The Journey of the Seed
By Jonathan Mitchell
Jesus offered us a brief parable in Jn. 12:24,
"Most assuredly (It is certainly true - count on it; Amen, amen), I am saying to you folks [that] unless the grain of wheat (or: kernel of corn; = seed of an agricultural crop), upon falling into the earth (the ground; the field) should die, it by itself continues remaining alone. Yet if it should die, it proceeds to bear much fruit (= it produces a harvest of many grains, or, seeds)."
We submit that this simple agricultural analogy holds within it God's plan of the ages. Verses 25-28 explain to us that Jesus was speaking of His upcoming death and glorification - as well as the glorification of His Father's Name and Designation:
"O Father, at once glorify Your Name and Designation (or: bring glory, recognition, honor, a renowned reputation, and an assumed Appearance to Your Name and Fame - in a manifestation which calls forth praise)!" (vs. 28a)
Jesus was crucified, buried in the earth - as the Promised Seed - and then was raised up, bearing much fruit. So, how was He the Promised Seed? We first read about a Promised Seed in Gen. 3:
15. Later (Next; Then; And so) [the] LORD (= Yahweh) God said to (or: in) the serpent (or: this snake), "Because you did this, you [are] fully qualified with and have the added characteristic of a negative desire, a wish against and a commensurate prayer, away from all the domestic animals and away from all the little wild animals - of those upon the land (territory; ground; earth). You will constantly go your way (habitually travel; repeatedly journey) upon your breast and belly, and you will constantly eat soil (dust; earth) all the days of your life.
16. "and I will constantly put (repeatedly set) hostility and enmity back in the midst, and between, you and back in the midst, and between, the woman, as well as back in the midst, and between, your seed (or: offspring) back in the midst, and between, her Seed (or: offspring). He will continually watch and observe (or: guard, keep and take care of) your head, and you will constantly watch and observe (or: guard, keep and take care of) His heel (or: foot step)." (LXX, JM)
The last statement of vs. 16 reads differently in the Septuagint than in the Hebrew text (vs. 15), which reads:
"He shall hurt you [in the] head, and you shall hurt Him [in the] heel" (vs. 15b, CVOT).
Adam had been formed of the dust, and then God breathed into him the Breath of lives (the Heb. is plural). Next Eve is formed from a part of Adam, and God brings her to Adam. This story tells the origin of the Seed (God's Breath of life) made flesh. But then we have the episode of these two partaking of the fruit of
"the tree of the [situation] to know of beauty and of worthlessness by intimate experience (or: to experience insight concerning what is fine and ideal, as well as what is disadvantageous, harmful, unprofitable, painful and freighted with sorrow, bad conditions and wearisome labor)." (LXX, JM)
Thus begins The Journey: with Exile and Death (which prefigures the later judgment of Israel, from out of their
"Land of milk and honey" (Deut. 31:20).
They were now away from their environment of intimacy with God, and away from the Tree of Life. Life outside the Garden would be hard. Not only were they in Exile, but they were
"slaves to sin" (Jn. 8:34), and "dead in their trespass" (Eph. 2:1).
Journeying on through Genesis, in chapter 9 we find the Seed being associated with Noah, where God says to him:
"And [as for] Me, now I [am] setting up My covenant with you and with your Seed, after you..." (vs. 9, CVOT)
Then, three chapters later, we find Yahweh making a Promise to Abram:
"Yet Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him: 'To your Seed I shall give this Land.' Then Abram built there an altar to Yahweh [Who had] appeared to him" (Gen. 12:7, CVOT).
After Abram left Egypt, to the place where he had built that altar, and after he had separated from his nephew, Lot, Yahweh renews His Promise to Abram, this time saying that Abram's Seed would be as numerable as
"the dust of the Land (or: earth)" (Gen. 13:15-16).
Then, in 15:1 Yahweh speaks to Abram in a vision, telling him (vs. 5) that his Seed would be as numerous as the stars, and in 15:18 He told Abram that the Land pertaining to his Seed would stretch from the river in Egypt unto the Euphrates River.
We can observe from these narratives, that the Seed journeys through time within a People, the descendants of Abram. This sets a pattern which will be followed until the coming of the Christ (and this can be observed in both Mathew's and Luke's genealogies of Jesus) and His body, the spiritual fulfillment of the Promise, as found in Gal. 3:29,
"Now since you folks belong to Christ (or: have [the] Anointing as your source and origin; or: So since you people have the qualities and character of Christ, and [are] that which is Christ), you are straightway and consequently Abraham's Seed: heirs (possessors and enjoyers of the distributed allotment), down from, corresponding to, and in the sphere of, Promise!"
