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2BC BIBLE STUDY NOTES

Wednesday in the Word

Second Baptist Church

March 26, 2025

Acts 8:26-40

  1. We are continuing our bible study series on sharing our faith. Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is not something that is reserved for only a select group of believers. It is the privilege of all believers to spread the good news and share our faith. In some respects, we are all ministers of the gospel. We are all ambassadors of Christ (2nd Corinthians 5:18-20). Even though we might have different gifts, we aLI are part of the ministry of reconciliation. Our role is to help people come to faith in Christ and get free from the bondage of sin.

  2. In the last few weeks, we focused on the preaching of the gospel to large groups of people. Each of our previous lessons focused on moments when the Gospel was preached, and thousands came to the faith. It is exciting when large numbers of people respond to the gospel message, but we must not let the size of those deciding to believe be our measuring rod of successful ministry. Often the gospel is shared between person to person and those encounters are just as meaningful and valuable. Just like a mustard seed has a small beginning, there are times when an individual coming to faith has outcomes that few could imagine. For example, one of the oldest surviving continuous sections of the Christian faith is the Coptic Church first located in Egypt and later in Ethiopia. The Coptic church predates the Catholic church by a few hundred years. The Coptic bible is one of the oldest surviving manuscripts of the Old and New Testaments. The existence of the Coptic church in Egypt and Ethiopia from the 1st century are reminders that the Christian faith is not a “eurocentric” religion. The faith of Christ permeated the African continent long before most of the western world. This encounter in the book of Acts chapter 8 is the second time we have read about people from North Africa mentioned in Acts. The first time is in chapter 2:10 when foreign jews were mentioned that came from Egypt, Libya(Cyrene). History even tells us that the apostle Mark founded the Coptic Church in Egypt in 42 AD. The Egyptians of the 1st century didn’t look like the Arabs that inhabit the land today. They were probabLy more Like the peopLe you see in Ethiopia today. The Arabs conquered Egypt around 639 AD and the current complexion of Egyptians reflects that conquest.

  3. Acts 8:26-30. Philip was one of the “seven” who was chosen as the first deacons (Acts 6:1-7). As a deacon, Philip was charged with ministering to the widows who needed financial and material support. In the preceding verses, we see Philip being used by God to lead a great revival in Samaria. With powerful preaching accompanied with signs and wonders many believed and were healed as well. Our text picks up with the deacon Philip being led by an angel of the Lord to go to a desert road that leads to Gaza from Jerusalem. Philip is leaving the Jerusalem area in fulfillment of the words of Christ that the gospel was to go out from Jerusalem to the rest of the world (Acts1:8). The early believers were forced to depart Jerusalem as persecution grew. The persecution of the early church helped spread the gospel. Here we see Philip heading down the road not aware of what he will encounter. Philip meets a Royal Ethiopian official to the queen of Ethiopia. The official came to Jerusalem to worship with the other Jewish believers during the annual festivals. The official was on his way home and decided to stop for a while to read a scroll he purchased while in the city. He purchased a scroll of the book of Isaiah. The spirit told Philip to go up to the chariot. Philip approached the chariot and heard the official reading from the scroll. Philip asked the official if he understood what he was reading. We can see a couple of items to consider.

    1. The importance of being Spirit led. Philip goes down a particular road based on the leading of the Lord. We cannot underestimate the importance of asking God to lead you every day. We realIy want to find ourselves placed exactly where God wants us. This text points out how a chance encounter can be a life changing event.

    2. Philip recognizes an open door to share his faith. Philip hears the man reading a religious text and recognizes it as an opportunity to speak about Christ. We must be prepared to share our faith.

    3. Recognize that the Lord is working on people’s heart long before you encounter them. This official’s heart was already open to hearing the good news of Christ. You will encounter people who don’t want to hear anything you have to say, but you will also encounter people who are waiting on you to say the right thing at the right time.

  4. Verses 31-35. When Philip asked the official if he knew what he was reading, the official responded bY stating he needed someone to explain it to him. The official invited Philip to explain the scroll to him. The official was reading the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. The official wanted to know who the prophet was talking about. Philip explained that the prophet was speaking about Jesus the Christ and how he would suffer for the sins of the world. Philip’s understanding of scripture allowed him to answer a biblical question. Many people have questions about scripture or other issues of faith. God can use our knowledge to answer someone’s question.

  5. Verses 36-39. Some translations do not have verse 37, but we can assume that Philip led the man to a decision of faith based on his desire to be baptized. Baptism was a sign of a person’s confession and repentance. The official asked Philip to baptize him in a nearby body of water. After the baptism, the Lord led Philip away and on to another ministry opportunity. God used Philip to plant a seed that many scholars assume led to a mighty revival in North Africa. Surely this influential official was used by the Lord in a mighty way. Philip didn’t have the role to disciple this man, but he was able to start him in the faith. The official left the encounter with Philip rejoicing about his new faith in Christ. We can never underestimate the power of planting seeds of faith in people.

  6. Verse 40. Philip was led to do ministry in other locations. God used Philip as an evangelist. Just because Philip led the official to the Lord didn’t mean it was his job to disciple him. Philip would disciple others, but the discipleship of this official would be another person’s calling.

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