Seedtime and Harvest

Seedtime and Harvest
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And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.... So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:37, 38, 42-44

It was difficult for the Corinthians in Paul's day to understand resurrection. Paul took the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15 to explain resurrection to the believers at Corinth because the topic was causing quite a controversy in that city.

The Corinthian Problem

The Corinthian's were from a pagan background and were taught Greek philosophy and mythology. The Greeks believed the body was evil and death was a release from the prison of mortal flesh. According to the Greek religion, once a person died, they were no longer bound by the human body, but floated across the River Styx into the Elysian Fields where they would blissfully rest forever.

Many Corinthians were born again through the preaching of Paul. They left paganism and joined the local church in Corinth to learn God's Word. There they discovered they would one day be given a resurrection body. The idea of returning to a body after death was repulsive to them. While many decided this teaching was heresy and rejected this part of the Word of God, others went so far as to say they regretted ever receiving Jesus. Paul knew he had to respond to their concerns.

We Don't Bury Christians!

To help the Corinthians understand resurrection, Paul returned to a theme that runs throughout the entire Word of God--sowing and reaping. From the very beginning, God created "herb yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself." Then, in Genesis 8:22, God promised, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest...shall not cease."

The planting of a seed and the harvesting of a crop will help you understand many areas of the Christian life. Every promise of God's Word is a seed that can be planted in the soil of our hearts. (Mark 4:14-25) Faith in God for daily living is a seed that brings harvests of blessings and removes mountain-like problems. (Matthew 17:20 and Mark 11:23,24) God's plan for financial prosperity is based on sowing and reaping: money is seen as seed, which when sown (given to God's work), will bring a harvest of financial blessing.

2 Corinthians 9:10

Paul adds resurrection to the list of seed-time and harvest teachings. We are a seed and like a seed, when we are placed in the earth, we will bring a harvest one day. In physical death we are "sown (planted) a natural body...raised (reaped) a spiritual body." In other words, we do not bury Christians, we plant them!Resurrection day is harvest time.

Do You Understand A Seed?

Every seed has a shell and a heart. So do God's people. Our body is the shell that surrounds our eternal heart. If we better understand a seed, we can better understand resurrection and our future resurrection body.

1. The whole seed does not die; only the shell dies.

When the shell of the seed dissolves in the ground, the life is released from the seed's heart. So it is with our physical body. When a believer dies and is placed in the ground, only the body decays. The heart (spirit and soul) goes to the Lord, waiting for the day of resurrection. The heart is eternal and cannot die.

2. The new plant comes from the heart of the seed.

If you plant an acorn, the shell dies, releasing the heart to begin a tree. The bark, trunk, limbs, leaves, and acorns of the emerging tree come from the heart of the planted seed. In a similar way, our resurrection body will come from our eternal heart. Our resurrection body will be eternal because it comes from the eternal part of our being.

3. Every seed has an image in its heart.

Many seeds look alike from the outside. Only by planting them can we discover the image that was in the heart. The image is released when the shell of the seed dies.

4. The image in a seed is fixed.

The image in the heart of a seed can never be altered. At the resurrection, whatever image is in our heart will determine our rewards in eternity. In resurrection, every Christian will be different. Some will shine as the sun, others as the moon, and the great majority as the different stars in the heavens. (1 Corinthians 15:41, 42) However, while we are still alive on earth, the image in our heart can be changed each day by the Word of God and prayer, transforming us into the very image of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians3:18

5. The tree is much stronger than the seed.

An acorn can be broken under the sole of a shoe, but the oak tree that comes from the acorn is, by comparison, almost indestructible. To destroy an oak tree takes much work.

A similar difference can be seen between our natural body and our spiritual body. Our present human body is fragile and demands the walk of faith to keep it from sickness, temptation, and oppression. The resurrection body is indestructible: no sickness, temptation, or oppression will affect it.

Do You Understand Harvest?

Understanding a seed provides valuable insights, but understanding harvest is essential to begining to comprehend what the resurrection body will be like. Our resurrection bodies will be vastly different from our phycial body, just as an oak tree is vastly different from an acorn. In fact, Paul could only attempt to describe it by saying:

1. "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption."

"Corruption" means it is bound for physical death. Each day we live on this earth we are closer to the day of our transfer from earth to heaven. Paul said, "Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. "(2 Corinthians 4:16) Our resurrection body will not be subject to death, but will be as eternal as God.

2. "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory."

"Dishonor" refers to the curse our body is under. Our body is cursed because the ground and everything made from it was cursed when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:17) The part of our being made of dirt is our body. Our body will carry dishonor until we receive a resurrection body. Our future body will not be cursed because it will be made from our spirit, and our spirit was freed from the curse when we were born again. Our new body, "raised in glory," will carry a manifestation of God's own glory.

3. "It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power."

Paul describes our present body as "weak." It has to be sustained from the outside. It needs food, water, clothes, and the proper atmosphere to survive. We must exercise it to keep it healthy. This will not be the case with our resurrection body. Our new body will not need sustaining from the outside. Our new body does not need life, it gives life.

Paul said our body will be raised in power. The very power of God that runs heaven, earth, and the universe, will energize our eternal body.

What will our resurrection body be like? We will have a body just like the one Jesus has right now: incorruptible, glorious, and powerful!

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

1 John 3:2

Bob Yandian

If you like this article, check out Entering the Land of Abundance and his book, From Just Enough to Overflowing, at the BYM Store.