will happen to me.”
25 Then, after giving a thorough witness and speaking the Word of the Lord, Kefa and Yochanan started back to Yerushalayim, announcing the Good News to many villages in Shomron.
Now this is getting even more unchristian. The impartation was there but Peter and John must not have thought Simon was ready for it. And they were right. Despite being “saved”, Simon had wickedness in his heart. With that embedded deep within him, it isn’t possible for the Spirit of God to dwell alongside it.
Although he was eager to get this power so other people could receive it also, Simon was disqualified.
Was it that Philip didn’t have enough discernment to see the real Simon? Or did Simon play the game well enough in front of Philip? Or did it take Simon seeing the fruit of the Spirit to have that deep evil surface?
Whatever the reason, Peter had no trouble whatsoever calling it out:
For I see that you are extremely bitter and completely under the control of sin!
What would you do in this situation? Someone is eager to get started for the Kingdom and they have the fame and money to be really effective. Would you have the discernment to see their true motivation? Would you have the boldness to tell them ‘no’? This creates a tough decision for someone in leadership, huh?
Therefore, not having much experience, it makes sense that Philip would defer this duty to someone like Peter or John. Maturity in leadership is knowing when your experience and discernment ends -- even if you are full of the Spirit yourself.
The receiving of the Holy Spirit is not just spiritual fluff to make people feel spiritual. There was an obvious power attached to this impartation because Simon was floored when he saw it. He wanted this power and was willing to pay to get it. A believer that was baptized was not ready to have the Spirit of God within him because he wanted it within him.
Ironic, huh?
I would guess this was just going to be another tool in his toolbelt to amaze the people. Obsessed with amazement, Simon disqualified himself from the free gift of Abba’s power.
“Give this power to me, too,” he said, “so that whoever I place my hands on will receive the Ruach HaKodesh.”
It wasn’t enough that other people were imparting the Spirit, he needed to do it too. Glory for himself over glory for God. He was a celebrity known for his magical abilities so wouldn't you want him to use that celebrity status to bring in many more believers? From a marketing perspective, sure. Getting as many customers, uh, believers as possible. Growing your fellowship to have a much broader reach is a core feature of any responsible church, right? Why would you ever waste time visiting with people to discern whether or not they are truly committed? Don’t we want everyone?
Well, yes, but…
Trimming back a fruit tree is not a bad thing. Cutting back (seemingly) healthy blossoms makes us feel as though we’re giving something up by doing so. We see the potential of a bountiful harvest if all of those blossoms grew to their fullest potential. But they won’t.
You can have a lot of tiny fruit, or fewer large ones. Which makes better sense? Depends, I guess.
If you’ve ever had an apple the size of a golf ball, you know how tough, gritty, sour, and bitter it can be. Sure, you can eat them and pick up a few calories, but it is far less than appetizing. The people eating that fruit can stay alive but the stomach aches make life a little less enjoyable.
If, however, you are wanting to reflect Abba’s goodness, we should seek to produce fruit that puts people in a state of wonder. Large, full, juicy, sweet fruit. The memory of its flavor stays with you long after it has passed.
To get there, though, is painful.