Sep 14-20: Philip the Evangelist

SUNDAY - THURSDAY

Philip the Evangelist

1. Who was Philip?

• Acts 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Acts 6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

• Acts 21:8 And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

Answer: First, he was a deacon. Then he became an evangelist.

2. What caused Philip to be a full-time evangelist? What happened between his deaconship and evangelism work?

• Acts 8:3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Acts 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

Answer: Persecution

3. Observe the way Philip obeyed the command of the angel of the Lord.

• Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. Acts 8:27 And he arose and went:
  

Observation: Philip just arose and went without the knowledge of what purpose and where exactly.

Application Questions:

• When should we just obey without the knowledge of the details, such as the purpose, or where exactly?

  
  

4. Observe the man of Ethiopia.

• Acts 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Acts 8:28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

Observation: The man of Ethiopia was...

• An eunuch of great authority under Candace queeen of Ethiopians

• A man in charge of all her treasure

• A worshipper of Hebrews’ God
  

• A man who loved to study the Hebrew scripture

Discussion Questions:

• What were the potentials for this Ethiopian to become a believer of Jesus Christ?

• How do we learn to listen to the command of the angel of the Lord, so that we may meet people by witnessing?

  
  

5. Observe what the Spirit said unto Philip.

• Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

Observation:

• “Go near and join thyself to this chariot”

• God only gave simple commands to Philip;
  

  • “Arise and go”

  • “Go near and join”

Discussion Question:

How hard is it for us to obey those simple commands? And if they are hard, why are they so hard to obey?

6. Observe the way Philip responded to what the Spirit told him to do.

• Acts 8:30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

Observation:

• Philip ran to the chariot
  

• Philip also had a simple response to the command of God
  

  • “He arose went”

  • “Philip ran”

• After obeying the command of God, now it was Philip’s turn to initiate witnessing opportunity and he did that by asking the question “understandest thou what thou readest?”

Application Question: Based upon the example of Philip above, what else is important in the work of evangelism, besides knowing your Bible?

7. Observe the character of the Ethiopian based upon the following verses.

• Acts 8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. Acts 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: Acts 8:33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. Acts 8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

Observation:

• He was humble enough to ask for guidance.

• He was diligent student of the scripture, because he knew exactly what
  questions to ask.

  
  

8. Observe the way Philip responded to the question of the Ethiopian.

• Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. Acts 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? Acts 8:37 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. Acts 8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

Observations:

• Philip knew his Bible so well that he was able to teach from the “same
  scripture” and was able to connect that with the ministry of
  Jesus.

• Apparently, Philip was able to connect Isaiah to Jesus, and Jesus to the doctrine of baptism. Perhaps Philip was able to talk about so many other things “as they went on their way,” because we do not know how long they were together, according to the Bible.
  

• Philip was not a “pushy” preacher. The Ethiopian man asked for
  baptism, not Philip.

Discussion Question: In certain ways, Philip was still had the title of deacon. Therefore, could a deacon who preaches the gospel baptize people?

9. What was God’s next appointment for Philip?

• Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Answer: Keep on preaching!

Application Question: Could you see yourself doing the similar work as Philip?