We have, then, in Luke 8:11 and Matthew 13:19, an insight into how Jesus wanted His cause to be established in the world. “You take this Word, and you proclaim it to the people. Now, some will hear and pay no attention. Some will hear and, after a while, will grow weary and leave. Some will hear and begin to make progress, and the cares and riches and pleasures of this life will choke the Word, and they become unfruitful. But, there are others—those who, in honest and good heart, receive this Word; they keep this Word; they understand this Word; they submit to it. And that Word in their heart and life issues [results] in the kingdom of God. Now, that’s the KEY.

Think for a moment about three dimensions in these three churches:

One dimension was the matter of time. Some twenty or twenty-five years passed between the establishing of the work in Jerusalem and the work in Corinth. Now, how would it be possible, over a twenty to twenty-five year period, to establish in one city, and in another city, the same church?

A second dimension was the matter of geography. However many miles it is from Jerusalem to Corinth, there was some means whereby the Word that established the church in Jerusalem would also establish in Corinth.

But, perhaps, the most interesting of all is a third dimension, what we term culture. Now, the idea is, the native customs, dress, food, housing, whatever, there were three different cultures involved—the Jewish, the Samaritan and the Corinthian.

Now, the Jewish people in Jerusalem were very, very different in many ways from those in Samaria and Corinth. These Jewish people had been believers in God all of their lives. Many of them, no doubt, had many, many passages treasured in their minds. They attended synagogue regularly. They attended the temple services as opportunity arose. They were devout Jewish believers.

The people in Samaria had resulted from the mixing of Jews with Gentiles after the capture of Samaria by the Syrians. And over the years, this group had developed. They were not Jews; they were not Gentiles. They were of a mixed origin. They were different. In fact, they did not have the same Bible that the Jews had. The Samaritans only had five books, the first five of the Old Testament. The rest of the books? They had nothing to do with them! The Jews believed in the entire Old Testament.

Now, the people in Corinth were predominately idolaters, pagans, grossly immoral—the last place on earth you’d think about going to start a church!

Now, how in the world could you overcome time and distance and culture? The amazing thing and answer is that God placed within the Word a SEED, a POWER. If, for example, an individual were growing a good type of wheat down in Jerusalem, another man might come by and say, “I would like some of that wheat in Samaria.”

“Oh, it can’t be done!”

“What do you mean it can’t be done?!?”

“Well, this wheat only grows in Jerusalem.”

“Well, now, why is that so?”

“Well, because the seed won’t work.”

“Well, let me get some from you and plant it and see!”

“Oh, no! We can’t do that! It would be a waste of your time!”

You know, as well as I, nobody would have thought that way.

“What about planting wheat up in Corinth?”

“Well, okay. How would you do it?”