OPEN: People have created puzzles for centuries. There’ve been crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, Rubik's cube, and scads of others in all shapes and sizes. The better the puzzle, the more difficult it is to solve, and by that standard, one of the Holy Grails of such puzzles is this one: (https://goo.gl/images/2cMYwY). It’s called “Solomon’s Seal”, or more appropriately - “The IMPOSSIBLE Japanese puzzle” because unless you know the secret … it will impossible for you to solve it. I found a YouTube video that explained the puzzle and its solution - and it started out telling the story about a Japanese man who spent 10 years trying to solve this specific puzzle (apparently he didn’t know how to do a google search):
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmnzcsi-WK8. Play from time marker: 0:48 to 3:35)
Did you notice: that unless you know the answer to the puzzle it’s ALMOST impossible to do. There’s only ONE way to solve the puzzle and you need to know the secret in order to solve it,
In our Scripture this morning, we’re faced with a set of 3 “puzzles”. They are riddles in the text that are almost impossible to figure out unless you understand what lies behind them. Unless you understand the "secret"… the story makes no sense.
BUT (before we get to that) let’s take a look at the story itself. The early church has been in existence for about a year or so now, and it has grown so dramatically that it now numbers in the 1000s. Everything seems to be going extremely well… but then the church meets with serious opposition.
A Godly Christian named Stephen has preached before the Sanhedrin and his message was so powerful and “in your face” that the Sanhedrin became furious and they dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. This stoning of Stephen began the great persecution of the church.
One of the catalysts of that persecution was a young Pharisee named Saul (we know him as Paul) who saw this Christian group as a threat to the faith of Israel and thus made it his mission to destroy it. Acts 8:3 tells us that he “began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.”
Facing prison and even death, Christians scattered and ran away to find safety. One of those men who ran away was a Godly Deacon named Philip. He went north into Samaria and began preaching there about Jesus. And he was so powerful and convicting in what he preached that… “When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said…. (and) when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 8:6, 12-13
Shortly after this we’re told that “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. Then (Peter and John) laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:15-17
AND THAT IS ESSENTIALLY THE STORY. There are other side issues to consider, but this basically sums up what we’ve read this morning. And in this simple story there are 3 puzzles here. What are those puzzles?
• 1st puzzle – what right did Philip have to preach? He’s just a deacon. He’s not even an Elder. He’s never been to Bible College and he’s not even ordained. It wouldn’t seem that he was qualified to get into a decent pulpit and preach about Christ.
• 2nd puzzle – why hadn’t the Holy Spirit come upon these new believers? I thought that’s what happened when folks believed, repented, confessed Jesus and were baptized. Isn’t that what you thought Scripture taught. Of course it does. BUT this time it seems they needed the Apostles to come lay hands on them for them to have the Spirit come upon them… what gives?
• 3rd puzzle – why couldn’t Philip lay hands on these folks so that they’d receive the Holy Spirit? WHY did he have to wait on Peter and John to do it? It would seem Philip was more than qualified to do something like this. We’re told he is a man filled with the Spirit himself and he’s able to do all kinds of cool miracles and healings. But he apparently can’t do this. Why?
ILLUS: Now, when it comes to puzzles like Solomon’s Seal or Rubik's cubes and such. I’m fairly lazy. If I can’t solve a puzzle in a reasonable amount of time, I’m not interested. I don’t know the secret. I don’t care enough to learn the secret. So eventually I just set these puzzles aside because I JUST DON’T CARE.
Lots of Bible scholars that are like that with Scriptures they don’t figure out. The implications of passages like the one we’re looking at this morning disturb them. If a passage of Scripture doesn’t fit into their theology, they’ll just put the issue aside and embrace the theology they’re comfortable with and just move on. THEY DON’T CARE.
Take the first puzzle of what right Philip had to preach. He’s just a deacon. He’s not an Elder. He’s never been Bible college and never even been ordained. There are lots of churches who’d never let him near the pulpit. He’s not qualified.
