Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say. That is certainly good advice for Bible preachers and teachers. During the ministry of the Word of God, much more goes on than meets the eye.
Jesus addressed this mystery by sharing a parable comparing the ministry of the Word to a man casting seed in the ground:
“The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself…,” Jesus said (Mark 4:26-28a, NASB).
Why is this teaching a good analogy for the ministry of the Word? Because preaching and teaching is, in effect, sowing seed into the hearts of men. Of course, the seed in this case is the Word of God.
Three Truths Regarding the Ministry of the Word
Drawing from the analogy above, here are three relevant truths regarding the ministry of the Word:
1. The Word is at work even when it does not appear to be. Jesus says a farmer plants, he sleeps at night and rises at day. For a while, nothing seems to be happening with the seed. But the truth is that something is happening. The seed is taking root underground.
Sometimes, churchgoers feel like giving up on coming to church and hearing the Word of God. They don’t sense the benefit of doing so. But below the surface—in their heart—the Word is taking root. With time, it will spring forth and grow up, they know not how.
2. The quality of the soil determines the yield of the seed. No matter how good a seed is, it will produce little if the soil is bad. During the ministry of the Word, the heart of man is the soil. When a person listens to the Word with an open heart, his heart becomes good ground for the “seed.”
Conversely, the heart that refuses to open to God constitutes bad soil. Though the Word of God is good seed, it will produce little in bad soil. That means the Word preached will produce different results in different people.
3. The seed always produces after its own kind. Plant a bean seed, and it will produce beans. Plant a corn seed, and it will produce corn. You can’t plant a seed for corn and get beans or vice versa. The seed brings forth after its own kind. The same is true for the Word of God. When it takes root in the heart of man, its yield will be after its own kind. That is, it will produce Christ-like character traits! That’s what will manifest itself after the Word has taken root, sprung forth and grown.
Clearly, in order to realize the transforming power of the Word of God, both the preacher and the listener have a responsibility. The preacher must sow good seed, which is the Word of God. The listener must provide the good soil—a heart that’s receptive to the Word of God. When GOOD seed is planted into GOOD soil, the two will produce GOOD fruit—always.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.