“And Cannot look on Wrong”
Introduction: The record makes it clear that, though the church and the apostles found great favor among the people (2:47; 3:9, 10), their preaching and their claims that Jesus of Nazareth who had been crucified was in fact the long-expected Messiah whom God had raised from the dead also prompted great opposition and murderous hostility (4:1-3; 6:8-13). This led to some severe social disruption, probably ostracism of family members, and created an immediate and a long-term need for providing for the daily necessities of many in this new community of believers (Acts 11:27-30; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3; 2 Corinthians 8, 9; Galatians 2:10; Acts 24:17). This immediate, and evidently severe, need led to the events of this lesson.
I. 4:32-37 -The Spirit of Unity, Benevolence, and commonality.
A. Verse 32 – Believers saw themselves as all of one family spiritually and put the needs of others as more important than their own (cf. Philippians 2:1-4). Their material possessions, therefore, they shared in common in light of the exigencies of the situation.
B. Verse 33 – The Apostolic preaching of the resurrection of Christ continued to be blessed with great power. None placed their material well-being as a priority over the proclamation of truth about the glory of Christ and the resultant saving grace of God.
C. Verses 34, 35 – The church conducted itself in the way that Paul at a later time, still dealing with this same situation, instructed the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8:12-15.
1. They gave according to the ability to do so, and sometimes beyond their ability (2 Cor. 8:3), in order that needs would be supplied. As each person had needs, so their needs were met with the result that “there was not a needy person among them.”
2. Supplies gained through the generosity of those who sold land and gave their proceeds to the community were laid at the apostles’ feet for distribution according to need. This led to a division of labor later (Acts 6:1, 2).
3. The selling of lands and houses cannot have been absolutely exhaustive or the solution would have made a more difficult problem than the present crisis. None would have had places to live or produce food for ongoing needs. God is not abolishing the principle of personal ownership of property in these events, but is highlighting the principle of generosity in light of the reality of the freeness of saving grace. In this judgment, I am not seeking to minimize the generosity of those that sold and gave, but am seeking to observe the larger principle as it is developed throughout similar passages in the Old and New Testaments concerning ownership of property in connection with compassion for the needy. (See Leviticus 19:9, 10; 25:23-34; 35-38; James 2:14-17; 4:13-17; 5:1-6; 1 John 3:16-18)
4. Barnabas, who proved throughout his Christian life his gracious character and that he had abandoned all to follow Christ (Acts 9:27; 15:36-39), is given as an example of sincere benevolence. He sold “a field that belonged to him” and brought the entire amount to the apostles.
II. A Plot to Deceive and Impress – This event could be an answer to the prayer of 4:30 that God would stretch out his hand to heal and “signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Ironically, this “wonder” was not a healing but a killing.
A. Ananias and Sapphira, in an effort to gain the same kind of esteem in which Barnabas was held [“who was called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement)”], decided to give the appearance of emulating his generosity. According to their plan, they would sell “a piece of property,” determine an amount to keep for themselves, but give the appearance that they, like Barnabas, brought the entire proceeds from the sale for the relief of the destitute in the church.
B. The recognition of original ownership – “Each person must give as he has made up his mind,.” according to 2 Corinthians 9:7. Peter’s confrontation with Ananias proceeds on the principle that Ananias owned his property and had the right to do with it as he saw fit. “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?” Even when he sold it, he had the right to use the price of the selling as he saw fit. “And after it was sold, did it not remain at your disposal?”
C. A Plot to Deceive – The action of selling and giving only part of the proceeds to be distributed by the apostles was done “with his wife’s knowledge.” (2). She showed her complicity in her answer to Peter, saying that they had sold the land for the amount that they gave, when it clearly was not the case (8).
D. A Lie to the Holy Spirit – So deeply connected was the ministry of the apostles and the entire life of the church with the convicting, converting, and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, than any attempt to mislead either the apostles or the church was seen as lying to the Holy Spirit (5:3). Peter’s alignment of the Holy Spirit with God (5:4) is one of the clear points of demonstrating the deity of the Spirit. Also see 1 Corinthians 2:10, 11 for a necessary implication of the divine status of the Spirit in his knowledge, activity, sanctifying influence, and gracious operations: “No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
III. The Deadly character of sin. For this deceit, God immediately took the lives of Ananias and Sapphira. Skeptics look at the biblical record apart from any admission of the consistency and legitimacy of the world view set forth in Scripture and find only reason for being horrified at such a presentation of God.—killing the entire population, excepting one family, in the flood (Genesis 6), striking individuals dead for being “wicked” (Genesis 38:6-10), wiping out tens of thousands by plague and absolute control of nature (Exodus 12:29; 14:26-29; Numbers 16:31-35, 41-50), raining down fire from heaven to consume two entire cities (Genesis 19:23-26), purposing the elimination of entire people groups during the Israelite conquest of Canaan (Joshua 3:10; 6:20, 21; 8:24-29, et al.). The deaths of this husband and wife and God’s judgment executed by any means he sees fit are not discordant with the Bible’s view of the seriousness of sin.
