The sheep in the one flock have Christ as their Shepherd, who laid down His soul life for them that they may have the divine life (vv. 11, 14-15, 16b, 10). In verse 10 the Lord Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly.” And in verse 11 He says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” In these two verses two different Greek words are used for life. In verse 10 the Greek word is zoe, which is the word used in the New Testament for the eternal, divine life. In verse 11 the Greek word is psuche, the same word for soul, which means the soulish life, that is, the human life. These verses indicate that the Lord Jesus has two kinds of lives. As a man the Lord has the psuche life, the human life, and as God He has the zoe life, the divine life. He laid down His soul, His psuche life, His human life, to accomplish redemption for His sheep (vv. 15, 17-18) that they may share His zoe life, His divine life (v. 10), the eternal life (v. 28), by which they may be formed into one flock under Himself as the one Shepherd. As the good Shepherd He feeds His sheep with the divine life in this way and for this purpose.
The Lord’s divine life could not be slain. What was slain in His crucifixion was His human life. In order to be our Savior, He, as a man, laid down His human life to accomplish redemption for us so that we may receive His zoe life. He laid down His human life in order that we, after being redeemed, might have His divine life, the eternal life.
The Shepherd, the divine life, and the human life are all for the flock. Those in the flock are fallen ones in need of redemption. As a man the Shepherd had the human life. He sacrificed His human life in order to accomplish redemption for His flock. In this way His flock was redeemed. Then His flock received His divine life, and by this divine life the sheep lived together as the flock. Thus, the flock is formed into one unit, into one entity. This is accomplished not by the human life but by the divine life.
In the human life we are condemned and divided; in the divine life we are accepted and united. In the divine life we all are one entity, meaning that we are one flock under one Shepherd in one life. However, if we live by our human life, we are no longer sheep. A sheep is a regenerated person with the divine life. We all must live by the divine life and thus become genuine, real, and pure sheep. Then we shall be in the flock. If we do not live by the divine life, there can be no flock, for the flock is produced, formed, and maintained by the divine life. In the divine life we are truly one. This is not possible in our human, psuche life; it is possible only in the divine, zoe life. Now, as redeemed and regenerated ones, we are in the divine life under one Shepherd to be one flock.
The believers are also symbolized by many grains of wheat. John 12:24 says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The expression “much fruit” refers to many grains of wheat as the multiplication of the one grain.
In 12:24 the Lord Jesus clearly refers to Himself, God incarnate, as the unique grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. The believers as many grains of wheat are produced out of Christ as the one grain.
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