Acts 8 - The Difference Between the Rebirth and Renewal of the Holy Spirit!

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The Church Persecuted and Scattered

After Stephen's killing, the church started scattering due to heavy persecution. They only ones who didn't flee were the apostles. Godly men buried and mourned for Stephen. Meanwhile, Saul was going from house to house rounding up the believers. He put both men and women in prison. 

While the church grew very quickly, it also dispersed very quickly. 

Philip in Samaria

Those who were scattered included Philip, who was one of the 7 deacons just called to serve the church. Philip not only preached the word but also did many miracles and cast out demons. Not just a few people but "many, many", says Luke. Though Philip was not an apostle, he was doing everything that the apostles were doing after Pentecost. This brought great joy to the city. 

It showed that everyone could do the things Jesus did, because they were given the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. 

Simon the Sorcerer

There was a sorcerer in Samaria named Simon. Many people thought he had great power that had come from God. Everyone followed Simon and was amazed at all the things he did on a continual basis. But when people heard Philip preach about Jesus and the kingdom of God, they came to faith and were baptized, even Simon. 

Simon followed Philip everywhere and was amazed at the signs he did. Simon had practiced counterfeit magic, but he knew he was only tricking the people who followed him. But when he saw the power of God come through Philip, he knew it was the real deal. He had encountered the living God, and His power. He would never be the same. 

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that people were coming to faith and Jesus and being baptized, they went up to Samaria. Specifically, they prayed for these new believers to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. It says they had only been baptized in the name of Jesus. 

This presents a very interesting question. Why was there a separation between their belief, their baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit? Why did they not receive the Holy Spirit when they came to believe in Jesus and were baptized? This is not an easy question to answer. 

What do the commentators say?

Often, the empowering and filling of the Holy Spirit is received as hands are laid on a person and prayer is offered for them (Acts 9:17, 1 Timothy 4:14, 2 Timothy 1:6). We should always be ready to receive whatever special graces and gifts God has to give us through the laying on of hands.

Received the Holy Spirit: The fact that these Christians received the Holy Spirit in what seems to be a subsequent experience to their salvation has caused much controversy; there have been different explanations offered.

i. Some say they were never truly born again (converted) under Philip’s preaching. When Peter and John came, they really trusted in Jesus and then received the Holy Spirit.

ii. Some say they were truly born again. Then, in a subsequent experience, they received the Holy Spirit in a pattern that believers should follow today.

iii. Some say they were converted in response to Philip’s preaching; yet God, in a unique move, withheld the gift of the Holy Spirit until Peter and John could bestow it on them. God’s purpose in this was to ensure continuity between the church in Jerusalem and the new church in Samaria, guarding against division.

iv. Some say they were really born again and did really receive the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion, but were given special gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit at the laying on of hands by Peter and John.

v. The last option seems to best explain what happened. Whatever the Samaritans experienced, it seems to have been more than the “regular” bestowal of the Holy Spirit at salvation. This is a filling of the Holy Spirit we should always desire and seek. - Guzik

I would tend to agree with the last interpretation as well. But, the fact that their are so many possible interpretations show that the connection between faith, baptism, and the reception of the Holy Spirit is not always spelled out in the bible in black and white. 

When we have questions like this it is good to take into consideration all of the passages relating to the Holy Spirit. The preponderance of evidence shows us that we receive the Holy Spirit when we come to faith and believe in Jesus. In John 3, Jesus says we are born again of the Spirit. Paul tells us in Ephesians that when we come to faith, we are given a down payment, the Holy Spirit, who is the assurance of our salvation. 

But the fact that the Holy Spirit was given as Peter and John laid hands on them also shows that the Spirit is given and/or imparted through prayer. Scripture has several examples of the laying on of hands, as it relates to the work of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life. This has been my experience. I received the Holy Spirit when I came to faith in Jesus, but my whole life I seek to be more and more filled and renewed in the Holy Spirit. Paul suggests this in Ephesians 5:19 that we "keep on being renewed in the Holy Spirit." 

So you might say their is both "rebirth" and "renewal" through the Holy Spirit for a believer. Since the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity, we can pray, "Come Holy Spirit and fill me anew with your power and presence." In fact, I pray this every day!  I don't think you can ever get enough of the Holy Spirit! 

When Simon, the Sorcerer, saw that Holy Spirit was given when Peter and John laid hands on the people, he reverted back to his sorcerer days thinking that he might do the same thing. He offered them money, so he could do the same thing. Peter rebuked him strongly saying, 

May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Fortunately Simon realized the error of his ways and he said, 

“Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Philip and the Ethiopian

The Lord had more work for Philip to do as an apostle. An angel told him to go south from Jerusalem down a desert road to Gaza. 

Leaving fruitful ministry to go to a desert is foolish from man’s perspective, but wise if directed by God. What could be more foolish than to leave a place of prospering ministry and go to a desert road? - Guzik

“There were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, and the Spirit commands Philip to take the one that was seldom used.” (MacArthur)

On the way down south he met an Ethiopian eunuch, who was a Gentile convert, as he was going to Jerusalem to worship. Also, he was reading the book of Isaiah, the prophet. 

This Ethiopia – much larger than modern-day Ethiopia – was the land where the Queen of Sheba came from, who saw the glory of Solomon’s kingdom and professed faith in the God of Israel. It’s possible that pieces of the Jewish faith were passed on through the centuries to men like this servant of the queen.

This Spirit told Philip to go to the chariot where the eunuch was. Once again we see the personal relationship between the Holy Spirit and his followers. The Holy Spirit often leads and directs us where to go. We don't know if this was an audible voice Philip heard and in some ways it doesn't matter. The bottom line is Philip obeyed and met an Ethiopian was reading from the prophet Isaiah. It was a divine encounter! 

What was a eunuch?

"Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated to make them less threatening servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence.[5] Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could, in theory, give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impart de facto power on the formally humble but trusted servant. Similar instances are reflected in the humble origins and etymology of many high offices."

After Philip sees him reading Isaiah, he asks him if he understands what he is reading. The eunuch says, "How can I unless someone explains it to me."

You talk about an open door. The Holy Spirit not only opened the door for Philip to meet the man, but also opened the man's heart to find Jesus in the prophet Isaiah. Philip went right from this passage in Isaiah 40 to explain how it came to be fulfilled in Jesus!

Apparently the eunuch came to faith because when they came upon some water he asked Philip, "What can prevent me from being baptized?"

He ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and he went down to the water and he was baptized. Right then Holy Spirit came upon Philip and took him to Azotus, and then he preached all the way up to the coastal city of Caesarea. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian eunuch rejoiced in what had just happened to him. 

Note the following observations, 

It took real boldness for Philip to go right up to the Ethiopian’s chariot and speak to him, but that is what the Holy Spirit told him to do. The Ethiopian was a rich man, a man of power, and at least in some way a celebrity. Yet Philip knew he needed Jesus just as much as anyone else. We should never fear speaking to those who are considered to be important people about Jesus. We often shrink back from speaking boldly about Jesus, and the world lets us know we shouldn’t talk about such things. But the world does not hesitate to impose its own message on us. We should be just as bold to the world about Jesus as the world is bold to us about sin.

Where is the Holy Spirit calling you to be bold like Philip? Notice Philip didn't have to force anything down anyone's throat. He merely was obedient to the Spirit's prompting. His knowledge of the Old Testament helped him to show Jesus was the fulfillment of all the prophets wrote. How well do you know your Old Testament, especially as it points to Jesus, the Savior of the World?