Before we leave Abram, let us note that in Gen. 17:5, God expanded Abram's name to Abraham because, He said,
"I have placed you, and you continue in this placing, a father of many nations (or: ethnic groups)."
Following this, God reaffirms His covenant with Abraham (vss. 6-8), and added the covenant of male circumcision (9-14). Then He brings Sarah into the picture (vss 15-19), affirming that Sarah bear a son, Isaac, who would be Abraham's first generation Seed, and who carry on the lineage of the Promise. Paul lays this out in Gal. 4:22-31.
Here, let us pause to observe that the Journey of the Seed is propagated through the Word of God to people, and about people. This is the character of "the Promise." In Gen. 22:1-18, that Promise is tested with Abraham and Isaac becoming a parable to depict God and the giving of His Son to humanity (Jn. 3:16; Acts 2:23). Following Abraham's passing the test, from out of the atmosphere the agent of Yahweh calls again to Abraham, blessing him and affirming the multiplicity of his Seed (vs. 17), ending by saying,
"And in your Seed, all the nations of the Land (or: ethnic groups of the earth) be blessed, because you heard, and paid attention to, My Voice." (vs. 18).
From this story of Abraham, and his Promised Seed, we are instructed that this spiritual Seed (via God's Promise) would journey through the lives of Israel up to the birth of Jesus. They would become slaves in Egypt, until their deliverance under Moses, who would bring the Law to them - which would set them apart as God's own people. They would spend forty years wandering in the wilderness (due to unbelief in God's power), and then the next generation would enter the Promised Land. There, the Seed would be under judges who would rescue them from their enemies, and finally they would reject Yahweh as being their King (1 Sam. 8:7) and enter into the time of Israel's kings. This period would end in Exile (following the pattern of Adam) and first the Northern Kingdom would be scattered, and then the Southern Kingdom would be exiled into Babylon. After 70 years, some would return to rebuild their temple. Next came the time of the Maccabees and then other rulers (e.g., Greece and Rome), and the Promised Seed would live with the "Promised Land" being an occupied territory.
We suggest that another key to understanding the Journey can be found in Ps. 23:
4. For you see, even if I may (or: should; would; could) be caused to journey (travel; pass from place to place) within the midst of a shadow of death (or: death's shadow; a shadow, from death; a shadow which is death), I will continue not being caused to fear bad [times] (will not be repeatedly frightened by worthless [situations or people]; will not be habitually afraid of misfortunes, harmful [experiences] or base [schemes]), because You are, and continue being, with me: Your rod and your staff - these, from a call to be at my side, give me aid and impart relief, encouragement and comfort (these are paracletes to help me).
5. You prepare a table (= spread a meal) before me right opposite the folks habitually afflicting me (or: You make ready my table, in my sight, from within the midst of the people constantly bringing pressure against me and rubbing me the wrong way); You anoint (or: fatten) my head in (or: with) olive oil, and Your cup is progressively (or: continuously; repeatedly) intoxicating - as the best (as the most excellent, or strongest, [wine]).
6. And thus, Your mercy and compassion will in itself continue eagerly pursuing in order to track me down - all the days of my life, and [this is for] the [situation; occasion] for me to continuously settle down and dwell within (or: to be habitually residing centered in) [the] LORD's (= Yahweh's) house on into a long duration of days. (LXX, JM)
Mal. 2:15, in the last clause, offers us a statement which is difficult to render, in the Hebrew. Rotherham offers:
"What, then, of the One? He was seeking a godly (or: divine) Seed"
(Young is similar). The Concordant renders it,
"What! Is one seeking a seed of Elohim (God)?"
The LXX reads,
"What else does God seek but a Seed."
But now, let us move into NT times, and the records of the Seed in the Gospels.
Luke's genealogy (chapter 3) begins with Jesus and ends with God (as the Prime Progenitor) who was the Source of Adam. This defines the Journey of the human Seed from Adam, on through the ages, unto Jesus. On the other hand, Matthew begins with Abraham. He was considered to be the father of Israel. Luke displays a universal picture which began in Genesis, and which was set as being inclusive of all humanity, while Abraham's lineage was just a subset of Luke's inverted genealogy of Jesus. Matthew restricts his lineage of the Seed to the Abraham subset.
