Acts 5:1–4

Context

At the end of Acts 4, the believers of the Jerusalem church sold their property, laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet, and distributed them according to need (Acts 4:32–35). Barnabas, a Levite, also sold a field and brought the money. Chapter 5 opens with a contrasting incident. Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a possession, secretly kept back part of the price, and laid only the remainder at the apostles' feet. Peter asks Ananias why he has lied "to the Holy Ghost" and kept back part of the price of the land, declaring, "thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God" (Acts 5:3–4). In the verses that follow (5:5–11), Ananias and then Sapphira die.

Interpretations

• Reading that affirms the deity of the Holy Spirit: Interpreters set the phrase "to lie to the Holy Ghost" in verse 3 beside the statement in verse 4 that Ananias had lied "unto God," and read the passage as showing that the Holy Spirit is God. It is frequently used as a proof text in explanations of the doctrine of the Trinity across many denominations.
• Reading that emphasizes voluntariness: Verse 4 states that the land remained at Ananias's disposal both before and after it was sold. On this reading, the sharing practiced by the early church was not compulsory, and the sin lay not in keeping back a portion but in the deception of pretending to have given everything.
• Reading that stresses the holiness of the church: This reading views the incident as God dealing severely with hypocrisy within the newly formed community, and it is cited in discussions of the church's purity and of church discipline. Some scholars compare the incident with Joshua 7, noting that the Greek verb rendered "kept back" in verse 2 is also used in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) for Achan's concealment of the plunder.

Questions of Application

• In the Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version, the wording of verse 4 (literally, "Was it not your land … could you not …?") forms a single rhetorical question. If its first part is read in isolation, it can be misunderstood to mean "it was not your land." The New Korean Standard Version and other translations render the clause more freely so that its meaning, "it was yours even before it was sold," is clear. The Korean spelling of "Satan" used in the Korean Revised Version was also revised in the New Korean Revised Version.
• Interpreters differ on whether the two deaths should be understood as a loss of salvation or as physical discipline imposed on believers.
• Some point out that sermons using this passage to pressure listeners into giving or fulfilling vows apply it beyond its context, arguing that the focus of the text is the lie, not the amount.

In the Korean Church

The passage is frequently cited in sermons calling for honesty in offerings and vows and in sermons warning against hypocrisy within the church community. In Bible study it is treated as a text that explains the personhood and deity of the Holy Spirit.

Related Passages

• Acts 4:32–35
• Acts 4:36–37
• Acts 5:5–11
• Joshua 7:1
• 1 Corinthians 3:16