We cannot begin chapter 5 without looking back a few verses to the end of chapter 4. This is because there is a contrast between chapter 5, which tells of a great sin, and the earlier chapter, which speaks of a time of particularly sweet harmony in the church.
There is no perfect church, not even the church of the apostles. I read Acts 4:32, where it says, “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,” and I think, “Ah, there’s the perfect church.” But it wasn’t. Even this church had Ananias and Sapphira in it.
Satan is a limited being. He is not omniscient, as God is. He does not know everything. He is not omnipotent, as God is. Only God is all-powerful. He is not omnipresent, as God is. He is not everywhere, though he certainly gets around, “roaming up and down in the earth,” as he said of himself in Job (Job 1:7; 2:2). No, Satan is not the equivalent of God. But he is powerful. He is a very formidable enemy.
Perhaps because of this incident, or perhaps because of other things that happened to him later in his life, Peter, when he wrote his first letter, said, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
The last part of the story concerns Sapphira, Ananias’ wife. It is important not to forget her, because she bore a full measure of guilt and responsibility. Luke points out her guilt in two ways. In verse 2, he adds the phrase, “with his wife’s full knowledge.” Then, after Ananias had been judged, he notes that she repeated her husband’s lie.
Every time I begin a study of a new book of the Bible I do so with mixed feelings because, on the one hand, the book is a challenge. It is exciting because it is filled with thoughts that we need to make our own. And yet, at the same time, any book of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit speaks through it, as we trust He will and as He promises to do when we study it, is going to produce changes in us. It is going to challenge us in areas of our discipleship. It is going to address us in areas in which we need to grow.
Paul visited Corinth on his second missionary journey. He had been in the northern portion of Greece, in Philippi. He had made his way down the coast from Macedonia, spending some time in the city of Berea. He then went further south into Attica and came to Athens, where he spent some time. After he left Athens, he went down to Corinth, leaving for the time his companions behind.
Paul writes of the first “bright spot” in the Corinthian church in verse 2: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He says that the Corinthians are sanctified, or holy.
When we read that description of the church at Corinth, we think to ourselves how wonderful it would be to be part of a church like that—a church that was separated unto Christ, mature in its knowledge of the doctrines of the faith and their application, a church in which the spiritual gifts were very evident, a church that was eagerly waiting together for the return of Christ. Is not a church like that a marvelous thing? Well, I dare to say I do belong to a church like that. That is a description of the church of Jesus Christ wherever it is truly found.
Be like Jesus Christ. Draw near to Him. And when you do, these divisions begin to fade away and the sin begins to be conquered. This knowledge gives expression to the glorious reality of the fellowship of the people of God. That is what this letter is to do. As you study it, pray that God will use these texts to speak to you and to lead you increasingly in the way that you should go for Christ’s sake.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
PO Box 24087, RPO Josephine
North Bay, ON, P1B 0C7
