ACTS 5 (NOTES OF A READING)
[p. 313] ACTS 5 (NOTES OF A READING)
Ques What would this teach us, following on what is set out in the chapter before, where we see unity perfectly expressed?
CAC The early part of this chapter brings out in a very solemn way that God is present in His assembly. In the previous chapter God was known to be in His assembly by the fruits of grace and love and unity that came out in His people. The great thing to be noted is that God was there.
Rem I suppose the danger of mere imitation comes out in view of that.
CAC I thought so. The great outstanding fact that marks the assembly is that God is there; so that all that goes on in our meetings should be the evidence that God is amongst us.
Ques Would the thought of lying to the Holy Spirit stand connected with that?
CAC I thought it served to bring out that God was there. We should all think of the assembly as the place where God dwells. The youngest should think of it in that way. So that in coming to the meetings we have the thought of coming to the spot where God dwells.
Rem The previous chapter would be the evidence that God was there.
CAC There was never seen anything like it on earth before — a company of thousands of people of whom not one said that anything he possessed was his own. There was the action of unselfish love; those who had possessions sold them and they distributed to all who had need; there was most blessed evidence that God was amongst His people. God’s blessed nature was coming out. We who belong to the assembly of God have to consider this, that God’s blessed character is to come out in us, it is to come out in me.
[p. 314] Rem In the last verse of Ezekiel we read, “The name of the city from that day, Jehovah is there”: evidently there will be evidence that God is there.
CAC Yes; a most blessed side to that comes out in Acts 4. There was power for service: they were all filled with the Holy Spirit; that is, they were filled with God. Those who served were filled with God. Now we cannot rightly entertain anything less than that. No one is entitled to take part in a meeting if he is not filled with God. That is the true conception of the assembly in function.
Rem “And the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one” (chapter 4: 32).
CAC Nothing could bring that about but the presence of God. Spiritual unity is the result of the presence of God; it will never be brought about in any other way.
Rem And if that is maintained it is immovable: “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved” (Psalm 46: 5).
CAC Quite so; and so for the last days we read, “The firm foundation of God stands” (2 Timothy 2: 19). It is the foundation of God: that is the point. So that amidst all the shifting sand of these last days we have to look for the firm foundation of God. That is the source of stability in the last days.
The source of power, stability, peace and unity all lies in the presence of God; the meetings are good just in proportion as room is made for the presence of God, and as each one brings in some evidence of it. Of all these thousands of people every one brought in some evidence that God was there.
Ques Is that the reason why there was such a quick exposure?
CAC I thought so. Ananias and Sapphira do not seem to have had any part or lot in what was going on, but they wanted to have part in the reputation and honour: they were imitators. Outwardly they appeared to do the same as others were doing, but the others were filled with God, and Ananias was filled with Satan. Peter says, “Why has Satan filled thy heart?” What a terrible thing to see that at a moment when many hearts were filled with God there was one amongst the believing company, whose heart was filled with Satan! It is very solemn!
Ques In the previous chapter there are no reserves, are there?
CAC Quite so.
Rem Then there were conditions there to detect that; I suppose there are not always such conditions with us.
CAC Perhaps not publicly, but God does not suffer any evil to pass unjudged.
Rem Peter is in evidence in the detection of the thing.
CAC Yes; there was special power present to discern what was going on, but God never passes over what is evil. He will always judge what is evil in His assembly.
Ques And will bring it to light?
CAC Well, if need be; it does not always please God to bring things to light; He often gives time for things to be judged in secret. I believe that many things that have to be publicly judged are matters that might have been privately judged. God gives space for repentance.
Rem This was the outcome of an agreement.
CAC Yes, that made it much worse; and I think we have to notice Peter’s questions. He says in verse 3, “Ananias, why has Satan filled thy heart?” and in verse 4, “Why is it that thou hast purposed this thing in thine heart?”; and in verse 9 he says to the wife, “Why is it that ye have agreed together?” That is something to think about, because it suggests there was a reason for their action. This thing did not come about accidentally: Peter asks, Why is it?
Rem It seems to indicate that there might have been a course leading to it.
CAC It suggests that there had been a secret history behind this, and Peter directs their attention to it when he says. Why is it? And when there is anything wrong with us there is a reason for it. None of us falls into sin without there [p. 316] being a reason for it, and the reason often is what it was with Ananias and Sapphira; that is, the heart is empty.
