We Need Each Other

Posted on by Jennifer Arimborgo

“Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:14-16, NKJV).

Now this is interesting. Why did Samaria need Peter and John to come down? The Samaritans already had Philip faithfully ministering to them. He had preached Christ to them. Hungry for God, they had been baptized.

And it’s not like Philip didn’t walk in the power of the Spirit. In fact, he was living such a supernatural life that a little farther down in the same chapter, we seem him being caught up by the Holy Spirit and bodily relocated elsewhere (vv. 39-40). No planes, trains, or automobiles necessary! The Spirit of God just picked him up and zapped him over to where he was next needed for ministry. Certainly, Philip was not lacking in Holy Ghost anointing moving in and through His life.

So why didn’t God just have him pray for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit?

I believe the Lord put this detail here to remind us of the importance of interdependence in the Body of Christ. He never intended for any of us to run a one-man show… no matter how gifted or powerful we are in spirit. He delights in having us work together. He wants us to need each other. And we do. We desperately do. He created us incomplete without each other.

“An eye can’t say to a hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ The opposite is true” (1 Cor. 12:21-22, GW).

The Father never meant for you to go it alone. Isn’t that wonderful news?

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Why do we sometimes try so hard to rely solely on ourselves?

8 thoughts on “We Need Each Other”

  1. I’m seeing how the Spirit of God just continually moves to surround us in His Body. I am SO thankful for all the Grandmas of faith in particular God has surrounded me with. Such wisdom flows from them and their stories of the past so encourage me.

    Sometimes I wonder if they are an answer to prayers Mum prayed in her final days because I see my sisters also surrounded by love and all sides.

    And last night I was in tears at a song my Velvet Ashes Connection group leader sent that made her think of the verse God gave her for me. No one but God could have known how deeply that would touch my heart.

    We can seek those relationships with His Body for sure, but I am seeing how it’s the ones who just so randomly end up around us that so testify to God’s love for us all. Even the family I married into has God’s fingerprints all over it. He is so worthy to be praised!!

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  4. Think you are “right on” here Jennifer. As someone once said:

    “Just when you think you are God’s only option, be sure He will soon show you otherwise”.

    The Lord knows how to keep his people humble. As you stated, this walk of faith is not a one-man show (nor a two-man show for that matter).

    Take Care & May God Bless!

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