Acts 5:1 - Meaning and Application

The chapter opens with a sad turn that stops the pleasant picture the earlier chapters gave us. Even in the best church, there is always a “but,” because no church on earth is perfectly pure. The disciples were holy, heavenly, and outwardly very good, yet hypocrites were among them. Some had been baptized and taken on the shape of godliness, but they never truly lived by its power.

There is always a mixture of good and bad in the best groups on this side of heaven. Weeds will grow among the wheat until harvest. The disciples had also reached a high level of generosity, the kind Christ urged on the rich young ruler, selling what they had and giving to the poor. Yet even that admirable practice became, for some, a cover for falsehood. What looked like the strongest proof of sincerity became a mask for hypocrisy.

Up to this point, the apostles had worked miracles of mercy. Now comes a miracle of judgment. God shows both his goodness and his severity, so that people may love him and fear him. The case of Ananias and his wife Sapphira shows us the sin clearly. It is good when husband and wife join together in what is right, but when they unite in evil, they echo Adam and Eve, who agreed in disobedience by eating the forbidden fruit.

Their first sin was ambition. They wanted to be seen as outstanding disciples, even though they were not true ones. They wanted to appear like the most fruitful trees in Christ’s vineyard, though the real root of faith was missing. They sold a property and brought the money to the apostles, just as Barnabas had done, so they would not seem less devoted than the best believers. They wanted praise and a good place in the church, and maybe they thought the church would soon enjoy worldly honor and power.

This shows how hypocrites can deny themselves in one area only to serve themselves in another. They may give up one earthly gain, hoping to profit in some other way. Ananias and Sapphira wanted the name of Christians and a good appearance before people, while mocking God and fooling others. It was honest of the rich young ruler to walk away sorrowful when he knew he could not meet Christ’s terms. But Ananias and Sapphira pretended they could meet those terms, so they could have the credit of discipleship, and that made them a shame to discipleship. It is often dangerous to claim more in religion than a person’s heart can truly support.

Their second sin was greed and distrust of God’s care. They sold their land and may first have meant, in a burst of zeal, to give all the money to holy use. They may even have made a vow to do so. But when the money came into their hands, they held part back because they loved it and did not want to part with it all at once. They also feared they might need it later. Even though all things were being held in common for the moment, they did not trust that God would provide for them. They tried to serve both God and money, giving part to God and keeping part for themselves. Their hearts were divided, and so they were found guilty (Hosea 10:2).

If they had been fully worldly, they would not have sold the land at all. If they had been fully devoted to Christ, they would not have kept back part of the price. Their third sin was deceit. They wanted the apostles to think they had brought the whole amount, when in fact they had only brought part of it. They came with confident faces and a show of devotion, and laid the money at the apostles’ feet as though it were all of it. In that act, they were lying to God’s Spirit, to Christ, and to the church and its ministers. That was their sin.

When Ananias brought the money and expected praise like the others, Peter confronted him at once. Peter did not need witnesses or an investigation. By the Spirit of God, he knew the fact itself, even though perhaps no one in the world knew it except Ananias and Sapphira, and he also saw the evil heart behind it. If this had been only a weakness, caused by a sudden temptation, Peter would likely have spoken more gently and sent him home to repent. But Peter saw that Ananias had fully chosen this evil, so he gave him no room to pretend or delay.

Peter first exposed the source of the sin: Satan had filled Ananias’s heart. Satan did not merely suggest the lie, he drove him into it. Anything against God’s good Spirit comes from the evil spirit, and a heart ruled by greed is one Satan can fill. Some think Ananias had once received the Holy Spirit’s gifts, but that after resisting the Spirit, Satan now took control of him, just as an evil spirit troubled Saul after the Lord’s Spirit left him. Satan is a lying spirit, and he showed that here, as he had done through Ahab’s prophets. That is how it became clear that Satan had filled Ananias’s heart.

Peter then named the sin itself: Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. Such a serious sin could not have been his if Satan had not first filled his heart. The phrase “lying to the Holy Ghost” can also be understood as belittling the Holy Spirit in himself.

