The Holy Spirit is Beyond the Reach of Personal Enrichment

Acts 8:14-25

• Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.
• Simon rebuked for trying to buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money.
• Gospel of Jesus Christ shared among the villagers of Samaria.

Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.

“Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” Acts 8:14-17

Philip had a very successful ministry in Samaria, as quoted, “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. Acts 8:5-6

The Apostles governed the Way of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem. When the other Apostles [in Jerusalem] heard of the multitudes in Samaria coming to Jesus Christ, they sent Peter and John who brought the Holy Spirit to the Samaritans in the name of Jesus Christ. Philip could have done so himself, being an Apostle of the Christ, Jesus, but sometimes the Lord uses one person to plant and another to water. In the case of the Samaritans, Philip planted the Gospel seed and Peter and John watered. Paul considered himself to be one who planted and Apollos the waterer, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” 1 Corinthians 3:5-8

As followers of Jesus Christ, there is no need to see ourselves as the one who shares our born-again experience [which is the Gospel of Christ written on our heart] and the same one who leads people to receive the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, a person will readily hear the Good News, which is the planted seed. Then later, someone will water the seed of that Good News and the person will be eager and ready for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, the watering that people need is to be encouraged to confess with the mouth that Jesus is their Lord, after all, only by the Holy Spirit can someone truly say that Jesus is Lord, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3 If you are not opposing Jesus and can genuinely call Him Lord, you have the Holy Spirit.

Today, receiving the Holy Spirit does not come by fleshly hands being laid upon us, but comes by Jesus Christ laying His Spirit upon us. When we confess with our mouth that He is Lord, and believe in our heart that He is risen from the dead, then we are children of the Spirit, “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 Live for God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit become spart of who you are.

“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” Philippians 1:6

Water baptism is only an outward expression of our desire to walk with Jesus Christ in this sin-plagued world. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a result of walking with Him after the water of the outward baptism has dried off. I was baptized in an Ohio creek called Paint Creek, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience by any means. Everyone there pulled their cars alongside the sandbar, and we all walked towards the edge of the water. The current was a little more rapid than anyone would have wanted it to be, but we all decided to do the baptisms. When my turn came, I was dipped under the water, and one of the two men holding me lost their grip for just a second, and I started to be carried downstream. They caught me. Still, water ran up my nose, and it felt awful, still I was baptized. The point is that I wanted to show my commitment of living for Jesus Christ but by no means did I receive the Holy Spirit from that baptism in the waters of Paint Creek.

Simon rebuked for trying to buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money.

“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:18-19

Simon was the sorcerer who said “Yes” to Jesus Christ as spoken about in the posts on Acts 8:9-13 As a new convert, he was still very much attached to walking by sight and not by faith, but we grow in the knowledge and grace of Christ Jesus “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 In Acts 8:13, Simon continued with Philip because he saw Philip do miracles, then he saw people receiving the Holy Spirit by Peter laying hands on them. Simon wanted what Philip and Peter had, but he thought he could buy the Holy Spirit with money instead of through faith in Jesus Christ.

“But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.” Acts 8:20-21

The heart of Simon was not yet prepared to receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit will not come as a commodity sold to those who have money. Anyone who relies on worldly resources as evidence of the Holy Spirit in their life does not have a part in the matter of a Spirit-filled life.

The Holy Spirit spoke through Peter to say this to Simon, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!” This was the perfect chastening for Simon, to lose all of his money and to live in poverty. After all, being financially poor doesn’t prevent anyone from receiving the Holy Spirit and the wealthy do not own the rights to the Holy Spirit. As long as Simon, and all of us, remain faithful to Jesus Christ in humbling circumstances, the Holy Spirit will come to us. “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

We have to let go of the things that make us bitter, which I can name plenty, such as when a co-worker got my .50 cent raise because I wouldn’t verbally fight for it with anger and hostility. I am not going to let those bitter things hold me captive to sin. Those are things that prohibit the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I had to learn to live at peace with all people, to separate myself from the ways of this world, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. To a Holy Spirit filled person, to glorify Jesus and to spread the Gospel is more important than anything in this Godless world.

There is nothing in this world that can give us the Holy Spirit, not human interaction with other humans, not prosperity, and certainly not the idea that people are a social and economic creation. Having worldly resources and social approval cannot replace what the Holy Spirit is able to do within the heart of humanity. The global government puts their faith in a global economy to bring world peace and security, but that economy collapses as described in Revelations 18. “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.” revelations 18:2 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Mark 8:36

“Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Acts 8:22-23

As a new convert to Jesus Christ, Simon had lingering worldly beliefs that were wickedness in the eyes of God that needed to be rooted out and forgiven. To ask forgiveness is to acknowledge attitudes that are wrong and then to let them go. This is the process of sanctification, which transpires throughout our life on this earth. Sanctification happens because we welcome the Holy Spirit who makes us a vessel of Holiness. Our spirit and soul are poisoned by bitterness and other iniquities that act as barriers to keep the presence of the Holy Spirit locked out. Weeding that poison out gives more room for the Holy Spirit to live in us. “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit…Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:17, 20

“Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” Acts 8:24

As followers of Jesus Christ, our response to sin within us must be, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” Those words must be spoken from deep within us, from every fiber of our being, in the presence of the Holy Spirit, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27

We live in a world where the beast has power over physiology to give people what to think, feel, say, and do. That beast makes havoc of our prayer life, as our Lord Jesus says, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Matthew 21:13 With that said, there are bowls in heaven that contain the prayers of the followers of Jesus Christ, and from those prayers He sends His judgment on this earth, as quoted, “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Revelations 5:8 From those prayers comes the opening of the Seven Seals [Revelations 6, 8], the events of the Seven Trumpets [Revelations 8, 9, and 11], and the events of the Seven Plagues [Revelations 16].

Repenting from unGodly thoughts is as simple as not acting on and not being susceptible to everything that comes to mind. I’ve said to myself, “I’m sorry I thought that” but even then, I didn’t even dare believe what I heard and definitely did not act on the thought. It’s onward and forward with Bible reading and sharing the Gospel.

Gospel of Jesus Christ shared among the villagers of Samaria.

“So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans” Acts 8:25

After Peter and John had helped the new converts of Samaria to receive the Holy Spirit, they returned to Jerusalem, where the headquarters of the Apostles were. Not headquarters like we see in today’s world, but just someone’s home where the Apostles gathered to govern over the family of Jesus Christ. Today, the headquarters of God is within our heart, soul, and mind through Jesus Christ who gives us the Holy Spirit.

Peter and John initially left Jerusalem to go to Samaria, and now they are returning to Jerusalem. On the map below, you can see Jerusalem, just left of the top of the blue water in the center of the image. Samaria is north of Jerusalem. That distance was about a one day journey [40 miles]. On their return to Jerusalem, Peter and John preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are on our way home to the eternal New Jerusalem, and on the way there, we share our born-again experience with others, which is the Gospel of Christ written on our heart.

The Holy Spirit uses us within the course of whatever we are doing through our day. Hopefully, we have an opportunity to share our born-again experience, but in today’s atheistic world, our testimony mostly comes down to letting the light of Christ shine through us by our attitudes and behaviors. That alone sets us apart from the ways of this world and is cause enough to bring hardships against us for the name of our lord Jesus.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11