THE MULTIPLICATION OF LIFE
The Lord’s death not only releases the divine life, but also multiplies it. I regret that through the years I have not adequately ministered life to you. Therefore, we are still short of life. This shortage of life is probably due to the fact that I have not died enough. Life comes out of death. The divine life is within us, but how much this life is multiplied depends upon how much death we undergo. The more death we experience, the more life will be released from us. Only death can bring about the multiplication of the divine life; power cannot do it. Today’s Christians devote their attention to power instead of to life. But only the death of Christ can multiply life.
THE FATHER BEING GLORIFIED
Through the death of Christ the Father is glorified (John 12:28; 13:31). Christ’s death glorified the Father because it released the divine life. The release of the divine life from within Jesus was the glorification of God. Glory is God released and expressed. Hence, whenever the divine life within us is released, God is glorified. The unique way to glorify God is to die. The more we are conformed to the death of Christ, the more we glorify the Father. Many Christians are taught that the way to glorify God is to behave themselves. However, the more you behave yourself, the more you receive the glory. You do not give any glory to God. The only way to glorify God is to be conformed to the death of Christ. Then spontaneously the divine life within us will be released, and God the Father, the source of this life, will be glorified.
THE SAVING OF THE SOUL
Another thing accomplished by the death of Christ is the saving of our soul (John 12:25). The only way to save our soul is to die. The more we die with Christ, the more we save our soul.
DRAWING PEOPLE TO CHRIST
Through the death of Christ people are drawn to Christ. After telling Philip that He would die as a grain of wheat falling into the ground, the Lord said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself" (John 12:32). The words "lifted up" refer to the Lord’s death on the cross. Through His death the Lord would draw men to Himself. The real attraction is in the dying. When we die the death of Christ and are conformed to His death, we shall be a magnet drawing people to Christ. The death of Christ on the cross has a lovable attraction. Such an attracting, the proper attraction, is not a matter of stirring up people emotionally. It is an attraction that comes through the release of life. When people contact us, they should be influenced by the divine life and realize that there is something within us different from anything that is in the worldly people. There is something heavenly and divine within us. This is the crucified life with its attracting power. Every crucified person is a magnet. Wherever we are, we need to experience Christ in this way.
(The Experience of Christ, Chapter 18, by Witness Lee)
