He who loves his life loses it

John Farley
Pastor Teacher
Sunday,
February 19, 2023

 

He who loves his life loses it

JOH 12:20-26

Jesus uses the metaphor of the grain of wheat to challenge His disciples -and all of us as well.

First and foremost, Jesus is the grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies.

And because He dies, He bears much fruit.

JOH 12:32

The book of Hebrews also speaks of the fruit which Jesus bore by means of His death.

HEB 2:9-13

The fruit consists of the many brothers and sisters which the Father has given Christ.

JOH 12:25-26

The grain of wheat principle also applies to the disciples of Jesus.

The one who loves his life is like a grain of wheat that fails to go into the ground and die.

That grain of wheat will eventually die anyway.

GAL 6:6-10

JOH 12:25-26

The one who loves his own life sows to his own flesh.

But the one who hates his life in this world will sow to the Spirit.

The Greek word for “loves” (phileo) means “to be a friend to or to be fond of”.

 

 

The Greek word for “hates” (miseo) means to have relatively little regard for.

MAT 10:37-39

To have disregard for one’s own life in comparison to the great regard he has for the claims of Christ.

JOH 12:25

Caution: don’t take John 12:25 to be a salvation verse.

Keeping one’s life to life eternal is akin to reaping eternal life in Galatians 6:8.

First, we receive eternal life at the moment that we believe in Christ.

JOH 5:24

Second, note how Jesus defines eternal life in chapter 17:

JOH 17:1-3

psuche =
natural or soul life

zoe = God’s life.

JOH 12:25

keeping one’s soul or natural life to eternal life (God’s life) results from exchanging…

earthly things of one’s natural life for the things of Christ - heavenly things.

To sacrifice or disregard one’s own selfish interests in order to pursue the interests of Christ.

PHI 3:4-11

Jesus wraps things up here with an appeal to serve Him.

JOH 12:26

2CO 5:14-15

In the context of the grain of wheat, then, service means being sacrificial in your manner of living.

ROM 12:1

It means to sacrifice our treasure, our time, our energy for the work, the ministry, that the Lord has called us to.

It means to love others as Christ has loved us.

GAL 5:13-14