Biblical interpretation Acts 4:32-5:11 - Essay Example

Biblical Interpretation Acts 4:32-5:11 The book of Acts 4:32-5:11 portrays a church that was faithful and foolish as well. The believers were in oneaccord; of one heart and mind. They had compassion for those in need and did not idolize material possession. Willingly, they sold their possession and handed them to the apostles to be shared with the needy. They were full of power, grace and witnessed greatly about Christ. Foolishness can be seen where Sapphira wanted to use deception to earn the reputation of being generous as the other believers.

She conspired to hide part of the sales of their land with her husband Annanias11. There was no problem in Annanias and Saphira keeping some of the money or land for themselves but the problem lies in their deception. This grieved God and Sapphira died in front of the congregation because she was challenging the presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the congregation. She had lied to God. The name ‘church’ came up after the Acts 5:11 incident. It is used to refer to ‘those who were called out’.

Therefore, the church is meant to look different from the rest of the world yet we see deception in the church as portrayed by Saphirra2. The genre of this biblical passage is tragedy genre. This genre usually teaches other people negative modeling. It shows a Sapphira’s downfall and the acts that lead to the ruin hence emphasis on good character and moral choice. The interpretive principle of this genre is to clearly distinguish between literal and figurative language to avoid ungodly and unbiblical teachings.

When reading and interpreting this genre, one should keep in mind the theological, geographical, historical, cultural and literary contexts of the passage. The main idea in this passage is the need for the church to stop compromising between faithfulness and sin such as deception because they are supposed to be different from the world. Author, Audience and Date of the Book of Acts The author of this book is Luke. He was a companion of Paul as evidenced by use of ‘we’ in some passages. He was also a physician.

Paul uses the term doctor to describe him in Col 4:14. The audience of this book is Theophilus. The book was written around 60-63 AC. It does not portray important events that occurred later than this time3. Literary Background of the Passage The passage was written under the Roman culture. The Graeco-Roman society has been used as the social background. This passage fits into the rest of the chapter by showing the authority given by the Holy Spirit to the apostles and a proof that He was with them.

Peter and John had just healed a lame man and by lying to the apostles, Sapphira died4. The main meaning of the passage is the emphasis on the fear of God. It’s a warning for hypocrites to do away with sin and be faithful. Its relevance to my spiritual formation is that do away with deception because it grieves God more than the people I lie to. Works Cited Bruce, Frederick. The Book of the Acts (Revised Ed). Michigan.Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1988.