Comments You Will Not Hear at the 09-21-08 WT Study (July 15, 2008, pages 12-16 (GROW)Review comments will be in red
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IT Is "GOD WHO MAKES IT GROW"!
"Neither is he that plants anything or is he that waters, but God who makes it grow."-1 Cor 3:7
OPENING COMMENTS
I will be posting the article and a few comments. I will put on the URL addressing the identity of the sower.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/163637/3032403/post.ashx#3032403
I find it interesting that it takes 5 articles for the WTS to motivate the rank and file to go in the field circus. Where is the love? This week a jw told me that the financial situation in the US was exciting and proof that the end was VERY SOON NOW. I mentioned that I couldn't believe that a god of love would be eternally destroying so many people in China and India and that would make a true Christian happy. That took the wind out of his sails.
START OF ARTICLE
Q 1. In what way are we "God's fellow workers"?
"GOD'S fellow workers." That is how the apostle Paul described the privilege all of us can enjoy. (Read 1 Corinthians 3: 5-9.) The work to which Paul referred is the disciple-making work. He likened it to the sowing and watering of seed. If we are to be successful in that vital work, we need Jehovah's help. Paul reminds us that it is "God who makes it grow."
Q 2. Why does the fact that 'God makes it grow' help us to have a proper view of our ministry?
2. That humbling fact helps us to have a proper view of our ministry. We may work diligently at preaching and teaching, but ultimately all praise goes to Jehovah for any growth that might result. Why? Because try as we may, none of us can fully understand the growth process, let alone control it. King Solomon expressed the situation correctly when he wrote: "You do not know the work of the true God, who does all things." -Eccl.
11 :5.
Q 3. What similarity exists between the work of sowing literal seed and that of making disciples?
3. Does our inability to understand the growth process make our work frustrating? . No. Rather, it makes it exciting, intriguing. King Solomon said: "In the morning sow your seed and until the evening do not let your hand rest; for you are not knowing where this will have success, either here or there, or whether both of them will alike be good." (Eccl. 11:6) Truly, when it comes to planting literal seed, we do not know where or if it will sprout. Many factors are beyond our control. Something similar can be said of the disciple-making work. Jesus highlighted this fact in two illustrations that were recorded for us in the fourth chapter of Mark's Gospel. Let us see what we can learn from these two illustrations.
Different Types of Soil
Q 4, 5. Summarize Jesus' illustration of the sower who scatters seed.
4. As recorded at Mark 4:1-9, Jesus describes a sower who casts, or scatters, seed that happens to land in different locations: "Listen. Look. The sower went out to sow. And as he was sowing, some seed fell alongside the road. and the birds came and ate it up. And other seed fell upon the rocky place where it, of course, did not have much soil, and it immediately sprang up because of not having depth of soil. But when the
sun rose, it was scorched. and for not having root it withered. And other seed fell among the thorns and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. But others fell upon the fine soil and coming up and increasing they began to yield fruit, and they were bearing thirtyfold and sixty and a hundred."
5. In Bible times, the sowing of seed was generally done by broadcasting. The sower carried the seed in a fold of his garment or in a container and scattered it with a long sweeping motion. So in this illustration, the sower does not deliberately sow the seed on the different types of soil. Rather, the scattered seed lands in various locations.
Q. 6. How did Jesus explain the illustration of the sower?
6. We are not left to guess the meaning of this illustration. Jesus went on to explain it. as recorded at Mark 4:14-20: "The sower sows the word. These, then, are the ones alongside the road where the word is sown; but as soon as they have heard it Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. And likewise these are the ones sown upon the rocky places: as soon as they have heard the word, they accept it with joy. Yet they have no root in themselves, but they continue for a time; then as soon as tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, they are stumbled. There are still others who are sown among the thorns; these are the ones that have heard the word, but the anxieties of this system of things and the deceptive power of riches and the desires for the rest of the things make inroads and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. finally, the ones that were sown on the fine soil are those who listen to the word and favorably receive it and bear fruit thirtyfold and sixty and a
hundred."
Q. What do the seed and the different types of soil represent?
7. Notice that Jesus does not say that different types of seed are being used. Rather, he speaks of one type of seed that lands on different types of soil, each of which produces a different result. The first type of soil is hard, or packed down; the second is shallow; the third is overgrown with thorns; and the fourth is fine, or good, soil that produces well. (I.uke 8:
Q 8. (a) Whom does the sower represent? (b) Why does the response to the Kingdom-preaching work differ?
