The important result of the increasing persecution on the Early Church in the city of Jerusalem and the death of the evangelist Stephen, was that the Jewish believers began to leave Judea and spread throughout the world. The Jews had long had a hatred toward the Samaritans, even going hundreds of miles out of the way through Perea to avoid traveling through Samaria. The Samaritans were the result of the Assyrian conquest shortly before the close of the Old Testament. When the Assyrians would conquer a nation, they would take the majority of the inhabitants and exchange them with the inhabitants of another conquered nation. The inhabitants would then intermarry and cultures would unite, usually causing less rebellion to their new governmental authority. The remaining Jews intermingled with these foreigners and the mixed Samaritan race was the result. (For a more detailed account, see Dispensation Bible Study #8)

Philip was one of the seven evangelists chosen to oversee the Grecian widows. Philip chose to leave Judea, but, instead of fleeing to a Jewish stronghold, he chose to travel to the hated Samaritans and preach! It is interesting to note that Philip was following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ Himself who had chosen to travel through Samaria in John chapter 4. It was here at Samaria that Jesus had ministered to the woman at the well about living water. (For a more detailed account of this story, see Dispensation Bible Study #10 and #22) Jesus had talked to the woman about “Living Water” which represented the Spirit. The important thing to remember is that the Samaritans did not actually receive the “Living Water” at the time of Jesus’ ministry because He had to first die and rise again (John 7:38-39). Philip pushed aside any racial barriers and went and preached about the work that Jesus Christ had done to the Samaritans. The Early Apostolic Church was a multi-racial church, and the church of God should still be so today!

The response to Philip’s preaching about Christ was incredible! Notice the wording in verse 6, “the people with one accord” listened and believed what Philip was preaching. Whereas the pious Jewish people of Judea did not want to hear the message, the Samaritans embraced the Gospel with open arms. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, Philip performed many miracles and even cast out demonic forces! Truly Jesus’ talk with the woman at the well had laid the foundation for the mighty revival that was to take place in Samaria. Jesus had even prophesied about such an event happening after His conversation with the Samaritan woman:

When the disciples returned to Jesus sitting on the well, they were amazed to find Him surrounded by Samaritans listening to His teaching. Jesus responded to their amazement by telling them that a great harvest was here with the Samaritans! Jesus was teaching them that He had not only come for the Jews but for everyone. Jesus then taught them the principle of the harvest: one sows and another reaps. In fact, Jesus stayed several days teaching, sowing the Word of God in Samaria. For the Samaritans to actually receive the Spirit of God, however, Jesus would have to die upon the cross. It would then be up to one of His disciples to reap the harvest and finish the process. These words were spoken to the twelve disciples, but not one of them returned to Samaria to preach, choosing instead to remain at Jerusalem. It took one of the newly appointed evangelists, Philip, responding to the leading of the Spirit to reap the revival of Samaria. We will see later how that much of the original twelve had issues with prejudice, and God had to work mightily to prove to them that He had died for everyone!

A Sorcerer named Simon had tricked the Samaritans into believing that he was a great man of God! When Philip came to town, the people began to realize that his sorcery had no real power.

When the people heard Philip preaching the Gospel and the name of Jesus, they were baptized! Simon the Sorcerer was so amazed by the miracles and signs which Philip was doing by the Holy Ghost, that he believed the preaching and was also baptized! Samaria was having revival! Notice that they were baptized “in the name of Jesus (verse 16),” because of Philip’s preaching about the “name of Jesus.” Water Baptism should focus on the name of Jesus because it His name (and not His titles) that have the power to save (Acts 4:12)!

Notice that when the disciples in Jerusalem heard about the great revival that Philip was having in Samaria, THEN Peter and John came to Samaria. In reality, the twelve disciples should have been the first ones to go to fulfill Jesus’ work three years earlier. When Peter and John got to Samaria, they began to pray for the people to receive the Holy Ghost, because they had not yet received the Holy Ghost. Why not? Some people have tried to say that only the original twelve disciples could pray for people to receive the Holy Spirit, but that is not true, because, as we will see, later Paul and Barnabas both had people receive the Holy Spirit under their ministry. God did not allow His Spirit to fall in order to get Peter and John out of Jerusalem and into Samaria. The original twelve disciples were still not obeying Jesus’ command to “Go ye therefore into all the earth.” As we will see later, this was not the last time that God tried to get Peter and the Apostles out of their “Jewish only” rut.

