But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
The verse describes the final stage of the growing grain, when after gradual growth from blade to ear to full corn the crop is fully ripe and is immediately cut and gathered. Human work can prepare, sow, tend and reap, but only God's unseen power in seed and soil can give life and bring it to maturity. The seed is God's word and truth planted in the heart, which by grace and the continual influence of the Holy Spirit grows gently and constantly toward perfection of character. That ripe fruit is Christ's character reproduced in His people and manifested as love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control, and when it is perfectly reproduced He will come to claim them as His own. The one who puts in the sickle is Christ at the last great day, gathering into the heavenly garner those for whom He and His workers have labored, a harvest that is hastened when all who profess His name bear fruit and sow the world with the gospel.
Parable of Growing Seed
The verse is the final stage of the growing-seed parable of the kingdom, where seed cast in the ground springs up night and day without the sower knowing how, and the earth brings forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear, until the ripe harvest is gathered. The work of truth upon the heart shown there is constant and gentle, and growth must continue until perfection of human character is reached. That continuing growth tests whether religion is truly growing or whether self is so predominant that the Lord cannot work with human effort, and it is carried forward by a firm, divine, supernatural agency.
Human labor can prepare the soil, sow the seed, tend the field, and gather the crop, but cannot produce life or bring it to maturity. The link between sowing and reaping depends on God's unseen power working in soil and seed, with human skill and labor joined to God's work in nature. Sowing, growth, and harvest thus make plain the things of heaven, giving a daily lesson in how God works through nature to bring forth fruit while human beings do their appointed part in planting, tending, and gathering at once when the crop is ripe.
The seed is God's word and truth sown in the heart and mind, made fruitful there by divine grace, and its growth appears in life and character. It is living seed with a life-giving principle, yet it must receive sunshine and living water from God, the Source of truth, to become fruitful. After the Word is carefully received it must be given diligent care, cherished and practiced in daily life through its successive stages, so that it springs up and bears fruit unto the harvest. Cultivating such character is the work of a lifetime.
Growth from blade to full grain is gradual, continual, and lifelong, proceeding stage by stage until the fruit is perfect and ready for the sickle. That development of Christian character goes forward under the Spirit's influence, as the believer who humbly rests on Christ is led toward righteousness and bears fruit unto eternal life. Its advance from blade to full growth depends on unseen supernatural agency through the Holy Spirit.
Christ taught immortal truth and the mysteries of the kingdom through the familiar scenes of the husbandman, the growing seed, and the grain harvest. The processes of nature in seed growth and harvest can therefore instruct in spiritual truth. Seeing sowing, growth, and reaping afterward would bring His teaching back to mind and make it a living reality, reminding hearers of His lessons whenever they beheld the harvest. Truth planted too deeply, however, may fail to send up a tender blade and so cannot mature into fruit. The same growth to its appointed fruit-bearing was seen in the Reformation, when the seed Luther sowed sprang up widely and the movement gained strength and was carried forward by other workers even during his absence.
Ripening Christian Character
The harvest does not come until the fruit is fully ripe and mature, and then the sickle is put in immediately and the crop is gathered at once. The completion of growth is the signal for reaping, for when the fruit is mature the harvest follows. The seed is God's word made fruitful in the heart by divine grace, and its growth appears in the person's life and character through gradual, continual, lifelong development under the Spirit's influence. The Holy Spirit leads those who love truth toward righteousness until the soul is ripe.
The fruit is the Holy Spirit's work in a person living in connection with Christ, reproducing Christ's character and manifesting it in life and character and in His church. That fruit may be brought forth in differing measure. In its specific qualities it is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control, which endure and yield a harvest unto eternal life. This fruit develops through the Holy Spirit's influence as the believer humbly rests on Christ, receiving divine help through unseen, supernatural agency from blade to full grain.
Growth is constant and gentle, carried forward by firm divine supernatural agency, and it must continue throughout life until perfection of human character is reached. Cultivating character is the work of a lifetime, progressing gradually through stages from blade to ear to full grain. Whether religion is truly growing is tested by whether self is so predominant that the Lord cannot work with human efforts. When Christ's character is perfectly reproduced in His people, He will come to claim them as His own.
For the individual, ripeness means the life-work is ended and the soul is ready for God. When the fruit is perfect, the soul is ripe for the harvest, the life-work is finished, and God gathers the person as His grain.
Final Harvest Gathering
The hand that puts in the sickle is Christ Himself, reaping the harvest of the earth at the last great day. That harvest is the final gathering into the heavenly garner of those for whom others have labored and prayed. It includes children taught and cared for in the truth, whose ripened fruit is gathered as the harvest for which workers have interceded. Those who have labored for them will share the joy of the Lord, who sees the result of His suffering and travail and is satisfied.
The last great harvest is ripened for Christ to come and gather the precious grain, and it is ripened quickly when all who profess His name bear fruit to His glory and sow the world with the seed of the gospel. By such fruit-bearing it is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ but to hasten it. The good seed of soul-saving work will spring up and produce an abundant harvest because God watches over it and causes it to grow, even when the work begins amid great difficulty. Difficult beginnings do not mean the work will fail, for many successful efforts have started amid great difficulty, so there is no reason for discouragement.
