And when it is further said that this living Word endureth for ever, we are taught thereby that while it is only the vehicle of God's begetting principle, it is no mere transient chaff, or husk, or nourishing material, like the perisperm of the natural seed, which has only a temporary purpose to serve, and then decays and passes away when it has served that purpose.
It is " no mere sacramental symbol lost in the using," but it lives by and with the Divine principle which it reveals and employs, and endures for ever. And just as we see in the natural seed, owing to its twofold nature, an unbroken continuity of life, pausing here and unfolding itself there, casting off the chaff and the husks that have served their purpose that it may expand freely, the perisperm dying that the embryo may grow; so we see in the Word of God the same principle of identity running through the successive stages of its development — the same vital truth of redemption passing through various dispensations that have become old and are ready to perish, growing to more and more, casting off effete forms, and unfolding itself more clearly and fully in new forms better suited to the new needs.
We see the germ that was planted in the first promise of the seed of the woman growing successively into the patriarchal and legal dispensations, and, when the leafage and fruitage of these dispensations waxed old and perished, taking a grander form in the gospel dispensation, and blossoming and fruiting with a new and Divine life in a new and regenerated world. A third point of resemblance between the Word of God and a seed may be found in the small compass within which the living principle is enshrined in both. Nothing, as I have said, holds so much in so little bulk as a seed.
It is the little ark that swims above a drowned world, with all the life of the world hidden within it. It is a miniature orb, embracing the whole mystery of animated nature. An atom, often not so large as a grain of sand, contains within it all the concentrated vitality of the largest forest trees. It is a most remarkable example of nature's packing; for a seed consists- of a single or a double leaf, folded in such a way as to take up the smallest possible room. And in this respect the Word of God may be compared to a seed.
It is truth in its seed-form. We have in the Scriptures the most concentrated form of heavenly teaching. Nothing is omitted; nothing is superfluous. It contains all that is necessary for the salvation of man. Nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. It is rounded and finished off — full-orbed and complete, as every seed must be. All is contained within the smallest compass, so as to be easiest of comprehension, easiest of being carried in the memory, and easiest of being reduced to practice.
And the Word of God is so compacted in the seed-form, because it needs to be unfolded in the teaching and life of man.
The soil was made for the revelation of the seed; and the seed was made to be revealed by the soil. As the seed cannot disclose what is in it unless it fall into appropriate soil, and be stimulated to growth by suitable conditions, so the Word of God cannot disclose all that it contains unless it grow in an understanding mind and in a loving heart; unless by meditation and prayer it can expand from the seed-form to the blade, and the ear, and the full corn in the ear.
As wonderful as the unfolding of a beautiful flower from an almost invisible seed is the unfolding of the depth and fulness of meaning that is in the smallest precept of Scripture. For every new generation, the Word of God has new revelations and adaptations. The seed in the new soil and circumstances reveals new aspects of truth. The Word of God, like the great word of nature which is the illustration of it, holds in reserve for every succeeding age some new perception, some new disclosure of the Divine order and economy, revealing to no man, however studious and zealous, more than a part, and ever opening new vistas to reverent love and intelligence.
A fourth point of resemblance between the Word of God and a seed is the variety and beauty that may be recognized in both.
Have you ever examined a seed under a magnifying glass? It is often seen to be very curiously formed, even by the naked eye; but the microscope reveals new beauties and marvels of construction in it. The other day, in my garden, I took up the withered head of a poppy, and poured out into the palm of my hand the contents of its curious seed-vessel.
There was a little heap of very small round seeds that would take a long time to count.
I looked at the handful with the aid of my pocket lens, and I saw, to my delight, that each was beautifully chased and embossed on the outside.. For the shapes of beauty often displayed by seeds language has no terms. A whole volume might be filled with an account of them.
The Word of God as Seed
Some have curious wing-like appendages, on which they float away in the air in search of a suitable growing-place; some are covered with silky down, and some with lace-like tunics, while many kinds have hard enamelled or embroidered surfaces; and their colouring is as varied and beautiful as their forms. In this, the minutest of God's works, this smallest and inmost shrine of life, His attention is acuminated, and His skill, as it were, concentrated; so that, above all others, these little things assure us that we are not living in a world left to itself, but in one that reveals at every step the "besetting God.
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The Seed Of God's Word
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It is a Word which increases, grows and unfolds, becomes manifest, brings life and works effectually of it is kept in the heart and believed. The Word of God is quick, alive, and powerful. The Word of God works effectually in men who believe it. The Word of God, the good news of the accomplished redemptive work of Christ which he fulfilled at the cross, is the power of God to save those who believe on him, who believe the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Besides salvation and eternal redemption, God has made promises concerning the earthly life to those who believe on Christ.
With those promises, the same principle remains valid. God's Word is powerful, it is mighty, it will accomplish what God has sent it to accomplish. Another section of Scripture in which planting is mentioned in the Word of God is in 1 Corinthians 3, where the topic was a correction of certain wrong ideas and practices which had led to differences and schism in the church. All those many arguments and fights which we unfortunately find in Christian circles and in which the point of discussion is "to whom one belongs and with whom one would like to take a stand" quickly lose their "great importance" once we take these statements here to heart.
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One had "planted", the other had "watered". They had worked one after the other at Corinth, but none of them gave the increase! God gives the increase, only He does! He works through His Word. Paul had preached the Word of God at Corinth, it was he who so to say had "planted [sown]" it in the hearts of them who heard it. A short while later, Apollos came to Corinth and continued to instruct them in the Word of God which here is termed "watereth". The growth, the increase however was not effected by any of them, that is solely God's job. His Word begins to work in those who keep it and believe it in a pure and honest heart.
The seed begins to grow in those who do not allow themselves to be stolen from, it begins to develop and increase in those who do not "run off" because of persecution and are not choked by the cares, nor by the riches of this life. God is at work by means of His Word. In this context I would like to consider a passage in 1 Peter which has an important part in the instruction regarding the new birth or being born again. In the past, I used to link the word "seed" in verse 23 in my teachings to the gift of holy spirit which each believer on Christ receives in the new birth.
One can easily arrive at such an interpretation by including some other scriptures into the considerations about the topic of salvation and new birth. From those scriptures it can easily by seen that a man, when he believes on Christ und confesses Jesus as Lord, receives from God the gift of holy spirit, power from on high. Since it is eternal life which we receive as a gift of God, it of course is "incorruptible". We are therefore not the children of God one day and the next, because of a sin perhaps, we are not the children of God - no!
We are born of God and have by means of God's gift of holy spirit eternal life! Our sonship, our being sons of God, is based on "being born" of God, the new birth. Our sonship is therefore incorruptible, we remain God's children, no matter how we behave as His children. These great truths are seen however from those other scriptures rather than the expression "incorruptible [seed]" in 1 Peter 1: If one considers the immediate context of 1 Peter 1 carefully, one can recognize that this passage is not really speaking of the gift of holy spirit which we receive at the new birth.