Acts 5
The three kinds of forces which are present since the beginning of world can be clearly seen in this chapter we are reading today; i.e. that of God’s, Satan’s and man’s. But Jesus said,
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16: 33
Yes indeed the force of God will triumph over the other two, for God is the Supreme God, the Almighty, the Creator and Author of all things!
Bible Passage: Acts 5
When Jesus was being put to death, Satan was rejoicing, but only for a short moment. Satan thought by eliminating the Son of God, he could covet the inheritance of God! (ref. Luke 20: 13 – 15).
Satan must have been shocked and furious to see Jesus being resurrected and that He also poured down His Holy Spirit to establish His Kingdom (Church) on earth!
Satan knew that he has but little time before he would be banished into the bottomless pit, so he prowls around to seek for opportunities to destroy God’s plan and His children.
So when the first church was being established, Satan acted to weaken the church by instigating the religious leaders to persecute the church, this we can see in chapter 4. Then in subsequent chapters in Acts, Satan did not give up but continued trying to destroy the Church of God.
In today’s chapter, Ananias and Sapphira yielded to their selfishness and greed for wealth and they lied to the Holy Spirit; for that, it caused their lives. Here we see God triumphs over the force of man, and we also see that He is a Righteous Judge who put and end to corruption in His congregation!
This incident can serve as a very good reminder for all of us that God is omniscient, He even knows what is in our hearts before we even started to decide whether we want to reveal it or not. No man can ever hide anything from the knowledge of God.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God; it is God Himself living in us. God living in us doesn’t mean that He will force us to do things His ways, but God wants us to learn to be submissive, to understand His ways and to do them willingly.
When the chief priest and gang warned the apostles not to preach and teach in the name of Jesus, both in chapter 4 and 5, the apostles gave their very firm stand and answered,
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
Acts 4: 19
And in chapter 5,
“We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts 5: 29
Whenever I read these words, I always praise God and admire the apostles greatly for such boldness to stand firm in their faith in the face of life threatening beasts! And I always ask myself, “Can I do that when I’m in the same situation?”
The tests that we have to face may not come in such threats like how the apostles had experienced, for there are also tests that are subtle which cannot be easily detected.
We know that we must obey God rather than man, so whenever we see other people not doing right in the sight of God, we would criticize and even judge them for succumbing to their flesh or succumbing to the temptations from man, like peer pressures, wanting to save face, etc.
The funny thing is many times, we have forgotten that we ourselves are also man. Very often we also succumbed to our own rationales and ways, thinking we are wise and always right, rather than obeying God’s words! We give so called good reasons to justify our actions even when we were being reminded or being advised by our fellow brethren that we were not doing things right according to the standards of God.
Therefore in today’s reading, I am being reminded that the apostles obeyed and submitted to the Holy Spirit whole-heartedly and that was why they could perform miracles and to overcome the threats of both Satan and man.
So let’s constantly ask ourselves, “Are we in steps with our Lord’s ways?”
2 Comments
MS
I would like to bring the attention to the man call Gamaliel a Pharisee, a wise man who had not only considered the actions of this group of men who belongs to the Way (Act 24 v 14) but also historical incidences to conclude that he has no case against them.
This group of men had been preaching the words of God according to the scriptures for which they (the Council) are fully familiar with. The only difference is these men teaches Jesus as the Savior. Without God’s guidance and a good reference, the wise Gamaliel advices the Council to be careful not to be found working against God.
Today, we are much more fortunate than Gamaliel as we have both the Holy Spirit to guide us into all Truth and a good reference which is the Bible. It will be a pity, if we do not use these to conduct our ways to ensure that we are always walking with Him and doing what is required.
We’ll have no excuse if we are found to be working against God on that day.
So…. let us remind ourselves, diligently reflecting on our ways frequently with the words of God (the Bible) and relying on the Holy Spirit for guardiance and strength.
PS
In Acts 4:29-30 the disciples prayed,”Now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may preach Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
Their prayer continued to be answered in Acts 5:12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.
Acts 5:14-16 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,…
The most important and only reason that Lord Jesus was working with the church was bec:
And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (Acts 5:42)
When the angel released the apostles, they were commanded to “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.” (Acts 5:20)
Angels are only serving spirit. Were they the reason which spurred the apostles to teach boldly in the temple in spite of threats?
The disciples were motivated by the fact that they were “His witness to these things,” (Acts 5:32) More importantly, the disciples were motivated by “the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” (Acts 5:32)
Today let the Holy Spirit also be our motivating force to preach Jesus as the Christ ceaselessly. The Holy Spirit testifies that God is a true and living God.