The first years of the church of Christ were a time of rapid growth in many ways. The increase in the outpouring of God's grace was the most important of them; it was, in fact, the basis of all the others. Through God's involvement in human affairs there was a great advance in society of all that is good and true and righteous. The realm of evil had to retreat before the progress of God's power through the preaching and teaching of His word, through the extension of His kingdom, and through the great improvement in the lifestyle of converted sinners. Those early years were a period of glory, triumph, and joy for those who loved the Lord. Even today, after the passage of almost two millennia, Christians still look back upon the church's youth with pride and gladness, and then yearn for the restoration of such results in the present.
One might wonder, however, in what sense we may understand the report by Luke that "the word of God continued to grow and to be multiplied." Does it refer to growth in substance? That is, was God continually revealing more of His holy message to the apostles, so that the body of the gospel was growing? There is no doubt that progressive revelation of divine truth was taking place. Paul, for example, once referred to "the surpassing greatness of the revelations" given to him, (II Cor. 12:7). Indeed, the light of knowledge from God was becoming brighter as time passed until the apostles had completed their earthly mission.
Careful consideration leads this writer to conclude, however, that Acts 12:24 presents another view of the growth and multiplication of God's word. Rather than growth in substance, it refers to a growth in effect. As the apostles and other evangelists preached the message revealed to them, it had tremendous effect upon those who heard it. The reason for this is clearly stated in Rom. 1:16-17, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'But the righteous man shall live by faith.'" When the word of God was preached in its truth, simplicity, and power, it convicted sinners, showed them the way to a better life, and induced them to obey in faith its requirements. This is the effect reported in Acts 6:7, "The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem." The same results are reported concerning the people in Thessalonica: "Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit. ... You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, ... so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia," (I Ths. 1:5-7).
In the present we do not witness the same effects we read in these reports in the New Testament, and we are made to wonder why. Although the reasons are many and complex, surely a major cause is our failure to preach the word of God as they did in the beginning. Today we impose constructions on the gospel that pervert its message, although the gospel needs no modernization to address the situations of contemporary life. We hear much about adapting the gospel to meet our current needs and life conditions. Our real need, however, is to adapt our lives to conform to the standard of God's word. We need to realize that, if the New Testament can be made all things to all people, it finally becomes nothing to anyone. The average mind can understand that God's word clearly forbids certain lifestyles that have recently become popular. So, when those who present themselves as ministers of that word give their sanction to those forbidden lifestyles, mixed messages come across to the masses of people. Confusion results, respect for the divine word diminishes, and its preaching does not have the effect it should. But the power to change lives yet resides in that word to anyone who will take it as it is simply written!
