Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The First Missionary

Acts 8:5-13

When people first do something wrong, they are very cautious, afraid they will get caught. If they succeed, they and appear to have gotten away with it, they will almost certainly repeat it. If there are no effective actions to stop them, it will escalate. This can be seen in alcoholism, drug addiction, Gang violence and sexual sin.

Having crucified Jesus, It was not a major step to killing Stephen, but when they killed him, and the majority of people went along with it, and the Roman authorities didn’t intervene immediately, the Jewish leadership felt they were free to do as they pleased, and began persecuting the Christians, forcing many to flee Jerusalem. As the church shrank, the seven deacons were free to do other things.

“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.” (Acts 8:5)

Just before his ascension into heaven, Jesus told the disciples, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth,” in Acts 1:8. Philip went as the first missionary, to the neighboring country of Samaria, preaching the Gospel, and fulfilling the next part of the verse. That Paul is generally considered the first missionary only demonstrates the superficiality of much Bible teaching.

Most books about great preachers today devote considerable time to his upbringing and training. The Bible does not do so because it really isn’t relevant, and the focus is on how the Holy Spirit empowered them rather than on the man.

We know that Philip was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a good reputation, because it was required to be selected as a deacon. His work is described briefly, then no further record appears until Acts 21:8, where it is clear he was still involved in ministry. “And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.”

This is one of only three times the word ‘evangelist’ is used in the entire Bible. The other places are Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;” and II Timothy 4:5, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” Philip is the only one referred to as an evangelist, but it is obvious that it is an important position from Ephesians 4:11.

The Greek word translated as “evangelist” means “one who announces the Gospel.” No announcement is needed for people who have already heard. Each of the offices listed refer to what was needed by the church at the time. We know that the office of the apostles ended when the apostles died. We also know that the office of prophet would end when the scripture was complete from I Corinthians 13:8-10, because it would no longer be needed. That does not mean that God cannot give individual prophecies, but that the gift of prophecy has ended.

Timothy was beginning his ministry as a Pastor, taking over a church Paul had started, and building it up spiritually after Paul left. Paul instructed him to “do the work of an evangelist,” clearly implying that Timothy was not an evangelist, but that evangelism was part of his job. If the pattern holds, of the office ending when it is no longer needed, then the evangelist’s responsibility would be taken over by the pastors and teachers. Since Philip is the only one referred to as an evangelist, we will need to examine his work to understand the office and duties of an evangelist. We’ve already seen that he went to another country and people.

“And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:6-8)

Philip was doing exactly the same thing in Samaria that the apostles did in Jerusalem, preaching Jesus Christ, healing the sick, and delivering them from satanic spirits, and reaching the local people. The only difference was he was in another country, working with a different culture.

“But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.” (Acts 8:9-11)

In Jerusalem, the apostles had to contend with an entrenched Jewish religion that had many elements similar to what Christians believed, but whose leaders would do anything they could to retain their power. The big difference was that the Jewish religion was all about the flesh, as opposed to the Spiritual life. The temptation was to fall back into the old way of doing things.

As an evangelist or missionary, Philip had to introduce the gospel and persuade people to leave their old customs and worship. Simon was as jealous of his power as the chief priests were in Jerusalem. The biggest difference is that Philip was less familiar with the religion of Samaria.

“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” (Acts 8:12)

The Holy Spirit produced the same results in Samaria as he did in Jerusalem. Those who believed got baptized. It’s the first indication that their faith is real, and are committed to the Lord, that they do the first thing he asks a Christian to do. The failure to commit by being baptized indicates a lack of real faith. I am suspicious of the person who claims thousands saved, yet only sees one or two baptized. As James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

It is clear from these verses that belief and baptism are separate, and John 3:36 makes it clear that belief is the crucial element of salvation. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” At the same time, it is clear that those who believed also got baptized.

“Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.” (Acts 8:13)

The same power of the Holy Spirit reached Simon as reached the rest of the people, just like it reached many of the priests in Jerusalem. Romans 10:12 states, “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.”

2 comments:

  1. What stands out to me is that the man Simon had replaced God in the minds of all those people in Samaria.He had bewitched the whole town with his sorcery.Witchcraft is powerful, especially when they display their supernatural power before peoples eyes.Thank God Philip had supernatural power too,a much greater power then Simons and it got the attention of the people. Even Simon himself was impressed.
    Today we need the gifts of the Spirit restored to the Church.Especially in order to be able to reckon with the onslaught of signs and wonders that are surely coming in these last days.

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  2. Excellent post! Simon the sorcerer is one of the more...interesting characters in Acts. I like how you break down and follow the path of an evangelist.

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