8. Who is represented by the sower? He represents God's fellow workers, those who proclaim the Kingdom good news. Like Paul and Apollos, they plant and water. But even though they work hard, the results differ. Why? Because of the different heart conditions of those who hear the message. In the illustration, the sower has no control over these results. How comforting this is, especially to those of our faithful brothers and sisters who have worked for many years, in some cases for decades, with seemingly few tangible results!* Why so? * Consider the example of Brother Georg Fjolnir Undal's ministry in Iceland, as reported in the 2005 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 210-211, and the experiences of faithful servants who persevered in Ireland for many years without immediate results as found in the 1988 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, pages 82-99.
Q 9. What comforting truth did the apostle Paul and Jesus both emphasize?
9. Faithfulness on the part of the sower is not measured by the results of his work. Paul alluded to that when he said: "Each person will receive his own reward according to his own labor." (1 Cor. 3:
The Responsibility of Those that Hear the Word
Q 10. What determines whether an individual who hears the word resembles fine soil or not?
10. What of the ones hearing the word? Is their response predetermined? No. Whether they resemble fine soil or not is up to them. Indeed, a person's heart condition can change for good or for bad. (Rom. 6: 17) In his illustration, Jesus said that "as soon as [some] have heard" the word, Satan comes and takes it away. But this does not have to happen. At James 4:7, Christians are encouraged to "oppose the Devil," and then he
will flee from them. Jesus describes others as accepting the word initially with joy but then being stumbled because of having "no root in themselves." But servants of God are admonished to "be rooted and established on the foundation" so that they may be able to grasp mentally "what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge." -Eph. 3:17-19; Co!. 2:6, 7.
Q 11. How can one avoid allowing anxieties and riches to choke the word?
11 Others who heard the word are described as allowing "the anxieties of this system of things and the deceptive power of riches" to make inroads and choke the word. (1 Tim. 6:9, 10) How can they avoid this? The apostle Paul answers: "Let your manner of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things. For he has said: 'I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.''' -Heb. 13:5.
Q 12. Why do those represented by the fine soil bear fruit in different amounts?
12. Finally, Jesus says that those sown on the fine soil "bear fruit thirtyfold and sixty and a hundred." Even though some who respond to the word have a good heart condition and bear fruit, what they are able to do in proclaiming the good news varies according to their circumstances. For example, advanced age or enfeebling illness may limit the share that some have in the preaching work. (Compare ~!ark 12:43, 44.) Again, the sower may have little or no control over this, but he rejoices when he sees that Jehovah has made it grow-.-Read Psalm 126:5, 6.
The Sower Who Sleeps
Q 13, 14. (a) Summarize Jesus' illustration of the man who broadcasts seed. (b) Who is represented by the sower, and what is the seed?
13. At Mark 4: 26-29, we find another illustration concerning a sower: In this way the kingdom of God is just as when a man casts the seed upon the ground, and he sleeps at night and rises up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows tall, just how he does not know. Of its own self the ground bears fruit gradually, first the grass-blade, then the stalk head, finally the full grain in the head. But as soon as the fruit permits it, he thrusts in the sickle, because the harvest time has come."
14. Who is this sower? Some in Christendom believe that this refers to Jesus himself. But how could it be said that Jesus sleeps and does not know how the seed grows? Surely Jesus is aware of the growth process! Rather, this sower, like the one mentioned earlier, represents individual Kingdom proclaimers, those who sow the Kingdom seed by their zealous preaching activity. The seed that is cast to the ground is the word that
they preach.*
* It was previously explained in this magazine that the seed represents personality qualities that need to grow to maturity, being influenced along the way by environ· mental factors. However, it should be noted that in Jesus' illustration the seed does not change into bad seed or rotten fruit. It simply grows to maturity.-See The Watchtower, June 15, 1980, pages 17-19.
Q 15, 16. What truth about literal and spiritual growth did Jesus bring out in his illustration of the sower?
15. Jesus states that the sower "sleeps at night and rises up by day." This is not neglect on the sower's part. It just portrays the normal routine of life followed by most people. The wording used in this verse indicates an ongoing process of working by day and sleeping by night over a period of time. Jesus highlighted what happened during that time. "The seed sprouts and grows tall," he says. Then Jesus adds: "Just how he does not know." The emphasis is on the fact that the growth occurs of its own self."*
* The only other usage of this expression is found at Acts 12:10, where an iron gate is spoken of as opening automatically, "of its own accord."
16. What point was Jesus making here? Notice that the emphasis is on growth and on the gradual way in which it occurs. "Of its own self the ground bears fruit gradually, first the grass-blade, then the stalk head, finally the full grain in the head." (Mark 4: 28) This growth occurs gradually and in stages. It cannot be forced or speeded up. The same is true of spiritual growth. This occurs in stages as Jehovah allows the truth to grow in the heart of a person who is rightly disposed.-Acts 13:48; Heb. 6:1.
