“It’s not the seeds in the apple. It’s the apples in the
seeds.”
This was widely considered one of the most memorable lines
from my years going to Youth Congress, a
summer youth retreat my home church used to go to at The Crown College of the Bible. Dr. Mitch
Campbell, a brilliant orthopedic surgeon on staff at the University of Louisville’s
medical school, was one of the preachers at Youth Congress for several years I
went. He has some memorable
sermons, some of which were pretty unconventional, but I think this one
sticks out to many people.
Dr. Campbell was describing how our fruit, to us, may not
seem much, even if we labor for it. Our fruit may only have a handful of seeds.
But his quote sums up so well the principle of multiplication.
Seeds come from the fruit on a plant, and they are planted
to produce more fruit. Those seeds become plants, which produce fruit with
seeds, and those seeds are planted…Do you get the picture?
Each seed that comes from that fruit can become a plant of
its own and produces fruit with seeds of their own. If an apple tree has five apples,
and each apple has five seeds, there are 25 potential trees hanging on that
tree, and that’s just the first round. Then there can be 25 more potential
trees on each of those 25 trees.
Multiplication is God’s way of population. God’s instruction
to His creation:
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. –Genesis 1:22
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. –Genesis 1:28
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Probably the greatest photo ever taken at Youth Congress |
God’s plan for populating the Earth was to multiply. It
began with two humans who multiplied, and then their offspring multiplied, and
so on. Now there are some 7 billion of us.
We see this repeatedly in Acts:
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied… –Acts 6:1
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. –Acts 9:31
But the word of God grew and multiplied. –Acts 12:24
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. –Acts 13:48-49
So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. –Acts 19:20
One specific biblical example we can look to for a line of
conversions is the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. The eunuch became a convert
under Philip’s ministry. Philip, it is assumed, was converted under the
apostles’ ministry in Jerusalem. The apostles were apostles of Jesus. Another
example is Timothy’s church. Although little detail is found about it, there
were obviously converts from Timothy’s ministry, who was a convert of Paul’s
ministry, who was an apostle of Jesus. I’d bet there were people in Timothy’s
ministry who had their own converts.
I’m sure there are various reasons for the explosion of
Christianity in the years following the resurrection. Persecution. Services
where thousands were saved. The signs and wonders following the apostles. But
we have to look at multiplication as being a big reason. All of Asia Minor did
not hear the gospel directly from Paul’s mouth (Acts 19:10). But some people
did, and they spread the gospel to people who spread the gospel.
We can all probably look at a line of people in our own
lives that started with one person. Unfortunately, this isn’t widespread, but
it is supposed to be. It is God’s desire and His plan:
(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) –II Corinthians 9:9-10

This is not intended to be an exhaustive study of
multiplication. Rather, it is a fitting end to the study of the metaphor of
fruit in the Bible. Plants reproduce for the growth of the “species.” It was
God’s design to use multiplication to populate the Earth. In the same way, He
uses multiplication to populate the Kingdom of Heaven. It is our responsibility.
And it is an encouragement. God takes our work of reproducing other Christians
and turns it into so much more.
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