«　WEEK 3　DAY 3　»

　　Lev. 23:10 …When you…reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.

　　1 Cor. 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

　　John 6:9 There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many?

　　In the land of Canaan the barley always ripens first…. When the harvest time came, the firstfruits of the harvest had to be offered to the Lord [cf. Lev. 23:10], and the firstfruits were clearly the barley….The firstfruits of the harvest typify Christ as the firstfruits of resurrection [cf. 1 Cor. 15:20]…. Barley represents the resurrected Christ.

　　Jesus fed the five thousand…with five loaves made of barley…. As barley loaves, they could feed five thousand people with twelve baskets of broken pieces left over. This is resurrection. Christ can only be rich to us in His resurrection. In His incarnation He is exceedingly limited, but in His resurrection He is so very rich. There is no limit to Him as the resurrected Christ….There were five loaves, but in effect there were countless loaves. There was enough to feed five thousand, not counting the women and children, and the remains alone—twelve baskets full—were more than the original five loaves. This is barley. This is Christ in His resurrection. Christ in His resurrection can never be limited. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 233-234)

　　Although your portion is seemingly so small and the demand is so great, you must realize that what you have is nothing less than the resurrected Christ. You can do all things in Him who empowers you, because He is resurrected and knows no limit. Apply Him.

　　When you come to the meeting with the brothers and sisters, you must realize your responsibility. You must share in the meeting with others. You must give some thanks and praise; you must offer some prayer. This is your responsibility…. In yourself you are weak, but in Christ you are not weak….Yes, you have nothing, but in Christ you have everything. You say, “Oh, I am too poor!” Yes, you are poor in yourself, but you are not poor in the resurrected Christ. Remember that Christ is the barley in you. When you come to the meeting, apply Him as the one loaf of barley to feed all the others by your prayer or by your testimony….You must learn to apply Christ; you must make use of the Christ you have.

　　Jesus said to His disciples, “You give them something to eat” (Matt. 14:16). The disciples said, “There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many?” (John 6:9). The Lord replied, “Bring them here to Me” (Matt. 14:18). As long as they are barley loaves, as long as they are something of the resurrected Christ, that is good enough; that will meet the situation, and there will be a surplus.

　　If you will take my word, believe in the resurrected Christ, and apply Him, you will find that the remainder abiding in you is more than that with which you started. This is the barley. This is not just a teaching but something for us to experience and apply every day in every situation. Apply the resurrected Christ, the unlimited, inexhaustible One. Tell Him, “Lord, I cannot meet the need; I cannot face the situation. But how I praise You, You can. I go ahead trusting wholly in You, counting wholly upon You.”

　　[Experiencing Christ’s resurrection] not only causes you to know Christ inwardly as the wheat and as the barley, but by this experience you become a grain of wheat; you become a loaf of barley. Then you are food for others. You are able to feed others by what you have experienced. (CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” pp. 237-238)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 4, “The All-inclusive Christ,” ch. 5