Here is a teaching on chapter 5 of the book of Acts. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer.... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words. Lord please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and how to implement it in our daily lives. Use us as a vessel for your work and work through us to make an impact in other people's lives. I love you with my whole heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acts Chapter 5:
1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostle's feet. 3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you ever received for the land? 4 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?"
9 "Yes," she said, "that is the price." 9 Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
So we saw in our Bible study from chapter 4 of the book of Acts last week where the apostles and the believers were one, they were in complete unity, and no one claimed that any of their possessions were theirs. They all shared their possessions and there was no needy person among them. What Ananias and Sapphira did was dishonest and they thought that they could hide it from God. God is the Almighty, he knows everything, and you can't hide anything from God. It makes me think of Genesis with Adam and Eve whenever Eve ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge and evil and then she gave some to Adam. Afterwards they were ashamed and they were trying to hide from God when he was looking for them, but there's no way that you can hide from him.
Also we're never supposed to put the Lord our God to the test. Jesus says this in Luke chapter 4 when he's being tempted by the devil. In verse 12 of Luke chapter 4 it says: Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" The scripture where that came from is Deuteronomy 6:16, and that's what Ananias and Sapphira were doing here. They were putting the Lord their God to the test and that's never okay to do. We have to be honest, trust the Lord has us, and not let pride or greed get in the way of being faithful to the Lord and what he's called us to do.
In verses 5-10, this shows the power of God and how we should always be truthful. God is more important than money or materialistic things, and having a close relationship with him is the most important thing. We shouldn't let anything get in the way of our relationship with Christ. So because of their actions, because they were dishonest and they tested God, Ananias and Sapphira died.
12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all of the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.
So in verse 15, Peter had healed the crippled beggar by the name of Jesus so these people thought that they could get some healing even from his shadow. In verse 16 these people were coming from all over to see the miraculous signs and to be healed. Again, like I said before in past Bible studies, the power is not in Peter. The power is in Jesus Christ. Because of Peter's faith in Jesus Christ, and in the name of Jesus, Peter was able to heal the crippled beggar and these other people were able to be healed in the name of Jesus and by faith.
17 Then the high priest and all the associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 "Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life."
21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin--the full assembly of the elders of Israel--and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 "We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside." 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.
25 Then someone came and said, "Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people." 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. 27 Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."
I'm just going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So in verses 17-18 the high priest and his associates arrested the apostles because they were jealous that everyone was coming to them and that they could perform these miraculous signs. So in verses 19-28 an angel brought them out of jail, they were spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they taught the people about the new life with Jesus. Whenever we're saved and we ask Jesus to come into our heart, then we have the Holy Spirit within us, and we have eternal life in heaven with Jesus and God the Father. Anyone that doesn't believe in Jesus is dead in their sin, but once we do believe in Jesus and we are saved then we are alive in Jesus Christ and we have eternal life.
In verses 22-24 we see that the jail was securely locked and the guards were standing at the doors, but the apostles were gone. They had vanished because the angel had brought them out. This just goes to show that whenever we go through tough times, we feel trapped, or maybe we're persecuted for speaking in the name of Jesus and we get locked up, there is no human power that can contain the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Jesus Christ, and of God. Jesus will always protect us and that is what's happening here with the angel getting the people out of prison and them spreading the gospel. The word of the gospel is not going to disappear because people don't want to hear it. God's power is not going to be dimmed because men are trying to contain it. There's no containing God's power and there's no stopping the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus has already overcome the world and we just have to take heart and spread the gospel no matter what hard times we're facing. No matter if other people don't like us or persecute us, we have to just stand firm in our faith and God will always protect us and deliver us from whatever hard times we're going through.
Then in verses 25-26 the captain and the officers were afraid that people would be mad and stone them if they took the apostles by force. This just shows the following that the apostles had, how the people admired them, and looked up to them. In verses 27-28 the high priest was mad that they kept teaching in the name of Jesus and they were telling people about his crucifixion. We saw in our Bible study from chapter 4 of the book of Acts where they had told them not to speak in the name of Jesus, but the apostles weren't going to let anything that these men were saying to them stop them from spreading the gospel.
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men! 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."
33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
Alright, so those are all the verses of chapter 5 of the book of Acts, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. In verses 29-32 the apostles knew that it was more important to obey God then man. God is the Almighty and he's the ultimate judge. Anytime we face having to obey God or obey the law or what other people are saying, we should always choose obeying God and that can never go wrong. He's the almighty. He is perfect, righteous, and just, and all humans are sinners. When we know that God is calling us to do something we should always obey him no matter what anyone says.
These apostles talked about Jesus' crucifixion, his resurrection, and salvation that only comes from Jesus Christ. They testified about Jesus and spoke of the counselor, which is the Holy Spirit. We saw from our Bible study in John chapter 15 where Jesus says that God the Father is going to send down the holy spirit to counsel us and that the Holy Spirit is going to testify about Jesus.
In verses 33-39 the priest and his associates were wanting to put the apostles to death because of all of they had said, but Gamaliel told them that if the apostles were working for themselves then it would fail. He reminded them about Theudas and Judas and how it failed and their followers dispersed. But if the apostles were working for God, then they wouldn't be able to stop them and they would just be fighting with God. So after what Gamaliel explained to them and how he reasoned with them, they decided not to put these apostles to death. So they had them flogged (being flogged means to be beat by whips or lashes).
Then in verses 41-42, the apostles were glad to suffer in the name of Jesus because they felt worthy of the suffering. Jesus suffered for us, he died on the cross to forgive us of our sins, and as believers of Christ we're also going to suffer in the name of Jesus. We can be glad in our sufferings because we know that Jesus has already overcome the world and if he suffered, we're also going to suffer in his name. These apostles didn't stop speaking in the name of Jesus and spreading the gospel. This is important for us as Christians to do. We should never stop spreading the gospel and the good news of Jesus Christ, no matter what happens to us, no matter if people don't like us, if we get persecuted, or if we have to suffer in the name of Jesus. Nothing should ever stop us from spreading the gospel and hope that others will be saved and go to heaven also.
Acts Ch 5 Study Guide
Why do you think that Ananias kept back part of the money?
When is it okay to test the Holy Spirit? Why?
In verses 15-16, how were these people healed?
Why did the angel bring the apostles out of the jail?
Can God’s power be contained? Why or why not?
Why do you think that the priest and his associates listened to Gamaliel?
Why were the apostles glad to suffer in the name of Jesus?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?
So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 5 of the book of Acts. Next week we're going to go into chapters 6&7 so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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