Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
The question to what the kingdom of God is like and to what it shall be resembled introduces comparisons to explain it, especially the mustard seed growing into a great tree and also the leaven spreading through meal. The mustard seed means the kingdom begins humbly and apparently insignificant yet grows by divine life into something great and far-reaching, a large tree with widespread influence and a triumphant work. Its growth depends on God's principle of life and unseen divine power, including the Spirit's power, not on human power or force.
The kingdom is unlike the kingdoms of the world and no earthly government or society provides a fitting likeness for it. It is a new creation whose principles oppose those of earthly governments, advancing through truth and righteousness rather than force, war, coercion, or compelling the conscience. It is marked by the peace, grace, love, and compassion of the Saviour as a divine, unchanging gospel power that breaks down barriers and flows from God. Though it began with only a few poor Galilean followers and seemed insignificant beside earthly kingdoms, it would spread throughout the world and remain after those kingdoms perished.
The same laws that govern earthly sowing and reaping govern the sowing of the seeds of truth, where the Word of God is communicated as truth and interwoven with the whole practical life, working from the sowing of the small seed to the ingathering of the harvest. The comparison also applies to the teaching of divine truth, where a simple, brief truth spoken from a heart softened by Christ's love can be planted in the hearer and germinate and bear fruit. Its pattern is repeated in every generation, when God gives a special truth and work often first carried by few people who are opposed and despised, yet the kingdom grows through their work. In the last generation its fulfillment is the spread of the final message of warning and mercy to every nation, gathering a people for God and filling the earth with His glory.
Its growth into a great tree illustrates how the work and its organization can develop and flourish. The work beginning small and growing large means that without large gifts, legacies, or many wealthy supporters, moving under the orders of Christ with blessed united effort makes truth spread and flourish. That united effort multiplies institutions including schools to train children in the Word free from false philosophy and health institutions to help and enlighten others. It proves the system of organization sustained by systematic benevolence according to Bible plans a grand success, and shows the body compacted by that which every joint supplies. The kingdom is presented through these images of growth and reach, including leaven spreading through the whole batch of meal, and Christ's work is an example to follow, a work that requires the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The question to what the kingdom of God is like and to what it shall be resembled introduces comparisons to explain it, especially the mustard seed growing into a great tree and also the leaven spreading through meal. The mustard seed means the kingdom begins humbly and apparently insignificant yet grows by divine life into something great and far-reaching, a large tree with widespread influence and a triumphant work. Its growth depends on God's principle of life and unseen divine power, including the Spirit's power, not on human power or force.
The kingdom is unlike the kingdoms of the world and no earthly government or society provides a fitting likeness for it. It is a new creation whose principles oppose those of earthly governments, advancing through truth and righteousness rather than force, war, coercion, or compelling the conscience. It is marked by the peace, grace, love, and compassion of the Saviour as a divine, unchanging gospel power that breaks down barriers and flows from God. Though it began with only a few poor Galilean followers and seemed insignificant beside earthly kingdoms, it would spread throughout the world and remain after those kingdoms perished.
The same laws that govern earthly sowing and reaping govern the sowing of the seeds of truth, where the Word of God is communicated as truth and interwoven with the whole practical life, working from the sowing of the small seed to the ingathering of the harvest. The comparison also applies to the teaching of divine truth, where a simple, brief truth spoken from a heart softened by Christ's love can be planted in the hearer and germinate and bear fruit. Its pattern is repeated in every generation, when God gives a special truth and work often first carried by few people who are opposed and despised, yet the kingdom grows through their work. In the last generation its fulfillment is the spread of the final message of warning and mercy to every nation, gathering a people for God and filling the earth with His glory.
Its growth into a great tree illustrates how the work and its organization can develop and flourish. The work beginning small and growing large means that without large gifts, legacies, or many wealthy supporters, moving under the orders of Christ with blessed united effort makes truth spread and flourish. That united effort multiplies institutions including schools to train children in the Word free from false philosophy and health institutions to help and enlighten others. It proves the system of organization sustained by systematic benevolence according to Bible plans a grand success, and shows the body compacted by that which every joint supplies. The kingdom is presented through these images of growth and reach, including leaven spreading through the whole batch of meal, and Christ's work is an example to follow, a work that requires the baptism of the Holy Spirit.