Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #7 - 4:32-5:11)
V. 4:32-5:11 THE LORD OF GREAT GRACE AND JUDGMENT
A. 4:32-37 HOW THE EARLY CHURCH MET ITS NEEDS
a. 4:32 ATTITUDE OF EARLY CHURCH TO POSSESSIONS IN FACE OF NEED
Tou de PLEthous ton pi-steuSANton en karDIa kai psuCHE MIa:
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul:
kai ouDE HEIS ti ton hu-parCHONton [5224] auTO Ele-gen Idi-on EInai;
and not even one said that anything of his:possessions was hisown;
all' en auTOIS panTA koiNA [2839].
but they had all thingscommon.
b. 4:33 NATURE OF EARLY APOSTOLIC WITNESS
kai duNAmei meGAle a-peDIdoun to marTUri-on [3142] hoi aPOsto-loi
And with great power gave the apostles theirwitness
tou KuRIou IeSOU tes a-naSTAse-os [386]: CHAris [5485] te meGAle en ePI PANtas auTOUS.
for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
c. 4:34-35 METHOD OF MEETING NEEDS IN EARLY CHURCH
ouDE gar en-deES [1729] tis en en auTOIS:
For neither was there any among them that lacked:
HOsoi gar KTEto-res [2935] choRIon [5564] e oi-kiON [3614] huPERchon,
for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them,
poLOUNtes Ephe-ron tas tiMAS ton pe-pra-skoMEnon,
andbrought the prices of the thingssold,
kai eTIthoun paRA tous POdas ton a-poSTOlon:
35and laid themat the feet of the apostles:
di-eDIde-to [1229] de heKAsto, kaTHOti AN tis CHREIan [5532] EIchen.
and distribution was made to each, according as any onehad need.
d. 4:36-37 EXAMPLE OF BARNABAS IN THIS RESPECT
IoSEPH de, ho e-pi-kleTHEIS [1941] BarNAbas aPO ton a-poSTOlon
And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas
(HO es-tin, me-ther-me-neuOme-non [3177], HuiOS pa-raKLEse-os [3874]),
(which is, being interpreted, Son of exhortation),
LeuEItes, KUpri-os to GEnei [1085], huPARchon-tos [5225]auTO aGROU, poLEsas,
a Levite, Cyprian by :race, 37having a field, sold it,
Eneg-ken to CHREma [5536]kai Ethe-ken paRA tous POdas ton a-poSTOlon.
andbrought the money and laid itat the feet of the apostles.
B. 5:1-11 GOD TEMPERS GRACE WITH JUDGMENT
1. 5:1-6 GOD JUDGES THE SIN OF LYING
a. 5:1-2 DECEIT OF ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA
A-NER DE tis, Ha-naNIas oNOma-ti, sun SapPHEIrete gu-naiKI auTOU, ePOle-sen [4453]KTEma,
But a certain man, Hananias by name, with Sappheira his :wife, sold a possession,
kai e-noPHIsa-to [3557] aPO tes tiMES [5092], su-neiDUIes [4894]kai tes gu-naiKOS,
2and withheld partof the price, the wife also aware of it,
kai eNEGkas MEros [3313] ti, paRA tous POdas ton a-poSTOlon Ethe-ken.
and brought a certain part, andlaid itat the feet of the apostles.
b. 5:3 ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA
EIpen de ho PEtros, Ha-naNIa, diA ti ePLEro-sen ho Sa-taNAS [4567]
But :Peter said, Hananias, why has :Satan
ten kar-diAN sou PSEUsasTHAI [5574]se to PNEUma to HAgi-on,
filled your :heart to lie to the Holy :Spirit,
kai nosPHIsas-thai [3557] aPO tes tiMES tou choRIou [5564]?
and to withhold partof the price of the land?
c. 5:4a While it remained, did it not remain yours? and whensold, was it not in your :power?
ouCHI MEnon, soi Eme-nen? kai praTHEN [4097], en tes see-xouSIa huPERchen [5225]?
d. 5:4b SERIOUS NATURE OF LYING: A CRIME AGAINST GOD
ti HOti Ethou en te karDIa sou to PRAGma [4229]TOUto?
