Growing Up in Him
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
An Adaptation of the Parable of the Sower and the Seed
Ephesians 4:14– KJV:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
The parable of the sower and seed talks about four different kinds of ground, and the seed is the Word of God. It’s not necessarily talking about the kinds of people, but about the condition of a person’s heart compared to the ground.
We’ll use an analogy of us as plants, and our goal is to bear fruit.
The records of the parable of the sower and seed are in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8.
Luke 8:15 KJV:
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
For a plant to bear fruit requires time and patience.
We’ll look at seven different aspects or elements in our analogy of us as plants.
1. Soil.
Soil is crucial to proper plant growth. The first type of soil (Luke 8:5) is where the seed fell beside the path or the road. The soil there would be packed down. The soil was too hard for the seeds to properly germinate.
When the soil is hard, it needs to be turned over and loosened.
James 1:21 KJV:
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
If you think of your souls as your plant life, you need soil that is turned up, filled with the Word, where seed can take root.
Jeremiah 4:3 KJV:
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
We break up the ground (and remove the weeds); likewise, we need to break up our previous conceptions when we put the Word on in our minds.
1 Peter 2:2 KJV:
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
2. Water.
Without water, the best ground in the world won’t grow anything.
Isaiah 58:11 KJV:
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Psalm 1:3 KJV:
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
This is a picture of a garden with many irrigation ditches. The “rivers of water” in Hebrew means “streams of waters.” The irrigation ditches placed the proper amount of water for each tree in the hands of the gardener. The gardener takes care of how much water the tree needs so that it brings forth fruit in its season.
Many verses talk about the garden and how God is the master gardener. He knows exactly how much water we need or can handle. Water can be compared to spiritual knowledge or spiritual revelation. In Scripture, water has the idea of spirit involved with it.
Jeremiah 31:12 KJV:
Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
Deuteronomy 11:10 KJV:
For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
Proverbs 21:1 KJV:
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
John 7:38–39 KJV:
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
We have access to spiritual revelation so that we have exactly what we need, when we need it, so we can grow.
3. Roots.
Ephesians 3:16–17 KJV:
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
In Aramaic, it would read like this.
That he would allow you, according to the wealth of his glory, to be strengthened with power by his Spirit. That in your inner man, Christ would dwell by faith and in your hearts in love, as your root and your foundation becomes strong.
There are two key elements here: faith and love. We have to be rooted in faith and love.
Colossians 2:7 KJV:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Proverbs 12:3 KJV:
A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
Proverbs 12:12 KJV:
The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.
In the parable of the sower, the second example was where the seed was planted on stony ground.
Matthew 13:20–21 KJV:
20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
4. Weeds.
2 Peter 3:17–18 KJV:
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Grace has an ongoing element in our lives. Every day we live in grace. It takes grace to continue.
The root picture of the Aramaic word for “grace” basically means goodness or to be good.
It’s not just pleasures that trip us up and end up being weeds in our lives; it’s the whole worldly scheme.
You don’t deal with weeds; you just pluck them out.
Titus 2:11 KJV:
For the grace [goodness] of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Psalm 10:4–5 KJV:
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. 5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
Psalm 10:17 KJV:
LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
5. Bugs.
We can think of bugs like the cares, pressures, and problems.
Joel 2:23–25 KJV:
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Those are different stages of locusts.
Malachi 3:10–11 KJV:
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
6. Pruning.
We need the desire to bear fruit.
John 15:1–2 KJV:
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit
As we grow, we have to be willing to learn and to get rid of things that are not profitable.
John 15:4 KJV:
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
7. Storms.
There are many different trees that people are compared to in the Word; one of them is the palm tree. The palm tree is very flexible so it can withstand high winds and storms.
Psalm 92:12–14 KJV:
12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
Sometimes a plant can have too much sun or not enough sun. God can also be our shade.
Psalm 91:1– KJV:
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psalm 121:1–2 KJV:
1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:4–7 KJV:
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
Psalm 84:11–12 KJV:
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
We need good soil. We have to till up the soil; that’s the Word of God. We need living water—revelation. We need deep roots so that we can be solid and not moved. We must deal with the weeds, the bugs, and sometimes sudden storms. And we need a burning desire to produce fruit. And we must remember that we don’t make ourselves grow; it’s God who causes the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:6–9 KJV:
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
You can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed.
This teaching is also available on the Acts Now Fellowship website.
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