The goal of this segment is to show that multiplication is present at the center of God’s attention – from the beginning of the world’s creation to the description of the future in the book of Revelation. Multiplication is Scripture is a blessing from God, so as to be a blessing for others.
LET’S LOOK AT MULTIPLICATION IN SCRIPTURE
Read the following passages and draw conclusions about multiplication and blessings while reading.
- Genesis 1:27-28
- Genesis 12:1-3
- Deuteronomy 6:1-3
- John 6:10-13, 35
- Revelation 7:9-10
ADAM: Genesis 1:27-28
Everything that God created – plants, animals, and people – is created to multiply. God blessed the first people to multiply and fill the earth.
ABRAHAM: Genesis 12:1-3
God made a covenant with Abraham that He would multiply his descendants. God’s illustration of this is the send on the seashore and the stars in heaven.
ISRAEL: Deuteronomy 6:1-3
Israel entered the new land where they will have sons, and their sons will have sons. God command them to keep the commandments, and they will be blessed as a result – He will multiply them greatly.
JESUS: 6:10-13, 35
Many of Jesus’ miracles and parables directly demonstrate multiplication.
HEAVENLY JERUSALEM: Revelation 7:9-10
While describing what he had seen, the apostle John constantly mentions a multitude of people from different nations in the new city of Jerusalem.
THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
If multiplication is at the center of God’s attention, what exactly does God want us to multiply on earth?
Read the following passages:
Jesus wants the kingdom of God to spread on earth as in heaven. The kingdom of heaven was the key theme of Jesus’ ministry on earth. The same was true of his forerunner, John the Baptist, and Jesus’ disciples. That’s why the word “kingdom” is repeated in the Gospel over 100 times. It tells us that multiplication, which is at the center of God’s attention, implies the multiplication of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
Think about the following: is the kingdom of heaven capable of multiplying?
Look at several images of the kingdom of heaven in the parables of Jesus that demonstrate multiplication as an essential characteristic of the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of heaven is like…
- A man who sowed good seed in his field (Mt. 13:24-30)
- A grain of mustard seed (Mt. 13:31-32)
- Leaven (Mat. 13:33)
- A net (Mt. 13:47-50)
The kingdom of heaven, like a tiny seed, or a grain of mustard, or leaven, has the capability to multiply a hundredfold. The essence of the kingdom of heaven is that it is capable of leaving all of the dough or grow to an enormous size.
LET’S REVIEW THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE FIRST DISCIPLES IN THE BOOK OF ACTS
Using the example of multiplication of the first disciples, let’s now look at how the kingdom of God multiplied and spread throughout Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth. Pay close attention at how multiplication of the first disciples is described in the historical book of Acts written by Luke.
From the very first day, large groups of people became disciples of Jesus Christ. Independent of the location, male, female, or social status, we constantly see the words of expressions: multitude, daily, great number, multiplied, and so on. A sizable part of God’s creation, the Church included, is created for multiplication.
