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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Acts 6:7 - 6:7
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act_6:7
7The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Act_6:7 "The word of God" This refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ. His life, death, resurrection, and teaching about God form the new way of viewing the Old Covenant (cf. Mat_5:17-48). Jesus is the word (cf. Joh_1:1; Joh_14:6). Christianity is a Person! See full note at Act_4:31.
▣ "kept on spreading" All three verbs in Act_6:7 are imperfect tense. This is a central theme in Acts. God's word is spreading by people trusting in Christ and becoming a part of the new people covenant of God (cf. Act_6:7; Act_12:24; Act_19:20).
This may be an allusion to God's promises to Abraham about the numerical growth of his family, who became the old covenant people of God (cf. Act_7:17; Gen_17:4-8; Gen_18:18; Gen_28:3; Gen_35:11).
▣ "a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith" This was one of the causes of the Jewish leadership (i.e., Sadducees) unrest over Christianity. Those who knew the OT well were being convinced that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the promised Messiah. The inner circle of Judaism was cracking!
The summary statements of growth may be a key to the structure of the book (cf. Act_9:31; Act_12:24; Act_16:5; Act_19:20; Act_28:31).
▣ "the faith" This term may have several distinct connotations:
1. its OT background means "faithfulness" or "trustworthiness"; therefore, it is used of our faithing the faithfulness of God or our trusting in the trustworthiness of God (see Special Topic at Act_6:5)
2. our accepting or receiving God's free offer of forgiveness in Christ
3. faithful, godly living
4. the collective sense of the Christian faith or the doctrinal truth about Jesus (cf. Rom_1:5; Gal_1:23; and Jud_1:3; Jud_1:20). In several passages, such as 2Th_3:2, it is difficult to know which sense Paul had in mind.
See hyperlink, Believe, Trust (noun, verb, adjective) at Act_3:16.