Dear fellow
believer
This (first updated) presentation has been compiled to the
glory of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
May I thank you for requesting this list of
Ellen White quotes. I can only confess that I have been wonderfully blessed in
my studies of this ‘impossible to be exhausted’ subject.
I believe that Ellen White was called to the
prophetic office and that her writings are a continuing source of comfort,
admonition and inspiration to the people of God who are living in these
tumultuous and exciting times just before the return of Jesus. It is also a time
in which the enemy of souls, because he knows that his time is getting shorter,
is more active now than he ever has been. His deceptions have become more and
more subtle.
What greater deception could he suggest, than
a deception that concerns the personage of God and His Son. God has give us
great light on this subject. According to His will, He has not told us
everything, but what He has told us it is our privilege and duty to
believe.
Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD
our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children
for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
To go beyond what God has revealed, is to
delve into the realms of speculation. It is at the point of speculation that
Satan is well able to deceive. Our only source of safety is to abide and rejoice
in that which God has chosen to reveal.
May God bless your understanding as you seek
to know more of Him. As you do so, I believe that through the Holy Spirit, both
the Father and the Son will come and make their abode with
you.
John 14:22-3 Judas saith unto
him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and
not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make
our abode with him.
If you have any comments or believe that
there are statements from the pen of Ellen White that if included, would enhance
this presentation, then please forward them with the appropriate references to
one of the following email addresses.
Preference 1 terry_sda@blueyonder.co.uk
Preference 2 terry_sda@hotmail.com
Preference 3 terry_sda@bristol000@freeserve.co.uk
Blessings from
Terry Hill, Bristol,
England
Last edited 2nd December 2002
Ellen. G. Whites comments on the
relationship between God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit.
(All emphasis is supplied by the
author of this presentation)
1. “The union of the divine with the human is one of the
most mysterious, as well as the most precious, truths of the plan of redemption.
It is of this that Paul speaks when he says, "Without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the-flesh." 1 Tim. 3:16. While
it is impossible for finite minds fully to grasp this great truth, or to fathom
its significance, we may learn from it lessons of vital importance to us in our
struggles against temptation. Christ came to the world to bring divine power to
humanity, to make man a partaker of the divine nature.” (General
Conference Bulletin 25-2-1895 Extract from ‘Life of
Christ’)
*****
2. “In this country, the denominational ministers tell
the most unblushing falsehoods to their congregations in reference
to our work and our people. Whatever false report has been started, is
circulated by those who oppose the truth, and is repeated from church to church
and from community to community. The circulators of these falsehoods take no
pains to find out whether or not they are true, for many of those who repeat the
reports, though not the framers of them, still love the false reports, and take
delight in giving them a wide circulation. They do not, like honest, just men,
come to those who are accused, and seek to find out what is the truth concerning
what they have heard in regard to their faith; but without inquiry they spread
false statements in order to prejudice the people against those who hold the
truth. For instance, an effort was made to obtain the use of the hall at a
village four miles from Hastings, where some of our workers proposed to present
the gospel to the people; but they did not succeed in obtaining the hall,
because a schoolteacher there opposed the truth, and declared to the people that
Seventh-day Adventists did not believe in the divinity of Christ.
This man may not have known what our faith is on this point, but he was
not left in ignorance. He was informed that there is not a people on earth who
hold more firmly to the truth of Christ's pre-existence than do Seventh-day
Adventists. But the answer was given that they did not want that the
doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists should be promulgated in that community. So
the door was closed.” (RH 12-5-1893)
*****
3. “When the period comes in the Southern States to do
as did the three worthies, who refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image, that
time will present decisions for or against the commandments of God . There is no
need of closing up our own way entirely. It will be made more difficult to work
the many fields that have not yet been touched. Our policy is, Do not make
prominent the objectionable features of our faith, which strike most decidedly
against the customs and practises of the people, until the Lord shall give the
people a fair chance to know that we are believers in Christ, and in his
pre-existence. Let the testimony of the world's Redeemer be dwelt upon.
'I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.'
There is need of strictly guarding the words that the pen traces upon paper. The
Lord help us to learn in the school of Christ his meekness and his lowliness.”
(RH
13-4-1911)
*****
4. “ "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience
seared with a hot iron." Before the last developments of the work of
apostasy there will be a confusion of faith. There will not be clear and
definite ideas concerning the mystery of God. One truth after another
will be corrupted. "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
There are many who deny the pre-existence of Christ, and therefore deny
his divinity; they do not accept him as a personal Saviour. This is a
total denial of Christ. He was the only-begotten Son of God, who was one with
the Father from the beginning. By him the worlds were made”. (ST 28-5-1894)
*****
5. “Another dangerous error is the doctrine that
denies the deity of Christ, claiming that He had no existence before His
advent to this world. This theory is received with favour by a large
class who profess to believe the Bible; yet it directly contradicts the plainest
statements of our Saviour concerning His relationship with the Father, His
divine character, and His pre-existence. It cannot be entertained without the
most unwarranted wresting of the Scriptures.” (GC page 524)
*****
6. “The Saviour has said, "He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but
the wrath of God abideth on him" He says again, "And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."
Mohammedanism has its converts in many lands, and its advocates deny the
divinity of Christ. Shall this faith be propagated, and the advocates of truth
fail to manifest intense zeal to overthrow the error, and teach men of the
pre-existence of the only Saviour of the world? O how we need men who
will search and believe the word of God, who will present Jesus to the
world in his divine and human nature, declaring with power and in
demonstration of the Spirit, that "there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved." O how we need believers who will now
present Christ in life and character, who will hold him up before the world as
the brightness of the Father's glory, proclaiming that God is love!” (HM 1-9-1892)
*****
7. “The fallen denominational churches are Babylon.
Babylon has been fostering poisonous doctrines, the wine of error. This wine of
error is made up of false
doctrines, such as the natural immortality of the soul, the eternal torment of
the wicked, the denial of the pre-existence of Christ prior to His birth
in Bethlehem, and advocating and exalting the first day of the week above God's holy and sanctified
day.--” (NBL page 52 TM
61).
*****
8. “Another dangerous error, is the doctrine that
denies the divinity of Christ, claiming that he had no existence before
his advent to this world. This theory is received with favour by a large
class who profess to believe the Bible; yet it directly contradicts the
plainest statements of our Saviour concerning his relationship with the Father,
his divine character, and his pre-existence. It cannot be entertained without
the most unwarranted wresting of the Scriptures. It not only lowers man's
conceptions of the work of redemption, but undermines faith in the Bible as a
revelation from God. While this renders it the more dangerous, it makes it also
harder to meet. If men reject the testimony of the inspired Scriptures
concerning the divinity of Christ, it is in vain to argue the point with them;
for no argument, however conclusive, could convince them. "The natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto
him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." [1 COR.
2:14.] None who hold this error can have a true conception of the character or
the mission of Christ, or of the great plan of God for man's
redemption.
Still another subtle and mischievous error is the
fast-spreading belief that Satan has no existence as a personal being; that the
name is used in Scripture merely to represent men's evil thoughts and
desires.” (GC page 524 1888
edition)
*****
9. “The scribes and Pharisees accused Christ of
blasphemy because He made Himself equal with God. But He promptly met
and denied their accusations. "Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, which
is dead?" they asked Him; "whom makest Thou Thyself?" Jesus answered: "If I
honor Myself, My honor is nothing; it is My Father that honoreth Me; of whom ye
say, that He is your God; yet ye have not known Him, but I know Him; and if I
should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know Him, and
keep His saying. Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and
was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and
hast Thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am."
Here Christ shows them that, altho they might reckon His
life to be less than fifty years, yet His divine life could not be reckoned by
human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not
measured by figures”. (ST
3-5-1899)
*****
10. “ "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In
him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in
darkness; and the darkness comprehendeth it not. . . . And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." These ringing words come sounding down
the line to our time. They are full of assurance; for John meant every word that
he uttered. Inspired by God, these words possess a power that none can estimate
who does not believe in Christ as his personal Saviour. They have a deep
meaning, and a broad compass, and are eternal truth to all who believe them.
John is calling the attention of the world to Christ as
the life and light of men. Life and light, possessed by no other being
that has ever breathed, are found in Christ. A human being lives,
but his is a given life, a life that will be quenched.
"What is your life? It is even vapor, that appeareth for
a little time, and then vanisheth away." But Christ's life is not a vapor;
it is never-ending, a life existing before the worlds were made”.
(ST. 17-6 -1897)
*****
11. “Dangers in Speculative Study
The light of truth which God designs shall come to the
people of the world at this time is not that which the world's men of learning
are seeking to impart, for these men in their research often arrive at erroneous
conclusions and in their study of many authors become enthused with
theories that are of satanic origin. Satan, clothed in the garb of an
angel of light, presents for the study of the human mind subjects which seem
very interesting and which are full of scientific mystery. In the investigation
of these subjects, men are led to accept erroneous conclusions and to unite with
seducing spirits in the work of propounding new theories which lead away from
the truth.
There is danger that the false sentiments expressed in
the books that they have been reading will sometimes be interwoven by our
ministers, teachers, and editors with their arguments, discourses, and
publications, under the belief that they are the same in principle as the
teachings of the Spirit of truth.
The book Living Temple is an
illustration of this work, the writer of which declared in its support that its
teachings were the same as those found in the writings of Mrs. White. Again and
again we shall be called to meet the influence of men who are studying sciences
of satanic origin, through which Satan is working to make a nonentity of
God and of Christ.
The Father and the Son each have a
personality. Christ declared: "I
and My Father are one." Yet it was the Son of God who came to the world in human
form. Laying aside His royal robe and kingly crown, He clothed His
divinity with humanity, that humanity through His infinite
sacrifice might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption
that is in the world through lust.” (9T pages
67-68)
*****
12. “The Scriptures clearly indicate the relation
between God and Christ, and they bring to view as clearly the personality and
individuality of each.
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto
us by His Son; . . . who being the brightness of His glory, and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He
had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high; being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He
at any time.
"Thou art My Son,
This day have I begotten
Thee?
And again,
I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a
Son?"
Hebrews 1:1-5.
The personality of the Father and the Son, also the
unity that exists between Them, are presented in the seventeenth chapter of
John, in the prayer of Christ for His disciples:
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which
shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou,
Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the
world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." John 17:20,
21.
“The unity that exists between Christ and His disciples
does not destroy the personality of either. They are one in purpose, in mind, in
character, but not in person. It is thus that God and Christ
are one.” (MH - 422)
***** *
13. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou,
Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the
world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I
have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in
them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world
may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me."
John 17:20-23.
Wonderful statement! The unity that exists between
Christ and His disciples does not destroy the personality of either. They are
one in purpose, in mind, in character, but not in person. It is
thus that God and Christ are one.
The relation between the Father and the Son, and the
personality of both, are made plain in this scripture
also:
"Thus speaketh
Jehovah of hosts, saying,
Behold,
the man whose name is the Branch:
And He
shall grow up out of His place;
And He
shall build the temple of Jehovah; . . .
And He
shall bear the glory,
And shall
sit and rule upon His throne;
And He shall be a priest upon His
throne;
And
the counsel of peace shall be between Them both."
Zechariah 6:12, 13, A. R. V. 270 (8T 269)
*****
14. “ “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes
to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may
glorify thee; as thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that should give
eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal that
they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent."
In this scripture God and Christ are spoken of
separately. They are two
distinct persons, but one in mind, one in heart, one in holiness and
justice, and purity, and one in the work of seeking to save the sinful race. To
those who believe in Christ, God will give power to become His sons even to them
that believe on His name. This is the science of the life that now is, and of
the life which is to come. This is the true science that our medical men need to
study,--the science of the saving grace of the gospel. This is the science that
students must study in order to become genuine medical missionaries”.
(Miscellaneous Manuscripts and Collections. Battle Creek letters 1928
BCL.127)
*****
15. “ “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on Me through
their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be
one in us."
Distinct Personalities These words present God and Christ as
two distinct personalities.
Christ prays that a pure, holy love may bind His
followers to Himself, and to the
Father, that this close fellowship may be a sign that God loves as His own Son
those who believe in Him” (Miscellaneous Manuscripts and Collections Notebook
leaflets from the Elmshaven Library 1985 NBL 124).
*****
16. Sabbath Sermon
“On Sabbath, April 27, many of our brethren and sisters
from neighboring churches gathered in the parlors with the sanitarium family,
and I spoke to them there. I read the first chapter of Hebrews as the basis of
my discourse. This chapter clearly indicates the individual personalities
of the Father and the Son. Speaking of the Son, the apostle says,
"God . . . hath appointed [him] heir of all things, by whom also
he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image
of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."
If men and women could be once inspired by a view of the
great and grand work that has been accomplished through God's gift of his
Son, their days would no longer be given up to pleasure-seeking and
frivolity. Our ears would no longer be pained by the drunkard's song and the
story of crime and wickedness. Men would endeavor to place themselves where they
could realize the meaning of the great salvation offered through Jesus Christ.
It means life, eternal life to the receiver” (RH. 1-8
–1907 Sabbath
Sermon).
*****
17. “As God's servants proclaim these things, Satan
steps up to some who have itching minds, and presents his scientific problems.
