Acts 6 through 9 cover one of the most pivotal stretches in the entire book. The gospel, which had been largely contained within Jerusalem, begins to break outward, first through the ministry of Philip in Samaria, then through the forced scattering after Stephen's martyrdom, and then through the most dramatic conversion in church history: Saul of Tarsus, the church's chief persecutor, knocked to the ground on a road to Damascus and transformed into its greatest apostle. These chapters also contain two of the most important passages in Acts for understanding the fullness of salvation, Acts 8:14–16 and Acts 9:17–18, each one revealing that the Acts 2:38 pattern was not a Jerusalem-only tradition but a universal standard.
"But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, 'Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!'"
"But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."
"Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."
"And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized."
As the Jerusalem church grew, a practical problem emerged: the Hellenistic Jewish widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. The apostles recognized that it was not right for them to leave the preaching of the Word to serve tables, so they called the congregation to choose seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to oversee this need. This is the first instance of church administration in the New Testament, and notice that the qualification for even a practical serving role was being "full of the Holy Spirit." The Spirit was not just for preaching and prophecy. It was the minimum qualification for all service in the church of God.
Stephen is listed first among the seven chosen, described as "a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit" (6:5) and later as "full of faith and power" doing great wonders and signs among the people (6:8). He was not one of the twelve apostles. He was a deacon, a table-server, in the literal Greek sense. And yet God worked through him as powerfully as through any apostle. This is the consistent testimony of Acts: the Holy Spirit does not limit His work to official titles or designated leaders. He works through whoever is filled with Him and available to be used.
Stephen's enemies could not stand against the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke (6:10). Unable to defeat him in debate, they resorted to false witnesses and accusations that he had spoken blasphemy against Moses and against God. When he was brought before the Sanhedrin, all who sat in the council looked at him and saw his face as the face of an angel (6:15). The same council that had condemned Jesus was now looking at one of His servants and seeing the glory of God radiating from his face.
Stephen's defense before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7 is the longest speech in the book of Acts. He recounts the entire sweep of Israel's history from Abraham through Moses to Solomon, not as a history lesson but as a devastating indictment. He identifies a recurring pattern throughout Israel's story: God sent deliverers and prophets, and Israel rejected every one of them. Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brothers. Moses was rejected by the very people he was delivering. The prophets were persecuted and killed by the generation they served. "You stiff-necked people," Stephen concludes, "uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" (7:51–52).
When the council heard these things, they were cut to the heart and gnashed at him with their teeth. But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This is one of the most remarkable Christological moments in all of Scripture. Jesus is described as standing at the right hand of God, a position of exaltation, power, and authority. For the Apostolic theologian, this is not a picture of two separate persons side by side in heaven. "The right hand of God" is a Hebrew idiom meaning God's power and authority. Jesus, the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9), stands in the position of all divine authority, because He IS God manifested in flesh, now glorified and exalted.
The council stopped their ears, ran at Stephen, cast him out of the city, and stoned him. He cried out "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" and then knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Stephen became the first Christian martyr. Among those consenting to his death was a young man named Saul, who kept the garments of those who stoned him, a man who would soon experience his own encounter with the risen Christ.
The persecution that arose at Stephen's death scattered the believers throughout Judea and Samaria, and everywhere they were scattered, they preached the Word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. The crowds gave heed with one accord to the things Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles he did. Unclean spirits came out of many, crying with a loud voice. Many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city (8:6–8). Both men and women believed and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (8:12).
But then Luke records something remarkable, something that makes Acts 8:14–16 one of the most theologically significant passages in the entire New Testament. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Why? Because the Samaritans had believed and been baptized in Jesus' name, but the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (v.16). The apostles came, prayed for them, and laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
This passage is critical for Apostolic theology. Notice what it reveals: baptism in Jesus' name alone, without the Holy Spirit, was considered incomplete by the apostolic church. The Jerusalem church didn't say "they believed and were baptized, that's sufficient." They sent two apostles on a specific trip to Samaria for the specific purpose of seeing these believers receive the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was not treated as optional or decorative. It was the other half of the new birth, and until the Samaritans received it, the job was not done. Acts 8:14–16 proves that baptism without the Spirit and the Spirit without baptism were both considered insufficient by the apostles. The full new birth requires both.
An angel of the Lord directed Philip to the road going down from Jerusalem to Gaza. There he found an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He was returning from Jerusalem and was reading from Isaiah 53. The Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot." Philip ran to him, heard him reading, and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" Beginning at this scripture, Philip preached Jesus to him. As they traveled, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Philip baptized him immediately, and immediately afterward, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more and went on his way rejoicing (8:36–39). Baptism was urgent, immediate, and indispensable.
Saul, meanwhile, was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He obtained letters from the high priest to go to Damascus and bring any he found of the Way, men or women, bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed, suddenly a light shone around him from heaven, and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" He said, "Who are You, Lord?" And the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (9:4–5). The implication is staggering: to persecute the church is to persecute Jesus Himself. The church and Christ are so identified that what is done to one is done to the other.
Saul arose from the ground blind and was led by hand into Damascus, where he fasted for three days without eating or drinking. God told a disciple named Ananias in a vision to go find Saul in the house of Judas. Ananias was understandably hesitant, he had heard about this man and all the harm he had done to the saints. But God told him: "He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel." Ananias obeyed. He entered the house, laid his hands on Saul, and said: "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Scales fell from Saul's eyes. He received his sight. And he arose and was baptized. Then he ate and was strengthened.
Acts 8:14–16 is one of the most critical passages in Acts for understanding the fullness of salvation. The Samaritans had heard and believed the gospel, and they had been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. But the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them. The Jerusalem church did not say "they're fine, they believed and were baptized." They sent Peter and John because the job wasn't done. Baptism in Jesus' name AND the Holy Spirit were both required, neither alone was sufficient. This is not a passage about an unusual exception. It is a passage about the apostolic standard. When Peter and John laid hands on the Samaritans, the Spirit came, and Simon the sorcerer could see that something visible and transferable happened (v.18). Acts 9:17–18 confirms the same pattern with Paul himself: Ananias laid hands on him to receive the Holy Spirit, and then he was baptized. Paul was filled with the Spirit first and baptized immediately after. Later, Paul's own testimony confirms the same command: "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). There is no version of New Testament salvation that omits either the Spirit or the water. Both are the standard. Both were always the standard.
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