Q 17. Who share in the rejoicing when the seed of truth bears fruitage?
17. How does the sower take part in the harvest "as soon as the fruit permits it"? When Jehovah makes the Kingdom truth grow in the hearts of new disciples, they eventually come to the point where they are prompted by their love for God to dedicate their lives to him. They symbolize their dedication by water baptism. Brothers who continue to progress to maturity are gradually able to take on more responsibility in the congregation. Kingdom fruitage is reaped by the original sower as well as by other Kingdom proclaimers who may not personally have been involved with sowing the seed that produced that particular disciple. (Read John 4:36-38.) Indeed, "the sower and the reaper ... rejoice together."
Lessons for Us Today
Q 18, 19. (a) How has this review of Jesus' illustrations encouraged you personally? (b) What will be considered in the next article?
18. What have we learned from our review of these two illustrations recorded in Mark chapter 4? We can clearly see that we have a work to do-sowing. We should never allow excuses and potential problems and difficulties to stop us from doing this work. (Eccl. 11:4) At the same time, though, we are aware of our wonderful privilege to be counted as fellow workers with God. Jehovah is the one who causes spiritual growth,
blessing our efforts and the efforts of those who receive the message. We realize that we cannot force spiritual growth in anyone. We likewise need not feel discouraged or disheartened if growth is slow or lacking. How comforting it is to know that our success is measured by our faithfulness to Jehovah and to the privilege that he has granted us to preach the "good news of the kingdom ... for a witness to all the nations."-Matt. 24:14.
19. What else did Jesus teach us about the growth of new disciples and the Kingdom work? The answer to that question is found in other illustrations recorded in the Gospel accounts. We will analyze some of these illustrations in the next article.
Do You Remember?
What are some similarities between the sowing of literal seed and the preaching of the Kingdom message?
How does Jehovah measure the faithfulness of a Kingdom preacher?
What similarity between literal and spiritual growth did Jesus emphasize?
How do "the sower and the reaper rejoice together"?
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
Notice that they say that individual results are not necessary; that the rank and file need not prepare well, because good or bad results are not proof of God's blessing and doing a good job. Just blame it on the bad attitude of the non-jws. Where's is Jesus in this article; aren't Christians fellow workers of Jesus?
Love Blondie
Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 09-21-08 WT Study (GROW)
by blondie 5 Replies latest jw friends
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blondie
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zeroday
Q 17. Who share in the rejoicing when the seed of truth bears fruitage?
17. How does the sower take part in the harvest "as soon as the fruit permits it"? When Jehovah makes the Kingdom truth grow in the hearts of new disciples, they eventually come to the point where they are prompted by their love for God to dedicate their lives to him. They symbolize their dedication by water baptism. Brothers who continue to progress to maturity are gradually able to take on more responsibility in the congregation. Kingdom fruitage is reaped by the original sower as well as by other Kingdom proclaimers who may not personally have been involved with sowing the seed that produced that particular disciple. (Read John 4:36-38.) Indeed, "the sower and the reaper ... rejoice together."***w8312/15p.13‘GodMakesItGrow’***A farmer may plant a seed, water and cultivate it, but he must patiently wait for God to make it grow to maturity. It is likewise with Christian ministers. As the apostle Paul said: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow." (1 Corinthians 3:6) Although we may proclaim the "good news" and teach God’s Word to interested people, it is God who makes the "seed," or implanted word, come to full Christian growth,
*** w87 3/15 p. 22 A Joyful People—Why? ***No doubt this increase is evident in your own congregation or circuit. New ones are coming to meetings and making necessary changes in their lives so as to be able to serve God. Does this not point to the fact that the preaching work has Jehovah’s blessing? Having a share in this increase can thus be a source of great joy to you. True, you may not have personally studied with an individual to the point of his getting baptized. But we cannot take credit for bringing someone into the truth anyway. ‘God makes it grow,’
***w933/1p.20GodMakesItGrow—DoYouPlayYourPart?***Perhaps you feel that your part in producing spiritual growth is insignificant, even meaningless. Did not the apostle Paul suggest this at 1 Corinthians 3:5-7? He wrote: "What, then, is Apollos? Yes, what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, even as the Lord granted each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow; so that neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes it grow."
***
w933/1p.21GodMakesItGrow—DoYouPlayYourPart?***Like the farmer who patiently "keeps waiting for the precious fruit of the earth," we must first exert ourselves in planting and watering, waiting while God makes it grow.—James 1:22; 2:26; 5:7.
