Philip Works Great Signs and Miracles

Passage: Acts 8:5-13. Philip was not an apostle but a deacon and evangelist, yet he too worked miracles and signs and deliverances.

The fact that a nonapostle did these things opens the doors to others who are not apostles, to watch God perform the same healings and deliverances.

The translations are mine, but if you would like to see many other translations, please go to biblegateway.com. I include the Greek text to bring out the nuances, but readers may ignore the left column, if they wish.

Let’s begin.

Philip in Samaria Works Many Signs and Miracles (Acts 8:5-13)

⁵ Φίλιππος δὲ κατελθὼν εἰς [τὴν] πόλιν τῆς Σαμαρείας ἐκήρυσσεν αὐτοῖς τὸν Χριστόν. ⁶ προσεῖχον δὲ οἱ ὄχλοι τοῖς λεγομένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλίππου ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐν τῷ ἀκούειν αὐτοὺς καὶ βλέπειν τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει. ⁷ πολλοὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐχόντων πνεύματα ἀκάθαρτα βοῶντα φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ἐξήρχοντο, πολλοὶ δὲ παραλελυμένοι καὶ χωλοὶ ἐθεραπεύθησαν·

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, 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. ¹² ὅτε δὲ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ εὐαγγελιζομένῳ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐβαπτίζοντο ἄνδρες τε καὶ γυναῖκες. ¹³ ὁ δὲ Σίμων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπίστευσεν καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ἦν προσκαρτερῶν τῷ Φιλίππῳ, θεωρῶν τε σημεῖα καὶ δυνάμεις μεγάλας γινομένας ἐξίστατο.

⁵ After going down to a town in Samaria, Philip proclaimed the Messiah to them. ⁶ The crowd was paying attention to what was spoken by Philip, and without exception, listening and watching the signs which he was doing. ⁷ For many who had them, unclean spirits were leaving, shouting loudly, and many of the paralyzed and the lame were being healed.

⁸ And so there was exceeding joy in that town.

⁹ Now, a certain man named Simon was for some time practicing sorcery in the town, amazing the people of Samaria, claiming for himself to be somebody great. ¹⁰ Everyone one, both small and great, were paying close attention to him saying, “This man is the Power of God, called Great!” ¹¹ They were paying close attention to him for a long time because he had been dazzling them with his sorcery. ¹² But when they believed Philip, who was preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. ¹³ Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, he was devoted to Philip; he was beside himself with amazement, as he observed the great signs and miracles that were happening.

Comments:

Yes, Philip is one of the seven named in Acts 6:5.

A great, positive response to a backlash of persecution is to keep preaching the good news of the word.

From vv. 5 to 25 this is a showdown between the kingdom of God and kingdom of Satan. (I stop the post at v. 13, to keep the post short. You can read the rest in the entire chapter: Acts 8.) We already know which one will prevail. Simon the Magician wanted to mix his supernatural paganism with Christianity. Do not allow this mixture—also called syncretism—to happen today.

Here’s how Luke sets up the contrast or clash:

Simon the Sorcerer	Philip the Evangelist
Works wonders (8:11)	Works wonders (8:6, 13)
Draws crowds (8:9-10)	Draws crowds (8:6-7)
“Heeded” (8:10-11) (people pay close attention)	“Heeded” (8:6) (people pay close attention)
Simon is “great power” (8:10)	Philip performs “great powers” (8:13)
Simons amazes Samaritans with his claims and magic (8:9, 11)	Philip’s miracles “amaze” Samaritans (8:13)
Keener, p. 263, who got it from F. S. Spencer.

I add that soon Simon will be beside himself with amazement when he sees Philip working miracles (8:13). Therefore, in this showdown, God will get the victory, if his disciples walk in the power of the Spirit.

Commentator Bruce traces later church traditions which say that Simon was the founder of all the Gnostic offshoots. Selling or buying church offices was called “simony,” though these verses have nothing to do with high church office (comments on vv. 9-11).

Please see this post:

Ten Big Differences between Christianity and Other Religions

“signs”: sēmeion (pronounced say-may-on). In the plural it is mostly translated as “signs” or “miraculous signs.” A sign points towards the loving God. Signs are indicators of God breaking into his world, to help people and announce that he is here to save and rescue them and put things right. Miraculous signs back up the proclamation of the Word.

See Acts 2:22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 8:13; 14:3.

For nearly all the references of those two words and a theology of them, please click:

What Are Signs and Wonders and Miracles?

“demonized” is not the only verb to express a demonic attack (see Mark 3:22, 30; 7:25; 9:17; Luke 4:33; 7:33; 8:27; Acts 8:7; 16:16; 19:13). But I see no substantive difference between the two verbs and are used interchangeably in Luke 8:27, 36. What is more relevant is the soul of the person being attacked and how deep the attack goes because the person gives the demon access.

Satan has power in his own jurisdiction, and he can perform counterfeit wonders through sorcery (Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thess. 2:9).

How Does New Testament Define Demonic Control?

