(Luke 8:11-15)
"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. {12} Those by the
way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the
word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. {13} They
on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy;
and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation
fall away. {14} And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when
they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures
of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. {15} 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."
In our last article on the subject of "THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL" it was clearly
and irrefutably shown from Scripture that the "good ground" and
the "good heart" could not have been produced by human nature, for
human nature at its very best state is altogether vanity (Psalms 39:5),
and
fallen man in his utterly depraved mind, thinks that God is altogether
such an one as himself (Psalms 50:21). So it is, the elect of God
are "by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Ephesians
2:3). Thus, we are forced to conclude whatever the "good ground"
and "good heart" are, they were unproductive prior to the "seed"
or word of God being sown in them.
It was the gospel or "the word of God" that manifested the difference
in the various grounds, and made the heretofore barren "good ground"
alive and fruitful. Paul asked the Corinthian saints a pride destructive
question, saying unto them: "Who maketh thee to differ from another
..." (I Corinthians 4:7). Then, in the same chapter, verse
15 he lets them know by Whom and what means their difference was realized;
"... For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel."
Speaking of Christ and His gospel, Paul wrote the Ephesian church, saying:
"In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). When
Paul said he was "not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth ..." (Romans
1:16) neither was he fearful of being disproved, for his evidence at
the time was yet alive and exceeding great in number (II Timothy 2:2).
The Apostle Peter, by inspiration of God, emphatically declares that the
gospel is a Divine means of regeneration. Peter testifies, saying: "Being
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word
of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (I Peter 1:23). Peter's
words in this text are self explanatory, and gives the novice Christian
a ready exegesis that cannot be gainsaid. So as to highlight the place
of the gospel word in regeneration, and to allay any confusion that would
arise concerning the incarnate Word and the gospel word, the Lord said:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth
on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation;
but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).
By hearing the gospel word, and believing what it says about the living
Word, we are saved; but we need to keep in the forefront of our mind, that
it was the power of God that enabled us to believe the gospel. The gospel
is a Divine means that God uses in regenerating His elect people, whereby
they are made spiritually alive, become the sons of God experientially,
receive the imputed righteousness of Christ, and become heralds of the
gospel. It is not the power of mere human words, nor is it the power of
the persuasive preacher. It is not the sophistication and learning of the
hearer, nor is it by the will of man, but it is by the power of God. God,
by sovereign design and mercy speaks to His people through His written
word, and uses that word in connection with the living Word to regenerate
His people.
THE
GOOD GROUND - HONEST AND GOOD HEART
In
Matthew
13 Jesus spoke in parables to great multitude of people, and in verse
35
of Matthew 13 the Lord tells us why He spoke
in parables to the multitudes: "That it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open My mouth In parables; I will
utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."
(Isaiah 6:9-10; Acts 28:25-28), At the conclusion of this
session of parabolic teaching by the Lord, He asked His disciples, saying
unto them: "Have ye understood all these things? They say unto Him,
Yea, Lord. Then said He unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed
unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which
bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old" (Matthew
13: 51-52). Please note, the "new" and "old" things are
treasures. The Lord in these parables (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8)
is teaching His disciples something that is new and something that is old
to their ears.
In Matthew 13:52 the Lord gives His disciples scribal status. They
had been disciples of Moses, but now they are disciples of the prophesied
and manifested Messiah, and are to bring forth things new and old from
the treasury of the gospel. There are many covenants referred to in Scripture,
such as the Edenic, Noachian, Abrahamic, Mosiac, etc., but none are as
ancient as the gospel covenant, which is referred to as the "better
covenant" with "better promises" (Hebrews 8:6). The gospel
of Christ is an indispensable part of the eternal or everlasting covenant
(Hebrews 13:20), and is referred to as "new" only in the
sense the Mosiac (works) covenant has waxed old, decayed, and ready to
vanish away (Hebrews 8:13).