And thus, we have come on this Journey from Adam to Christ. But this is not the end of the Journey. Yet, looking back for a moment, we suggest that Adam was the first Seed which fell into the ground (outside of the Garden), and died to their Garden existence of intimacy with God. Paul picks up this story in Rom. 5:12, where he informs us that,
"Because of, and through, this (or: Therefore; That is why), just as through one man (or: So it is that, even as through the act or agency of one person,) The Sin (or: the miss of the target; "the derangement of our nature") entered into the aggregate of humanity (ordered system of religion, culture, society and government; or: world; cosmos), and through The Sin (failure; the mistake; the miss of the target; the deviation), The Death [also entered]. In this way, The Death thus also passed through in all directions (or: came through the midst causing division and duality; pervaded; permeated throughout) into all mankind (or: into the midst of all humanity; or: to all people), upon which [situation and condition, the result is that] all people sin."
People sin because they are dead (cf Eph. 2:1).
We are reminded of the human cry, from out of this predicament, articulated by Paul in Rom. 7:
24. I [am] a wretched (callous-weighted [from hard work], miserable, distressed, enduring-severe-effort-and-hardship) human (person)! What will be progressively dragging and rescuing me from out of the body from this Death (or: from out of this: the body of the Death; out of this body which pertains to, and which is, the Death)? [cf Rom. 8:10; 2 Cor. 5:1-8]
25. Grace! The Grace of, and the joyous Favor from, and which is, God! - through Jesus Christ, our Owner (or: by means of Anointed Jesus, our Lord and Master)! ...
The Seed fell into the ground, and died. But that is not the end of the Seed, for there was Life within that Seed, and in time that Life grew up through the soil, and eventually Resurrected, up into the atmosphere (the first heaven), and as Jesus said,
"Spontaneously (Furiously, eagerly and with purpose in itself; Automatically, and with self-excitement,) the ground (soil; earth; or: Land) progressively bears fruit and produces a crop: first a sprout (or: [the] blade of grass; shoot; herbage), then a stalk head (ear) and finally a full grain within the stalk head (ear)" (Mk. 4:28).
Paul expands upon this topic in 1 Cor. 15, so bear with his reasoned explanations:
23. - yet each person within the result of his or her own set division, or position [in line](or: effect of ordered placement; appointed class; proper rank; arranged time, or order, in the procession [cf 2 Cor. 2:14]; or: = place in a harvest calendar, the season of maturity): Christ a Firstfruit (First one reaped); or: after that, those belonging to the Christ (or: those from the Anointing; those who are [body members; cf 12:27-28, above] of the Christ) within the midst of, in union with, and in the sphere of, His presence, [cf 1 Cor. 16:22b; Phil. 3:16]....
36. You idiot! (or: You senseless and stupid fellow!) What you are habitually sowing is not being progressively brought to life unless it should die off. [cf Jn. 12:24; comment: thus death is the path toward resurrection]
37. And further, that which you continue sowing: you folks are not progressively sowing the body, or form, which shall be coming into being (or: that will be developing), but rather, a naked seed (a bare kernel, or grain without clothing - i.e., the plant's body), whether it may hit the target of wheat (= perchance of wheat), or any one of the rest [of the grains].
38. Yet God habitually gives a body to (or: for) it, according as He wills (intends; purposed), and to (or: for; with) each of the seeds its own body. [cf Ps. 104:14; comment: each kind of seed yields its own kind of plant; Paul is speaking here of classes of seeds and plants]
39. Not all flesh [is] the same flesh, but to the contrary, [there is] indeed one [flesh] of humans (of people; of mankind), yet another flesh of tamed animals (or: of livestock), still another flesh of birds (or: flyers), and another of fishes.
40. And then [there are] imposed, heavenly bodies (bodies having the characteristics of that upon the dome of the sky, or the upper heavens, the celestial), and earthly bodies (bodies which exist upon the land; terrestrial bodies), but [they are] indeed different: the glory (manifested appearance) of, and from, the imposed, heavenly [is] one thing, while the glory (assumed appearance) of, and from, the earthly [is] different.
41. [There is] one glory (or: splendor; assumed appearance) of [the] sun, and another glory of [the] moon, and another glory of [the] stars, in fact star continues differing from star, in glory and splendor (or: for you see, [one] star is progressively carrying through and bearing apart in excellence and assumed appearance from [another] star).