“practicing sorcery”: this verb is the only time that it is used in the NT. It is a participle in the present tense, indicating he did it perpetually. It has a long history of demonic acts, which had been handed down by the generations, from hundreds of years B.C.

Never dabble in the occult. It opens the door to Satan in your life. It is clear why Philip needed to deliver many people from demons (v. 7).

Magic, Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Fortunetelling

“small and great”: this indicates all strata of society can be deceived and bewitched. Is this a warning to high-born men like Theophilus, to whom Luke dedicated Acts?

Application for Ministry Today

I believe we can learn how to minister as the apostles and Philip did, because of the nine gifts of the Spirit are available to all believers (1 Cor. 12:4-11). Three gifts are discernings of spirits, the workings of miracles and gifts of healings, as the Spirit distributes them as he determines. All Bible-based leaders should pray for and welcome these gifts and the seven others in that passage, when people needs healings and deliverances. Let me number my points in this section for clarity and order.

1.. “being healed”: the verb is therapeuō (pronounced thair-ah-pew-oh, our word therapy is related to it). It means to “make whole, restore, heal, cure, care for.” The verb is in the passive voice, which means people received their healing from God. This was not self-healing (though God has designed the body to heal itself, if we take care of it). Here their healings were miraculous.

2.. It is unseemly and even cruel to proclaim, as some do today, that signs and wonders died out with the apostles or a little later. People today still have unclean spirts and paralysis and lameness of limbs. Why wouldn’t God want to heal them? He does. We should not put God in a box, just because we have no faith to see signs and wonders.

Renewalists believe they do and should happen everywhere because 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 opens the doors for every believer to do them, as the Spirit distributes the nine gifts to meet the needs of people.

Once again, please click on these links for a fuller explanation:

What Are Signs and Wonders and Miracles?

Gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and 12:28

3.. Commentator Darrell L. Bock is right about the parallels in Luke and Acts and the kingdom overcoming all opposing forces:

Miracles, for Luke, draw people into considering the message. Philip’s actions recall the ministries of Jesus and Peter (Luke 7:22-23: signs of the arrival of the age). Luke refers to unclean spirits in Acts 5:16, calling them “immoral or evil spirits” in 19:12-16. That demons cry out is seen in Luke 4:41 and Acts 16:17, and such spirits coming out of people are noted in Luke 4:35 and Acts 16:18-19 (exorcisms in Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 8:2, 20; 9:1, 6, 42; 11:24). The paralyzed are healed in Luke 5:18 and Acts 9:33, and the lame appear in Acts 3:2 and 14:8. The Acts 14 and 16 passages show that Paul will also exercise such power. The kingdom of God is moving out and overcoming forces opposed to it. … People other than the Twelve are exercising God’s power and gifts. (comment on vv. 6-8)

Exactly right. Jesus is carrying forward his ministry begun with him in the Luke through his Christian community who obey and follow him. Ordinary people can do extraordinary miracles and healings and deliverances, when God backs them up.

4.. Be wary of people—even Christians—who claim to be someone great. Sometimes the news reports that a preacher claims to descend from Jesus or a famous biblical figure. He is deceived. Don’t believe him. The people were so bewitched by Simon that they attributed this outlandish name to him. It indicates that his sorcery was powerful.

5.. Verse 12 is a wonderful summary of what we all need to be preaching: the good news, the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus.

6.. Simon had faith and was baptized. That indicates how powerful Philip’s message was, by the anointing of the Spirit.

7.. The fact that the Samaritans and Philip believed and were baptized is important, because in the next section Peter and John will travel there and pray for them to be filled with the Spirit—to his fullness. Renewalists seize on these two stages to teach that salvation and the infilling of the Spirit are distinct. The Spirit draws people to salvation and enters into believers, but the fulness is a separate act of God.

8.. As I write in all the healing posts:

Let it be noted that the disciples never went in for or “decree and declare.” Name one time they used such verbiage during their prayer for the sick. Thus even the first-generation of disciples never arrogated this much power to themselves.

Instead, while Jesus was alive, God the Father through his Son who was anointed by the Spirit performed miracles of healing and deliverance (Acts 10:38). And it is easy to believe that the disciples followed Jesus, in Acts.

9..We too should develop life in the Spirit (Gal. 5), so we can hear from the Father through the Spirit, in Jesus’s name and authority granted to us. We will never heal as Jesus did, because he is the Anointed One without limits (John 3:34). But after the cross and the Son’s ascension, the Spirit can distribute the gifts of healings (plural) as he determines (1 Cor. 12:11), not as we “name and claim” or “decree and declare.” Let the Spirit work, and you listen and obey, and then rebuke a disease (not the person) or pray for healing.

4. Gifts of the Spirit: Gifts of Healings

Kenneth Copeland Gets a Pacemaker

Is ‘Decreeing’ Biblical for Christians?

What Is Biblical Confession?

For fuller commentary, please click on the chapter:

Acts 8

Scroll down to the right verses.

See my posts about Satan in the area of systematic theology:

Bible Basics about Satan and Demons and Victory Over Them

Satan and Demons: Personal

Satan and Demons: Theology

Satan and Demons: Origins