8-minute read

Table Of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Prompt Obedience
3. Proper Guidance
4. Perfect Salvation
5. Living It Out

Introduction

Many people in this world want to become stars. They may become famous through music, sports, entertainment, or other achievements, and people may look up to them because of what they have accomplished. Yet this kind of stardom is temporary. God, however, has called us to become eternal stars who will shine forever. Daniel 12:3 says that those who are wise and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

Philippians 2:15–16a tells us that we are to live as children of God who are “blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated” in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation, shining as bright lights in a dark world and holding out the Word of Life. In Genesis 1:16–18 we see that the earth represents the heart of man, the sun represents the righteousness of God, and the moon represents the church and the Word of God. The light of the Word of God is needed to illuminate our hearts. The stars then represent those who are born again, who have the spiritual light of Christ within them and are called to shine in this dark world.

This darkness is also connected to the work of Satan. 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 tells us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the illuminating light of the Gospel of Christ. This is why our calling as shining stars is so important. God wants us to bring the light of the Gospel of Water and Spirit to those who are living in darkness. Through Acts 8:26–40, we will see how Philip became a shining star to the Ethiopian eunuch through prompt obedience, proper guidance, and perfect salvation.

Prompt Obedience

The first thing we see in the life of Philip is prompt obedience. In Acts 8:26–29, Philip was in the midst of a successful ministry in Samaria, where many people were being saved, when an angel of the Lord instructed him to arise and go toward the road leading to Gaza. Philip did not question the instruction or hold on to the ministry he was already doing. Acts 8:27 tells us that he arose and went. His willingness to leave a successful ministry and obey God’s direction shows the humility needed to become a shining star in an impure world.

Philip was prepared for this moment. He was one of the seven chosen in the early church and was a man full of the Spirit and wisdom. His dedication, prayer, and seeking God helped him become sensitive to the Lord’s leading. When the Spirit directed him to go near the Ethiopian eunuch’s chariot, Philip ran towards him and boldly asked whether he understood what he was reading. The eunuch replied that he needed someone to guide him. God had prepared both the one who would bring the Gospel and the one who was ready to hear it.

The eunuch was searching for God, having travelled a great distance to worship Him and reading from the book of Isaiah. Philip’s prompt obedience brought him to this man at the right time so that he could share the light of the Gospel with him. This is the work of a shining star. We are not called merely to live our daily lives, but to be ready when God gives us an opportunity to reach someone who is searching. We must be humble enough to stop, willing enough to go, and bold enough to speak.

Most importantly, Philip’s obedience was connected to the purpose of bringing the Gospel of Water and Spirit to the eunuch. God was preparing the way for Philip to explain Jesus Christ and the finished work of His baptism, death, and resurrection, through which the issue of sin has been dealt with. Philip did not yet know everything that would happen on that road, but he obeyed God and became the instrument through whom the light of the Gospel could reach a searching soul. As shining stars in this impure world, we too must be ready to obey when God leads us, so that we can bring others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the Gospel of Water and Spirit.

Proper Guidance

As Philip obeyed God’s leading and approached the Ethiopian eunuch, we then see the importance of proper guidance. Acts 8:30–35 shows that the eunuch was reading from Isaiah, yet he did not understand whom the Scripture was speaking about. When Philip asked whether he understood what he was reading, the eunuch replied that he needed someone to guide him. He was already searching for God, but he needed someone who could take the light he had and lead him into a clear understanding of the Word.

Philip therefore did not simply leave the eunuch to read the Bible by himself. He sat with him and began from the very passage he was reading, Isaiah 53:7–8, which speaks of the One who was led like a sheep to the slaughter and whose life was taken from the earth. From there, Philip preached Jesus to him. This shows us that we need to be equipped with the Word and understand the Gospel clearly so that we can guide those who are searching. We need to meet people where they are, understand what they are asking, and then lead them to Jesus rather than simply giving them information.

Mark 1:1–4 reveals why understanding John the Baptist is important when we preach the Gospel. John came to prepare the way for the Lord and preached concerning repentance and the remission of sins. His ministry points us to Jesus and helps us understand why He came. Jesus took the sin of humanity through His baptism and then went to the cross to die for those sins. Romans 1:1–2 also shows that this Gospel was already promised through the prophets, with the Old Testament sacrifices pointing forward to the work of Christ.

This is why proper guidance must lead people to the Gospel of Water and Spirit. We must be able to explain who Jesus is and what He accomplished through His baptism, death, and resurrection. The Gospel was not something newly created in the New Testament; it had already been spoken of beforehand, and Jesus fulfilled it through His finished work. As shining stars, we are called to be properly prepared so that when someone asks questions, we can guide them from where they are into the truth of the Gospel without adding to it or taking anything away.

Perfect Salvation

As Philip faithfully guided the eunuch through the Scriptures and preached Jesus to him, we now see the result of that proper guidance—perfect salvation. Acts 8:36–40 records that, as they went along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch asked, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” His response shows that the Gospel had been clearly presented to him, and he had come to believe in Jesus Christ.

Philip had explained the Gospel of Water and Spirit to him, including what Jesus accomplished through His baptism and death. This is why the eunuch now asked about the water. Water baptism is a symbolic act and does not save us, but it testifies to what has already taken place through faith. When we are baptized into Christ, we are united with Him and become one with Him. When He died, we too died with Him by faith; when He was buried, we were buried with Him; and when He rose again, we too were risen with Him by faith.

Romans 10:9–10 teaches us to believe in our heart and confess with our mouth, while 1 John 5:5–6 shows us that Jesus Christ came by water and blood, and that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth. The water speaks of Jesus’ baptism, the blood speaks of His death, and together with the witness of the Holy Spirit, we see the Gospel that Philip had preached to the eunuch. Jesus took the sins of humanity through His baptism, died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, and rose again. The eunuch believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and responded to the Gospel that had been preached to him.

The eunuch then commanded the chariot to stop, and both he and Philip went down into the water. After they came up from the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. He had travelled a great distance searching for God, but now he had received the Gospel of Water and Spirit and understood the saving work of Jesus Christ. This is the result of a shining star faithfully obeying God, properly guiding someone through His Word, and bringing that person to the truth of perfect salvation through Jesus’ baptism, death, and resurrection.

Living It Out

God has called us to be shining stars in an impure and spiritually dark world. Through Philip, we see that this calling requires us to be humble, obedient, prepared, and bold enough to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. There are people around us who are searching for God, and sometimes God may lead us to reach one person personally rather than many. We may need to stop what we are doing, take the extra step, build a relationship, listen to where that person is, and then guide them to the truth of the Gospel of Water and Spirit.

We should therefore examine our own lives and ask whether we are truly shining. Are we so occupied with the things of this world that our light is no longer reaching others? Or are we willing to be humble, promptly obedient, properly equipped, and bold to share the Gospel? Our calling is not simply to live for the temporary things of this world, but to be eternal stars who bring the light of the Gospel of Water and Spirit to others. As we faithfully present Jesus Christ—His baptism, death, and resurrection—we can be used by God to lead those who are in darkness into His light and to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.