THE TRUTH ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

 

Chapter 4

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The Church, A Nuclear Farm

From Identity to Responsibility

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1 Cor. 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.

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John 15:1-8 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

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I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

 

 

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As already established, the Church is a believing community of people presented in Scripture as a farm or vineyard on earth. As such, it is narrowed down to believing you and I who are typified as trees or crops planted by the owner.

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The consequent question is, “what is the seed the owner intends to cultivate on this farm?” We trust God for the best species. According to Matt. 13:24-25, Jesus Christ says that the seed God planted on this farm is a good variety which should be watched over, lest the enemy comes to pollute it with bad seed while we are negligent. The good seed must come from above to be devoid of the impurity of the wisdom of the world, as anything from above is above all – in purity and in power (John 3:31). The good seed is, metaphorically, the Word of God, and the fertile farm is the believers’ hearts (Luke 8:11).

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Through the good seed God has planted in the Christians (the nuclear farm), God can feed and secure the extended farm (the unbelievers in Christ) until the day of Christ’s manifestation. It is upon our shoulders, as deposits of the divine treasure which is the Gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 4:7), to add taste to our world as divine salt and also to enlighten the darkened hearts of unbelievers as divine lights in the way in which we live our lives here on earth (Matt. 5:13-16). God is not different from His word, since He is Spirit (John 4:24) and His word, Spirit (John 6:63). When the principles of His word, as taught by Jesus Christ, are at work in and around us, God is undoubtedly at work in and around us. Amen! What a peaceful and prosperous place we would have if we all lived by these principles! The prayer “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” would be manifestly answered (Matt. 6:10). Come on brethren, are we producing well enough as “good seeds” so that God may meet the hunger need of the extended farm (the unbelievers)?

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No wonder our neighbourhood is unable to quit sin – sexual immorality, indecency, witchcraft, kidnapping, insurgency, envy, rivalry, drunkenness, rape, bullying, lust, etc. The reason is because people are not fed with the bread and fruit of Heaven which are resident in us, God’s nuclear farm.

 

Evaluation Questions & Answers​

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1. According to 2 Tim. 2:20 and 1 Cor. 3:9, the world is both God’s big house and farmland. Who are those living in that house and what are the crops in His farm?

   • House: “In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honour and some for dishonour.” (2 Tim. 2:20)

   • Who lives there? Everyone – believers and unbelievers. But only “cleansed vessels” are useful to the Master (2 Tim. 2:21).

   • Farm: “You are God’s field.” (1 Cor. 3:9)

   • Crops: Believers are the “good seed” (Matt. 13:38). The extended farm is the world (John 4:35), but the cultivated plot is the Church. Weeds are “the sons of the evil one”, sown while men slept.

2. In 1 Cor. 3:9, God says that we are co-labourers with Him, and, in 1 Cor. 7:23, He kicks against our accepting enslavement of any kind. How may we be enslaved today?

   • Sin: Sexual immorality, drunkenness, lust etc. (Rom. 6:16).

   • Men-pleasing: Doing church for ‘likes’, not for the Owner (Gal. 1:10).

   • Debt: Borrowing to fund ‘church projects’ that God did not command (Prov. 22:7).

   • Tradition: “We have always done it this way”, even when it chokes the seed (Mark 7:13).

   • Fear: Holding your salt or light to keep peace with the extended farm (Matt. 5:13-16).

   • We are co-labourers, not co-slaves. Labour with Him, not for Pharoah.

3. When God’s farm produces fruit here, how will God, Who is Spirit, take the fruits to His place in heaven?

   • God does not need mangoes in heaven, where there is “no more hunger” (Rev. 21:4).

   • The fruit God harvests:

     • Worship: “Fruit of the lips that acknowledge His name” (Heb. 13:15).

     • Obedience: “Fruit in every good work” (Col. 1:10).

     • Souls: “Fruit for eternal life” (John 4:36) – people we disciple.

     • Character: “Fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23).

   • How? By His Spirit. “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

   • We produce on earth; He records in heaven (Mal 3:16, Rev. 14:13). Our fruit becomes “treasure in heaven” (Matt. 6:20).

4. God tells us in Acts 17:24-25 that He does not lack anything and so does not depend on our services. So how do we serve Him?

   • We do not serve Him because He is needy. We serve Him because we are grateful, but also because we love Him and it is a joy to serve. Our joy is complete in service because He has made us to serve Him.

     • Serve by belief: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29)

     • Serve by loving people: Feeding orphans is serving God. “As you did it to one of the least… you did it to Me.” (Matt. 25:40)

     • Serve by obedience: “To obey is better than sacrifice.” (1 Sam. 15:22)

     • Serve by witness: “You will be My witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)   

     • When we add taste and give light (Matt. 5:13-16), we are farming for Him.

   • God does not need our service. The extended farm does. And He has chosen to feed them through us.

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Prayer

Lord replant Your words in me. As the Owner, send me to the hungriest part of the extended farm. Amen.

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