Being Blended together in Resurrection to be Overcomers to Defeat the Enemy and Build the Body

Gideon and his three hundred men were blended together by God to be a barley loaf tumbling over the camp of the Midianites; when we’re blended together in resurrection to be a barley loaf, one bread, we as the church overcome the enemy and stand in Christ as our victory.

Hallelujah, today we live in the most important time, when God is calling for the overcomers!

And He is not only calling us but also selecting us and qualifying us. As seen in the selection of the three hundred men with Gideon, God has certain criteria in selecting the overcomers.

First of all, if we are afraid and scared, we cannot be the overcomers; however, Christ as the overcoming One in our spirit is never scared, so when we turn to Him and are one spirit with Him, all fear leaves.

It is not us in and of and by ourselves that we overcome or become an overcomer; it is Christ who lives in us and our being one with Him to live in spirit that qualifies us to be the Lord’s overcomers.

In ourselves we really are nothing, even the least of all the saints, so we don’t consider ourselves to be anything when we really are nothing.

But praise the Lord, we look to the Lord, we see a vision of this all-inclusive One as the centrality and universality of God’s eternal economy, and He in us overcomes, He in us makes us His overcomers!

When we see Him, we forget about ourselves; when we see Him, we are infused with Him, and we become His expression, His expansion, and His fullness.

Amen, when we see the Lord as He is, when we realize His all-inclusiveness and all-extensiveness, we will just give ourselves to Him, and we will answer His call for overcomers today.

The result of our consecration is that we lay our hands on Him and enjoy Him, and we also tear down anything in our heart that replaces Him as the first One in our life.

On His side, God is faithful to lead us into the enjoyment of Christ, and He is also faithful to allow us to go through sufferings and difficulties so that we may be exposed and realize that the only good thing about us is Christ.

The result is that we will just cling to Christ, live in union with Him, and He will live in us an overcoming life for the fulfillment of God’s purpose and the defeat of His enemy.

On our side, we cooperate with the Lord, for we realize that our natural goodness is rubbish, our natural capacity is not useful to Him unless it is in resurrection, and nothing else satisfies but Christ. Oh, to be filled with Christ and saturated with Him!

And to be blended together with the saints so that we may become a barley loaf for the defeat of the enemy and the satisfaction of God!

Gideon and his 300 men became one body, a Round Loaf of Barley Bread to Defeat the Enemy and express God’s victory

In Judg. 7:9-15 we see how God encouraged Gideon to go and fight the battle. He asked him to go down to the camp of the Midianites, and when he went with his companion, he heard of the Midianites recounting a dream to his friend.

In this dream, he said that he saw a round loaf of barley bread tumbling through the camp of Midian, and his friend replied by saying that this is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, for God has delivered Midian and all the camp into his hand.

When Gideon heard the dream and the interpretation, he was greatly encouraged and worshipped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, Arise, for Jehovah has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand (v. 15).

He divided the three hundred men into three companies, gave them trumpets and empty pitchers with torches inside, and told them that, at his signal, they would shatter the pitchers and blow the trumpets, crying out, “A sword for Jehovah and for Gideon!” (vv. 19-20).

Each one of the three hundred had a trumpet on one hand and an empty pitcher and a torch in the other hand, and they did what Gideon told them to do; the result was that the whole camp of the Midianites ran off, killed one another, and shouted and fled. God gave them the victory.

What happened, intrinsically, was that God gave these three hundred men to Gideon, and He made them into one body – one barley loaf that rolled over the camp of the Midianites.

Gideon and his three hundred men moved together and acted in one accord.

They were blended together, built up together, and they had no opinion or personal desire; they were one with one another and with Gideon, so God gave them the victory.

This is a picture of the oneness and one accord that the Lord desires to gain among us in the church life. He wants to gain a group of people who put aside their opinions, put themselves aside, and keep the oneness in the Spirit as they live in the Body.

The three hundred men with Gideon were built up together and in one accord, and they were like a barley loaf, a round loaf of barley, that rolled over the enemy’s camp to destroy it.

We as believers in Christ are the duplication and reproduction of Christ as the one grain of wheat; He died and was multiplied and reproduced in resurrection as the many grains, the many believers in Christ.

Now we as the many grains are being ground to powder and blended together with the Spirit that anoints us, and we are made into one loaf, even a barley loaf, in resurrection.

The church is the one bread, one loaf of bread, and this bread is round – it is like a wheel, for it is the great wheel of God’s economy.

Such a loaf, a blended loaf, is what the Lord needs to roll through the camp of the enemy, turn the tent upside down, defeat the enemy, and bring in the kingdom of God on the earth.

We need to be blended together, putting aside our differences and opinions, and doing all things through the cross and by the Spirit for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Just like Gideon and his three hundred men, we need to deal with our flesh, keep the oneness in spirit, and live in the Body, even in the reality of the Body, listening to the Lord’s word and following His instructions; He will lead us into victory, and He Himself is our victory. Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, blend us together into the church, the Body of Christ! Amen, Lord, gain a round loaf of barley bread – gain the blending of the saints in the Body of Christ! Blend all the saints together, and blend all the local churches in the Body. May we learn to deny the self, deal with the flesh, and put aside our opinions for the sake of keeping the oneness in the Body. Amen, Lord, we want to do all things through the cross and by the spirit for the building up of the Body of Christ. Gain a group of blended saints through whom You can move in the great wheel of Your economy, and have a free way to defeat the enemy and bring in the kingdom of God on earth! Amen, Lord, make us such ones!

