Section 7
What kind of increase do you expect to have— artificial flowers produced by outward labor or genuine flowers produced by life?
PRODUCING MANY GRAINS
AND DRAWING ALL MEN
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. The Lord, as a grain of wheat falling into the ground, lost His soul ish life through death that He might release His eternal life in resurrection to the "many grains."
In one aspect, the Lord's death was a falling into the ground as revealed in John chapter 12 verse 24; in another aspect, it was a lifting up on the tree (v. 32; 1 Pet. 2:24). To "fall into the ground" as a grain of wheat was to produce the many grains; to be "lifted up" on the tree as the Son of Man was to draw all men to Him self. The many grains produced by His falling into the ground are the "all men" drawn by His being lifted up on the tree.