4:32–35
Today’s passage begins with a short summary of how things were going in the early church. Luke gives these summaries from time to time throughout the book of Acts. The first was at the end of chapter 2 where he told us that the early believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And he told us how they shared with one another and how some of them sold some of their property and used the proceeds of the sale to help those who were in need. And they ate together with glad and sincere hearts and praised God and enjoyed the favour of the people. And the Lord added to their numbers those who were being saved.
That was at the end of chapter 2. And at the end of chapter 4 we have another summary of what the church was like in those days. Luke tells us in verse 32 that all the believers were one in heart and mind. So, they enjoyed unity among themselves, which is no mean feat given that the church had grown and now numbered in the thousands. And so, imagine that: thousands of people getting on with one another and agreeing with one another and no one was falling out with the others and no one was complaining or moaning or causing trouble or throwing their weight around. It doesn’t seem real, does it? It doesn’t seem real, because we all know what churches can be like today with members falling out or arguing with one another. But that’s how it was in those days. And they shared what they had with one another. So, no one was saying, ‘That’s mine. Hands off!’ Instead they were saying, ‘That’s mine, but do you need it?’
And so, according to verse 34 there was no needy person among them. And Luke goes on to explain that there was no needy person among them because from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them and gave the money from the sale to the apostles who distributed it to those who were in need. So, there was some who were once needy. But those who had much shared what they had with those who had little and their needs were fulfilled because of the generosity of their fellow believers.
There’s no suggestion anywhere that the apostles were forcing people to do this or that the people were unwilling to do this. It’s not that the apostles created a rule about sharing your property which the people were required to keep and kept reluctantly. And it’s not that the apostles were seizing their property. No, this is something the people did freely. That becomes clear in what Peter said later to Ananias. Take a look at verse 4 of chapter 5, where Peter said to Ananias about the land that Ananias had sold that it belonged to him before it was sold; and after it was sold, the money was at his disposal. So, he was free to do whatever he wanted with the money, because the money was his. It was his to give away and it was his to keep and no one was forcing him to do one or the other.
One of the marks of the early church is how they loved and cared for one another. They supported one another. And this is what happens to us more and more as the Holy Spirit works in our lives to renew us in the image of God. And I think Luke is referring to this in verse 33 where he says that with great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and much grace was upon them. When he mentions God’s grace here, he’s referring to the gracious activity of the Holy Spirit, who works in us to change us. Without the help of the Spirit, we are sinfully inclined to do what is wrong. But with the help of the Spirit, we are Spiritually-inclined to do what is right. And the Holy Spirit works in our lives to renew us in God’s image.
And so, think of God’s generosity and how he has freely given us life and breath and everything else. Every good thing we enjoy here on earth has come to us from him. And he’s also given us his Son to be our Saviour. And he has given us forgiveness through faith in his Son and the free gift of eternal life. And he gives us one spiritual blessing after another. And he also gives us his Spirit to renew us in his image. And so, with the Spirit working in our hearts and minds and lives, we should see ourselves becoming more and more generous, just like our Father in heaven. And if you’re a believer, but you find it hard to be generous, then you should confess it to God and ask for his forgiveness. And you should also ask him to renew you in his image more and more by his Spirit who is living in you so that you become generous and kind and good like him.
4:36+37
And after Luke’s brief summary of how the church was doing, he gives us in verses 36 and 37 one example of what was happening in those days. So, he tells us about this Levite from Cyprus called Joseph — although he’s better known in the New Testament as Barnabas. And this Joseph, or Barnabas, sold a field he owned and he brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet for them to distribute among the needy members. Using the words of verse 33, we can say that much grace was upon Barnabas and the Holy Spirit was at work in his life to renew him in God’s image and to make him willing to give up some of his property for the good of others in the church.
This was just one example of what was happening in those days. Later on in the book of Acts we’ll read how the apostles appointed deacons to oversee the distribution of food to needy widows every day. And in 1 and 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul writes about a special collection for needy believers in Jerusalem. And Paul encouraged the believers in Corinth to give generously towards it. And so, believers living in Corinth were willing to give what they could to help believers in Jerusalem whom they had never met. Their hearts went out to them and they wanted to help them.
That’s what the believers did in those days and it’s what the apostles taught them to do. And so, in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he gave instructions on how believers should care for widows who are in need. And the Apostle John, in his first New Testament, says that if anyone has material possessions and has no pity on his fellow believer who is in need, then how can the love of God be in him? And so, he said that we’re not to love with words and tongue only, but with actions and in truth.