Now that was a common issue back in the days of Jesus. In Acts 4:7 the Sanhedrin confronted Peter and John who were arrested for preaching. And the 1st question the Sanhedrin asked them was this: “By what power or by what name did you do this?” In other words: By WHAT RIGHT do you preach like this???
And things haven’t changed in over 2000 years. There’s a lot of churches out there that – if you don’t have a diploma on the wall – you can forget getting into their pulpit. They want men who have Masters degrees, or Ph.Ds. or at least a Bachelor of Arts. They don’t mind being bored… but if you’re going to bore them you had better have a college education.
But that’s not quite how things work with God. When Paul wrote the church at Corinth he said this: "When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.” I Corinthians 2:1-5 (HCSB)
In other words: Paul’s saying: I’m not here to dazzle you. I’m not here to impress you. I’m here to get you to see Jesus and Him crucified.
For most folks in our brotherhood Philip’s being preacher really isn’t a puzzle. We’d be very comfortable to have him in our pulpit. We figure - if a guy loves Jesus, if they know the Bible, if they’re not into heresy, and they’re able to speak for a while without biting their tongue… we’ll let them preach. Why? Because we’re not here to dazzle you or impress you. We’re here to get you to see Jesus and Him Crucified.
So, the first puzzle is “Who has the right to preach? And the answer is: Any man who loves Jesus enough to talk about Him!!!
2nd puzzle is this: why hadn’t the Holy Spirit fallen upon these new believers?
Acts 8:15-17 “(Peter and John) came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
I thought that when folks believed, repented, confessed Jesus and were baptized into Christ - THAT was when they got the Holy Spirit. In fact that’s what it says in Acts 2:38 - "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Had the folks in Samaria been baptized? Of course they had. “… When they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were BAPTIZED, both men and women.” Acts 8:12
THEY BELIEVED AND THEY WERE BAPTIZED!
And, according to Acts 2:38, when they did that they should have received the gift of Holy Spirit.
But now… let’s digress for a minute. Can you be saved if you don’t have the Holy Spirit? Let’s take a poll: How many of you believe you have to have the Holy Spirit to be saved??? Well, that’s Romans 8:9 tells us “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” You CAN NOT be saved if you don’t have the Holy Spirit.
Now, I have encountered folks who understand that concept. They realize that the Bible teaches that we can’t be saved without the Holy Spirit and so, when they read this story in Acts 8, they'll confidently tell me that the Samaritans were NOT saved before Peter and John laid hands on them because the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them.
I love those folks, but they’re just LAZY theologians. And do you know why they’re lazy? Because they haven’t bothered to read Ephesians 1:13-14 where it says: “In (Jesus) you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and BELIEVED in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians teaches that our believing in Jesus gets us sealed with the Holy Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our salvation.
Now… had the Samaritans believed in Jesus? (of course they had) “… When they BELIEVED Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were BAPTIZED, both men and women.” Acts 8:12
THEY HAD BELIEVED AND WERE BAPTIZED.
According to Acts 2:38 they should have received the gift of the Holy Spirit because they had repented and were baptized. AND according to Ephesians 1:13-14 – they should have been sealed by Holy Spirit because of their faith.
SO WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?
Well, it all has to do with this “laying on of hands” that Peter and John did that day. Before we get too deep into this I want to stress that NOWHERE (nowhere, nowhere, nowhere, nowhere) in the Bible are we EVER (ever, ever, ever, ever, ever) taught that salvation occurs when someone lays hands on you. It’s just not Biblical.
But what we do see in Scripture is that the laying on of hands accomplished 3 things:
1. Ordination - Acts 13:3 “… after fasting and praying (the leaders at Antioch) laid their hands on (Paul and Barnabas) and sent them off (to the mission field).” The laying on of hands by the leadership essentially said that Paul and Barnabas were trusted by them. They were endorsing their ministry.
2. Healing - Acts 9:12 (Paul) has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” The laying on of hands is often part of healing in Scripture.
