The Word of God Is Planted in the Heart-
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. (Mark 4:3-8)
Contents
Four kinds of ground.
As we think about the parable of the sower, which is the main parable of the Kingdom of God, we can notice that of the amount of the Word of God that is sown in the hearts of people, only a certain percentage ever bears any permanent fruit.
Some of the Divine Seed is taken away immediately by Satan.
Another part of the Seed springs into life, but the life remains on the surface of the personality and the roots never grow down into the inner character of the believer.
When affliction or persecution comes, the person who does not have strong spiritual roots is offended and follows Christ no longer. It becomes too painful to take up one’s cross and daily seek the will of Jesus. A more pleasant and comfortable way of life is chosen. Since no roots have gone down deep into the heart, the heavenly Seed brings forth no lasting fruit.
A third part of the Word of God falls on the hearts of people who are involved with the things of the world. The Seed germinates and a new life begins to be developed. The lusts of the flesh, the coveting of material possessions, and entanglement in the affairs of the world also are growing and developing along with the Seed from Heaven. Eventually there is no room left for Christ. The Divine Life is crowded out and spiritual death follows.
The construction of the Temple of God commences with the planting of the living Word in the heart of the one who accepts Christ as Lord and Savior. If room is not made in the heart for the new life, if care is not taken that the Seed is nourished and cared for and has opportunity to grow and develop, the believer may make some headway in the plan of redemption for a season but finally will come short of a satisfactory entrance into the Kingdom of God.
When a man, woman, boy, or girl receives Christ, a new life, a portion of God Himself, is planted in the heart. If the new life is cared for properly it will bring forth a new personality of the same Substance and in the image of God from whom it came.
However, the life of God will not bring forth fruit if it is neglected by the Christian.
Of the four kinds of ground in which the Word is sown, three bring no fruit to perfection. The fourth kind of ground consists of people who take good care of the Word that has come to them. They wait on the Lord as He works in their heart.
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. (Mark 4:8)
Thirty, sixty, and a hundred.
Those "honest and good" hearts who make a success of the life of patient fruit-bearing to the Lord are set forth in three categories. Some of them bring forth thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold.
Here are three levels of laying hold on the grace of God that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The three stages of Christian development, thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold are typified by the three assemblings of the Israelites (Deuteronomy 16:16) and also by the three divisions of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The three convocations enjoined on the Israelites were Unleavened Bread (Passover), the feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the feast of Tabernacles.
The three areas of the Tabernacle of the Congregation were the Courtyard, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place.
It seems clear that the Scriptures reveal three major levels of attainment in Christ, and that all who choose to do so may seek and find the hundredfold level.
The three degrees of bearing fruit in Christ presented in the parable of the sower are as follows:
The level of justification through the blood of the Lord Jesus.
The level of ministry and holiness brought about by the operations of the Holy Spirit.
The throne level of dwelling and ruling in the fullness of the abiding of the Father and the Son.
Several times in the Book of Revelation we can note that the fullness of the inheritance goes to those who overcome, who live victoriously in Christ.
The pattern of the new Jerusalem itself with its surrounding "nations of them who are saved" appears to indicate that there are those who are part of the city itself, and then there are those who live in the light of the city. Revelation 3:12 states that Jesus will make him who overcomes a permanent part of the Temple of God, so much so that the name of God and the name of the city of God are inscribed on him.
The new Jerusalem is the Temple of God, the Lamb’s Wife, and is an expression of the fullness of the Life of God in Christ. The hundredfold Christian will dwell eternally in the Divine Presence, his nature being in accord with the Nature of the Godhead. The eternal abiding is the "rest" of God, spoken of in the Scripture (Hebrews 4:9).
So then, there is much to be gained by pursuing the things of God, by watching over the Divine Seed until there is an abundant harvest in our personality. Keep in mind that the Seed is Christ and that the hundredfold yield indicates a full developing of the portion of Christ that has been planted in us.
The Seed is Christ and the fruit of the harvest is Christ.
The following promise was given to Abraham:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:17,18)
Again, in Galatians we find:
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
The magnifying of Christ in us.
Christ is "magnified" in our body (Philippians 1:20). When we give ourselves over wholly to walking in the Spirit of God, waiting continually on the will of Christ, the Divine Seed that has been planted in our heart begins to bring forth Christ in us.
Christ is multiplied, enlarged. He begins to "possess the gate of his enemies." This is the manner in which the eternal Temple of God, the new Jerusalem, the habitation of God, is being built.