Lightfoot understands Ananias as more than an ordinary believer. He thinks Ananias may have been a minister and one of the one hundred twenty who had received the Holy Spirit, especially since he is mentioned right after Barnabas. Even so, Ananias had the boldness to deceive and dishonor that gift.

Another possible sense is this: those who sold their property and laid the money at the apostles’ feet did so by a special moving of the Holy Spirit, who enabled them to act with great generosity. Ananias pretended that he had been moved by the Holy Spirit in the same way. But his base conduct showed that he was not under the Spirit’s influence at all, for if it had truly been his work, it would have been complete and sincere.

He also lied to the Holy Spirit in the apostles, to whom he brought the money. He misrepresented the Spirit by suggesting that the apostles would not faithfully handle what was entrusted to them, which was a wicked thought, as if they were false to their trust. Or he acted as if the apostles, filled with the Spirit, could be fooled just like anyone else. Like Gehazi, who was exposed by his master with the words, “Did I not go with you in spirit?” (2 Kings 5:26), Ananias assumed he could deceive spiritual men.

The prophets speak in a similar way about Israel and Judah, who dealt treacherously and lied about the Lord, saying, “It is not he” (Jeremiah 5:11-12). Ananias thought the apostles were just like himself, and in that way he lied against the Holy Spirit in them. He acted as if the Spirit did not dwell in them as one who discerns hearts, though they had the gifts of the Spirit in a special way, with gifts divided among them as the Spirit chose (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). Anyone who claims to speak by the Spirit while really following pride, greed, or a hunger for power lies against the Holy Spirit.

We may also read this as “to lie to the Holy Spirit,” which is supported by Acts 5:4: “You have not lied to men, but to God.” Ananias told a deliberate lie in order to deceive. He told Peter that he had sold a piece of property and that this was the full price. He may have used careful, half-true wording, hoping to avoid being caught in an outright lie. Or he may not have said much at all, but his action gave the same false impression.

He behaved as the others did who brought the full price, and he wanted the praise and standing they received. So his act was an implied claim that he had brought the whole amount, when in fact he had kept part back. Many people are led into serious lying by pride and the desire for human praise, especially in acts of charity to the poor. To avoid boasting of a false gift, or even boasting wrongly about a true gift (Proverbs 25:14), we must not boast at all in such matters. That is why Jesus warned, “Let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing.” Those who brag about good works they never did, promise good works they never carry out, or make their good works seem greater than they are, fall into Ananias’s sin.

Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit because the money was brought, not simply to men, but to the Holy Spirit working in the apostles. That is why Peter says, “You have not lied to men, but to God” (Acts 5:4). From this, we rightly conclude that the Holy Spirit is God. If lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God, then the Spirit must be truly divine. As Dr. Whitby notes, the apostles acted by God’s power and authority, so to lie to them in that setting was to lie to God. He also points out that Ananias lied to the Spirit who enabled the apostles to know hidden things in people’s hearts and actions, a power belonging to God alone.

The sin was even worse because Ananias had no real need to do what he did. While the property remained unsold, it was still his own. After it was sold, the money was still under his control. This can mean, first, that he was under no pressure to keep back part of the price. The land was not tied up by debt, and perhaps he had no special need to save part of the money. He acted without cause. Or it can mean, second, that he did not have to sell the land at all, or bring any money to the apostles. He could have kept both the land and the money if he wished, and no one would have blamed him.

This matches the rule of Christian giving: no one should be pressed as if giving were a forced duty, because God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Philemon was also told to do a good work willingly, not under pressure (Philemon 1:14). It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay. So it would have been better for Ananias not to sell the land at all than to keep back part of the price after pretending to give the whole. Better not to claim the good work than to do it only halfway.

Once the land was sold, the money was in his own power. But it was no longer so when he had vowed it to God. He had opened his mouth to the Lord and could not then go back. In giving our hearts to God, we are not allowed to divide them. Satan may be satisfied with half, like a mother who would take a child that was not really hers. God, however, will have all or nothing.

