O Lord, we pray that You will open our eyes that we may really know You. You have become the Spirit, and today You live in us to make us God. O Lord, we pray that You will cause us to see.
Once Thou wast the only grain, Lord, Falling to the earth to die, That thru death and resurrection Thou in life may multiply. We were brought forth in Thy nature And the many grains became; As one loaf we all are blended, All Thy fulness to proclaim.
And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
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.
John 12:25
He who loves his soul-life loses it; and he who hates his soul-life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life.
¡¡
Life Supply:
The Lord is a grain of wheat, and there is no other way for that grain of wheat to increase except for it to fall into the ground and die. This is the way to have the multiplication of life.
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it will simply remain one grain and will never produce anything. But, praise the Lord, after it dies and grows up, the one grain becomes the many grains or the much fruit. These many grains or much fruit are the church. This is the way for the church to come into being. This is also the way for the Lord to increase the church. This has to be the way for us to bring the church into existence and to increase it. We must face human welcome by death, by taking the cross. The way for the church to come into being and to increase is not by human glory; it is by the death of the cross.
Among the many missionaries who went to China was a sister named Margaret E. Barber who was sent there by a British mission. She was accused falsely, called back to England, and later vindicated by the Lord. Then the Lord burdened her to return to China. She was not sent by any mission but went there by faith, settling in a little town named Pagoda, very close to Brother Watchman Nee's hometown. She stayed there purposely, not visiting other places. In a sense, the Lord sowed her there as a grain of wheat. She remained there for years, dying there in 1929.
Do not be troubled by the temporary success of others' outward activities. Let the Lord have some time, and He will vindicate His way in life... Such a work is not a matter of activity, but of life. This is the work of life to produce and increase the church.
We may use the illustration of making artificial flowers. If you were to hire people to make artificial flowers, a great number could be produced within a short time. However, if you are going to grow flowers, it will take a longer time. You must first sow the seed. The seed will grow and multiply. Then more seed will fall into the ground and grow and multiply again and again. This kind of multiplication will last for a long time. What kind of increase do you expect to have—artificial flowers produced by outward labor or genuine flowers produced by life? (Life-Study of John, pp. 313-315)
¡¡
Questions:
1. Please explain the multiplication of life? (SeeJohn 12:24 note 2)
2. What is the issue of the multiplication of life? (See John 10:11 note 1)
