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1 And Saul was in full agreement with his death. And that day a great persecution began against the church that was in Jerusalem; and they were all dispersed throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except for the apostles.
2 And devout men carried Stephen [to his burial], and made great lamentation over him.
3 But Saul wreaked havoc in the church. Going into every home, and dragging out both men and women, he committed them to prison.
4 As a result those who were scattered like this went every where preaching the word of the Gospel.
Every believer was considered a preacher in the early church. These ordinary believers went out preaching the Gospel and many people were saved.
- PREACHING

5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them.
It does not say he preached the Gospel or salvation. It says the he preached Christ. When Christ becomes the center of our ministry, we preach a lot more than the atonement and being born again. Philip also followed up by performing miracles.

6 And the people with one accord gave heed to those things that Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles that he did.
Just as Jesus showed, the preaching of the Gospel should always include miracles that demonstrate the power of God and also confirm that Jesus is alive.

7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed [with them]: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
The main activities which usually accompany the preaching of the Gospel are deliverance and healing. Often these two go together.

8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, who before in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
Demonic gifts always exalt the person using them, whereas the Gifts of the Spirit always exalt Jesus.

10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great [dynamic] power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long [chronos] time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
 - CHRONOS - TIME
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.
Baptism should always be included in the preaching of the Gospel. It is a part of the covenant process that is applied when a person is born again.
- KINGDOM OF GOD

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.
Simon's later behavior has led many to teach that he did not really get born again but only pretended. But since this account was written long after the events, the writer would surely have said that Simon pretended to believe.

This is important because Simon is a clear picture of a believer who is still demonized and how such a person should be dealt with.

14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit:
It seems strange that Philip did not have this as part of his ministry. Perhaps an important reason is that laying on of hands can sometimes impart other things and should be done by more mature believers only.

16 (For as yet he had fallen on none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Notice that it does not say they were baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All of the early apostles baptized new believers in the Name of Jesus. They understood that when Jesus spoke of baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit it only meant that the name of Jesus now embraced the whole Godhead, because Jesus had been given the name above all names.

17 Then they laid [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
The act of laying hands caused an impartation to take place. Jesus used it to heal the sick, and now it was also used to impart the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,
The experience of receiving the Holy Spirit was a visible thing, which means that it caused some kind of manifestation or activity. The most common at that time, and still applies today, is when the person begins to speak with other tongues.

19 Saying, Give me also this authority, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.
Simon saw this as an authority rather than a divine ability.
- AUTHORITY

20 But Peter said to him, Your money perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21 You have neither a share in nor a right to this ministry: for your heart is not right in the sight of God.
Peter discerned something in Simon and told him that his heart was not right with God.

22 Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to God, that perhaps the thought of your heart might be forgiven you.
23 For I discern that you are in the gall of bitterness, and [in] the bond of iniquity.
Peter discerned that Simon was bound by bitterness and an evil spirit. Yet he was a believer, and the demon was still there influencing him.

24 Then Simon answered, and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of these things which you have spoken come on me.
He passed the responsibility to them instead of dealing with his own sin. This is a common error in deliverance where believers are concerned. When a demon is resident with a believer, it has a legal right through sin. And only the person can repent and renounce this. Many deliverance ministries fail to get the person first to confess and renounce, and when they try to pray, the demons end up manifesting in the same way as in unbelievers.

But when a believer confesses the sin that opened the door to the enemy and renounces the license they gave to the enemy, the demon no longer has a right to be there and must leave. When you follow this procedure in dealing with demons in believers, it is not necessary to cast the demons out in the same way as with unbelievers.

25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Their preaching now was not to get the people saved since they had already become believers. But now they preached the Word, which included probably some principles of living the spiritual life in Christ.

26 And the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert.
It took the work of an angel to bring this revelation to Philip rather than an internal revelation. Here is the function of a messenger angel
- ANGEL MESSENGER - ANGELS

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.
This time God did not speak via an angel, but He spoke in his spirit, telling him to go closer to the chariot.

30 And Philip ran there to [him], and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, Do you understand what you are reading?
He was clearly reading out loud from the scroll. The fact that he even had a scroll showed that he had wealthy connections because scrolls could not be easily duplicated like books are today. A copy would need to be hand written on a new scroll.

31 And he said, How can I, unless someone guides me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
This was perfect timing, and he invited Philip to join him on the chariot.

32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
You can see God's foreknowledge and calling here. This man's heart had been prepared and ready to hear the Gospel. He was reading a prophecy about Jesus' work on Calvary. This is why Philip was told to go down to where he was traveling so that he could explain the full Gospel to him. Theologians call the process of preparing a person to receive the Gospel as "prevenient grace." or grace that comes before.

When you are led by the Lord in ministering to unbelievers, you will find God bringing you across the paths of those whom He has already begun to prepare. Then, there is no struggle to get them born again. Their hearts are open and ready to receive.

33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who will declare his generation? for his [zoe] life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray you, of whom speaks the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached to him Jesus.
Philip gave him quite a detailed breakdown and even included the need for water baptism. This is why he asked about baptism when they came to some water.

36 And as they went on [their] way, they came to a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, [here is] water; what does hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
It is faith in Jesus that saves us, not water baptism. Philip needed to make sure that he understood this before baptizing him.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
This must have been quite an experience for the eunuch. People do not usually disappear. It is one of few cases in the Scripture of someone being supernaturally transported by the Holy Spirit.
- SPIRIT OF GOD

40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.