Acts 8:14-24 “Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, (15) who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. (16) For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (17) Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (18) And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, (19) saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." (20) But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! (21) You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. (22) Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. (23) For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." (24) Then Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”
This is the second account in scripture of the disciples being baptized with the Holy Spirit. If you read the account you will see that leading up to this incident, Phillip the evangelist had gone to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. Because he operated in the ministry gift of the evangelist (Acts 21:8), multitudes in that city gave their hearts to the Lord Jesus and were thus born again. Part of the anointing that goes along with the office of the evangelist, are the gifts of the Holy Spirit called the working of miracles and gifts of healings (1 Corinthians 12:9-10). And so, these gifts were also manifested through Phillip’s ministry during his meetings held in that city, and many demons were cast out and many paralyzed and lame were healed (Acts 8:7). Phillip also ensured that all the new converts were baptized in water, in accordance with the doctrine taught by the Lord’s apostles (Acts 8:16). But in all the time that Phillip was ministering in that city, none of the new converts were filled with the Holy Spirit. And so, the question must be asked why not? The reason is because Phillip did not have that particular gift operating in his ministry. Phillip knew that the disciples needed to receive the Holy Spirit, so he sent to Jerusalem to ask for help in this area. When the apostles heard about Phillip’s request, they specifically sent Peter and John to them to pray for the new converts so that they could receive the Holy Spirit. Peter and John had this particular anointing on their ministries, which enabled them to lay hands on disciples, so that they could be filled with the Holy Spirit. This particular anointing is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and falls under the category of the spiritual gift called working of miracles. Peter called it a gift, when he rebuked Simon for trying to buy this gift. Some have thought that Simon and Peter, in the conversation that took place between them, were referring to being filled with the Holy Spirit as the gift. But that is not the case at all, for Simon wanted the same ability (gift) that Peter and John had, of being able to lay hands on people so that they could be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Michael E.B. Maher
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