I have always been troubled by Acts 8:14-19. One explanation I have been told is that the Holy Spirit discussed here means only the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, and not the indwelling. However, I have a hard time seeing this myself, much less proving it to someone else. Please help! -- Stewart Barton (Louisville)
Stewart, I would encourage you to read my book The Spirit (IPI, 2005), which covers this issue in some detail. For now, let me give you my reasoning on this. In this passage the Spirit came visibly--and the magician wanted the power to perform this "trick"! This does not describe what happened when you and I became Christians, does it? Second, the text says that these men and women had already been baptized "in the name of Jesus." Yet Acts 2:38 states that when someone is baptized in the name of Jesus, he receives the gift of the Spirit, and 2:39 avers that this is God's plan for all whom he will call. No exceptions, in other words. The Samaritans were already saved, forgiven and possessing the Spirit, since without the Spirit, you are not a Christian (Romans 8:9). That's why I am convinced that when Acts mentions the Spirit coming on them, it is referring to something different from the indwelling Spirit, which they received on responding to the message Philip preached.
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