Matthew 13:
24 - Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 - But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 - But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 - So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 - He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 - But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 - Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:
36 - Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 - He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 - The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 - The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 - As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 - The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 - And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 - Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Because the wheat and the tares (at least on the outside - to the outside world) tend to resemble each other so closely (both professing to know and belong to "Christ Jesus"), then who is it that is capable of discerning, distinguishing, and able to tell the "inward [spiritual] differences" that (so glaringly sometimes) exist between the two types of "plants"?
Jesus makes it clear that there are seeds that he planted and seeds that the devil planted. Therefore "discernment" is vital here, and if one is of God then they have this needed discernment to know who to listen to and trust and who to mark and avoid.
One may ask: "And just how does one get ahold of this vital discernment that you speak of here?"
Seeing as how both (the wheat and the tare) are so outwardly similar to each other (at least in the early stages), we need to go "inside" of the plant to find the differences...
"And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." John 10:4-5
Obviously it takes someone who "knows Him", someone who themselves have been"crucified with Christ and Born Again of God", someone who knows what life [in Christ] and death [in self] is all about!
"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Hebrews 5:14
This is NOT a "Request" by God, it is a "Demand". This is how the true church "Protects" themselves and others as well! "Strong Meat" belongs to grown up Christians, those who are able to judge and discern the differences between good (that which is if God) and evil (that which is not of God). It is because they KNOW God that they know what is not God! We are to beware of anyone who says that we are NOT to judge! These are "carnal" Christians and "babes" at best... blind deceivers at worst!
It is by having and using the "mind of Christ" where one is not only able to distinguish the differences between where (in their mind) the wheat and the tares are originating from but where (in their spirit) the wheat and the tares themselves are coming from.
They are able to discern them with, by or through the "spirit of their mind". They can do this only because they know God as He is, in Spirit and in Truth (which also means they know what and who is not of Him as well).
First, let us take a closer look at what having "the mind of Christ" is....
In Romans 7:25 Paul says that He serves the law of God. Thus one of the key distinguishing marks of the wheat is that it serves (not only does it know, but it "serves" as well) the law of God. Simply put this means that it KEEPS Jesus' words and does them, thereby proving it does love Him.
In another letter Paul says...
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 1 Corinthians 2:15
Again we see what having the mind of Christ is and does. For one thing the person who represents the "wheat" judges according to God's Spiritual law (or "The Living Word"), therefore his or her judgement is true, and in fact is no different than Jesus' judgement while He was on earth.
The man who does Love God, is the same man who loves Him with all their heart, mind and soul, and loves their neighbor as themselves. They do not judge with the judgement of men, but with the judgement of God, and they know that what they base their judgement upon is true because it is seen through the Father's eyes, heard through the Father's ears, and declared as the Truth by the Word of God...
"Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me." John 8:15-16
Therefore the kind of judgement that such a person makes is not from a "Personal" position but from an "Impersonal" and "Spirit-filled" stand. In other words it is not a judgement based on feelings, or a set of laws, or prejudices, but one whose "hearing" is totally impartial, given with humility and without bias, and based entirely upon the living words of Christ.
So what they hear is not based after the flesh (as the world judges), but on the living word (i.e. the Spirit of the law) as it originates within the new heart. What they "hear and see" is ever weighed in the inward balances and knowledge of God's Living Word in order to see whether or not it is found to be in total compiance with His word. If you doubt what I am saying then I strongly suggest that you read, "Matthew 16:19".
Again, as Paul says....
Make note of these three things....
THAT is what distinguishes the wheat from the tare!
The tare; on the other hand, runs after "many" spirits, in order to find the one that suits it.... (there are over 1,000 "denominations" today)...
What we see therefore are several distinctive and distinguishing factors. What the wheat have going for them is "God" and only "God". That's the difference! The tares; on the other hand, seek out places where they are "comfortable" with what "they" want to hear and with not being "confronted" with the truth.
In other words, they don't like to be around controversy in contending for the faith - they don't like being put in embarrassing situations especially where "minor sins" are concerned - they don't like to remain in places where a no-nonsense word of God is being preached and taught because of its strong conviction. The tares "flee" these things!
All the wheat care about is growing in and heeding the word of God - the word they first heard and received - the same word they followed and obeyed that opened their eyes to the truth and gave them the discernment necessary to distinguish what is of God from what isn't, and what God said from what He didn't! This is not (as some think) an "intellectual knowledge" of the truth but it comes from God instead....
"But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." 1 John 2:27
The tare has no such knowledge as this! They in turn seek out "men" and the "teachings of men" to instruct and guide them all the while rejecting the teachings by, of and through the Spirit of Truth. They abide in these "other things" instead!
Because "spiritual discernment" is something beyond the grasp of the flesh and the mind (i.e. of the "fleshly mind") it cannot be known by it! It doesn't even exist to such a person. But to the person who has and puts on the mind of Christ, they "Know" how to distinguish that which is of God from that which isn't.
