Topical Bible: Word of God: Compared: To Seed

◄ Word of God: Compared: To Seed ►

Jump to: Nave's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The Word of God is frequently compared to seed in the Scriptures, illustrating its dynamic and life-giving power. This metaphor emphasizes the potential for growth, transformation, and fruitfulness inherent in the divine message when it is received and nurtured in the hearts of believers.

1. The Parable of the Sower: One of the most direct comparisons of the Word of God to seed is found in the Parable of the Sower, as recounted in the Synoptic Gospels. In this parable, Jesus describes a sower who scatters seed on various types of soil, each representing different responses to the Word. The seed that falls on good soil represents those who hear the Word, understand it, and produce a fruitful harvest. As stated in Matthew 13:23 , "But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold."

2. The Power of the Seed: The seed metaphor underscores the inherent power and potential within the Word of God. Just as a seed contains the blueprint for life and growth, the Word carries the divine truth and transformative power necessary for spiritual rebirth and maturity. In 1 Peter 1:23 , it is written, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."

3. The Process of Growth: The comparison to seed also highlights the process of spiritual growth and development. Just as a seed must be planted, watered, and nurtured to grow, so too must the Word of God be received with faith, meditated upon, and applied in daily life. This process is gradual and requires patience and perseverance. In Mark 4:26-29 , Jesus explains, "The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how. All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within."

4. The Fruitfulness of the Seed: The ultimate purpose of the seed is to bear fruit, symbolizing the transformative impact of the Word in the life of a believer. This fruitfulness is manifested in the development of Christian character, the production of good works, and the spread of the Gospel. In Colossians 1:5-6 , Paul writes, "The faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God."

5. The Necessity of Receptive Hearts: The effectiveness of the seed is contingent upon the condition of the soil, symbolizing the hearts of those who hear the Word. A receptive heart, free from the distractions and cares of the world, is essential for the Word to take root and flourish. In Luke 8:15 , Jesus explains, "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."

Through these scriptural illustrations, the Word of God is vividly portrayed as a seed, encapsulating the potential for spiritual life, growth, and fruitfulness in the believer's journey of faith.

Nave's Topical Index

Matthew 13:3-8,18-23,37,38
And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Nave's Topical Index

Mark 4:3-20,26-32
Listen; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Nave's Topical Index

Luke 8:5-15
A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Leaven. (Luke, xiii. 18-21 ...
... 21.)"Points of Agreement and Difference."Compared with the ... Thus the Divine word was
to work both extensively ... power with which the kingdom of God, where the ...
/.../section 211 parables of the.htm

1 John iii. 9
... Thus in the parables of our Lord, the word of God is compared to the seed, the soul
to the ground in which the seed is scattered, the difference of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/neander/the first epistle of john/1 john iii 9.htm

The Mustard Seed: a Sermon for the Sabbath-School Teacher
... with your children, for nothing else has God's life in it ... sowing mustard seed for
half a lifetime without a word. ... it is the greatest result as compared with the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 35 1889/the mustard seed a sermon.htm

Sanctification
... The word sanctification signifies to consecrate and set apart to ... That which makes
God glorious must needs make us so ... It is growing; it is compared to seed which ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/5 sanctification.htm

The Regenerating Work of the Holy Spirit.
... The new birth is compared in the Bible to growth from a seed. The human heart
is the soil, the Word of God is the seed (Luke 8:11; cf.1 Pet. ...
/.../the person and work of the holy spirit/chapter ix the regenerating work.htm

The Parable of the Tares, by Bishop Latimer, Preached on the 7Th ...
... outwardly;" while in effect they signify but one thing, for they appertain to one
end; as in this place, Christ compared the word of God unto seed: which two ...
/.../knox/the pulpit of the reformation nos 1 2 and 3 /the parable of the tares.htm

Parables of the Mustard-Seed, and of the Leaven Transition to the ...
... seed of the kingdom, that is, the word of the ... should somehow [4717] presage the kingdom
of the rival god! For He compared it, not to the unleavened bread which ...
/.../the five books against marcion/chapter xxx parables of the mustard-seed.htm

Whether There are any Seminal virtues in Corporeal Matter?
... vi, 10), they are principally and originally in the Word of God, as "typal ... And these
again are compared to further particular effects, as the primordial ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether there are any seminal.htm

All the Principles of Piety Subverted by Fanatics, who Substitute ...
... nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the ... any spirit which passes by the
wisdom of God's Word, and suggests ... but so long as he is compared with himself ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 9 all the principles.htm

2 Samuel xxiii. 1-7.
... to the concise and abrupt style of the divine word. ... be fear of God itself"personified
fear of God. ... especially when those Psalms are compared which refer to a ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/2 samuel xxiii 1-7.htm