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1 Σαῦλος δὲ ἦν συνευδοκῶν τῇ ἀναιρέσει αὐτοῦ. Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ διωγμὸς μέγας ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τὴν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις· πάντες δὲ διεσπάρησαν κατὰ τὰς χώρας τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Σαμαρείας πλὴν τῶν ἀποστόλων.
2 συνεκόμισαν δὲ τὸν Στέφανον ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς καὶ ⸀ἐποίησαν κοπετὸν μέγαν ἐπ’ αὐτῷ.
3 Σαῦλος δὲ ἐλυμαίνετο τὴν ἐκκλησίαν κατὰ τοὺς οἴκους εἰσπορευόμενος, σύρων τε ἄνδρας καὶ γυναῖκας παρεδίδου εἰς φυλακήν.
4 Οἱ μὲν οὖν διασπαρέντες διῆλθον εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὸν λόγον.
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 Φίλιππος δὲ κατελθὼν εἰς ⸀τὴν πόλιν τῆς Σαμαρείας ἐκήρυσσεν αὐτοῖς τὸν χριστόν.
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 προσεῖχον ⸀δὲ οἱ ὄχλοι τοῖς λεγομένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλίππου ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐν τῷ ἀκούειν αὐτοὺς καὶ βλέπειν τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει·
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 ⸀πολλοὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐχόντων πνεύματα ἀκάθαρτα βοῶντα φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ⸀ἐξήρχοντο, πολλοὶ δὲ παραλελυμένοι καὶ χωλοὶ ἐθεραπεύθησαν·
The main activities which usually accompany the preaching of the Gospel are deliverance and healing. Often these two go together.

8 ⸂ἐγένετο δὲ⸃ ⸂πολλὴ χαρὰ⸃ ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐκείνῃ.
9 Ἀνὴρ δέ τις ὀνόματι Σίμων προϋπῆρχεν ἐν τῇ πόλει μαγεύων καὶ ⸀ἐξιστάνων τὸ ἔθνος τῆς Σαμαρείας, λέγων εἶναί τινα ἑαυτὸν μέγαν,
Demonic gifts always exalt the person using them, whereas the Gifts of the Spirit always exalt Jesus.

10 ᾧ προσεῖχον ⸀πάντες ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου λέγοντες· Οὗτός ἐστιν ἡ Δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ⸀καλουμένη Μεγάλη.
11 προσεῖχον δὲ αὐτῷ διὰ τὸ ἱκανῷ χρόνῳ ταῖς μαγείαις ἐξεστακέναι αὐτούς.
- CHRONOS - TIME
12 ὅτε δὲ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ εὐαγγελιζομένῳ ⸀περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐβαπτίζοντο ἄνδρες τε καὶ γυναῖκες.
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 ὁ δὲ Σίμων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπίστευσεν, καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ἦν προσκαρτερῶν τῷ Φιλίππῳ, θεωρῶν τε ⸂σημεῖα καὶ δυνάμεις μεγάλας γινομένας⸃ ἐξίστατο.
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 Ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀπόστολοι ὅτι δέδεκται ἡ Σαμάρεια τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς ⸀αὐτοὺς Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην,
15 οἵτινες καταβάντες προσηύξαντο περὶ αὐτῶν ὅπως λάβωσιν πνεῦμα ἅγιον·
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 ⸀οὐδέπω γὰρ ἦν ἐπ’ οὐδενὶ αὐτῶν ἐπιπεπτωκός, μόνον δὲ βεβαπτισμένοι ὑπῆρχον εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ⸀κυρίου Ἰησοῦ.
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 τότε ⸀ἐπετίθεσαν τὰς χεῖρας ἐπ’ αὐτούς, καὶ ἐλάμβανον πνεῦμα ἅγιον.
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 ⸀ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Σίμων ὅτι διὰ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν τῶν ἀποστόλων δίδοται τὸ ⸀πνεῦμα προσήνεγκεν αὐτοῖς χρήματα
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 λέγων· Δότε κἀμοὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην ἵνα ᾧ ἐὰν ἐπιθῶ τὰς χεῖρας λαμβάνῃ πνεῦμα ἅγιον.
Simon saw this as an authority rather than a divine ability.
- AUTHORITY

20 Πέτρος δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· Τὸ ἀργύριόν σου σὺν σοὶ εἴη εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὅτι τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνόμισας διὰ χρημάτων κτᾶσθαι.
21 οὐκ ἔστιν σοι μερὶς οὐδὲ κλῆρος ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ, ἡ γὰρ καρδία σου οὐκ ἔστιν εὐθεῖα ⸀ἔναντι τοῦ θεοῦ.
Peter discerned something in Simon and told him that his heart was not right with God.