Men will be tempted to place science above God. But who by searching can find
out God? Men may put their own interpretation upon God, but no human mind can
comprehend him. This problem has not been given us to solve. Let not finite man
attempt to interpret Jehovah. Let none indulge in speculation regarding his
nature. Here silence is eloquence. The omniscient One is above discussion.
Christ is one with the Father, but Christ and God are
two distinct personages. Read the
prayer of Christ in the seventeenth chapter of John, and you will find this
point clearly brought out. How earnestly the Saviour prayed that his disciples
might be one with him as he is one with the Father. But the unity that is to
exist between Christ and his followers does not destroy the personality of
either. They are to be one with him as he is one with the Father. By this unity
they are to make it plain to the world that God sent his Son to save sinners.
The oneness of Christ's followers with him is to be the great,
unmistakable proof that God did indeed send his Son into the world to save
sinners. But a loose, lax religion leaves the world bewildered and
confused”. (RH. 1-6-1905)
*****
18.
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,
of the Word of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear
witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was
manifested unto us); that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that
ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."
There are those who are always seeking for something
new. If they understood aright, they would realize that the newness that they
need is that which comes from a daily growth in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. Let us keep firm and unshaken our faith in the message
that God has given us for these last days. The world is fast becoming as it was
in the days of Noah. Christ declared that this would be the sign of the
end,--men would be eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day of the coming of the Son of man. His words
mean far more than we have yet seen. Do not the events that have taken place
show this?
“And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with
his Son Jesus Christ." All through the Scriptures, the Father and the Son
are spoken of as two distinct personages. You will hear men
endeavoring to make the Son of God a nonentity. He and the Father are one, but
they are two personages. Wrong sentiments regarding this are coming in, and we
shall all have to meet them”. (“RH.
13-7-1905)
*****
19. “End of the 2300 Days “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, for said He, "If you should once behold the glory of His person,
you would cease to exist." (Early Writings page
54).
*****
20. “ I have frequently been falsely charged with
teaching views peculiar to Spiritualism. But before the editor of the Day-Star ran into that delusion, the
Lord gave me a view of the sad and desolating effects that would be produced
upon the flock by him and others in teaching the spiritual views. I have
often seen the lovely Jesus, that He is a
person . I asked Him if His Father was a person and had a form like
Himself. Said Jesus, "I am in the express
image of My Father's
person."
I have often seen that the spiritual view took away all
the glory of heaven, and that in many minds the throne of David and the lovely
person of Jesus have been burned up in the fire of Spiritualism. I have seen
that some who have been deceived and led into this error will be brought out
into the light of truth, but it will be almost impossible for them to get
entirely rid of the deceptive power of Spiritualism. Such should make thorough
work in confessing their errors and leaving them forever”. (Early Writings
page 77)
*****
21. "I had often been shown the lovely Jesus, that
he is a person . I had
asked him if his Father was a person, and had a form like himself. Said Jesus,
'I am in the express
image of my Father's
person.' I had often seen that the spiritual view took away the glory of
heaven, and that in many minds the throne of David, and the lovely person
of Jesus had been burned up by the fire of spiritual interpretation”
(Life Sketches page 230 1880)
*****
22. “Christ did not
seek to be thought great, and yet He was the Majesty of heaven, equal in dignity
and glory with the infinite God. He was God manifested in the flesh. What a
rebuke is the life of Christ to everything like self-conceit, self-exaltation,
seeking to be great among men! He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief. Wonder, O heaven, and be astonished, O earth! The divine nature in
the person of Christ was not transformed in human nature and the human nature of
the Son of man was not changed into the divine nature, but they were
mysteriously blended in the Saviour of men. He was not the Father but in Him
dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and yet He calls to a
suffering world, "Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light." (Letter 8a, 1890, pp. 2, 3. (To M. J. Church, July 7,
1890)
*****
23. “The
Captain of our salvation was perfected through suffering. His soul was
made an offering for sin. It was necessary for the awful darkness to
gather about His soul because of the withdrawal of the Father's love and
favor; for He was standing in the sinner's place, and this darkness
every sinner must experience. The righteous One must suffer the
condemnation and wrath of God, not in vindictiveness; for the heart of
God yearned with greatest sorrow when His Son, the guiltless, was suffering the
penalty of sin. This sundering of the divine powers will never again occur
throughout the eternal ages”. (MS 93, 1899)
*****
24. “The new theories in regard to God and Christ, as
brought out in "The Living Temple", are not in harmony with the teaching of
Christ. The Lord Jesus came to this world to represent the Father. He did not
represent God as an essence pervading nature, but as a personal being.
Christians should bear in mind that God has a personality as verily as has
Christ.” (SPM 324)
*****
25. “I have ever done all that I could to save Dr.
Kellogg's soul, but of late I have not written to him as frequently as in former
years. I am greatly disappointed that so many of our medical missionary workers
seem to be spiritually blind. I can not regard them as safe teachers. They
are sowing tares among the wheat. Those who venture to speak of God as
He is spoken of in "The Living Temple", are on very dangerous ground.
I say, and have ever said, that I will not engage in
controversy with any one in regard to the nature and personality of God. Let
those who try to describe God know that on such a subject silence is eloquence.
Let the Scriptures be read in simple faith, and let each one form his
conceptions of God from his inspired word.
No human mind can comprehend God. No man hath seen him
at any time. We are as ignorant of God as little children. But as little children we may love and obey Him. Had
this been understood, such sentiments as are in this book would never have been
expressed.” (SPM Collection of EGW’s writings 329 Giving heed to seducing
spirits. EGW Elmshaven Oct 9th
1903)
*****
26. “In the controversy that arose among our brethren
regarding the teachings of this book, those in favour of giving it a wide
circulation declared: "It contains the very sentiments that Sister White has
been teaching." This assertion struck right to my heart. I felt heartbroken; for
I knew that this representation of the matter was not true. “Finally my son said
to me, "Mother, you ought to read at least some parts of the book, that you may
see whether they are in harmony with the light that God has given you." He sat
down beside me, and together we read the preface, and most of the first chapter,
and also paragraphs in other chapters. As we read, I recognised the very
sentiments against which I had been bidden to speak in warning
during the early days of my public labours. When I first left the
State of Maine, it was to go through Vermont and Massachusetts, to bear a
testimony against these sentiments.
"Living Temple" contains the alpha of these theories. I knew that
the omega would follow in a little while; and I trembled for our people. I knew
that I must warn our brethren and sisters not to enter into controversy over the
presence and personality of God. The statements made in "Living
Temple" in regard to this point are incorrect. The scripture used to
substantiate the doctrine there set forth, is scripture misapplied.” (SPTB02 Page
53)
*****
27. “A False and a True Knowledge of God Speculative
Theories. "Those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children
forever;" but "the secret things belong unto the Lord our God." Deuteronomy
29:29. The revelation of Himself that God has given in His word is for our
study. This we may seek to understand. But beyond this we are not to penetrate.
The highest intellect may tax itself until it is wearied out in
conjectures regarding the nature of God; but the effort will be fruitless. This
problem has not been given us to solve. No human mind can comprehend God. Let
not finite man attempt to interpret Him. Let none indulge in
speculation regarding His nature. Here silence is eloquence. The Omniscient One
is above discussion.” (8T 279)
*****
28. “I have been instructed by the heavenly messenger
that some of the reasoning in the book, "Living Temple," is unsound and that
this reasoning would lead astray the minds of those who are not thoroughly
established on the foundation principles of present truth. It introduces that
which is naught but speculation in regard to the personality of God and
where His presence is. No one on this earth has a right to speculate on this
question. The more fanciful theories are discussed, the less men will
know of God and of the truth that sanctifies the soul.” (SPTB02 page 51)
*****
29. “Points Unnecessary for Faith There are many
questions treated upon that are not necessary for the perfection of the faith.
We have no time for their study. Many things are above finite
comprehension. Truths are to be
received not within the reach of our reason, and not for us to explain.
Revelation presents them to us to be implicitly received as the words of an
infinite God. While every ingenious inquirer is to search out the truth as it is
in Jesus, there are things not yet simplified, statements that human minds
cannot grasp and reason out, without being liable to make human calculation and
explanations, which will not prove a savour of life unto life.”
(Letter 8,
1895. 1SM
163.3)
(NBL
158)
*****
30. “Even the angels were not permitted to share the
counsels between the Father and the Son when the plan of salvation was laid.
Those human beings who seek to intrude into the secrets of the Most High show
their ignorance of spiritual and eternal things. Far better might they, while
mercy's voice is still heard, humble themselves in the dust and plead with God
to teach them His ways.
We are as ignorant of God as little children, but as
little children we may love and obey Him. Instead of speculating in regard
to His nature or His prerogatives, let us give heed to the word He has spoken:
"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10.” (8T 279)
*****
31. “Even the angels were not permitted to share the
counsels between the Father and the Son when the plan of salvation was laid. And
human beings are not to intrude into the secrets of the Most High. We are as
ignorant of God as little children; but, as little children, we may love and
obey Him. Instead of
speculating in regard to His nature or His prerogatives, let us give heed to the
words He has spoken:” (Job 11:7-9 and 28:12-28 quoted) (MH
429)
*****
32. “Neither by searching the recesses of the
earth nor in vain endeavours to penetrate the mysteries of God's being is wisdom
found. It is found, rather, in humbly receiving the revelation that He
has been pleased to give, and in conforming the life to His will.” (8T
280)
*****
33. “It is not essential for us to be able to
define just what the Holy Spirit is. Christ tells us that the
Spirit is the Comforter, "the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the
Father." It is plainly declared regarding the Holy Spirit that, in His work of
guiding men into all truth, "He shall not speak of Himself." John 15:26; 16:13.
52” (AA page
51)
*****
34. “The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery.
Men cannot explain it, because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men
having fanciful views may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human
construction on them, but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the
church. Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human
understanding, silence is golden.” (AA page
52)
*****
35. “Christ's disciples must obey the laws of heaven on
this earth, else they will never obey them in the higher world. I call upon
every physician, upon every gospel minister, to obey the laws of God in
everything. This world is the school in which we are to prepare for graduation
into the higher school. We know not who are the chosen of God only as they
reveal the education they have received from the Father and the Son,
through the Holy Spirit. Christ is their Mediator, their Righteousness,
and their unity centers in God. Those who are so stubborn that they will not
comply with the prayer of Christ will be lawless, loveless, impolite. They could
not be admitted into the family of heaven. The truth cherished in the heart will
work out a blessed unity among Christ's disciples in the lower school of earth.
The Lord is dishonored by the contention and strife caused by the unsanctified
dispositions of professing Christians” (Special Testimonies Series B No. 7
page 45-46 1906).
*****
36. “Christ our Mediator, and the Holy Spirit are
constantly interceding in man’s behalf, but the Spirit pleads not for us
as does Christ, who presents His blood, shed from the foundation of the
world; the Spirit works upon our hearts, drawing out prayers and penitence,
praise and thanksgiving. The gratitude which flows from our lips is the result
of the Spirit’s striking the cords of the soul in holy memories, awakening the
music of the heart.” (1 Selected Messages pages
344)
*****
37. “The Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the only
begotten Son of God, binds the human agent, body, soul, and spirit, to
the perfect, divine-human nature of Christ. This union is represented by the
union of the vine and the branches. Finite man is united to the manhood of
Christ. Through faith human nature is assimilated with Christ's nature. We are
made one with God in Christ”. (R&H 5-4-1906)
*****
39 “The Word Made Flesh
The union of the divine with the human nature is one of
the most precious and most mysterious truths of the plan of redemption. It is
this of which Paul speaks when he says: "Without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh."
This truth has been to many a cause of doubt and
unbelief. When Christ came into the world,--the Son of God and the Son of
man,--He was not understood by the people of His time. Christ stooped to take
upon Himself human nature, that He might reach the fallen race and lift them up.
But the minds of men had become darkened by sin, their faculties were benumbed
and their perceptions dulled, so that they could not discern His divine
character beneath the garb of humanity. This lack of appreciation on
their part was an obstacle to the work which He desired to accomplish for them;
and in order to give force to His teaching he was often under the necessity of
defining and defending His position. By referring to His mysterious and
divine character, He sought to lead their minds into a train of thought which
would be favourable to the transforming power of truth.” (5T
746)
*****
40. “Christ came to our world, sent of God to take
human nature upon him. The mysterious union was to be formed between
human nature and the divine nature. Christ was to become a man, in
order that he might unfold to men as fully as possible the mysteries of the
science of redemption. But the scheme of redemption far exceeds the
comprehension of the human mind. The great condescension on the
part of God is a mystery that is beyond our fathoming. The greatness of the plan
cannot be fully comprehended, nor could infinite Wisdom devise a plan that would
surpass it. It could be successful only by the clothing of divinity with
humanity, by Christ becoming man, and suffering the wrath which sin has made
because of the transgression of God's law. Through this plan the great, the
dreadful God can be just, and yet be the justifier of all who believe in Jesus,
and who receive him as their personal Saviour. This is the heavenly
science of redemption, of saving men from eternal ruin, and can be carried out
through the incarnation of the Son of God, through his triumph over sin and
death. In seeking to fathom this plan, all finite intelligences are
baffled.” (RH
22-10-1895)
*****
41. “We cannot explain the great mystery of the plan of
redemption. Jesus took upon himself humanity, that he might reach humanity;
but we cannot explain how divinity was clothed with humanity. An
angel would not have known how to sympathize with fallen man, but Christ
came to the world and suffered all our temptations, and carried all our
griefs. Are you not glad that he was tempted in all points like as we are, and
yet without sin? Our hearts should be filled with gratitude to him. We should be
able to present to God a continual thank-offering for his wonderful love. Jesus
can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. When we are in sorrow and
trouble and temptation, we need not think nobody knows, nobody can understand.