***w533/15p.186par.9ASingingLesson***As Paul said of himself and another brother: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow; so that neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes it grow." (1 Cor. 3:6, 7, NW
*** w54 11/1 p. 661 par. 14 The Fruitage of the Spirit ***Jehovah is the great Fruitgrower of all Kingdom fruitage, and all the credit goes to him. Under his direction, however, we do some cultivating work, as Paul shows, in the way of planting and watering and weeding, but never forget it is "God who makes it grow."
*** w56 6/1 p. 336 par. 2 Keep Pace with the New World Society ***"What, then, is Apollos? Yes, what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, even as the Lord granted each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow; so that neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes it grow.
***w567/15p.420StopEvil,StartGood***The farmer can plant seed and water and cultivate it, but he cannot make it grow: "Neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes it grow."
w576/15p.380par.14AcceptingResponsibilityintheNewWorldSociety******
Jehovah’s witnesses are well aware of the fact that the growth of the New World society is not due to any man. While one of them may plant the seed of truth found in God’s Word, and while another, responding to the counsel of the Bible to make return visits on sheeplike ones, cultivates, yet in the final analysis it is God who makes it grow.
And here I thought this was new information... -
MadGiant
Thanks,
Ismael
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Tired of the Hypocrisy
Thank you Miss Blondie!
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Thanks Blondie!
This study is a disaster from the very first paragraph...
Q 1. In what way are we "God's fellow workers"? "GOD'S fellow workers." That is how the apostle Paul described the privilege all of us can enjoy. (Read 1 Corinthians 3: 5-9.) The work to which Paul referred is the disciple-making work. He likened it to the sowing and watering of seed. If we are to be successful in that vital work, we need Jehovah's help. Paul reminds us that it is "God who makes it grow."
"God's fellow workers", eh? Did Paul think that was a "privilege all could enjoy"? Let's take a look at the verses, shall we...?
(1 Corinthians 3:5-9)5 What, then, is A·pol´los? Yes, what is Paul? Ministers through whom YOU became believers, even as the Lord granted each one. 6 I planted, A·pol´los watered, but God kept making [it] grow; 7 so that neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes [it] grow. 8 Now he that plants and he that waters are one, but each [person] will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. YOU people are God’s field under cultivation, God’s building.
Actually, those "anointed" members of the Corinthian congregation weren't "God's fellow workers"... they were "God's field under cultivation, God's building"!!! When Paul said "we" he meant that he and Apollos were "God's fellow workers". Obviously, if those "anointed", "faithful and discreet slave class"-worthy Corinthian Christians weren't rated to be called "God's fellow workers", the loser "other sheeples" of this 21st century "congregation" would barely qualify to be sheep crap spread to fertilize "God's field under cultivation".
Next, the analysis of the illustrations goes off-course most obviously in para. 8:
Q 8. (a) Whom does the sower represent? (b) Why does the response to the Kingdom-preaching work differ?8. Who is represented by the sower? He represents God's fellow workers, those who proclaim the Kingdom good news. Like Paul and Apollos, they plant and water. But even though they work hard, the results differ. Why? Because of the different heart conditions of those who hear the message. In the illustration, the sower has no control over these results. How comforting this is, especially to those of our faithful brothers and sisters who have worked for many years, in some cases for decades, with seemingly few tangible results!* Why so? * Consider the example of Brother Georg Fjolnir Undal's ministry in Iceland, as reported in the 2005 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, page 210-211, and the experiences of faithful servants who persevered in Ireland for many years without immediate results as found in the 1988 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, pages 82-99.
Did you notice that no scriptural references are used in this paragraph? Although this illustration is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, none of them identify who the sower is. Why not? Because it was obvious to all of them that the sower was Jesus. In each of those Gospel accounts, Jesus is reported to state, in effect, "Listen to me!" And in the parable of the wheat and the weeds, he states:
(Matthew 13:37) In response he said: "The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man;
If the sower was different in the other illustrations, why didn't he say so? After all, he stated the difference in what the seed represented:
(Matthew 13:38) the field is the world; as for the fine seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; . . .
(Mark 4:14) "The sower sows the word.
(Luke 8:11) Now the illustration means this: The seed is the word of God.
If the sower was anyone other than Jesus, why wouldn't he have said so? He doesn't refer to "sowers" plural, he uses the singular "sower". He hadn't sent out others to sow seed yet at the time of speaking here. At this point, he was still trying to get the message to take root in his listeners hearts. Jesus illustrations didn't dwell on the idea of his listeners being preachers, it was about them taking root and accepting his Kingdom message.
