Acts 12:24-25 But the word of God grew and multiplied.… I. THE WORD OF GOD GREW IN — 1. Convincing. 2. Converting. 3. Sanctifying. 4. Comforting. 5. Stimulating power. II. THE WORD OF GOD MULTIPLIED — 1. In the number of believers who embraced it. 2. In the number of preachers who proclaimed it. 3. In the extent of territory over which it spread (chap. Acts 13:4, etc.). III. The Word of God grew and multiplied NOTWITHSTANDING — 1. The might that was arrayed against it. (1) The tyranny of Herod. (2) The pleasure of the Jews. State authority and sectarian bigotry were combined for the first time since the crucifixion to oppress the Church; how often since has this unholy alliance been made for the same end! 2. The persecution it endured. (1) The vexation of Christians, espionage, loss of goods, etc. (2) The martyrdom of James. (3) The imprisonment of Peter. IV. NATIONAL PROSPERITY WAS IMPERILLED, but the Word of God grew and multiplied. There is more than appears in ver. 20. Tyre and Sidon as purely commercial cities were largely dependent on the purely industrial interior for the supply of merchandise, and the interior was dependent on those cities for its very sustenance. The prosperity of both was threatened by a war which would further aggravate the situation. Tyrants may frown, and people may cringe, but the Word of God is independent of both. V. HUMAN GLORY WAS HUMBLED, AND KINGLY POWER WAS DESTROYED, BUT THE WORD OF GOD GREW AND MULTIPLIED. Read vers. 23 and 24 as one, and the intended contrast is clear. "All flesh is grass...but the Word of God shall stand forever." The Roman, German, Italian, and English potentates who oppressed the Church are in their graves, but the Word of God grows and multiplies still. VI. The Word of God grew and multiplied BY MEANS OF — 1. Prayer — the normal condition of success throughout the ages. 2. Striking interpositions. These are exceptional, but are always at hand if need be. Here we see — (1) The deliverance of Peter by an angel. (2) The death of Herod by an angel. 3. Earnest evangelists (vers. 25-13:3). (J. W. Burn.) Parallel Verses KJV: But the word of God grew and multiplied. |
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