Another interesting point of this passage is that the scriptures clearly state that the Samaritans had believed on Jesus Christ and had even been baptized in the name of Jesus, yet HAD NOT RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT! Some people today teach that a person receives the Holy Spirit when one believes. Others teach that people automatically receive God’s Spirit when they are baptized. These passages of scripture show that both of those teachings are false. The Samaritans had believed and been baptized and still had need to receive the Holy Spirit!

When Peter and John laid their hands upon the Samaritans, they received the Holy Ghost. The term “laying on of hands” refers to the simple act of lightly placing one’s hand upon another’s head. The act itself has no power but simply helps a person to focus their faith to receive something from God right then. In a similar way, Jesus frequently touched the ones that He healed and cured. The laying on of hands is NOT necessarily a requirement for someone to receive the Holy Ghost as we will see in later cases. Also there was no one laying hands upon the 120 on the Day of Pentecost, and they probably did not in turn lay their hands on every individual of the thousands that received the Spirit later that day.

Simon himself did not receive the Holy Spirit or even pray for it. The important point to notice here is that Simon, a human being, SAW another human being receive the Holy Ghost. How could he see a spirit that is invisible go into a human being? The answer is that he couldn’t see the actual Spirit, but he could see the effects and hear the sound of the Spirit. Remember Jesus had told Nicodemus in John chapter 3 that those born of the Spirit would be like the wind: the effects and the sound of the wind can be seen and heard but the actual wind itself is invisible. So how did Simon SEE people receive the Holy Spirit? He saw the visible joy that comes with the infilling and he heard the sound of the Spirit; the Samaritans began to speak with other tongues just as the 120 did on the Day of Pentecost! Throughout the Scriptures, EVERY personal account of someone receiving the Spirit of God was accompanied by the speaking in other tongues AS THE SPIRIT GAVE THE UTTERANCE. Even today the infilling of the Holy Spirit comes with speaking in tongues. The tongues are NOT the Holy Spirit but the sound of the Spirit and the cry of new life of the second birth. As a person prays to receive the Holy Spirit and begins to worship Jesus with all of their heart, the tongues come with it.

Simon realized that this power was genuine and much more powerful than his sorcery. Emptying his savings, he brought money to Peter and John in order to buy the power to give the Holy Ghost. Notice that Simon did not want the experience for himself but wanted to have the power to give it.

Many people have confused the tongues that accompany the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the Gift of Tongues and Interpretation in I Corinthians chapters 12-14. Notice that Peter, speaking about the infilling of the Holy Spirit, called it the “gift of God.” That is, the Holy Ghost is the gift of God referred to here and NOT the tongues! Peter went on to explain that he called the Holy Ghost a gift because it cannot be purchased with money. In fact, God wants something money cannot buy, a person’s whole heart, mind, and soul. In I Corinthians chapter 12-14, Paul talks about the Gifts OF the Spirit. He is writing to an established church who have already received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Tongues and interpretation are ONE of the Gifts OF the Spirit. To have genuinely received the Gift OF the Spirit, a person must have first received the Spirit! Every time in scripture that a person received the Holy Spirit it was accompanied by speaking in tongues!

Some people today have tried to discredit speaking in tongues by saying that they are of the devil. But notice in this scripture, Peter and John were praying for people to receive the Holy Spirit while the Sorcerer wished that he had the power. The tongues were following the ministries of the true men of God, not the Sorcerer! Satan does diabolically copy every aspect of truth, so it is possible for evil tongues to exist, however, a person will NEVER receive false tongues while calling upon the name of Jesus! Satan will also NEVER encourage someone to worship the name of Jesus, or to get a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. Conversely, if a church ever forbids the use of the name of Jesus, run because they are removing the safe guard of the Spirit! There is power in the name of Jesus!

Before returning to Jerusalem, Peter and John preached the gospel throughout Samaria. God finally got Peter and John to partially fulfill their duty as believers to spread the Gospel.

