Lesson 2738

(Lesson 2738)(06-23-19) Acts 8:14-17
    “Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”

   Today’s lesson comes from the same quote from which yesterday’s lesson was taken. This is done so as to clarify, as near as possible, what occurred with those Samarians to whom Philip had preached.
    First, it is obvious that they had NOT believed in Jesus Christ to the point of everlasting faith and eternal salvation by simply being “baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”. IF they had indeed been saved, they would have automatically received the Holy Ghost at the point of their salvation, just as those to whom Peter preached as recorded in Acts 10:47.
    When discussing those to whom Philip had preached, in reference to their receiving of the Holy Ghost the author wrote, “For as yet He (The Holy Ghost) was fallen upon none of them: ONLY they were baptized IN THE NAME OF the Lord Jesus Christ.” What does that mean? Remember, the phrase “in the name of”, as it is applied in the quote, refers to something that can be taught because Philip, “when he had PREACHED the name of Jesus Christ”, they believed.  That obviously must mean that those people had only believed that Philip was being truthful about what he was preaching. It could not have been intended to imply that those Samarians had believed in Jesus Christ to the point of eternal salvation.
    The fact that they had been “baptized” IN THE NAME OF the Lord Jesus simply meant that Philip had told them about Jesus. Their salvation, and there receiving of the Holy Ghost, must have occurred when they actually accepted Jesus after Peter and the others further taught them, laid their hands upon and prayed for them.
    What, in all reasonable probability occurred in today’s quote, will be further clarified when these lessons reach Acts 18:24-26 in which an identical scenario was confronted by what Apollos’ preached.~