Acts 16:5 (LSB)

Passage

So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were abounding in number daily.

Nearby Context

Acts 16:3 Paul wanted this man to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Acts 16:4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep.

Acts 16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were abounding in number daily.

Acts 16:6 And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;

Acts 16:7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "churches", "strengthened", "abounding", "number", and "daily". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "churches", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Now while they were passing through the..." into verse 6's "And they passed through the Phrygian and...", so "faith" and "churches" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "churches" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.