04/07/2025 – Day 281 – Acts – Chapter 5 – 6 / 5: 2 – 5 Ananias and Sapphira – “Lying to the Holy Spirit” (Post 1 of 2)
Two prior cycle commentary posts by way of Matthew Henry’s commentary: 1) 02/22/2021 covering the appearance of Gamaliel, teacher of Saul of Tarsus, who we know as Paul the Apostle. 2) 5:1 – 5:11 – from Matthew Henry’s commentary covering the Lord’s judgment upon Ananias & Sappira. This can be a widely misunderstood section so I will cover it again, this time through the Apologetics Study Bible commentary:
“5: 2- 5 Ananias and Sapphira’s sin was knowingly withholding part of their land sale proceeds (to be given to the church) while claiming to give the church everything. Their lie to the church and God brought divine punishment, serving as a sober warning to all. Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit in the same way he lied to God (vv. 3-4). The phrasing indicates Peter considered the Spirit to be God and to be obeyed as God. Similar Trinitarian language is found elsewhere in Acts (20:28).
(*) “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as *overseers to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28). F.F. Bruce has compared the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira with that of Achan in the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 7). In both cases God’s people were at a critical point in His mission. In both cases hypocrisy threatened the mission. Both of these events are graphic reminders of how God perceives sin. For those who see the God of the Old Testament and New Testament as different, the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira shows that ‘His burning anger’ (Joshua 7:26) against all that is unholy is an essential and eternal part of God’s nature. It’s not that those who haven’t experienced the judgments of Achan and Ananias are better than they; only God’s grace has been the difference. These events at every different times in biblical history serve as reminders of the reverential awe with which we are to live before God. Such was the effect on the early church (5:11) and those who first read Acts.”
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Soli Deo Gloria!
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Questions for fellowship generation, the lifelong sanctification process:
- What does the text reveal about God’s character?
- How has this reading generated prayer for you and/or us?
- What themes stand out to you in this bible study?
- How does our reading fit into the bigger picture (creation, the fall, restoration, etc.)?
- What verse(s) jumped out at you like never before? Is it explainable at this point?
- Do you have any questions you would like to put before the group as to how to interpret any particular verse(s) in our reading. Let scripture testify to scripture: Share with us where you sense contradiction between passages elsewhere.
- What did you find convicting and inspiring at the same time? Share with us how the Spirit of God is working within you as a messenger, both within and outside of our fellowship group.
- Share with the group how our study is calling or confirming to you a new mission to glorify God in our times.