PERFECTING THE SAINTS

SERIES ONE
FELLOWSHIP FOR THE CHINESE-SPEAKING SERVING ONES IN NORTH AMERICA – 02.15.2026

Message Seven

Unless It Dies, It Cannot Live

Scripture reading: John 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:36; Phil. 3:10; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6; 8:13; 2 Cor. 4:10-11; Heb. 2:14; 2 Tim. 1:10

I.Only death can cause life to grow; unless it dies, it cannot live—John 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:36:

A.Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears many grains—John 12:24:

1.A grain of wheat sown in the ground dies, but when it dies, it is also growing—v. 24.

2.If a grain of wheat does not die, it does not grow; for a grain of wheat to grow, it must be put in the ground to die—v. 24.

3.A grain of wheat grows by dying; if a grain of wheat does not die, it will never grow—v. 24.

B.You foolish man, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies—1 Cor. 15:36:

1.This is a principle: without death, there is no resurrection; unless it dies, it cannot live—v. 36.

2.The life of Christ in us is a life that is powerful, able to grow, and able to bear fruit; but for this life to grow and bear fruit from within us, we must pass through death, we must be conformed to His death—Phil. 3:10.

II.We need to be conformed to the death of Christ so that the divine life within us may be released—Phil. 3:10:

A.To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death—v. 10:

1.For Christ to be formed in my heart, I must die completely, live daily in the shadow of the cross, and put to death the soulish life at all times—Gal. 2:20.

2.We go out to spread for the spreading of God’s kingdom, which is the spreading of Christ Himself; only by living a life of death and resurrection, living daily under the shadow of death, can Christ live out from here again, and can life flow out—Phil. 3:10.

B.It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me—Gal. 2:20:

1.I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me—v. 20.

2.It is not a matter of right or wrong, but a matter of the Lordship; the Lord does not want us to do anything; what He wants is to live Himself out in us and from within us—v. 20.

III.The all-inclusive death of Christ accomplished many things, nullifying death and releasing life—John 12:24, 28, 31; Heb. 2:14; 2 Tim. 1:10:

A.The death of Christ released the divine life; His death not only released the divine life within Him but also dispensed this life into us, causing us to become grains of wheat like Him—John 12:24:

1.The many grains must be the same as the one grain; therefore, we, the grains produced by the death of Christ, are the same as Christ—v. 24.

2.We need the death that releases life; we need to experience this aspect of the death of Christ—Phil. 3:10.

B.Christ, through His death that destroyed the Devil and His resurrection that swallowed up death, abolished death and made it of no effect—Heb. 2:14; 2 Tim. 1:10:

1.Christ not only defeated death but also abolished death—2 Tim. 1:10.

2.Christ was able to abolish death because He destroyed the Devil, the one who has the power of death; through His resurrection, death was made of no effect—Heb. 2:14.

3.To abolish death does not mean to remove death but to make it of no effect—2 Tim. 1:10.

IV.We need to experience the killing of the cross daily so that the life of resurrection may be manifested—2 Cor. 4:10-11:

A.Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body—v. 10:

1.We should not forget that unless it dies, it cannot live; the death of Christ is in the compound Spirit—1 Cor. 15:36.

2.The Spirit is the application of the death of Christ and its effectiveness; the Christian life is a life that is constantly under the killing of the compound Spirit—Rom. 8:13.

B.For we who live are always being delivered to death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh—2 Cor. 4:11:

1.If there is no killing, there is no life; in everything we do, we need to be put to death—v. 11.

2.This daily putting to death is for the release of the divine life in resurrection—vv. 10-11.

V.If we by The Spirit put to death the practices of the body, we will live—Rom. 8:13:

A.For if you live according to the flesh, you must die; but if by The Spirit you put to death the practices of the body, you will live—v. 13:

1.This is the resurrection that we bring in by experiencing the death of Christ—v. 13.

2.The killing of the cross results in the manifestation of the resurrection life—2 Cor. 4:10-11.

B.Our old man was crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be made of no effect, that we would no longer be slaves to sin—Rom. 6:6:

1.When Christ was crucified, He also crucified our flesh with its passions and lusts—Gal. 5:24.

2.Christ, through His death, also crucified our old man—Rom. 6:6.