3. Imparting of "Charismata" (it’s the root word from which we get the word “charismatic”) – and that’s what we’re seeing happening here in Acts 8. "Charismata" is a Greek word describing gifts given BY the Holy Spirit (you’ll find that word in places like I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12). These are gifts FROM the Holy Spirit.
(See footnote #1)
In Acts 2:38 tells us that when we repent and are baptized we receive the gift OF the Holy Spirit, but charismata were gifts given BY the Holy Spirit (things like tongues, prophecy, etc.). God gave us the Spirit when people were saved, and then the Spirit gave gifts (charismata) to strengthen the church.
(See footnote #2)
Now apparently at least SOME of the gifts were given by the Holy Spirit THROUGH the laying on of Apostolic hands. No one else could do that. That’s why Philip couldn’t lay hands on these folks to give these gifts - only the Apostles could do that.
Paul (an Apostle) wrote Timothy “… I remind you to fan into flame the gift (charisma) of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6) Timothy received a gift given BY the Holy Spirit ONLY when Paul laid hands on him.
In Acts 19, Paul was on his way to Ephesus when he encountered some believers and he asked if they’d received the Holy Spirit. But these folks had only been baptized in the baptism of John the Baptist. So Paul taught them about the right way to be baptized and then (after they’d been baptized in water into Christ) “Paul had laid his hands on them (and) the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying (charismata).” Acts 19:6
Paul laid his hands on these folks and then they exhibited gifts given BY the Holy Spirit.
Now understand this: The Christians in Samaria were saved BEFORE Peter and John showed up. Having believed and having been baptized into Christ they were saved - they had already received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was IN them. But the gifts FROM the Spirit had not yet FALLEN ON any of them.
That’s why it says Peter and John “prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them…” Acts 8:15-16
So, the 2nd puzzle is: Why hadn’t the Holy Spirit fallen upon these new believers? THE ANSWER: Because that could only happen when an APOSTLE laid hands on them.
3rd Puzzle is this: why couldn’t Philip lay hands on these folks. Why was it that ONLY Apostles could lay hands on folks to receive these special gifts?
Well, the Bible doesn’t say… but I’ve got a pretty good guess. And the guess is based on this truth: The New Testament hadn’t been written yet. Now, they might have had one or more of the Gospels but half your New Testament was written by Paul and he was not even a Christian yet. They didn’t have the New Testament in written form like you and I do. At that time… the Apostles’ teaching WAS the New Testament.
By definition an Apostle had to be a man who had been with Jesus“… during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection." Acts 1:21-22
In Acts 2:42 we’re told that the early church “… devoted themselves (among other things) to the apostles’ teaching ...” Why would they devote themselves to the Apostles’ teaching? Because the Apostles knew everything anyone needed to know about Jesus. They were the New Testament IN THE FLESH. Everything that the early church KNEW and STOOD FOR depended on these 12 men. By the time these Apostles died… the New Testament had already been pretty much completed (and was shared throughout Christendom). Thus once those books and letters were written there was no longer any need for men like the Apostles anymore.
So… here’s Philip starting a new church up in Samaria. Peter and John are sent to lay hands on these new believers NOT ONLY so they could receive special gifts FROM Holy Spirit, but also so that that church would be tied to the Apostles. The Apostles were the AUTHORITY on earth that tied the whole church together.
Now, TODAY, the Bible serves that purpose. The New Testament is the collection of the teachings of Apostles. We don’t need any new Apostles or mortal authorities because the book you hold in your hands IS that authority. Everything you and I know about God and His will is in this book. Everything we know about Jesus and what He accomplished for us is in this book. Everything we know about anything that applies to our hope of eternal life is in this book. Any preacher who teaches something not in this book is a liar. Don’t listen to them. Be real careful of preachers on the radio or TV. A lot of times those guys mix their theology with God’s and it’s not a pretty sight.
