Post by Zac Loh on Sept 25, 2005 5:49:59 GMT -5
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. (John 12:24)
We are not to save souls by the means of preaching and witnessing alone - without living the life of Christ. Our life will promulgate the gospel. Living the gospel is a very important component in evangelism. The wind of the Holy Spirit will dislodge the grain from the husk, and the seed get planted into the ground. Eventually, the seed will grow and the process is multiplied.
The motion of `falling' into the ground have a sense of `giving up.' We stop trying to stand up, to find our place in this world, to exert ourselves. And we `give in' to the ground. To die to our own self-existence. To die in the crucifixion of Christ. We `give up' our own self.
A seed is comprised of three parts: the embryo, the endosperm (food storage tissue) and the seed coat. The seed (grain of wheat) reflects our tripartite being. The embryo is our spirit being (born of/by the Holy Spirit, John 3:5-8): the spiritual. The endosperm is our soul (which can be influenced by the world); which includes our intent, mind and feelings. And the seed coat is our physical.
The seed coat covers the endosperm and the embryo - protecting them from injury, insects, and loss of water. Without the seed coat, the endosperm and the embryo would be destroyed by the normal hazards of the environment. Nevertheless, for the seed to grow into a plant, the seed coat has to go. Parallel to this, we have to do some physical activity in order for our spiritual life to grow: reading the Bible, fasting, giving and etc. The physical can precipitate the spiritual. The right physical actions facilitate the spiritual. The physical should play the role of a catalyst for spiritual manifestation. And finally, what begins in the physical is to give way to the spiritual.
During germination, as the embryo absorbs and digests food from the endosperm, the lower part of the embryo forms a primary root that breaks through the seed coat and starts to grow into the soil. The the upper part of the embryo develops a stem and leave and pushes through the top of the seed coat toward the sun. For a while, the seed coat remains, but as the plant grows and all the endosperm is used up, the seed coat sloughs off. Now the plant will continue to grow to bearing fruit.
Just as the endosperm provides food to the embryo, we should take into our soul what is beneficial to our spiritual growth: what we read, what we watch, and the idea/image which we take-in from people we are exposed to. The food to our soul is also food to our spirit. Therefore, we need to have a soul diet that is based on truth.
There are four essential elements for a plant to grow. Nutrients in the ground, air from open space, water from the sky/river, and sunshine. Nutrients speaks of spiritual truths from the teachings/preachings/messages/Bible. Spiritual air comes from being in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual water is through the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:17-20). And spiritual light is the illumination of truths we read in the Bible. In order to grow, we need these four basic elements.
We are not to save souls by the means of preaching and witnessing alone - without living the life of Christ. Our life will promulgate the gospel. Living the gospel is a very important component in evangelism. The wind of the Holy Spirit will dislodge the grain from the husk, and the seed get planted into the ground. Eventually, the seed will grow and the process is multiplied.
The motion of `falling' into the ground have a sense of `giving up.' We stop trying to stand up, to find our place in this world, to exert ourselves. And we `give in' to the ground. To die to our own self-existence. To die in the crucifixion of Christ. We `give up' our own self.
A seed is comprised of three parts: the embryo, the endosperm (food storage tissue) and the seed coat. The seed (grain of wheat) reflects our tripartite being. The embryo is our spirit being (born of/by the Holy Spirit, John 3:5-8): the spiritual. The endosperm is our soul (which can be influenced by the world); which includes our intent, mind and feelings. And the seed coat is our physical.
The seed coat covers the endosperm and the embryo - protecting them from injury, insects, and loss of water. Without the seed coat, the endosperm and the embryo would be destroyed by the normal hazards of the environment. Nevertheless, for the seed to grow into a plant, the seed coat has to go. Parallel to this, we have to do some physical activity in order for our spiritual life to grow: reading the Bible, fasting, giving and etc. The physical can precipitate the spiritual. The right physical actions facilitate the spiritual. The physical should play the role of a catalyst for spiritual manifestation. And finally, what begins in the physical is to give way to the spiritual.
During germination, as the embryo absorbs and digests food from the endosperm, the lower part of the embryo forms a primary root that breaks through the seed coat and starts to grow into the soil. The the upper part of the embryo develops a stem and leave and pushes through the top of the seed coat toward the sun. For a while, the seed coat remains, but as the plant grows and all the endosperm is used up, the seed coat sloughs off. Now the plant will continue to grow to bearing fruit.
Just as the endosperm provides food to the embryo, we should take into our soul what is beneficial to our spiritual growth: what we read, what we watch, and the idea/image which we take-in from people we are exposed to. The food to our soul is also food to our spirit. Therefore, we need to have a soul diet that is based on truth.
There are four essential elements for a plant to grow. Nutrients in the ground, air from open space, water from the sky/river, and sunshine. Nutrients speaks of spiritual truths from the teachings/preachings/messages/Bible. Spiritual air comes from being in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual water is through the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:17-20). And spiritual light is the illumination of truths we read in the Bible. In order to grow, we need these four basic elements.