CHAPTER I: The Historical Character of the New Testament Word READINGS: ACTS 1–12 “The word of the Lord grew”—three times in the Book of Acts Luke uses this sentence to sum up a period of the history of the first church (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20). These words are a telling expression of the Biblical conception of the divine word. Our Lord Himself compared the word with a seed that is sown and sprouts and grows: “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). The word of the Lord is a power and is active;