One of the most overlooked and neglected truths in the Bible in general Christianity today is the revelation of Christ as the one grain-producing many grains in His resurrection for His Body, the loaf, to become the New Jerusalem (John 12:24).
The Apostle John saw this lack and he stepped in to speak of the fact that Christ is God becoming a man to bring us reality and grace, and that He died on the cross as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), as the brass serpent to destroy the devil (John 3:14-16), and as the grain of wheat to release the divine life from within Himself and produce many grains – the children of God – for the Body of Christ (John 12:24).
If you check the expert commentaries on the Gospel of John you will see that they never speak of the Lord Jesus as the one grain of wheat who fell into the ground to die and be reproduced in resurrection as the many grains who compose the one loaf, the Body of Christ, which is produced by blending, which loaf will consummate in the New Jerusalem.
This truth is part of the mending ministry of John, and it is a very significant matter.
Even though the vast majority of Christians ignore this – as far as we know and studied – and even though the Bible scholars who write massive commentaries on the Gospel of John overlook this truth, we need to honor the word of God and speak the truth according to the divine revelation in the Bible.
In the way of life and by the divine life Christ regenerated us, giving us the authority to be children of God born of God (John 1:12-13), and we are members of the Body of Christ as the one loaf of bread for God’s satisfaction.
Christ as the One Grain of Wheat Fell into the Earth to Die and Produce Many Grains
In John 12 we see a miniature of the sweet church life in the house of Lazarus in Bethany, where the Lord Jesus was surrounded by His loving seekers.
Lazarus was there testifying of the Lord’s resurrection, Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet absorbing His words, and Martha was serving. In this sweet delightful miniature of the church life, the Lord Jesus was unveiling what was on His heart, with the goal of the New Jerusalem!
Later in the chapter, we see that Jews came from afar to see Jesus, and the Lord said,
The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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 12:23-24)
At this point in time, when the Lord Jesus was most sought for, He decided to not be outwardly glorified but fall into the ground through death and die, so that the divine life within the shell of His humanity may be released and many grains – the believers in Christ – would be produced.
I would recommend the footnotes on John 12:24 in the Recovery Version, where we see that the way the Lord Jesus was glorified is not outwardly or according to the natural concept but through death and resurrection to produce the many believers in Christ as the members of His Body, the one loaf of bread.
The Lord chose to go into the earth to die so that millions of people would be regenerated with the divine life to be His reproduction and duplication. Now whenever someone believes into the Lord Jesus and opens up to Him, he is given the authority to become a child of God – born not of the flesh or the will of man, but of God!
Christ as the one grain of wheat fell into the ground and died, and through His death His divine life was released to produce the many grains. We were all regenerated in Christ’s resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3) to be the many children of God possessing His life and nature.
In his life-study of John, page 315, this is what bro. Witness Lee says on this matter,
The Lord Jesus fell into the ground and died that His divine element, His divine life, might be released from within the shell of His humanity to produce many believers in resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3), just as a grain of wheat has its life element released by falling into the ground and growing up out of the ground to bear much fruit, that is, to bring forth many grains. Instead of receiving a warm welcome, the Lord preferred to fall into the ground and die as a grain of wheat that He might produce many grains for the church. The Lord, as a grain of wheat falling into the ground, lost His soul-life through death that He might release His eternal life in resurrection to the “many grains.” (Life-study of John, p. 315)
We as the Many Grains are Blended to be the One Loaf and we Can Fall to the Earth to Die
Through His death and resurrection Christ released His divine life and regenerated us to make us His duplication and reproduction, the same as He is in life and nature.
Now we are also grains of wheat, filled with the divine life, and our destiny is twofold: to become the loaf of bread, the Body of Christ, and to fall into the earth to die as the Lord did, thus releasing life for others to be regenerated and built up.
On the one hand, we as the many grains of wheat are being broken and grounded by the Lord into fine flour so that we would be blended together by the addition of the oil (the all-inclusive Spirit) to become the unleavened bread, the one loaf of bread for God’s satisfaction, the Body of Christ.
The Lord is working through our environment outwardly and in our being inwardly to break us and ground us, making us buildable and blendable in the Body of Christ.
When we come together, we are one loaf of bread and we partake of one loaf on the table. In 1 Cor. 10:17 we see that we are many are one Body, for we all partake of the one bread. This is to glory of God for His satisfaction.
On the other hand, as the Lord fell to the earth to die and release the divine life concealed within His humanity, so we as the many grains of wheat can participate in the Lord’s life-releasing death to impart life into many others and make them grains of wheat, believers in Christ.
We cannot participate in the Lord’s redeeming death – only He can redeem us, but we can participate in the Lord’s life-releasing death by falling to the earth to die so that the divine life in us may be released and imparted into others.
The Lord may send us somewhere – or He may want us to stay where we are – for His Body, and we need to not necessarily expect or desire to do a great outward work but be willing to die with Christ so that His life may be released and imparted into others.
He calls us to follow Him in His death so that we may be glorified with Him in His resurrection. It is so sweet to die with Christ in the life-releasing aspect of His death! This releases life into the Body of Christ for its increase and building up.
Lord Jesus, recover us back to Your pure and unadulterated word, and bring us back especially to the much-needed mending ministry of John. Thank You Lord for dying as the one grain of wheat so that You may release the divine life and impart it into us to make us Your duplication and reproduction, the many grains of wheat! We now have Your life and are just like You, many grains of wheat! Lord, blend us together into the Body of Christ, the one loaf! Lord, gain many who would also die with You to release the divine life into others for their growth and building up in the Body!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ron Kangas’ speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, The Crystallization-study of the Gospel of John (msg. 7), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Mending Ministry of John, week 1 / msg 1, The Mending Ministry of Life.
- Further reading: The Mending Ministry of John (pp. 7-8, 41, by Witness Lee).
- Hymns on this topic:
# Thou art the grain divine that died / The many grains to bear, / Which, blent and formed, Thy Body are. / And all Thy nature share. / We are the increase of Thyself, / And Thou our content art; / Through us Thou livest and dost move / And manifested art.
# Though we are many grains of wheat, / Yet all one loaf, one bread; / Remembering Thee in such a way, / With Thee we all are fed. / As of this bread we all commune, / Thou, Lord, dost satisfy; / With all the saints we fellowship, / And Thee we testify.
# 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. / We’re Thy total reproduction, / Thy dear Body and Thy Bride, / Thine expression and Thy fulness, / For Thee ever to abide. / We are Thy continuation, / Thy life-increase and Thy spread, / Thy full growth and Thy rich surplus, / One with Thee, our glorious Head.
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