Neville Goddard on Acts 5:3-4 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Acts 5 in context

Scripture Focus

3But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4Whiles 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.

Acts 5:3-4

Biblical Context

Peter confronts Ananias about lying to the Holy Spirit and withholding part of the price; the issue is a matter of the heart before God, not merely money or public perception.

Neville's Inner Vision

Notice how the text names 'Satan filled thine heart' and 'lie to the Holy Ghost' as an inward movement, not merely an external act. In Neville's psychology, Ananias did not lie to a person but to the I AM within; the land and its price symbolize outward possessions that can be used to cloak inner lack. The moment he conceived a dishonest motive, he rehearsed a reality in his imagination that denied his own truth. The Holy Spirit is the consciousness you ARE, the living awareness behind every moment. When you pretend a thing in your heart, you betray your divine nature and invite consequence. The remedy is a vivid revision: return to the state of truth you wish to inhabit, and feel it real in your present. Assume integrity, wholeness, and freedom as already yours, and let your impulses align with that inner picture. The outward scene—the sale, the price, the reaction of Peter—follows your inner state. Thus Acts 5:3–4 becomes not a historical rebuke, but a practical reminder that you must reside in the truth of I AM in order to create truly.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Sit quietly, recall a moment you felt tempted to withhold or falsify; picture the situation as you wish it to be, and declare, I AM the truth of this moment, then feel the truth in your chest and let that feeling dissolve the old impulse.