Rem Your thought is that otherwise Satan could not have filled it.
CAC That is what I thought. An empty heart is a workshop for the devil.
Rem Like the spirit spoken of in the gospels which found the house empty, swept and garnished.
CAC I was thinking of that scripture. An evil spirit has gone out of a man, but he wanders about and cannot find rest; so he says, “I will return to my house whence I came out; and having come, he finds it unoccupied, swept, and adorned” (Matthew 12: 44). An empty house — let us beware of that! Dear young people, see to it that your heart is not an empty house!
Rem It says of Mary Magdalene, “From whom seven demons had gone out”; there was no room for them.
CAC Yes, they went when Christ came in. You cannot have seven demons along with Christ.
Rem So you suggest this is the contrast to verse 31 of the previous chapter, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit”.
CAC Yes, that is fine. If you are filled, there is no room for anything else; that is the thought. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5: 18). If we are filled with the Spirit there is no room for workings of the flesh; there is no room for such things as came out in these two unhappy people. It was not that there was any lack of wonderful things to fill their heart. Wonderful things were present: Jesus had been made known as glorified in heaven, made Lord and Christ up there, and He had received the Holy Spirit and shed Him forth upon thousands of believers so that there was this great company of persons on earth filled with the Spirit. What wonderful things to fill anybody’s heart! And yet these two poor creatures had empty hearts so that they were just ready for Satan to fill them.
Ques Is that why the judgment was so severe?
CAC [p. 317] I think it was a most extraordinary state of wickedness; it was a sin unto death. John tells us, “There is a sin to death”, as much as to say to us that we are not to forget it; and this was a sin unto death.
Ques Was the ability that Peter had to discern this state of things something sovereignly given to him as needed at the moment? When persons came, apparently giving the whole of the proceeds of the sale of land, it was quite supernatural to be able immediately to recognise that only part of the proceeds was being given. It is altogether outside the ability of the most acute of natural minds.
CAC Quite so: I suppose it is an example of one of the gifts of the Spirit. One of the gifts is said to be the discerning of spirits. The Holy Spirit would give supernatural power to discern spirits. We have to bear that in mind. When an evil spirit was at work it would be discerned. God has furnished the assembly with ability to discern when an evil spirit is at work, and He has also given ability to discern when a sin is unto death; because John says, “There is a sin to death: I do not say of that that he should make a request” (1 John 5: 16). There is a possibility of a sin of such a character that no spiritual person would pray for the one who committed it. That is very solemn. So Peter here does not pray for them. All this belongs to the very constitution of the assembly.
Rem These various things allowed to happen at the beginning which were adverse in character only served to bring out what was there.
CAC I thought so, and it is noticeable that the christian company is not spoken of as the assembly till the middle of this chapter. It is after this solemn judgment of evil thoughts; because it was a judgment of evil thoughts really.
Rem It must be so, because, as you were saying, in the previous chapter there is the evidence of God being there: there had been nothing like it on earth before.
CAC Satan had shown in the previous chapter that he could persecute and seek to crush the testimony; but now he [p. 318] is taking another line of action and that is imitation. These two imitated what others were doing in the power of the Holy Spirit in pure unselfish love; they did the same thing, but self-interest was the only thing that governed them.
Rem They wanted to get a name, and I suppose the spirit of emulation and rivalry came in.
CAC Yes; we have to beware that we do not seek to have more honour in the assembly than we deserve. The Lord will see to it that we get all the honour we deserve either now or in that day; but if we want more honour than we deserve among the brethren we shall fall into the hands of Satan.
Rem Like Diotrephes who wanted to have the first place among them.
CAC Yes.
Ques Would you say this is anything like the character of the sin committed by the Jews when they attributed the actions of the Lord to Beelzebub?
CAC That was a terribly solemn thing to do because the works were the evidence that God was with Him; but in the wickedness of their hearts they said that He cast out demons by Beelzebub. It was not that they thought so, but they were wicked enough to say it although at bottom they did not think it.
Rem There was an answer in Acts 4 to what God desired in the law, that man should love God and his neighbour; and Ananias and Sapphira would give the appearance of doing it.
CAC Yes; they wanted to pass off as quite as good as Barnabas who sold his estate and brought the money to the apostles. Outwardly they did the same thing but their inward motive was altogether different.