The fall of Adam nullified the Edenic covenant, but did not in any sense
or degree alter the covenant of sovereign grace, for it antedates creation,
and is underwritten by Divine omniscience and omnipotent providence. The
Lord of glory never decreed or intended to save any person by a covenant
of works (Hebrews. 10:4), but they were products of God's wisdom,
for they were shadows which reflected the gospel of salvation, and the
one sacrifice in Whom the elect of God were chosen before the foundation
of the world (Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 2:17; Hebrews
10:1). The eternal covenant of redemption has never been in a state
of inertia, for God has never left Himself without a gospel witness in
the earth (Acts 14:17; Hebrews 2:3-4). Christ said if His
disciples refused to witness of His mighty works, then "The stones would
immediately cry out" (Luke 19:40). So, there has never been
a season since creation, wherein the gospel was ineffectual or fruitless.
The "good ground" in the parable of the sower was prepared and inviting
before the sower went out to sow his seed. The covenant of elective grace
was prepared ere the ages were born, and Christ the Mediator of that covenant,
says: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest" (Matthew 11:28; I Peter 1:18-21). The
"ground" of election is eternal ground, for it is made ready by
the Lord, and all that the Father gave unto the Son in the covenant of
redemption, which the Lord likened unto "good ground', shall be
a part of that bountiful harvest which hear the gospel; for the Lord hath
loved them with an "everlasting love". (John 6:37; Jeremiah
31:3).
To say as Arminianism says, that election is a bilateral covenant, drawn
up by God, and presented to the will of fallen man for ratification, is
blasphemy. The covenant of election is a unilateral compact, drawn up by
the triune God ere there was an angel, much less man. The covenant needs
not the sanction of creatures, for God is absolutely sovereign, His "counsel
shall stand", and He says: "I will do all My pleasure" (Isaiah
46:10). While God does not look to man for ratification of any of His
actions, He does look to His blood bought children for gratification, and
He is never disappointed in this matter, for one of the first fruits of
hearing and believing the gospel is gratitude toward God for His infinite
mercy in providing them a Saviour from their merited condemnation. Thus
it is, Paul says: "Rejoice evermore" (I Thessalonians 5:16).
The preacher of the glorious gospel of Christ does not have access to the
"Lamb's book of life" (Luke 10:20; Revelation 21:27).
He cannot distinguish by his own intellect between the covenant sons of
God, and those whom God passed over in the redemptive scheme. Spiritually
speaking, the God called preacher cannot tell the "good ground"
from any other ground. This is why the gospel is to be preached indiscriminately
or to "every creature" (Mark 16:15). The Holy Spirit tutored
preacher knows that Jesus "shall save His people from their sins"
(Matthew 1:21), and he knows the gospel is the glorious instrument
the Lord uses in calling His elect people from death unto life, or from
sin unto salvation. He knows there is some "good ground", or covenant
souls in whom the gospel seed needs to be sown. Then too, he knows if he
is faithful in preaching the gospel, the Lord will give him an increase,
even as much as an hundred fold in some cases. (Matthew 13:8).
Let me say ere we leave off further consideration of the "parable of
sower," the covenant people of God or "good ground" people need
to hear and believe the gospel, as much so as the "way side people, rocky
ground people, or thorny ground people, for all their "righteousnesses
are as filthy rags" in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6). The old nature
is not changed in regeneration, but remains as depraved and capable of
sin as it was prior to hearing and believing the gospel. The old nature
is carnal, and is fully a servant of sin. The new nature is not merely
God imparted, but is God implanted. Paul said: "Christ liveth in me"
(Galatians 2:20), and in another place he said: "For me to live
is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). Paul knew the old nature was
capable only of sin, but he also knew that hearing and believing the gospel
would go a very long way in checking the old sin loving nature.
The covenant of eternal and unconditional election is symbolized by the
term "good ground", for it is out of this "good ground" the
fruit of election is brought forth. The "honest heart" does not
precede regeneration in the experience of God's elect, but it is what God
sees in His chosen people when He considers the sovereignty of the gospel,
and it is what He sees when He looks at His people through the eyes of
covenant omniscience. Let us remember God is not subject to the law of
time as is man. God is the God of supreme logic, but He is not bound by
chronology. God is the author of time. With the creation of heaven and
earth, time was first introduced, and time is infallibly subservient to
the decrees of God. More about time later in this series.
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