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Most of us use the word “hope” in everyday life, such as, I hope my kids understand what I just told them, I hope I advance in my career, or I hope a person likes me, to name a few examples. Is that what Jesus brought or is it something deeper?
Read MoreThe stories Jesus told brought the truth to life for those who wanted to know the truth. The parables of Jesus were certainly a hallmark of his teaching to the masses. Jesus spoke directly to his disciples but primarily spoke in parables to most people. A parable is a fictional story, presented with plausible scenarios, to give one key spiritual truth.
The parables of show growth in the physical world that are meant to illustrate the reality of spiritual growth. Lowe states, “Peter draws a straight line between how “the newborn infant grows physically on the basis of milk” and how “the believer grows spiritually on the basis of the word” in 1 Peter 2:2.[1] Plainly stated, the spiritual world, in principle, works the same as the physical world. In many ways, physical and spiritual realities also correspond to one another. For example, Moses had spiritual encounters with God, and his face physically changed causing him to put a veil on his face (Exodus 34:33). Paul explains, “Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (1 Corinthians 3:15-16, NIV).
The ecology of spiritual formation is illustrated by the natural environment and how it is designed to grow. Jesus told a parable of a farmer who planted the seed and the elements that allowed it to grow. It is important to note Jesus does not focus on individual growth, but the point of the parable is to show “This is what the kingdom of God is like” (Mark 4:26, NIV). In other words, Jesus shows the intertwined nature of the spiritual kingdom of God and individual spiritual growth. Lowe explains, “The parable teaches us that we cannot make anything grow on our own.”[2] Jesus shows that spiritual growth, like natural growth, is not an exact formula, but if the conditions are right things generally grow. God is the one who brings growth, not simply following steps.
The parable of the Sower teaches the ecology of spiritual formation about the person letting the seed sink in and God brings the growth. “The other soil environments did not allow the seed to sink into the soil, germinate, and grow. As with most parables, the storyteller avoids extraneous details, but we can assume that the original audience filled in the details as they heard the story.”[3] The Sower does his job and the seeds do their job, but the environment was the determining factor. The seed attempted to grow in every environment, but it only succeeded in good deep soil. Jesus gives the parable of the Sower explaining the key truth that the environment, God, and the willingness of the soil, to let the seed sink in, all factor into the scenario. The other truth is that the environment is not neutral, but hostile. There is an active enemy and a fallen world that fights against growth. The seed that grew and multiplied did so because of the ecology of spiritual formation.
The parable of the mustard seed is another message Jesus gave that shows the ecology of spiritual formation. This parable is also Jesus’ explanation of the kingdom of God and not only about personal spiritual growth. Of course, personal growth is evident, but Jesus is showing the ecology of growth as it encompasses the entire kingdom. Although the parable of the mustard seed is short in length, it gives a massive spiritual truth regarding spiritual formation.
To illustrate the important spiritual truth, Jesus uses one of the smallest seeds to do it. Jesus said, “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches” (Luke 13:19, NIV). Again, the ecology of spiritual formation involves the environment, but the big idea is that it starts small and grows large. Many times, Jesus spoke about spiritual formation by using agricultural analogies, but Paul often used the analogy of the body.
The body of Christ is the means and exercise of spiritual formation for the individual Christian as they are mutually dependent on the collective church. The church, or the body of Christ, is the environment for growth for the Christian. The New Testament paints a clear picture that a follower of Jesus is spiritually grafted into Christ’s body. Therefore, there is no room for thinking a Christian is following Jesus but they just do not need the church. The first letter from John explains why it seems people just leave the church. John states, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us” (1 John 2:19, NIV). John is not talking about people who left their church building, but he is talking about people who claimed to follow Jesus but then left the association with the body of Christ completely.
The connection of the Christian to the church is spiritual, which means each part of the body can inflict both growth and damage. For example, 1 Corinthians 5 is Pauls’s response to sex outside of marriage, a husband and a wife in a covenant, and the impact it has “among you.” James Thompson states, “Paul responds to reports of sexual immorality (porneia) at Corinth with a concern for the integrity and holiness of the entire community: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality [porneia] among you” (5:1).”[4] In this case, and many like it, there is a temptation to believe there is an individual sin. Unfortunately, since followers of Jesus are spiritually part of a body, the individual’s sin has a ripple effect on the church. Conversely, the choice to encourage someone, give good advice, pray with someone, mourn with a person, give to the poor, or share the good news of Jesus will also have a corresponding ripple.
[1] Stephen D. Lowe and Mary E. Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth through Online Education (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018), 42.
[2] Stephen D. Lowe and Mary E. Lowe, Ecologies of Faith in a Digital Age: Spiritual Growth through Online Education (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018), 43.
[3] Ibid., 45.
[4] James W. Thompson, The Church according to Paul: Rediscovering the Community Conformed to Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014), 68.