Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? A striking appeal to themselves, in presence of the whole Christian assembly, whether all the sacrifices which had been made for the support of the new community had not been purely voluntary-the sales first, and then the surrender of the proceeds.
Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? It was this conception of the thing in his own heart which opened the door of it for Satan first to enter in, and then to fill it with this shocking plan.
Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God - in the sense explained at Acts 5:3; and compare Psalms 51:4. Nothing could more clearly imply both the distinct Personality and the proper divinity of the Holy Spirit.