O, no; Jesus has passed over every step of the ground before you, and he knows
all about it” (RH.
1-10-1889)
*****
42. “Laying aside his royal robe and kingly
crown, Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, that human beings
might be raised from their degradation, and placed on vantage-ground.
Christ could not have come to this earth with the glory that he had in the
heavenly courts. Sinful human beings could not have borne the sight. He
veiled his divinity with the garb of humanity, but he did not part with
his divinity. A divine-human Saviour, he came to stand at the head of
the fallen race, to share in their experience from childhood to manhood. That
human beings might be partakers of the divine nature, he came to
this earth, and lived a life of perfect obedience”. (RH
15-6-1905)
*****
43. “In Christ, divinity and humanity were combined.
Divinity was not degraded to humanity; divinity held its place,
but humanity by being united to divinity, withstood the fiercest test of
temptation in the wilderness. The prince of this world came to Christ after his
long fast, when he was an hungered, and suggested to him to command the stones
to become bread. But the plan of God, devised for the salvation of man, provided
that Christ should know hunger, and poverty, and every phase of man's
experience. He withstood the temptation, through the power that man may command.
He laid hold on the throne of God, and there is not a man or woman who may not
have access to the same help through faith in God. Man may become a partaker of
the divine nature; not a soul lives who may not summon the aid of Heaven in
temptation and trial. Christ came to reveal the Source of his power, that man
might never rely on his unaided human capabilities”. (RH
19-2-1890)
*****
44. “As the
sin-bearer and priest and representative of man before God, He [Christ] entered
into the life of humanity, bearing our flesh and blood. The life is in the
living, vital current of blood, which blood was given for the life of the world.
Christ made a full atonement, giving His life as a ransom for us. He was born
without a taint of sin, but came into the world in like manner as the human
family. He did not have a mere semblance of a body, but He took human
nature, participating in the life of humanity. According to the law
Christ Himself gave, the forfeited inheritance was ransomed by the nearest
of kin. Jesus Christ laid off His royal robe, His kingly crown, and
clothed His divinity with humanity, in order to become a substitute and surety
for humanity, that dying in humanity, He might by His death destroy him who had
the power of death. He could not have done this as God, but by coming as
man, Christ could die. By death He overcame death. The death of Christ
bore to the death him who had the power of death, and opened the gates of the
tomb for all who receive Him as their personal Saviour”. (Letter 97, 1898, p.
5. (To "My Brethren in North Fitzroy," November 18, 1898.)White Estate
Washington, D. C. August 13, 1980 {10MR
173.1})
*****
45. “He [Christ]
represented God not as an essence that pervaded nature, but as a God who
has a personality. Christ was the express image of His Father's person;
and He came to our world to restore in man God's moral image, in order that man,
although fallen, might through obedience to God's commandments become enstamped
with the divine image and character--adorned with the beauty of divine
loveliness”. (MS 24, 1891). {7BC
921.9}
*****
46. “Men are contaminated with sin, and they
cannot have an adequate conception of the heinous character of the evil which
they cherish. Because of sin, the Majesty of heaven was stricken, smitten of God
and afflicted. Voluntarily our divine substitute bared his soul to the sword of
justice, that we might not perish, but have everlasting life. Said Christ: "I
lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay
it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it
again." No man of earth nor angel of heaven could have paid the penalty of sin.
Jesus was the only one who could save rebellious man. In him divinity and
humanity were combined, and this was what gave efficiency to the sacrifice made
on Calvary's cross. Here it was that mercy and truth met together,
righteousness and peace kissed each other”. (RH 20-12
1892)
*****
47. “I am instructed to say, The sentiments of those who
are searching for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such representations as the following
are made: "The Father is as the light invisible; the Son is as the light
embodied; the Spirit is the light shed abroad." "The Father is like the dew,
invisible vapour; the Son is like the dew gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit
is like the dew fallen to the seat of life." Another representation: "The Father
is like the invisible vapour; the Son is like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is
rain fallen and working in refreshing power."
All these spiritualistic representations are simply
nothingness. They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the Majesty
which no earthly likeness can be compared to. God can not be compared
with the things His hands have made.
These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God because
of the sins of man. The Father
can not be described by the things of earth.
The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and is invisible to mortal sight.
The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead
manifested. The Word of God
declares Him to be "the express image of His person." "God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." Here is shown the personality of the
Father.
The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He
ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making
manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ
as a personal Saviour. There are
three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of
these three great powers-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit-those who
receive Christ by living faith are baptised, and these powers will co-operate
with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in
Christ. . . .” (Special Testimonies Series B No.7 page 62 1906)
*****
48. “Still seeking to give a true direction to her
(Martha) faith, Jesus declared, "I am the resurrection, and the life." In
Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. "He that hath
the Son hath life." 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer's
assurance of eternal life. "He that believeth in Me," said Jesus,
"though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in
Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" Christ here looks forward to the time
of His second coming. Then the righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible, and
the living righteous shall be translated to heaven without seeing death. The
miracle which Christ was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead,
would represent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His
works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who Himself was
soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a conqueror of the
grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal life.” (DA page
530)
*****
49. “In him was life; and the
life was the light of men” (John 1:4). It is not physical life that is
here specified, but immortality, the life which is exclusively the property of
God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life.
Physical life is something which each individual receives. It is not eternal or
immortal; for God, the Life-giver, takes it again. Man has no control over his
life. But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life
from Him. “I lay it down of myself: (John 10:18), He said. In Him was life,
original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can
possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a
free gift if he will believe in Christ as His personal Saviour. “This is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This is the open fountain of life for the world.”
(Selected Messages book 1 p 296 Chap. 43 - Christ the Life-giver[THIS ARTICLE
APPEARED IN THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, APRIL 8, 1897.])
*****
50."And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Christ came to the world to
reveal the character of the Father, and to redeem the fallen race. The world's
Redeemer was equal with God. His authority was as the authority of God. He declared that
he had no existence separate from the Father. The authority by which he
spoke, and wrought miracles, was expressly his own, yet he assures us that he
and the Father are one” (Review and Herald 7th Jan
1890)
*****
51. “As legislator,
Jesus exercised the authority of God; his commands and decisions were supported
by the Sovereignty of the eternal throne. The glory of the Father was
revealed in the Son; Christ made manifest the character of the
Father. He was so perfectly connected with God, so completely embraced
in his encircling light, that he who had seen the Son, had seen the Father. His
voice was as the voice of God. Mark Christ's prayer before his crucifixion: "And
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was." Again he says, "I am in the Father, and the
Father in me." "No man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man
the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." "He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father." (Review and Herald 7th January
1890)
*****
52. “The Sovereign of the universe was not alone
in His work of beneficence. He had an associate--a co-worker who could
appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created
beings. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." John 1:1, 2. Christ,
the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal
Father--one in nature, in character, in purpose--the only being that could enter
into all the counsels and purposes of God. "His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah
9:6. His "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2. And
the Son of God declares concerning Himself: "The Lord possessed Me in the
beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from
everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then
I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing
always before Him." Proverbs 8:22-30 ”. (Patriarchs and Prophets page
34)
*****
53. “God and Christ knew from the beginning, of the
apostasy of Satan and of the fall of Adam through the deceptive power of the
apostate. The plan of salvation was designed to redeem the fallen race, to give
them another trial. Christ was appointed to the office of Mediator from
the creation of God, set up from everlasting to be our substitute and
surety. Before the world was made, it was arranged that the divinity of
Christ should be enshrouded in humanity. "A body," said Christ, "hast thou
prepared me." But he did not come in human form until the fulness of time had
expired. Then he came to our world, a babe in Bethlehem” (RH.5-4-1906)
*****
54. “The King of the universe summoned the heavenly
hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true
position of His Son and show the relation He sustained to all created
beings. The Son of God shared the Father's throne, and the glory of the
eternal, self-existent One encircled both. About the throne gathered the holy
angels, a vast, unnumbered throng--"ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands" (Revelation 5:11.), the most exalted angels, as
ministers and subjects, rejoicing in the light that fell upon them from the
presence of the Deity. Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King
declared that none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter
into His purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty
counsels of His will. The Son of God had wrought the Father's will in the
creation of all the hosts of heaven; and to Him, as well as to God, their homage
and allegiance were due. Christ was still to exercise divine power, in the
creation of the earth and its inhabitants. But in all this He would not
seek power or exaltation for Himself contrary to God's plan, but would
exalt the Father's glory and execute His purposes of beneficence and love.”
(Patriarchs and Prophets page 36)
*****
55. “Before the entrance of evil there was peace and joy
throughout the universe. All was in perfect harmony with the Creator's will.
Love for God was supreme, love for one another impartial. Christ the Word, the
Only Begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,--one in nature, in
character, and in purpose,-- the only being in all the universe that could
enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. By Christ the Father
wrought in the creation of all heavenly beings. "By Him were all things created,
that are in heaven, . . . whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers" (Colossians 1:16); and to Christ, equally with
the Father, all heaven gave allegiance.” (Great Controversy page
493)
*****
56.. “Testimony of
Scripture The Scriptures clearly
indicate the relation between God and Christ, and they bring to view as clearly
the personality and individuality of each.
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto
us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made
the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His
person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by
Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time,
Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee? And again, I will be to Him a
Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?" Hebrews 1:1-5.
God is the Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God.
To Christ has been given an exalted position. He has been
made equal with the Father. All the counsels of God are opened to His
Son.” (8T
268)
*****
57. “The Eternal Father, the unchangeable one, gave his
only begotten Son, tore from his bosom Him who was made in the
express image of his person, and sent him down to earth to reveal how greatly he
loved mankind. He is willing to do more, "more than we can ask or think." An
inspired writer asks a question which should sink deep into every heart: "He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not
with him also freely give us all things?" (RH
9-7-1895)
*****
58. “Paul
was deeply anxious that the humiliation of Christ should be seen and realized.
He was convinced that if the minds of men could be brought to comprehend the
amazing sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven, all selfishness would be
banished from their hearts. He directs the mind first to the position which
Christ occupied in heaven, in the bosom of His Father; he
reveals Him afterward as laying off His glory, voluntarily subjecting Himself to
all the humbling conditions of man's nature, assuming the responsibilities of a
servant, and becoming obedient unto death, and that death the most ignominious
and revolting, the most shameful, the most agonizing--the death of the
cross. Can Christians contemplate this wonderful exhibition of the love
of God to man without emotions of love and a realizing sense of the fact that we
are not our own? Such a Master should not be served from grudging, covetous,
selfish motives”. (Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 458)
*****
59. “Sorrow filled heaven as it was realised that man
was lost and that the world which God had created was to be filled with mortals
doomed to misery, sickness, and death, and that there was no way of escape for
the offender. The whole family of Adam must die. I then saw the lovely Jesus and
beheld an expression of sympathy and sorrow upon His countenance. Soon I saw Him
approach the exceeding bright light which enshrouded the Father.
Said my accompanying angel, "He is in close converse with His Father." The
anxiety of the angels seemed to be intense while Jesus was communing with His
Father. Three times He was shut in by the glorious light about the Father,
and the third time He came from the Father we could see His person. His
countenance was calm, free from all perplexity and trouble, and shone with a
loveliness which words cannot describe. He then made known to the angelic choir
that a way of escape had been made for lost man; that He had been pleading with
His Father, and had obtained permission to give His own life as a ransom for the
race, to bear their sins, and take the sentence of death upon Himself, thus
opening a way whereby they might, through the merits of His blood, find pardon
for past transgressions, and by obedience be brought back to the garden from
which they were driven.” (Early
writings page 126)
*****
60. “Said the angel, "Think ye that the Father
yielded up His dearly beloved Son without a struggle? No, no." It was even a
struggle with the God of heaven, whether to let guilty man perish, or to give
His darling Son to die for them. Angels were so interested for man's
salvation that there could be found among them those who would yield their glory
and give their life for perishing man. "But," said my accompanying angel, "that
would avail nothing." The transgression was so great that an angel's life would
not pay the debt. Nothing but the death and intercession of God's Son would pay
the debt and save lost man from hopeless sorrow and misery”. (Early Writings page
127)
*****
61. “Before the Father He pleaded in the sinner's
behalf, while the host of heaven awaited the result with an intensity of
interest that words cannot express. Long continued was that mysterious
communing--"the counsel of peace" (Zechariah 6:13) for the fallen sons of men.
The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth; for Christ
is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8);
yet it was a struggle, even with the King of the universe, to yield up His
Son to die for the guilty race. But "God so loved the world, that
He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. Oh, the mystery of redemption!
the love of God for a world that did not love Him! Who can know the depths of
that love which "passeth knowledge"? Through endless ages immortal minds,
seeking to comprehend the mystery of that incomprehensible love, will wonder and
adore.”
