2008-08-22
01. Our previous teaching dealt with the healing of a lame man, Peter’s second sermon and his persecution by the Sanhedrin.
02. The present teaching deals with God’s judgment of Ananias and Sapphira, appointing of deacons to attend to the needs of the widows and how a disciple called Stephan was martyred for his faith in Jesus.
03. The Scripture portions quoted in this lecture need little explanation and therefore we will just comment briefly on each.
04. Let us read Acts chapter 4:32-37:
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
05. Here we see two beautiful characteristics of the first Christian congregation namely unity and love. Jesus had said that when people see the unity amongst his disciples, they will become convinced that God had sent Him into this world (John 17:23). All people crave to be accepted by other people. Children will do all sorts of very naughty things, just to be accepted by the other children in their group. The same amongst grownups. When an important person starts swearing and slandering the name of someone else, those srroundinh him will do the same just be accepted by this evil man. This kind of worldly unity never lasts, but when people are intimately joined to Christ, they are united by the love which the Holy Spirit pours into their hearts. Jesus also said that when the world observes this love amongst a group of people, they will say to one another “These people belong to Jesus” (John 14:35).
06. This unity and love drove out the fear of poverty and selfishness from the hearts of those that were wealthy and replaced it with a desire to help those that were in need. So many of them, including a very godly man named Barnabas, sold the fields they were not using and laid the money at the feet of the apostles to distribute to the poor. The Lord had not commanded them to do so, neither did the apostles make it a condition for joining the congregation. Every member had to decide for himself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So many did so, that no poverty was found amongst Jesus’ believers. This was just as great a miracle as the raising of the dead, for man is inherently selfish and only God can change that attitude. If you were poor, would you have longed to join that congregation? If you were rich, would you have joined that congregation?
07. Now let us read from chapter 5:1-16:
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, ‘‘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 for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, ‘‘Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” ‘‘Yes,” she said, ‘‘that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, ‘‘How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
08. In the New Testament we see many miracles motivated by God’s love and very few prompted by His righteousness in punishing sin, but in this pericope we have one such instance.
09. Secondly we see that in this world there is no such thing as a perfect congregation. Even in this exceptionally holy group we see dishonesty, greed and the desire to be glorified. They coveted to be seen as generous Christians, but were not willing to pay the price. They gave of their wealth, but with the wrong motive. Their motive was not unselfish love, but to be seen and uplifted by men.
10. Note also that in a congregation where the Holy Spirit is in control, He operates in every area of the congregation’s life. Here He is using Peter to flow in the gift of supernatural knowledge which leads to the uncovering of this sin which Ananias is concealing. God has given this gift to assist His body in building His church (1 Cor 12:8) and anyone of us can flow in this gift.
11. Note also the conspiracy between husband and wife. God wants wives to be obedient to their husbands, but when a husband sins, the wife is to take God’s side for God has greater authority than her husband.
12. The question remains why God punished their sin by instant death. Is such severe action not limited to the Old Testament? Man’s sin is reckoned to him according the amount of revelation he received from God. In this first congregation there was overwhelming revelation of the presence of the Holy Spirit, firstly because of the power in which the Word was preached, secondly by the miracles He performed and thirdly by the depth of the work of the Spirit in the hearts of the members, bringing them to a level of faith and submission where they were willing to lay on the alter all they had. The presence of God by His Spirit was so overwhelming, there was such a holy, sacred atmosphere that anyone that sinned as deliberately as these two people did, knew they were not just deceiving there fellow believers, but sinning blatantly against the Holy Spirit and that is against God himself.
13. We need to have great reverence for our God for his love does not displace his holiness. There is no need to live in fear, but we need to live in awe.
14. Let us read verses 12 to verse 16:
The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.
15. What happened to Ananias and his wife had a very wholesome effect upon the congregation in that insincere people did not dare to join as members for fear that the hidden sins of their hearts would be revealed by that bright light of God. On the other hand, those that longed to be delivered from sin, flocked to this body of believers. The church of God was held in high esteem by the outside world. Afflicted relatives and friends were brought to be healed and delivered from demons.
16. Let us as present day congregations also cleanse ourselves from deceit, envy, lust, gossiping and the like, so that we too might experience the mighty presence of God in our midst and that multitudes of sincere seekers may be soundly converted.
17. Let us turn to the Word once more and read Chapter 6:1-7:
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
18. The church of God always has to be on guard. Sometimes they are under attack from outside enemies like the Scribes and Pharisees, then again quarrels arise on the inside to break the unity. Having more than one race or group in a congregation, may increase the possibility of strife. Here we have the Greek speaking widows complaining that the Hebrew speaking widows were receiving more food than they did.
19. Church leaders need to hear clearly from God and act quickly and decisively to resolve the issue satisfactorily before it erupts into hard words and even a split of the congregation. A pastor that turns a deaf ear to the cries of his sheep, either because he is too lazy to do anything about it, or because he is in fear of confronting difficult people, will not survive. The unrest will destroy his flock.
20. The apostles were quick in realising that the devil was trying to keep them from preaching the Word and spending sufficient time in prayer to commune with God and intercede for their flock. They decided to appoint a different group of people to attend to this matter. These 7 men were to be wise and full of the Holy Spirit and the members themselves were to choose them from amongst themselves. These chosen ones were then appointed by prayer and the laying on of hands. The whole matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all. The congregation survived this moment of strife, then continued to grow rapidly. Two of these men, Stephen and Philip also excelled in other ministry areas.
21. Let us continue and read Acts 6:6-15:
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, ‘‘We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, ‘‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us. 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
22. Stephan, of whom we have read in the previous pericope, though not an apostle, was a mighty man of God, full of grace and power. He did not confine himself to serving the tables, but also performed great wonders and signs and spoke the Word in wisdom and power. The devil would not allow him to continue unhindered and stirred up a certain group of Jews to bring him to the Jewish court called the Sanhedrin, accusing him of blaspheming against Moses and God. As all eyes were turned upon him, they saw that his face was like that of an angel. What a testimony! How mightily did God honour his faithful servant.
23. The whole of chapter 7, up to verse 52, is a record of Stephen’s reply to their accusations in the course of which he describes how God had called Abraham and from his posterity, raised up the Lord Jesus Christ. He closed his address by saying:
You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.
24. What Stephan said was the absolute truth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, but it stirred up the anger of his persecutors into a roaring furnace thirsting for vengeance. What then happened is recorded in verses 54 to the end of chapter 7 and the first verse of chapter 8:
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 ‘‘Look,” he said, ‘‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
25. Stephan did not see the multitude of angry faces gnashing their teeth, nor their fists thrust towards him for he was looking with the eyes of his spirit. He looked right into heaven and saw the overwhelming glory of God and the Lord Jesus, not sitting down, but standing up in his support and ready to welcome him into his arms. His persecutors dragged him out of the city, then stoned him, but as they were doing so, he spoke to Jesus saying, “Lord receive my spirit and do not punish these people.” Then he fell asleep to this world but woke up in the world of eternal glory where there is no persecution nor sorrow, where the devil never is to be seen.
26. Also note that the people stoning Stephan left their outer garments in the custody of a young man called Saul. Of him we are still gong to read a lot in the rest of the New Testament.
27. What a mighty God we serve and what a wonderful future we can look forward to.
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