That’s why we say “Where the Bible speaks we speak, and where the Bible is silent we are silent.” If it’s not in the Bible we’re not interested in making it part of what we teach.
CLOSE: In closing, the purpose of puzzles is not only entertain us but to challenge us. They aren’t intended (usually) to be easy and simplistic. In the same way the Bible is filled with numerous puzzles that we need consider to make us better servants of God. Those Bible puzzles are intended to make us dig deeper and understand more about God. It is very to understand the basics of how to become a Christian and live a life that pleases Him, but God has inserted occasional puzzles to challenge and intrigue us.
Now this morning, we’ve looked at 3 puzzles in Acts 8. And while those puzzles are important to understand they’re not nearly as important as biggest puzzle of all in Scripture. The entire Gospel message is contained in this one big puzzle. And once you understand the secret of that BIG puzzle everything else in Scripture falls into place. What is that puzzle?
ILLUS: Well one day in Sunday school (a true story), one of the class members said “I just can’t understand how God could love and forgive some people.” And they went on to tell of all the sins they would have trouble forgiving. Their attitude was very harsh and unloving.
The teacher paused for a moment and then said “There’s something that amazes me even more than that. There’s times I can’t understand (pause) how God could love and forgive me”
That amazed him, because he recognized the biggest puzzle in scripture was the amazing grace that God had shown to him. In fact, there’s a hymn by that name written by a man who realized that had been a very wicked and hateful man all his life… until he turned his upon Jesus. He wrote a song I want you to sing the first verse of with me: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see.”
(I then read those words, emphasizing “wretch”, “lost” and “blind”) It’s because of God’s amazing Grace that we have any hope at all of salvation.
INVITATION
Footnote #1: Charismata is an interesting word. “Charis” (the first part of the word) means “grace”. It’s a word that is often used in Scripture to refer to the Spirit’s work in our lives. The “ma” (singular) or “mata” (plural) ending - on this and other Greek words - means “a result of.” Thus Charismata means “the result of the grace that is in us”. The Charismata were gifts that were the result of the Spirit’s work in the believer.
Footnote #2: Most English translations have an unfortunate rendering here in Acts 8:16 “for he (the Spirit) had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had ONLY been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Now, the translation of that verse is “accurate” but it gives the impression (to the English ear) that baptism had no value. It didn’t accomplish anything of any note. And the reason it sounds that way to our English ear is because we think in English and not in Greek. But this wasn't true. A closer examination of the Greek language here implies that the baptism the Samaritans had received had had value and purpose.
The Greek language has quirks to it that are not understood in our modern day culture. For example, Greek has 5 tenses while the English – depending on who you listen to - has 12 to 16 tenses. I’ve even heard one person tell me there are over 30 tenses. Nonetheless, English is a different language than Greek and it’s in these 5 Greek tenses that we begin to see what’s missing in Acts 8:16.
The five Greek tenses are these: Present, Past, Future, Aorist and Perfect. I had a Greek professor that explained it this way: The Present, Past and Future tenses are all viewing life in a continuous fashion. For example: Present tense could be expressed in this sentence: “I am watching Jeff as he paints his house.” Past tense would be seeing the painting as a continuous action “I am remembering Jeff as he was painting the house.” Future tense: “I am visualizing what Jeff will be doing as he will be painting his house.”
By contrast, the Aorist tense is a completed act: “Jeff has painted his house and has washed his brushes and put everything away.”
BUT it’s the Perfect tense that’s used in Acts 8:16. The Perfect tense can be described as a completed act followed by specific results. Thus the Perfect tense can be described in this way: “Jeff has completed the act of painting his house, he’s put everything away… and now passers-by are complimenting him on the how great a job he did and he just had his home featured in "Better Homes And Gardens.” Perfect tense is a completed act followed by results.
Since the verb “baptized” in Acts 8:16 is in the Perfect tense, the act of baptism has been completed and the folks who’d been baptized are now in the results of that baptism. What were the results? Acts 2:38 tells us that “Peter said unto them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.’”
