This is how I read the
Acts 8 Samaria narrative:
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5. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
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Philip preached the Messiah or Anointed One to them, clearly meaning he preached to them about Jesus. We know from the Gospels that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus (
John 14:6), and that the Father and the Holy Spirit are one and the same (
Matthew 1:18 and others). Further, we know that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws that person (
John 6:44 & 65).
We also know that Jesus had a very short time in Samaria; nevertheless, the time was well spent as the woman at the well became convinced Jesus was the Christ and she told everyone she knew about her encounter with Him, and so, those who heard about Jesus from the woman also came to the Lord and believed in Him (
John 4, particularly vs. 19, 25, 29-30, and 39-42).
This event in
John 4 centered around a very specific aspect of the ministry of the Anointed One, namely, the living water that can well up inside of a person as a demonstration of the everlasting life offered to all by Jesus of Nazareth.
What does this mean? It means that by the time Philip arrived in Samaria, the Samaritans were already decidedly primed by Jesus Himself to receive the Gospel at the appointed time. And in particular, they were primed to believe in Jesus in order to receive the Living Water promised by Him to those who believe.
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7. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8. And there was great joy in that city.
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Clearly Philip was strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, to be so used by the Spirit of the Anointed One.
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9. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10. To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
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It's not uncommon for the devil to show up in the midst of a great revival, to try and ruin what the Lord is doing. So, nothing new here.
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12. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
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Look closely here at what Philip preached, and what the response to that preaching was. It reads that he preached the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.
We know that much later, Paul was given understanding and penned that the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy Spirit (
Romans 14:17). Further, Jesus spoke in the Gospels declaring that it was the Father's "good pleasure" to give His people the "Kingdom" (
Luke 12:32). And to Nicodemus, Jesus plainly linked the Kingdom of God to being born from above by the Holy Spirit (
John 3:1-8).
I conclude therefore that Philip very much preached to the Samaritans that the promise of the Father can and will be promised specifically to them, through the name of Jesus Christ, when they submit to what Simon Peter had already heralded as the answer to "what shall we do?", in
Acts 2:38.
Granted, there is some inference here, but, with the exception of the
Romans 14:17 citation, everything else I've written above was already part and parcel of the new Jesus movement and the life of the saints from Pentecost forward. Therefore, all these elements, when properly synthesized, can easily come together in the mind and heart of a true believer who is, as Philip was, operating in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit.
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13. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
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Signs and wonders and miracles are the direct manifestation of the Holy Spirit, which is both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of the Anointed One (
Romans 8:9) which we know Philip preached, when he preached "Christ" to them.
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14. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
15. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
16. (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
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Think for a moment what "received the word of God" means. We know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (
2 Timothy 3:16). But what is "inspiration"? It means to breathe into, or give one's breath, to another (See:
http://biblehub.com/greek/2315.htm).
The concepts, therefore, that surround the word "Spirit" in reference to the Holy Spirit, include the idea of the breathing of air or a gust (breath) of air passing by.
So, the Holy Spirit can in a very real way be understood as the "Holy Breath of the Anointed One" (See, for example,
John 20:21-22 in which it is clearly shown that the breath of Jesus is the Holy Spirit).
Finally, we also know that the Holy Scriptures were written by holy men of old, who were carried about by the Holy Spirit into inspiration and authorization of the Word of God (
2 Peter 1:21).
So then, receiving the inspired "word of God", such as the Samaritans had received, very much involved the dynamic working of the Breath of God upon their hearts.
As far as why Simon Peter and John were sent, or rather, why they were even needed, consider who were the first two apostles to run to the empty tomb and believe Jesus had been raised from the dead. It was Simon and John (
John 20:3-8).
It's not something often considered in our modern Apostolic Movement, but having Apostolic Benediction upon all that we say and do, was of supreme importance to the 1st century church. Without it, any activity that occurred, would have been outside of their purview, and therefore, considered unsanctioned, not only by the Twelve and/or Paul and his team, but also by the Holy Lord Jesus Himself.
When the Anointed One declared "As the Father has sent Me, even I now send you all", Jesus was instituting in them a concept called
shaliah (See
John 22:21).
These
shalihim or "apostles" were legal agents of the Son of God, and any business related thereof, had to be overseen by them, or else it was not Son of God related business. This is a very deep concept, and somewhat foreign to our modern, Western minds. The idea of Power of Attorney or the Executor of Will/Estate might be the closest concepts we here in the 21st century can comprehend.
Suffice it to say, it was required that the Apostles be notified of the revival happening in Samaria, and that two representatives of the Lord Jesus needed to go there and sanction the evangelism taking place. Further, because Simon and John were the ones to first see the empty tomb, they perhaps more than the others, had a special understanding or invigoration of the Holy Spirit to pray that people experience the Living Waters as promised by the Father in the name of Jesus (
John 14:26 and
Acts 2:33).
After all, it was Simon and John at the Gate of Splendor going in to pray at the temple, that raised the man who could not walk since birth to his feet so that he may go walking and leaping and praising God (
Acts 3:1-8).
Clearly, Simon and John were partners to a unique display of the Sovereign Power of the Most High, hence, why they are the ones sent to Samaria to pray that the Samaritans might receive the Holy Spirit. Why it wasn't happening with Philip is a mystery, except perhaps to say that the Lord graces His people with gifts as He sees fit, and Simon and John simply had a different unction from the Holy One than did Philip. Yet, even if so, we clearly see the operation of the Body of Messiah in all its glory. There's no evidence of jealousy or division, no indication that Philip begrudged Simon and John for coming. This is simply the way Jesus works through His people, so that none may be elevated above another so highly as to forget Who the One is, that is really doing the miraculous.
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17. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
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Impartation of the Holy Spirit through the laying of the hands of those anointed and empowered to do so by Jesus is a real thing (
1 Timothy 4:14 and
2 Timothy 1:6 with
Hebrews 6:2). But not everyone is given this grace (
Ephesians 4:8-16). This is absolutely okay and shouldn't be despised by anyone in the Body. Paul shows us how in the Body, to one the Lord Jesus might give, for example, the gift of faith (a charism necessary for the impartation of the Holy Spirit), and to another He may bestow a different gift, and etc. (
1 Corinthians 12).
This is evident throughout the Acts of the Apostles. Even though Philip was not an apostle, but rather a deacon, we know through Paul that a deacon who uses his calling well receives "great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus" (
1 Timothy 3:13). Philip certainly had such boldness.
And it is this boldness that demonstrates that apart from his role as administerial servant to the church, Philip was also given the grace to be an evangelist (
Acts 21:8). Paul makes clear that an evangelist may have certain limitations upon the calling (
1 Corinthians 1:17), even as it has certain other liberties, provided that those liberties are not abused (
1 Corinthians 9:14-18).
In the book
The Life and Ministry of Billy and Shirley Cole: A True Story that Reads Like the Book of Acts by Doug and LaDonna Joseph, we read how when Brother Cole first arrived in Thailand, he experienced great revival, but only in terms of repentance from dead works, faith toward God, and water baptism. He was greatly concerned that for some time, people were not receiving the Holy Spirit. He then relays how the Lord worked that out, so that many thousands of Thais began receiving the Living Waters of Christ's Spirit.
This is very much like what happened in Samaria with Philip. The conclusion?
We've got the wrong "Billy". Instead of wondering if Billy Graham's ministry was like Philip's, we might instead declare that, at least in the beginning, Billy Cole's ministry was
exactly like Philip's.
That is truth I think we can all live with. Amen.
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