I came across an old chart as I was cleaning out my office last week. It was from a workbook titled, Cottage Meeting Manual, by Maurice Tisdel. The title of the chart was “God’s Law of Procreation.” The information on the chart I will summarize in this short article.
The first column considers the vegetable kingdom. God’s word reveals that the first plants came about through God’s creative work. “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so” (Genesis 1:11). From that point on, however, as observation reveals, new plants have propagated through the seeds of their “parent” plants. Each seed produces a plant of the same “kind” as the plant from which the seed came. There are no exceptions to this rule. It is observable, the result of natural law.
The second column shows the same for the animal kingdom. God spoke the first animals (including man) into physical existence. Concerning man’s beginning, the scripture reveals, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). The first woman, likewise was created as a fully formed adult (cf. Genesis 2:21-22). From that point on, however, new animal life comes about from the combination of sperm and egg, resulting in an embryo which gestates and then is born. The human child forms first in his mother’s womb, then is birthed as a child, fully human just like his parents. Again, this is a rule without exception. As we easily observe, this is the result of natural law.
The third column contains a spiritual equivalent, dealing with what is referred to as the “Spiritual Kingdom” in parallel with the Vegetable and Animal kingdoms.
The first Christians were ushered in among miracles and signs, as revealed in Acts 2. With the Holy Spirit’s coming, the gospel was first preached to mankind, resulting in the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
With the spiritual Kingdom, there is likewise a law of propagation. It is revealed in part in Luke 8:5-15 with the parable of the Sower. The seed on this occasion is the Word of God. When the seed is planted, and germinates, it brings up a plant. The germination process is what is referred to as conversion, being born again (cf. John 3:3-5). The plant, always of the same kind, comes as a response to the gospel preached. When the hearer of the word responds in faith, repenting of his sin, confessing Christ as his Lord, and being baptized to wash away his sins, he rises to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
The result of such a true response to the preaching of the gospel (a byproduct of certain law, repeatably observed) is a Christian — always a Christian, with no exceptions. Scripture identifies this inevitable result of a true response to the gospel, “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
One note: When a different gospel is preached (cf. Galatians 1:6-9), a different result occurs. Different seed, different plant. Rather an a saved Christian, an individual becomes something else, something different. This shows the importance of sowing the pure seed, the gospel of Christ. “…for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The principle is clear and certain!
