Acts 16:5
“And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The churches grow firm in the faith and grow larger in number every day.
What Does Acts 16:5 Mean?
Luke pauses for one of his brief progress reports (compare Acts 6:7; 9:31; 12:24). The return visits, the teaching, and the Jerusalem letter have done their work: congregations across the region are steadied within and enlarged without.
Strength and growth belong together. The churches were first established, made firm in the faith, and then they increased daily. Sound teaching does not slow a church's growth; it feeds it. Both the firmness and the increase are the Lord's gift, given through patient, ordinary care.
In the Original Language
stereoo (στερεόω), 'established' -- to make firm and solid, the verb used when the lame man's feet received strength in Acts 3:7.