Ques Would you say it was a right act with a wrong motive?
CAC They were thinking of self: they wished to have the reputation among the brethren of being as devoted as anybody else; and at the same time they wanted to keep [p. 319] something back. It was imitation.
Rem This is an agreement on the part of two persons.
CAC That is a dreadful thing. Jacob said, “Simeon and Levi are brethren”, but he prays that he may not come into their council or be joined with their assembly (Genesis 49: 6). If two people agree in evil, it is like the devil’s counterpart to God’s assembly where people are agreed in good.
Rem It is striking that this is God’s judgment, not Peter’s; he spoke the truth in regard to them but God judged them, and they fell down and expired. That was not Peter’s doing.
CAC No, God was there.
Ques Is there the ability to deal with matters like this today? Because it was the apostle Peter there.
CAC In our case we have to judge things by testimony. The great principle is set up of judging things by testimony, so that the principle of two or three witnesses enters into every matter that we have to judge publicly. If we discerned that there was an evil spirit at work in a person we could not judge it merely because we discerned it; we have to wait until some evidence of it comes to light which can be the subject of testimony.
Rem Jehovah of old said, “I Jehovah search the heart” (Jeremiah 17: 10), and the heart-searching is going on.
CAC Yes, what is brought out here is that God is in His assembly and that God will not allow evil to pass unjudged; and when evil takes a particularly glaring form it becomes a sin unto death, as it was here.
Ques Would you say that Ananias and Sapphira had been spoken to by God previous to this?
CAC They had been spoken to by what was going on amongst the brethren, this beautiful unselfish spirit of love that was in activity among the brethren; and though with them there was nothing but selfishness working in an empty heart, they tried to imitate the conduct of those whose hearts were filled with God, and so they fell into the hands of Satan.
[p. 320] Satan saw what was working with them, and he came in and filled their hearts and led them into this dreadful sin of lying to the Holy Spirit.
Ques The fact that Satan is said to have filled the heart of Ananias does not take away from his responsibility, because Peter said, “Why is it that thou hast purposed this thing in thine heart?” The two things can be thought of as working together; Ananias is held fully responsible for what he did, although it is looked upon as the fruit of Satan filling his heart. How do you put those two things together?
CAC There was a condition there that Satan could work upon. There was a purpose in his heart first, and Satan took advantage of this deliberate purpose. It was a thought-out scheme: they had talked it over, and agreed together to work the thing this way. Then Satan comes in and fills Ananias’ heart so that he is not afraid to lie to the Holy Spirit. I think it was Satan who prompted him to that.
Ques Was not the case of Judas somewhat similar? Satan put it into his heart to betray the Lord and then entered into him and took possession.
CAC That is it. There was a purpose, and evil becomes very serious when it is the outcome of purpose. Evil is very deliberate when it becomes a subject of taking counsel together. That is evil in an organised and systematised form, and God judges it.
Rem It is quite different from an ordinary slip, so to speak.
CAC Quite so; this is presented to us as illustrating evil in the assembly in the most solemn light possible.
Ques Do you think Achan’s case was a slip?
CAC No, I do not think so; I think it was very much like the sin of Ananias. He saw a goodly Babylonish garment. That was what Ananias and Sapphira wanted; they wanted to be adorned in the estimation of the brethren with a reputation for devotion; and then there was the silver and gold — what appeals to man’s selfishness. I think this sin corresponds very much to that of Achan.
[p. 321] Ques Do you not think there is a great danger of our desiring a spiritual reputation we are not equal to? Is that not a very serious thing?
CAC I think it is. I may speak and pray and take part in a meeting as wishing to give the impression that I am more spiritual than I am. We ought all of us to shrink from anything like that, from trying to appear of greater spiritual stature than we are. It is much better to be simple, because nothing really goes to God but what is real. The devil is always working to make us more or less counterfeit. Satan does not like us to be genuine. We should be concerned to be genuine right down to the roots and not to allow the smallest trace of anything that is not genuine.
Rem “Pride goeth before destruction”, whether spiritual or otherwise.
