Apostle Peter
Let's take a look at Acts 8.1 believe this passage helped me more than any other scripture to see this truth—that salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit are two separate experiences.
ACTS 8:12-17
12 But WHEN THEY BELIEVED Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14 N o w w h e n t h e a p o s t l e s w h i c h were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD, they sent unto them Peter and John: 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 i n the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and THEY RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST.
As I said earlier, in my denominational church where I began as a young boy preacher, we were taught that if a person is saved, he has all the Holy Ghost there is. For instance, one prominent pastor in our denomination said, "When you're born again, you're born of the Spirit. If you receive Christ as Savior and confess Him as Lord, you have the Holy Ghost. That's all there is to it—period!"
Well, the first part of what that pastor said was a true statement. When you're born again, you're born of the Spirit
(John 3:3-8). But the rest of what he said was untrue! When you get saved, you haven't received all there is of the Holy Spirit. That's where folks get in trouble.
Many times when people give their opinion, they are just demonstrating their current state of spiritual growth. That's why it's important for us to understand that what man says is not the final authority. People can be wonderful folks and marvelous Christians, yet
still be wrong about a given subject. The Word of God is always the final authority!
I learned that lesson early in my Christian walk, but I did get hung up for a while on what this pastor and other leaders in my denomination taught about the baptism in the Holy Ghost and speaking with tongues. Finally, I decided to just go to the Word and let God
straighten me out.
That's when I read Acts 8:12-17 and realized that this pastor's teaching wasn't in line with the Bible. Those Samaritans got saved when Philip preached Christ to them, but the apostles Peter and John certainly didn't think the new converts had all the Holy Ghost they could have!
I said to myself, Either the New Testament is wrong or that pastor is
wrong. They both can't be right!
I read Acts 8:12 again. Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto the people. They believed his preaching concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ and were baptized, both men and women.
Right then I realized that not one minister in our entire denomination would insist that these people weren't saved! To do so would be to call the Lord Jesus Christ—the highest
Authority of all—a liar! After all, Jesus said in Mark 16:15-16:
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that BELIEVETH and is BAPTIZED shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned"
The Samaritans believed in Jesus and were baptized. So were they saved? According to the Lord Jesus, they were! Yet this was before Peter and John came down to pray for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Ghost.
Then I decided I'd just ask the Apostle Peter: "Peter, were those Samaritans saved? Were they born again before you and John went down there and laid hands on them to receive the Holy Ghost?" I mean, what better witness would there be than Peter, since he was actually sent to Samaria by the other apostles?
So Peter wrote me a letter in response to my question—and he wrote you one too! Were the Samaritans born again before Peter and John laid hands on them to receive the Holy Ghost? Peter answered this question in First Peter 1:
1 PETER 1:23
23 BEING BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by THE WORD OF GOD, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Compare Peter's words to what we read in Acts 8:14: "Now
when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that SAMARIA HAD RECEIVED THE WORD OF GOD, they sent unto them Peter and John."
In John 1, Jesus is called "the Word of God."
JOHN 1:1,12,14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . .
12 But as many as received h i m , to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name . . . . 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Samaritans received the Word of God, meaning they received Jesus, the living Word. So according to Peter, the people of Samaria were born again—not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God!
According to both Jesus and the Apostle Peter, then, the Samaritans were saved before Peter and John were ever sent to Samaria. Then when Peter and John came down, they prayed for the Samaritans—not that they would be saved or born again, but that they would he filled with the
Holy Ghost.