Acts 7, 8 The Transition

So much going on here! Acts is one of my favorite books because it is jam packed full of history. Unlike any other book, it ties together the explosion of church that "turned the world upside down."

So at this stage things are still pretty fresh. Paul is still Saul. He is persecuting the church, and Christ's message is being taken down to Samaria by Philip! A couple confusing things are also mentioned here in ch. 8: Was this sorcerer named Simon actually converted to Christianity?  And why did the Samaritans not receive the Holy Spirit the moment they believed (Eph. 1:13, Gal. 3:2)? 

First, it's not perfectly clear in Simon's case whether he was a true believer or not. I have personally heard it taught that he was a Christian who backslid to his old passion of power. However, I personally take the opposite view. Taking the entirety of the context into account. I see his "belief" as being motivated by selfish reasons. Peter's extremely strong language is also telling. "Neither part nor lot" is Old Testament language for having no share in something. (Deut. 12:12) Peter also tells him that he in still in the "bond of iniquity" which doesn't seem like an accurate modifier for an heir of Christ's righteousness. Furthermore, and perhaps the most telling, there is no indication of repentance in the account. I might add that early church tradition includes Simon along with Nicholas  (Rev. 2:16, Acts 6:5) as two of the first "heretics" in the New Testament. It is important to note however, that I am simply stating church tradition on that last point. Early church tradition is fallible, and clearly not on the same playing field as the preserved Word.

Secondly, verses 16 and 17 do not support the false notion that Christians somehow receive the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation. This unique situation (Similar to Acts 10 when Gentiles were added to the church) is part of the transitional period of the church. This is the first case where Christianity is moving beyond the Jewish level and into another people group, and apparently God sovereignly waited to give the manifestation of his Holy Spirit until some of his Apostles were present. The presence of Peter and John's apostolic authority confirmed that this was fully legitimate. The Gospel is advancing (Acts 1:8) and now no one can make the mistake of saying that the Samaritan believers are different than the rest of the church.