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I
grew up in Durban, South Africa,
and loved the Bible from a young
age. One of my clearest memories
is of my grandfather reading John
14:1-3 for family worship. I
enrolled in the Voice of Prophecy correspondence
Bible course and looked forward
to receive my lessons every two
weeks or so in the mail. I would eagerly
check if my answers were correct or not,
and looked forward to digging into the
next lesson. The lessons, printed in
black on white, did not have an elaborate
design—especially when compared
to the glossy lessons we have today. Yet
God’s Word was alive and full of power
in my young teenage heart.
Many years later, when I studied theology
at Helderberg College, it was a
great privilege to meet Heather
Tredoux, director of the Bible School.
The Word of God slowly transformed a
shy, stuttering young man into a
preacher. In fact, the Bible helps us grow
into the people God wants us to be.
illustration by ralph butler
BY KAYLE DE WAAL
The Word in Acts
The living, enduring Word of God is
central to the evangelistic explosion and
the birth of the Christian movement in
Acts. The Word was the source of power in
the evangelistic ministry of the disciples,
and the people yearned for this Word.
Luke repeatedly tells us how people
received the Word with gladness (see Acts
2:41; 4:4; 8:40). The disciples studied the
Scriptures daily and aligned their lives
with its teachings (see Acts 17:11). In
their sermons the disciples quote, allude,
or refer to Old Testament passages nearly
200 times. Clearly they had memorized
and internalized the Scriptures and
preached with deep conviction. 1
Preaching is a major factor in the proclamation
of the gospel and takes on the form
of witnessing in Acts: “We cannot help
speaking about what we have seen and
heard” (Acts 4:20).
When Luke uses the phrase “word of
the Lord” (Acts 8:25; 13:49; 15:35; 16:32;
19:10, 20) and the “word of God” (Acts
4:31; 6:2; 8:14; 11:1; 12:24; 13:5; 17:13),
he is pointing to the divine origin and
authority of the gospel.
In the Old Testament the Word of God
has tremendous power and ability to
accomplish the tasks that God sets out
for it to accomplish (Ps. 33:6-11; Isa.
55:10, 11; Jer. 1:9-12). 2 The centrality of
the “word” in Acts led French scholar
Marguerat to write that the leading
theme of Acts is “neither the history of
the Church, nor the activity of the Spirit,
but the expansion of the Word. The real
hero of the Acts of the Apostles is the
logos, the Word.” 3
The Word moves the narrative of Acts
forward—and, literally, in new directions.
“So the word of God
spread. The number of disciples
in Jerusalem increased
rapidly, and a large number of
priests became obedient to the
faith” (Acts 6:7). This is a summary
statement of the work of
the Word in Jerusalem and
points to the satisfactory resolution of
the conflict in Jerusalem (Acts 1:1-6:7).
“But the word of God continued to
spread and flourish” (Acts 12:24) marks
another summary statement of the
spread of the Word to the outer parts of
Judea, Samaria, and other Gentile areas
(Acts 6:8-12:24). The Word is on the
move, conquering for the kingdom.
The final summary statement of the
section covering Acts 12:25-19:20 highlights
the moving power of the Word and
points to the geographical expansion of
the Word into Asia Minor and Europe.
“In this way the word of the Lord spread
widely and grew in power” (Acts 19:20). 4
Luke makes use of the term “word of
the Lord” to show the progress of the
church, especially in the context of
human opposition. Just as the Word of
God helped me to grow in South Africa,
so the Word of God grew the church in
Acts. The church grows as the Word grows.
The Word conquers Jerusalem, then
Judea and Samaria. The Word then conquers
an African in Acts 8, giving the
reader a foretaste of the Word’s conquest
of a family of Gentiles in Acts 10.
Finally the Word triumphs over one of
the most influential cities in the firstcentury
world—Ephesus.
The church and the Word move and
develop simultaneously. The two are so
interconnected in Acts that it is almost
impossible to separate them (cf. Acts
2:47; 5:14; 6:7; 11:21; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20).
This becomes apparent when one
notices that the Word never returns to
an area twice as Luke tells us about the
growth of the church. 5
The Word determines and sets the
agenda for evangelism and discipleship.
The same Greek word (plethynein) is
used for the “increase” in the number
of disciples (6:1; 9:31) as well as for the
increase of the Word (6:7; 12:24).
The church and
the Word move
and develop
simultaneously.
The Word in History
Peter Waldo, or Valdes, was a wealthy
merchant of Lyons (eastern France),
who experienced conversion about 1175
or 1176. He gave away his possessions
and decided to follow Christ by leading
a life of poverty and preaching. Convicted
by the necessity of spreading
God’s Word Waldo had the Latin New
Testament translated into the vernacular,
which formed the basis of his evangelism.
He preached the message of
Scripture fearlessly and powerfully so
that he soon had a group of people following
him. When the Word of God is
preached fearlessly and with the anointing
of the Spirit, there is normally an
explosion of kingdom growth.
The group that followed Peter Waldo
grew so effective and powerful that they
came to the attention of the pope. They
were given the approval of Pope Alexander
III at the Third Lateran Council in
1179. They had one condition: Waldo’s
followers were to gain the approval of the
local church authority before preaching.
However, the Waldensians preached the
message of the Bible and exalted the virtues
of poverty without first seeking approval
from the local bishop. Waldo loved quoting
Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than
human beings.” 6 They continued to con-
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