Acts 8:37 - Printer Friendly

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KJV: And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

NKJV: Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

This verse is not seen in the oldest and most trustworthy manuscripts of the book of Acts. Most modern translations include it in brackets, or with a note indicating as much. The sentence doesn't express anything contrary to the rest of Scripture, but most likely was not part of Luke's original writing.

Philip has explained the gospel to an Ethiopian court official, and the officer has enthusiastically responded, asking to be baptized immediately. In this verse, Philip gives a challenge and the official responds. The format of the challenge and answer may have even been a practice in the early church: a public confession used to verify the person understands. But the text of this verse, itself, does not seem to be original.

If used as a challenge, this practice is similar to the so-called sinner's prayer. No version of this prayer acts as a magic formula—it does not, itself, save anyone. Rather, it's a convenient tool for someone who wants to follow Jesus but doesn't know the terminology. In a similar way, this call-and-response is a succinct way of showing witnesses the person understands what baptism means.

Today, churches usually have a more involved system. The new believer may go to a class to learn the specifics about Jesus, Christianity, and baptism. Typically, only after showing they understand are they baptized.

Acts 8:26–40 completes the story of Philip's early ministry. Driven out of Jerusalem by persecution, he first travels north into Samaria and spreads the gospel to a people Jews had believed accursed (Acts 8:5–13). Now, an angel tells him to go south where he meets an official of the Ethiopian court who is reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip's ministry shows that God doesn't care if someone is born into His chosen people, or are ethnically and theologically confused, or are even a foreign eunuch. He loves equally and desires that everyone will repent and come to Him.

Jesus told the apostles they would spread the gospel (Acts 1:8) and persecution makes that happen. Upon the death of the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:54–60), a young Pharisee named Saul builds on the momentum to arrest and, if possible, execute Jesus followers (Acts 8:1–3; 26:10). The apostles mostly stay in Jerusalem, but the church members flee, spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Important encounters in this passage include a magician named Simon and the conversion of an Ethiopian court official.

Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the book of Acts; Acts 1—7 describes the spread of the gospel through Jerusalem; Acts 8:1—11:18 shows the gospel spreading in Judea and Samaria; Acts 11:19—28:31 sees the gospel spread to the ''end of the earth,'' finalizing in Rome. Ironically, although Paul is the central figure in spreading Jesus' good news to the ends of the earth, his early persecution of the church in Jerusalem is instrumental in spreading the gospel through Judea and Samaria.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.