So the whole guilt is laid at his door: “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” Notice that although Satan filled his heart, Ananias is still said to have conceived the sin in his own heart. We cannot excuse ourselves by blaming the devil. He tempts, but he cannot force. We are drawn away by our own desires. Whatever evil is spoken or done, the sinner has first conceived it in his own heart. Therefore, if you scorn wisdom, you alone will bear it. The charge ends where it must: “You have not lied to men, but to God.”

What the prophet said to Ahaz applies here: “You are not just tiring out people, you are also tiring out my God” (Isaiah 7:13). Moses said something similar to Israel: “Your grumbling is not against us, but against the Lord” (Exodus 16:8). The same point stands here. Ananias may have thought he was deceiving people like himself, but God cannot be fooled. If we try to cheat God, we will end up cheating our own souls in the most dangerous way.

III. The death and burial of Ananias, Acts 5:5, 6. He died at once. When Ananias heard these words, he was speechless, like the man who came to the wedding feast without a wedding garment. He had nothing to say for himself, but this went further than silence. He fell down and gave up his life. It is not clear whether Peter expected this to happen, though he likely did, since he spoke so plainly of death to Sapphira, his wife, in Acts 5:9. Some think an angel struck him dead, as happened later with Herod (Acts 12:23). Others think his own conscience was so crushed by guilt and fear that he collapsed under it.

Perhaps, when he was accused of lying to the Holy Spirit, he remembered that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven, and the thought struck him like a dagger. See the power of God’s word in the apostles’ mouths. For some, it is a message that gives life. For others, it is a message that brings death. Some are justified, that is, declared right with God, by the gospel, while others are condemned by it.

This judgment on Ananias may seem harsh, but it was just. First, it upheld the honor of the Holy Spirit, who had just been poured out on the apostles to establish the gospel kingdom. Ananias insulted the Holy Spirit as though he could be deceived. His lie also threatened the apostles’ witness, because if they could not detect this fraud by the Spirit, how could they reveal the deep things of God to people? So the truth of their gifts and power had to be defended, even at this cost.

Second, it warned others not to act in the same way at the start of this new work of God. Later, Simon Magus and Elymas were not punished like this, but Ananias was made an example at the beginning. God gave visible proof that receiving the Spirit is a wonderful blessing, but resisting him is a serious danger. In the same way, the worship of the golden calf was severely punished, as was gathering sticks on the Sabbath, when those commandments had just been given. So also were Nadab and Abihu punished for offering unauthorized fire, and Korah and his company for their rebellion, when God had just given the fire from heaven and confirmed Moses and Aaron.

It also matters that Peter carried this out, though he himself had recently denied his Master with a lie. That shows this was not Peter’s private anger. If it had been only a wrong done to him, he might have shown special patience, since he had once failed himself and had been forgiven. Instead, this was the act of the Spirit of God in Peter. The insult was done to the Spirit, and the punishment came through him.

2. Ananias was buried at once, as the Jews usually did in those days (Acts 5:6). The young men, likely those set apart in the church to bury the dead, like the Romans had men for that work, wrapped the body in grave clothes, carried it out of the city, and buried it properly. They did this even though he had died in sin and under immediate divine judgment.

IV. The case of Sapphira, the wife of Ananias, who perhaps was first in the sin and urged her husband on. She came to the place where the apostles were, apparently Solomon’s Porch, where they are found again in Acts 5:12, the same temple area where Christ used to walk (John 10:23). She came about three hours later, expecting praise for coming and agreeing to the sale of the land, of which she may have had her share by right. She did not know what had already happened. It is strange that no one seems to have told her of her husband’s sudden death so she could stay away. Perhaps someone did tell her, but she was not at home. So when she came to present herself before the apostles as a giver, she found judgment instead of blessing.

She was shown to be guilty of sharing in her husband’s sin by the question Peter asked her (Acts 5:8): “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” He named the exact amount Ananias had brought and placed at the apostles’ feet. In effect, he asked, “Was that all you received, or did you get more?” She answered, “Yes, that was all.” Ananias and his wife had agreed on the same story. Since the deal was private and they kept it to themselves, they thought no one could prove them wrong, so they could safely stand by the lie and gain credit for it. It is sad when people who should strengthen one another in what is good instead harden one another in what is evil.