22 μετανόησον οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας σου ταύτης, καὶ δεήθητι τοῦ ⸀κυρίου εἰ ἄρα ἀφεθήσεταί σοι ἡ ἐπίνοια τῆς καρδίας σου·
23 εἰς γὰρ χολὴν πικρίας καὶ σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας ὁρῶ σε ὄντα.
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 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Σίμων εἶπεν· Δεήθητε ὑμεῖς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πρὸς τὸν κύριον ὅπως μηδὲν ἐπέλθῃ ἐπ’ ἐμὲ ὧν εἰρήκατε.
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 Οἱ μὲν οὖν διαμαρτυράμενοι καὶ λαλήσαντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου ⸀ὑπέστρεφον εἰς ⸀Ἱεροσόλυμα, πολλάς τε κώμας τῶν Σαμαριτῶν ⸀εὐηγγελίζοντο.
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 Ἄγγελος δὲ κυρίου ἐλάλησεν πρὸς Φίλιππον λέγων· Ἀνάστηθι καὶ πορεύου κατὰ μεσημβρίαν ἐπὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν καταβαίνουσαν ἀπὸ Ἰερουσαλὴμ εἰς Γάζαν· αὕτη ἐστὶν ἔρημος.
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 καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ Αἰθίοψ εὐνοῦχος δυνάστης ⸀Κανδάκης βασιλίσσης Αἰθιόπων, ὃς ἦν ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς γάζης αὐτῆς, ὃς ἐληλύθει προσκυνήσων εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ,
28 ἦν ⸀τε ὑποστρέφων καὶ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ ἅρματος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεγίνωσκεν τὸν προφήτην Ἠσαΐαν.
29 εἶπεν δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τῷ Φιλίππῳ· Πρόσελθε καὶ κολλήθητι τῷ ἅρματι τούτῳ.
This time God did not speak via an angel, but He spoke in his spirit, telling him to go closer to the chariot.

30 προσδραμὼν δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ ἀναγινώσκοντος ⸂Ἠσαΐαν τὸν προφήτην⸃ καὶ εἶπεν· Ἆρά γε γινώσκεις ἃ ἀναγινώσκεις;
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 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Πῶς γὰρ ἂν δυναίμην ἐὰν μή τις ⸀ὁδηγήσει με; παρεκάλεσέν τε τὸν Φίλιππον ἀναβάντα καθίσαι σὺν αὐτῷ.
This was perfect timing, and he invited Philip to join him on the chariot.

32 ἡ δὲ περιοχὴ τῆς γραφῆς ἣν ἀνεγίνωσκεν ἦν αὕτη· Ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐναντίον τοῦ ⸀κείραντος αὐτὸν ἄφωνος, οὕτως οὐκ ἀνοίγει τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ.
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 ἐν τῇ ⸀ταπεινώσει ἡ κρίσις αὐτοῦ ἤρθη· ⸀τὴν γενεὰν αὐτοῦ τίς διηγήσεται; ὅτι αἴρεται ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ.
34 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ εὐνοῦχος τῷ Φιλίππῳ εἶπεν· Δέομαί σου, περὶ τίνος ὁ προφήτης λέγει ⸀τοῦτο; περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἢ περὶ ἑτέρου τινός;
35 ἀνοίξας δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῆς γραφῆς ταύτης εὐηγγελίσατο αὐτῷ τὸν Ἰησοῦν.
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 ὡς δὲ ἐπορεύοντο κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, ἦλθον ἐπί τι ὕδωρ, καί φησιν ὁ εὐνοῦχος· Ἰδοὺ ὕδωρ, τί κωλύει με ⸀βαπτισθῆναι;
38 καὶ ἐκέλευσεν στῆναι τὸ ἅρμα, καὶ κατέβησαν ἀμφότεροι εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ ὅ τε Φίλιππος καὶ ὁ εὐνοῦχος, καὶ ἐβάπτισεν αὐτόν.
It is faith in Jesus that saves us, not water baptism. Philip needed to make sure that he understood this before baptizing him.

39 ὅτε δὲ ἀνέβησαν ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, πνεῦμα κυρίου ἥρπασεν τὸν Φίλιππον, καὶ οὐκ εἶδεν αὐτὸν οὐκέτι ὁ εὐνοῦχος, ἐπορεύετο γὰρ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ χαίρων.
40 Φίλιππος δὲ εὑρέθη εἰς Ἄζωτον, καὶ διερχόμενος εὐηγγελίζετο τὰς πόλεις πάσας ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς Καισάρειαν.
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