The Dictionary defines a paradox as, “A seemingly contradictory statement that may be nonetheless true.” The Bible is full of paradoxes. Some of the more famous paradoxical truths from Scripture are:
We see unseen things (2 Cor. 4:18)
We conquer by yielding (Rom. 6:16-18)
We find rest under a yoke (Mt. 11:28-30)
We reign by serving (Mark 10:42-44)
We are made great by becoming little (Luke 9:48)
We are exalted by being humble (Mt. 23:12)
We become wise by being fools for Christ’s sake (1 Cor. 1:20, 21)
We are made free by becoming His bond servants (Rom. 6:10)
We wax strong by being weak (2 Cor. 12:10)
We triumph by defeat (2 Cor. 12:7-9)
We find victory by glorying in our infirmities (2 Cor. 12:5)
But perhaps the most difficult of all for us to understand and put into practice is the paradoxical truth that “We live by dying” (John 12:24, 25; 2 Cor. 4:10, 11).
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Inside each little grain of wheat there is life; but on the outside, preventing that life from bearing fruit, is a very hard shell. As long as that shell remains hard and unbroken, that grain of wheat will never be able to sprout and grow. But as the grain is placed in the ground, that outer shell begins to die and break, and the wheat begins to grow and bear fruit.
The application is clear. Everyone who has recognized his great need of salvation and has accepted Jesus Christ alone as his Savior has the life of God within him. 1 John 5:12 says, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” But among this group of people who possess the life of God, there can be found two distinct conditions: those whose life is confined and restricted because they remain unbroken; and those who have died to self and life has been released. This is the key to fruit bearing in the Christian life.
How do we allow this life to come forth and bear fruit? The teaching of Scripture is clear: it is absolutely vital that we be broken. If we are to be a blessing to others, if we are to bear fruit, and if we are to realize revival in our homes and churches, then it is essential that we as His people be broken and die to self.
How much of self is still alive and well in your life? Paul testified, “… I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Each day we need to die in order to truly live – die to our own fleshly desires, die to the insults and hurtful words and actions of others, die to our own pride and selfishness.
It is in dying – not in doing – that we bear fruit in the Christian life.
Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries
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