Increase
The Concept of Increase in Scripture
The Bible uses "increase" extensively to describe growth and multiplication across many domains: crops and livestock, families and nations, wisdom and understanding, and spiritual maturity. Several Hebrew and Greek words contribute to this concept, reflecting the richness of the biblical vocabulary for fruitfulness and abundance.
Agricultural and Material Increase
In its most basic sense, increase referred to the produce of the land, the offspring of herds and flocks, and the growth of material wealth. God promised Israel that obedience would bring agricultural blessing: "He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land" (Deuteronomy 7:13).
The tithe system was built around the concept of increase. The Israelites were to give a tenth of their increase, whether from grain, new wine, flocks, or herds (Numbers 18:30; Deuteronomy 14:22). This acknowledged that all increase came from God and belonged ultimately to him.
The law also addressed financial increase, prohibiting Israelites from charging excessive interest on loans to fellow Israelites (Ezekiel 22:12). The distinction between legitimate increase and exploitative profit runs through biblical economic teaching.
God as the Source of Increase
A central biblical conviction is that God alone gives true increase. Paul stated this plainly regarding spiritual work: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6). While human effort has its place, the actual growth comes from God.
This principle applies beyond the spiritual realm. The psalms celebrate God as the one who makes grass grow for cattle and plants for people to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth (Psalm 104:14). Job observed that God "increases the nations, and he destroys them; he enlarges the nations, and leads them away" (Job 12:23). Even the rise and fall of civilizations is under God's sovereign direction.
Spiritual Increase
The New Testament emphasizes spiritual increase as the primary form of growth that matters. John the Baptist declared, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), pointing away from himself toward Christ. This verse captures the essential Christian posture: making room for Christ's growing influence in one's life and the world.
Paul prayed that believers would "increase and abound in love for one another" (1 Thessalonians 3:12) and that their knowledge and discernment would continually grow (Philippians 1:9). The letter to the Colossians speaks of "increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10) as a mark of a life worthy of the Lord.
The Growth of the Church
The book of Acts uses increase language to describe the expansion of the early church. The word of God "increased" (Acts 6:7), the number of disciples "multiplied greatly," and the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria "was built up and increased" (Acts 9:31). This corporate increase fulfilled Jesus' promise that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church.
Paul's letter to the Ephesians describes the church as a body that "builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:16), with Christ as the head from whom the whole body receives its growth and increase.
Biblical Context
Increase appears across every section of Scripture. In the Pentateuch, it relates to God's promises of fruitfulness and the tithe system (Deuteronomy 7:13; Numbers 18:30). In wisdom literature, it describes growing understanding (Proverbs 16:21). In the prophets, it addresses both national growth and financial exploitation (Ezekiel 22:12). In the Gospels, John the Baptist's declaration about Christ's increase (John 3:30) is pivotal. In the epistles, Paul emphasizes spiritual growth and God as the source of all increase (1 Corinthians 3:6; Colossians 2:19; Ephesians 4:16).
Theological Significance
The concept of increase teaches that all growth, whether material or spiritual, originates from God. Human effort is necessary but insufficient without divine blessing. John the Baptist's statement that Christ must increase while he decreases establishes a pattern for all Christian discipleship. The church's growth described in Acts demonstrates that the spread of the gospel is ultimately God's work through willing human instruments.
Historical Background
In the agrarian society of ancient Israel, increase was primarily measured in agricultural terms: the yield of crops, the offspring of flocks, and the growth of families. The tithe system, reflecting these realities, was common in ancient Near Eastern cultures, though Israel's tithe was distinctive in its theological framing as acknowledgment of God's ownership. In the Greco-Roman world of the New Testament, increase also carried economic connotations related to trade and commerce, which Jesus drew upon in parables like the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).