Acts 5: 5-16

(Acts 5: 5-16)

『And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.  And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.  And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.  Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.  Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.  And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.  And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.  And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.  And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)  Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.  There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one. 』

 

At that time, in the early church, the Holy Spirit came and a perfect church was formed. The phenomenon of the coming of the Holy Spirit is described in Acts 2:43-47, 『And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. 』This is the appearance of the kingdom of God on earth. In 『Breaking Bread from House』, 『At Home』 means 『From House to House』.

『The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. "", the person who is saved is not "the person who is saved", but "the person who must be saved". It is a saying that many people who need to be saved have come to see this church. Among those to be saved, the story of Ananias and Sapphira is included. At that time, the Holy Spirit came upon the church, and some witnesses witnessed firsthand that Jesus died on the cross, resurrected and ascended in three days. Ananias heard that. So, I believed and was baptized. He became a member of the Early Church.

In Acts 5:32-35, "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. 』The church at that time was quite different from the churches today. Salvation was thought of as a matter of each individual, and it became quite individualistic because the church today has become a doctrinal church centered on Paul's epistle.

Acts 5:1-2 says But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Even Ananias and Sapphira sold their possessions, hid some of them, and presented them before the apostles. But in 5:3, ``But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? The only words ``Satan is full'' means that Satan is the only one. Ananias would have thought that he was almost 90% Christian. Those who witnessed Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection and ascension told Ananias, and Ananias must have believed in God through Jesus, the Son of God. Nevertheless, it means that Satan is full.

Believing in Jesus alone cannot be defined as salvation. Ananias did not become a spiritual being, but was still only a soul. The moment Ananias heard this, his soul left. The apostle Peter kept the church from a man named Ananias. At that time, the Holy Spirit came and became a perfect church, which prevented many people who deceived God like Ananias from shaking the church.

The soul is, in 5:4, “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. It is a being that deceives God. Even today, many churches say they believe in God, but there may be many who deceive God. Those who deceive God are those who have false assurances of salvation. The key to salvation is not in receiving forgiveness of sins, but in repenting. Only those who repent are born again with water and the Holy Spirit. In many churches today, some may say that people are born again if they believe. However, only the faith of the repentant and born again is saved. Therefore, faith given to the born again is a gift.

God's love for making Jesus Christ, the Son of God, die on the cross for sinners to die of no value is Agape This agape is love that comes only through the repentant. However, in many churches today, there are times when we see the strife and envy. Such a form is the form of the church in which the Spirit of God cannot or cannot come. On the first day of Pentecost in the Old Testament wilderness, Moses was receiving God's commandments on Mount Sinai. It was about a month and a half after crossing the Red Sea, and the people began to worry about what to eat even though they ate the mana that God gave them. Even if they experience miracles, they do not connect with faith. So, they make a golden calf.

In Acts 2-4, the complete kingdom of God was fulfilled on this earth, and Satan tried to destroy the church through the money-loving man, Satan-filled Ananias. It was caught by the apostle Peter. The apostle Peter kept the church from Satan. Only those who are regenerated with water and the Holy Spirit will be able to form and keep the church. God's kingdom is not in the number of people. It is composed of those who can obey the word of the Lord. Not only the leaves of the tree are lush, but we must become members of the fruitful church. Only repentance brings fruit.