To understand why magic ceased its necessary to understand the purpose of the power of the Holy Spirit and why that ceased.
The power. Thats the power of the Holy Spirit that was earnestly prayed for by disciples when the Apostles were alive. The power given through the laying on of their hands. That power is seperate from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit found in baptism among the saved (acts 2:38).
Jesus talked about the power that was coming quite a bit.
Mark 9:1 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The Transfiguration
9 And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
*Those Jews standing there with Christ knew a power was
Coming along with Gods kingdom and it would occur while some of them there was still alive.
Luke 24:47-49 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
- Jesus reappeared to the apostles and told them to remain in Jerusalem until they were clothed with a promised power.
Acts 1:4-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
- Luke wrote about how Jesus gathered his apostles before Him ( v3) and told them to again wait in Jerusalem until the power came in them when they received the Holy Spirit and that they would proclaim the gospel to the whole world. The Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles ( ends of the earth).
With Judas dead a man was chosen to replace him. The man would become an apostle and must have met the requirements founds in verses 21-22.
Acts 2:1-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The Day of Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they [d]rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.
- All of the apostles obeyed Christ and stayed in Jerusalem. They were all together when the Holy Spirit, and with it a power, fell upon them. Including Matthias. The promise was fulfilled to them that Christ made. The Jews were amazed by this first sign of a miraculous power. The power of speaking in tongues. !!! Important to note that speaking in tongues was always a known human language. The whole language of a angel is a twisted view of a completely unrelated verse. No where in the Bible does a anyone ever speak a language that was not a human language. It’s purpose was to preach the gospel to someone that they could not otherwise have spoken to sharing their faith.
Acts 2:37-43 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The Ingathering
37 Now when they heard this, they were all pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
- Peter the apostle is preaching the word of God to the Jews standing there. Many of them heard the gospel and was convicted by it. They were cut to the heart by the Word. They believed it and asked what to do? Peter told them how to be saved. Repent and be baptized. Many obeyed and were added to the church. V43 again points out that many were in awe by the micarcles being performed by the Apostles.
So to reintegrate what has happened so far. Jesus told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for three things. All three things that he promised occurred. 1. The Kingdom would come with power and it did. 2. The Holy Spirit would come to them and it did. 3. The power would come to the apostles and it did. All of this so far has shown that the power was promised to only the apostles and it was only them who were showing evidence of this power. The next section will show how it kept on growing and being used.
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In Acts 1:8 we showed that the power would come to the Apostles and that they would carry out the great commission with power to the Jews, then the Samaritans, and finally to the Gentiles. In acts 2 we see them carrying it out to the Jews at Pentecost in Jerusalem. Interestingly the next location just as Jesus stated was to the Samaritans which were a tribe of half Jewish half gentile people.
Acts 8:1-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Saul Persecutes the Church
8 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.
And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.
- Saul, who would later go by Paul was persecuting the Christians in Jerusalem severely. It was so bad all of the disciples fled except for the apostles. Only the apostles stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Acts 8:4-7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Philip in Samaria
4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. 6 The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. 7 For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.
- All the apostles stayed behind in Jerusalem so we know that this man who scattered was not an apostle. He’s called Philip the Evangelist as opposed to Philip the Apostle who stayed behind. This man went to Samaria and was preaching the gospel. This is the first time since Pentecost that someone who was not an apostle was casting out demons, and healing the sick. He had the power. Next the verses showcases a specific conversion for several important reasons. It answers several questions that was previously not answered.
Acts 8:9-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; 10 and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” 11 And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts. 12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. 13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.
- One of the Samaritans was a man who practiced magic. His name was Simon. Simon was know for his magic powers but even he was astonished by the power that Philip the Evangelist held. This man believed the gospel. He relented of his sins and got baptized into Christ and therefore received the spirit just like it was promised in acts 2:28.
Acts 8:14-22 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
- For the first time the Apostles who remained in Jerusalem split apart. Peter and John left them and went to Jerusalem to meet up with Philip the Evangelist. They went there to give the powers to the people there. We know the Holy Spirit here is the power and not salvation because they believed and were baptized and therefore received the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. That’s the distinction between the power of the spirit and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The man Simon saw that the ability to give the power was given through the laying of the apostles hands. Only the apostles could do it otherwise Philip would have. So Philip could preform miracles but he could not give that ability to others to do it. So Simon offered them money to have that ability and was instead rebuked and wanted that he would fall from grace and perish if he did not repent.
This shows the gospel being preached to the Jews, then the Samaritans and the next verses are of the Kingdom including the Gentiles and coming to those in the ends of the earth.
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Acts 10:9-16 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; 11 and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. 13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.
- Peter is praying on a rooftop when he has a vision. The vision is a symbolic message to prepare Peter to finally preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
In acts 10:34-43 you see Peter preaching the gospel to the Gentiles just like he did to the Jews at Pentecost. Though this time the pattern is changed slightly and for good reason. You can see Peter struggle with resolve over can Gentiles truly just become disciples like the Jews did. (Galatians 2:11-21) That’s probably why Paul was chosen by Christ as the Apostle to the Gentiles.
Acts 10:44-48 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. 45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
- Here while Peter is preaching to Cornelius and his family, the first Gentiles, suddenly the power fell down on them. It was solid proof to Peter that God did now in fact want to include the Gentiles. First to the Jews and then to the Gentiles as Jesus preached several times. Peter than baptizes them who believed and heard so that they can be forgiven of their sins and receive the Holy Spirit. So in acts 10 we see the power being denied until the apostles get their to lay their hands on them even though they were baptized and saved. Now we see the spirit falling into the Gentiles even though they were not saved and added to the church yet. But just like all the others so far except the apostles who received the spirit these people could not lay their hands on others and pass on a spiritual gift.
We know that having the power was unrelated to being saved not only from these verses but also from when Jesus said that to the people who would later on preform miracles in his name. The spirit has feel now to everyone. The Jews, Samaritans, and the Gentiles and the apostles would continue to carry out the great commission until
The whole world heard the gospel.
Matthew 7:21-23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
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One verse that is commonly used to supposedly show that the power was available without the laying on of the apostles hands outside of the promise of its coming is
1 Timothy 4:14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the elders.
They see that verse and say see the elders gave Timothy the power. But being bereans we know we must studying things out. This case is similar to the case in the gospels on was there two angels or one angel at the tomb. The story
Is found in Mark 16:1-8 and also Luke 24:1-10. Even though mark mentions one man we know in fact it was 2.
So what’s the full story on how Timothy received the power.
2 Timothy 1:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
*We see in Paul’s second letter that he was among the elders and it was his hands on him as well. That lines up with the story in acts 8. You won’t ever read of a person other than a Apostle who gave the power to another.
There are other examples however of the power being given through the apostles hands.
Acts 5:12New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico.
Acts 19:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. * the disciples of John the Baptist.
Romans 1:11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;
- if the Roman Christians could just pray for the power why did Paul desire to be there to impart a gift to them.
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For some reason occasionally it comes into question about Paul and how was Paul able to pass on the power through the laying on of hands without having been at Pentecost among the Apostles. Well the answer is easy. It’s the same way Paul became an apostle. In acts 9 we read about how Jesus personally came to Paul and chose him as the a Apostle.
Romans 1:1-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The Gospel Exalted
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh.
*Paul says he was called by and set apart as an apostle by Jesus.
Galatians 1:11-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Paul Defends His Ministry
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. 18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days.
- Paul learned from Jesus himself and studied for three years before returning to the apostles. Three years is how long the other apostles also spent getting to know Jesus. A interesting pattern.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
- Jesus appeared to many after his resurrection. Paul counted himself among them.