Have you ever thought about the power of a single seed?

How is it that a tiny little seed planted deep into the ground, against all odds, defies gravity as it ploughs through the layers of dirt piled on top of it and bursts through the surface of the ground?

How does a seed know how to find its way to the light of the sun?

We watch as a single seed can grow into one of the largest, strongest trees we have ever seen, giving off fruit for years, even centuries. It truly is a miracle.

If a natural seed has such power, what about God’s supernatural seed? We do not want to miss out on this incredible life-changing message God has for us through His seed!

Much is said of “seeds” in the Bible.  Gaining a deeper understanding of seeds and the concepts spoken about them can greatly improve our understanding of God.  There are several things that God refers to as seeds in the Bible, the most notable being the word of God.

"It is as if one seed contains the entire history of the world and its future..."

The “word of God” can also be used when referring to a thing said, or an utterance.  When used this way we see the Greek word ‘Rhema’, often spoken of as the “Rhema word.”  It is the word spoken personally to us in the present moment that God wants us to know… right now!  This is the meaning that is used in relation to seed in the Bible.  The seed is the Word of God.  Spiritual seed.

What might God be trying to tell us by referring to His personal, instant spoken word as “seed?” Why would God choose to use the word meaning “seed” to describe His Rhema word in the first place?  There are a few answers that immediately come to mind, especially when we think of Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8).

As a seed grows, God’s word grows in us and produces fruit of the Spirit. Just as a seed needs good soil to grow, so the heart must be humble and soft to receive and respond to God’s word. The parable of the sower has been an enduring allegory since Jesus spoke the words, but to those who are His, God shares the secrets of His Kingdom.

"...The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables…” (Luke 8:10)

Let us go deeper into what God is saying about His supernatural, spiritual seed.

"His choice of the word “seed” is an appeal to His eternal nature."

One seed will bear a tree or plant that can bear hundreds, thousands or even millions of seeds, depending on the species, over the course of its life span. This number of offspring will then bear the same and then so on and so forth until that number quickly rivals the number of grains of sand found on the seashore.

All of this brings us back to God and His eternal nature. His choice of the word “seed” is an appeal to His eternal nature. If we take a step back and think about it, a seed carries within its very substance both the history of its own lineage (dating back to Adam and Eve) and the future of its offspring going on for countless generations.

It is with this concept of eternity in mind that God chooses to use the word “seed” for His Word. Our minds can have a very hard time grasping the concept of eternity because it stands in stark contrast with the finite nature of our day to day life. We have deadlines, important dates, holidays, etc., that constantly remind us that we live bound in the present moment. Future is constantly streaming in and past is constantly streaming out, but what about God’s view of the present moment?

"God gives us a new past and rewrites our future and it truly does extend for eternity!"

That is why we are all guilty of the original sin- Adam’s sin.  We were born in it; we can’t escape it because God sees us as present in the very moment it happened. Yet, what happens when we accept Christ and are spiritually reborn?

God gives us a new past and a rewrites our future and it truly does extend for eternity!  Just as we were in Adam, we are now in Christ!

This is exactly what Peter means in 1 Peter 1:23:

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

Lastly, seeds only contain the potential of what may be. They need to be cared for and tended to so that their full potential can come forth. Farming is hard work. It would be foolish to expect a field to produce a bountiful harvest by itself. On the contrary, when we see the perfect rows of wheat, barley or corn running out acre after acre it testifies of the farmer’s continual hard work week after countless week. God’s seed, His Rhema word, requires work just the same.  

How would our lives look if we believed this Rhema word of God? This seed spoken by God through Peter some 2000 years ago is for us today.  May we, like the farmer and his rows of wheat, tend to the soil of our own hearts to reap the full potential of God’s supernatural seed in us!