January 12th

The Leaven of the Kingdom

Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Leaven

Jesus made mention of leaven, which is another word for yeast, on several occasions. He said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, and beware the leaven of Herod.

Leaven, by definition, is a substance that causes bread dough to ferment and rise. A broader and more figurative definition of leaven is something that influences and modifies something.

So, the leaven of the Pharisees meant the influence of false religion and hypocrisy upon a person. The leaven of Herod meant the influence of political forces upon a person. Jesus said to beware of the leaven, or the influence and transforming power of these forces.

The kingdom of Heaven is Like Leaven

In this short parable, or illustration, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven, or, that is, the kingdom of God, to leaven, or yeast, that a woman hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened or, that is, fundamentally transformed.

The message we can take from these usages of the word “leaven” is that there are forces that can change the way we think and behave, and that we are indeed changed and influenced by the things we expose ourselves to. We can choose to expose ourselves to good influences or bad.

The Renewing of the Mind

The kingdom of God has the power to transform us. Paul exhorted the Church at Rome not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. Worldliness is another leaven that we can expose ourselves to and be transformed in a negative way. But there is a godly renewing of the mind that we can participate in.

Man, a Three-Part Being

In the parable of the woman and the leaven, she took the leaven and hid it in three measures of meal, until the whole loaf was transformed by it. Man is a three-part being, spirit, soul, and body, and the kingdom can influence all three, our spirit, or the condition of our heart, our thinking, or our soulish realm, and our conduct, the way we bahave in our physical bodies. The word of God can be applied to all three areas of our existence.

Fellowship

In the kingdom of God, we are to hide the word of God in our hearts until it transforms us. We should also be in fellowship with other believers, through church attendance and other times of fellowshipping together. The more of the kingdom we expose ourselves to, the more and the quicker we are changed and transformed.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another. Fellowship with other believers is so important in our Christian development and growth.

Make some quality decisions today as to what you are going to expose yourself to. There are many things we can run after in this life, but there is one thing needful, and that is to sit at the feet of Jesus, and grow up in the things of the kingdom. Start today to hide the word of God in your heart through daily meditation and pondering of His word, and develop a connection with the body of Christ through church attendance and fellowship with other believers. Cut off the wrong influences in your life, and let the leaven of the kingdom do a work of transformation within you.