The number 2 is prevalent all throughout scripture. Like God’s creation man and woman (2) were united through marriage into one. The number two in the Bible is also a symbol of the connection between Jesus and the church (1 Corinthians 12). God’s word is spread throughout the New and Old Testaments (2). The first son, Adam, led humanity to sin, while the second son, Jesus, brought to humanity eternal life and salvation.
The Bible is full of accounts of good and bad concerning pairs of people: Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Moses and Aaron, Ruth and Naomi, Boaz and Ruth, Paul and Silas, Peter and Andrew, James and John, Ananias and Sapphira, Priscilla and Aquila, and the list goes on and on.
When Jesus had trained his apostles John Mark records: “And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. … So they went out and preached that people should repent (6:7, 12, 13; cf. Luke 9:1-6).
Later, Jesus sends another group of seventy individuals out to prepare the way for the next stage in His ministry. As with the Twelve, He sent these disciples out two-by-two (Luke 10:1).
The elders and Spencer recently challenged us by asking every member to dedicate themselves to praying for and reaching out to 2 people to share the gospel with them. If we would all do this, here is what could happen:
- All members at Karns are 507.
- Baptized members (excludes children not yet baptized) are 415, aged 10 to 96.
- If all 415 reached out to 2 people, 830 would be contacted.
- If we were 100 % successful in sowing the seed and God gave us a return (see the parable of the Sower) of:
- 30% we would have converted 249 souls.
- 60% we would have converted 498 souls.
- 100% we would have converted 830 souls.
To God be the glory for the results of our seed planting but may we each be certain to sow the gospel seed this year if we are to expect any return. Reaching 2 people is a very doable task and as we have seen, 2 can make a big impact.
By Gregg Woodall