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ALL
ABOUT YOU: GIDEON, CHAPTER 18
THE
THIRD TONGUE: TWO SHIPS
02-15-04
A
synopsis and expansion of chapter 17 entitled “Parables.”
The definition of a “tongue” is an expression of words that contain
hidden manna. The glossa kind or form of tongue (Acts 2:3)
differs from the parable kind or form of tongue(Mat 13:24-30).
The parable is a familiar word-vessel kind or form of tongue (the
godly manna is hidden) that travels the “sight” or logos channel of
communication. The parable differs in manifestation from the unfamiliar
word-vessel or “glossa” (Acts 2:3) kind or form of tongue
that travels the “faith” or rhema channel of communication.
Regarding glossa, the unsaved hearers “by the way side” (Mat
13:19) understand nothing at all because they neither recognize
the glossa word-vessel nor perceive the manna (synonymous with rhema)
hidden inside; whereas saved born-again hearers receive the words, which
have been instantly interpreted by the Holy Spirit prior to
perception, as if they had been spoken in their own respective
native language.
In
the parable form of tongue, the unsaved hearers walking “by the way
side” (Mat 13:4), with only their natural eyes open, do
indeed understand something, but that something is not of
God. Because they recognize the common and orderly words of
the parable, they think that they understand the message, but
they do not (Mat 13:13,14). The unsaved hearers recognize and
understand only the familiar word-vessels of the parable, which
they can easily relate to their every-day worldly activities, e.g. “A
sower went out to sow his seed” (Luke 8:5) spoken in an agrarian
society. However, because their spiritual eyes “they have
closed” (Mat 13:15), that which they are seeing and understanding
is only the visible tip of the ice-berg, familiar word-vessels,
sentence-trains of connected word-boxcars which hide from natural
sight the freight contained inside, the substance, the fruit, the
manna-seed inside the boxcar which is the word of God (Luke 8:11); they
see only the outer shell covering, the “husks” (Luke 15:16)
of the fruit. Natural sight hearers “by the way side” do not
perceive the rhema-seed, the hidden manna inside the word-boxcar, nor
can they, for themselves they have willfully blinded. Whereas, in
contrast to natural sight hearers, the endowment of spiritual
sight to born-again hearersis supernatural, analogous to
Superman’s x-ray vision; spiritual sight sees through
the outer shell natural covering.
Looking
at the second portrayal and only remaining example of unsaved people in
“The sower soweth the word” parable (Mark 4:14), hearers
(everybody heard) who walk on “stony ground” (Mark 4:5) have
“tasted” of the word of God (Heb 6:4-6), and “seemeth to
have” (Luke 8:18) an understanding of the rhema-seed,
but that seed does not at all grow and flourish inside them because
there is no nourishing water of the Holy Spirit – nothing grows
without water. Consequently, that seed takes “no root” (Mark 4:6) in
them, the “root of Jesse” (Isa 11:10; Rom 15:12): that root is Jesus
Christ – no Jesus Christ. This unhappy circumstance describes the
“unprofitable servant” (Mat 25:30), i.e. a professing
Christian, from whom even the understanding of the word of God (John
1:14 - Jesus Christ) which he seems to have, “being not mixed
with faith in them that heard it” (Heb 4:2), “shall be taken away”
(Mat 13:12; 25:28-30) upon his imminent demise.
In
summary, there are two realities of understanding expressed
through “divers kinds [or forms] of tongues” (1 Cor
12:10): the logos by sight reality expressed through the form
of a parable tongue, and the rhema by faith reality expressed
through the form of a glossa tongue. Logos and rhema are the
realities, parables and glossa are the word-vessel-containers used to
convey those realities to their intended destination. The logos reality
is visible (the shell or pod covering of the seed); the rhema reality is
invisible (the seed itself) and contained within the visible reality.
Snow-flakes falling from heaven are soft and lovely (rhema), snowballs
are compacted and hard (logos). And you have to be saved, born-again,
to understand the invisible revelation (synonymous with
rhema and hidden manna) which is clothed with visible reality. Jesus’
articulation of the parable of the tares (Mat 13:24-30) is a clear
example of one form of the gift of tongues. Those walking by sight
see-hear, and recognize, as in understand or comprehend, only the
outside of the container vessels which are words that they are already
familiar with (sentence-trains of connected word-boxcars), but they
do not comprehend the invisible meanings (freight, substance)
hidden from sight deep inside.
