The
Holy Spirit as the Breath of Life
by
Russell Unterschultz
We are
indebted to brother Russell Unterschultz for this
wonderful study on the Holy Spirit which lends much more evidence to the
subject by approaching it from another facet. However, the error of the
ultimate conclusions of Russell should be studied as well. They are found in
this document https://omega77.tripod.com/godheadheresy.htm
—rb
From:
Ron Beaulieu <rsbeauli@telusplanet.net>
To: Russell Unterschultz
Sent: Sun, June 27, 2010 6:07:46 PM
Subject: Re: Hello and attachment
Dear brother
Russell,
Is it your
understanding that the presentation you recommend below teaches the following
definition of the Holy Spirit?
"Christ declared that after his ascension, he would send to his
church, as his crowning gift, the Comforter, who was to take his place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit,--the soul of his
life, the efficacy of his church, the
light and life of the world. With his Spirit Christ sends a reconciling
influence and a power that takes away sin.
In the gift of the
Spirit, Jesus gave to man the highest good that heaven could bestow....
The Spirit was
given as a regenerating agency, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would
have been of no avail....
It is by the Spirit
that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker
of the divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a divine power to overcome
all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress his own
character upon the church." E.G. White, Review and Herald Articles,
May 19, 1904, vol. 5, p. 42.
All blessings,
Ron
Note: I asked this
question of Brother Russell before I read the document. I haven’t watched the
videos yet. rb
----- Original Message -----
From: Russell Unterschultz
To: Ron Beaulieu
Sent:
Sunday, June 27, 2010 7:21 PM
Subject:
Re: Hello and attachment
Dear brother Ron: Absolutely! However as I
mentioned, "At the end of this second
presentation, mention is made of a third and final one to follow that will
identify the Holy Spirit and its relationship to the Father and His Son."
The present video series is focusing on the Personality of God and of Christ.
The next video series will speak of the Holy Spirit as you mention. In the mean
time, if you will, read the attached study put together that is only
Spirit of Prophecy and Bible quotes with portions highlighted on the subject of
the Holy Spirit.
BREATH OF GOD THE BREATH OF LIFE
"That which shares the life of God, With Him surviveth all." {MB 150}
God is the source of life and light and joy to the universe.
Like rays of light from the sun, like
the streams of water bursting from a living spring, blessings flow
out from Him to all His
creatures. And wherever the life of God is in the hearts of men, it will flow out
to others in
love and blessing. {SC 77.1}
From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from
the bright and holy
seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator.--
All created beings live
by the will and power of God. They are dependent recipients of the
life of God. From the
highest seraph to the humblest animate being, all are replenished from
the Source of life.
{DA 785}
Our Father in heaven is constantly engaged in upholding the things
which He has created.
Every leaf grows, every flower blooms, every fruit develops, by the
power of God. In Him "we
live, and move, and have our being." Each heart-beat, each breath,
is the inspiration of Him
who breathed into the nostrils of Adam the breath of life,--the inspiration
of the ever-present
God, the great I AM. The great and infinite God lives not unto Himself,
but for the benefit and
blessing of every being and every object of His creation. {AUCR, June 1, 1900 par. 16}
The same power that upholds nature is working also in man. The same
great laws that guide
alike the star and the atom control human life. The laws that govern
the heart's action,
regulating the flow of the current of life to the body, are the laws
of the mighty Intelligence
that has the jurisdiction of the soul. From Him all life
proceeds. Only in harmony with Him
can be found its true sphere of action. For all the objects of His
creation the condition is the
same--a life sustained by receiving the life of God, a life exercised
in harmony with the
Creator's will. To transgress His law, physical, mental, or moral,
is to place one's self out of
harmony with the universe, to introduce discord, anarchy, ruin. {RC
136.3}
And the LORD God formed
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis
2:7
The Lord created man out of the dust of the earth. He made Adam a partaker
of His life, His
nature. There was breathed into him the breath of the Almighty, and he became a
living soul.
