Receiving the Holy Spirit, part 1

I was recently asked why there is a difference in how the Holy Spirit was received by the Samaritans in Acts 8 and the Gentiles in Acts 10. In this post, I’ll look into the passage from Acts 8.

Acts 8 begins talking about the persecution of the believers. This had caused many to scatter and throughout Samaria and Judea. Even though Saul and others were going after them with the intent of destroying the church (as if they were actually going to succeed against God – not), the believers still preached about Jesus.

This is where Philip comes in. He is teaching and preaching about Jesus to the Samaritans. Read the full account here: Acts 8:4-25. The people who heard what he had to say were hungry for the message.

Prior to the Good News that Philip was preaching the Samaritans had been amazed by sorcerers like Simon and magicians. Whether these sorcerers and magicians were creating illusions or empowered by Satan, they tricked the people.

The Good News that Philip preached gave people hope for something more. It was because of this message that many were baptized. There is no mention of them receiving the Holy Spirit. This is where the confusion comes in for the person who asked the original question. This comes from the teaching that when we accept Christ we receive the Holy Spirit:

Ephesians 1:13-14

¹³ And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ¹⁴ The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

There is a progression here. The Apostles were with Jesus for 3 years and they believed he was the Messiah, yet they had not received the Holy Spirit. Here is what Luke wrote after Jesus death and resurrection:

Luke 24:49

⁴⁹ “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

This is what Joel had prophesied about:

Joel 2:28-29

²⁸ “Then, after doing all those things,
    I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your old men will dream dreams,
    and your young men will see visions.
²⁹ In those days I will pour out my Spirit
    even on servants—men and women alike.

Luke later records the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:1-4

¹ On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. ³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. ⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

I’ll have to cover the wind, fire, and speaking in other languages another time.

So now we are back to this progression of the building of the church. In Matthew 16:15-16, Peter, when asked by Jesus “But who do you say I am?”, responded “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then says in verse 18, ¹⁸ Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Peter was there when the church began in Jerusalem. He, along with John is in Samaria when the Samaritan church is born and later he will be with Cornelius when the Gentile church is born.

Peter and John being present when the church was born in Samaria gave the church credibility. Their presence brought the acceptability of the Samaritan church by those in Jerusalem. Had they not been a part of this, the Samaritan church would have been seen as illegitimate as the Jews and the Samaritans were always at odds with one another. In fact, the Jews saw the Samaritans as a lower class that they did not interact with at all. The beginning of the church in Samaria brought unity amongst the believers.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit did not happen the way that we have come to understand it happening when someone comes into a relationship with Jesus. As I was doing some additional research on this one of the things I read considered this a special event in the beginning of the church. 2000 plus years later I would say that anytime someone comes into a relationship with Jesus as their Lord and Savior it is a special event.

Next up will be Acts 10:34-48 where the Gentiles heard the Good News and received the Holy Spirit. Until then God bless!