Being Blended together in Resurrection to be the Overcomers for the Defeat of the Enemy and the Building up of the Church

Gideon and his three hundred men were blended together to be like a round loaf of barley bread that rolled over the camp of the Midianites and destroyed them.

This barley loaf is a type of the resurrected Christ, the Christ in resurrection, who cannot be limited but can meet every situation. In ourselves, we cannot meet the current situation and we can’t face the problems and troubles.

But praise the Lord, in us, there is One who can – the One who is the reality of barley is in us!

A barley loaf is in us, for Christ is in us; therefore, we need to enjoy Him and experience Him, and we will be made into a barley loaf.

Paul had this thought of bread in 1 Cor. 10:17 when he spoke of the one bread, the Body of Christ.

In the Body of Christ, we are being blended together in resurrection to be the church, the unleavened bread for God’s satisfaction and for the defeat of the enemy.

Gideon and his three hundred men were blended together in resurrection, signified by barley, the first-ripe grain (6:16; 2 Sam. 21:9; Lev. 23:10; 1 Cor. 15:20), to be one bread, signifying the church (10:17).

We are the many grains, the reproduction and duplication of Christ as the one grain of wheat (John 12:24), and we are being ground into fine flour mingled with oil (the Spirit) for making the cake, the bread, of the church.

This involves the process of being blended together in resurrection so that we may be the overcomers who defeat the enemy and build up the Body of Christ.

We all need to learn to shepherd one another and love one another so that we may live in the Body life; we need to be tempered, blended, and crossed out in order that all we do would be to dispense Christ into one another for the practical Body life (Rom. 12:1-5).

As the many grains, we are not only put together but also ground to powder so that we may be blended together, lose any distinctions, and be mingled with the Spirit as the oil to become the bread of the church.

God has blended the believers together in the Body (1 Cor. 12:24); if we look at our situation, we need to ask ourselves, where is the blending?

Where is the denying of the self, the dealing with the flesh, the putting aside of our own interests and opinions, and ministering Christ to others in the Body?

We may have some coordination among the saints in the church life regarding the practical things related to our meeting together, but are we blended together in the Body?

The Lord wants to gain the blending of all the saints, young and old, brothers and sisters – everyone.

Those who are willing to be blended together in resurrection, doing all things by the Spirit to minister Christ to others, allowing the cross to operate in them, are the overcomers who defeat the enemy and build up the church.

May we learn to live not in the natural life but in resurrection, doing all things in the mingled spirit.

Our overcoming is not for ourselves also but for the whole church, the Body of Christ.

Gideon and his three hundred men fought the battle and labored, yet the whole congregation chased the enemy and reaped the harvest, signifying that when we overcome, the whole Body is revived until Jehovah as peace, Jehovah-shalom (Judg. 6:24), reigns on the earth (7:22-25; 8:1-4; Col. 1:24; Psa. 128:5; Isa. 32:17; 66:12). Hallelujah!

The overcomers take the lead to be blended together in resurrection, and the whole Body gets the benefit!

On one hand, the enemy is destroyed and rooted out, and on the other hand, the Body is built up.

In Judg. 8:4 we see that, even though Gideon and his men were weary, they were still pursuing the kings of Midian until they destroyed them.

Because we have received God’s mercy to minister and live in the reality of God’s economy, we do not lose heart – though we may labor and are exhausted, our labor is according to God’s operation (2 Cor. 4:1, 16-18).

We labor and fight not in and of ourselves but according to the operation of God which operates in us in power (Col. 1:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:58). Hallelujah!

Though we may labor to the point of exhaustion, our labor is according to the operation of God in us, for He is the source and the strength for our labor.

We may be weary yet pursuing; we may be tired, even exhausted, but the Lord operates in us and works through us.

We simply present ourselves to Him, seek to be one with Him, and give Him preeminence, and He does everything in us.

Physically we may feel exhausted, but spiritually we are energized, and there’s a source of energy in our spirit to supply us.

We can be the overcomers who are being blended together in resurrection because we have the Spirit in us, and He enlivens and strengthens us!

We have received the Lord’s mercy to minister and live in the reality of God’s eternal economy, so we do not lose heart, for He operates in us both the willing and the working, and we simply say Amen and cooperate with Him.

Thank You Lord for going through death and resurrection to reproduce and multiply Yourself in us, the many grains of wheat who are being ground and blended together! Amen, Lord Jesus, we want to live in the Body and remain in the oneness of the Spirit, being blended together in resurrection! Blend us together with the other saints in the Body. Gain the reality of the church as the one bread, the loaf of barley, that satisfies God and defeats the enemy! Amen, Lord, we aspire to be Your overcomers who fight the battle so that the whole Body would be revived and enjoy peace! We open to You, dear Lord, so that You may operate in us both the willing and the working, and we would simply labor according to Your operation in us! Gain a group of saints who are blended together in resurrection for the building up of the Body and the defeat of Your enemy!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ed Marks for this week, and portions from, The Practical Points Concerning Blending, chs. 2-4 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (2021 summer training), week 8, The Intrinsic Significance of Gideon as God’s Valiant Warrior.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – 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. (Hymns #203)
  – As from out the buried kernel / Many grains are formed, / As the grains together blended / To a loaf are formed; / So the Church, of many Christians, / Christ doth multiply, / Him expressing as one Body, / God to glorify. (Hymns #819)
  – God would have a group of people / Built together in His plan, / Blended, knit, coordinated / As His vessel—one new man. / God would come into this vessel / With His nature, life and ways, / Mingling Spirit with our spirits / For His joy and to His praise. (Hymns #1325)