The Apostles taught the people to be generous; and in the New Testament we see their generosity. And we know that by AD 250 the Christians in Rome were supporting fifteen hundred needy people every day. And churches throughout the Roman Empire set up food programs and hospitals and orphanages which were made available to believers and unbelievers alike. And the impact on the people was so great that the pagan Emperor Julian was afraid that Christianity would take over the world because of the good deeds of its members. And so, Julian wrote to pagan priests to tell them to set up similar welfare programs in their temples. He was telling them to copy what the early church was doing. What we read in Acts 4 about Barnabas was only one example of what the early believers were doing. And they were generous like this because the Holy Spirit was at work in them so that instead of being sinfully-inclined to be selfish, they were Spiritually-inclined to be generous just like our Father in heaven who is good to all.
3:1–6
What Barnabas did is an example of the good things that were happening in those days. But what Luke tells us next is a reminder that we still live in a fallen world. We still live in a fallen world where people do what is wrong instead of what is right.
Luke tells us in verse 1 of chapter 5 about a man named Ananias. And along with his wife, Sapphira, he sold a piece of property. And with his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back part of the money for himself, and brought the remainder and put it at the apostles’ feet. Now, as Peter makes clear in verse 4 the property belonged to Ananias before he sold it; and after it was sold, the money was at his disposal. He could do whatever he wanted with it: he could keep it all; he could give it all away; or he could do what he did do and keep some of it for himself and give away some of it. It was his money and he was free to do whatever he wanted with it.
But it’s clear from what happens next that there was something wrong here. According to verse 3, Peter said to Ananias: ‘How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received from the land?’ So, there are two things which are wrong here. The first is that satan had filled his heart. Instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit, he had been filled with satan, who is — as one the commentators puts it — the evil counterpart to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of God’s people to renew us in God’s image so that we will do what is right, whereas satan works in the hearts of men and women to tempt them to do what is evil. And just as a metal is drawn to a magnet, so our sinful hearts are drawn to do what satan wants us to do.
So, that’s the first thing which is wrong. And the second is that Ananias had lied to God the Holy Spirit. Now, Luke hasn’t recorded for us anything Ananias said. But when Peter says he has lied to the Holy Spirit, then that presupposes that Ananias said something to the apostles; and that what he said to them was false. And so, presumably, when he gave them the gift, he said that it was the full amount that he received from the sale. And while we don’t know why he lied to them in this way, perhaps it was because he wanted the recognition without having to pay the cost. He perhaps wanted the apostles and others to commend him and to praise him for his generosity. Just as Barnabas’s name was recorded as someone who gave generously, so Ananias perhaps wanted his name recorded as someone who gave generously. But while he maybe wanted the reputation for being as generous as someone like Barnabas, he wasn’t actually willing to be as generous as someone like Barnabas.
So, maybe he wanted to impress the apostles, but he didn’t have it in him to do the really impressive thing and give all the money away. And so, with a little help from satan, he lied to the apostles. And so, this is the second thing that was wrong.
The property was his before he sold it. After he sold it, the money was at his disposal. He was free to do whatever he wanted with it. But instead of being honest about it, he lied. And as Peter says in verse 4, he lied not to men, but to God. If someone lies to the king’s ambassador, then it’s as if they’re lying to the king. And that’s a serious matter. And since Ananias lied to the apostles, who were servants of God, then it was as if he lied to God. And that’s a very serious matter.
And when Ananias heard what Peter said, he fell down and died. Some of the commentators suggest that the shock of what Peter said to him was too much for Ananias and he died of a heart attack. In other words, some of the commentators are trying to say that what happened to Ananias was entirely natural and there was nothing supernatural about it at all. But we’re meant to take it that what happened to Ananias was an act of God. In fact, it was an act of God’s judgment. God caused this man to fall down dead. And the result of God’s act of judgment on Ananias was that a great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
Often when the Bible refers to people fearing God it means they worshipped him. But on other occasions it means they were afraid of him. And that’s what happened on this occasion. All who heard about this — and that includes believers and unbelievers — were filled with fear, because if such a thing could happen to Ananias, then it could happen to them as well. They began to understand that God knows what is in our hearts; and he knows our evil thoughts and desires and inclinations; and he sees our evil deeds; and he will hold us accountable for them. The good news, of course, is that whoever confesses their sins to God and trusts in Christ for forgiveness is pardoned by God and accepted as righteous in his sight because of Christ, who gave up his life to pay for our sins. But for those who do not believe, there’s only the fearful prospect of the judgment of God for all that they have done wrong.