There is no "easy" explanation for this. They "know" simply because they have received the word of God. They know simply because they were in the darkness but were brought out into the light. The easiest explanation is that the wheat both "Know and Obey" God. They don't obey Him from some selfish reason or motive or out of some fear (as the world does), but simply because they "Love Him". They simply: "Love Him"!
This shouldn't be too hard to figure out. As a man loves his own wife and works onwards to see only the best for her, in a very similar way the man who loves God (because God loved them first) is the same man who has yielded to Him and seeks to serve Him.
The beauty behind all of this is that it can all be verified by the word of God, in all simplicity and truth! There is no new doctrine here, only the word of God. The word of God "Is Doctrine"! It is NOT some "man's version" of the truth or what he "intellectually thinks" the word of God is saying, rather it is what God already said. And what He says needs no interpretation, just obedience!
What is it that physically distinguishes one human being from another? "Genes!"
Although we are all born the same way: "From the mother's womb and seperated from God", and we all have this in common, yet inwardly there may be differences as great as night and day, and as easy; for some, to distinguish. (see 1 Corinthians 2:9-16)
The spiritual man has grown "Spiritual Teeth"! He is able to "sink" his teeth into God's Spiritual Word and understands that he is to take the sweet with the bitter. Therefore he is a "meat" eater (a "Spiritual Word of God eater") who eats "living food" and his senses are exercized to be able to discern and eat all that is good ( i.e. all that is of God) and spit out all that is from evil (i.e. all that is masquerading [knowingly or unknowingly] to be of God but isn't). (see Hebrews 5:14)
Discernment wise, firstly you can hear what's important to the person who is talking to you. Is it the preciousness of their life and of all the things that concern this world, or is it "God"? Then, secondly, you can hear where they are coming from as they speak what they have and know... either from God's throne or from their own!
In closing, the way to distinguish the wheat from the tare is as easy as distinguishing those who have received the personal knowledge of God from the those who haven't. It is this "Knowledge of God" that makes one "poor" in the things of this world and what it deems to be important and worth-while, but "rich" in the things of the next!
Finally the Lord says that these are not to be uprooted from amongst the wheat as yet. The time for that is coming. In the meantime it is up to every "Discerning Christian" to know who they are, and...
This is "The Doctrine" which we have learned from God through receiving the divine revelation of Jesus Christ... NOT the doctrine or the teachings we learned from men! His doctrine must become real and alive, and burn like a fire in us, which it will, at the revelation of Jesus Christ - Spirit to spirit!
"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." John 7:16-17
The "Wheat" Know and Obey The Doctrine because they "Know Him". The "Tares"; although they resemble (to the untrained eye) the wheat on the outside, do not.
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46
(In other words: "Why do you always do the things which I say not to do?")
(For more teaching on the Wheat and the Tares go here --- April 2000 Newsletter)
May every blessing in Christ be yours,
And the answer: "Why at the revelation of Christ, of course!"
It is upon ones "Knowing and Having Him (made real and alive through the reception of the Spirit giving the revelation of Christ)" that sets the stage for avoiding all that is not of Him as well. (1 John 5:20)
in other words, we need to know HOW to "Hear" what each planting is saying (i.e. Hear, thus Know where they're coming from) and then judge according to what we hear. We hear as God hears and judge only as God judges, and not according to anything connected with the self or the world, but only according to His indwelling Spirit.
Someone who has and puts on the mind of Christ and therefore is "skilled" in handling and evaluating such things as spiritual truth and error.
Someone who is "Spirit filled" (thus "Spirit taught") to know the difference between the two.
Someone who is a "meat eater", thus able to chew and digest the word of God, whether it be sweet or bitter, and apply it to "all" men, including themselves.
Someone who has; not only a working knowledge, but a living knowledge of the One True God and His risen Son Jesus Christ.
Someone who has seen and touched the genuine article (all that is of God) close and long enough to know and distinguish the counterfeit (all which isn't of God).
Someone fitting Paul's description....
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 1 Corinthians 1:10
"Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;" Philippians 1:27
the wheat "stands fast" in one spirit.... (see John 16:13)
and that the wheat stands fast with "one mind".... (see Colossians 3:10)
and the wheat's only purpose for this is to "strive together to keep pure the faith of the Gospel". (see Jude 1:4)
they are divided over many issues of the faith, even the basic fundamentals.... (there are as many aberrant beliefs as well)...
and they strive to "tear apart" the faith of the Gospel, whether they know they are or not. (See Matthew 12:30)
It is this "Spirit-filled love" to and for Him that they want to see ALL of God's Kingdom (including the area around them) to be pure and spotless and only glorifying God alone with the Truth enlightening their understanding and in the Spirit revealing Jesus to them, alone. (see Joshua 24:15)
Some of us may have more or less of this or that gene than others, but we all look the same nevertheless. We all have eyes, ears, noses, arms, legs, think, love, etc. But "inwardly" we are NOT all the same! We do Not ACT the same, not when it comes to ones knowledge of God. The truth is that either we know Him as a living, breathing reality for ourselves or we don't, and act accordingly.
"mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." Romans 16:17
Biff
