<p>8:18 <i>Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying</i>- The gift of the Spirit was surely the same as in Acts 2, which I have reasoned was a gift of internal spirituality. The same words for 'Spirit' and 'given' are to be found in other passages which clearly relate it to an internal power working within the human mind: &quot;The love of God is shed abroad <em>in our hearts </em>by the <em>Holy Spirit</em> which is <em>given</em> unto us&quot; (Rom. 5:5). &quot;He has sealed us and <em>given</em> the earnest of the <em>Spirit</em> in our <em>hearts</em>&quot; (2 Cor. 1:22). &quot;He would <em>give</em> you, according to the riches of His glory, that you may be strengthened with power through His <em>Spirit </em>in the <em>inner man</em>&quot; (Eph. 3:16). &quot;God did not <em>give</em> us a <em>spirit</em> of fearfulness, but of... a disciplined <em>mind</em>&quot; (2 Tim. 1:7). It's unclear whether or not that gift was accompanied by the reassurance of physical manifestations in this case. But the essence of it was just as it is today- the power of internal transformation, which is what every convert so desperately needs.</p>