God deliberately withheld the Holy Spirit until Peter and John arrived to show that authority for this new work rested with the Twelve in Jerusalem.
Les Feldick teaches that although the Samaritan believers had genuinely believed and had been baptized, the Holy Spirit did not fall until Peter and John came from Jerusalem and laid hands on them. The purpose, he says, was to demonstrate to the Samaritans that authority rested in Jerusalem, with the Twelve, and nowhere else.
Acts 8:14-17 — This is the passage where the Spirit, though the Samaritans had been baptized, waits until Peter and John lay hands on them.
The Book of Acts records that the Samaritans believed Philip's message about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and they were baptized, both men and women (Acts 8:12). Even Simon is said to have believed and been baptized, and he continued with Philip, beholding the miracles and signs (Acts 8:13). When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John (Acts 8:14). When they arrived, they prayed that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:15-16). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17). The text does not state an explicit reason for the timing, but the sequence is clear: belief, baptism, and then a delay of the Spirit until the Jerusalem apostles arrived and laid hands on the converts.
Les Feldick explains that the Samaritan converts had truly believed Philip's message that Jesus was the Christ, and they had been baptized. Yet the Holy Spirit did not come until Peter and John laid hands on them. He calls this "a slight departure" from what had been taking place before, and he says the purpose was to show the Samaritans that authority rested in Jerusalem, in the Twelve, and nowhere else. Les also reads this event within the transition of the Book of Acts. In Acts 2, Jewish hearers were told to repent and be baptized before receiving the Holy Spirit. In Acts 10, Gentile believers at Cornelius's house received the Spirit while Peter was still speaking, before water baptism. Peter then baptized them after the fact. Les says this is not a contradiction; it is a change because Acts is a transitional book, moving out of the Jewish system and into God's dealings with all people in grace. He further notes that Philip in Acts 8 was one of the seven, not one of the twelve apostles, which helps explain why the Jerusalem apostles sent Peter and John to Samaria.
Les uses the order of events in Acts 2 and Acts 10 to help explain Acts 8. In Acts 2, Peter's Jewish hearers had to repent and be baptized, and then they could receive the Holy Spirit. In Acts 10, while Peter was still preaching to Cornelius's household, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word, before any water baptism. Peter then said, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" and baptized them after the fact. Les says this reversal shows that the Book of Acts is transitional, moving from the Jewish economy to God dealing with people in grace.
Les gives the direct answer: the Spirit was withheld until Peter and John laid hands on the Samaritan believers to show that authority rested in Jerusalem, with the Twelve, and nowhere else. The moment of reception was not immediately after faith or baptism, but when the apostles whom Jesus had commissioned came from Jerusalem and prayed for them. This connected the Samaritan work to the apostolic center and prevented any separate or competing authority from arising in Samaria.
Les says Simon was not a true believer. He calls Simon's profession a pseudo-profession, a fake and a counterfeit. Simon believed and was baptized and continued with Philip, but his focus was on signs and miracles rather than the person of Christ. In contrast, the others who truly believed Philip's message received the Spirit when the apostles laid hands on them.
Samaria's Baptism and Simon's False Profession
Les sets the scene: the Samaritan converts were baptized men and women, but Simon's profession was counterfeit, and the Jerusalem apostles sent Peter and John because Philip was not one of the Twelve.
The Jewish Order at Pentecost
Les contrasts Acts 2, where Jewish believers repented and were baptized before receiving the Spirit, with later events to show the changing order.
The Gentile Order at Cornelius' House
Les points out that in Acts 10 the Holy Spirit fell on believing Gentiles before they were baptized, the reverse of the Jewish order.
Why the Order Changed
Les explains that Acts is transitional; God was moving from the Jewish system to dealing with humanity in grace, so the order of the Spirit and baptism was reversed.
Baptism After the Spirit
Les notes that Peter baptized Cornelius's household after they had already received the Spirit, showing the new Gentile order.
What Peter Really Said at Pentecost — Acts 2 Explained
It was too early in the day for anybody to be that far along. Now verse 16. And here's where we're going to get real picky. But Peter says, "...this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." Now stop and analyze what is the this, and what is the that.
Jerusalem Authority in Samaria
Les gives the direct reason: the Spirit was withheld until Peter and John laid hands on the Samaritans to show that authority rested with the Twelve in Jerusalem.
Two Baptisms Explained: What Most Christians Miss in Acts 1
Peter sees that Old Testament program that after Christ was rejected, he would be raised from the dead, he would be ascending to the Father, and then the tribulation, and then the king would return and set up his kingdom. And so this is what drives these eleven men later again to be twelve, because of the promise now of this coming kingdom. All right, now let's read on. Verse 4, "...
Acts 8:12: 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.
This shows that the Samaritan believers were baptized before Peter and John arrived.
Acts 8:13: Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
This records Simon's outward profession, which Les identifies as counterfeit.
Acts 8:14: Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
The Jerusalem apostles dispatch Peter and John in response to the Samaritan revival.
Acts 8:15: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
Peter and John pray for the Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Spirit, which had not yet come.
Acts 8:16: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of the baptized Samaritans at the time of Peter and John's arrival.
Acts 8:17: Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Spirit is received when the apostles lay hands on the Samaritan believers.
Acts 10:44: While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
This verse demonstrates the reversed order for Gentiles: the Spirit came before baptism.
Acts 1:5: For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Jesus promised the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which the events of Acts unfold.
No. Les Feldick says Simon's profession was a pseudo-profession; he was a fake and a counterfeit. His interest centered on signs and miracles rather than on the person of Christ, so he was not a true believer.
In Acts 2, Jewish believers repented and were baptized, then received the Spirit. In Acts 8, the Spirit waited until Peter and John laid hands on the Samaritans. In Acts 10, Gentiles received the Spirit before water baptism. Les explains that Acts is a transitional book moving from the Jewish system to grace.
Les identifies the Philip in Acts 8 as one of the seven, not one of the twelve apostles. This is why the apostles at Jerusalem sent Peter and John to confirm the Samaritan work.
Watch the Teaching: Is Baptism Required for Salvation? What Acts 8 Really Says