Acts 8:35

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.”

                We see the end workings of the Holy Spirit. He guides, He indwells, He grows fruit, He teaches, He leads; but all these things are for one end—to glorify Christ Jesus and the Father. Yes the Holy Spirit sent Philip so that the eunuch would obtain eternal life, and yes He would use the eunuch to spread the gospel throughout Ethiopia, and yes He led the eunuch to finally understand the truth in that scripture, but it was all so that the Lamb would receive the full reward for His sufferings.

                This section gives me such a comfort and assurance for the works of evangelism, ministry, and missions. Throughout this passage we see Philip being led by the Spirit systematically through this encounter, never to be left to Philip’s own background knowledge of the situation. It started out as an obscure command “Go from Jerusalem to Gaza” then it becomes even more interesting when the Spirit told him to overtake the chariot, Philip most likely didn’t know how this was going to glorify Christ. But afterwards, it became clear how Philip was going to glorify Christ.

                But Philip also didn’t come in to the situation unprepared. He had a good understanding about the Scriptures and how the all pointed to Christ. Though this was a spontaneous, Spirit-led experience; the Spirit still used Philip’s preparation and knowledge of the Scriptures.

Application: Like Philip, I can be prepared in the Scriptures, yet still listen and obey the promptings of the Spirit. As I read through the Bible and listen to doctrine classes hear at Potter’s Field, I can be grounded in the Scriptures. But if I have a wealth of knowledge about the Bible, and not let the Spirit lead my life, all the knowledge will become like a collection of swords decorated on the wall—pretty to look at, but useless if not used to strike down the armies of the Enemy and strengthen Christ’s Kingdom.