42. Thus also (or: In this way too) [is] the resurrection of the dead people. It is habitually (repeatedly; presently; one after another) being sown [as a seed] within corruption (or: in union with decay and ruin; in perishability); it is being habitually (or: presently; repeatedly; one after another) awakened and raised up within incorruption (non-decayability; imperishableness). [cf Dan. 12:3; Mat. 13:37-43]
43. It is constantly being sown within dishonor (in union with lack of value; in the midst of worthlessness), it is being habitually (or: repeatedly; constantly; progressively; one after another) awakened and raised up within, and in union with, glory (a manifestation which calls forth praise; an assumed appearance of good repute). It is constantly being sown within weakness (in union with lack of strength), it is being habitually (or: repeatedly; constantly; one after another; progressively) awakened and raised up within, and in union with, inherent power, means of influence, potentiality, and ability. [cf 6:14, above; Phil. 3:20-21; 2 Cor. 1:9]
44. It is habitually (continually; repeatedly; presently) being sown a body having the qualities and characteristics of a soul (a body with the life of a soul and a consciousness of self; or: = a body animated by soul; or: = a natural, psychical entity); it is habitually (repeatedly; constantly; presently; one after another) being awakened and raised up a spiritual body (a body determined by the characteristics of the Breath-effect, or spirit; = a spiritual entity). Since there is a soulish (soul-animated) body, there also is (or: exists) a spiritual (spirit-animated) one.
[comment: note the germinal connection between the two - they are a progression of the same body, from seed to plant; the Seed is Resurrection Life - vs. 42a, above]
[cf Jn. 5:21; 6:33;comment: the first Adam is the "sowing;" the "Last Adam" is the Resurrection]
46. Nevertheless, the spiritual [is] not first, but rather the one having the qualities and characteristics of a soul (the soulish; psychical), then afterwards, the spiritual (that pertaining to and having the qualities of Breath-effect and Attitude).
47. The first human (person; humanity) [was/is] forth from out of the earth (Land; ground; soil), made of moist soil and dust (or: having the quality and character of moist dirt that can be poured, mounded or molded; soilish; [cf Gen. 3:19; Jer. 18:1-6; Jn. 3:31]); the Second Human (Person; Humanity; [other MSS add: {is} the Lord]) [is made] out of heaven (or: [is] from atmosphere and sky; [p46 reads: {is} spiritual]). [cf Jn. 3:13]
[note: the phrases describing the materials, or the origins, of the two humans are parallel constructions in the Greek MSS from which I have given the bold rendering]
48. As [is] the person made of, and having the character and quality of, moist soil or dust (mounded or poured dirt), of such sort also [are] the people [who are] made of and have the character and quality of moist soil or dust (soil-ish folks); and likewise, as [is] the Added, Imposed, Heavenly Person (or: the one made of and having the quality and character of the added-heaven), of such sort also [are] the added, imposed, heavenly people - those made of, and having the quality and character of, the added, imposed, heaven (or: the finished and perfected atmosphere, or the added sky).
49. And correspondingly as we bear and wear the image (likeness; form; [cf Gem. 5:3]) of the mounded, dusty person, [p46 adds: doubtless] we can and should [B reads: will continue to] also bear and wear the image (likeness; form) of the Added, Imposed, Heavenly One (or: belonging to the One having the quality and character of the finished, perfected atmosphere; or: from the fully-heaven [sphere]; of the added-sky person). [cf Rom. 8:29; 1 Jn. 3:2]
That was Paul's long-winded teaching about the Seed. Now here is where I insert one of my favorite verses of the Scriptures, where, to our view, the whole Journey of the Seed is laid out for us, found in Rom. 11:
36. Because, forth from out of the midst of Him, then through the midst of Him (or: through means of Him), and [finally] into the midst of Him, [will be] the whole of created existence ([is] everything; [are] all things; or: = Because He is the source, means, and goal/destiny of all things - everything proceeds into the center of Him)! By Him (In Him; To Him; For Him; With Him) [is] the glory (the assumed appearance; the manifestation of that which calls forth praise; the reputation; the notion; the opinion; the imagination; the credit; the splendor) on into the ages, eras and eons [cf Eph. 2:7]. It is so (Amen; So be it; Count on it)!
Some Biblical teachers have referred to this as "God's law of circularity." Whatever we may label it, it gives us a great expectation.
Now take a moment to think of Rom. 5:12, above, and of the Seed falling into the ground and dying, and see the beauty of another encapsulation of the whole Journey, in another of my favorite verses, which is also in Rom. 11:
33. O, the depth of [the] riches (wealth; resources) and wisdom and intimate, experiential knowledge and insight, of God (or: from God; which are God)! How unsearchable (inscrutable) the effects of His decisions (results of the distinctive separations, evaluations, judicial awards and judgments, from Him), and untrackable (untraceable) His ways (the paths from Him; the roads which are Him).