How is it that you have conceived this :thing in your :heart?
ouk ePSEUso [5574]anTHROpois, alLA toTheO.
you have not lied to men, but to :God.
e. 5:5 JUDGMENT: DEATH OF ANANIAS BROUGHT FEAR ON ALL
aKOUon de ho Ha-naNIas tous LOgous TOUtous peSON eXEpsu-xen [1634]:
And Hananias hearing these :words fell down andbreathed his last:
kai eGEne-to PHObos [5401] MEgas ePI PANtas tous aKOUon-tas.
and great fear came upon all that heard it.
f. 5:6 ANANIAS IMMEDIATELY BURIED
a-naSTANtes de hoi neOte-roi [3501]suNEstei-lan auTON, kai e-xeNEGkan-tes [1627]Etha-psan.
And the younger men arose and wrapped him round, and carried out andburied him.
2. 5:7-11 A DOUBLE JUDGMENT
a. 5:7 WIFE OF ANANIAS ENTERS
E-GEne-to de hos hoRON triON diAste-ma [1292], kai he guNEauTOU,
and it was about after three hours' space, and his :wife,
meeiDUIa [1492]to ge-goNOS, eiSELthen.
not knowing what was done, came in.
b. 5:8a And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.
a-peKRIthede pros auTEN PEtros, EiPE moi ei toSOUtou to ChoRIon aPEdos-the.
c. 5:8b And she said, Yes, for so much. hede EIpen, Nai, toSOUtou.
d. 5:9 JUDGMENT FOR SYMPHONIZING IN DECEIT: DEATH!
ho de PEtros pros auTEN, Ti HOti su-ne-phoNEthe[4856]huMIN peiRAsai to PNEUma KuRIou?
But :Peter said unto her,How is it that you have agreed to try the Spirit of the Lord?
iDOU, ho POdes ton thaPSANton [2290]ton ANdra sou
lo, the feet of them that have buried your :husband
ePI te THUra, kai eXOIsouSIN [1627]se.
are at the door, and they shall carry you out.
e. 5:10 EXECUTION AND BURIAL
Epe-sen de pa-raCHREma [3916]pros tous POdas auTOU, kai eXEpsu-xen [1634]:
And she fell down immediately at his :feet, and breathed her last:
ei-selTHONtes de hoi ne-aNIskoi HEUron auTEN neKRAN,
and the young men came in and found her dead,
kai e-xeNEGkan-tes [1627] Etha-psan [2290] pros ton ANdra auTES.
and they carried her out and buried her by her :husband.
f. 5:11 RESULT: GREAT FEAR ON THE CHURCH, AND ALL HEARING
kai eGEne-to PHObos [5401] MEgas eph' HOlen ten ek-kleSIan,
And great fear came upon the whole church,
kai ePI PANtas tous aKOUon-tas TAUta.
and upon all that heard these things.
NOTE: Here is another example how God's Bible Numeric Greek and English New Testament relates to establishing true contexts of sentences, subdivisions, paragraphs and sections (chapter equivalents) - helping us to grasp the unity of a section such as this.
Section V of Acts includes 4:32-5-11 - the last few verses of chapter 4, and the first 11 verses of chapter 5. To look into this section in this light, is to find ready confirmation for the wisdom of God in this. Chapter and verse devisions as found in other versions since 1611 - do not beginto show the wisdom of what we find here in Panin's Interlinear Greek NT.
4:32-37 shows how the needs of some were met in the early church. Barnabas nobly did his part in meeting such needs.
5:1-6 - But here God felt it wise to judge lyingat the very beginning of the early church, and set the standard of the seriousness of walking in honesty before God and man. He chose to use Peter - apostle of the Jewish circumcision to strike a note that in turn struck fear not only upon the church of the beginning, but upon all non-believers also who heard this report.
God gave Peter the gift of discernings of spirits to spot the hypocrisy in the heart of Ananias. It was just as if Jesus were present reading the hearts of men. And indeed it was! It wasJesus by His Holy Spirit working through Peter as His channel to strike this note. It was also confirmation that this book of Acts through Luke was truly the “Acts of the Holy Spirit” through the apostles - Peter in this instance.
Then in 5:7-11, God through the Holy Spirit again used Peter as a double witness to work judgment on the wife of Ananias, Sapphira, who with her husband had agreed to this deception. Again, great fear in a double measure fell upon the whole church, and all outsiders who heard. It would cause unbelievers to think before they responded to the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in Jesus - for if they were not whole-heartedly involved, it could be dangerous to join this church!
Would to God our present church of North America would see the sin of lying and deception as Godsees it. Oh! It was just a little “white lie”, we hear said today! Really? Before the end of this age and the return of our Lord Jesus, expect God to use many Peters again as set forth in this Chapter-Section. J.A.W.
3