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Over the years I’ve become very fond of the people in the Bible. I feel like I know them, but some of my favorite people in the Bible remain relatively unknown. Fully telling all of their stories would’ve required the Good Book to become a good book series. Let’s be honest, it’s already hard enough to get some of us to read the Bible. Can you imagine what it would be like if the Bible was the size of the Encyclopedia Brittanica? Sheesh!
So in the interest of convenience, perhaps, the Lord chose brevity and conciseness rather than include every detail about every person that played a role in His story. I get that. Still, there are a quite a few people I would’ve loved to learn more about: Rahab the Harlot, Caleb, Abigail, Apollos, just to name a few . I’ll be looking for all of them in the sweet by-and-by, and will be down to pay for a couple of rounds of heavenly coffee (or whatever the new kingdom has to offer) for a chance to pick their brains.
“Rahab, what happened to you after the walls of Jericho came down?”
“Caleb, what were those forty years in the wilderness like?”
You get the idea.
Until that day, I’ll be left to my imagination to try and fill in the gaps in their tales. To know them better, and appreciate the richness of their contribution to tapestry of faith that I am now a part of. Because in so doing, I can better understand my role in the lineage of God’s people, and the graceful unfolding of lives and ministries leading to the victorious return of Jesus Christ.
Today, I want to dive into the life of the evangelist, Philip.
Philip’s entire story is told just three chapters in Acts. Not complete chapters. Really, just a handful of verses in each. Yet, what is revealed about Philip in those few verses reveals a transformative life, and a powerful contribution to the gospel.
This brief but compelling story hit a little differently for me as I prepared for and reflected on this week’s Tuesday Teachings.
The core message of this teaching, Kingdom Power, was that when Jesus said that we would do greater works than He did, He meant it—even if we might find it hard it to believe. This is not supposed to be a lofty but elusive aspiration. It is meant to be fundamental demonstration of a life submitted to God.
John 14:12-14
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Is every dedicated saint going to multiply bread and fishes to feed five thousand, or speak to a literal storm and tell it chill? Probably not—but we can speak to the metaphorical storms in our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and those we are called to serve. Those storms might manifest as sickness and infirmity, as mental or emotional turmoil, as financial hardship, or relational conflict. They can be anything. What matters is that the saints have the boldness to confront those storms with the power we’ve been given as children of God. Furthermore, that we use that power to bring about the healing and deliverance that is our responsibility to create.
To achieve this level of impact on the world, I made the case that there are three key “ingredients” to walking in Kingdom power:
KNOWLEDGE — understanding of the Word of God, it’s precepts, promises, and provisions
HOLINESS — living a life set apart for God
FAITH — belief that the Word of God is true, and that it applies to us modern day saints as well
As I meditated on these things, I searched my mind to find the biblical character that best demonstrated these attributes, and had the greater works to show for it. Of course, I could’ve went with Peter, or Paul, or John, but then the cynics might dismiss these examples, saying “well of course they did it, they were the original apostles. No can never be like them.” Maybe they would be right, maybe not, but to avoid such a dismissal, I searched deeper to find someone more obscure, more understated. When the Holy Spirit brought Philip to my remembrance, I was like “bingo, that’s the one!”
We are first introduced to Philip in Acts 6, where he and six of his peers were selected to a great and venerable task of leadership within the early church. Wait, no *checks scriptures again*. They were ceremoniously selected…to distribute food?
Acts 6:2-6
And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
This was a task that Peter and the apostles considered unworthy of their time, rightfully so, but they still wanted to make sure it was carried out with integrity. The harmony of the early church rested on fair distribution of food amongst the many diverse peoples in their community. There could be no favoritism, no preferential treatment. Not the most prestigious of assignments, but that’s the point. What’s required here is not ambition, but faithfulness.
Note the criteria for selection. First, these men were part of the core group of disciples that had followed Jesus. They had knowledge of his teachings, despite not being in the inner circle of the twelve. You can imagine them sitting the crowd of the various teachings, hanging on every word. Secondly, they had to be men of solid reputation, having demonstrated a life that was spirit-lead, and with conduct becoming. They put those teachings into action.
When you really reflect on how these men were selected, you realize the specific task didn’t matter—they were indeed being selected for leadership—and their election didn’t rest on campaign speeches, or politicking behind closed doors. Their character and conduct spoke for them.
This becomes clear immediately. Within just a few verses, we find the first of these men, Stephen, “doing great wonders and signs among the people” (v8), and then in just a few more verses he’s arrested and brought before the council. Stephen would go on to become the first martyr of the new church, which set in motion a great persecution that was meant to break the church, but it didn’t.
Acts 8:4-8
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.
Do you see it, saints? Officially, these men were elected to distribute food, but for all intents and purposes, they were selected for something far, far more important. Within short order they are not only going about preaching the Word with gusto, but they are demonstrating the validity of that word with signs and wonders.
Philip says to himself, “I’m not going to let persecution stop me.”
There’s no indication here that Philip was told to go to Samaria. He was given an opportunity to serve, and he took it.
Greater works.
He was doing such a bang-up job in Samaria, that Peter and John came to join him. This was a big deal, the history between the Jews and the Samarians was rife with conflict and hostility. The situation called for reinforcements.
Acts 8:14-17
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Even with all of his boldness and success, Philip needed to work within the structure of authority and teamwork. I would not be surprised to learn that it was he that sent word back to Jerusalem about the miraculous transformation being done in Samaria, while also asking for assistance to close the deal. As Paul would later remark in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” We all have a part to play. None of us is a solo act when it comes to the work of the Lord.
Having completed his work in Samaria, Philip was ready for his next assignment, and the Lord wasted no time in deploying him.
Acts 8:26-31
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Philip was dispatched to preach to one man? No Philip was dispatched to plant the seeds of the gospel into whole nation. Given the eunuchs position, he was in prime position to share the good news at the highest levels of authority, and we should have little doubt that he did just that. Again, we don't have to read every detail word for word to know, by faith, that God was moving in seemingly small ways to drive big results.
And then something rare happens. Something that is only recorded a handful of times, the last being Jesus Christ himself.
Acts 8:39-40
And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Philip completed another assignment, and this time, rather than tell him where to go, the spirit actually moved him to his new destination. Just think of how important Philip had become, and how meaningful the assignment in Azotus and those the other towns must’ve been for the spirit of the Lord to not want to waste time with conventional travel, but to actually teleport this young evangelist. In all of the recorded travels of the apostles, not once were any of them teleported. Philip was.
Within short order, Philip had gone from faithful disciple to trusted minister.
Greater works.
Matthew 25:23
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Decades later we find Philip settled down in Caesarea.
Acts 21:8-9
On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.
What unfolded in the interim? We don’t know. Years of faithful service, to be sure. The writer identifies him as an evangelist, perhaps indicating that he was still active in ministry. Still going out on missionary trips as the spirit of the Lord gave him unction. Just as important, his faithful service was passed on to his four daughters, all who prophesied, powerfully enough for the writer to make note of it.
There you have it—a life of service in twenty verses. Not his whole life obviously, but enough for us to see his “greater works” unfold, and for the principles of Kingdom power to be demonstrated in the life of common disciple who simply decided to practice uncommon service.
I shared more insights on walking in Kingdom power in this week’s episode of Tuesday Teachings. Watch it on YouTube, or listen to the podcast on Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. You can also join the teachings live on Clubhouse, every Tuesday at 10am est.