And on this occasion, God’s judgment fell on Ananias immediately and he fell down and died. And some young men came forward and the wrapped up his body and carried him out and buried him.
5:7–11
That’s not the end of the story, because Luke referred to Ananias’s wife, Sapphira, back in verse 1. And he tells us in verse 7 that she came in about three hours later. We don’t know where she’s been or what she was doing. But Luke tells us that she’s unaware of what had happened to her husband. And when she came in, Peter asked her to tell him whether Ananias had handed over to the apostles the full amount he got for the land. And, of course, according to verse 2, it was with his wife’s full knowledge that Ananias held back part of the money. So, she knew what her husband had planned to do. And when Peter asked her about it, she backed up her husband’s story and said plainly that yes, this was the full amount. And so, just like her husband, she lied. And just like her husband, she lied not so much to men, but to God, because she was lying to the servants of God.
But Peter accuses her, not of lying to the Holy Spirit, but of testing the Holy Spirit. And that’s an interesting way to describe what she did, because it recalls what the Israelites did in the wilderness in the days of Moses. After the Lord rescued them from their captivity in Egypt, he brought them into the wilderness in order to lead them to the Promised Land. But on the way, the people tested the Lord again and again and again. They tested his faithfulness and his willingness to provide for them. And they tested his patience by their continual rebellion against him. And here’s Peter saying that Ananias and Sapphira are also testing the Lord. And the circumstances are similar, aren’t they? The Israelites tested the Lord after he rescued his people from their captivity in Egypt by the hand of Moses. And Ananias and Sapphira were testing the Lord after he rescued his people from our sin and misery by the hand of Jesus Christ who died for us. But instead of turning away from sin, instead of fleeing from it, Ananias and Sapphira continue to sin boldly when they tried to lie to God the Holy Spirit.
And Peter announced to Sapphira that the feet of the men who buried her husband are at the door and they will carry her out also. And just like her husband, Sapphira also fell down and died. Once again, this was an act of God’s judgment on her. And the young men came in and carried her out as they did with Ananias’s body. And they buried her too.
And what was the result? Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. So, members of the church and outsiders too were seized with fear. And if you glance down to verse 13 you’ll see that Luke says that no-one else dared join the believers. That suggests that some people who did not really believe were mixing with the believers in those days, just as any church today is a mixture of believers and unbelievers. And presumably in those days there was some benefit to being among God’s people, even if you didn’t really believe. After all, if you were in need, the church was the place to receive help. But after what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, those who did not believe kept away from the believers, because of the fear which had seized the people, when they saw the powerful and dreadful judgment of God.
Conclusion
At the end of chapter 2, Luke described what the early church was like and it was a little like heaven on earth. The believers were together; and they shared what they had; and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts; and they worshipped God together; and the church was growing. It was all good. It was all wonderful. And the little summary of what the church was like at the end of chapter 4 was similar. It was all good: the way they cared for one another and shared with one another. It was like heaven on earth. It was like the Garden of Eden before the fall.
But the story of Ananias and Sapphira is a reminder that we still live in a fallen world. We still live in a fallen world where things are not right and where people do what is wrong. And the church is not yet perfect. And we are not perfect.
But thanks be to Christ our Saviour who gave up his life on the cross to pay for our sins, so that all who believe in him receive forgiveness for all that we do wrong and will not suffer the judgment of God for all that we have done wrong. And after he was raised from the dead, the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven to receive the Spirit. And he now pours out the Spirit on his people to renew us in God’s image so that we become more and more willing and able to do God’s will here on earth. With the help of the Spirit, we’ll become more and more like Barnabas and all those other believers we read about in the New Testament and in the early history of the church, who did so much to help believers and unbeliever alike. The Holy Spirit is able to renew us.
And by loving and caring for the people around us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we’re able to renew the world around us and make it — at least in a small way — a world of love instead of a world of greed.
And as God reveals his glory to us in the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to transform us into God’s likeness and to change us more and more. And he will continue to change us until Christ comes again and brings us into the new heavens and earth, where we’ll be glorified in the presence of God and made perfect for ever. And then we’ll be able to love one another perfectly and we’ll love God perfectly. And we’ll be able to give thanks to God our Father for his kindness to us in Christ Jesus, because he was willing to give up his Son for us and for our salvation so that we might have eternal life in his presence.
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