If we truly are serving Christ, the foundation of the Temple is being laid now in our life. The consequences of our allowing God to build Christ in us will extend into eternity.
The Seed that is sown in us is the living Word of God. In some wonderful way God plants a part of Himself in us. There is Divine potential in the Seed that can transform a human being.
If we give our whole attention to the tending of the Seed a new creation will be brought forth. Divine Life will enter and re-create every atom of our personality—our spirit, our soul, and, at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, our body.
A new creation is being formed. Our old nature is passing away and what remains is from God, of God, permeated in every area with Divine Substance (II Corinthians 5:17,18).
The "wood" of our humanity will be covered within and overlaid with the "gold" of Divinity (Exodus 25:10,11).
I John 3:9 informs us that "Whosever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin because he is born of God."
Peter describes the experience in these words: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, that liveth and abideth for ever " (I Peter 1:23).
The Seed and the Temple of God.
The germination of the Seed of Christ in our heart is the beginning of the construction of the Temple of God. So important is the planting of the Divine Seed in the human heart that Jesus spoke to those who were about Him with reference to the parable of the sower: "Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?" (Mark 4:13).
The planting of the Word of God in us is the beginning of the new creation, the key to understanding "all parables," the entrance into the Kingdom of God.
All that went before in the person’s life is the old creation and is passing away. The germination of the Word of God is the start of the new creation. The new life in us will endure for ever if it is taken care of properly.
The Temple of God is Christ—Head and Body. Flesh and blood never shall inherit the Kingdom of God. It is Christ Himself who is the Kingdom and who therefore must be born in us.
In a manner somewhat similar to Mary of old, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and the Holy One who is born in us is a son of God—the Son of God, in one sense. We do not give birth to the Lord Jesus Christ in the physical realm as did Mary. Nevertheless, Christ is formed in us in a real although spiritual manner.
Christ is born in us. He is the Tabernacle of God.
Under no circumstances will any man, woman, boy, or girl who has not had Christ planted in his or her heart enter the Kingdom of God. It is Christ, and only Christ, who inherits the promises of God. "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16).
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)
When Christ takes root in our heart the Tabernacle of God has taken root in our heart. As Christ is built up in our heart the Tabernacle of God is built up in our heart. More Christ, more Tabernacle.
The more we allow the Holy Spirit to nourish the Divine Life in us the more of Christ will be formed in us. The more of Christ we have formed in us the more room there is for the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit to settle down to rest in us.
A seed brings forth after its kind.
There is a law of nature governing seeds requiring that each seed bring forth a duplicate of the parent from which it came.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. (Genesis 1:11)
Seeds may look somewhat alike and yet bring forth plants that are quite different. The specifications for the mature plant are located in the tiny seed. The outside environment can hinder or help the growth of the plant but it cannot affect its nature. The seed alone determines the kind of plant that will grow out of the ground.
The program of growth and development established in code in the seed comes from the parent plant from which the seed came. The cycle of plant, to seed, to plant, to seed started with the first plant created by the Lord God, the seed of which was contained in itself.
The Seed planted in the Christian came from God. The same law of plant, to seed, to plant holds true in the case of the Divine Seed. The specifications for the mature plant are locked in the Seed.
The outside environment can hinder or help the growth of the Seed but it cannot affect the nature of the plant. Our humanity cannot take away from the Divinity and Goodness that are in the heavenly Seed nor can it add virtue to the full-grown plant.
The Word of God is the Seed from God, and the Seed alone determines the kind of plant that will be brought forth. The program of growth and development established in code in the Divine Seed comes from God Almighty.
If the Divine Seed is nourished and cared for properly it will develop into a creature who is of God, from God, of the Nature of God, in God’s image—altogether a son of God in every sense of the word.
This is why we must be born again. The personality that is born of earthly parents cannot enter the Kingdom of God, it cannot become the dwelling place of God. Only Christ is suitable as the habitation of God.
Therefore, Christ must be born in us and grow to maturity in us. "Verily, verily, I say to thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
The living Word of God must be sown and germinate in our heart. We must, "having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15). The result will be a transformation of our character.
The Kingdom of God is like a man who sows seed in the ground. Over a period of time the seed brings forth a sprout, a plant, and then a mature plant (from Mark 4:26-28). The Kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed which, though the smallest of seeds, grows up and "shoots out branches" (from Mark 4:30-32).
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (a new creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, . . . (II Corinthians 5:17,18)
Think of it! All the old things of the first creation have passed away. All things of our personality have been created anew and all things now are of God.
It is a new creation. It is the Body of Christ, the Servant of the Lord, the eternal habitation of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.