9\u00a0<\/sup>Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery\u00a0in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,<\/span>\u00a010\u00a0<\/sup>and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, \u201cThis man is rightly called the Great Power of God.<\/em>\u201d<\/span>\u00a011\u00a0<\/sup>They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.<\/span>\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup>But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God\u00a0and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,\u00a0both men and women.<\/span>\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup>Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles\u00a0he saw.<\/span><\/p>\n 14\u00a0<\/sup>When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria\u00a0had accepted the word of God,\u00a0they sent Peter and John\u00a0to Samaria.<\/span>\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup>When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,<\/span>\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup>because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them;\u00a0they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.<\/span>\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup>Then Peter and John placed their hands on them,\u00a0and they received the Holy Spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n 18\u00a0<\/sup>When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles\u2019 hands, he offered them money<\/span>\u00a019\u00a0<\/sup>and said, \u201cGive me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 20\u00a0<\/sup>Peter answered: \u201cMay your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!<\/em><\/span>\u00a021\u00a0<\/sup>You have no part or share\u00a0in this ministry, because your heart is not right\u00a0before God.<\/span>22\u00a0<\/sup>Repent\u00a0of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>23\u00a0<\/sup>For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.<\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 24\u00a0<\/sup>Then Simon answered, \u201cPray to the Lord for me\u00a0so that nothing you have said may happen to me.<\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 25\u00a0<\/sup>After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord\u00a0and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.<\/span><\/p>\n Acts 8 opens and closes with the Apostle Philip. Sandwiched between Philip’s ministry is an interesting story about Peter, John, and a sorcerer named Simon. A number of questions arise from this passage that need to be addressed. First, was Philip with Peter and John when they laid hands on the people and spoke with Simon? Second, what is the difference between baptizing in the name of Jesus and baptizing in the Spirit? Lastly, whatever became of Simon after his rebuke from Peter?<\/p>\n Philip’s location?<\/strong><\/p>\n Regarding the matter of Philip’s location during Peter and John’s ministry in Samaria, one could easily assume that since Simon had started following Philip that Peter and John’s introduction to Simon would have due to Philip’s influence. One might also assume that it was Philip who sent word back to Jerusalem to let the apostles know that many Samaritans accepted the gospel. Thus, while Philip seems to be absent from Simon’s story, it would be logical to conclude that Philip was working with Peter and John to lay hands on the people and preach the good news.<\/p>\n Two different baptisms?<\/strong><\/p>\n The question of two different baptisms is a bit more difficult to understand. Very few churches have a practice of two different baptisms, other than the Pentecostal denominations. However, it’s very difficult to find a pattern in the book of Acts for how people receive the Holy Spirit. In some cases people received the Spirit at baptism. At other times they have two baptisms. Yet another time the Spirit was received through laying on of hands after baptism. Acts even reports of instances where people received the Spirit before baptism.<\/p>\n In Acts 2, Peter indicates that believers will receive the Spirit at baptism.<\/p>\n Peter replied, \u201cRepent and be baptized,\u00a0every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.\u00a0And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Paul’s conversion experience in Damascus also appears to demonstrate a single baptism.<\/p>\n Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, \u201cBrother Saul, the Lord\u2014Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here\u2014has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/span>\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup>Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul\u2019s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,<\/span>\u00a019\u00a0<\/sup>and after taking some food, he regained his strength. (Acts 9:17-18)<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n However, in Acts 19 Luke shows Paul differentiating between baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was given by laying of hands, not baptism.<\/p>\n While Apollos\u00a0was at Corinth,\u00a0Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.\u00a0There he found some disciples<\/span>\u00a02\u00a0<\/sup>and asked them, \u201cDid you receive the Holy Spirit\u00a0when\u00a0you believed?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n They answered, \u201cNo, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 3\u00a0<\/sup>So Paul asked, \u201cThen what baptism did you receive?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJohn\u2019s baptism,\u201d they replied.<\/span><\/p>\n 4\u00a0<\/sup>Paul said, \u201cJohn\u2019s baptism\u00a0was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.\u201d<\/span>\u00a05\u00a0<\/sup>On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.<\/span>\u00a06\u00a0<\/sup>When Paul placed his hands on them,\u00a0the Holy Spirit came on them,\u00a0and they spoke in tongues\u00a0and prophesied.<\/span>\u00a07\u00a0<\/sup>There were about twelve men in all. Additionally, in Acts 10 a whole group of people received the Spirit and they had not even been baptized yet.<\/p>\n While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on\u00a0all who heard the message.<\/span>\u00a045\u00a0<\/sup>The circumcised believers who had come with Peter\u00a0were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out\u00a0even on Gentiles.<\/span>\u00a046\u00a0<\/sup>For they heard them speaking in tongues\u00a0and praising God.<\/span><\/p>\n Then Peter said,<\/span>\u00a047\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cSurely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water.\u00a0They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.\u201d<\/span>\u00a048\u00a0<\/sup>So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.\u00a0Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (Acts 10:44-48)<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n There are more examples in Acts that could be examined but clearly there is no one fixed pattern for receiving the Spirit. One of the only clear patterns is that while the Spirit does as it pleases, it is also freely given to those who repent and believe.<\/p>\n What became of Simon?<\/strong><\/p>\n Simon’s influence on the biblical text is small. However, many other writings about him existed. He was mentioned in writings by the early church fathers, as well as later gnostic texts. His followers were also recorded in historical writings.<\/p>\n According to Irenaeus, after Simon was rebuked he began to fight against the apostles and build a following to contend with them.<\/p>\n He, then, not putting faith in God a whit the more, set himself eagerly to contend against the apostles, in order that he himself might seem to be a wonderful being, and applied himself with still greater zeal to the study of the whole magic art, that he might the better bewilder and overpower multitudes of men.\u00a0Such was his procedure in the reign of Claudius C\u00e6sar, by whom also he is said to have been honored with a statue, on account of his\u00a0magical power. (Against Heresies: Book I, Chapter 23)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Irenaeus goes on to describe the heresies that were started and perpetuated by Simon.<\/p>\n Justin Martyr writes about Simon in his First Apology, describing Simon as a devilish deceiver of the people.<\/p>\n … after Christ’s ascension into heaven the devils put forward certain men who The writings of the later church fathers and the gnostics start to add more sensationalized information to Simon’s story, building up a mythical version of him. The Acts of Peter details a whole narrative about a showdown between Simon and Peter. In the late 4th century Pseudo-Clementine writing,\u00a0Recognitions and Homilies<\/em>, Simon’s legend is expanded with more details about his followers and even his dealings with historical events and figures that lived in different time periods as Simon.<\/p>\n Thus, it is fair to say that Simon was not converted to Christianity. In fact, he was regarded as one of the fist great adversaries to the early church. He deceived many and led many to lose their faith. May we not be confused like those led astray by Simon. We must remind ourselves of the traditions handed down to use by the apostles, confirmed in our lives by the Spirit of God.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Simon the Sorcerer Acts 8:9-25 9\u00a0Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery\u00a0in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,\u00a010\u00a0and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, \u201cThis man is rightly called the Great Power of God.\u201d\u00a011\u00a0They … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12227,"featured_media":15569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2280,7611],"tags":[7704,7614,7705],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12227"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nObservations & Reflections<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/span>(Acts 19:1-7)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nsaid that they themselves were gods; and they were not only not persecuted by you, but even deemed worthy of honors. There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god was honored by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore this inscription, in the language of Rome. (First Apology, Chapter 16)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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