(Patriarchs and Prophets page 63)
*****
62. “The great Creator assembled the heavenly host, that
He might in the presence of all the angels confer special honour
upon His Son. The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly
throng of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made known
that it was ordained by Himself that Christ, His Son, should be equal
with Himself; so that wherever was the presence of His Son, it was as His own
presence. The word of the Son was to be obeyed as readily as the word of the
Father. His Son He had invested with authority to command the heavenly
host. Especially was His Son to work in union with Himself in the
anticipated creation of the earth and every living thing that
should exist upon the earth. His Son would carry out His will and His purposes
but would do nothing of Himself alone. The Father’s will would be
fulfilled in Him.
Lucifer was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ. Yet
when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge His supremacy and high
authority and rightful rule, he bowed with them; but his heart was filled with
envy and hatred. Christ had been taken into the special counsel of God in regard
to His plans, while Lucifer was unacquainted with them. He did not understand,
neither was he permitted to know, the purposes of God. But Christ was
acknowledged sovereign of heaven, His power and authority to be the same as that
of God Himself.
Lucifer thought that he was himself a favourite in
heaven among the angels. He had been highly exalted, but this did not call forth
from him gratitude and praise to his Creator. He aspired to the height of God
Himself. He gloried in his loftiness. He knew that he was honoured by the
angels. He had a special mission to execute. He had been near the great Creator,
and the ceaseless beams of glorious light enshrouding the eternal God had shone
especially upon him.
He thought how angels had obeyed his command with
pleasurable alacrity. Were not his garments light and beautiful? Why should
Christ thus be honoured before himself? He left the immediate presence of the
Father, dissatisfied and filled with envy against Jesus Christ.
Concealing his real purposes, he assembled the angelic host. He introduced his
subject, which was himself. As one aggrieved, he related the preference God had
given Jesus to the neglect of himself. He told them that henceforth all the
sweet liberty the angels had enjoyed was at an end. For had not a ruler been
appointed over them, to whom they from henceforth must yield servile honour? He
stated to them that he had called them together to assure them that he no longer
would submit to this invasion of his rights and theirs; that never would he
again bow down to Christ; that he would take the honour upon himself which
should have been conferred upon him, and would be the commander of all who would
submit to follow him and obey his voice.
There was contention among the angels. Lucifer and his
sympathisers were striving to reform the government of God. They were
discontented and unhappy because they could not look into His unsearchable
wisdom and ascertain His purposes in exalting His Son, and
endowing Him with such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against
the authority of the Son.” (The Story of Redemption - page
1)
*****
63. “Satan was once an honored angel in heaven, next to
Christ. His countenance, like those of the other angels, was mild and expressive
of happiness. His forehead was high and broad, showing great intelligence. His
form was perfect; his bearing noble and majestic. But when God said to His Son,
"Let us make man in our image," Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be
consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled
with envy, jealousy, and hatred. He desired to receive the highest honors
in heaven next to God.
Until this time all heaven had been in order, harmony,
and perfect subjection to the government of God. It was the highest sin to rebel
against His order and will. All heaven seemed in commotion. The angels were
marshaled in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel at its
head. Satan, ambitious to exalt himself, and unwilling to submit to the
authority of Jesus, was insinuating against the government of God. Some of the
angels sympathized with Satan in his rebellion, and others strongly contended
for the honor and wisdom of God in giving authority to His Son. There was
contention among the angels. Satan and his sympathizers were striving to
reform the government of God. They wished to look into His unsearchable wisdom,
and ascertain His purpose in exalting Jesus and endowing Him with
such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against the authority of
the Son. All the heavenly host were summoned to appear before the Father to have
each case decided. It was there determined that Satan should be expelled from
heaven, with all the angels who had joined him in the rebellion. Then there was
war in heaven. Angels were engaged in the battle; Satan wished to conquer the
Son of God and those who were submissive to His will. But the good and true
angels prevailed, and Satan, with his followers, was driven from heaven. (EW
p145)
******
64. “Speaking of Satan, our Lord says that "he abode not
in the truth." He was once the covering cherub, glorious in beauty and holiness.
He was next to Christ in exaltation and character. It was with Satan that
self-exaltation had its origin. He became jealous of Christ, and falsely
accused him, and then laid blame upon the Father. He was envious of the position
that was held by Christ and the Father, and he turned from his
allegiance to the Commander of heaven and lost his high and holy
estate.” (RH
22-10-1895)
*****
65. “Our students need lessons that they have not yet
received. There must be no lowering of the standard as to what constitutes true
education. It must be raised far above where it now stands. It is not men whom
we are to exalt and worship; it is God, the only true and living God, to
whom our worship and reverence are due. According to the teaching of the
Scriptures, it dishonors God to address ministers as "reverend." No mortal has
any right to attach this to his own name, or to the name of any other human
being. It belongs only to God, to distinguish him from every other being. Those
who lay claim to this title take to themselves God's holy honor. They have no
right to the stolen word, whatever, their position may be. "Holy and reverend is
his name." We dishonor God when we use this word where it does not belong.
"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled
with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." "And he went down with them,
and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them." "And Jesus increased his
wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Let the brightest
example the world has yet seen be your example, rather than the greatest and
most learned men of the age, who know not God, nor Jesus Christ whom he has
sent. The Father and the Son alone are to be exalted”. (YI.
7-7-1898)
.
*****
66. “Beware of Ambition and Self-exaltation
Satan is the leader of every species of rebellion today,
as he was the originator of rebellion in the courts of heaven. Standing next to
Christ in power and honour, yet he coveted glory that belonged to the Son. He
desired to be equal with God. To carry out his purpose he concealed his true
designs from the angels, and worked deceptively to secure their allegiance and
honour to himself. By sly insinuations, by which he made it appear that
Christ had assumed the place that belonged to himself, Lucifer sowed the
seeds of doubt in the minds of many of the angels; and when he had won their
support, he carried the matter before God, declaring that it was the sentiment
of many of the heavenly beings that he should have the preference to Christ.”
(EM 11-9-1908)
*****
67. “To neglect to comply with the conditions of
salvation is to choose a character of defection and sin, wholly unlike the
character of Christ. It is to bar the only way whereby sinners may escape the
wrath of God. If men show no disposition to come into communion with
Christ, and through him into communion with God the Father, but hour by
hour, and day by day, dare to manifest indifference to Christ by withholding the
service which is due to God, robbing the Lord of their time, their reasoning
powers, their co-operation, rendering back no talent improved, but rather
uniting with Satan to further the influence and power of evil, can God honour
them by the gift of eternal life? Can the impenitent sinner, who treats with
contempt the gift of God, declaring by his words and attitude that he does not
want to wear the yoke and bear the burden of Christ, does not desire that his
life shall be hid with Christ in God,--can such a one enter into the kingdom of
heaven? Would the sinner, who hated God and would not yield to the overtures of
mercy on earth, enjoy everlasting life with Christ and the Father?
Could he who despised the companionship of the Father and the Son
on earth come into fellowship with them in heaven?” (ST
5-1-1891)
*****
68. “We should
study the Scriptures more earnestly; for their treasures of wisdom and knowledge
do not lie upon the surface for the superficial reader. Although we may
know these things and be established in the present truth, yet we do not know
them as we ought. The fountain from which we are to drink is an
inexhaustible fountain.” ... “The mediatorial work of Christ, the grand and holy
mysteries of redemption, are not studied or comprehended by the people who claim
to have light in advance of every other people on the face of the earth.
Were Jesus personally upon earth, he would address a large number who claim to believe
present truth, with the words he addressed to the Pharisees: "Ye do err, not
knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God."” (RH
4-2-1890)
*****
69. “Were Jesus personally teaching in our
world today, we should hear from His lips the same truths. If we will submit to
the working of the Holy Spirit, God will make us partakers of the divine
nature. Only by walking according to the commandments of God can we be
clean.” (ST 3-1-1900)
*****
70. “Satan took advantage of the weak, suffering
condition of Christ, who had taken upon Him our human nature.
Read Matthew 4:8-11: "Again, the devil taketh Him up
into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world,
and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if
Thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence,
Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only
shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and
ministered unto Him."
Here Satan spread the world before Christ in the most
attractive light and intimated to Him that He need not endure so much suffering
to obtain the kingdoms of the earth; Satan would yield all his claims if Christ
would but worship him. Satan's dissatisfaction first commenced in heaven because
he could not be first and highest in command -- equal with God, exalted
above Christ.” (1T
293)
*****
71. “All the heavenly host were
summoned to appear before the Father, to have each case determined. Satan
unblushingly made known his dissatisfaction that Christ should be
preferred before him. He stood up proudly and urged that he should be
equal with God, and should be taken into conference with the Father and
understand his purposes. God informed Satan that to his Son alone he would
reveal his secret purposes, and he required all the family in heaven, even
Satan, to yield him implicit, unquestioned obedience; but that he (Satan) had
proved himself unworthy a place in heaven. Then Satan exultingly pointed to his
sympathisers, comprising nearly one half of all the angels, and exclaimed, These
are with me! Will you expel these also, and make such a void in heaven? He then
declared that he was prepared to resist the authority of Christ, and to defend
his position in heaven by force of might, strength against strength.” (ST
9-1-1879)
*****
72. “In order to fully realise the value of salvation,
it is necessary to understand what it cost. In consequence of limited ideas of
the sufferings of Christ, many place a low estimate upon the great work of the
atonement. The glorious plan of man's salvation was brought about through the
infinite love of God and Father. In this divine plan is seen the most marvellous
manifestation of the love of God to the fallen race. Such love as is manifested
in the gift of God's beloved Son amazed the holy angels. "God so loved the
world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." This Saviour was the
brightness of His Father's glory and the express image of His person. He
possessed divine majesty, perfection, and excellence. He was equal with God. "It
pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell." "Who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no
reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."” (2T 200)
*****
73. “The Son of God was next in authority to the
great Lawgiver. He knew that his life alone could be sufficient to
ransom fallen man. He was of as much more value than man as his noble, spotless
character, and exalted office as commander of all the heavenly host, were above
the work of man. He was in the express image of his Father, not in
features alone, but in perfection of character” .(Review and Herald
17-12-1872) (2 Vol. SP p9 1877) (1RED. P10 1887-1888)
*****
74. “The law cannot lower the standard or take less than
its full demands, therefore it cannot cleanse us from one sin; but God's
Son, who is one with the Father, equal in authority with the Father, paid the
debt for us. We are to add to faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;
and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience,
godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness,
charity”. (Review and Herald. 29-7-1890)
*****
75. “The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave themselves to the
working out of the plan of redemption. In order to fully carry out this plan, it
was decided that Christ, the only begotten Son of God, should give
Himself an offering for sin. What line can measure the depth of this love?” (AU
1-4-1901)
*****
76. The salvation of human beings is a vast enterprise,
that calls into action every attribute of the divine nature. to
make God's children The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have pledged
themselves more than conquerors through him that has loved them. The
Lord is gracious and long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. He has
provided power to enable us to be overcomers. How full of comfort and love are
the words of Christ to his disciples just before his trial and crucifixion. He
was about to leave them, but he did not want them to think that they were to be
left helpless orphans. "I go my way to him that sent me," he said, "and none of
you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto
you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is
expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not
come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come,
he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin,
because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and
ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when
he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall
not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he
will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine,
and shall show it unto you." (RH 27-1-1903)
*****
77. “The presence of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, the three highest powers in the universe and those in whose
name the believer is baptised, is pledged to be with every striving soul. It
will impart grace and strength to all who will watch unto prayer, to all who
will purify the soul by obedience to the truth. And it will make the believer
instrumental in leading other souls to accept Christ by faith.” (Pacific Union Recorder
2-7-1908)
*****
78. “Christ gave his followers a positive promise that
after his ascension he would send them his Spirit. "Go ye therefore," he said,
"and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father [a
personal God], and of the Son [a personal Prince and Saviour], and of the Holy
Ghost [sent from heaven to represent Christ]: teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world." (RH
26-10-1897)
*****
79. “It is only by a clear discernment of spiritual
things that the original apostasy can be understood. The controversy in heaven
began with selfish strife for position, a desire on the part of
Lucifer to be equal with God. The disaffection of Satan in entertaining the
thought that he should stand as head of the heavenly order at first seemed a
small thing, but by dwelling upon this thought, it was strengthened. Step by
step he miscalculated the position that had been assigned him by God, to be
maintained only in God, until he finally came to look with enmity upon
everything coming from Jesus Christ. Satan rebelled against the laws governing
the heavenly intelligences; and by representing these in a deceptive light, by
his unbelief and complaints, he drew others with him into
rebellion.
