How Could The Word of God Increase?
This is not possible. The Bible declared that the Word of God increased, can it grow, is it alive, did they speak more words? How could the Word of God increase, what does this really mean?
Hi, Students of the Word, Leroy here. Welcome to another Bible study. We have been doing our Book of Acts Bible study and today we are at Acts Six.
Today, I’m going to look at how the Word of God increased throughout the region; what this means; the implication it has for us, and how to achieve it?
Stick with me to the end and I will explain all of this in this Bible study.
Deacon Stephen
The Church had recently chosen seven deacons and one of them was Stephen. He was of honest report, full of faith, full of the Holy Ghost, power, wisdom and he did many miracles and wonders.
What Does It Mean That The Word of God Increased?
Could someone please explain to me what the Bible means by the Word of God increased? I know literally, this is impossible because the word cannot grow.
How can you increase the Word of God, is it alive, does it have a life of its own?
So, we’re going to read from the Scriptures and we’re going to start at Acts 6:7-15:
“And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
Acts 6:7
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.” Acts 6:8
“Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.”
Acts 6:9
“And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.” (Acts 6:10).
Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.” Acts 6:11
“And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came unto him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,”
Acts 6:12
And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:” Acts 6:13
For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.” Acts 6:14
“And all that sat in the council, looked steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.”
Acts 6:15
So that’s Acts 6:7-15, and that’s our major Bible reading for this Bible study.
Is The Word of God Alive?
So it started by saying, “And the Word of God increased”; however, naturally, the Word of God cannot replicate itself and many people think this by itself is true.
Because they see the Bible or the Word of God as a dead book, which has no life.
Recently I was speaking with someone and I was explaining to him that he should immerse himself in the Word of God.
I explained to him that the Word of God has all our solutions. It has solutions for any problem we shall face in this life and the one to come.
Then, he was like, really?
Then, how comes so many Christians have problems”, he asked?
Because many Christians don’t know how to access it,” I said.
“They just see the Bible as a book, a regular book,” I informed him.
“They don’t see it as a living entity”, I continued.
“But any time you make the Word of God yours, you personalize it, embrace it and give it access to your heart, boom it explodes”, I gestured upwards with my hands!
How Does The Word of God Increase?
It explodes your life! It changes your life and, it changes your circumstances. Are you depressed? It brings joy.
Are you sick,? It brings good health!
And if you’re weak, strength. The Word of God is our solution in this life.
So naturally, the Word cannot replicate itself, but spiritually it can because the Word is a seed.
When more people received and believed the Word of God, this means that it has increased and this is the situation that happened here in Jerusalem in this instance with Stephen.
This was the case with the Church above, when the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly and when many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
This describes how the Word of God increased. This means that many, many more people believed the gospel, and the Church grew.
So, in verse seven, it actually explains to us, before I say that, the Bible always interprets itself.
Never interpret the Bible.
And this is a case in point.
The verse starts by saying, “And the word of God increased; [then it explains what that phrase means] and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly;” that means they added more disciples to the church, that’s an increase.
It Increased By 3000 In One Day!
The impetus behind the increase in the number of disciples is the Word of God.
The Word of God was preached to more people, more people believed so the church grew.
So it tells you, that the number of disciples multiplied.
To multiply means it’s increased by a certain number.
So it’s multiplied, it’s like by two times, by three times. It didn’t tell us here, but it’s not like a linear increase it’s a bigger increase, right?
“And a great company of the priests was obedient to the faith.” So, not only were their regular people, but leaders believed and that shows us the increase because it says a great company of the priest were obedient to the faith.
Stephen Debated the SDA – LDS – & Pentecostals!
That verse alone explains to us what it means that the word of God increased.
So many groups of religious people all disputed with Stephen, all at the same place and occasion. The Bible says that they were of the synagogue, which means that they were religious people.
If I were to examine this from a contemporary perspective, it would be similar to saying, Christians disputed with Stephen.
For example, I could say Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Pentecostal members were disputing with Stephen.
So they were in debate with Stephen, what were they debating about? I’ll get to that. Because these religious folks couldn’t deny that the attitude and the wisdom of God by which Stephen spoke were from heaven, they resorted to evil and foul means.
So because they knew that God sent Stephen, they saw the wisdom of God in him and the spirit, and they said they couldn’t resist that.
Meaning his attitude, his own demeanor, they knew he was a humble heart and he exuded that power and that confidence from God. They knew he was sent by God, so they couldn’t resist it, that’s what that means right there.
How Could One Fight Against God?
So, because they knew that, they were in fact fighting against God. So they resorted to evil means. First, they paid men to lie about Stephen.
They say we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God. But for many of them, that wasn’t enough.
As a result, they influenced the people, the elders, and the scribes and they caught and arrested Stephen and took him to this diabolical Council, the Sanhedrin Council.
Now as we traverse the Book of Acts, Students of the Word, observe the role of the Sanhedrin Council in the persecution of the church. Remember, it started out with Peter and John, when they did that miracle on that impotent man? That’s where it started, it’s instructive.
Third, they paid false witnesses to appear before the Council with their lying report concerning Stephen. Isn’t it ironic that the two false charges that they brought against Stephen, were the very things he was attempting to protect, the Holy Place and the Law?
Additionally, the report that they made about Stephen and Jesus, was a lie, but in fact, they misinterpreted what they heard.
Destroy This Temple
He didn’t say he was going to destroy the temple, but the temple of his body. So when people hear Jesus speak, they always misunderstand him, because remember, whenever time he spoke to the people he spoke in parables.
There was never a time that Jesus spoke and he wasn’t speaking in a parable.
So when he said that in three days I will destroy this temple, he was talking about the temple of his body. But the people interpret that to mean the physical temple where they worshipped. And indeed he was going to change the customs which Moses gave them and that he did because remission of sin wasn’t anymore by the slaying of animals but by Jesus dying on the cross.
Conclusion
I want to conclude this by telling you that the word of God is not dead. It’s not lifeless. The Scripture says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The word ‘quick’ here means alive, so the word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.
So the Word of God can increase, it could literally grow. It’s a seed and it will grow, and I want to challenge you, if you don’t believe this to be true, well give the word of God access to your heart. Memorize a scripture each week and see what happens.
When that Word of God drops down into your heart it is powerful, it is power, it’s life, and it will minister to your situation. It will because it’s alive and it reads your mind.
What Is The Most Powerful Force In The Universe?
There’s no end to this, but if you want to prove that it is alive, you have to make it personal. You have to own it, you have to own it and you will see that it grows, it speaks to you, it answers your question.
Yes, that’s how alive it is and it reveals secrets to you, it did that even to Peter. But you can have that experience too, but you must own this word, you must nurture this word, you must keep it and you must practice it. Speak it, believe it, share it, live it, what you put in is what you get out.
So, don’t let anybody fool you, the word of God is alive, it’s quick, it’s powerful. It’s the most potent thing we have in this world.
No nuclear bomb, no atomic bomb is as powerful as the Word of God. It’s the Word of God that created this universe so don’t take it lightly.
I might say it simply, but it is powerful! It’s potent. It will change your life. It will heal your body and it will bring comfort to your heart.
In closing, thanks for your time. God bless you and if He wills, I’ll see you in another video. Bye.
