Section 7
between a carnation seed and other kinds of seeds. Some may think that the way to tell which among many seeds is a carnation seed is to label the carnation seed. This however, is not the way of life. According to the way of life, the carna tion seed is designated by being put into the earth so that it can grow into a blossoming carnation plant. When a carnation plant is still a tiny sprout, it is very difficult to recognize that it is a car nation, for it looks the same as other kinds of sprouts. But the more the carnation plant grows, the more it is designated. Eventually, by its blos som, we all can recognize that it is a carnation.
In the same principle, we are designated the sons of God by a change in life through the proc ess of resurrection. The day is coming when we shall reach the stage of "full blossom." That will be the time of the redemption, the glorification, of our body, which is the full sonship (Rom. 8:23). The life of the Son of God has been implanted into our spirit. Now we, like the carnation seed that is sown into the earth, must pass through the process of death and resurrection. This causes the outward man to be consumed, but it enables the inner life to grow, to develop, and ultimately, to blossom. This is resurrection. Praise the Lord that we are daily being put to death so that we may