WaitingOnHim
Renewed In Christ
Greetings to my much loved brothers and sisters on RF:
In reading through Acts 8:14-17, new Christians in Samaria were visited by Peter and John, who subsequently prayed for these new believers in order that they (the new believers) "might receive the Holy Spirit". Upon reading this, my first reaction was that the Samarians must not have been true believers to this point, only having knowledge of Christ, but not yet having true, saving faith.
In researching this a little further, David Guzik, quoted in the Blue Letter Bible, offers four trains of thought on this:
The fact that these Christians received the Holy Spirit in what seems to be a subsequent experience to their salvation has caused much controversy; there have been different explanations offered.
i. Some say they were never saved to begin with under Philip's preaching. When Peter and John came, they really trusted in Jesus and then received the Holy Spirit.
ii. Some say they were really saved, and then in a subsequent experience, they received the Holy Spirit in a pattern that believers should follow today.
iii. Some say they were really saved at Philip's preaching, yet God, in a unique move, withheld the gift of the Holy Spirit until it could be bestowed on them by Peter and John. God's purpose in this was to ensure continuity between the church in Jerusalem and the new church in Samaria, guarding against division.
iv. Some say they were really saved and did really receive the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion, but were given special gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit at the laying on of hands by Peter and John.
The last option seems to best explain what happened. Whatever the Samaritans experienced, it seems to have been more than the "regular" bestowal of the Holy Spirit at salvation. This is a filling of the Holy Spirit we should always desire and seek.
I was wondering how my brothers and sisters here interpret this passage of scripture.
Looking forward to your responses.
God Bless.
In reading through Acts 8:14-17, new Christians in Samaria were visited by Peter and John, who subsequently prayed for these new believers in order that they (the new believers) "might receive the Holy Spirit". Upon reading this, my first reaction was that the Samarians must not have been true believers to this point, only having knowledge of Christ, but not yet having true, saving faith.
In researching this a little further, David Guzik, quoted in the Blue Letter Bible, offers four trains of thought on this:
The fact that these Christians received the Holy Spirit in what seems to be a subsequent experience to their salvation has caused much controversy; there have been different explanations offered.
i. Some say they were never saved to begin with under Philip's preaching. When Peter and John came, they really trusted in Jesus and then received the Holy Spirit.
ii. Some say they were really saved, and then in a subsequent experience, they received the Holy Spirit in a pattern that believers should follow today.
iii. Some say they were really saved at Philip's preaching, yet God, in a unique move, withheld the gift of the Holy Spirit until it could be bestowed on them by Peter and John. God's purpose in this was to ensure continuity between the church in Jerusalem and the new church in Samaria, guarding against division.
iv. Some say they were really saved and did really receive the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion, but were given special gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit at the laying on of hands by Peter and John.
The last option seems to best explain what happened. Whatever the Samaritans experienced, it seems to have been more than the "regular" bestowal of the Holy Spirit at salvation. This is a filling of the Holy Spirit we should always desire and seek.
I was wondering how my brothers and sisters here interpret this passage of scripture.
Looking forward to your responses.
God Bless.