Then sentence was passed on her, and she shared her husband’s judgment (Acts 5:9). First, her sin was made plain: “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Before Peter judged her, he showed her the evil of what she had done. They tested the Spirit of the Lord, just as Israel tested God in the wilderness when they said, “Is the Lord among us or not?” even after seeing many miracles of his power. They had seen the apostles speak in different languages, but were they also able to discern spirits, and see through this lie? They thought they could hide behind the darkness, but God sees through it (Job 22:13). People who assume they can sin safely and escape punishment are really testing God, as if he were just like themselves.

They also agreed together in this sin, turning the bond of marriage, which God gave as a holy bond, into a bond of wrongdoing. It is hard to say which is worse, disagreement in what is good, or agreement in what is evil.

This seems to suggest that their agreement to carry out the lie was itself another way of testing the Spirit. It was as if they thought that, once they had promised to keep each other’s secret, even the Spirit of the Lord could not expose them. They were digging deep to hide their plan from the Lord, but they were shown that such efforts are useless. “How could you be so blinded? What strange foolishness has taken hold of you, that you would dare to test something beyond question? How could you, who are baptized Christians, fail to understand yourselves better? How could you take such a risk?” (2.)

Her judgment is then announced: “Look, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door,” perhaps because she heard them coming, or because she knew they could not be far off, “and they will carry you out.” As Adam and Eve, who agreed to eat the forbidden fruit, were driven out of paradise together, so Ananias and Sapphira, who agreed to test the Spirit of the Lord, were driven out of the world together.

3. The sentence carried itself out. No one needed to execute it. A killing power went with Peter’s word, just as healing power sometimes did, for the God in whose name he spoke gives life and takes it away. From his mouth, and Peter was now speaking for him, come both good and evil (Act 5:10). Then she fell down at once at his feet.

God deals quickly with some sinners, while he bears long with others. There are surely wise reasons for that difference, though he does not owe us an explanation. She had not even heard until now that her husband was dead. The news of that, along with the exposure of her sin and the sentence of death, struck her like a thunderbolt and carried her off like a whirlwind. There are many sudden deaths that should not be treated as punishment for some great sin like this one. We must not assume that everyone who dies suddenly is worse than others. Sometimes a quick death is mercy, because it brings a speedy passage from this life. Still, it warns all of us to be always ready.

Here, though, it is clear that this was an act of judgment. Some ask about the eternal state of Ananias and Sapphira, and they think perhaps the destruction of the body was meant so that the spirit could be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. I would agree with that charitable view if they had been given any time to repent, as the immoral man in Corinth was. But hidden things do not belong to us. It is said that she fell down at Peter’s feet. There, where she should have laid the whole price and did not, she herself was laid, as if to make up what was lacking.

The young men who handled funerals came in and found her dead. It does not say that they wrapped her body, as they did with Ananias, but only that they carried her out as she was and buried her beside her husband. Perhaps a sign was placed over their graves to show that they stood together as a lasting warning of God’s anger against those who lie to the Holy Spirit.

Some ask whether the apostles kept the money that had been brought, the money about which the couple lied. I think they did. They did not share the narrow scruples of those who said it was not lawful to put such money into the treasury, for to the pure all things are pure. What they brought was not polluted to those who received it, but what they held back was polluted to them. Even the censers of Korah’s rebels were used for a holy purpose.

5. We also notice the effect this had on the people. The story interrupts the account to tell us that great fear came on all who heard about these things, both from Peter’s words and from what followed, or from hearing the report spread through the city. Again it says that great fear came on the whole church, and on all who heard about these things (Act 5:5, Act 5:11).

Those who had joined the church were filled with awe toward God and toward his judgments, and with deeper respect for this work of the Spirit under which they now lived. This did not lessen their holy joy. Instead, it taught them to be serious in their joy and to rejoice with trembling. After this, all who laid their money at the apostles’ feet were afraid to hold back any part of the price.

Everyone else who heard about it was thrown into fear and were ready to ask, “Who can stand before this holy Lord God and his Spirit in the apostles?” as in Sa1 6:20.