Fruit of Himself

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” – John 12:24 -25

Springtime is a time of renewal, of birth, and life.  The seed dies the death in the fall and drops to the earth.  Laying dormant in the winter season, hoping for the resurrection of life that will come.  God is faithful, spring arrives and with it, the warm weather and former rains.  As it has been, so it will be, the Earth brings forth fruit of itself as it does every spring. 

The example of God’s physical creation will teach us of the spiritual creation.  As the Sun is the life force and linchpin to the physical life, so the Son is the life force and linchpin to the spiritual life.  Without Jesus, we would have no life.  The world, and Satan, pushes us to get caught up in life as a physical experience.  The natural mind will trend towards trusting and leaning on the physical things of this life; if you try to understand the Bible that way, you will never understand it.  God is a Spirit; the Word of God is understood by the Spirit.  Yes, God’s creation can teach us of Himself and aid us in understanding, but we cannot understand the ways of God without the Spirit of God.  As a preacher in our church said one time “we need to understand what kind of death Jesus is talking about.”  Jesus was born to die.  Concerning himself, when he spoke of death, he knew that it meant he would be crucified.  He had to die, for there to be a resurrection.  There had to be a resurrection for there to be an ascension.  There had to be an ascension for there to be a giving of the Holy Spirit, and we must have the Holy Spirit to have salvation.  There must be death to bring life.  Concerning you and I, when Christ speaks of death unto life.  He is not talking about physical death.  He does not require us to literally hang on a cross like he did.  We are not mandated to become martyrs for the faith like he was.  The death we die is a spiritual death. The cross we bare is “thy will be done.”  Within we are conformed to the death that Jesus displayed without.  In this, and because of this, Christ brings forth fruit of himself.  He bequeaths to us the holiness that he himself had.  It only happens if we are willing to die the death.  It is a loss of one life to gain another.  You give up your life of pleasure, life of sin, life of self and you gain a life of joy, life of righteousness, life of holiness.  You die to the world and you are resurrected into the Spirit.  You die to yourself, and you are raised to live a life for Jesus. And then “being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:22)

The only salvation is a death route salvation.  If you want you own will, your own way, and your own wishes.  If you love your own life, you will lose life.  The corn of wheat can be sitting on the stalk.  The ground can be fertile, the timing right, everything prepared to bring forth life; however, unless it dies it will not bring forth fruit.  Jesus Christ prepared the way, he paid the dept, conquered the grave, and is sitting on the right hand of the Father ready to give the Holy Spirit to the converted soul; but first, we must die.  “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”