Outline
Ⅱ
The believers in Christ are grains of wheat—John 12:24:
A
The many grains of wheat produced through Christ's death and resurrection are for the formation of the one bread—the Body of Christ; the grains of wheat are crushed, mingled with oil, baked in the oven, and blended together into one loaf, signified by the meal offering—1 Cor. 10:17; Lev. 2:4-5.
B
The Lord, as a grain of wheat falling into the ground, lost His soul-life through death that He might release the fire of His eternal life to the "many grains" in resurrection; we as the many grains must lose our soul-life through death that we may enjoy and release the fire of the eternal life to others in resurrection—John 12:24-26; Luke 12:49-50; 1 Cor. 15:31, 36; 2 Cor. 4:12.
C
As grains of wheat falling into the earth to die, our outer man is being broken, consumed, so that our inner man can be renewed day by day—vv. 16, 10-11; Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:23; 5:26.
D
A Christian who is spiritual for the building up of the Body of Christ must "read" three things every day—he needs to read the Bible, he needs to read his inward sense, and he needs to read his environment and circumstances, which are the people, things, and matters around him—Rom. 8:6; cf. Prov. 16:9.
E
We may pray and hope that others will change, but the more we pray in this way, the clearer we are that nothing will change; this is the environment that God has created to cause us to be conformed to the image of God's Son and manifest God's grace and power—Rom. 8:28-29; cf. 6:3-4; 1 Kings 7:17, 20-22.
F
We should cooperate with the operating Spirit and accept the environment that God has arranged for us—Phil. 4:12; Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; 1 Cor. 7:24.
G
We may complain to God, but our complaining may be the best prayer, the most pleasant prayer to God; while we are complaining, God is rejoicing because He is causing all things to work together for good that we may be conformed to the image of His firstborn Son—cf. Psa. 102, title.
Morning Nourishment
John 12:24-26 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. He who loves his soul-life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. 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.The believers are also symbolized by many grains of wheat…The expression “much fruit” [in John 12:24] refers to many grains of wheat as the multiplication of the one grain. In verse 24 the Lord Jesus clearly refers to Himself, God incarnate, as the unique grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. The believers as many grains of wheat are produced out of Christ as the one grain.
The many grains of wheat are produced through the death and resurrection of Christ. In His work on the cross the Lord Jesus died as a grain of wheat falling into death for the release of the divine life. The divine life was in Jesus, just as life is confined in a grain of wheat. Because the life is concealed in the grain, the shell must be broken so that the inward life may be released. Christ’s all-inclusive death released the divine life that was within Him. As a grain of wheat, He died to release the divine life and to enliven God’s redeemed ones in order to produce many grains. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1176-1177)
Today’s Reading
The many grains of wheat produced through Christ’s death and resurrection are for the formation of one bread—the Body of Christ. After the many grains have been produced, they need to be crushed, ground into flour, and blended together in a loaf to be offered to God. This loaf is the church, the Body of Christ…(1 Cor. 10:17). The Christ out of whom we have been produced and of whom we partake constitutes us into His one Body. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1178)If we love God, He will cause all things to work together for our good… The good is for us to be conformed to the image of His firstborn Son (Rom. 8:29). [God] uses all things to conform us to the image of Christ. Some persons may be nice, gentle, and faithful in their natural man. They would be good persons even apart from being regenerated or transformed. Then what can God do to work Himself into such persons? With such persons and with all of us, God must put us into certain circumstances to break us. God’s desire is for us to be broken so that He can work Himself into us.
Paul was a person who was conformed to the death of Christ by something mysterious called the power of resurrection. No one can be conformed to the death of Christ except by the resurrection power. There is something within us hidden, mysterious, and dynamic called resurrection. Eventually, we will learn that whether money comes or money goes, whether children come or children go, God remains. God is our portion. He is not our portion outwardly but our portion inwardly in the way of constitution. God has constituted and is constituting Himself into our being. Eventually, God uses all things to make Himself our unique portion.
Our money, our children, our job, and our degree are not our portion. Only God is our portion…We may have our own goals that we desire to reach, saying that we need to be practical. But actually, these goals are our portion. This is why God comes to “peel off” our natural life layer by layer throughout the years. I have been under God’s gradual “peeling” for almost seventy years. I am happy today because much of my natural life has been peeled off. God uses all things to “peel off” our natural life. God even uses all the brothers and sisters in the church life to accomplish this peeling… The day will come when we will have a great and serious peeling off. Then we will be broken. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Christian Life,” pp. 486, 490-491)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Christian Life,” ch. 15