John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (25) He who loves his soul- life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. (26) If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there also My servant will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
[Part 1 of 2] This word [in 12:24] refers to the Lord dying for us and dispensing His life into us. The pathway to a harvest is through death. One must pass through the cross. God sows with the goal of gaining some fruit; His goal is for the one grain of wheat to bear many grains. God did not send one prophet or many prophets to men to expound the word clearly. In sending His Son, God made Him the one grain. Only when this one grain fell into the ground did many grains come forth. Fruit- bearing does not come through a clear exposition of the word or through the hard memorization of the Scriptures. When the seed falls into the ground many grains are brought forth. This is the work of the cross. No doubt verse 24 refers to the Lord Himself. But in verse 25, He gives us a word of explanation. His word speaks of a principle that not only applies to Himself but also applies in general. This [vv 25-26] makes it more clear; everyone who serves Him has to go through the same experience. The falling of the grain into the ground to die does not refer to redemption (in which we can never have a part) but to the removal of the self-life. The principle is that death brings in life. This is what Paul meant when he said that death operated in him and life in others (2 Cor. 4:12). Hence, it is not enough for us to be a seed; we must know the way to bear fruit. The way to bear fruit is not by preaching or teaching; the way to bear fruit is by sowing. God did not send His Son to the earth to preach the word; He sowed His Son as a seed into the ground. Today He is also sowing us here and there as seeds. (Continued tomorrow)
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, p. 129. 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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