To this point, everything has been talked about in the abstract. To make this practical, an example would be helpful.
This example traces love from the Father to the Son, to us, and then to one another. The process is iterative, where the other being loved goes on to love yet another. This makes the vine an appropriate metaphor for the kingdom of heaven.
We begin at the beginning, one of the Father’s first expressions of love to his Son. We think of first love as being the love we first felt when we fell in love. Or maybe it is the first person we fell in love with. This is not what the Bible is talking about when it speaks of the first love.
The Father’s First Love
Consider the Father’s first expression of love for his Son, the one that inaugurated Jesus’ journey to earth.
John 3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten (μονογενη, monogene) Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
Jesus was God’s only begotten Son. The Greek word for only begotten is μονογενη, monogene: mono meaning singular, and gene relating to genesis, genetics, or conception. Jesus was the only one conceived by God, the Father. The details of how Jesus was conceived are in Luke, and these details are of utmost significance.
Luke 1:30And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 34And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin? 35And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” (ESV)
The Father conceived Jesus by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. This is not the only instance where love comes from the Father by means of the Holy Spirit, but it was the first. As it turns out, all love from the Father is comes to the Son through the Holy Spirit: that is what makes this love special, divine.
God begetting his Son by the Holy Spirit launched a brand-new dynamic. Let us go back to the beginning where the rules of the reproductive process were established.
Genesis 1:11And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (ESV)
As you can see in Genesis 1, every living being would bear fruit that would contain seed by which they could reproduce after their own kind. Essentially, they would conceive children as they had been conceived, and with the same seed by which they had been conceived. Taking this dynamic into account leads to profound conclusions.
Isaiah 53:8By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (ESV)
Do you notice anything unusual about the Lord’s offspring: they were conceived after his death. Notice that when Jesus died, he was considered cut off and without children. It was not until after his death that he would see his offspring It was not until after his death that his children would be conceived.
Jesus’ First Love
This brings us to the next phase: Jesus’ first expression of love for us. As the Father conceived Jesus by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, he conceives you in the same way.
1 Peter 1:23since you have been born again not of perishable seed (spora) but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25but the word of the Lord remains forever.” (ESV)
To love us as he had been loved by his Father, Jesus steps into the role of the Father. God cannot remain in the role of the Father, otherwise Jesus would not be the only begotten of the Father. Like his conception, ours also involves the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. And, since he was conceived by the same seed with which we are conceived, he must also have been conceived by the word of God.
This imperishable seed, the word of God, remains forever. Even after Jesus’ death, this seed remains. This is how Jesus was able to reproduce even after his death.
The Greek word for this seed in 1 Peter is spora. When speaking of the seed of David, the Greek word is sperma. A sperm travels by water but a spore travels by air. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma, sometimes translated as air. This seed is the word of God. Not only is it imperishable, but it can reproduce generation after generation without mutation.
1 Peter 1:13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (KJV)
Another anomaly is that this seed, the word of God, is held in the mind, specifically, the loins of the mind. We are to guard our mind, filling it with the word of God.
Our First Love
When we are born into the kingdom, the first law written upon our heart is to give birth to another. This is not something we can do apart from the Spirit. This process is diagrammed below, and there are more than one unexpected aspects encountered.
Jesus, loving you as the Father loved him, remains in the role of the father. You become the spiritual parent, but instead of you being the father, you are the bride, the mother. Together, you as the bride and Jesus as the husband, conceive children. You, biological male or female, take the place of Mary. You, whether biological male or female, are the mom.
Isaiah 54:1“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord. 5For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. (ESV)
You are the bride of Christ, bearing his children into the kingdom of heaven. This is subtle, but the curse on the woman has been lifted; no longer will you suffer the pain of labor while giving birth. This is something to sing about!
Remember how the genealogies were to contain only the names of the father? (The genealogy in Matthew is not the genealogy of Christ, but the genealogy of Joseph. The Matthew genealogy shows that Joseph could not have been the biological father of Jesus because it includes Jechoniah who was cursed in Jeremiah 22:30: that no descendant of his would sit on the throne of David. Jesus’ genealogy is Mary’s genealogy given in Luke.) In the genealogy of the kingdom of heaven, everyone’s father is Jesus. We are all connected directly to the True Vine, Jesus Christ. Being a male, I have always had trouble picturing myself as a bride. I no longer have a problem with that! I am pleased to bear his children.
This latest figure also gives us insight into what it means to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit simultaneously works in both the mother and the child.
In the same way that Jesus was able to bear children after his death, that ability is not unique to him. Consider the thief on the cross. Yet how many read his testimony given in the last few moments on his cross were birthed into the kingdom of God? This took place, and continues to take place, even after his death.
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