The interpretation becomes very sloppy when you try to explain, "Well people start out as seeds, then they are harvested to be sowers." What in the world kind of plant produces farmers? It was no wonder that Botchtower applied Mark 4:26-29 to be about some mumbo-jumbo about "personality qualities". They keep interpreting the sower to be "individual Kingdom proclaimers", the seed is the Kingdumb message, the fruit that the ground bears is... "disciples", the sower takes part in the harvest when the disciples are dedicated and baptized and become sowers. So basically, the entire illustration is about individual Kingdom proclaimers being the sowers, the reapers, and the fruitage. The problem is, what about those fruits that are harvested, but wind up here on JWD. Are they unreaped or defruited or unsowered? Their interpretation is very twisting, turning, and problematic.
14. Who is this sower? Some in Christendom believe that this refers to Jesus himself. But how could it be said that Jesus sleeps and does not know how the seed grows? Surely Jesus is aware of the growth process! Rather, this sower, like the one mentioned earlier, represents individual Kingdom proclaimers, those who sow the Kingdom seed by their zealous preaching activity.
Actually, it is quite reasonable to believe that Jesus is the sower. Here's the text from Mark:
(Mark
4:26-29)26 So he went on to say: "In this way the kingdom of God is just as when a man casts the seed upon the ground, 27 and he sleeps at night and rises up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows tall, just how he does not know. 28 Of its own self the ground bears fruit gradually, first the grass-blade, then the stalk head, finally the full grain in the head. 29 But as soon as the fruit permits it, he thrusts in the sickle, because the harvesttime has come."NWT cross-references 4:26 to Matt. 13:24 illustration, Jesus explanation follows:
(Matthew 13:24-30) Another illustration he set before them, saying: "The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man that sowed fine seed in his field. 25 While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat, and left. 26 When the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared also. 27 So the slaves of the householder came up and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it come to have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’ They said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ 29 He said, ‘No; that by no chance, while collecting the weeds, YOU uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the harvest season I will tell the reapers, First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up, then go to gathering the wheat into my storehouse.’"
(Matthew 13:36-43) Then after dismissing the crowds he went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said: "Explain to us the illustration of the weeds in the field." 37 In response he said: "The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man; 38 the field is the world; as for the fine seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the weeds are the sons of the wicked one, 39 and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the conclusion of the system of things. 41 The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness, 42 and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where [their] weeping and the gnashing of [their] teeth will be. 43 At that time the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him that has ears listen.So, Matthew places the sower as Jesus, the "slaves" would evidently be angels also being the reapers, these were "men" that "were sleeping". Other translations are similar in expressing that the sower was sleeping, not aware of the goings-on in the field. So that erodes their argument that Jesus doesn't sleep so he can't be the sower in Mark.
Also, the only way Jesus could be fully aware of the growth process of the crops, is if events were predetermined and predestined. If Jesus knew so much, why did he select Judas Iscariot and put him in charge of the money box? Why even bother with the past two millenia since he already knew how the crops would turn out.
Clearly, the Botchtower corporation agenda is recruit! recruit! recruit! And they're ready to twist anything in the Bible to suit their purposes. Forget Jesus! Forget "fruitages of the spirit"! The only thing that matters is getting more asses on the chairs and the Kingdumb Hells!
I digress. Although I'm agnostic, I think all the illustrations make more sense if you place Jesus as the sower, but the emphasis is on the crop, being the fine seed, a fruit bearing plant in his care until the time comes for the angels to reap at the big A. Christians should be manifesting the fruits of the spirit and would testify and live their life in harmony with Christ's Kingdom message. I think that would be more fruitful than knocking on peoples doors, pushing scraps of paper to try to recruit to the Watch Tower Corporation cult.
B the X
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WTWizard
It is transparent that Jesus himself is the "sower", straight from the Bible. It blatantly tells that the sower is the Son of Man, the Christ, right in their Bible. And now the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger abandons this correct interpretation of the blatant answer and puts themselves in its place. I wonder what Jesus would do if he walked in on that.
As for the article at hand, I notice that God is taking credit for your work. You sow (do the work), you water (do the work), and God makes it grow (takes the credit). If God really did make it grow, He could have made seeds grow into fruitful plants despite landing on the roadside, in the rocks, or among the thorns. But He doesn't--indicating He is really doing nothing but taking the credit for the whole operation. Another black mark for God. (And one for the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger for putting themselves in Jesus' position after claiming to have the monopoly on Bible understanding).