Adam was perfect in form--strong, comely, pure, bearing the image of
his Maker. {10MR
326.4}
The very dust of the ground from which man was formed was pure, and
the breath of life
which God breathed into his nostrils was holy. He was placed in
Eden, the garden of God,
and its atmosphere was undefiled, and from the beams of the sun in
the heavens which
blessed and cheered the earth, to the fountains and streams that watered
the garden, all
was holy, all was clothed with spotless purity and
unexcelled loveliness, and was in harmony
with the character of the Father and the Son, by whom the
worlds were made, and in whom
was life, and the life is the light of men. {ST, December
12, 1895 par. 6}
When God had made man in His image, the human form was perfect in all
its arrangements,
but it was without life. Then a personal, self-existing God breathed into that form the breath
of life, and man became a living, breathing, intelligent being. All parts
of the human organism
were put in action. The heart, the arteries, the veins, the tongue,
the hands, the feet, the
senses, the perceptions of the mind--all began their work, and all
were placed under law.
Man became a living soul. Through Jesus Christ a personal God created
man and endowed
him with intelligence and power. {8T 264.1}
The physical organism of man is under the supervision of God; but it
is not like a clock,
which is set in operation, and must go of itself. The heart beats,
pulse succeeds pulse,
breath succeeds breath, but the entire being is under the supervision
of God. "Ye are God's
husbandry, ye are God's building (1 Cor. 3:9). In God we live and move
and have our being.
Each heartbeat, each breath, is the inspiration of Him who breathed
into the nostrils of Adam
the breath of life--the inspiration of the ever-present God, the great I AM.
{1SM 294.3}
Adam was a created being, dependent upon the tree of life for his existence.
Through his
disobedience, he forfeited the precious privilege of eating of this
tree, which was to
perpetuate the life breathed into him by God, and for which he was
dependent on God. After
disobeying God, the precious gifts and endowments which he derived
from God were no
more his. Adam's disobedience to God's commands brought the human family under
the
death penalty. "In Adam all die," and eternal death, not eternal life,
is the final punishment of
all who continue in transgression. {ST, June 17, 1897 par. 4}
God is the fountain of life; and when one chooses the service of
sin, he separates from God,
and thus cuts himself off from life. He is "alienated from the life of God." Christ
says, "All they
that hate Me love death." Eph. 4:18; Prov. 8:36. God gives them
existence for a time that
they may develop their character and reveal their principles. This
accomplished, they receive
the results of their own choice. By a life of rebellion, Satan and
all who unite with him place
themselves so out of harmony with God that His very presence is to
them a consuming fire.
The glory of Him who is love will destroy them. {DA 764.1}
Man fell through disobedience, severing his life from the life of God. Christ stooped to
take
humanity, that through him man might gain eternal life. In the guise
of humanity, Christ
defeated the purpose of the enemy. But Satan has interposed between
the sinful human
being and the living source of power, so that it is impossible for
man, of himself, to
appropriate the circulating element of the divine nature. Unless man
has a vital connection
with God, he will pervert every blessing he receives, and employ every gracious
gift as a
weapon against the bountiful bestower. It
is only as human beings receive Christ, that God
can bless them. Thus only can they be elevated and placed on vantage-ground.
Christ stands at the head of humanity as its substitute and surety,
to represent God to man,
and, through his power, to cause a stream of spiritual life to flow earthward.
The Sun of
Righteousness, he desires to shine into the chambers of the mind, purifying
and elevating
the soul, that he may abide therein, and control the affections and
emotions, bringing the
entire being into conformity to his will.
When the human being receives daily spiritual food from God, a blessed
union is formed
between earthly and heavenly intelligences. The believer is
sustained by the life of Christ.
Continually he receives blessings from the hand of God, and continually
he imparts. "God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, . . . and hath raised
us up together, and made
us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages
to come he might show
the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus." {YI, July
13, 1899 par. 6,7,8}
Christ alone was able to represent the Deity. He who had been in the
presence of the Father
from the beginning, He who was the express image of the invisible God,
was alone sufficient
to accomplish this work. No verbal description could reveal God to
the world. Through a life
of purity, a life of perfect trust and submission to the will of God,
a life of humiliation such as
even the highest seraph in heaven would have shrunk from, God Himself
must be revealed
to humanity. In order to do this, our Saviour clothed His divinity
with humanity. He employed
the human faculties, for only by adopting these could He be comprehended
by humanity.
