Seed to the Sower and Bread to the Eater

From the study notes of Walter Beuttler

About these notes: These are Walter Beuttler’s own study notes, from the printed set he used in his classes at Eastern Bible Institute and on the mission fields of more than a hundred countries. After his death, his wife Elizabeth Beuttler entrusted the complete set to Bill Burkett (EBI, 1951–53), a close personal friend of the Beuttlers, who shared them online in 2013 “for all the brethren to drink from freely.” They are preserved and republished here in that same spirit. Beuttler wrote in questions and answers on purpose — he called it interrogative analysis — so that anyone, anywhere, could study the Scriptures with him.

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Seed To The Sower

AND

Bread To The Eater

These Bible study notes are intended neither to serve as an analytical commentary, nor to possess the format and nomenclature of academic sophistication. Instead, these notes are intended to be “seed to the sower, and bread to the eater” (Isa. 55:10). This seed is for those who desire to share with others those truths which have helped and blessed them. The bread found in these notes is for those who hunger for the Word of God and seek therein the true knowledge of God. Applicable here is the principle of Matt. 5:6: “Blessed are those which hunger.”

Spiritual hunger presupposes a spiritual capacity. Such hunger originates with God (John 6:44). This hunger is, in fact, God Himself hungering for Himself through our spirit on our behalf. It is the call of God for the truth for which we hunger and is at the same time a divine guarantee of its satisfaction when this hunger is not diverted into other channels and thereby destroyed. “Blessed are they that hunger—for they shall be filled.” The earnest seeker after the God of the Word as well as the word of God, can expect to find in these notes “treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places” (Isa. 45:3).

Furthermore, there are also those for whom these studies are not intended. They are such of whom Jesus spoke in Matt. 11:25-26 when he said, “I thank thee 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,—and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.” Obviously it is good in the sight of God to withhold some truths from some people—“the wise and prudent.” But who are the “wise and prudent?” Are they the learned, the educated? No, they are not, not necessarily and certainly not because of their learning.

In ecclesiastical circles there is the frequently parroted cliche “God does not put a premium on ignorance.” This is certainly true. Said Jesus, “ye do err, not knowing the scriptures” (Matt. 22:29). Nevertheless, it is also true that God does not put a premium on academic achievements either, however useful they can be as an adjunct to a God-given ministry, as a servant though not as a master. To the fact that such a temptation is ever present, exceedingly subtle, most persuasive and powerful in its appeal, the pages of ecclesiastical history bear abundant testimony. God puts the premium on obedience, with or without a formal education.

The “wise and prudent” are those who are wise in their own conceits (Rom. 11:25); they are imbued with the wisdom of this world (I Cor. 1:20) without knowing that “the world by wisdom knew not God” (I Cor. 1:20). Neither do they realize that in the final analysis the knowledge of God is not attained by the usual process of acquiring information, but by revelation (Matt. 11:27), for the “things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God” (I Cor. 2:11). A learned French atheist set out to find God. He took a telescope, searched the heavens and said: “I see no God, there is no God.” “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22).

But who are the “babes ?” The “babes,” in contrast to those who in their conceit love to make complex what God has made simple, are the humble and simple of heart and mind. They are not the mentally retarded simpletons, but those who are without vanity and guile, often of lowly origin. They are the “poor in spirit,” whether educated or uneducated, whether high or low in social status. They are unprejudiced toward the truth, unhindered by a negative attitude toward the truth. The “babes” are those not bound by traditional denominational interpretations who “with meekness receive the engrafted word” (Jas. 1:21). These are the candidates for a knowledge of God in personal experience which never approaches the intellectual horizon of the “wise and prudent.”

The word of God is seed; “the seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). As seed, the word of God needs a congenial soil. The soil is the heart (Luke 8:12). Some years ago archeologists excavating in Egypt came upon a tomb wherein they found lotus seeds judged to have been some 2000 years old. The archeologists wondered if this old seed was still capable of producing lotus flowers. So they planted the seed in the proper soil and congenial climate. To their delight, as well as surprise, the lotus flowers appeared in due time. The seed was still good, but lying in a jar without soil and moisture it could not sprout. Had it sprouted, it could not have grown without light.

The seed of the word of God too is subj ect to the laws of growth (Mark 4:26-29). To produce, it must be sown. Did you ever purchase a package of seeds, perhaps of morning glories ? The package was small and so were the seeds. If the package was left to lie around, you received nothing for your investment. Yet you would hardly blame the seed. Its potentialities were there, but the opportunity was not. Yet what a reward if the seed was used as directed! What a delight when the first morning glories appeared!

When sown in a prepared and properly conditioned heart, and watered in a warm atmosphere of personal devotion, the seed contained in these notes has potentialities far beyond those of the most delightful morning glories. This seed is not expected to produce morning glories, but glory in the morning. Those who hunger for God can expect to find in these notes a most satisfying and enriching portion, for they are indeed “seed to the sower and bread to the eater.”