Christ, as commander of heaven, was appointed to
put down the rebellion. Satan and all his sympathisers were cast out of
heaven. Then was begun the work which, before the foundations of the world
were laid, Christ had engaged to do.” (RH
30-5-1899)
*****
80. “Our great Exemplar was exalted to be
equal with God. He was high commander in heaven. All the holy angels delighted
to bow before Him. "And again, when He bringeth in the
First-begotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship
Him." Jesus took upon Himself our nature, laid aside His glory, majesty, and
riches to perform his mission, to save that which was lost.” (2T
426)
*****
81. “Christ humbled Himself from the highest authority,
from the position of one equal with God, to the lowest
place, that of a servant.” (3T 566)
*****
82. “Jesus was the Majesty of heaven, the beloved
Commander of the angels, whose delight was to do his pleasure. He was one with
God, in the bosom of the Father; yet He thought it not a thing to be desired to
be equal with God while man was lost in sin and misery. He stepped down from his
throne. He left his crown and royal sceptre, and clothed his divinity with
humanity. He humbled Himself even to the death of the cross, that man
might be exalted to a seat with Him upon his throne. In Him we have a complete
offering, an infinite sacrifice, a mighty Saviour, who is able to save unto the
uttermost all that come unto God by Him. In love He comes to reveal the Father,
to reconcile man to God, to make him a new creature, renewed after the image of
Him who created him.” (BE 15-3-1893)
*****
83. “ "And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath
borne witness of me." At the baptism the Holy Spirit had descended on Christ,
and God's voice had said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
But the Pharisees heard not the voice; they saw not the Spirit of God as a dove
hovering over the Saviour. "Ye have neither heard His voice at any time,
nor seen His shape," Christ declared.” (RH
26-3-1901)
*****
84. “The fallen race could be restored only through the
merit of Him who was equal with God. Though so highly
exalted, Christ consented to take upon Him human nature, that He might
work in behalf of man, and reconcile to God his disloyal subject.” (MS
26-4-1893)
*****
85. “It was
in the order of God that Christ should take upon himself the form
and nature of fallen man, that he might be made perfect through suffering, and
himself endure the strength of Satan's fierce temptations, that he might
understand how to succour those who should be tempted.” (RH
31-12-1872)
*****
86 “ It required condescension
and sacrifice to prepare the way for man to be restored to the favor of God. The
Son of the Most High became one of us, sharing the griefs and infirmities
of human nature, that he might lift up fallen man and reunite him to
God” (Review and Herald 4-3- 1884).
*****
87. “Jesus died for mankind,
and in giving his life he exalted humanity in the scale of moral value with God.
The Son of the infinite God clothed his divinity with humanity,
and submitted to the death of the cross, that he might become a
stepping-stone by which humanity might meet with divinity. He made it possible
for man to become a partaker of the divine nature, and escape the
corruptions that are in the world through lust. Christ is continually working to
uplift and ennoble man, and he requires that every soul whom he has redeemed
from hopeless misery, shall co-operate with him in the great work of saving the
lost. We are not to lay snares and make secret plans to draw souls into
temptation”. (Review and Herald 16-1-1894)
*****
88. “Wondrous combination of man and God!
He might have helped his human nature to withstand the inroads of disease by
pouring from his divine nature vitality and undecaying vigour to the human. But
he humbled himself to man's nature. He did this that the Scripture might be
fulfilled; and the plan was entered into by the Son of God, knowing all the
steps in his humiliation, that he must descend to make an expiation for the sins
of a condemned, groaning world. What humility was this! It amazed angels. The
tongue can never describe it; the imagination cannot take it in. The
eternal Word consented to be made flesh! God became man! It was a wonderful
humility!” (RH
5-7-1887)
*****
89. What opposites meet and are revealed in the person
of Christ! The mighty God, yet a helpless child! The Creator of
all the world, yet, in a world of His creating, often hungry and weary, and
without a place to lay His head! The Son of man, yet infinitely higher
than the angels!
Equal with the Father, yet His divinity clothed with
humanity, standing at the head of the fallen race, that human beings might be
placed on vantage-ground! Possessing eternal riches, yet living the life of a
poor man! One with the Father in dignity and power, yet in His humanity tempted
in all points like as we are tempted! In the very moment of His dying agony on
the cross, a Conqueror, answering the request of the repentant sinner to be
remembered by Him when He came into His kingdom”. (ST April 26,
1905).
*****
90. “Jesus
counsels you to have your eyes anointed with spiritual eye-salve, in order that
you may discern the fact that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked, that you may exercise repentance toward God and faith toward
our Lord Jesus Christ. The plan of salvation is not half discerned. It is made
altogether too cheap a thing, and men do not take in the fact of how great
an act of condescension it is on the part of Omnipotence to stoop to unite the
divine with the human, to impart the Holy Spirit to the repenting
transgressor of his holy law. God became man, clothing his
divinity with humanity, and thus humanity has been elevated in the scale of
moral value with God. But how great was the condescension of the Father and the
Son to consent to the working out of the plan of salvation to save the
transgressors of Heaven's exalted law!”
(RH.28-8-1894)
*****
91. “The apostle would call our attention from ourselves
to the Author of our salvation. He presents before us his two natures, divine
and human. Here is the description of the divine: "Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." He was "the
brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person."
Now, of the human: "He was made in the
likeness of man: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death." He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was
his own act, and by his own consent. He clothed his divinity with humanity. He
was all the while as God, but he did not appear as God. He veiled the
demonstrations of Deity which had commanded the homage, and called forth the
admiration, of the universe of God. He was God while upon earth, but he
divested himself of the form of God, and in its stead took the
form and fashion of a man. He walked the earth as a man. For our sakes
he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He laid aside
his glory and his majesty. He was God, but the glories of the form of God he for
a while relinquished.” (RH 5-7-1887)
*****
92. “(Col. 1:26, 27.) An Unexplainable Blending.--Christ could have done nothing during His earthly ministry in saving fallen man if the divine had not been blended with the human. The limited capacity of man cannot define this wonderful mystery--the blending of the two natures, the divine and the human. It can never be explained. Man must wonder and be silent. And yet man is privileged to be a partaker of the divine nature, and in this way he can to some degree enter into the mystery (Letter 5, 1889). {7BC 904.5}
*****
93. “The One here
referred to as the Word is the Son of God, who was the Commander in the heavenly
courts, and who came to this world to open heavenly things to fallen human
beings. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Word that was with God
before the world was. In clothing His divinity with humanity, He became
possessed of two natures, the divine and the human. And because of this,
He was fully able to accomplish for the human race their complete redemption,
and their restoration to the privileges of the higher life”. (Manuscript
161, July 1, 1903, "The Peril of Rejecting Light) (The upward
Look page 196)
*****
94. “Was the human
nature of the Son of Mary changed into the divine nature of the Son of God?
No; the two natures were mysteriously blended in one person--the Man
Christ Jesus. In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
When Christ was crucified, it was His human nature that died. Deity did
not sink and die; that would have been impossible. Christ, the sinless
One, will save every son and daughter of Adam who accepts the salvation
proffered them, consenting to become the children of God. The Saviour has
purchased the fallen race with His own blood. (21MR 418
Volume 21 No. 1588 Dr. Kellogg’s case almost hopeless: The Indescribable Marvel
and Mystery of Christ’s Incarnation)
*****
95. “Peter was naturally forward and impulsive, and
Satan had taken advantage of these characteristics to lead him astray. When
Jesus had opened before his disciples the fact that he must go to Jerusalem to
suffer and die at the hands of the chief priests and scribes, Peter had
presumptuously contradicted his Master, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord; this
shall not be unto thee." He could not conceive it possible that the Son of God
should be put to death. Satan suggested to his mind that if Jesus was the Son of
God he could not die”. (Spirit of prophecy Vol. 3 P231
1878)
*****
96.
“Two Natures
Blended in Christ.--Through
being partakers of the divine nature we may stand pure and holy and undefiled.
The Godhead was not made human, and the human was not deified by the
blending together of the two natures. Christ did not possess the same
sinful, corrupt, fallen disloyalty we possess, for then He could not be a
perfect offering. (Manuscript 94, 1893. 3SM
131”)
*****
97.
“Christ had two
natures, the nature of a man and the nature of God. In him
divinity and humanity were combined. Upon his mediatorial work hangs the hope of
the perishing world. No one but Christ has ever succeeded in living a perfect
life, in living a pure, spotless character. He exhibited a perfect humanity,
combined with deity; and by preserving each nature distinct, he has given
to the world a representation of the character of God and the character of a
perfect man. He shows us what God is, and what man may become--godlike
in character”. (GCB,
October 1,
1899 par.
20)
*****
*****
99. “Christ's
perfect humanity is the same that man may have through connection with Christ.
As God, Christ could not be tempted any more than He was not tempted from His
allegiance in heaven. But as Christ humbled Himself to the nature of man,
He could be tempted. He had not taken on Him even the nature of the
angels, but humanity, perfectly identical with our own nature, except without
the taint of sin. A human body, a human mind, with all the peculiar properties,
He was bone, brain, and muscle. A man of our flesh, He was compassed with the
weakness of humanity. The circumstances of His life were of that character that
He was exposed to all the inconveniences that belong to men, not in wealth, not
in ease, but in poverty and want and humiliation. He breathed the very air man
must breathe. He trod our earth as man. He had reason, conscience, memory, will,
and affections of the human soul which was united with His divine
nature.
Our Lord was
tempted as man is tempted. He was capable of yielding to temptations, as are
human beings. His finite
nature was pure and spotless, but the divine nature that led Him to say to
Philip, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" also, was not
humanized; neither was humanity deified by the blending or union of the two
natures; each retained its essential character and
properties.
But here we
must not become in our ideas common and earthly, and in our perverted ideas we
must not think that the liability of Christ to yield to Satan's temptations
degraded His humanity and He possessed the same sinful, corrupt propensities as
man.
The divine
nature, combined with the human, made Him capable of yielding to Satan's
temptations. Here the
test to Christ was far greater than that of Adam and Eve, for Christ took our
nature, fallen but not corrupted, and would not be corrupted unless He
received the words of Satan in the place of the words of God. To suppose He was
not capable of yielding to temptation places Him where He cannot be a perfect
example for man, and the force and the power of this part of Christ's
humiliation, which is the most eventful, is no instruction or help to human
beings. {16MR 182
Volume 16 1211 The Humiliation of Christ)
*****
100. “What a sight
was this for heaven to look upon. Christ, who knew not the least moral taint or
defilement of sin, took our nature in its deteriorated
condition.
By taking upon
Himself man's nature in its fallen condition Christ did not in the least
participate in its sin. He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses
of the flesh with which humanity is encompassed, "that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities,
and bare our sicknesses" [Matt. 8:17]. He was touched with the feeling of our
infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are. And yet He was
without a spot.
There should
not be the faintest misgiving in regard to the perfect freedom from sinfulness
in the human nature of Christ”. (Ms 143, 1897, pp. 1, 3.
{17MR
26.1})
*****
101. “Before Christ left Heaven and came into the
world to die, he was taller than any of the angels. He was majestic and lovely.
But when his ministry commenced, he was but little taller than the common size
of men then living upon the earth. Had he come among men with his noble,
heavenly form, his outward appearance would have attracted the minds of the
people to himself, and he would have been received without the exercise of
faith.” (RH 31-12-1872)
*****
102. “A way is opened before everyone in the office to
engage from the heart directly in the work of Christ and the salvation of souls.
Christ left heaven and the bosom of His Father to come to a
friendless, lost world to save those who would be saved. He exiled Himself
from His Father and exchanged the pure companionship of angels for that of
fallen humanity, all polluted with sin. With grief and amazement, Christ
witnesses the coldness, the indifference and neglect, with which His professed
followers in the office treat the light and the messages of warning and of love
He has given them. Christ has provided the bread and water of life for all who
hunger and thirst”. (3T p190).
*****
103. “If men would lay their earthly treasure upon the
altar of God, and would work as zealously to secure the heavenly treasure as
they did to gain the earthly, they would invest means cheerfully and gladly
wherever they could see an opportunity to do good and aid the cause of their
Master. Christ has given them unmistakable evidence of His love and fidelity to
them, and has entrusted them with means to test and prove their fidelity to Him.
He left heaven, His riches and glory, and for their sakes became
poor, that they through His poverty might be made rich. After thus condescending
to save man, Christ requires no less of him than that he should deny himself and
use the means He has lent him in saving his fellow men, and by so doing give
evidence of his love for his Redeemer and show that he values the salvation
brought to him by such an infinite sacrifice” (3T. p208)
*****
104. “The disciples wondered who could have brought Him
food; but He explained, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to
accomplish His work." John 4:34, R. V. As His words to the woman had aroused her
conscience, Jesus rejoiced. He saw her drinking of the water of life, and His
own hunger and thirst were satisfied. The accomplishment of the mission
which He had left heaven to perform strengthened the Saviour for His
labor, and lifted Him above the necessities of humanity. To minister to
a soul hungering and thirsting for the truth was more grateful to Him than
eating or drinking. It was a comfort, a refreshment, to Him. Benevolence was the
life of His soul.” (DA. p190)
*****
105. “Satan exulted when Jesus laid aside His
power and glory and left heaven. He thought that the Son of God was then
placed in his power”. (EW. p157)
*****
106. “The Trial of Christ. The angels as they
left heaven, in sadness laid off their glittering crowns. They could not
wear them while their Commander was suffering and was to wear a crown of
thorns”. (EW. p169)
*****
107. “ In every new field, patience and perseverance
must be exercised. Be not disheartened at small beginnings. It is often the
humblest work that yields the greatest results. The more direct our labor for
our fellow-men, the greater good will be accomplished. Personal influence is a
power. The minds of those with whom we are closely associated, are impressed
through unseen influences. One cannot speak to a multitude, and move them as he
could if he were brought into closer relationship with them. Jesus left
heaven and came to our world to save souls. You must come close to those
for whom you labor, that they may not only hear your voice, but shake your hand,
learn your principles, feel your sympathy”. (Gospel Workers
p192)
*****
108. “The youth who is studying for a physician has
before him the very highest example, even the example of Him who left
heaven to live on this earth a Man among men. To all Christ has given
the work of ministry. He is the King of glory, yet He declared, "The Son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." He is the Majesty of
heaven, yet He willingly consented to come to this earth to do the work laid
upon Him by His Father. He has ennobled labour. That He might set us an
example of industry, He worked with His hands at the carpenter's trade. From a
very early age He acted His part in sustaining the family, He realized that He
was a part of the family firm, and He willingly bore His share of the burdens.
