Trinity and Divinity, Part 4, Acts 5:1-11 & Psalm 139:1-10

Acts 5:1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. 7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price." 9 Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well." 10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.

This is a reasonably straightforward – if more than a bit scary – story. Understanding the historical context may be helpful. Weeks or months earlier, on the day of Pentecost, some 3000 people became Christian believers. And more were added in the following days and weeks. The festival season from Passover through Pentecost drew Jewish people from all over the world, and as Acts 2 makes clear, that was the case for many of the new believers. They remained in Jerusalem to learn their new-found faith, being far from home, far from the occupations that kept roofs over their heads and food on their tables. So they had significant immediate needs, which new believers who did live in and about Jerusalem covered by voluntarily selling properties and giving the proceeds for the church to distribute as needed. It was temporary (these folks eventually went home or built new lives there), but very necessary.

This is the context for Ananias and Sapphira's actions. As Peter pointed out, Ananias and Sapphira were under no obligation to sell their property. And, having sold it, they were under no obligation to give the entire proceeds to the church. Where Ananias and Sapphira got in trouble was that in presenting their gift they lied about what their gift was. In other words, had Ananias said, “We sold our property, and here is a portion of the proceeds,” nothing would have happened to them. But helping their fellow (?) believers was, at best, secondary to Ananias' and Sapphira's purpose. They wanted respect from the Apostles and the Christian believers, but a respect for something more than what they had done. So they lied – as they understood it, to the Apostles and, through incidental bystanders, to the church. Peter informed Ananias (and later, in more general terms, Sapphira) that they didn't merely lie to men, but to the Holy Spirit, who Peter stated is God. And this was no casual, careless, imprecise, comment! Peter was explaining to Ananias what he had done and the gravity of what he had done! Peter did not (and would not!) pronounce God's judgment carelessly!

Psalm 139:1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

This passage – indeed, the entirety of Psalm 139 – speaks of two unique aspects of the nature of God, omniscience and omnipresence. Only God is omniscient and omnipresent.

Verse1 sets the context of the person to which the Psalm refers, and verse 4 reiterates it. The Psalmist is speaking of God, using the Divine name by which God revealed Himself to Moses and Israel. Thus, “You” in verses 2, 3 and 5 refer to God. Verse 6 is at once an expression of wonder and a statement of the fact that the idea of God knowing all and being present everywhere is beyond human reason and understanding. The Creator is beyond the understanding of the created … what a shock! And then comes verse 7. The Psalmist states that God's Spirit is Omnipresent. That leaves but two options. Either God's Spirit is 1.) something impersonal, the expression of God's power, or 2.) the Holy Spirit is a person, which would mean that verse 7 states that God's Spirit is God.

As I pointed out in this 2011 blog post, http://soapypetesbox.blogspot.com/2011/08/personhood-and-deity-of-holy-spirit.html, the Scriptures preclude Option 1, stated above. Scripture attributes knowledge, understanding, thought, speech, consciousness, emotions, will, authority, hearing, sight, judgment and abilities to have fellowship, reveal and teach. These characteristics can only mean that God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit is a person. Therefore, Psalm 139:7 can only mean that the holy Spirit is God.