Roots of a wider reach
Teachers
Lesson Summary
Adam Clark presented a creative exposition on the roots of wider outreach by connecting God's original creation mandate with Jesus's Great Commission. He began by sharing his personal passion for growing fruit trees, using these examples to introduce Genesis 1, where God commanded creation to be fruitful and multiply while also calling humanity to subdue and steward God's creation. Clark explained how apples, as heterozygous plants, require human intervention through careful selection and grafting to produce desired varieties—illustrating humanity's role in subduing creation for God's glory. He then drew a parallel between these biological principles and the spiritual mandate given by Christ. Just as Genesis 1 represents God's foundational command for creation to multiply according to its kind, Matthew 28:18-20 represents Jesus's parting commission for disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations." Clark emphasized that Christians are called to reproduce spiritually, creating disciples who will create more disciples in an unbroken chain. He concluded by noting that every believer present is part of this lineage of faith—the product of generations of faithful believers who took the Great Commission seriously and taught others to do the same.
Key Scriptures
Then God said, "Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees of the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds." And it was so. The earth produced vegetation, seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky and every creature that crawls on the earth."