(Bible Echo 2nd December 1901)
*****
109. “If Christ had studied his convenience, he
would never have left heaven to come to our world to die, to hang upon the
accursed tree for us. Jesus has died for you, and now what will you do
for Jesus? He says, "Love one another, as I have loved you." And if you love
Jesus, you will have your feet planted in the blood-stained foot-prints of the
Man of Calvary, and at last those who have gained the victory will enter in
through the gates into the city, and have a right to the tree of life. God
has given us reasoning faculties, and he wants us to use them. He has
given us a chart which marks out for us the only right way to reach eternal
life. Study the Scriptures for yourselves. Hear what the voice of the true
Shepherd says to you, and then walk in the path of humble obedience, and at last
the gift of eternal life will be granted to you. We cannot afford to lose
eternal life. May God grant that we may meet this dear people around the great
white throne, and with them sing the song of redemption in the kingdom of glory.
(RH. 10th June 1890)
*****
110. “God has made the advancement of his cause in the
world dependent upon the labors and sacrifices of his followers. The salvation
of our souls was purchased by the infinite gift of the Son of God. Jesus
left heaven, laid aside his glory, left the communion and adoration of the
sinless angels, and for our sake humbled himself, even to the death of the
cross. And now we, who have become partakers of his great gift, are to
be partakers also of his sacrifice, extending to others the blessings of
salvation. (ST. 22nd December 1890)
*****
111. “But when he ascended up on high, and led a
multitude of captives, escorted by the heavenly host, and was received in
through the gates of the city, with angelic songs of triumph and rejoicing,
I beheld with admiration and wonder, that he possessed the same exalted
stature that he had before he came into the world to die for man. Said
the angel, God, who wrought so great a miracle as to make Christ flesh to dwell
among men, and will with his almighty power lift up fallen, degenerate, and
dwarfed man, and after they are redeemed from the earth, make them "grow up as
calves of the stall," could in his infinite power return to his dear Son
his own exalted stature, which was his before he left Heaven, and humbled
himself as a man, and submitted to the death of the cross.
It is no marvel with the angelic host that their loved
Commander, after he had carried out the plan of salvation, and ascended up to
Heaven, should take his own exalted stature, and be clothed with majesty
and glory, which was his before he left Heaven. But it was a
marvel with all heaven, that the Father suffered the Son of his bosom to lay
aside his glory, and come down to earth, and submit to humiliation, and the
agonizing death of the cross to save fallen man”. (Vol. 4A Spiritual Gifts p119)
*****
112. “The highest angel in heaven had not the power to
pay the ransom for one lost soul. Cherubim and seraphim have only the glory with
which they are endowed by the Creator as his creatures, and the reconciliation
of man to God could be accomplished only through a mediator who was equal with
God, possessed of attributes that would dignify, and declare him worthy to treat
with the Infinite God in man's behalf, and also represent God to a fallen world.
Man's substitute and surety must have man's nature, a connection with the
human family whom he was to represent, and, as God's ambassador, he must partake
of the divine nature, have a connection with the Infinite, in order to manifest
God to the world, and be a mediator between God and man.” (RH
22-12-1891)
*****
113. "God is love." His matchless love for fallen man,
expressed in the gift of his beloved Son, amazed the holy angels. Christ was the
heir of all things, by whom also the worlds were made. He was the brightness of
the Father's glory, and the "express image of his person." He upheld "all things
by the word of his power." In himself he possessed divine excellence and
greatness; for it pleased the Father that in him all fullness should
dwell. And Christ "thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Yet he
"made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Bible
Echo 1-1-1887)
*****
114. “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). {7BC
924.6}
*****
115. “When we are in terror of God, and overwhelmed with
the thought of his glory and majesty, the Father points us to Christ as
his representative. What you see revealed in Jesus of tenderness,
compassion, and love, is the reflection of the attributes of the Father. The
cross of Calvary reveals to man the love of God. Christ represents
the Sovereign of the universe as a God of love. By the mouth of the prophet he
said, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with
loving-kindness have I drawn thee." (YI. 22-9-1892)
*****
116. “In Christ were united the human and the
divine. His mission was to reconcile God and man, to unite the finite
with the infinite. This was the only way in which fallen men could be exalted
through the merits of the blood of Christ to be partakers of the divine nature.
Taking human nature fitted Christ to understand man's trials and sorrows, and
all the temptations wherewith he is beset. Angels who were unacquainted with sin
could not sympathise with man in his peculiar trials. Christ condescended to
take man's nature and was tempted in all points like as we, that
He might know how to succour all who should be tempted.
As the human was upon Him, He felt His need of strength
from His Father. He had select
places of prayer. He loved to hold communion with His Father in the solitude of
the mountain. In this exercise His holy, human soul was
strengthened for the duties and trials of the day. Our Saviour identifies
Himself with our needs and weaknesses, in that He became a suppliant, a nightly
petitioner, seeking from His Father fresh supplies of strength, to come forth
invigorated and refreshed, braced for duty and trial. He is our example in all
things. He is a brother in our infirmities, but not in possessing like
passions. As the sinless One, His nature recoiled from evil. He endured
struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer
a necessity and privilege. He required all the stronger divine support
and comfort which His Father was ready to impart to Him, to Him who had, for the
benefit of man, left the joys of heaven and chosen His home in a cold and
thankless world”. (2T 201)
*****
117. “By His life and His death, Christ has achieved
even more than recovery from the ruin wrought through sin. It was Satan's
purpose to bring about an eternal separation between God and man; but in Christ
we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen. In
taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is
never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us. "God
so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son." John 3:16. He gave Him
not only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice; He gave Him to the
fallen race.
To assure us of His immutable counsel of peace, God gave
His only-begotten Son to become one of the human family, forever to retain
His human nature. This is the pledge that God will fulfil His word.
"Unto us a child is born, unto us
a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder." God
has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same into
the highest heaven. It is the "Son of man" who shares the throne of the
universe. It is the "Son of man" whose name shall be called, "Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa.
9:6. The I Am is the Daysman between God and humanity, laying His hand upon
both. He who is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners," is not
ashamed to call us brethren. Heb. 7:26; 2:11.
In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven
are bound together. Christ glorified is our brother. Heaven is enshrined in
humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite Love” (DA page
23)
*****
118. “Through Christ's redeeming work the government of
God stands justified. The Omnipotent One is made known as the God of love.
Satan's charges are refuted, and his character unveiled. Rebellion can never
again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through eternal ages all
are secure from apostasy. By love's self-sacrifice, the inhabitants of earth and
heaven are bound to their Creator in bonds of indissoluble
union.” (DA page 26)
*****
119. “All who are followers of Christ should deal with
one another exactly as we wish the Lord to deal with us in our errors and
weaknesses, for we are all erring and need His pity and forgiveness. Jesus
consented to take human nature, that He might know how to pity, and how to plead
with His Father in behalf of sinful, erring mortals. He volunteered to
become man's Advocate, and He humiliated Himself to become acquainted with the
temptations wherewith man was beset, that He might succor those who should be
tempted, and be a tender and faithful high priest”.
(3T.p93)
*****
120. “The Lord of heaven is not regardless of us and our
concerns, but is in communication with the fallen inhabitants of this world.
Christ has not laid aside His human nature; He stands in the
presence of God as our substitute and surety, our living intercessor. To Him is
given all power in behalf of humanity, and all things have been committed into
His hands, that He may complete the work of redemption, which was begun in such
humiliation and at such an immense sacrifice.” (ST
17-11-1898)
*****
121. “This is the mystery of godliness. That Christ
should take human nature, and by a life of humiliation elevate man in the scale
of moral worth with God; that He should carry His adopted nature to the
throne of God, and there present His children to the Father, to have
conferred upon them an honour exceeding that conferred upon the angels,--this is
the marvel of the heavenly universe, the mystery into which angels desire to
look. This is love that melts the sinner's heart.” ( AU
1-6-1900)
*****
122. “The Son of God, now at the Father's right hand,
still pleads as man's intercessor. He still retains His human
nature, is still the Saviour of mankind. We need to appreciate more than
we do the precious privilege we have of presenting our petitions to Him as He
presented His prayers to the Father.” (ST
15-7-1908)
*****
123. “What manner of love is this, that the
eternal God should adopt human nature in the
person of his Son, and carry the same into the highest
heaven!” (YI.
29-7-1897)
*****
124. “We have a most important work to do, the work of
obeying Christ and bearing witness of Him. He said to his disciples, "And ye
also shall bear witness of Me, because ye have been with Me from the beginning."
The disciples were to be honored by bearing witness concerning Christ's mission.
They had been with Him constantly and had gained a most valuable knowledge to
impart to others. We can not be with Christ in person as were His first
disciples, but He has sent His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth,
and through this power we too can bear witness for the Saviour.” (Gospel
Herald 1-8-1900)
*****
125. “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him
because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His
Father, making himself equal with God." The whole nation called God their
Father, and if Jesus had done this in the same sense in which they did, the
Pharisees would not have been so enraged. But they accused Jesus of blasphemy,
showing that they understood that Christ claimed God as His Father in the
very highest sense.” (RH
5-3-1901)
*****
126. “The command given to Abraham to slay his son was
the most severe test that could be brought upon him. But as he prepared in faith
to obey God, there was opened before him the coming of the Just One, the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world for the sins of the human race. As by
faith he grasped the promise, Christ revealed Himself to him. Abraham saw the
incarnate Saviour, and rejoiced.
"Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty
years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?" "Verily, verily, I say unto you," Jesus
answered, "Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him;
but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of
them, and so passed by." Their eyes were blinded that they might not see Him.
"Before Abraham was, I am." Christ is the
pre-existent, self-existent Son of God. The message He gave to Moses to
give to the children of Israel was, "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you." The prophet Micah writes of Him, "But thou,
Bethlehem Ephratah, tho thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
Thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
Through Solomon Christ declared: "The Lord
possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the
earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when
there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills was I brought forth. . . . When He gave to the
sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment; when He
appointed the foundations of the earth; then I was by Him, as one brought
up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him."
In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the
mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time
when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose
voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up
with Him.” (ST 29-8-1900)
*****
127. “Some urge that it is of no consequence whether we
keep the Sabbath or not; but we say that from the Bible standpoint it is a
matter of great importance. Had it not been important, God would not have
wrought in so marvellous a manner to deliver his people from Egyptian bondage.
It was because he saw that they could not obey his commandments in their
servitude, that he revealed his mighty arm in bringing them into a place where
they could serve him. When they came to Sinai, he took occasion to refresh their
minds in regard to his requirements. Christ and the Father, standing side
by side upon the mount, with solemn majesty proclaimed the ten
commandments, placing in the very centre of the decalogue the Sabbath command.
Again and again the Lord told the people that if they would keep his Sabbath he
would take them to himself to be his chosen people; and again and again sorrow
and shame were brought upon them because they failed to keep it. He also told
them that the Sabbath should be a sign between him and them forever, that they
might know that he was the Lord their God. Therefore it is of great importance
that the Sabbath be regarded according to the commandment.” (HS page 231 1866)
*****
128. “So close is the union between Christ and the
Father that as men treat Christ so they treat the Father. The
greater the light and evidence God has given men regarding His character and
will, the greater will be their guilt and condemnation if they do not love and
obey Him.” (Gospel Herald
1-8-1900)
*****
129. “Not one of the angels could have become surety for
the human race: their life is God's; they could not surrender it. The angels all
wear the yoke of obedience. They are the appointed messengers of Him who is the
commander of all heaven. But Christ is equal with God, infinite and
omnipotent. He could pay the ransom for man's freedom. He is the
eternal, self-existing Son, on whom no yoke had come; and when God
asked, "Whom shall I send?" he could reply, "Here am I; send me." He could
pledge himself to become man's surety; for he could say that which the highest
angel could not say,--I have power over my own life, "power to lay it down, and
. . . power to take it again."
When Christ uttered the cry, "It is finished," he knew
that the battle was won. As a moral conqueror, he planted his banner on the
eternal heights. Was there not joy among the angels? Not a son nor a daughter of
Adam but could now lay hold on the merits of the spotless Son of God, and say:
"Christ has died for me. He is my Saviour. The blood that speaketh better things
than that of Abel has been shed. The way into the holiest of all has been made
manifest."
God bowed his head satisfied. Now justice and mercy could blend. Now he could be
just, and yet the Justifier of all who should believe on Christ. He looked
upon the victim expiring on the cross, and said, "It is finished. The
human race shall have another trial." The redemption price was paid, and Satan
fell like lightning from heaven.” (YI. 21-6-1900)
*****
130. “When Christ bowed his head and died, he bore the
pillars of Satan's kingdom with him to the earth. He vanquished Satan in the
same nature over which in Eden Satan obtained the victory. The enemy was
overcome by Christ in his human nature. The power of the Saviour's Godhead
was hidden. He overcame in human nature, relying upon God for
power. This is the privilege of all. In proportion to our faith will be
our victory.” (YI
25-4-1901)
*****
131. “The doctrine of the incarnation of Christ in
human flesh is a mystery, "even the mystery which hath been hid from
ages and from generations." It is the great and profound mystery of godliness.
