Acts 8v16

(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

This verse is in the same passage as the previous two sections of this book (Acts 8v12 {58 } and Acts 8v13 {59 }). Peter and John were sent down from Jerusalem by the Apostles when they heard that “Samaria had received the word of God” (Acts 8v14). When they arrived, they found that the Samaritans still hadn’t received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8v15-16) and so laid hands on them and prayed for them to receive Him. Clearly the receiving of the Holy Spirit was of such a concern that it warranted the intervention of perhaps two of the most important Apostles – if they showed such concern, who are we today to say that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is ‘optional’, as some say. This also shows that the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit was external (ie speaking in tongues), rather than just some ‘feeling in the heart’ as some preach today – if this were so, the repentance that had lead to the baptism in water would have been enough sign already that they had been saved.

This verse further clarifies the name that the Samaritans were baptised in. Not only had Philip preached ‘concerning the name of Jesus’ (Acts 8v12 {58 }), but had also baptised them “in the name of the Lord Jesus”.

In the next verse (Acts 8v17), the laying on of hands by the Apostles Peter and John had lead to the Samaritans receiving the Holy Spirit, just as the Apostles and those saved in Jerusalem had already received. There was thus no difference for the Jew or the Samaritan in the mode or signs of salvation.

After Simon the sorcerer had seen this – the laying on of hands leading to the receiving of the Holy Spirit – he thought that the gift had been a kind of magic trick that could perhaps be taught in exchange for money. (Acts 8v18-19) This may be an indicator of where Simon’s powers of sorcery had initially come from. He was not so much seeking God, as the signs and wonders that followed. He was drawn in and distracted by the spectacular, rather than by a true desire to love and serve the God that could save him. When his attitude had been corrected by Peter, Simon the Sorcerer then asked him to “Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.” (Acts 8v24). Clearly there had been a further repentance in Simon’s heart – building on the repentance at his baptism – as his understanding had increased – perhaps motivated by a fear of God and what He could do to him.