Acts 8:9-24 - The Visible Church
- Chad Werkhoven
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Even when fakes appear, God’s grace is genuine.
Acts 8:9–24 (NIV)
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Canons of Dordt
Point 4 - Irresistible Grace
Article 15: Responses to God's grace
God does not owe grace to anyone.
For what could God owe to those who have nothing to give that can be paid back?
Indeed, what could God owe to those who have nothing of their own to give but sin and falsehood?
Therefore
those who receive this grace owe and give eternal thanks to God alone;
those who do not receive it either
do not care at all about these spiritual things and are satisfied with themselves in their condition,
or else in self-assurance foolishly boast about having something which they lack.
Furthermore, following the example of the apostles,
we are to think and to speak in the most favorable way
about those who outwardly profess their faith and better their lives,
for the inner chambers of the heart are unknown to us.
But for others who have not yet been called, we are to pray to the God who calls things that do not exist as though they did.
In no way, however, are we to pride ourselves as better than they, as though we had distinguished ourselves from them.
Summary
Simon was a showman as much as he was a sorcerer. Luke, the historian who wrote Acts, doesn't elaborate on the type of magic Simon practiced, but it probably contained a smidgen of demonic powers combined with a whole bunch of smoke and mirrors. Simon boasted that he was someone great, and the crowd ate it all up. All the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is rightly called the Power of God."
But then the real Power of God showed up and Simon lost his crowd. God showed up in the preaching of Philip, who was everything that the flashy Simon was not. Philip was one of the men the church called on to help the widows (Acts 6) and who would go on in the next passage to explain scripture to an Ethiopian official in the middle of nowhere.
The crowds that used to be amazed by Simon now believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Even Simon himself believed and was baptized, and from that point on he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
What a remarkable transformation, right? A man who used to market magic who now believed and jumped into the life of the church with both feet. But as you've likely already figured out, we're not reading Simon's story today because it has a happy ending.
Dig Deeper
It doesn't take long for Simon's true colors to show. When Peter & John give the Spirit by laying on their hands (Luke refers here to Spiritual gifts, not Spiritual regeneration), Simon immediately senses the opportunity and wants in. His offer to purchase the apostles' ability even sounds noble: "so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter immediately exposes Simon and calls him to repent, stating that Simon's heart is not right before God. Peter sees that Simon had just been going through the Christian motions. Simon had just been following the crowd that once followed him. Simon's heart wasn't regenerated, rather he was full of bitterness and captive to sin. Even Simon's 'confession' rings hollow; he only sought to avoid divine punishment rather than submit himself to Christ's Lordship.
The Church always has been and always will (until Christ returns) had people in it who, as the Canons put it, outwardly profess their faith and better their lives but who don't truly put their hope, trust, faith and allegiance in Christ alone. Sometimes their shallowness becomes apparent, as did Simon's, but just as often such people maintain the ruse for their entire lives.
Our lesson today is to be like Phillip, who had accepted Simon's profession of faith on its face. Indeed, that's all we can do, for the inner chambers of the heart are unknown to us. When blatant hypocrisy displays itself, then we must certainly call it out as Peter did. Apart from that we are to think and to speak in the most favorable way regarding all those who affiliate themselves with the body of Christ.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who enables those He's called to grow even in the midst of weeds and tares;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the grace to think and to speak in the most favorable way of all who visibly believe;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: 1 Timothy 1
