Readings for today: 1 Kings 9-10, Acts 8:14-40, Psalms 130, Proverbs 17:2-3
I love the Book of Acts. The chaos of the early days of the church. God pressing His people outside their comfort zones. Blowing up their expectations. Transforming how they see themselves, one another, and the world.
Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The gospel was so disruptive in Jerusalem and Judea that believers were being dragged from their homes and thrown in prison. Many were being tortured and killed. The Pharisees were coming after them with a vengeance and Saul - who would later become the Apostle Paul - was at the forefront of it all.
As the disciples scattered, running for their lives, they continued to preach the gospel. And that’s how Philip came to Samaria. He preached and performed many signs and wonders and many Samaritans believed. They received the Word of God with open hearts. They were baptized in the name of Jesus. But they had not yet received the blessing of the Holy Spirit so the Jerusalem church sent Peter and John to lay hands on them. Frankly, we do not know why they didn’t receive the Holy Spirit at their conversion. It seems in the early days of the church that the Holy Spirit was moving in different ways. Coming to different people at different times. In Acts 2, He comes with power over the disciples as they are praying together, giving them the miraculous gift of tongues. In Acts 8, He comes at the laying on of hands by Peter and John. In Acts 10, He comes as Peter preaches the gospel to Cornelius and his household. It’s important not to build our doctrine on these isolated passages but simply to accept the fact that God was doing a new thing in those days and it manifested itself in different ways.
One thing we can take away from this passage is the importance of being filled with the Spirit. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised His followers they would not be alone. He would not leave them as orphans in this world. He would send His Spirit to dwell with them. To guide them into all truth. To lead them to a deeper understanding of Christ. To empower them for Christ’s service in the world. The Spirit imparts gifts to God’s people. The Spirit bears fruit in the lives of God’s people. The Spirit is active, constantly transforming us and sanctifying us and making us into the image of Christ.
Most of all, the Spirit brings unity. He brings us together across our differences. It is the Spirit who reconciles Jews and Samaritans. Healing racial divisions going back centuries. It is the Spirit who will bring Jews and Gentiles together into one church. Overcoming cultural and social and ritual divisions that had always kept them apart. It is the Spirit who sends Philip to the side of an Ethiopian official as he returns home. Opening his eyes to the truth of the gospel and sending him forth to proclaim the good news to his own people.
Friends, this same Spirit is on the move today! He regenerates the heart of every believer who comes to faith in Jesus Christ. He dwells within us, bearing His fruit in our lives. He teaches us, opening up the Scriptures to us in ways we can understand. He empowers us, giving us gifts to serve the church and our community in Jesus’ name. He brings unity to His people, crossing every divide you can imagine. Breaking through every dividing wall of hostility we tend to set up that keeps us apart. He heals. He reconciles. He drives us from our places of safety and security and comfort to bring this ministry of reconciliation to the world.
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19, Acts 9:1-25, Psalms 131, Proverbs 14:4-5