The Holy Spirit is alive and real

Acts 5:1-11

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 apostles’ 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 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 just to human beings 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 some 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?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

⁹ Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! 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.

Ananias and Sapphira are a stark contrast to their community. While they lived among people characterised by love and generosity, this couple appear to love their money more, and held tightly to their possessions.

While they valued being a part of the church, they had not allowed God to transform their thinking. They wanted the praise of their community, so they gave deceptively, allowing them to keep their possessions. In doing so they treated the Holy Spirit with contempt, lying to God. Perhaps they questioned the existence of the Holy Spirit, or held the view of grace that says, ‘even if I’m devious and hypocritical, God will tolerate it because He loves me’.

This story is a reminder of the real and present reality of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives. Let’s be encouraged to ask the Holy Spirit to transform us into Christs-likeness, rather than discrediting the Spirit.

Father God, thank you that when we place our trust you as our Lord and Saviour we experience satisfaction in you, and unity with the body of Christ. Please help us to trust that you are all we need, to be transformed into your likeness, and to not discredit the Holy Spirit within us.

Written by Ps. Andrea Molteno