Joh 12:25 is saying that if you love your soulish life more than you love your spiritual relationship with Christ then you will loose your physical life and along with that loss you will also loose out on being given the greatest honor that will ever be bestowed upon any human being. The honor of being with Christ in the first resurrection to rule and reign, not just over your own ‘kings’ and ‘nations’, ‘mountains,’ and ‘horns,’ and ‘harlots’ and ‘beasts’ within, but now to also “Judge this world.”

1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

This point is throughout the new covenant scriptures and yet it is lost on the preterists who believe that everything has already been fulfilled.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The “second death,” has nothing to do with dying a second time:

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men[ only] once to die, but after this the judgment:

What is being discussed here in Heb 9:27 is not physical death. If this is discussing physical death then Paul is contradicting Peter when Peter tells us:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

But all the twisting of God’s Word is to the contrary because ‘judgment [ is now on] the house of God.’ The reason judgment is now on the house of God is that those who are now, ‘in Christ, have ‘died,’ first. Those who are the first to die are in the “first resurrection.” Those who are the second to die are the ones who are “hurt of the second death.”

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh[ dies to the flesh while yet in the flesh] shall not be hurt of the second death.

Here are but a few of the scriptures that bear out this great hidden Truth:

Joh 12:24 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.

1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

So then the ‘once to die,’ of Heb 9:27 is the same as the “fall into the ground and die,” of Joh 12:24. These are those who can now be ‘judged.’ “Judgment must begin at the house of God.”

What is this ‘judgment must begin at the house of God,’ like? It is a ‘fiery experience.’ It reveals to us all that must be burned out of us. It is a “chastening experience.” and ‘no chastening is pleasant.’

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Heb 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

This is the function of grace that is so abysmally lacking in the doctrines of Christian denominations:

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Tit 2:12 Teaching [ Greek – paideuo – Same Greek word translated ‘chasteneth’ in Heb 12:6] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Now we can understand scripturally what Paul meant when he said:

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

‘Grace,’ is not a ‘get out of jail free,’ card, as many would have you to believe. Paul and James are not at odds on this or any other subject. ‘Grace,’ understood scripturally, guarantees that God’s ability to lovingly chasten you and me, is far superior to our ability to rebel against Him, “Where sin abounds, grace [ chastening] doth much more abound.”

This is an incredibly revealing scripture for those with ‘eyes to see.’ Did you notice that we are straight out told that “AS sin hath reigned unto death, EVEN SO might grace reign unto eternal [ eonian] life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The word ‘might,’ is not in the original Greek and this verse is better translated; “Yet the law came in by the way, that the offense should be increasing. Yet where sin increases, grace super- exceeds, that, even as sin reigns in death, thus Grace also should be reigning through righteousness, for life eonian, through Jesus Christ our Lord” ( Concordant Literal New Testament).

Even though A. E. Knoch, the translator of this version of the New Testament, his successors to this day do not see it, nevertheless, “Grace… chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts…” And as Mr. Knoch here so eloquently puts it this chastening… “grace super- exceeds… where sin abounds.”

Though he translated it properly Mr. Knoch and the entire Christian world, fail to notice how grace operates. Does ‘grace,’ reign through a laissez faire, “nothing you do or don’t do can affect your standing with Christ,” attitude? Is this the approach of the scriptures? Is this the intended attitude we are to convey to others when we are showing them that neither their faith nor their works are of themselves? Is this the atmosphere in which grace reigns? No it is not! So how does grace reign in our lives? “Thus grace also should be reigning through RIGHTEOUSNESS…” This statement accords with the tone and the spirit and the atmosphere present in all New Testament scriptures, especially in the epistles of Paul that we should:

Tit 3:8 … Be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

So while it is true that both our faith and our works are in reality “His achievement,” it is equally as scriptural that we are exhorted in every verse of scripture to “be careful to maintain good works.” Oh how despised are those words of the apostle Paul! and they are despised the most by those who claim that they believe that Paul is their special apostle! This is the workings of grace in our lives. This is the ‘dying daily,’ spoken of by Paul. This is the ‘corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying.’ This is the ‘appointed unto men once to die and AFTER this the judgment.’ And yes, this is the

Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

In closing let me give you an example of how this principle works out in the life of every chosen vessel of God. Peter was willing to give his physical life in defense of his Lord. Peter was not aiming for the servant of the high priest’s ear. He was aiming for the man’s neck. The man ducked and Peter had to settle for his ear, before Christ told him “ALL who take up the sword shall perish with the sword.”

Mat 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Most all new Christians, and most very old Christians, are willing to die FOR Christ. They love this ‘Christian life,’ so much that they are willing to die for to save it. Yet it is only one in a hundred or less that is willing to ‘die WITH Christ,’ on His cross.

That very night Peter, who wanted so to preserve his and his master’s physical lives, was severely chastened when he looked over from the servants fire and made eye contract with his master, as the cock was crowing, immediately after denying that he even knew his own Lord.

Peter, like the church at Ephesus, had ‘lost his first love.’ He was being “scourged,” by a loving Father. The fruit of this ‘chastening grace,’ was apparent just a few weeks later when Peter stood fearlessly before the Sanhedrin and declared as a walking dead man, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Act 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Act 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Act 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

While it is true that our ‘obedience,’ to God is His work in us, it is equally true that He gives His spirit only “to them that obey Him,” to them who, “love not their lives unto death.”

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony[ Greek- marturia- Same word translated ‘martyr’]; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

I hope this helps you to understand what Christ meant by Joh 12:25. Now, are all saved people classified as disciples? Yes the word means pupil. While it is generally used in the gospels to refer to Christ 12 apostles it is used many other places throughout the New Testament to refer to Christians in general. Here are a couple of verses to back up the statements I have just made:

Mat 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

And a verse where it is used of Christians in general:

Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

I feel compelled to point out to you that the phrase ‘saved people,’ or ‘saved person,’ is not a scriptural phrase. The only person who is “saved,” according to our Lord Himself is “He that endureth to the end.”

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Everyone who does not agree with these words of our Lord wants to prove Him wrong by quoting Eph 2:8.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

This verse does not contradict our Lord. It has nothing to do with the timing of our salvation. It has only to do with the means: We are saved by grace through faith.

For a much better understanding of the process of salvation be sure to read the e- mail entitled The Seven Steps To Salvation.

And another entitled When Are We Saved?