Shincheonji Perspective

The field is not a literal plot of land but symbolizes the world, particularly the “world of Christianity,” where the gospel is preached and both true and false believers coexist.

In Matthew 13:24 – 24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Jesus is the “owner” of the church, and thus, the good seed he plants can be found within his church, the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23).

This contradicts the plain teachings of Jesus

In Matthew 13:38, Jesus plainly explains what the field means:

 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one.

This Contradicts Church Discipline

When looking at how a church should function, we can see that those who are unrepentant of their sins should be removed from the church. Both a Christian and an SCJ person would agree that a person’s actions is a reflection of their heart, and is one of the signs of whether or not they belong to God or the Devil; however, if we are to take the field as only the “world of believers”, aka the body of Christ and the church, then the following verses would not make sense.

The field only meaning the world of Christianity contradicts Jesus’s later teachings in Matthew 18:15-18, where Jesus instructs the members of a body of a Church to remove an unrepentant brother or sister. This command would contradict Jesus’s teaching of the wheat and the tares, specifically Matthew 13:30 –  Let both grow together until the harvest. 

But now Jesus is telling the Christians to separate out believers who are not being repentant?

Then there are more verses that support the idea of not being in fellowship with unrepentant believers:

The context of 1 Corinthians 5 is that a man is sleeping with his father’s wife, and Paul is rebuking the church for allowing this man to be in fellowship with the Corinthian church.

1 Corinthians 5:6-7 – “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.”

1 Corinthians 5:12-13: 12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

Paul then does a follow up letter, commanding the Corinthians to not be yoked with unbelievers.

2 Corinthians 6:14-17 – “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…What fellowship has light with darkness?…Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord.

Even the author of Titus tells the Christian body to reject divisive men and women.

Titus 3:10-11 – “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”

If we are to take the field to mean the “world of Christianity”, then the above verses of the Apostles, who were being led by the Holy Spirit, would not make any sense.

It goes against the universal nature of the kingdom of heaven parables

These parables often use agricultural imagery to illustrate the spread of the gospel and the growth of God’s kingdom among all peoples, not just within the Church.

The Great Commission commands the church to make disciples of all nations, indicating the kingdom’s universal scope:

Matthew 28:19-20 – 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Limits the Scope of the Devil

If the field is only the Church, it would suggest the devil’s influence is restricted to the Christian realm, which contradicts biblical teachings about his widespread deception.

2 Corinthians 4:4 – The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

1 Peter 5:8 – Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The language used by Peter implies that the devil’s efforts are extensive and not limited to just the church. The image of a prowling lion suggests a wide-ranging hunt for prey. Additionally, the exhortation to be watchful and sober-minded indicates that believers must be constantly on guard, as the threat is ever-present and pervasive.

Contradicts Christ’s view of his church

If the tares (false teachings) are sown within the Church itself, it would imply a level of impurity and corruption within the body of Christ, which goes against biblical teachings, and calls Jesus a liar.

Ephesians 5:27 –  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

1 Tim 3:15 – if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

While it is true that there are indeed false teachers and false prophets, as seen even in the 1st century with the gnostics, to claim that the entire world of Christianity would fall into darkness clearly contradicts what Jesus promised to Peter, and what he said about his church.