EMPOWERED: Empowered for Persecution from Within

The Book of Acts takes us on a whirlwind journey of how the Spirit infiltrated the world via an unlikely band of disciples. And this is still His mission. By indwelling people like you and me, the Spirit of Jesus will use each of us to reach the world with His love. The advent of the Spirit for individuals is the turning point of God’s great plan.

Some would argue that the book of Acts is primarily about the Church - its formation, persecution, and growth. But, the Bible tells us that there is a Force that undergirds the formation of the Church and all of her activity, a Power that is thrilling and indispensable. This non-negotiable element is the Spirit of God. The Eternal Spirit empowers both then and now and helps Christians live out our purpose, as individuals, as a church, and as the Church until Jesus Christ comes again.

How to Use This Guide 

Thank you for taking the time to do this Bible study. When we dig deeper into God’s word, He promises to bless us. We follow in the footsteps of King David, who wrote in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."

This guide will provide a weekly framework for spiritual conversations with friends or family. We encourage you to reach out to a friend or two, pick a time to get together each week and work through this guide together. This Bible study can also be a good tool for families, perhaps coordinated with mealtimes. 

What does the Bible say?

Last week in Acts 3-4:31, we read about how the Holy Spirit empowered Peter and John to heal a man who could not walk and then persevere with boldness when persecuted by their religious leaders. 

This week in Acts 4:32-5:11, we’ll see that even though the growing Christ-following community had their priorities in line with God’s purposes, there were people in their midst who were resisting the leading of the Holy Spirit and bringing their agendas and priorities into the midst with catastrophic results.

Read Acts 4:32-5:11.

This passage gets off to a sparkling start. In Acts 4:31, after the Christ-followers prayed for God to act, the Holy Spirit filled the place where His people were meeting, literally shaking it with pleasure. It’s almost as if the joy of His Being could not be contained, and it burst into the world. The place reverberated with His joy, and this joy entered the hearts of all who were present.

Make a list of the blessings God imparted upon the believers in Acts 4:32-35. Which of these things seems most marvelous to you? How do the actions of the people show a true heart change? This is the kind of miraculous work that the Spirit can do in hearts who are open to Him. Which would you most like to see in your church and friends? The Spirit can work in people’s hearts today, bringing a similar unity and selflessness. Will you take the time to ask Him to do so now?

Who is singled out for responding to the Holy Spirit in verses 36-37? What information do we gain about this man? 

In the next chapter, we’re going to meet this man’s negative counterparts and see the huge contrast between those who did not withhold anything from the Lord and a married couple who did. 

What were the names of this husband and wife, and how did their actions differ from those of Barnabas (see Acts 5:1-2)? 

In Acts 5:3-4, how does Peter characterize what Ananias had done?  Who was behind the lies that Ananias believed? What are Peter’s three questions to him? Peter mentions lying in both verses. What is Peter’s conclusion at the end of verse 4?

No one likes to be lied to. What difference does it make to you that Peter equates lying to others with lying to God? How might you adjust what you say to others in light of this passage? 

What happened to Ananias? What was the reaction of the people who heard about it in Acts 5:5-6? Do you think Ananias had the chance to repent of what he had done? 

What happened next in Acts 5:7-8? What is Peter’s question to Sapphira in verse 9? How does it differ from what he had said to Ananias? 

Once again, we hear no protest from Sapphira. Do you think Peter gave her a chance to repent of her sin? What happened to her, according to Acts 5:10?

What was the reaction of the whole church and everyone else who heard about what had happened? Not only the Christ-followers but those on the outside, potential converts, found out what happened. This could have been devastating had not God intervened at once.

In this passage, we see the dire repercussions of believing the lies of Satan. Ananias and Sapphira had to have purposefully gone against what they had witnessed of the power of the Holy Spirit and turned away from the flood of joy that had sprung forth in the community. Instead, they willfully chose to follow Satan, which means they hardened their hearts and resisted the influence of the Holy Spirit. They encouraged each other to lie and deceive, convincing themselves that no one would find out their secret. By keeping their secret pact, they held onto an illusion of power they felt in their marital bond and prioritized their status, which came with property and possessions. This is in stark contrast with what we know about Barnabas, who left his home, sold what he had there, and joined the Christ-followers in Jerusalem. This man submitted himself to the power of the Holy Spirit and laid down his rights of status and influence. Instead of aligning with others in secret, Barnabas openly encouraged others to follow Jesus. He learned the importance of empowering others to give their all to God. What important person did Barnabas encourage later in Acts (see Acts 9:26-27)? 

Peter accuses Sapphira and Ananias of conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord in Acts 5:9. What does this mean? The Greek word here is peirazō. It can mean to test, try, or tempt.

This same word describes how Satan tempted Jesus for 40 days in the desert as He began His earthly ministry. It also describes how the religious leaders tested Jesus in order to trick Him into making a mistake. 

We are never to test God as Satan, certain religious leaders, and Ananias and Sapphira did. In our passage this week, we can see that the actions of Ananias and Sapphira revealed that they were not living a life of faith, and their unbelief led to death. Like the first couple, Adam and Eve, they did not believe God but instead believed lies and then acted on the resulting beliefs. Both couples turned away from the truth and lied to God. Both couples’ actions led to death. They questioned the goodness of God and put Him to the test by assuming that He wouldn’t judge them for their wrongdoing. As for Ananias and Sapphira, we don’t see any evidence that they admitted they were wrong even when confronted. 

The Bible teaches that those who follow God can sometimes experience testing, but testing can strengthen our faith in Him when God allows it. Paul encourages self-evaluation in 2 Corinthians 13:5 when he writes:

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test!

God, however, will never tempt us to believe anything about Him that is untrue. But, this is exactly the kind of temptation that Satan specializes in. We can rely upon God to see us through times of testing as in 1 Corinthians 10:13:

“No temptation [or testing] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted [or tested] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted [or tested], he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

In Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15, the writer lets us know that Jesus understands what it means to be tested or tempted and that He can help. ​​

“Because he [Jesus] himself suffered when he was tempted [or tested], he is able to help those who are being tempted [or tested].”

“For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted [or tested] in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

In the end, to test God is to place myself higher than Him and to refuse to believe in Him.

On the other hand, we should expect testing times as individuals and grow stronger in our faith because of it. Jesus is the example we can follow. When God takes us through testing times, it is for our good. Many times, such times can beneficially humble us. It can help us see our pride or wrong attitudes. God already sees these things, but testing can help us see our sin. The Holy Spirit works in us from the inside to remind us of the truth about God and His word and to influence our thinking. It is up to us to be careful not to choose to harden our hearts against the voice of the Spirit in us. 

Prayer

Lord, help us never to forget how powerful You are. You can do miraculous things in a person’s life. However, without You, Satan can have his way, tell his lies, and promote destruction. We pray that you would help us never to harden our hearts to the voice of Your Spirit. We also pray the same for the people in our lives who are resisting Your Holy Spirit. Help us cooperate with Your Spirit in everything we do. Amen.

*All Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.