A STUDY IN THE BOOK OF ACTS
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH IN ACTION
PART 5
Today we are continuing our study in Acts. I am going to start with the last of chapter 4 and go into parts of chapter 5. We are going to discuss Ananias and Sapphira his wife.
Acts 4: 32-5:12.
- Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.33. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35. and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. 36. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37. having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. 34. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35. and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. 36. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37. having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. 1. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4. "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.'' 5. Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 7. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8. And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?'' And she said, "Yes, for so much.'' 9. Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.'' 10. Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. 12. And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch.
So, I was not going to teach on Ananias and Sapphira, but the Holy Spirit had other things in mind. Remember this is about the Holy Spirit’s movement in the New Testament church, so we need to discuss all aspects of that power.
Let’s start in with the recounting of the early church. We need to remember that this is the beginning of the church. It had to move in power and wonders to establish it for the times to come. The presence of the Holy Spirit was a real tangible presence. If it weren’t that many believers could never had continued in one accord. The unity of the early church was very important for the foundation of the coming church. No diversity could be allowed, a new order was being established and everyone had to be in one accord, in agreement about everything. It is important for us to remember that they were living what we now know as our Bible. The Apostles were teaching them daily, led by the Words and actions of Jesus with the power and continued knowledge provided by the Holy Spirit. They only had what we know of as the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus to establish this new Christianity.
Let’s look at the end of Chapter 4.
Act 4: 32-37: 32. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35. and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. 36. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37. having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
This is our introduction to Barnabas, who will later be chosen with Paul while at Antioch. He is know as “son of encouragement”. (The King James says “ son of consolation.”)
That was His ministry. We will study later but He and Paul part over His Cousin Mark’s attitude but later in the book, we see Mark rejoining Paul. I believe Barnabas played a big part in this.
So, Barnabas was a Levite. Levites were the descendants of Levi, one of Israel’s twelve sons, who were the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. They were the only tribe who did not get land for an inheritance, as God was to be their inheritance. They produced the religious leaders for Israel. Many scholars believe that just like Paul, Barnabas studied under Gamaliel. So, he was very well education and knew what the scriptures said about our Lord. He sells his land and brings the money as a free will offering to the Apostles to be used for helping supply the needs of all.
I believe this was a part of God’s plan. We know in 70 AD, Jerusalem would fall, be destroyed and the temple burned, so that anything anyone owned would be worthless. God was making provisions for His children and preparing them for their dispersal.
This also shows us the giving loving nature of Barnabas.
Now let’s look at Ananias and Sapphira. They too were believers. However, they allowed the sin of greed and pride to creep in and payed the consequences. This is the first mention of Satan attacking the church.
Proverbs 6:16-19: 16. These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18. a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19. a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.
(On a separate note, hands that shed innocent blood, led me to cry out against abortion. We must pray for God to forgive us and our nation for the shedding of this innocent blood)!
So, to sum it up, God hates liars, pride, a deceitful heart, false witnesses and one who sows discord. Ananias and Sapphira did all these things. They gave their hearts to the Lord but were not totally yielding. Or were easily deceived. Either way led to death.
It will lead to our death also. These are sins. Sin leads to death if not forgiven. Why was there death so swift. For several reasons. It was not about the money, but the greed and lying associated with the money. Money in itself is not evil, it is the greed associated with the money that is evil. Also, the pride, they wanted to be recognized by others as generous and giving. They were puffed up. As Proverbs tells us “pride goes before a fall.” We all fight pride. Some of us better than others. Many people hid behind false humility. It would be better to acknowledge the sin and ask forgiveness than walk in false humility deceiving others and ourselves.
Why did their death occur so quickly? Remember, we are discussing the formation of the new church. It was in its infancy and all members were vulnerable. This was the time they had to remain in one accord. Plus, you cannot lie to the Holy Spirit. There can be no deception. At this time only the Apostles are recorded as moving in the gifts of the spirit. Except for praying in tongues. This was the work of the Holy Spirit.
Ananias and Sapphira led astray by Satan:
- Made a plan based on a lie
- Agreed to carry it out.
- Agreed to lie to all, including the Holy Spirit and the Apostles
- Sought the adoration of men rather than God
- Lied when confronted with the truth.
Sapphira had the opportunity to repent, not knowing what had happened to Ananias, but instead chose to continue in the lie, supporting her husband not yielding to the Holy Spirit. This caused both of them to die a premature death.
As we discussed last week, we as believers, are promised a long life as we walk in obedience to God.
This couple did none of that and did not repent of sin when it was pointed out to them as sin. I believe we see this in many believers’ lives. This may sound harsh, but I believe many believers die today premature deaths due to sin in their lives. We may or may not recognize it as sin, but it is. I think in the church today we have given sins classes or categories. “On a scale of 1 to 10 this sin is a 2, while this one is a 10.” Sin is sin, there are no degrees. So, we are quick to confess our “big” sins but not the little ones. I believe that unconfessed sin in our lives can lead to our premature death. I also believe that we can go with that sin unconfessed, it can take a toll on our body and we succumb to it, even though we have confessed our sins. I hope this makes sense. God is the Great Physician and by his stripes we are healed. But sometimes we reap what we sow. I think when we pray for forgiveness, we need to add the pray of healing to it, saying “God, I know I sinned forgive me for that sin and heal my body of the consequence of that sin.” Amen?
The last part of this equation for the New Testament Church is the action of the Holy Spirit in this event. The Holy Spirit acted as judge and jury because the sin had to be removed. It could not be allowed life as it would have led to discord and disharmony.
Ananias and Sapphira could not have gotten by with a “slap on the wrist”. Their actions and lies would have hung over the entire body, been dissected, discussed and caused rifts and criticism of the Apostles.
Also look at the Working of the Holy Spirit. This is the first example of the word of knowledge given to and Apostle. Peter was shown by the Holy Spirit exactly what they did and what the consequences would be. Words of Knowledge are not fortune telling, or anything else. It is the Holy Spirit giving direction to a Spirit filled believer in a certain situation that will lead to a change in that person’s life or confirmation of what God has already told them.
This is where we stand in our pray for the church today. We must pray for the Holy Spirit to show us how to pray for sin in the church, not be afraid to confront it if directed. Always knowing that everything we do should bring glory to God and not man.
We must also pray for and support the manifestation of the gifts of the spirit in our midst. To strengthen us as a church. But we cannot act for our glory or quench the spirit when it moves. Let us in this group continue to be in unity as we pray for our church and the church as a whole for growth, a deeper walk with the Lord and the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Amen?