(18)
Scripture Reading: Acts 8:14-35
In this message we shall continue to consider the patterns presented in chapter eight of Acts.
Acts 8:14-16 says, “Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” In these verses we see a matter of great importance. The scattered saints had done a good job in preaching the gospel. They had migrated with the gospel, and Philip had strengthened their preaching of the gospel. As a result, a marvelous work was done. But although the Lord did much through the preaching of the scattered saints and Philip the evangelist, He reserved one thing — the economical Spirit. According to 8:14-16, the Samaritan believers had not yet received the economical Spirit. Peter and John were sent to them and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit economically.
In these verses we have an important pattern related to the gospel work. From this pattern we see that the gospel work should not be independent of the Body of Christ. The scattered saints and Philip the evangelist carried on a very good work. But if the Lord had not withheld something, they might have been encouraged to be independent. They might have said, “Peter and John, we are doing the same thing that you are doing in Jerusalem. Whatever you can do, we can do also.” In order to prevent such an attitude of independence, the Lord withheld the economical Spirit.
According to 8:15, Peter and John prayed for the Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The situation here is different from that in 2:38. The apostles preached and ministered Christ, but when their hearers repented and believed in Him, they received the wonderful Spirit of the Triune God. This implies that this Spirit is just the resurrected and ascended Christ Himself. The receiving of the Spirit in 2:38 is both essential and economical, in a general and all-inclusive sense. It differs from the receiving of the Spirit in 8:15-17, which is particularly the receiving of the Spirit falling upon the believers economically.
Acts 8:16 tells us that before Peter and John came, the Holy Spirit had not fallen upon the believers in Samaria. This does not mean that those new believers had not received the Holy Spirit within them essentially when they believed in the Lord. According to the teaching of the New Testament in Ephesians 1:13 and Galatians 3:2, they should have received the Holy Spirit essentially when they believed for their regeneration (John 3:6, 36). But they had not yet received the Spirit economically to identify them with the Body of Christ. The reason the Holy Spirit did not fall upon them outwardly and economically was that the apostles, through whom the practical establishment of the church was initiated in Jerusalem, might come to bring them into identification with the Body of Christ. This case is different from those in the house of Cornelius, who received the Holy Spirit when they believed in the Lord, both essentially within them for regeneration and economically upon them for baptism into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) and identification with the Body of Christ. That was because the gospel was preached then directly by Peter, who played the main role in the initiation of the practical establishment of the church.
We need to learn from the pattern presented here not to be independent of the Body in our gospel work. Suppose some migrate to a particular locality and begin a work there. If these saints think that they can do everything, they may become independent of the Body. This means that they actually become a division, a sect.
The pattern in chapter eight reveals that the Head of the Body is sovereign. He gave many things to the believers in Samaria, but He did not give the economical Spirit until the apostles came and laid their hands on the believers. Only then did the economical Spirit come upon these new believers.
The situation among most believers today is very different from that in Acts 8. Often Christian workers have the attitude that they are qualified to do everything. It seems that today it is as easy to open a so-called church as it is to open a restaurant, if not easier. Concerning this, the situation is deplorable.
When the migrants went out from Jerusalem in Acts 8, they did not establish churches of their own. On the contrary, they spread the Body of Christ. The work done in Samaria needed to be confirmed by the apostles. Therefore, Peter and John confirmed the new believers and identified them with the Body by laying their hands on them. Then the Spirit came upon these believers economically for their identification with the Body of Christ. From this we see that the work done in Samaria was not an independent work, a separate work. Rather, what was produced in Samaria was truly the spreading of the Body of Christ. The church in that locality did not belong independently and separately to the migrated saints. Neither was it a work belonging to Philip in a separate, independent way. No, it was part of the Body. This means that what came out through the migration and through Philip’s gospel preaching was part of the Body of Christ. Spontaneously, unlike the situation today, the oneness of the Body was maintained.
Acts 8:16 says that before the apostles came to Samaria the believers there “had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” Notice that this verse does not say “in the name”; it says “into the name.” The name denotes the person. To be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into the Person of the Lord, to be identified with the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ, to be put into an organic union with the living Lord.
