Figurative language refers to any word or words used with a meaning other than the common literal sense. Figures of speech are universal to human communication. Much of the Bible is written in figurative language and Jesus often taught with figurative words and stories. Figures help emphasize, clarify, illustrate a point, and aids the memory. The Bible uses the word bread over 300 times in both the literal sense and as a figure of speech. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger”, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven” (Joh 6:35, 41). Obviously, not literal statements, but He does spiritually for us what literal bread does for physical life. The first step in understanding is knowing what bread is and what it does. For the rare groups of people who don’t have bread in their culture, it would have no meaning. You must understand the literal meaning before you can grasp the figurative lesson.
Another literal and figurative example is a seed. They can weigh from a mere 35 millionth of an ounce up to 40 pounds. They’ve been around since the third day of creation. God made seeds an essential element in the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and with humanity. Without them all life would have ceased after one generation. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good (Gen 1: 12).
Science defines a seed as an encapsulated plant embryo which contains the DNA to reproduce another plant of the same species. I once gave every person in a service an acorn. They looked a bit puzzled at first. Then I asked them what it was. Of course, everybody shouted out, “an acorn”. Then, I explained they were actually holding an oak tree in its smallest form. Plant it and it would grow into a massive tree with limbs, leaves, and fruit i.e. acorns, which could in turn produce more oak trees. Everything needed was in that small acorn. Note that God designed seeds so they would produce after their own species. If you plant an acorn, don’t expect to eat olives. Plant an apple seed but don’t expect to harvest peaches.
This principle is the same in humans. When conception takes place with the combination of a female’s egg and a male’s sperm, one cell forms. Society rages in controversy over this one cell arguing if it is or isn’t a viable human. Science call this one cell organism a zygote. It rapidly divides and one cell becomes two and two become four, and so forth. After two weeks, they designate it an embryo and at some point, with the increasing number of cells, they consider it a fetus. The dispute is not the subject of this SW. Regardless of what people call this one cell of life, the fact remains that within this microscopic cell is all the genetic information (DNA) needed to become a person. For nine months like the plant seed, the body encapsulates it in the mother’s womb. The DNA determines every characteristic about us: gender, race, physical traits, abilities, personality, IQ, etc. No two people are exactly alike, not even twins. In each individual, God has arranged a unique combination of DNA.
When we receive Christ and are born again, He sows seeds into our life. You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God (1Pe 1:23 NET). God sows many seeds in a believer’s life. Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness (2 Co 9:10). The Father ‘planted’ Holy Spirit into our hearts who produces fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. God gave us gifts for serving one another. Each of us have seeds with the potential to produce fruit we never dreamed possible. I would have laughed myself silly if you told me the day after my commitment to Jesus that I would teach all over the world. Even now being retired, I discover new seed I never realized God had placed in me.
Jesus provided the key for a seed to grow, literal and spiritual. I tell you the truth, unless a grain [seed] of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds (Joh 12:24 NIV). This is figurative language and doesn’t mean we literally die as a human, but we die to our old nature, our agendas, fleshly desires, ego’s, and set aside what we want and commit ourselves to God’s agenda.
When we moved to Zambia, Burpee seeds sent us a twenty-pound box of seed packets with various vegetables and flowers. Several packs contained a potpourri of flower seed. We had no clue what they would become but put them in the ground. The beauty this variety of flowers produced surprised and pleased us. It will amaze us even more after we die to self and He brings forth the potential from the seeds He placed within us
Sustaining Word for the Week: What potential is within you? Commit to Christ who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or thinkaccording to the power that works within us (Eph 3:20).