Thursday, March 16, 2017

Holy Spirit Seals All Believers

Acts 8:14-17 
14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

As the apostles and disciples first received God's Spirit at Pentecost, so here the Samaritans (and later gentiles, the world) had their inaugural moment of receiving Christ as immersion into His Spirit.  They heard the word, and the pattern was initially set for these as for those before.  Later the other first time for the gentiles would come.  Ever since, we receive baptism into Christ upon conversion; in Acts salvation was just being proven and demonstrated in these three groups from Jerusalem to Samaria to the world (Acts1:8). So the church was beginning with the Spirit who gives us unity in Christ and ability to know and follow His word we receive.

No comments:

Post a Comment