CAC Quite so, and of course, if there is anything artificial it hinders the presence of God from being enjoyed. As we all know, in 1 Corinthians 14 when the assembly comes together for edification, what goes on is to be the evidence that God is there. It is not to be man’s ability or knowledge or gift that is in evidence, but the presence of God. The unbeliever or simple person who comes in does not go away saying, They have some fine speakers there! He falls on his face and says, “God is indeed amongst you”. That is what is to be in evidence in all our meetings, and if that were secured my impression is that if anyone like Ananias or Sapphira were there, they would want to get out. They would not want to stop there.
Rem They would not be able to stand the light.
Rem We cannot deceive the Lord as to our stature; it is impossible. The Lord knows every thought of our heart. He knows whether I am jealous of another brother, and would raise exercise with us as together.
CAC And do you not think our happiness largely depends on spiritual reality? The moment you come down to your true level you find an increase of happiness, because you are now on ground where God can help you.
[p. 322] Rem If you get out of your depth you easily drown; it says in relation to passing through the Red Sea, “of which the Egyptians having made trial were swallowed up” (Hebrews 11: 29).
CAC There is great instruction in all this; it would not be put into the scriptures if it were not of great value to us.
Rem There is a side which is very encouraging in connection with it: in spite of a jealous God being there, the work of God proceeds.
CAC Yes, and those who were real did not shrink from this manifestation of His presence. It says, “Of the rest durst no man join them” — a very good thing, too!
Rem Undoubtedly Peter had been with the Lord and had learned things. It says that the young men carried Ananias out.
CAC It shows that there were those standing by who were available even for the most solemn service. We have sometimes to deal with matters we would naturally far rather leave alone; sometimes we have to be ready to carry out service of the most solemn nature and the young men were ready for this service, dreadfully solemn as it was.
Rem It looks as though this occurrence stopped a course among the people: “Of the rest durst no man join them”, as though others were coming along on the same lines.
CAC That is important; but such an occurrence would not stop people getting converted and coming among them.
Rem The “great fear” would be proper to the occasion.
CAC Yes. It is remarkable that the assembly should be first formally spoken of in that character — as a place of great fear. It says in the Psalms, “God is greatly to be feared in the council of the saints” (Psalm 89: 7).
Rem “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).
Rem John says to the young men: “I write to you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2: 13). I wondered if the young men would come [p. 323] in in that way.
CAC Yes, it supposes there is energy in the assembly to deal with solemn matters. In the assembly it is not all a matter of privilege and blessing. At times the divine judgments have to be recorded in the assembly, and there should be spiritual energy to go through with even such solemn matters.
Rem After the matter was concluded there was great movement, as if the good hand of God was free again.
CAC It is very encouraging to see that when evil within was judged there was a wonderful revival outside and people were blessed in all directions.
Ques Have you any thought as to why it was Solomon’s porch (verse 12)?
CAC It was where the Lord walked (John 10: 23).
Ques Would this in a way be like 1 Corinthians 11: 30, “On this account many among you are weak and infirm, and a good many are fallen asleep”?
CAC Yes, it was the same thing. There was such disorder at Corinth that it was a sin unto death and “many” had died, not a natural death, but under the judgment of the Lord.
Ques Would the thought of no man daring to join himself to them be over against what the Lord had done previously? It says in Acts 2: 47, “The Lord added ... daily” — it was not a matter of one joining himself.
CAC Quite so; and there is a check put on that: they dared not do it.
Rem It says, “They were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch”. It looks as if a state was brought about with them through the judgment.
CAC Yes.
Rem It makes one think of the fact that while Solomon was a great man of peace, he was a man of judgment. At the beginning of his career he shone as a man of judgment and discernment.
CAC Yes, and it is said expressly that he made the [p. 324] porch of judgment (1 Kings 7: 7); and we ought to think of the assembly as the porch of judgment where things are judged. It is one important aspect of the assembly; and it is the condemnation of things today that in the religious world things are not judged. All kinds of evil are tolerated, covered up and allowed to pass; and that is why the Lord has had to withdraw Himself from the great religious bodies round about us: there is no ability to judge evil.
Ques Would that account for the lack of ministry with them?
CAC I think it would. One main thing that brought J.N.D. out from the Church of England was that he saw there was no power there to judge evil; and at the present time there is very little power to judge evil in the religious world. But as the truth of the assembly of God is restored to us the power to discern and judge what is evil will be found along with it. The apostle says, “Do not ye judge them that are within? But those without God judges” (1 Corinthians 5: 12, 13). We have nothing to do with judging people in the world. God will judge them; but if there is evil in the assembly it must be judged by the saints, or otherwise they cease really and morally to be God’s assembly. If evil is allowed to pass it is certainly not God’s assembly.