Only humanity could reach humanity. He lived out the character of God
through the human
body which God had prepared for Him. He blessed the world by living
out in human flesh the
life of God, thus showing that He had the power to unite humanity to divinity
{RH June 25,
1895}
Man broke God's law, and through the Redeemer new and fresh promises
were made on a
different basis. All blessings must come through a Mediator. Now every
member of the
human family is given wholly into the hands of Christ, and whatever
we possess--whether it
is the gift of money, of houses, of lands, of reasoning powers, of
physical strength, of
intellectual talents--in this present life, and the blessings of the
future life, are placed in our
possession as God's treasures to be faithfully expended for the benefit
of man. Every gift is
stamped with the cross and bears the image and superscription of Jesus
Christ. All things
come of God. From the smallest benefits up to the largest blessing,
all flow through the one
Channel--a superhuman mediation sprinkled with the blood that is of
value beyond estimate
because it was the life of God in His Son. {FW 22.1}
"I am the true Vine," He says. Instead of choosing the graceful
palm, the lofty cedar, or the
strong oak, Jesus takes the vine with its clinging tendrils to represent
Himself. The palm tree,
the cedar, and the oak stand alone. They require no support. But the
vine entwines about the
trellis, and thus climbs heavenward. So Christ in His humanity was
dependent upon divine
power. "I can of Mine own self do nothing," He declared.
John 5:30.
"I am the true Vine." The Jews had always regarded the vine
as the most noble of plants,
and a type of all that was powerful, excellent, and fruitful. Israel
had been represented as a
vine which God had planted in the Promised Land. The Jews based their
hope of salvation
on the fact of their connection with Israel. But Jesus says, I am the
real Vine. Think not that
through a connection with Israel you may become partakers of the life of God, and inheritors
of His promise. Through Me alone is spiritual life received. {DA 674.3,675.1}
When the gospel is received in its purity and power, it is a cure for
the maladies that
originated in sin. The Sun of righteousness arises "with healing
in His wings" (Malachi 4:2).
Not all that this world bestows can heal a broken heart, or impart
peace of mind, or remove
3
care, or banish disease. Fame, genius, talent--all are powerless to
gladden the sorrowful
heart or to restore the wasted life. The life of God in
the soul is man's only hope. {MH 115,
1905}
Not all the wisdom and skill of man can produce life in the
smallest object in nature. It is only
through the life which God Himself has imparted, that either plant
or animal can live. So it is
only through the life from God that spiritual life is begotten in the
hearts of men. Unless a
man is "born from above," he cannot become a partaker of
the life which Christ came to give.
John 3:3, margin. {SC 67.2}
Righteousness is holiness, likeness to God, and "God is love."
1 John 4:16. It is conformity to
the law of God, for "all Thy commandments are righteousness"
(Psalm 119:172), and "love is
the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:10). Righteousness is love,
and love is the light and the
life of God. The righteousness of God is embodied in Christ. We receive righteousness
by
receiving Him. {MB 18.1}
Heaven's plan of salvation is broad enough to embrace the whole world.
God longs to
breathe into prostrate humanity the breath of life. And he will not
permit any soul to be
disappointed who is sincere in his longing for something higher and
nobler than anything the
world can offer. Constantly he is sending his angels to those who,
while surrounded by
circumstances the most discouraging, pray in faith for some power higher
than themselves to
take possession of them, and bring deliverance and peace. In various
ways God will reveal
himself to them, and will place them in touch with providences that
will establish their
confidence in the One who has given himself a ransom for all, "that
they might set their hope
in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments."
Ps. 78:7. {RH, June
24, 1915 par. 19}
In the plan of God, all the riches of heaven are to be drawn upon by
men. Nothing in the
treasury of divine resources is deemed too costly to accompany the
great gift of the only
begotten Son of God. "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name." Christ was empowered
to breathe into fallen
humanity the breath of life. Those who receive him will never
hunger, never thirst; for greater
joy than that found in Christ there can not
be. {GCB, April 1, 1899 par. 4}
God has sent His Son to communicate His own life to humanity. Christ declares, 'I
live by
the Father,' My life and His being one. No man hath seen God at any time; the
only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. 'For as the Father
hath life
in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given
Him authority
to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.' The head of
every man is Christ,
as the head of Christ is God. 'And ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's.'
{LUH, December 2,
1908}
Christ came to communicate the life of God to humanity. He declared, "I
live by the Father,"
my life and his being one... {ST, July 15, 1897 par. 2}
At his first advent, Christ came to the world as its Redeemer. He came
to plant truth in the
hearts of all who would give place to it, who would receive it and
be converted. He came to
take away the sin of the world, and to fill every heart with pure,
healthful joy. He longed to
breathe into prostrate humanity the breath of life. {RH, September
20, 1898 par. 3}
Having brought into the world the great treasures of heaven, owned
and created by the
eternal God, Christ can give to all eternal life. With His humanity
He touches humanity, and
with His divinity He firmly grasps divinity. Into man, prostrated,
diseased, enfeebled, He can
breathe the breath of life, making him a partaker of the divine
nature. {ST, October 10, 1900
par. 14}
In Christ the cry of humanity reached the Father of infinite pity.
As a man He supplicated the
throne of God till His humanity was charged with a heavenly current
that should connect
humanity with divinity. Through continual communion He received
life from God, that He
might impart life to the world. His experience is to be ours.” {DA
363, 1898}
Then said Jesus to them
again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me,
even so send I you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: John 20:21,22
Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all his disciples, and give them the
inspiration of his
sanctifying spirit, and transfuse the vital influence from himself to his
people. He would have
them understand that henceforth they cannot serve two masters. Their
lives cannot be
divided. Christ is to live in his human agents, and work through their faculties, and
act
through their capabilities. Their will must be submitted to his will,
they must act with his spirit,
that it may be no more they that live, but Christ that liveth in them.
Jesus is seeking to
impress upon them the thought that in giving his Holy Spirit he is giving
to them the glory
which the Father has given him, that he and his people may be one in
God. {ST, October 3,
1892}
Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me;
and he that receiveth
me receiveth him that sent me. John 13:20
The Holy Spirit is the breath of life in the soul. The breathing of Christ
upon his disciples
was the breath of true spiritual life. The disciples were to interpret this
as imbuing them with
the attributes of their Saviour, that in purity, faith, and obedience,
they might exalt the law,
and make it honorable. God's law is the expression of his character.
By obedience to its
requirements we meet God's standard of character. Thus the disciples
were to witness for
Christ.
In giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself, making Himself a fountain of
divine influences,
to give health and life to the world. {7T 273}
The impartation of the Spirit was the impartation of the very life of
Christ, which was to
qualify the disciples for their mission. Without this qualification
their work could not be
accomplished. Thus they were to fulfil the official duties connected
with the church. But the
Holy Spirit was not yet fully manifested, because Christ had not yet
been glorified. The more
abundant impartation of the Holy Spirit did not take place till after
Christ's ascension. {RH,
June 13, 1899 par. 6,7}
So it may be now. Instead of man's speculations, let the Word of God
be preached. Let
Christians put away their dissensions, and give themselves to God for
the saving of the lost.
Let them in faith ask for the blessing, and it will come. The outpouring
of the Spirit in
apostolic days was the "former rain," and glorious was the
result. But the latter rain will be
more abundant.
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God, will be constantly
receiving a new
endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies
of heaven are at their
command. Christ gives them the breath of his own spirit, the life of his own
life. The Holy
Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The
grace of God enlarges
and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine
nature comes to their
assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ
they are complete in
him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of
Omnipotence. {RH,
November 19, 1908 par. 14,15}
I saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son. I gazed on Jesus'
countenance and
admired His lovely person. The Father's person I could not behold,
for a cloud of glorious
light covered Him. I asked Jesus if His Father had a form like Himself.
He said He had, but I
could not behold it ...Those who were bowed before the throne would
offer up their prayers
and look to Jesus; then He would look to His Father, and appear to
be pleading with Him. A
light would come from the Father to the Son and from the Son to the
praying company. Then
I saw an exceeding bright light come from the Father to the Son, and
from the Son it waved
over the people before the throne ... This company all
received the light and rejoiced in it,
and their countenances shone with its glory ...Those who rose
up with Jesus would send up
their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, "My Father,
give us Thy Spirit." Then Jesus would
breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and
much love, joy, and
peace. {EW 54,55}
Every faculty that we possess has been provided for us in Christ; for
when God gave his Son
to our world, he included all heaven in his gift. And God would have
men value their powers
as a sacred gift from him. A spark of God's own life has been
breathed into the human body,
making man a living soul, the possessor of moral endowments, and a
will to direct his own
course of action. He has the privilege of becoming a partaker of the
divine nature. This will
give him power to conquer evil, and love and choose that which is good.
He has a
conscience, which, under the control of God, will approve the right
and condemn the wrong.
And he may, if he will, have fellowship with God. He may walk and talk
with God as did
Enoch. This holy companionship is denied to none who will believe on
Christ as their
personal Saviour. {ST, August 26, 1897 par. 8}
We are to commune with the One who gives us life, the One who keeps
the heart in motion
and the pulse beating. To every member of his great family here below
God is ever giving the
breath of life. And he has given his Son as a propitiation for sin, in
order that we might stand
on vantage-ground with God. He deserves our sincere reverence, our
earnest devotion.
When we consider what he had done for us, how can we help loving him?
{RH, February 15,
1912 par. 14}
It is a heart-reception of the pure principles of the gospel that makes
a man an honor to God,
and enables him to exert an influence that wins souls to Christ. "Not
by might nor by power,
but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Only thus can human
beings prevail against
Satanic agencies. Without God's aid, human might and strength have
no more power than
the wind that blows to impress aright the souls of men. The breath of God
must be breathed
into the soul before it can be filled with power. {Central Advance,
April 8, 1903 par. 4}
It is not the human agent that is to inspire with life. The Lord God
of Israel will do that part,
quickening the lifeless spiritual nature into activity. The breath of the Lord
of hosts must enter
into the lifeless bodies. In the judgment, when all secrets are laid
bare, it will be known that
the voice of God spoke through the human agent, and aroused the torpid
conscience, and
stirred the lifeless faculties, and moved sinners to repentance and
contrition, and forsaking of
sins. It will then be clearly seen that through the human agent faith
in Jesus Christ was
imparted to the soul, and spiritual life from heaven was
breathed upon one who was dead
in trespasses and sins, and he was quickened with spiritual life. {RH,
January 17, 1893 par.
7}
Religion is not a mere form. Pure and undefiled religion is the life of God in
the soul, the
abiding of Jesus in the heart. The thoughts are cultivated and
trained to think and act in
reference to the glory of God. The questions will arise in the mind,
Will this course of action
please Jesus? Shall I be able to maintain my integrity if I enter into
this arrangement? Thus
God will be made the counselor, and the soul will be brought into obedience
to the will of
God, and we shall be led into safe paths; and if we follow on to know
the Lord, we shall
triumph with the truth and have eternal life. {RH, July 19, 1887 par.
23}
God's people would put on joy and gladness as a garment if they would
only receive what he
is waiting to give them,--that which would make them strong to help
those in need of help.
Our people need the breath of life breathed into them, that
they may arouse to spiritual
action. Many have lost their vital energy; they are sluggish, dead,
as it were. Let those who
have been receiving the grace of Christ help these souls to arouse
to action. Let us keep in
the current of life that comes from Christ, that we may
kindle life in some other soul. Healthy,
happy, united action is what is needed in the church today. {RH, April
28, 1904 par. 17}
The opening of God's word is followed by remarkable opening in strengthening
man's
faculties; for the entrance of God's word is the application of divine
truth to the heart,
purifying and refining the soul through the agency of the Holy Spirit.
He has genuine faith in
the truth as it is in Jesus, and that faith works by love and purifies
the soul. These are tried
workers together with God, and God is to receive all the glory. Whatever
progress we make,
whatever good we accomplish comes from God, to be reflected upon others
in good works,
and reflected back to God, the great Source of light. It is the Spirit of
God in the soul that
quickens its otherwise lifeless faculties, and attracts the
soul to God and to the truth. The
intellectual talents owe all their advancement to God, and our religious life
is dead and
spiritless, unless the living Spirit is received from God the life-giving
power. Without the
enlightenment of his Spirit, we cannot appreciate the things of the heavenly world,
and
cannot have a relish for communion with God. {RH, July 19, 1887 par.
22}
Christ says that if He is in us our joy will be full. Let us, then,
be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust. Let us not, by living
inconsistent, earthly, sensual lives, heap reproach upon Christ. Let
us rise above the
malarious atmosphere that
pervades the world, and breathe the breath of God. Let us feed
upon the bread of life.
Christ declares that if we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we shall
have eternal life. His
Word will be to us as the leaves of the tree of life if we will believe
in Christ as our personal
Saviour. If we eat the bread that came down from heaven, we shall have
a life connection
with God... {2SAT 168.1,2}
None who breathe the breath of God, receiving the Holy Spirit from him, can be
indifferent in
regard to the welfare of others. Their own souls are inspired with
the love of Christ, and they
use all their powers in the work of presenting Bible principles. {RH,
July 19, 1898 par. 22}
The more unselfish his spirit, the happier he is, because he is fulfilling
God's purpose for him.
The breath of God is breathed through him, filling him with gladness. To him life
is a sacred
trust, precious in his sight because given by God to be spent in ministering
to others. {RH,
June 25, 1908}
God is your Master, and you are his employed servants. The Holy Spirit must come in
contact with your spirit, that it may divinely restore your soul, working your
sanctification, and
giving life and power to your efforts. When the life of God is restored to the
soul, we rest in
God, and are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. {RH, May 20,
1890 par. 2}
Jesus said, Be perfect as your Father is perfect. If you
are the children of God you are
partakers of His nature, and you cannot but be like Him. Every child
lives by the life of his
father. If you are God's children, begotten by His Spirit, you live by the
life of God. In Christ
dwells "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9);
and the life of Jesus is made
manifest "in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor. 4:11). That life in
you will produce the same character
and manifest the same works as it did in Him. Thus you will be in harmony
with every
precept of His law; for "the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring
the soul" (Ps. 19:7, margin).
Through love "the righteousness of the law" will be "fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4). {RC 73.5}
In giving us His Spirit, God gives us Himself, making Himself a fountain of
divine influences,
to give health and life to the world. {7T 273}
Shall we sleep on the very verge of the eternal world? Shall we be
dull and cold and dead?
Oh, that we might have in our churches the Spirit and breath of
God breathed into His
people, that they might stand upon their feet and live. We need to
see that the way is narrow,
and the gate strait. But as we pass through the strait gate, its wideness
is without limit.
{20MR 217.1}
Christian love will work the grandest of all miracles. Christ is the
world's Redeemer, and men
who do not have an experimental knowledge of what He is and what He
will be to them, are
in darkness. In our day it is a difficult matter to bring those who
profess to believe the truth to
the experimental knowledge of its vitalizing, sanctifying power. This
has been experienced in
years gone by, but form has taken the place of the power, and its simplicity
has been lost in a
round of ceremonies. There is need of the Spirit and life of
God to be breathed into the dry
bones. {20MR 243.2}
But not only does this simile of the dry bones apply to the world,
but also to those who have
been blessed with great light; for they also are like the skeletons
of the valley. They have the
form of men, the framework of the body; but they have not spiritual
life. But the parable does
not leave the dry bones merely knit together into the forms of men;
for it is not enough that
there is symmetry of limb and feature. The breath of life must
vivify the bodies, that they may
stand upright, and spring into activity. These bones represent the
house of Israel, the church
of God, and the hope of the church is the vivifying influence
of the Holy Spirit. The Lord must
breathe upon the dry bones, that they may live. {RH, January 17,
1893 par. 8}
The command of God is addressed to all the members of the church to
use their powers in
his service. Though the instrument may be weak, it is the power of
God that will accomplish
the work. Paul may plant, and Apollos may
water, but it is God who gives the increase. There
is a great work to do; and the Spirit of the living God must enter
into the living messenger,
that the truth may go with power. Without the
Holy Spirit, without the breath of God, there
is torpidity of conscience, loss of spiritual life. Unless there is
genuine conversion of the soul
to God; unless the vital breath of God quickens the soul to spiritual life; unless the
professors
of truth are actuated by heaven-born principles, they are not born
of the incorruptible seed,
which liveth and abideth forever. Unless they trust in the
righteousness of Christ as their only
security; unless they copy his character, labor in his spirit, they
are naked; they have not on
the robe of righteousness. {RH, December 3, 1908 par. 10}
When ministers, teachers, and managers breathe the breath
of God, a high and holy
consecration will be manifest.
Men have lost the life of God by opposing those who have received a
message from heaven.
God calls for workers who will wrestle earnestly for the prize of eternal
life. The Spirit of God
must come to every gospel worker, to every church member, if those
who are perishing in sin
are [to be] saved to Christ. The crown of life is gained by those who
run with patience the
race set before them.
Brethren, God forbid that you should lose this prize. God is not pleased
with your inefficiency.
You are doing nothing to gain a high, noble spirituality. The torpor
of spiritual death has been
long upon you. It is not your orthodox theories, not your membership
in the church, not the
diligent performance of a certain round of duties, that gives evidence
of life. {17MR
247.3,4,5}
I saw that great changes must be wrought in the hearts and lives of
these men before God
can work in them by his power, in the salvation of others. They must
be renewed after the
image of God in righteousness and true holiness. The love of the world,
the love of self, and
every ambition of life calculated to exalt self, will be changed by
the grace of God, and
employed in the special work of saving souls for whom Christ died.
Humility will take the
place of pride; and haughty self-esteem will be exchanged for meekness.
Every power of the
heart will be turned into disinterested love for all mankind. Satan,
I saw, would arouse
himself when they in earnest commence the work of reformation in themselves.
He knows
that these men, if consecrated to God, could prove the strength of
his promises, and realize
a power working with them that the adversary shall not be able to gainsay
nor resist. They
would realize the life of God in the soul. {PH011 72.1}
When the lips of a speaker move under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
the words of God
find utterance in warnings, in reproofs, in appeals. This power is
not of the speaker. It is a
power given him by God, that he may reach those who are dead in trespasses
and sins, and
arouse them to see the need of receiving life from God. God works through
His faithful
servants, who do not shun to declare the whole truth in the power of
the Spirit. Their work
bears His endorsement. {6MR 57.2}
Let every one who values the precious sacrifice
made by Jesus Christ, lift up his voice in
prayer to God, and exclaim: "Behold, O Lord, this poor, oppressed
people that have been
despised and maltreated by the white nation. Breathe into their
souls the breath of spiritual
life. If no effort is made on their behalf, they will perish in their sins,
and their blood will be
found upon our garments. Father of mercies, pity thine offspring. Breathe upon these beaten,
bruised, ignorant souls, that they may live. Give thy Holy Spirit
to those who shall
go forth as
messengers to this people. Take not thy Holy Spirit from us in our
councils, and enable us to
make plans and devise means for the spread of the truth among
them." {RH, January 21,
1896 par. 5}
Our personal identity is preserved in the resurrection, though not
the same particles of
matter or material substance as went into the grave. The wondrous works
of God are a
mystery to man. The spirit, the character of man, is returned to God,
there to be preserved.
In the resurrection every man will have his own character. God in His own time
will call forth
the dead, giving again the breath of life, and bidding the
dry bones live. The same form will
come forth, but it will be free from disease and every defect. It lives
again bearing the same
individuality of features, so that friend will recognize friend. There
is no law of God in nature
which shows that God gives back the same identical particles of matter
which composed the
body before death. God shall give the righteous dead a body that will
please Him. {Mar
301.1}
What a song that will be when the ransomed of the Lord meet at the
gate of the Holy City,
which is thrown back on its glittering hinges and the nations that
have kept His word--His
commandments--enter into the city, the crown of the overcomer is placed
upon their heads,
and the golden harps are placed in their hands! All heaven is filled
with rich music, and with
songs of praise to the Lamb. Saved, everlastingly saved, in the kingdom
of glory! To have a
life that measures with the life of God--that is the
reward (MS 92, 1908)
But turning from all lesser representations, we behold God in Jesus.
Looking unto Jesus we
see that it is the glory of our God to give. "I do nothing of
Myself," said Christ; "the living
Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father." "I seek not
Mine own glory," but the glory of
Him that sent Me. John 8:28; 6:57; 8:50; 7:18. In these words is set
forth the great principle
which is the law of life for the universe. All things Christ received from
God, but He took to
give. So in the heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created beings:
through the beloved
Son, the Father's life flows out to all; through the Son it returns, in praise and
joyous
service, a tide of love, to the great Source of all. And thus through
Christ the circuit of
beneficence is complete, representing the character of the great Giver,
the law of life. {DA
21}
----- Original Message -----
From: Russell Unterschultz
To: Ron
Beaulieu
Sent:
Sunday, June 27, 2010 6:55 PM
Subject:
Re: Hello and attachment
Dear brother Ron: I
have just finished uploading the videos to Youtube. I
hope that there are no bugs in the presentation! The sound should be good. Here
are the links:
Part 1/5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PDTOtEjgiQ
Part 2/5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FNmGtIXig4
Part 3/5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nAzo5o9lww
Part 4/5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw0KBtlL3ho
Part 5/5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz-dH3cGIhc