The verse describes the final stage of the growing grain, when after gradual growth from blade to ear to full corn the crop is fully ripe and is immediately cut and gathered. Human work can prepare, sow, tend and reap, but only God's unseen power in seed and soil can give life and bring it to maturity. The seed is God's word and truth planted in the heart, which by grace and the continual influence of the Holy Spirit grows gently and constantly toward perfection of character. That ripe fruit is Christ's character reproduced in His people and manifested as love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control, and when it is perfectly reproduced He will come to claim them as His own. The one who puts in the sickle is Christ at the last great day, gathering into the heavenly garner those for whom He and His workers have labored, a harvest that is hastened when all who profess His name bear fruit and sow the world with the gospel.
Parable of Growing Seed
The verse is the final stage of the growing-seed parable of the kingdom, where seed cast in the ground springs up night and day without the sower knowing how, and the earth brings forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear, until the ripe harvest is gathered. The work of truth upon the heart shown there is constant and gentle, and growth must continue until perfection of human character is reached. That continuing growth tests whether religion is truly growing or whether self is so predominant that the Lord cannot work with human effort, and it is carried forward by a firm, divine, supernatural agency.
Human labor can prepare the soil, sow the seed, tend the field, and gather the crop, but cannot produce life or bring it to maturity. The link between sowing and reaping depends on God's unseen power working in soil and seed, with human skill and labor joined to God's work in nature. Sowing, growth, and harvest thus make plain the things of heaven, giving a daily lesson in how God works through nature to bring forth fruit while human beings do their appointed part in planting, tending, and gathering at once when the crop is ripe.
The seed is God's word and truth sown in the heart and mind, made fruitful there by divine grace, and its growth appears in life and character. It is living seed with a life-giving principle, yet it must receive sunshine and living water from God, the Source of truth, to become fruitful. After the Word is carefully received it must be given diligent care, cherished and practiced in daily life through its successive stages, so that it springs up and bears fruit unto the harvest. Cultivating such character is the work of a lifetime.
Growth from blade to full grain is gradual, continual, and lifelong, proceeding stage by stage until the fruit is perfect and ready for the sickle. That development of Christian character goes forward under the Spirit's influence, as the believer who humbly rests on Christ is led toward righteousness and bears fruit unto eternal life. Its advance from blade to full growth depends on unseen supernatural agency through the Holy Spirit.
Christ taught immortal truth and the mysteries of the kingdom through the familiar scenes of the husbandman, the growing seed, and the grain harvest. The processes of nature in seed growth and harvest can therefore instruct in spiritual truth. Seeing sowing, growth, and reaping afterward would bring His teaching back to mind and make it a living reality, reminding hearers of His lessons whenever they beheld the harvest. Truth planted too deeply, however, may fail to send up a tender blade and so cannot mature into fruit. The same growth to its appointed fruit-bearing was seen in the Reformation, when the seed Luther sowed sprang up widely and the movement gained strength and was carried forward by other workers even during his absence.
Ripening Christian Character
The harvest does not come until the fruit is fully ripe and mature, and then the sickle is put in immediately and the crop is gathered at once. The completion of growth is the signal for reaping, for when the fruit is mature the harvest follows. The seed is God's word made fruitful in the heart by divine grace, and its growth appears in the person's life and character through gradual, continual, lifelong development under the Spirit's influence. The Holy Spirit leads those who love truth toward righteousness until the soul is ripe.
The fruit is the Holy Spirit's work in a person living in connection with Christ, reproducing Christ's character and manifesting it in life and character and in His church. That fruit may be brought forth in differing measure. In its specific qualities it is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control, which endure and yield a harvest unto eternal life. This fruit develops through the Holy Spirit's influence as the believer humbly rests on Christ, receiving divine help through unseen, supernatural agency from blade to full grain.
Growth is constant and gentle, carried forward by firm divine supernatural agency, and it must continue throughout life until perfection of human character is reached. Cultivating character is the work of a lifetime, progressing gradually through stages from blade to ear to full grain. Whether religion is truly growing is tested by whether self is so predominant that the Lord cannot work with human efforts. When Christ's character is perfectly reproduced in His people, He will come to claim them as His own.
For the individual, ripeness means the life-work is ended and the soul is ready for God. When the fruit is perfect, the soul is ripe for the harvest, the life-work is finished, and God gathers the person as His grain.
Final Harvest Gathering
The hand that puts in the sickle is Christ Himself, reaping the harvest of the earth at the last great day. That harvest is the final gathering into the heavenly garner of those for whom others have labored and prayed. It includes children taught and cared for in the truth, whose ripened fruit is gathered as the harvest for which workers have interceded. Those who have labored for them will share the joy of the Lord, who sees the result of His suffering and travail and is satisfied.
The last great harvest is ripened for Christ to come and gather the precious grain, and it is ripened quickly when all who profess His name bear fruit to His glory and sow the world with the seed of the gospel. By such fruit-bearing it is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ but to hasten it. The good seed of soul-saving work will spring up and produce an abundant harvest because God watches over it and causes it to grow, even when the work begins amid great difficulty. Difficult beginnings do not mean the work will fail, for many successful efforts have started amid great difficulty, so there is no reason for discouragement.