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Acts 8 - Philip a Preacher
Acts 8 - Philip a Preacher
Philip was a man who was "of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom" (Acts 6:3). With these qualifications of character he was chosen along with the other 6 to manage the distribution to the needy saints. With the persecution that began because of Saul, he was among those who left Jerusalem and 'went everywhere preaching the word' (Acts 8:3).
Philip went down to Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ" (vs. 5). Verse 12 states that he "preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ…" Later, when he encountered the Ethiopian, "he told him the good news about Jesus" (verse 35).
The kingdom of God principle is basically that God has sent the promised seed of David to be King. This Jesus, who they crucified, God raised and sat upon the throne of David. He now has all authority in heaven and earth. He is king of kings and lord of lords. People that follow Him are translated into the kingdom (Col. 1:13).
The name of Jesus refers to all the Jesus is. Though He was named Jesus at his birth, at his ascension He was given a name "above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come" (Eph. 1:21). This alludes to the previous statement that the Father "raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion…" (Eph. 1:20-21).
Paul later wrote concerning Jesus: "God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:9-11).
The good news is that with all of his power and authority, He has offered to forgive people of their sins and restore them to a right relationship with the Father. Peter told the people to "repent and be baptized IN THE NAME OF JESUS unto the remission of their sins" (Acts 2:38). He proclaimed that there "is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
It is of little wonder that when Philip thus preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, that people 'believed and were baptized', that Simon himself also believed and was baptized', and that the Eunuch cried: 'Here is water, what hinders me from being baptized?'. Such was the response in the first century. The interesting thing is that the text says nothing about Philip preaching 'baptism'! What it does say is that he preached the name of Jesus… and THUS, such preaching tells people that they need to be baptized in His name – for the remission of sins. With such preaching, they believed and were baptized.
Let us go everywhere and preach the word in the same way.
Hugh DeLong
