15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might RECEIVE THE
HOLY GHOST:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized IN THE NAME
OF THE LORD JESUS.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST.
Philip (who was later called Philip the evangelist in Acts 21:8) had a marvelous ministry in
Samaria, as stated in verses 7 and 8: "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."
Mighty miracles were constantly being manifested in Philip's ministry and many people were
being saved. Yet notice that in Acts chapter 8, not one person received the Holy Spirit under
Philip's ministry. Evidently, that was not a part of Philip's ministry, but getting folks saved and
healed was.
However, the Bible says that when the apostles at Jerusalem heard about the wonderful things
God had done through Philip's ministry in Samaria, they sent Peter and John to lay hands on
the new Samaritan converts so that they might receive the Holy Ghost.
There is no record that any upon whom Peter and John laid their hands failed to receive the
Holy Ghost because Peter and John had more of a ministry along this line. The Bible says,
"Then laid they [Peter and John] their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost" (Acts
8:17).
These verses of Scripture helped me as a young minister in a denominational church to see
that there is an experience subsequent to or following salvation, called the infilling or the
baptism of the Holy Spirit. I had been taught that when you are saved, you have the Holy
Spirit.
That is true in one sense because the Bible says that in the new birth we are born of the Spirit
of God (John 3:3-8). But my denomination taught that when you are born again, you have all
the Holy Ghost there is to have However, these Samaritans in Acts chapter 8 were saved or
born again by the Spirit of God (vv. 12,14), as we will plainly see from the scriptures in a
moment. But the apostles didn't seem to think they had all of the Holy Ghost there was to have
because they sent Peter and John to them so the Samaritans could receive the baptism in the
Holy Spirit. Therefore, salvation and receiving the infilling or the baptism of the Holy Spirit are
two separate experiences.
The Samaritans Born Again Under Philip's Ministry
Now let's go back and look at the scriptures which prove conclusively that these Samaritans
were born again under Philip's ministry, so we can see that being born again and receiving the
Holy Spirit are two separate experiences.
We remember that Jesus told us in the Great Commission that salvation comes through the
preaching of the gospel, the Word of God.
MARK 16:15,16