5-page paper synthesizing the 3-5 ideas from the readings that made the greatest impact on you, and how those ideas apply to yo

Growth—God’s Plan

All healthy children grow. From birth onward, parents can see the growth of their children. In fact, they expect their child to grow; if the child does not grow, the parents become concerned. Only by measuring growth periodically can one know the exact amount of growth. Some years a child grows more than other years, but growth is a normal part of life.

God planned for humankind to grow. After God created Adam and Eve, He said, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth” (Gen. 1:28). After the Flood, when God destroyed all living things (except for Noah and his family), He repeated these same words to Noah and his three sons as soon as they left the ark: “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Gen. 9:1). The Hebrew words for fruitful (P^aruw), increase (uwrbuw), and fill (uwmil’uw) are the exact same words used in both verses. God intended humankind to grow numerically. Since the Flood, the world population has increased dramatically. At the time of Abraham, the world population stood at 27 million. By the time of Christ, the population numbered approximately 200 million. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the world-wide population stood at 1.6 billion; in 2012, the population stands at over 7 billion people. Scholars estimate that 108 billion people have lived on earth. Today’s population is 6 percent of the number who have ever lived.⁰

The Bible illustrates the importance of keeping track of humankind’s activities. God uses numbers, from Genesis to Revelation, to help track His dealings and interactions with people and His creation. As Jesus sent His disciple into the marketplace, He warned of persecution and difficulties. However, His commission also included a promise of protection. Jesus declared that when a sparrow falls to the ground, His Father knows it; He even numbers the very hairs on each person’s head. Jesus concludes by saying, “So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:31).

One must periodically measure growth to determine the amount of change over a given period of time. Churches that do not keep track of growth cannot know where they should be in God’s plan. Clarensau identifies the importance of measuring church growth: “So how is your church doing at assimilating its guests? Churches need times of assessment, too. A church’s ability to retain its guests reveals much about it effectiveness in reaching people.”⁰ When recording growth, one must use the numbers accurately. An old adage says, “Figures don’t lie, but liars do figure.” Measuring growth requires accuracy and an unbiased opinion.

Scripture uses numbers to show both the passage of time and to indicate growth. In fact, Scripture begins with an account of the seven days of creation (Gen. 1). Numbers play a large role just in the story of Noah and the ark (Gen. 9):

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  Noah is 600 years old when he enters the Ark.
  
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  Eight people enter the Ark.
  
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  The animals are taken into the Ark by twos.
  
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  The clean animals are taken by seven.
  
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  Seven days after they enter the Ark, it begins to rain.
  
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  It rains for forty days.
  
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  Waters flood the earth for 150 days.
  
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  Ark rests on Mt. Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month.
  
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  Mountains become visible on the first day of the tenth month.
  
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  After forty more days, Noah opens a window of the Ark and sends out a raven.
  
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  Noah waits seven more days and sends out a dove.
  
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  Noah sends out another dove seven days later.
  
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  Another seven days pass and Noah sends out the dove that does not return.
  
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  First day of the first month, when Noah is 601 years old the water had dried out.
  
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  On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth is completely dry.
  

God used numbers to record the ages of people and used lists to preserve the genealogical record of the bloodline from Adam to Christ. Various Scriptures record the population of Israel and the number of people available for warfare in Israel (Gen. 5; Num. 1-3:49; 1 Kings 20:27; 1 Chron. 12:23-27; 2 Chron. 17:14-18; Matt. 1:1-17). On one occasion, counting the people of Israel became a sinful activity (2 Sam. 24:10). One can succumb to pride in God’s accomplishments. The church at Corinth even became prideful over the spiritual gifts God gave them (1 Cor. 4:6-7).

Consequently, leaders must use the accumulation of data to analyze the church’s growth cycle and project future plans. A church should appropriately celebrate their growth much like what occurred after Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost when 3000 people were added to their number (Acts 2:40). The church celebrated again as growth continued: “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). In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to have celebrations to remind them of His love and care for them. McIntosh notes that “Israel was to practice these celebrations even when they were in difficult situations. As you work to revitalize your church, keep the same idea in mind. Whenever you have the smallest of triumphs, celebrate them.”⁰

The book of Revelation makes abundant references to numbers—too many to list in this chapter. However, the following list highlights how God used numbers to list events and record growth:

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  Seven churches of Revelation (1:10)
  
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  Twenty-four elders who worship God (5:8)
  
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  144,000 servants of God from all the tribes of Israel (7:4)
  
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  A great multitude of God’s people worshiping Him that no one could number (7:9)
  
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  Saints of God reigning with Christ for a 1000 years (20:4)
  
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  Size of the New Jerusalem (21:15-18)
  

One cannot help but notice the repetitive use of certain numbers. Mark Verman believes that the repeated use of certain numbers in Scripture serves as a mnemonic strategy.⁰ The numbers three, seven, ten, twelve, and forty occur so frequently in Scripture that one should not ignore their use.⁰ Many scholars attach particular meaning to certain numbers—such as seven refers to holiness while the number ten represents a completed mission or “seven times ten expresses completeness and holiness.”⁰ In Scripture the number seventy seems significant:

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  Relatives of Jacob going to Egypt (Gen. 46:27)
  
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  Seventy elders in Israel are mentioned five times (Exod. 24:1; 24:9; Num. 11:16, 24, 25).
  
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  The length of life for a person (Psa. 90:10)
  
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  Captivity of Judah (Jer. 25:11)
  
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  The number of times we should forgive someone—seventy times seven (Matt. 18:22)
  

Although numbers may carry symbolic meaning, they also have a specific purpose. Scripture does not use numbers lightly and the business world relies heavily on numbers in business transactions. Mark Galli puts the biblical use of number in perspective:

The Bible is a book of numbers: six days a week for regular work and a day for rest. Tithing is not just a guideline. In the parable of the lost sheep, we’re taught that a one percent attrition among believers is too much. It is easy to poke fun at our preoccupation with numbers, but there are good reasons to take seriously discipleship by numbers. One obvious example: numbers hold us accountable. Accountability is one of the sacred words of our world.”⁰

Ultimately, the church should be held accountable for its growth just as a business must account for its growth.