The Seed that Man Sows
—Translated from Bislama (Vanuatu)
Suppose you plant seeds of watermelon in your garden. That seed will not produce pumpkin. The Bible says, "Whatever seed a man sows in his garden, he shall eat the fruit that seed produces" (Galatians 6:7)
In Vanuatu [and Australia] there are many different churches, Everyone worships Christ in different fashions. Their teachings are different too. But at the first Jesus built only one [kind of] church, around 2000 years ago. At that time he gave the New Testament and joined it to the end of the Bible. (The New Testament has 27 books starting at Matthew and finishing with Revelation. In every Bible this New Testament is of that same standard.)
❖ Translation Note: In this lesson, the scripture quotes are translated from the Bislama. The result is a paraphrase, however the meaning is preserved.
1 The Word of Christ is Like a Seed
The New Testament is like a seed. Jesus tells the parable of the man who planted seed, (Luke 8:4-8). Jesus says, "The seed is the Word of God" (Luk 8:11). This seed always makes only one kind of church, not different kinds. This seed always makes one kind of Christian only, not different kinds.
2 Seeds of Different Kinds Make Different Things
Suppose I plant watermelon seed in my garden, I will later be able to eat watermelon. Suppose that you plant watermelon seed in your garden, you likewise will later be able to eat watermelon. But what if I plant pumpkin seed in my garden? I will be able later to eat pumpkin. You and I have different food to eat because we have planted different seed.
In Vanuatu [and Australia] there are different kinds of churches. Why? The answer is in Second John verse 9. "If a man runs ahead and does not stay in the teaching of Christ, and so joins on some more words that come merely from his own thinking, God no longer lives in him." (2John 1:9). This man plants different seed. That's why he makes a different church. This man does not make the same church that Jesus makes, because this man does not plant the same seed that Jesus gives to him.
3 Seeds of the Same Kind Make the Same Things
Suppose you plant the word of the New Testament in the hearts of people in your village, careful that you don't join words from your own thinking to this word. Then suppose I do the same in my village. Do you imagine that you would make a Presbyterian church and I would make a Seventh Day Adventist church? Or do you think rather that you would make an Assembly of God church and I would make a Catholic Church? No way! Because you plant the same seed as I, we would make the same thing.
The church you would produce in your village and the church that I would produce in my village, these two churches would be quite the same, because the two came from the same seed, the New Testament of Christ. Furthermore, these two churches that we made would be the same as the church that Jesus built around 2000 years ago.
4 We Must Not Change the Word of Christ.
At the end of the New Testament it says, "If a man joins some words to this book, God will punish him. If a man takes out some words from all the God-given words that are in this book, God will punish him" (Revelation 22:18-19).
Christ hands us only one New Testament. Your copy and my copy have the same message. This New Testament describes only one church that existed long ago. The same New Testament will make the same church today with the same characteristics as long ago. This New Testament describes only one kind of Christian. The same New Testament makes the same kind of Christian today, not different kinds.
Alright then, you and I must plant, in the hearts of the people of Vanuatu [and Australia], that right and good seed, and you and I must ourselves believe and obey that word.