Topic 4: The word of God is the Seed of Life
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” 1 Peter 1:23
The word of God is the source of our spiritual life. Man is a spirit; he has a soul and he lives in a body. Man’s spirit and the body he lives in are not the same. When God created man He created him as a spirit. When He said in Genesis 1:26 “let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,” God was referring to man, the spirit. We as spirits are in the image of God; we are like God – we are in the same class with God. But the body is something else. The body is not necessarily who we are. The body is the house we live in. One day the body and the spirit are going to separate and when this happens, the body will die. But the spirit will continue to live.
You will recall that man’s spirit separated with God when the first man on earth sinned. This happened in the Garden of Eden when Adam and his wife Eve disobeyed and ate of the tree God said in the day that they eat they shall surely die. Since that time man’s spirit separated with God. It may still be in the body, but it is separated from God.
When Jesus died He died to reunite the human spirit with God. The bible uses the word “reconcile.” The word reconcile carries a heavier meaning than reunite. Those who were separated are not just coming together; they resolve their differences and they now agree. To agree with God is to be in right-standing with God. One who agrees with God is called righteous. Jesus died to make us right with God. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
But how did it happen? By nature we are the seed of Adam. We are the seed of a fallen man. This makes us offspring of a fallen man. The seed that gave birth to us is a sinner’s seed and as such we are born in the likeness of a sinner. This makes us sinners too.
For us to come back into the likeness of God; we need to be reborn by a different seed. Since we are by nature the offspring of a dead man; for us to reconcile with God we need a new seed and this seed must be free from sin. The world understands this but unfortunately the world cannot provide us with this kind of seed. That’s where Jesus comes in. The bible teaches that He was not conceived of Adam’s seed. He was not of the lineage of Adam.
This is the account of His conception. Gabriel, the angel of God was dispatched to bring an unusual message to a young woman called Mary. “Then the angel said to Mary; ‘do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.’” When Mary heard this; she was amazed for; although she was engaged to a man called Joseph; she was still a virgin. “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” Mary questioned with amazement. “And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God’” Luke 1:30-31; 34-35.
In simple terms, the angel was saying to Mary; you will conceive but not in a natural way. You will conceive by the Holy Spirit. This had to happen in a different way than natural for the natural seed was already contaminated. Adam’s seed was contaminated. God could not reconcile Himself with one who needed to be reconciled unless there was an intermediary. Reconciliation needs a third party to take place. God had to provide the fallen man with a mediator to reconcile Himself with humanity. Jesus is that Mediator.
Listen to how the Holy Spirit expresses it through Peter; “…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” Being the Word Himself Jesus becomes that incorruptible seed.
Let us quickly go back to the story of Mary and the angel. How did the seed find its way into Mary’s womb? The seed was planted into Mary’s womb through the word. As soon as she accepted the word of the angel the seed was planted. Here’s how it happened; “Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her” Luke 1:38. Mary cooperated with the angel and it happened – she fell pregnant immediately. Let it be to me according to your word.
The word of God communicates the seed of God into our lives. When we study the word, it is like we are sowing the seed in our heart. This is a different seed we are talking about. God’s seed and man’s seed are not the same – they differ. Man’s seed is called “corruptible” but God’s seed is called “incorruptible.” Man’s seed can decay; but God’s seed remains for ever.
When we hear the word of God and believe it; an incorruptible seed lands in the womb of our heart. Those who are to be born of God must receive the seed of God which comes through the word. When we accept this seed of the word something special happens to us. We become children of God. It is by Adam’s seed that we became sinners. Thank God we become God’s children by the seed that comes through our faith in the word. You will also remember what the Scripture says about the word. First, it spells it with capital “W.” The Word is Jesus who did not come through the seed of a fallen man but with the seed of God. He is not just a seed; He is the Seed. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12. When we accept Him in our hearts, we accept the Seed that will give us a new life in Christ Jesus.
Let us “therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1:21
No comments:
Post a Comment