34. For,"Who knows (or: knew by intimate experience) the LORD's [= Yahweh's] mind? Or, who becomes (or: came to be) His planning adviser (His design counselor; the one who makes determinations with Him)?" [Isa. 40:13; Jer. 23:9-18, 19-40]
Peter also had something to say about the Seed:
23. being folks having been born again (been regenerated; been given birth back up again), with the result of now being reborn-ones, not from out of a corruptible (or: perishable) Seed that was sown, but rather, and in contrast, from an incorruptible (imperishable; undecayable) one: through God's constantly living and permanently remaining Logos
(or: through a message or an expressed, laid-out thought of [the] continuously living and constantly abiding God;
or: through means of a presently living and dwelling Thought, Idea, Reason, Blueprint, and Word, which is God;
or: by means of a Flow of Information that is a Pattern-forming Influence in a transfer and input of Information that conveys Meaning from a living and staying God; [cf Jn. 1:1]),
You see, the Seed is not flesh and blood. It is a creation of God's Logos (cf 2 Cor. 5:17). God intends it to be planted within us, and then, through His Spirit, to produce His Fruit for the enjoyment and edification of other folks (Gal. 5:22-23; Jn. 15:16). The Seed is Christ, and the DNA of this Seed is Love, and thus,
"We ourselves are habitually Loving (or, as a subjunctive: can and should be constantly loving) because He Himself first Loves (or: accepted and urged to reunion with) us" (1 Jn. 4:19).
This ability to Love came into us through the Spirit which He gave to us, and through Jesus' words, when He implanted a new DNA within our hearts:
"I am giving to you folks a new implanted goal (an inward purposed directive different from that which had been formerly; an impartation of a finished product and destiny that is new in kind and character): that you folks are to be continuously and progressively loving (or: should constantly accept, and give yourselves to,) one another, just as (correspondingly as; to the same level as; in the sphere as) I love, accept, and fully give Myself to, you folks so that you also may constantly (or: would habitually) love, accept, fully give yourselves to, and drive toward union with, one another" (Jn. 13:34).
God used the natural (e.g., Abraham's physical offspring) to be a type and a foreshadowing of His Kingdom, and the Realm of His Spirit, just as the old covenant was a shadow of the new (Col. 2:17).
This Seed can be found in the foundations, in the walls, and in the gates, of the New Jerusalem, as well as in the orchards of the Tree of Life within the midst of her, and on both sides of the River of Life (allusion to the Garden, in Gen. 2:10). Once the Seeds are mature, they are always ready to fall into someone's earth and grow up in them. They are also ready to be ground and baked for bread to feed the multitudes. Jesus Christ in His fullness (meaning specifically here, also within us, His Body) is the same: yesterday, today, and for the ages (Eph. 3:9-12; Heb. 13:8).
This topic could go on, and on.
Jonathan
PS: John Gavazzoni adds this: "[This is a] hugely important study of a core biblical truth. As you know, the Lord gave me a first peek into that mystery by fixing my attention on what Paul was really revealing in 1 Cor. 15: 42-45: the first man/first Adam was the Seed sown that was raised, the Second Man/Last Adam. Emmanuel, God with us, is to be traced back all the way to Adam, finally fully manifest in/as Jesus. The Seed, in the former, concealed, in the latter, fully revealed.
"To my understanding, the Seed in Adam's native, God-begotten sonship was laid within the vessel of his creaturehood, with but both having the same intrinsic nature. In the case of our creaturehood, our sonship is hidden from us until the Day Star arises in our hearts. The vessel and the content are of the same essence: the vessel having been formed of the "stuff" of the content.
"Just a suggestion: a follow-up study might reveal the same truth in terms of the narrative of ascent and descent; that which is of the earth, earthy, and that which is above, heavenly. Adam, formed of the wet soil of the ground was a descent of sonship into creaturehood: again, Emmanuel, God with us. I was sharing along this line with Eddie Browne, and he remarked, "What you're talking about is the Godyssey."
PPS: Jonathan adds,
(or: [is] He Who gives light in union with our hearts, [while] facing toward an effulgence and a shining forth which is an intimate knowing and insight of this praise-inducing manifestation and assumed appearance, whose source and origin is God, and which is God, [while] in union with a face-to-face presence of Christ [other MSS: Jesus Christ])." (2 Cor. 4:6)
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