The Seed Of The Word
THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp
Wednesday March 4, 2009
1 Corinthians 3:6-9 (NIV)
6. I (Paul) planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
It is clear from this passage that-- in this context-- Christians are the field (the soil), God's Word is the seed, and those who preach and teach the Word are those who plant the seeds and water them. It is GOD who makes the seeds grow.
Verse 8 says that he who plants the seed and he who waters have one purpose. Their purpose is obviously for the seeds to grow into healthy plants! The promises and blessings of God from His Word are therefore seeds, and those who plant and water those seeds are those who preach and teach the Word of God. They want people to receive the blessings from it. They want the seeds to grow into plants and become fruitful!
It is important to remember that the seeds needed to not only be planted; they needed to be WATERED!
Luke 8:5,6 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
5. "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture."
Notice that in verse 6, the Word fell on rock, and there was no MOISTURE, so the plants withered! There had been no WATERING! That makes watering pretty important! The seeds of the Word Of God that we've heard will WITHER without watering!
We know from our previous passage that preaching the Word both plants the seeds AND waters them! Paul and Apollos were BOTH preaching the Word! They heard it originally from Paul, who was called the planter, then they heard it again from Apollos, who was called the one who watered!
We need to constantly drink in the Word of God; reading it, studying it, and hearing preaching and teaching of it. That is the planting and watering we need to receive the blessings of God in our lives!
The last clause of 1 Corinthians 3:7 (above) tells us that GOD is the one who makes the seed GROW!! That's because the seed (the Word) ORIGINATED with God: it is GOD'S WORD!! And Hebrews 4:12 tells us that "the word of God is living and active..."!!
The Word Of God is ALIVE, and when it is planted or watered, it GROWS, because it is ALIVE with God's power! When the Word of God is taught, causing the seed to be planted or watered, GOD will cause that Word to GROW in the hearts of the listeners!!
PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word, that is planted and watered in my life when I study the written Word or hear the teaching of it. Help me to always hear Your Word eagerly, and to believe it and act on it, allowing Your blessings to overflow into my life.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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