The Samaritans received the Holy Spirit after they believed because Acts 8 presents their reception of the Holy Ghost as an experience that followed their belief in Christ. They had believed Philip’s preaching and had been baptized in water, but Peter and John later prayed for them to receive the Holy Ghost.
Were the Samaritans Already Believers?
Acts 8 gives us a clear sequence. Philip went to Samaria and preached Christ, and the people responded to his message.
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. (Acts 8:12)
Luke doesn’t describe these people as merely interested in Christianity or still deciding whether to believe. He says they believed Philip’s preaching concerning Jesus Christ. They were then baptized in water.
The apostles in Jerusalem also heard what had happened.
Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: (Acts 8:14)
The Samaritans had received the Word of God. The question in the next verses isn’t whether they needed to hear the Gospel again. Something else had not yet happened.
What Happened When Peter and John Arrived?
Peter and John came to Samaria and prayed specifically for these believers to receive the Holy Ghost.
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (Acts 8:15)
Luke then explains why they prayed.
(For as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus.) (Acts 8:16)
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. (Acts 8:17)
The order is difficult to miss:
- They believed the Gospel.
- They were baptized in water.
- Peter and John came from Jerusalem.
- The apostles prayed for them.
- Then they received the Holy Ghost.
Acts 8 therefore gives a biblical example in which believing in Christ and receiving the Holy Ghost in this sense did not happen at the same moment.
Does This Mean the Samaritans Weren’t Saved Yet?
No. The passage doesn’t say Peter and John came to finish the Samaritans’ salvation.
Luke had already said that the Samaritans believed Philip’s preaching about Jesus Christ and had received the Word of God. The apostles came because the Holy Ghost had not yet fallen upon them.
That’s why Acts 8 is important when considering the biblical pattern involved in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The passage distinguishes their believing response to the Gospel from their later reception of the Holy Ghost.
That doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit had nothing to do with their salvation until Peter and John arrived. It means Acts 8 is describing a further reception of the Spirit after they had believed.
Why Was There a Delay Between Believing and Receiving?
Acts 8 doesn’t explicitly tell us why God allowed a period of time between the Samaritans believing and receiving the Holy Ghost. We shouldn’t claim a reason the passage itself doesn’t give.
What Scripture does tell us is enough to establish the sequence.
The delay makes it impossible to treat the two events in this passage as the same experience occurring at the same instant. The Samaritans had already believed, yet Peter and John still prayed that they might receive the Holy Ghost.
Their experience also shows that water baptism itself didn’t cause them to receive the Holy Ghost. They had already been baptized in water before Peter and John arrived, yet Acts 8:16 says the Holy Ghost had not yet fallen upon any of them.
Did Peter and John Give Them the Holy Spirit?
Peter and John laid their hands on the Samaritan believers, but the power didn’t originate with the apostles. The Holy Spirit is God’s gift.
The laying on of hands was the occasion upon which they received, but Peter and John weren’t the source of the Holy Ghost.
This becomes especially clear when Simon saw what happened and offered the apostles money for the same power.
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the Gift of God may be purchased with money. (Acts 8:20)
Peter called it the Gift of God.
So Acts 8 isn’t teaching that certain human beings possess the power to dispense the Holy Spirit whenever they choose. God gave the Holy Ghost; Peter and John prayed and laid hands upon the believers as they received.
What Does the Samaritan Account Show Us?
The Samaritan account shows that a person can genuinely believe in Jesus Christ before receiving the Holy Ghost in the experience described in Acts 8.
The sequence is stated plainly: the Samaritans believed the Gospel, received the Word of God, and were baptized in water. Afterward, Peter and John prayed for them, laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
That is why the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit after they believed. Their experience in Acts 8 demonstrates that receiving the Holy Ghost in this sense could occur subsequent to faith in Christ rather than being identical to the moment they first believed.