A. At Adam’s sin, – None of the actions of God in taking the lives of humans can be understood as just, equitable, and consistent with true virtue apart from the world view established in the revealed narrative of creation, the infinitely just obligation of worship and obedience of the creature toward the Creator, a positive injunction for obedience, and the fall.
1. The entire race fell into immediate death through ruined affections. In Genesis 3:8 Adam and Eve hid from God to avoid their normal and daily time of immediate fellowship with him. Their disobedience had brought about alienation of affection from him, a mental disaffection from the giver and eternal source of life, the embodiment of infinite beauty and holiness. By willful sin they had brought death on themselves and, acting as the representative of all his posterity, Adam had involved the entire race in this disaffection, and ergo, death. All of humanity lies at the prerogative of God as to their present blessings, by mere grace, and as to an eternity of restored and unhindered fellowship in heaven or just punishment in hell.
2. Physical death is delayed but the bestowal of immortality immediately was removed. Adam lived over 900 years and prior to the flood man lived for multiplied hundreds of years. Subsequent to the flood life spans rapidly diminished until by the time of Abraham life spans became more and more consistent with what we presently observe. Physical death, however, except in rare cases determined by divine intervention (Enoch and Elijah), has come upon all people and is a clear indication of the universality of death-deserving sin (Romans 5:12, 21; 6:23). For the redeemed, it is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26).
3. In the eternal covenant of redemption, God had given a people to his Son (John 6:37, 39, 64, 65; 10:27-30; 17:1, 2). The world is preserved for the sake of his glorifying the Father by his obedient death, receiving glory from the Father by his resurrection, and manifesting the power of the Spirit in sending him to give, by omnipotent power (Ephesians 1:19) spiritual life to all those for whom the Son has died. The world is preserved for the manifestation of God’s great mercy, grace, and power in giving persevering determination for the sure salvation of his elect (2 Peter 1:10, 11; 2:20-22; 3:8-10; 14-18).
B. Immediate judgments or delays serve God’s purpose
1. Sons-in-law of
2. Belshazzar (Daniel 5:30) – This pagan monarch had been given the example of the conversion of his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, but still insisted on making sport of the of vessels taken out of the temple in Jerusalem. He lifted up himself against the “Lord of heaven” (Daniel 5:23) and the “God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.” That night he was killed by Darius the Mede.
3. Herod – He was eaten with worms. He accepted accolades of speaking “with the voice of a god, and not of a man!” and was struck down, eaten by worms, and breathed his last. (Acts 12:21-23.)
4. Nadab and Abihu (Aaron’s Sons) – They ignored the instructions concerning the way of offering fire upon the altar of sacrifice and “fire came out from the Lord and consumed them” (Leviticus 10:2). They arrogated to themselves a prerogative, feigning worthiness, superiority, and power in a matter in which they were strictly stewards and God reclaimed his right of being honored, “I will be sanctified and before all the people I will be glorified.”
5. Uzza – Uzza reached out his hand to steady the ark of God and “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:6, 7). They ignored the instructions concerning how the ark was to be transported from one place to another (Numbers 25:12-15). David, in this event equally to blame with Uzza, was spared for the sake of the messianic covenant with David and his house.
6. Paul saw this principle operative in the profaning of the Lord’s Supper in
C. This judgment was only one of several manifestation of power that served to preserve fear, awe, and holiness in the church in these initial stages of its formation as the New Covenant people of God. “And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things” (verse 11). Under the Old Covenant God acted with immediate purgings of the disobedient, rebellious, and unholy from the people he was preparing to be the conduit of revelation, law, prophecy, and the genetic foundation for the human nature to be joined with the person of the Son of God. Is it not at least as understandable that he would employ such manifestations of holy judgment to establish, in a New Covenant, a people redeemed “from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).
