But the people meant by the seed sown on the good ground are those who hear the Message, and welcome it, and yield a return, thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold."
But by the seed which was sown on the good ground is meant the man who hears the Message and understands it, and really yields a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold."
But by that in the good ground are meant those who, having heard the Message, keep it in the good, rich soil of their hearts, and patiently yield a return.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and I appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that should remain, so that the Father might grant you whatever you ask in my Name.
And so with you, my Brothers; as far as the Law was concerned, you underwent death in the crucified body of the Christ, so that you might be united to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that our lives might bear fruit for God.
Then you will live lives worthy of the Master, and so please God in every way. Your lives will be fruitful in every kind of good action, and your characters will grow through a fuller knowledge of God;
Further, Brothers, we beg and exhort you in the name of our Lord Jesus to carry out more fully than ever--as indeed you are already doing--all that you have heard from us as to what your daily life must be, if it is to please God.
For, when these virtues are yours, in increasing measure, they prevent your being indifferent to, or destitute of, a fuller knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.