The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch is a wonderful example of Christian life and mission. It’s so simple. Philip, by God’s providence was in the right place at the right time. Paul tells us that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Clearly God was already at work in the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch who had come all the way to Jerusalem from Ethiopia to seek God. He had obtained a scroll of Isaiah and was reading one of the most significant prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament, Isaiah 53. The situation was as well prepared as we could imagine. All Philip had to do was cross the road and start the conversation. Philip wasn’t a Bible teacher, but he was equipped with enough understanding to help this man grasp the text he was reading. So, what was it about Philip that enabled him to participate in this wonderful divine encounter? The answer is simple: He was responsive to the voice of the Holy Spirit who told him: “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” The Book of Acts is a book about the Holy Spirit at work through people. Paul says that “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). So, God prepares things in advance for us to do, and he also then works in us to both will and act according to his purpose. What is left for us to do? Respond. We must respond in faith and obedience.
Ask God to make you more sensitive to the voice of his Spirit.
Read Acts 8:26-40 again
