Tuesday, 31 March 2015
And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 1 Corinthians 15:37
Paul continues with his remarks concerning the resurrection body, using the analogy of grains in order to show the marvelous nature of what will occur. In this, he begins with “And what you sow…” Earlier in Chapter 3, he noted the process of planting and watering in regards to the gospel message. He now returns to that analogy once again with the sowing of grain. Even though he was a Pharisee, a tentmaker, and an apostle, he had a sound knowledge of the process.
In planting a garden or a crop, you will choose a certain type of seed to sow in hopes of a future harvest. But when you plant the seed, you aren’t sowing “that body that shall be.” Instead, all you are doing is putting seeds into the ground, “mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.” One can discern between different types of grain, but it doesn’t mean that the grain itself will look like what the seed produces.
What goes into the ground may be small, brownish, hard, and somewhat round, but from it will come something soft, green, tall, and which produces leaves, flowers, and new grains. A completely different body comes out of the ground than what went into the ground. And yet, the original identity of the seed is completely preserved. This goes all the way back to the first chapter of the Bible –
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:11, 12
God ordained that things would produce after their own kind. Despite the seeds being completely different in appearance, the identity is not lost in dissolution. It is retained and yet it bears a marvelous new look. Such will be the case at the resurrection.
Life application: Though we may be planted ‘neath the clods of dirt today, we shall rise again in a glorious way.
Heavenly Father, time keeps heading forward and the years have consumed my youth. Soon enough I may be planted ‘neath the clods of soil, like a seed sown in a field. But that time of rest will be a short span in comparison to the eternal days I will see when You come to raise me once again. When I close my eyes, I will see corruption. When I open them again, I will see perfection. I cannot wait for Your plan to be realized. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen.