What is it that astonishes you? (Acts 8:9-13)

What is it that astonishes you?

[Acts 8:9-13]

Is it work of the Holy Spirit or the deception of Satan? How can we discern between the phenomenon of the Holy Spirit and the deceptive spirit? It lists five distinguishing points (Internet):

Moral and ethical transformation versus immoral and unethical living.

Those who have experienced the work of the Holy Spirit consistently undergo a transformation away from immoral and unethical living. However, the work of the devil leads individuals not only to live immorally and unethically, but also to become further ensnared in such behavior.

The work of the Holy Spirit leads captives to liberation, life, and dignity, while the work of the devil leads captives to oppression, curse, and destruction.

The work of the Holy Spirit reveals the identity of the devil and breaks his power.

When the work of the Holy Spirit manifests, the power and abilities of the devil are exposed

and shattered.

It distinguishes between truth and purity, and falsehood and impurity.

It is inferior to the power of God.

Due to the superficial resemblance, believers sometimes mistakenly confuse the deceptive spirit with the phenomenon of the Holy Spirit. To distinguish between the two and determine the authenticity of the signs, one must examine the fruit that manifests in the life of the one who has experienced spiritual abilities (Internet):

The teachings of the one conducting the spiritual ministry must align with the Scriptures and traditional doctrines.

The Holy Spirit guides us into truth, while the devil deceives and confuses minds, claiming that there are other revelations outside of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, and teaches heretical doctrines divergent from the teachings of the traditional church.

The work of the Holy Spirit bears witness to the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, whereas the work of the devil does not.

The work of the Holy Spirit builds up the Church, while the work of the devil seeks to destroy it.

The difference between the power of the Holy Spirit and magic is determined by their respective purposes.

The power of the Holy Spirit manifests for the glory of God, while magic uses the abilities

given by God for selfish purposes.

The power of the Holy Spirit makes a person a new creation, while the power of the devil enslaves them to lawlessness.

By observing the moral and spiritual fruits, one can discern their spiritual source.

The Holy Spirit produces good fruit, while the spirit of deception produces evil fruit.

The work of the Holy Spirit brings about a new worldview and value system, whereas the work of the devil does not.

Look at 1 John 4:1 – “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” I would like to reflect today on Acts 8:9-13, focusing on the passage. As I contemplate the sorcery of Simon and the miracles performed by the deacon Philip, I want to consider what is truly astounding us.

First of all, are we not astonished by the self-proclaimed great one?

Look at Acts 8:9 – “Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great.” On the day of the martyrdom of Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, there was a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, except for the apostles, and they were scattered, preaching the gospel everywhere (v. 1). Among them, the deacon Philip went down to the city of Samaria, where he proclaimed the gospel of Christ, a place where no one had ventured to go (v. 5). While preaching the gospel, God also performed signs and wonders through the hands of Philip. Many unclean spirits that had possessed people came out with loud shrieks, and many paralyzed and lame people were healed (v. 7). The author of the book of Acts, Luke, narrating Philip's ministry and miracles in Samaria, is speaking about Simon, who calls himself "someone great." This man Simon was already in the city of Samaria before the deacon Philip arrived, and he was a practitioner of magic. Therefore, he was a person who amazed others through magic and boasted of being a great person. In other words, the magician Simon demonstrated his claim of being ‘I am a great one’ through his magic. To the Samaritans, this person Simon was considered a divine being or a god who had appeared in this land (Yoo). In the end, those among the Samaritans who were deceived by Simon's magic said the following: " and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, ‘This man is the divine power known as the Great Power’" (v. 10). Those who followed the magician Simon, who claimed to be the great one, spoke of him as the great power of God. From this, we can imagine how much influence he had on the Samaritans.

These days, it seems that false pastors performing "miracles" in churches or on TV are using many deceptive tactics to deceive the hearts of believers. This is a prophesied word in Matthew 24:24 - "For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." What is astonishing is that so many people have been and still are being deceived. Why are so many people being deceived by the false christs and false prophets' false signs and wonders? What is the cause? It is because they do not love the truth and do not believe in the truth. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12: "The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." We need to be cautious of the famous pastors who claim to perform "miracles." We do not need to be astonished by the signs they claim to perform. We should not be deceived by their magical acts, similar to how Simon, who proclaimed himself as a great one, led people to follow him not for the glory of God, but for his own glory. We do not need to be astonished by the things they claim to be signs at all.

Second, are we not astonished by the manifest signs and great power?

Look at Acts 8:13 - " Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw." The Bible tells us that many Samaritans who used to follow and obey the magician Simon now believed and were baptized, both men and women, when they heard the preaching about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (v. 12). Among them, even the magician Simon believed and was baptized. How amazing is the great power of God? Those who used to follow and obey the magician Simon, now turned around to believe in Jesus Christ and receive baptism. Truly, this is a sign among signs. Even Simon, who proclaimed himself as a great one, who had such popularity for amazing people with his magic, now, in contrast to Philip, was following him wholeheartedly, witnessing the true signs and great power demonstrated through Philip. Imagine the astonishment of Simon, who had previously deceived the Samaritans with his magic, now being amazed by the genuine signs and great power displayed through Philip. How wonderful is the work of our Lord? There is one thing we need to focus on. In verse 12 of today's passage, the Korean Bible states, "Philip..." but in the English Bible, we can see the conjunction "But." This conjunction provides us with a lesson. Namely, while the magician Simon may have gained genuine popularity by amazing people with his magic, Philip, in contrast to him, preached exclusively about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note that the author of the book of Acts, Luke, showed a contrast between Saul, who came with great persecution, and Philip, who brought great joy to the city of Samaria in last week's passage (Acts 8:1-8). Now, in Acts 8:9-13, he contrasts Simon, the practitioner of magic, with Philip the deacon who performed great miracles. This teaches us what kind of Christian we should be. In other words, we should not become false Christians who deceive people in front of them, proclaiming ourselves as great ones and seeking our own glory, like Simon. Instead, we should be in contrast to false Christians. We should strive to be true Christians. We should only love the truth of the Word. And we should become proclaimers of that truthful Word.

Here, we need to consider the relationship between the words and signs that testify to Christ. In other words, Deacon Philip not only proclaimed the words testifying to Christ, but the Lord also showed remarkable signs through him. This signifies that God manifested various signs to confirm the proclamation of His Word (Yoo). In other words, we should ask what the purpose of the signs is. For example, in the case of the magician Simon, he had the intention of receiving the title of having the power of God by showing his deceptive magic as a sign. On the other hand, for Deacon Philip, the true purpose of his signs was to confirm the proclamation of God's Word. In other words, the focus of the signs is not on the person performing them, but on Christ and His gospel.

In fact, we can see that many people were not primarily interested in the signs performed by Philip, but rather paid full attention to what Philip was saying (v. 6). The verse "And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip" reminds us that the Jerusalem church paid concentrated attention to the teachings of the apostles (2:42) (Yoo). And the fact that the crowds were more focused on the teaching of the Word rather than the signs was not a temporary phenomenon, but continued throughout Philip's ministry (Yoo). May such a Word-filled ministry continue among us.

Only the Word!

James Kim's Sharing

(Desiring the work of the Holy Spirit)