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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 22 - Sower
Matt. 13:14-15
14 And [kai] in [epi] them [autos] is fulfilled [anapleroo] the prophecy [propheteia] of Esaias [Hesaias] , which [ho] saith [lego] , By hearing [akoe] ye shall hear [akouo] , and [kai] shall [suniemi] not [ou me] understand [suniemi] ; and [kai] seeing [blepo] ye shall see [blepo] , and [kai] shall [eido] not [ou me] perceive [eido] :
15 For [gar] this [toutou] people's [laos] heart [kardia] is waxed gross [pachuno] , and [kai] their ears [ous] are dull [bareos] of hearing [akouo] , and [kai] their [autos] eyes [ophthalmos] they have closed [kammuo] ; lest at any time [mepote] they should see [eido] with their eyes [ophthalmos] , and [kai] hear [akouo] with their ears [ous] , and [kai] should understand [suniemi] with their heart [kardia] , and [kai] should be converted [epistrepho] , and [kai] I should heal [iaomai] them [autos] . KJV-Interlinear
14 'And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 15 For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes Lest they should see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I should heal them.' NASB
Mysteries continue. Why are there mysteries to some with regard to the spiritual life, when it is so easy to learn and understand spiritual phenomena?
Here Jesus gives an explanation. That explanation is amplified in Matt. 19, Mark 3 and 10 and 16, and in Eph. 4 as well as in many passages in the Old Testament beginning with the explanation of why Pharaoh was so defiant at the time of the Exodus. You might review those studies in Exodus (the ten plagues).
1 Cor. 2:10-11
10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. NASB
Eph. 4:18-19
18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous NASB
In short, hardness of heart is the answer. Hardness of the heart is a callousness of the soul wherein the soul is eventually sealed over with a hardness or callousness that in turn prevents spiritual information from entering.
As people allow their negative attitude toward God to continue, then with every passing day, a hardness begins to creep over the soul. Like a slow cancer, this may take a lifetime, but in the end, the cancer always wins.
The soul is a living entity. It is the real you. And as with every living entity, it requires nourishment. Bible doctrine is that nourishment, or should we say it is the proper nourishment. All other information in the world if used within the context of Gods Word, helps to amplify and enhance what Gods Word provides. For example, we can learn of God in His creation, we can learn of astronomy, and in our matching up of this information we can begin to appreciate the power and unbelievable magnitude of Gods abilities and wisdom.
On the other hand, without an orientation to Bible doctrine then we have only our powers of observation and so forth. We look at monkeys and observe that they have two legs. We also observe that all hockey players have two legs and therefore conclude that all hockey players and monkeys have an evolutionary relationship. No offense to all you hockey buffs out there. It is just an illustration of the brilliant deductive reasoning abilities of mankind. Exclude the Biblical perspective and you will always end up with the wrong conclusions.
So this is of course absurd (the monkey and hockey connection that is), but the principle stands. Without Gods Word for orienting us to reality, then mankind will always draw wrong conclusions.
Again, view the chart of the soul on the Index page on the web site. That picture might help to illustrate the reduction of information intake ('become dull' as Isaiah explains it here) into the soul due to negative volition.
As people continue in their negative attitude, the soul crusts over and they in effect are sealing over the trap into which they have themselves created. Each person is their own worst possible enemy.
The Pharisees and those who were attending Jesus' were negative. They kept on hearing and seeing, but their seeing and hearing was of no value. Only things spiritual when taken into the soul in the manner in which God designed them to be taken in, are of value.
Academic intellect depends on too many things that make each person either more advantageous or places them at a disadvantage with every other person. IQ is not the same for all. Some of us understand the analytical concepts of quantum theory, while others of us can't make a decent piece of toast.
God levels the field for all in the spiritual life in that it is He (Father, Son, and Spirit) who manages the information flow of spiritual information, and not mankind. We have only to want to hear and understand. That's all.
Beyond that, our part in the spiritual life goes no further. God provides the information (Bible doctrine). God provides the mechanism (human spirit). God provides the means (the ministry of the Holy Spirit). God provides the environment (fellowship). You'll note that man is in none of these components. Man cannot get off the plane and help it fly. What happens to man when he gets outside of the plane? He falls and crashes into the ground far below (splat).
People fail to hear and see because their soul has become, and is in the process of becoming, 'dull' due to their own negative attitude toward God.
Eventually the eyes close and then nothing further can be seen. When the soul has darkened over completely, then death comes. An entity that ceases to breath - dies. Yet another big reason for us to maintain our daily vigil in the study of Gods Word - for the health and maintenance of our own life.
God has excluded man from the learning equation, lest man should boast as to his ability to learn the things of God, and even create an exclusive membership of persons who would be allowed to learn the things of God. So Isaiah points this out.
If God had no spiritual mechanism, then man would rely on his own imagination and invention. He would see with his own eyes, hear with his own ears, sense with his own senses as it were, and expect God to heal mankind based on mans efforts. Man would not need God, and therefore man would solve his own problems. That is what all of the religions and philosophies of the world are all about. Man providing for and serving his own needs, and we know that man hasn't the ability to do this. It is a lie, and a false concept.
Therefore, God has provided us with the means to obtain spiritual information, and it is free to all, and easy to use by all. IQ, talent, human status, connections, titles, and so forth of any kind cannot stand in the way or limit Gods teaching because God does not depend on them, nor use them.
Thus in this parable, we are learning that there is a system of learning spiritual information, and beginning tomorrow, we'll see that not everyone will want to learn despite its very simple mechanics.
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Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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