Answer: The church (being members of the body of Christ
assembling in various congregations in all of these areas) was
strengthened, and was encouraged by the Holy Spirit so that it grew
in numbers and lived in the fear of the Lord, (verse 31).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
The church
was strengthened or edified. "Strengthened"
(edify) is from the Greek word oikodomeo, which literally
means "to build a house." It usually signifies to
build, whether literally, or figuratively. As a noun, it is
the ones doing the building, the builders. It is used
metaphorically ("metaphor" is a figure of speech in
which one thing is spoken of as if it were another), in the sense
of edifying, which means "promoting spiritual growth and
development of character of believers, by teaching or by example,
suggesting such spiritual progress as the result of patient
labor." That is what is suggested here--that the
church was strengthened, or built up, by teaching and/or example,
done with patient labor made possible because of the peace they now
enjoyed.
The church
was also encouraged, or comforted, by the Holy Spirit.
"Note that the Spirit is viewed as a Person just like the
Lord is. The reference to the "comfort"
[encouragement] of the Spirit may denote the miraculous powers that
were resident in the apostles, and conveyed through them (cf.
John 14:16-17)" (The Acts of the Apostles
From Jerusalem to Rome by Wayne Jackson).
The church
lived in fear of the Lord. This is not living in terror of
the Lord. This is living in the reverence of the Lord.
It is godly fear. It is holy fear, a mingled fear and love
which, combined, constitute the piety of man toward God.
David says of God: "My flesh trembles in fear of You; I
stand in awe of Your laws" (Psalm 119:120) and
"Say to God, "How awesome are Your deeds! So great is
Your power that Your enemies cringe before You'...Come
and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man's
behalf!" (Psalm 66:3, 5). And 1
Peter 1:17 admonishes that "Since you call on a
Father Who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as
strangers here in reverent fear."
The church
"grew in numbers." The church of the Lord
multiplied as a result of these peaceful conditions. The
Greek tense of the word for "grew in numbers" means
that this growth was not just a "spurt" of
growth. The church KEPT ON GROWING in numbers. The
church is a living body, the body of Christ, and it is to keep on
growing and multiplying! Acts 16:5:
"So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew
daily in numbers." The church grows in numbers as the
Word of the Lord spreads its power: Acts
19:20: "So the churches were strengthened in
the faith and grew daily in numbers." Romans
1:16: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because
it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."
Again,
here are some very interesting thoughts about Acts
9:31 from Adam Clarke's Commentary on the New
Testament:
Were edified..., A metaphor taken from a building.
1. The ground is marked out;
2. The ichnograph, or dimensions of the building,
ascertained;
3. The foundation is digged;
4. The foundation stone laid;
5. The walls builded up with course upon
course;
6. The top-stone brought on;
7. The roof raised, and the whole covered in;
and,
8. The interior part is fitted up and adorned, and rendered
convenient for the intended inhabitant.
This figure frequently occurs in the sacred writings,
especially in the New Testament. It has its reason in the original
creation of man: God made the first human being as a shrine
or temple, in which Himself might dwell. Sin entered, and the
heavenly building was destroyed. The materials, however, though all
dislocated, and covered with rubbish and every way defiled, yet
exist; no essential power or faculty of the soul having been lost.
The work of redemption consists in building up this house as it was
in the beginning, and rendering it a proper habitation for God. The
various powers, faculties, and passions, are all to
be purified and refined by the power of the Holy Spirit, and order
and harmony restored to the whole soul. All this is beautifully
pointed out by Peter in 1 Peter 2:4, 5: "To
whom (Jesus Christ) coming as unto a LIVING STONE, chosen of God
and precious, ye also, as LIVING STONES, are BUILT UP a spiritual
HOUSE, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices to God
by Jesus Christ." And Paul, who, from his own profession as a
tent-maker, could best seize on the metaphor, and press it into
this spiritual service, goes through the whole figure at large, in
the following inimitable words: "Ye are the HOUSEHOLD of God,
and are BUILT upon the FOUNDATION of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief CORNERSTONE, in Whom all the
BUILDING, FITLY FRAMED together, groweth unto a HOLY TEMPLE in the
Lord: in Whom ye also are BUILDED together for a HABITATION of God,
through the Spirit," Ephesians 2:19-22.
Edification signifies, therefore, an increase in the light, life,
and power of God; being founded on the doctrine of Christ
crucified; having the soul purified from all unrighteousness, and
fitted, by increasing holiness, to be a permanent residence for the
ever-blessed God.
Walking in the fear of the Lord--Keeping a continually
tender conscience; abhorring all sin; having respect to every
Divine precept; dreading to offend Him from Whom the soul has
derived its being and its blessings. Without this salutary fear of
God there never can be any circumspect walking.
In the comfort of the Holy Ghost--In a consciousness of
their acceptance and union with God, through His Spirit, by which
solid peace and happiness are brought into the soul; the truly
religious man knowing and feeling that he is of God, by the Spirit
which is given him: nothing less can be implied in the comfort of
the Holy Ghost.
Were multiplied--No wonder that the Church of God
increased, when such lights as these shone among men. This is a
short, but full and forcible description of the righteousness,
purity, and happiness of the primitive Church.
