Within the parenthesis printed in brackets (verses 12-14) we
get the statement that after such an happening men were afraid to join
themselves to the Christian company; yet this was no real loss, for it stopped
anything in the nature of a mass movement, that would have swept a good deal of
unreality into the church. The real work of God was not hindered, as
verse 14 states. People may be added to the church who are mere professors, but
no one is "added to the Lord" save those in whom there is a vital
work of God. Thus the sad business of Ananias and Sapphira was overruled
for good, though to a superficial observer it might have seemed a heavy blow to
the church's prospects.
FBH