Rem That reference to the porch of judgment rather answers the question raised as to why they met in Solomon’s porch after this occurrence. They met there under a sense of judgment.
CAC Yes, it is most important. The idea of cherubim gives us that thought. There were cherubim in the temple and also in the tabernacle. It supposes judicial power.
Rem I was thinking of the two pillars Jachin and Boaz, meaning “He will establish” and “In him is strength”, standing as a testimony.
CAC Yes, that is the testimony.
Ques Might we have a word on the shadow of Peter?
CAC The Lord had committed Himself in a wonderful way to Peter, using him to discern the evil and then making [p. 325] such use of him that even his shadow would heal people. It is like the “greater works”. The Lord spoke to His disciples of their doing the works He did, and greater works. We do not know that the shadow of the Lord ever healed anybody, but now He had gone to the Father and His power was great in His servant.
Ques Does this wonderful way of blessing stand out in contrast to what had gone before? When the discipline of God had its way we see the blessing of God continuing, and through the same servant.
CAC Yes. I believe when evil is judged in the assembly it always leads to an accession of power. Sometimes we shrink from dealing with evil because we are afraid as to what the results will be, fearing that things will be broken up and so on; but it does not work like that; it works the other way. When evil is judged it clears the way for the blessed actings of divine power and grace.
Ques Is that why Levi comes into such blessing: he did not hesitate to execute judgment?
CAC I thought so.
Ques Is it not a very happy condition when healing is found in the assembly?
CAC Yes; that is the normal state of things. The judgment of evil is abnormal, though necessary. We should not like to be always occupied in judging evil.
Rem Peter would be quite unconscious of his shadow falling upon one and another. It shows how blessing can fall without our having any consciousness of it ourselves.
CAC Yes.
Ques Is there anything in regard of that which might be seen if we were what we were? It says the shadow of Peter fell upon people.
CAC Yes, there was some substance there to cast a shadow. If there were no substance there would be no shadow.
Ques Would that suggest an influence today?
CAC I thought so — the influence of reality, of what is [p. 326] genuine. We do not need to be concerned about being big or important, but do let us all be concerned to be real, to be genuine. If we are genuine there is something substantial there that will cast a healing shadow on other people.
Rem The shadow comes because we are in the light.
Rem The conscience is clear.
CAC Yes, and there is the virtue of positive good.
Rem We shall be set in the local meeting for healing.
CAC Yes, there is always a healing influence going out from a spiritual man or woman. There is an influence that tends to healing and we must not forget that, because that is the normal state of things: what is not in health is not to be crushed but to be healed. In the assembly there may be those who need healing, so there should be a healing influence.
Rem Elisha carried that with him.
CAC Yes, he did.
Rem I suppose it is the public testimony that is in question in these verses 11 - 16.
CAC Yes, quite so.
Rem It is not so much the internal working of the assembly, but their influence in the way of testimony as amongst men.
CAC I thought so. The testimony now is that God is dwelling amongst men in blessing. People sometimes ask what the testimony is: that is the testimony.
Rem In chapter 4 we read that the apostles gave witness with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, but now you have increase of testimony.
CAC Yes.
Ques We are reminded of the words in Hebrews 2: 4. Speaking of those who continued the testimony after the Lord’s ascension it says, “God bearing, besides, witness with them to it, both by signs and wonders, and various acts of power, and distributions of the Holy Spirit, according to his will”. This would be an example of that, would it not?
CAC Yes. What we want in each local assembly is those conditions that are the evidence of the presence of [p. 327] God, so that people come to the meetings and get blessing. That is the normal state of things.
Rem It all leads on from one thing to another. At the end of chapter 4 we see a beautiful state of things within, the complete unity that was referred to; then in chapter 5 we see the power to detect and to judge evil when it comes in from without; and then the moving out in testimony so that men generally get the benefit of God’s presence in His house.
CAC It is very beautiful. We ought to take it to heart that God is dwelling amongst His people with a view to the blessing of all men; so that the testimony does not exactly concern God in heaven, but God dwelling down here amongst His people so that He may be known as a God of blessing, One who is pleased to dwell with men.