Phil 3:10 To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 2 Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
[Part 2 of 2] This illustration of a carnation seed is in keeping with the revelation of the New Testament. As reborn ones, we have the seed of God within us. According to 1 John 3:9, the seed of God remains in all those who have been born of God. This seed contains the divine life, and this life is the power of resurrection. In order for resurrection life to be released from within the seed, the outer shell of the seed must be broken. This requires suffering. In 3:10 Paul goes on to speak of the fellowship of Christ's suffering and of being conformed to His death. The fellowship of Christ's sufferings is our participation in His sufferings. During His entire life, Christ underwent a process of breaking so that the life power could be released from within Him. In particular, He was broken when He died on the cross. The divine life seed has been planted into our being. Now we also need to be broken that the life power within the seed can be released. If our outer man is broken, the seed within us will be able to release its life power. Eventually, this process of the breaking of the outer man will result in full conformity to the death of Christ. In this way the death of Christ becomes a model, or pattern, for our breaking. Then in our daily life we shall be able to apply Christ to our every need. If we need power, He will become power to us. If we need patience, He Himself will be our patience. This is to know Christ, to experience Him, and to enjoy Him.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Philippians, pp. 183-184. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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