Having gotten Peter and John to preaching in Samaria, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to Philip and instructed him to journey out of Samaria into the desert. To man’s plan, this did not make sense. Why leave the hungry multitudes in Samaria and travel to the desert? Thankfully, Philip did not follow common sense and obeyed God.

As Philip traveled into the desert, he saw a man of great authority and rank traveling from Jerusalem to Ethiopia. The man was one of the caretakers of the queen of the Ethiopians and was sitting in his royal chariot reading the Book of Isaiah. Many number-hungry people forget the worth of one soul. God interrupted the revival in Samaria to respond to ONE, hungry person in the desert. You may feel like you are in a spiritual dry place, but if you are hungry for the things of God, He will respond! That is why Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

The Chariot was obviously moving, for when the Spirit directed Philip to join the Ethiopian, he had to run to catch up. The reason that God was able to use Philip to reach the “half-breed” Samaritans becomes increasingly clear: Philip had no qualms about approaching someone of another race, class, or culture! Peter and John ran to see if the tomb was really empty as Mary said it was (John 20:4) and yet were slow to respond to the souls in Samaria. Philip accepted the story of the resurrection second hand and then ran to reach one soul even though the soul was of a different background and economic class! Has doubt or comfort slowed you down spiritually? Maybe you are not running after the direction of the Spirit!

Philip asked the Ethiopian is he understood what He was reading. The Ethiopian did not and invited Philip to ride with him and explain.

The scripture that the Ethiopian was reading is found in Isaiah 53:7-8. It is a Messianic prophecy about how that the life of the Messiah would be taken. The Eunuch did not understand the meaning of the prophecy and so Philip began to explain.

Verse 35 states that Philip began to preach “unto him Jesus.” Somewhere while “preaching Jesus” Philip taught that water baptism was essential for later in the ride, as the chariot passed some water, the Eunuch asked if he could be baptized! The moral of the story is clear: one cannot “preach Jesus” without preaching water baptism in Jesus’ name! Even though it is not mentioned, no doubt Philip taught the baptism of the Holy Spirit also as he did in Samaria.

Notice that both Philip and the eunuch “went down ... into the water.” Some teach that sprinkling is an acceptable form of baptism, but Philip and the eunuch went INTO the water! After Jesus was baptized, He came “out of the water.” Sprinkling is never mentioned in scripture. If the Eunuch was sprinkled, then why not just stand on the bank?! The Greek word for “baptize” is “baptizo” which means “to completely immerse.” The only Apostolic way to baptize is by complete immersion in water in the name of Jesus!

After coming up out of the water, a tremendous miracle took place. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip and he disappeared from the Eunuch’s sight. The Eunuch went on his way rejoicing! Very much a changed man. The mighty present-day Ethiopian revival where millions have received the Holy Spirit as on the Day of Pentecost can find it’s roots in this Eunuch and the prophecy about Ethiopia in Psalm 68:31.

Philip was found over 30 miles away in the town of Azotus preaching about Jesus! Philip then worked his way up the coast preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ until he came to the town of Caesarea. He obviously settled here because when the apostle Paul later travels to Caesarea, he visited the house of Philip there and met Philip’s four unmarried daughters who were prophetesses (Acts 21:8-9).

The Revival in Samaria and the subsequent conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch are important illustrations of several points of truth.

1. The Holy Spirit was not poured out until after Jesus was “glorified,” that is, until after Jesus was resurrected.

2. The infilling of the Holy Spirit was not for Jews only, and not for only those present on the Day of Pentecost.

3. Just believing in Jesus Christ does not automatically bring the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

4. Just being baptized in water does not automatically bring the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

5. The infilling of the Spirit brings a powerful change in one’s life including the acquiring of Godly joy!

6. The only way to be baptized is “in the name of Jesus,” and not “in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

7. The emphasis of a preacher’s sermon and a believer’s witness should be “on the name of Jesus.”

8. The only Biblical method of Baptism is by complete immersion in water.

9. One hungry soul is worth whatever trouble it takes to reach them!

10. Even the less descriptive passages of Scripture prove that Speaking in tongues always accompanied the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

11. Prejudice has no place in an Apostolic church.