How did the Samaritans in Acts 8 receive the Holy Spirit?
The Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit when the apostles Peter and John came down from Jerusalem, prayed for them, and laid their hands on them. They had already been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them.
Les explains that Philip had preached in Samaria, and many believed and were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them. The apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, so they sent Peter and John. When Peter and John came down, they prayed for the Samaritan believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Les notes that God had His reasons for this order, and that Simon the sorcerer was not a true believer but a counterfeit.
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
More Questions
Why weren't the Samaritans given the Holy Spirit right away?
God had his own reasons for not giving the Holy Spirit to the Samaritan believers immediately.