In the context of Acts 8:20-23, where the apostle Peter had to correct wrong thinking on the part of a guy we know of as “Simon the Sorcerer”, I think that this is a good time to remember that the Holy Spirit is not a thing or a “power” that we acquire. Yes, the Holy Spirit exists and is real, and He has great power. However, He is a person, He is God, and we are to listen to – and obey – Him. It simply cannot be the other way around: There is none of us who has any right to control the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, believers in Jesus have been redeemed by God – purchased back from the sin that we practiced – so we might say that we belong to Him even more than those who only owe God their allegiance because He is the Sovereign Creator and God of the universe (and not the other way around). Those who believe that following God gives them the right to tell Him what to do have not understood their relationship with Him.
Having said that, human beings do seem to spend a lot of time telling God what to do or who to be. We might describe this as making God in our own image (when, in fact, God created us in His image – see Genesis 1:26-27), but even Christians can be guilty of trying to tell God what He should do, or portraying an incorrect description of Him to the world (instead of following Him, trusting Him, and yielding to Him).
Remember, it appears – to me, at least – that Simon was a genuine believer (see Acts 8:13). However, he was a new believer, and still had more to learn. Like Peter, let those of us who have followed Jesus for a while (and have hopefully matured in our walk with Him) be considerate of the errors that new believers make. Since we still make mistakes ourselves, we should be compassionate to those who are still learning lessons that perhaps we have already mastered, even if we need to lovingly call out sins for what they are. And conversely, since our own doctrine could still contain internalized errors, let us be willing to listen to new lessons that even new believers have discovered in the Scriptures.
Here, let’s briefly jump over to the book of Galatians, where we find the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:16-18). It sounds like Simon, as a new convert, was still stuck in the battle between the Spirit and the flesh (which we may continue to struggle with until we receive new bodies that are “eternity-ready”), described in this passage from Galatians. Simon was still getting dragged down by what some might call his “sinful nature”, and that aspect of his humanity still had a grip on him.
Returning to Acts 8, whether out of fear for the consequences of what he had just done, or out of genuine repentance now that he had learned the error of his ways, Simon asks for help. He seeks the prayers of others to be saved from what he had gotten himself into.
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Acts 8:24 NIV
I think that it’s great to ask others to pray for us, but let’s not limit ourselves to that. Peter had told Simon to pray for forgiveness himself (see Acts 8:22) and thanks to Jesus Christ, all of us can pray to God directly and bring our requests to Him. Don’t stop asking for others’ prayers, but don’t let this be a replacement for your own prayers.
In any case, may we all be encouraged by the fact that Simon could receive forgiveness from God. I believe that Simon could grow spiritually, to the point where he recognized and repented of his sin, and where he could listen to the Holy Spirit and live in greater obedience. Perhaps he even got to the point where he no longer needed the praise of other people, and lived to serve others instead.
We’re not sure where Simon ended up, but may each of us continue along the path that we hope he took: seeking and serving the Holy Spirit over our own selves, seeking to do better each day, and seeking to serve rather than to be served.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for October 22, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, October 22, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- New Testament History: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Acts, by Gareth L. Reese. © 1976, College Press Publishing Company.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Acts, by Dennis Gaertner. © 1993 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 