"Corn Of Wheat."

by JOHN MILNE | Category: General | Apr 1952

The Lord Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain (corn) of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit" (John 12.24). The great and most vital truth of resurrection is contained in these words spoken by the Son of God while here upon earth. Also that blessed One declared most emphatically in John 11.25: "I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth on Me, though he die, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die." Most precious and vital words spoken to Martha in her sorrow and grief! Yet poor, puny man all down the ages has dared to deny this most important truth. Energized by Satan and listening to his lying suggestions, man has scoffed and set at nought the truth of the resurrection. Of the resurrection morning, the first day of the week, we read-"Now when He was risen early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved. And after these things He was manifested in another form unto two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. And they went away and told it unto the rest; neither believed they them. And afterward He was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meat; and He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen" (Mark 16.9-14).

Doubt filled the minds of those who companied with the Lord Jesus, and we may be sure Satan will diligently seek to keep the minds of unsaved and ungodly men blinded to Christ's resurrection and to the grace and kindness and love of God, who sent His beloved Son to die that they might be saved!

Consider that scene of which we read in John 20.19, 20, "When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had said this, He shewed unto them His hands and His side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord." In these words we have both the assurance and certainty of the resurrection of Christ, though Thomas was only fully assured eight days later that it was indeed the Lord Himself, and cried out, "My Lord and my God."

The same divine Lord who had come out of the grave in spite of the sealed stone, came into the upper room in spite of the closed doors, for no earthly barriers could hinder the perfect freedom of that glorified resurrected One; and His greeting to them brought a gladness with it they had never known before. That blessed One was indeed the corn of wheat which fell into the earth and died, for He would not abide alone, and we, who "have believed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God," have life in His Name (John 20.31). We are the fruits of His atoning death.

There is a most remarkable allusion to the same truth of resurrection, and presented in the same way in 1 Corinthians 15. 35. The apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, exclaims, "But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; but God giveth it a body even as it pleased Him, and to each seed a body of its own."

This illustration, taken from nature, of the figure of the seed, presents certain appropriate analogies. In the first place the seed is part of the plant and is generated in the plant; and which, when it has arrived at maturity, is capable of being separated from the plant without losing its vitality. In the second place, it contains within itself all the characteristic qualities of the plant on which it grew, and is capable of producing another plant of the very same kind whenever it shall be placed in circumstances favourable to its germination, and lastly, germination cannot take place until the seed has been shed from the parent stalk and buried in the ground.

Thus it can be seen that the germination of a seed is emblematic of the resurrection, and the question arises, What is it that the seed represents? The plant that springs from the seed is evidently that which represents the resurrection-body; but what is it that forms, as it were, the seed from which it springs? When viewed in the light of the Lord's words in John 12. 24, the seed or bare grain represents the person who dies. Thus, the Lord Jesus speaks of Himself when He says, "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."

It might be objected that, if the seed really died, it could not germinate; but modern science has shown that the seed consists of two parts, one of which dies in order to provide nourishment for the other. The little germ that exists in every seed swells with the moisture of the ground in which it is sown, and the perisperm or cotyledon, which surrounds it, is simply a storehouse of nourishment to enable it to grow, until it has sent its root downward and its plumule upwards, to draw its support from the soil and the atmosphere. The perisperm must die in order to accomplish this ; because, until it has been reduced to a soluble, and then a liquid, state, it cannot pass into the tissues of the plant. The seed, therefore, does die in one of its parts, though not in the other, and for that very reason is an accurate illustration of mortal man. The body of man may die, but not his spirit or his soul. These live on, and the day will surely come when all the redeemed ones who are in Christ, who are the fruits of His atoning death, will be clothed upon with their habitation which is from heaven (2 Corinthians 5.2).

The words of 1 Corinthians 15.38 are final and definite, and are God's answer to the question asked in verse 85, "With what manner of body do they come?" God gives a body as it has pleased Him, and to each seed a body of its own.

After showing the differences between various kinds of flesh, in verse 89, and the fact of the difference between bodies terrestrial and celestial in verse 40, and the different glories of the heavenly luminaries in verse 41, the apostle declares in words which are most emphatic: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15.42-44).

The proof that the bodies of those who belong to Christ by right of redemption will he spiritual bodies, is found in Philippians 3.20, 21. "For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory, according to the working whereby He is able even to subject all things unto Himself." How sweet also is that precious word of our God through His servant Paul !- "'Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality ... then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory" (victoriously) (1 Corinthians 15.51-58). Added to which is that other precious word in 1 Thessalonians 4.14-18, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose

again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort (exhort) one another with these words."

"Jesus is coming! the dead shall arise,

Loved ones shall meet in a joyful surprise,

Caught up together to Him in the skies,

Jesus is coming again."

JOHN MILNE | Apr 1952
General