In Matthew 28:19 the Lord charged the disciples to baptize the believers into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But later, in practice, the believers were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, both in Acts 8:16 and in 19:5, and into Christ in Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27. This indicates that to be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, because the Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9). This also indicates that to be baptized into the name of the Triune God or of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the Person of Christ.
Since the Samaritan believers had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, that is, into the Lord Himself, they surely must have received the Spirit of life essentially within them so that they might not only be born of the Lord but also joined to Him (1 Cor. 6:17).
Acts 8:17 says, “Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Peter and John were sent to Samaria not only to confirm the preaching of the gospel by Philip, one of the seven appointed to serve tables, but also to bring the church in Samaria, composed of Samaritans whom the Jews had no dealings with, into identification with the Body of Christ by laying their hands on them. The Holy Spirit honored this and fell upon them, signifying their identification with the Body of Christ. In this way the Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit economically in addition to their receiving the Holy Spirit essentially when they believed in the Lord Jesus.
In 8:9-13 we see that a man named Simon, who practiced magic in the city of Samaria, believed in the Lord and was baptized. When he saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, “he offered them money, saying, Give me also this authority, that on whomever I lay my hands he may receive the Holy Spirit” (vv. 18-19). Simon’s request indicates that his practice of magic, which had amazed the people (v. 9), was for money.
In verse 20 Peter said to him, “May your silver go with you into destruction, because you supposed that the gift of God could be acquired through money.” Here “destruction,” as in Hebrews 10:39 and Matthew 7:13, does not denote eternal perdition. In particular, this refers to the destruction of one’s deeds and work (1 Cor. 3:15). Simon had believed in the gospel and was baptized. Hence, he should have been saved initially. However, he was not saved from his wicked thought and act concerning money. Therefore, he needed to repent of this wickedness so that he could receive the Lord’s forgiveness. Otherwise, he would be punished along with his silver.
Speaking of Peter and John, Acts 8:25 says, “They therefore, having solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem; and they brought the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.” To testify is to witness by personal experience of the Lord, and to speak the word of the Lord is to preach and teach according to the revelation of the Lord. In order to testify we need experiences of seeing, participation, and enjoyment.
Acts 8:26 says, “But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Rise up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is the desert route.” Here we see that Philip left the work in Samaria. Later, after preaching the gospel to an Ethiopian, Philip was caught away by the Spirit (v. 39). Here we have another pattern related to the gospel work. Philip had played a major role in the work in Samaria. No doubt, the believers trusted in him and relied on him. But suddenly Philip was told by an angel to rise up and go south. Although Philip had been helpful to the believers in Samaria, he was able to leave the work there as soon as he was required to do so.
In Philip’s leaving the work in Samaria we see a pattern with an important principle. This principle is that whenever we go forth to a certain locality and establish a church there, we should be prepared to leave that place, even to be “caught away.” However, most of us would have the tendency to remain in a place where a strong church has been established through us. We may say, “This city will be my home. I shall buy a house and settle here.” Would you be happy to be “caught away” from a church established through you? According to the pattern here, we must be ready to leave any work that has been established through us. This means that we should always be ready to be caught away from the work in a particular place.
No work should remain in our hands. To be caught away simply means not to keep a work in our hands. No matter how much we have done or how much we have accomplished, we must be ready to leave our work to the church, to the saints, and to the Lord, and allow the Spirit to carry us away.
From my own experience I can testify concerning following the pattern seen in Philip’s leaving the work in Samaria. I carried on a work in Chefoo, in Shanghai, and then on the island of Taiwan. But although I did much work in those places, I was always ready to leave. When it was time, I did leave Chefoo, Shanghai, and Taiwan.
It is easy for a preacher or a minister to regard his work as his career. If we do this, we shall keep the work in our “pocket.” Then once a church has been established through us, it will become our “pocket church.” This should not be our practice in the Lord’s recovery. No matter how much we may accomplish for the Lord in a particular place, we must always be ready to go away and leave the work to the church, the saints, and the Lord Himself. This is an important principle, and we need to follow it today.
