And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

1. Increasingly - more were added - not by ones, or tens, or even hundreds. But multitudes. How many is a multitude?

2. First there were a few - 120 (Acts 1:1-26) to 500 (1 Corinthians 15:1-58). Then there were 3,000 added (Acts 2:1-47). The number became 5,000 men (Acts 4:1-37). Now multitudes (plural) are being added. The church is growing so rapidly that the numbers are now generic - thousands are added.

3. Men and women - In Acts 4:4 the number is about 5,000 men. Now we are told that man and women are being added. It would appear that that the first converts were mostly men. Now women are being added in great numbers.

4. See also Acts 8:3; Acts 8:12; Acts 9:2; Acts 22:4. We also need to study Galatians 3:28.

5. The attitude of the early church was very different from the prevailing thought of the religious community.

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Old Testament