By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text:
Acts
5:1-16
Acts
1:8
But
you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be [c]witnesses
to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of
the earth.”
(NKJV)
Both truth and the holy
Spirit are vital in the Church. Jesus tells us that knowing the truth sets us
free (John
8:32), while there is liberty in the presence of the Holy Spirit which is
in all believers in Jesus as Savior (2
Corinthians 3:17). In this text we see demonstrations of the power of God
in the church, one showing what can occur when one is dishonest and one showing
the power of God at work in the Church. For the Church to have the power it
needs to carry out the Great Commission, it must have a balance of Spirit and
Truth.
Ananias and his wife Sapphira
sold a piece of land and held back a portion for themselves, giving the
remaining portion to the Church (Acts
5:1-2). Peter confronted Ananias about keeping part of the proceeds
received from the sale of the land, reminding him that while he owned it, it
was his own, but when it was sold, he lost control over it. Peter then
confronts him about lying, reminding him he was not lying to men but to God (Acts
5:3-4). Upon hearing these words from Peter, Ananias fell down and died,
with the young men coming in to take him and bury him (Acts
5:5-6).
About three hours later,
Sapphira entered and was asked by Peter whether she and Ananias had sold their
land for a specified amount; she replied, "Yes" (Acts
5:7-8). Peter then asked her why she had conspired with her husband to lie
to the Holy Spirit, letting her know those who had buried her husband were at
the door and would carry her out as well (Acts
5:9). She also fell down dead with the young men carrying her out and
burying her as well (Acts
5:10). This brought great fear upon the Church (Acts
5:11).
Through the hands of the
apostles, many signs and wonders happened among the people as they were all in
one accord in Solomon’s porch (Acts
5:12). None of the rest gathered at Solomon’s porch dared to join them but
they held the apostles in high esteem (Acts
5:13). However, believers were increasingly added to the Lord, both men and
women, with them bringing out the sick into the streets hoping that at least
the shadow of Peter would fall on them as he passed by (Acts
5:14-15). People from the cities surrounding Jerusalem also brought sick
people and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were healed (Acts
5:16).
Power in the Church
through the Holy Spirit, bringing wrath upon those lying to the Spirit and
healing to the sick and possessed through the Apostles.
- Judgment
(Acts
5:1-11) – One could interpret this passage to indicate that God
requires one to give all of what they receive from the sale of something
they own to the Church or face death. However, this does not align with
other scriptures that indicate forgiveness of sins (1
John 1:9). Instead, Ananias and Saphira probably told the apostles
they were selling some land and would bring all the proceeds to the Church,
but instead held some back and lied to Peter about what they sold the land
for. This is likely because Peter did not confront them about keeping some
of the proceeds back, but about lying about what they sold the land for.
This would constitute pilfering and not acting in good fidelity towards
God and His Church (Titus
2:10). While death for this lie may seem like a harsh punishment,
there is sin that leads to death (1
John 5:16), Had this lie gone unpunished, Satan would have gained a
foothold of lying going unpunished in the early church (Colossians
3:9).
- Healing
and deliverance (Acts
5:12-16)- There is a continued demonstration of the power of the Holy
Spirit in the Church, with many new disciples added to the Church (Acts
5:14). Believers meeting at Solomon’s porch at the temple were of one
accord, something that would not have been possible if believers lied to
one another without consequences (Acts
5:12). This unified demonstration of God’s power caused many to come
from surrounding cities, bringing their sick and tormented for healing (Acts
5:16).
The two events recorded
in this passage remind us of what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well,
that true worshippers worship in Spirit and truth (John
4:23).
- Truth
(Acts
5:1-11) – For one to be able to discern truth from a lie there must be
a standard of truth. Truth can be viewed as a measure taken with a standard
of measurement, so a builder can discern how much material he will need to
do the job. For the Church, the standard of measurement is the Bible,
God’s word. This is the standard of truth that reveals Jesus to us and is
the truth that sets us free (John
8:32). The sad fact is that many professing Christians, and even some
in ministry, do not regularly study the Bible to know this liberating
truth.
- Spirit
(Acts
5:12-16) – In Acts
1:4, Jesus commanded the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until
receiving the Holy Spirit. These men walked with Jesus, the truth (John
14:6), but head knowledge of the truth would not be enough if they
were to carry out the mission of sharing the Gospel (Acts
1:8; Mark 16:5; Matthew 28:19-20). However, there must be a balance of
demonstrations of the power of God through the Holy Spirit with Biblical truth,
so worship is not just an emotional outburst with no life-changing truth.
As we continue to pray
for revival, we must pray for a return to Biblical truth from the pulpit and
the empowerment of the Spirit in delivering this truth.
I now want to invite
anyone reading this who has not prayed for the forgiveness of the sin in their
lives (Romans
3:23), and making Jesus the Lord of their lives, to pray with me now.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
If you just prayed, let
someone know of your profession of faith or comment on this post. I also urge
you to find a church of truth, teaching from the Bible that is empowered by the
Holy Spirit, so you can grow in your faith. May God convict, challenge, and
bless everyone reading this post.
