Yes, there is enough evidence that Philip did not impart the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon the Ethiopian eunuch.
Philip, one of seven deacons chosen by the 12 Apostles of Christ to be of service to the widows in Jerusalem (Acts 6:5), the evangelist (Acts 21:8), went into Samaria after the murder of Stephen around 31-32 AD. Philip was full of the Holy Spirit, but was not a chosen Apostle of Christ. He was preaching the gospel to the people in Samaria, and performing miracles so that they would know and believe. But, Philip did not have the ability / permission to impart the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At this point, only the chosen of Christ could do so, as only those Apostles of Christ were given the keys to the kingdom (Matt. 16:17-19).
The people of Samaria were hated by the Ioudaion (Jews) for being mix breed, half breed, not a pure blood line descendant of the tribes of Israel due to the Assyrian occupation after 722 BC. I came across one comparison of this hatred of the Samaritans years ago to that held between the whites and the American Indians of the 18th & 19th centuries in America – that the only good Indian was a dead Indian. This racist opinion held by the Jews that Samaritans were to be despised, counted as worthless had to be erased not only between the Jews and the half-Jews, but between the Jews and all Gentiles.
Having heard of the baptisms Philip had performed in Samaria, the assembly in Jerusalem sent Peter and John who prayed for them, and then laid their hands upon those believers to impart the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Philip, though full of the Spirit, and preaching the words as directed by the Spirit, was not authorized as an Apostle of Christ to lay his hands upon them. (That Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem meant that this Philip was not the Apostle Philip, but the deacon chosen in Acts 6).
Peter had opened the doors of the kingdom to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, and now to the half-breed / mixed blood-line Jews of Samaria. Notice especially that Peter and John prayed first before laying their hands upon those believers in Samaria (Acts 8:15). They were asking God if it was the right thing to do. And, this is why Peter knew not to lay his hands upon Simon the magician (Acts 8:20-23) because the Holy Spirit had told Peter that Simon’s heart was not right with God.
This is why Paul later told Timothy, his son in the faith, not to lay hands suddenly upon anyone (1 Tim. 5:22) because prayer was necessary for the Holy Spirit to tell them who could have the gifts and who could not, which is proof that the gift of the Spirit was not an automatic result of baptism.
Next we read that Philip, who had fearlessly preached the gospel to the hated Samaritans, was directed by an angel to go down unto Gaza, and having gone - without being told why - he was further told to catch up to a chariot of an Ethiopian. We are told by the record that this Ethiopian was a high ranking officer in the royal house of the treasury of the Queen (Acts 8:27). He was returning home after having traveled to Jerusalem to worship, therefore he was most likely a Jewish proselyte, although he could have been a Jew.
At the time the record does not indicate that Philip knew who the man was, but was simply told to approach him. Philip heard the man reading, which means the Ethiopian was reading out loud. Because Peter joined the Ethiopian in the chariot to sit with him, this chariot was not a war chariot, but a traveling chariot that could seat two people inside. There would have been men on horses in front of the chariot to lead it, and most probably guards on horses on either side. Being a high ranking officer in the Queen’s treasury, this man most probably had servants and attendants traveling with him. Since he was reading out loud, it is possible that some of the servants / guards could hear what was being read.
Philip opened his mouth (Acts 8:35) and the Holy Spirit gave Philip the words to speak as this is what being filled with the Spirit means – speaking the words of the Spirit. Philip preached the gospel of Christ to the Ethiopian, a Jewish proselyte, and then baptized him. There is no mention in the record of the Holy Spirit falling upon him, or his being filled with the Holy Spirit. Philip still did not have permission or authority to impart the Holy Spirit. The miracle that was performed in catching away Philip out of their site by the Holy Spirit confirmed the word for the Ethiopian, and all of his servants witnessed it.
The work of the Holy Spirit has always been to confirm and spread the word of God (Acts 4:31; John 14:25-26; John 16:12-13; Eph 5:18-21). The conversion of the high ranking Ethiopian eunuch with witnesses to the miracle would have been of much discussion upon his return to Ethiopia, and especially reported to the Queen. The event spread the word throughout Ethiopia.
As Peter had not yet opened the door of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles (Acts 10, about 37-38 AD) at the house of Cornelius in Cesarea, then the Holy Spirit had not yet been imparted to non-Jewish people. The manuscripts that insert the words that “the Holy Spirit fell upon the Eunuch” are not confirmed by the original texts, and are in my opinion an accommodation of wishful thinking.
Notes:
- Timeline of Acts - here