"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." Christ took upon himself
human nature, a nature inferior to his heavenly nature. Nothing so shows
the wonderful condescension of God as this. He "so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son." John presents this wonderful subject with such
simplicity that all may grasp the ideas set forth, and be enlightened.
Christ did not make believe take human nature; he did
verily take it. He did in reality possess human nature. "As the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of
the same." He was the son of Mary; he was of the seed of David
according to human descent. He is declared to be a man, even the Man Christ
Jesus. "This Man," writes Paul, "was counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house."
But while God's Word speaks of the humanity of Christ
when upon this earth, it also speaks decidedly regarding his pre-existence. The
Word existed as a divine being, even as the eternal Son of God, in union and
oneness with his Father. From
everlasting he was the Mediator of the covenant, the one in whom all nations of
the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, if thy accepted him, were to be blessed. "The
Word was with God, and the Word was God." Before men or angels were created, the
Word was with God, and was God.
The world was made by him, "and without him was not
anything made that was made." If Christ made all things, he existed before all
things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be
left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest
sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all,
blessed forevermore.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed
from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the
commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels
was received by him as his right. This was no robbery of God. "The Lord
possessed me in the beginning of his way," he declares, "before
his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the
beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought
forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the
mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth;
while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of
the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a
compass upon the face of the depth."
There are light and glory in the truth that Christ was
one with the Father before the foundation of the world was laid. This is the
light shining in a dark place, making it resplendent with divine, original
glory. This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious
and otherwise unexplainable truths, while it is enshrined in light,
unapproachable and incomprehensible”. (RH 5-4-1906)
*****
132. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever
thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God." "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them
which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." Here the
pre-existence of Christ and the purpose of his manifestation to our world are
presented as living beams of light from the eternal throne. "Now gather
thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they
shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee
shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth
have been from of old, from everlasting." "We preach Christ crucified," declares
Paul, "unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but
unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and
the wisdom of God."
That God should thus be manifest in the flesh is indeed
a mystery; and without the help of the Holy Spirit we can not hope to comprehend
this subject. The most humbling
lesson that man has to learn is the nothingness of human wisdom, and the folly
of trying, by his own unaided efforts, to find out God. He may exert his
intellectual powers to the utmost, he may have what the world calls a superior
education, yet he may still be ignorant in God's eyes.” (RH 5-4-1906)
*****
133. “Our Redeemer, laying aside his glory and majesty,
to take human nature, and to die man's sacrifice, was a miracle of God. It
was God's wise arrangement to save fallen man.” (4SGA Page
149)
*****
134. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to
heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also
may glorify Thee. As Thou has given Him power over all flesh, that He should
give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal,
that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou has
sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou
gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the
glory which I had with Thee before the world was."
This is a plain statement of the pre-existence of
Christ. Had He not had an existence before He assumed human nature, how
could He possess glory with the Father before the world was? This is a
grand theme for all to contemplate who are searching for truth. The Holy Spirit
will be beside all such, to present to them the glory of this wonderful truth.
O, that the human mind might be strengthened that it might comprehend the glory
of the Redeemer!
Christ is not praying for the manifestation of the glory
of human nature; for that
human nature never had an existence in His pre-existence. He is
praying to His Father in regard to a glory possessed in His oneness with
God. His prayer is that of a mediator; the favour He entreats is the
manifestation of that divine glory which was possessed by Him when He was
one with God. Let the vail be removed, He says, and let My glory shine
forth,--the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
Christ defines the manner in which He has glorified the
Father: "I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the
world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word.
Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee."
How did the Father answer Christ's
prayer?
For a period of time Christ was on
probation. He took humanity on
Himself, to stand the test and trial which the first Adam failed to endure. Had
He failed in His test and trial, He would have been disobedient to the voice of
God, and the world would have been lost.” (ST 10-5-1899)
*****
135. “Christ knew that his
Father had chosen him to carry out the great plan of redemption by
coming to the fallen world to die for sinners. And when he came to fulfil his
mission, he was, in every sense of the term, a medical missionary” (Review
and Herald 16th June H.1904)
*****
136. “Christ's ascension to heaven was the signal that
His followers were to receive the promised blessing. For this they were to wait before they
entered upon their work. When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was
enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was
completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and
Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the
Father from all eternity. The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven's
communication that the Redeemer's inauguration was accomplished. According to
His promise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as a token
that He had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven
and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people”. (AA
p.38)
*****
137. “Those who claim that it was not possible for
Christ to sin, cannot believe that He took upon Him human nature.
Christ was actually tempted, not only in the wilderness, but all through
his life. In all points He was tempted as we are, and because He
successfully resisted temptation in every form, He gave us a perfect
example. Through the ample provisions made in our behalf, we may become
partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruption that is in the world
through lust.” (BE
1-11-1892)
*****
138. “Satan in heaven had
hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when
he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of
sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His
Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted
Him to meet life's peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as
every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal
loss.
The heart of the human
father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and
trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from
Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer
conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the
path of life might be made sure for our little ones. "Herein is love." Wonder, O
heavens! and be astonished, O earth!”. (DA.
p49)
*****
139. “Never can the
cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the
Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal
home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left
all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but
for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our
crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and
blessing." Rev. 5:12”. (DA. p131)
*****
140. “Christ's
overcoming and obedience is that of a true human being. In our
conclusions, we make many mistakes because of our erroneous views of the
human nature of our Lord. When we give to His human nature a power that
it is not possible for man to have in his conflicts with Satan, we destroy the
completeness of His humanity. His imputed grace and power He gives to all who
receive Him by faith”. {7BC
929.5}
*****
141. “The humiliation of the man Christ Jesus is
incomprehensible to the human mind; but his divinity and his existence before
the world was formed can never be doubted by those who believe the word of
God. The apostle Paul speaks of our Mediator, the only begotten Son of
God, who in a state of glory was in the form of God, the Commander
of all the heavenly hosts, and who, when he clothed his divinity with humanity,
took upon him the form of a servant. Isaiah declares: "Unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it,
and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even
forever."
In consenting to become man, Christ manifested a
humility that is the marvel of the heavenly intelligences. The act of consenting to be a man would be no
humiliation were it not for the fact of Christ's exalted pre-existence. We must
open our understanding to realise that Christ laid aside his royal robe, his
kingly crown, his high command, and clothed his divinity with
humanity, that he might meet man where he was, and bring to the human
family moral power to become the sons and daughters of God. To redeem man,
Christ became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The humanity of the Son of God is everything to us. It
is the golden chain that binds our souls to Christ, and through Christ to
God. This is to be our study.
Christ was a real man; he gave proof of his humility in becoming a man.
Yet he was God in the flesh. When we approach this subject, we would do
well to heed the words spoken by Christ to Moses at the burning bush, "Put off
thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy
ground." We should come to this study with the humility of a learner, with a
contrite heart. And the study of the incarnation of Christ is a fruitful field,
which will repay the searcher who digs deep for hidden truth.” (YI.
13-10-1898)
*****
142. The ideal of Christian character is Christlikeness.
As the Son of man was perfect in His life, so His followers are to be perfect in
their life. Jesus was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became
flesh, even as we are. He was hungry and thirsty and weary. He was sustained by
food and refreshed by sleep. He shared the lot of man; yet He was the blameless
Son of God. He was God in the flesh. His character is to be ours.
The Lord says of those who believe in Him, "I will dwell in them, and walk in
them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 2
Cor. 6:16. (DA p311)
*****
143. “Through all ages God has spoken and worked by
human instrumentalities. God has given to men their faculties, and he expects
them to use them and by use to improve their abilities. They are to employ these
faculties in rescuing truth from the rubbish of error where it has been made to
serve the cause of the great adversary. The gems of truth are imperishable, and
the Lord would have them gathered up and placed in their proper relation, that
they may embellish and adorn the doctrine of Christ our Saviour. Truth is to be
communicated from one human agent to another and to be molded into the life and
character of those who receive it, in order that glory may redound to God. Truth
that has found its proper setting, flashes brilliant rays of divine light into
darkened minds, and meets the wants and necessities of the minds and hearts of
fallen men who could not be reached by any other agency. It is by living out the
truth in human life that souls are to be reached. As the Son of God in human
form was perfect in his life, so he requires that his followers shall be perfect
in their lives. He was made in all things like unto his brethren. He hungered,
he thirsted, he was weary, he slept, he wept, and yet he was the blameless Son
of God, he was God in the flesh. He was tempted in all points like
as we are, yet without sin, and we have not a high-priest that cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows how to succor those that are
tempted. In living out the truth of God, man is continually assured that
supernatural help will be granted to him, and that while he retains his human
nature, yet through an unseen agency he receives the impress of the divine
nature through the truth as it is in Jesus”. (RH.
23-10-1894)
*****
144. “God in human nature is the mystery of
godliness. Christ, the only-begotten of the Father, was the
express image of his Father's person, the brightness of his glory,
and he came to the world not to condemn the world, but to save it. God was
in Christ in human form, and endured all the temptations wherewith man
was beset; in our behalf he participated in the suffering and trials of
sorrowful human nature. "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried
our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But
he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." In
his human nature he was "tempted in all points like as we are," he "suffered
being tempted," but there was no taint of sin upon him”. (ST.
2-1-1896)
*****
145. “Christ's suffering and death have placed life in
and through him upon an eternal basis of security. He took human nature.
He became flesh even as we are. He was oft hungry, thirsty, and weary.
He was sustained by food, and refreshed by sleep. He had natural affection; for
we see him weeping in sympathy with the sorrows of others, and lamenting over
the retribution coming upon Jerusalem because of her impenitence. While in this
world, Christ lived a life of complete humanity in order that he might stand as
a representative of the human family. He was tempted in all points like as we
are, that he might be able to succour them that are tempted. As the Prince of
Life in human flesh, he met the prince of darkness, and, passing over the ground
where Adam fell, he endured every test that Adam failed to endure. Every
temptation that could be brought against fallen humanity, he met and overcame.
Had he not been fully human, Christ could not have been
our substitute. He could not have
worked out in humanity that perfection of character which it is the privilege of
all to reach. He was the light and the life of the world. He came to this earth
to work in behalf of men, that they might no longer be under the control of
Satanic agencies. But while bearing human nature, he was dependent upon
the Omnipotent for his life. In his humanity, he laid hold of the divinity of
God; and this every member of the human family has the privilege of doing.
Christ did nothing that human nature may not do if it partakes of the divine
nature”. (ST
17-6-1897)
*****
146. “My brethren and sisters, let us not become weary
in well-doing. During His earthly ministry, Christ travelled on foot from place
to place. Wearied, as He ofttimes was, His human nature taxed to the
uttermost, yet He was ever ready to heal all who came unto Him, and to
teach them the way of life eternal. Though often physically
exhausted, He left not His work. There was a world to be saved. He made
every sacrifice possible, in order that light and truth might shine forth.”
(9T 87)
*****
147. “How thankful we should be that Christ took human
nature upon himself, and became subject to temptation, even as we are!
Though he took humanity upon himself, he was divine. All that is
attributed to the Father himself is attributed to Christ. His divinity was
clothed with humanity; he was the Creator of heaven and earth; and yet
while upon earth, he became weary, as men do, and sought rest from the continual
pressure of labour. He who made the ocean, who controls the waters of the great
deep, who opened the springs and channels of the earth, felt it necessary to
rest at Jacob's well, and to ask a drink of water from a strange Samaritan
woman. When she questioned the propriety of his request,--how it was that he,
being a Jew, should ask water of one who was a Samaritan,--he spoke words to her
that revealed his divine character. He said: "If thou knewest the gift of God,
and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of
him, and he would have given thee living water." When the woman expressed
surprise at this statement, he continued, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that
I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall
be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (RH
19-5-1896)
*****
148. “Christ gave no stinted service. He did not measure
His work by hours. His time, His heart, His soul and strength, were given to
labour for the benefit of humanity. Through weary days He toiled, and through
long nights He bent in prayer for grace and endurance that He might do a larger
work. With strong crying and tears He sent His petitions to heaven, that
His human nature might be strengthened, that He might be braced to meet
the wily foe in all his deceptive workings, and fortified to fulfil His mission
of uplifting humanity. To His workers He says, "I have given you an example,
that ye should do as I have done." [JOHN 13:15.]” (Gospel Workers Page 292 1915)
*****
149. “If all could understand the deep trials and
discouragements that came to the human nature of Christ in his mission,
verily human hearts would draw nigh to the human heart of Jesus. The old nature
of the disciples often appeared. Often their natural characteristics strove for
the mastery. But Jesus was ever presenting before them that these must be given
up, emptied from the soul, that he might implant a new nature therein.” (RH
5-10-1897)
*****
150. “The angels prostrated themselves at the feet of
their Commander and offered to become a sacrifice for man. But an angel's life
could not pay the debt; only He who created man had power to redeem him. Yet the
angels were to have a part to act in the plan of redemption. Christ was to be
made "a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death." Hebrews 2:9.