THE
THIRD KIND OR FORM OF TONGUE, AND THE INTERPRETATION THEREOF
The third kind or form or vehicle of
identifiable tongues are Bible words that contain hidden manna (the
definition of a tongue) which are expressed in neither the glossa form
nor the parable form. This kind or form or vehicle of tongue accounts
for the entire and vast remainder of the words in the Bible.
May
we note for future reference in Luke chapter five, verses one through
eleven, that Jesus Christ spoke both in the “word” (Gk: logos
reality: Luke 5:1) and in the “word” (Gk: rhema reality: Luke 5:5).
“Now when he had left speaking” (Luke 5:4) from the ship (supported
by the water of the Holy Spirit – envision the ship as an ice-berg) to
the unsaved multitude who were standing on the dry land of the seashore
(no water, no Holy Spirit: they needed to get wet), “he said unto
Simon [Heb: hearing],” His soon-to-be disciple,
“Launch out into the deep [i.e. out of sight], and let
down your nets [envision arms] for a draught [Gk: a catch]”
(Luke 5:4). Wonderfully, Simon (Peter) himself was about to catch
(receive) a revelation (rhema) from God of God (Luke 5:8).
THE TWO SHIPS
(Luke
5:1-3) And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed
upon him to hear the word [Gk: logos] of God, he
stood by the lake of Gennesaret [harp-shaped], And saw two
ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them,
and were washing their nets. And he entered into one
of the ships [empty seed pods; but which ship?], which was Simon's,
and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land
[gerasko x12 vs. ge x243; be (wax) old /// aged: old]. And he sat
down, and taught the people out of the ship.
1.
“two ships standing by the lake” = another metaphor for the
two word-vessels that have been created by God to catch the fish, the
word-vessels named Old Testament and New Testament; in this instance,
two empty seed pods…, waiting by the lake.
2.
“but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing
their nets” = indicating the 400 year interlude between the Old
Testament and the New Testament of no word (logos) from God. The
preparation period. This was a between the meals period of
meditation and rumination, i.e. a time to chew the cud. Cloven-footed
and cud-chewing quadrupeds: cattle, sheep, goats, deer, camels, etc.,
have two stomachs. A period of invisible internal fermentation
and growth, a period in which “God gave the increase” (1 Cor 3:6).
3.
(Luke 5:37-39) And no man putteth new wine into old
bottles [skins (which have lost their elasticity)]; else the new
wine [through fermentation] will burst the bottles,
and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish [be destroyed,
die]. But new wine must be put into new bottles [skins];
and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway
desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
4.
“and taught the people out of the ship” = Jesus began to fill
the seed pod of the New Testament ship with His seed. “The seed is the
word [logos] of God” (Luke 8:11).
(Luke
5:4-11) Now when he had left speaking [to the unsaved
multitude], he said unto Simon [Heb: hearing], Launch out
into the deep [profundity; mystery: deep (-ness, things), depth
(i.e. out of sight)], and let down your nets [arms]
for a draught [catch]. And Simon answering said unto him, Master
[epistates; an appointee over], we have toiled all the night,
and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy
word [Gk: rhema] I will let down the net. And
when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and
their net brake [Why?]. And they [Peter and Andrew]
beckoned unto their partners [James and John], which were
in the other ship [Old Testament], that they should come and
help them. And they came, and filled both the ships [seed
pods with what?], so that they began to sink. When
Simon Peter saw it, he fell down [to prostrate oneself] at
Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord
[kurios; supreme in authority: God]. For he was astonished,
and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had
taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were
partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from
henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought
their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed
him.
1.
“all the night” = a second reference to the 400 year
interlude, the “dream” state of Job 33:15-18.
2.
“nevertheless at thy word [rhema] I will let down the
net” = Even in the face of what I myself know to be true, I will obey
your word rather than obey my own experience, and Simon (Peter)
was a professional fisherman. This was a clear act of faith vs.
experience - sight. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word [rhema] of God” (Rom 10:17). Peter gave
“place” to Jesus. (John 8:37; 14:30; Eph 4:27).
3.
“brought their ships to land” = full of seeds for planting in
the land (the dry land of the unsaved); for sowing inside willing
recipients (people eat fish) who hunger for the word of God – fish
that have sacrificed their lives (Rom 12:1) for the propagation of the
Gospel.
4.
“catch men” = Gk: to take alive (make a prisoner of
war), i.e. to capture or ensnare: take captive.
Amen
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