“And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7, ESV)
It wasn’t long ago that this very passage was the subject of a Pastor’s Corner. Yet here we are looking at Acts 6:7 again. It is a wonderful passage regarding God’s Word and its increase.
Some might think that the Word of God has reached a ceiling on its increase. As though scholarship has been exhausted, all books have been written, all translations have been made, and anything else is a redundancy; which is far from the truth. So then, what does it mean to have the Word of God increase?
It seems obvious that the increase of the Word of God is much more than publishing and academia, translations and information. The increase of God’s Word is the Word gaining greater prominence among the people. It is God’s Word being believed and obeyed. Reckoning the fact that there has been a great deal of scholarship, software, and print versions of the Word of God, and yet that isn’t the same thing as the Word of God increasing.
Conjoin the reality of God’s Word increasing along with the increase of disciples in Jerusalem. It would seem then that the increase of the Word of God is distinctly connected to the conversions. People come to the place where they see the truth and beauty of God’s Word, and the prominence it has in their life and community increases.
The increase is also measured by the effect. The Word of God radically shifts the view of the person who believes it, and they walk in the obedience of faith. The increase of the Word, and the obedience of faith is played out in the changing of belief and becoming obedient in action to what is believed. That’s what the Word of God does, it has been sent by God to effect change in the hearts and minds of mankind. Lord, may your Word do that which You sent it to accomplish.
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