As He should take human nature upon Him, His strength would not be equal
to theirs, and they were to minister to Him, to strengthen and soothe Him under
His sufferings. They were also to be ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them who should be heirs of salvation. Hebrews 1:14. They would
guard the subjects of grace from the power of evil angels and from the darkness
constantly thrown around them by Satan”. (PP page 64)
******
151. “When Jesus entered the wilderness, He was
shut in by the Father's glory. Absorbed in communion with God, He
was lifted above human weakness. But the glory departed, and He was left
to battle with temptation. It was pressing upon Him every moment.
His human nature shrank from the conflict that awaited Him. For
forty days He fasted and prayed. Weak and emaciated from hunger, worn and
haggard with mental agony, "His visage was so marred more than any man, and His
form more than the sons of men." ”
(DA Page 118)
*****
152. “The love and justice of God, and also the
immutability of His law, are made manifest by the Saviour's life, no less than
by His death. He assumed human nature with its infirmities, its
liabilities, its temptations. "Himself took our infirmities and bare our
sicknesses." Matt. 8:17. "In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His
brethren." Heb. 2:17. He exercised in His own behalf no power which man
can not exercise. As man, He met temptation, and overcame in the
strength given Him of God. He gives us an example of perfect obedience. He has
provided that we may become partakers of the divine nature and assures us that
we may overcome as He overcame. His life testified that by the aid of the same
divine power which Christ received it is possible for man to obey God's
law.” (BT
1-2-1908)
*****
153. “While he was clothed with human nature,
Christ had such a firm conviction that he was doing the will of
his Father that he could say, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me. . . . And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,
that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye will ask
anything in my name, I will do it." ”
(RH 5-8-1909)
*****
154. “As Christ felt His unity with the Father broken
up, He feared that in His human nature He would be unable to endure the
coming conflict with the powers of darkness. In the wilderness of
temptation the destiny of the human race had been at stake. Christ was then
conqueror. Now the tempter had come for the last fearful struggle. For this he
had been preparing during the three years of Christ's ministry. Everything was
at stake with him. If he failed here, his hope of mastery was lost; the kingdoms
of the world would finally become Christ's; he himself would be overthrown and
cast out. But if Christ could be overcome, the earth would become Satan's
kingdom, and the human race would be forever in his power. With the issues
of the conflict before Him, Christ's soul was filled with dread of separation
from God. Satan told Him that if He became the surety for a sinful world, the
separation would be eternal. He would be identified with Satan's kingdom, and
would nevermore be one with God.” (DA p686)
*****
155. “Christ took human nature upon him, and
became a debtor to do the whole law in behalf of those whom he
represented. Had he failed in one jot or tittle, he would have been a
transgressor of the law, and we would have had in him a sinful, unavailing
offering. But he fulfilled every specification of the law, and condemned sin in
the flesh; yet many ministers repeat the falsehoods of the scribes, priests, and
Pharisees, and follow their example in turning the people away from the
truth.” (ST
16-1-1896)
*****
156. “God was manifested in the flesh to condemn
sin in the flesh, by manifesting perfect obedience to all the law of
God. Christ did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He
corrupted not human nature, and, tho in the flesh, he transgressed not the law
of God in any particular. More than this, he removed every excuse from fallen
man that he could urge for a reason for not keeping the law of God. Christ was
compassed with the infirmities of humanity, he was beset with the fiercest
temptations, tempted on all points like as men, yet he developed a perfectly
upright character. No taint of sin was found upon him.” (ST 16-1-1896)
*****
157. “The
more we think about Christ's becoming a babe here on earth, the more wonderful
it appears. How can it be that the helpless babe in Bethlehem's manger is still
the divine Son of God? Though
we cannot understand it, we can believe that he who made the worlds, for our
sakes became a helpless babe. Though higher than any of the
angels, though as great as the Father on the throne of heaven, he became one
with us. In him God and man became one, and it is in this fact that we
find the hope of our fallen race. Looking upon Christ in the flesh, we
look upon God in humanity, and see in him the brightness of divine glory, the
express image of God the Father”. (YI.
21-11-1895)
*****
158. “Through the victory of Christ the same advantages
that he had are provided for man; for he may be a partaker of a power out of and
above himself, even a partaker of the divine nature, by which he may overcome
the corruption that is in the world through lust. In human nature Christ
developed a perfect character. "For verily he took not on him the
nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all
things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the people.” (ST
16-1-1896)
*****
159. “In this hour of trial Christ's human nature
longed for sympathy. In the supreme agony of his soul, he came to his
disciples with a yearning desire to hear some words of relief from those whom he
had oft blessed and comforted and shielded in sorrow and distress; for the law
of kindness was ever on his lips. The One who had always had words of comfort
for them was now suffering superhuman agony, and he craved sympathy; he longed
to know that they were praying for him and for themselves.” (ST
3-6-1897)
*****
160. “In the garden of Gethsemane Christ suffered in
man's stead, and the human nature of the Son of God staggered
under the terrible horror of the guilt of sin, until from His pale and quivering
lips was forced the agonising cry, "O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup
pass from Me:" but if there be no other way by which the salvation of man may be
accomplished, then "not as I will, but as Thou wilt." Human nature would
then and there have died under the horror of the sense of sin, had not an angel
from heaven strengthened Him to bear the agony. The power that inflicted
retributive justice upon man's substitute and surety, was the power that
sustained and upheld the suffering One under the tremendous weight of wrath that
would have fallen upon a sinful world. Christ was suffering the death that was
pronounced upon the transgressors of God's law”. (BT
1-9-1915)
*****
161. “Christ's human nature recoiled from the
trial, and with strong crying and tears he said, "O My Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from Me." The humanity of Christ trembled in that
trying hour”. (ST 9-8-1905)
*****
162. “Again the Son of God was seized with superhuman
agony. Fainting and exhausted, He staggered back, and prayed as He had prayed
before: "O My Father, if this cup
may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." Matthew 26:42.
The agony of this prayer forced drops of blood from His pores. Again He sought
the disciples for sympathy, and again He found them sleeping. His presence
aroused them. They looked upon His face with fear, for it was stained with
blood. They could not understand the anguish of mind which His face
expressed.
The third time He sought the place of prayer. A horror
of great darkness overcame Him. He had lost the presence of His
Father. Without this, He feared that in His human nature He could not
endure the test. The third time He prays the same prayer as before. Angels long
to bring relief, but it may not be. The Son of God must drink this
cup, or the world will be lost forever. He sees the helplessness of man.
He sees the power of sin. The woes of a doomed world pass in review before Him.
He makes the final decision. He will save man at any cost to
Himself. He has left the courts of Heaven, where all is purity, happiness, and
glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that has fallen by
transgression, and He will not turn from His purpose. His prayer now breathes
only submission: "If this cup may
not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." The Saviour now falls dying to the
ground. No disciple is there, to place his hand tenderly beneath his Master's
head, and bathe that brow, marred indeed more than the sons of men. Christ is
alone; of all the people there are none with Him. But God suffers with His
Son. Angels behold the Saviour's agony. There is silence in Heaven. No
harp is touched. Could men have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as in
silent grief they watched the Father separating His beams of light, love,
and glory from His beloved Son, they would better understand how
offensive in His sight is sin.
A mighty angel now comes to the side of Christ. He lifts the head of the
divine sufferer upon his bosom, and points toward Heaven. He tells Him that He
has come off victor over Satan. As the result, millions will be victors in His
glorious kingdom. A heavenly peace
rests upon the Saviour's blood-stained face. He has borne that which no human
being can ever bear; for He has tasted the sufferings of death for every man”.
(SJ Early Editions 1896 p 104-105)
*****
163. "Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the
coasts of Tyre and Sidon." Here Jesus hoped to find the rest and quiet
that his human nature needed. Tyre and Sidon were not like Jerusalem,
where every one knew of Christ's wonderful works; nor like Galilee, where
multitudes followed him daily. He hoped that where his work was not so widely
known he might find retirement.”
(ST 9-9-1897)
*****
164. “The Elder Brother of our race is by the
eternal throne. He looks upon every soul who is turning his face toward
him as his Saviour. He knows by experience what are the weaknesses of humanity,
what are their wants, and where lies the strength of their temptations. The
weakness of our human nature will not bar our access to the heavenly Father; for
Christ was tempted in all points like as we are, "yet without
sin." ” (ST
7-10-1897)
*****
165. “Christ our Saviour was tempted in all points like
as we are, yet he was without sin. He took human nature, being made in
fashion as a man, and his necessities were the necessities of a man. He
had bodily wants to be supplied, bodily weariness to be relieved. It was by
prayer to his Father that he was braced for duty and for trial. Day by day he
followed his round of duty, seeking to save souls. His heart went out in tender
sympathy for the weary and heavy laden. And he spent whole nights in prayer in
behalf of the tempted ones.” (RH
30-10-1900)
*****
166. “No sorrow, no agony, can measure with that which
was endured by the Son of God. Man has not been made a sin-bearer, and he
will never know the horror of the curse of sin which the Saviour bore.
No sorrow can bear any comparison with the sorrow of Him upon whom the wrath of
God fell with overwhelming force. Human nature can endure but a limited amount
of test and trial. The finite can only endure the finite measure, and human
nature succumbs; but the nature of Christ had a greater capacity for
suffering; for the human existed in the Divine nature, and created a
capacity for suffering to endure that which resulted from the sins of a lost
world.” (BT
1-9-1915)
*****
167. “The Son of God was assaulted at every step by the
powers of darkness. After his baptism he was driven of the Spirit into the
wilderness, and suffered temptation for forty days. Letters have been coming in
to me, affirming that Christ could not have had the same nature as man, for if
he had, he would have fallen under similar temptations. If he did not have
man's nature, he could not be our example. If he was not a partaker of our
nature, he could not have been tempted as man has been. If it were not
possible for him to yield to temptation, he could not be our helper. It was a
solemn reality that Christ came to fight the battles as man, in man's behalf.
His temptation and victory tell us that humanity must copy the Pattern; man must
become a partaker of the divine nature.
In Christ, divinity and humanity were
combined. Divinity was not degraded
to humanity; divinity held its place, but humanity by being united to divinity,
withstood the fiercest test of temptation in the wilderness. The prince of this
world came to Christ after his long fast, when he was an hungered, and suggested
to him to command the stones to become bread. But the plan of God, devised for
the salvation of man, provided that Christ should know hunger, and poverty, and
every phase of man's experience. He withstood the temptation, through the power
that man may command. He laid hold on the throne of God, and there is not a man
or woman who may not have access to the same help through faith in God.
Man may become a partaker of the divine nature; not a soul lives
who may not summon the aid of Heaven in temptation and trial. Christ came to
reveal the Source of his power, that man might never rely on his unaided human
capabilities.” (RH 18-2-1890)
*****
168. “Christ came to this world to reveal the
Father. What patience, what pitying tenderness, what divine compassion,
what strength of purpose, he manifested! He did not fail nor become discouraged.
He was the embodiment of purity, and His love was without a parallel. At every
step He practised self-denial and self-sacrifice. In His death He was the
revelation of the reconciliation between God and man. By taking our
nature, He bound Himself to us through eternal ages. He is our
representative and head. He represents our race before God, still and forever
bearing the humanity of the race. He pleads before the Father the perfect
righteousness of all who accept Him.” (ST 27-1-1898)
*****
169. “It was the marvel of all the universe that Christ
should humble Himself to save fallen man. That He who had passed from star to
star, from world to world, superintending all, by His providence supplying the
needs of every order of being in His vast creation--that He should consent to
leave His glory and take upon Himself human nature, was a mystery which
the sinless intelligences of other worlds desired to understand.” (PP page
69)
*****
170. “The One appointed in the counsels of heaven came
to the earth as an instructor. He was no less a being than the Creator of
the world, the Son of the Infinite God. The rich benevolence of God gave
him to our world; and to meet the necessities of humanity, he took on him human
nature. To the astonishment of the heavenly host, he walked this earth as the
Eternal Word. Fully prepared, he left the royal courts to come to a world marred
and polluted with sin. Mysteriously he allied himself to human nature. "The Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us." God's excess of goodness, benevolence, and
love was a surprise to the world, of grace which could be realised, but not
told.” (SPTED 173
1897)
*****
171. “After Christ had condescended to leave his high
command, step down from an infinite height and assume humanity, he could have
taken upon him any condition of humanity he might choose. But greatness and rank
were nothing to him, and he selected the lowest and most humble walk of life.
The place of his birth was Bethlehem, and on one side his parentage was poor,
but God, the owner of the world, was his Father. No trace of
luxury, ease, selfish gratification, or indulgence was brought into his life,
which was a continual round of self-denial and self-sacrifice. In accordance
with his humble birth, he had apparently no greatness or riches, in order that
the humblest believer need not say that Christ never knew the stress of pinching
poverty. Had he possessed the semblance of outward show, of riches, of grandeur,
the poorest class of humanity would have shunned his society; therefore he chose
the lowly condition of the far greater number of the people. The truth of
heavenly origin was to be his theme: he was to sow the earth with truth; and he
came in such a way as to be accessible to all, that the truth alone might make
an impression upon human hearts”. (SPTED 175 1897)
*****
172. “Hear that agonised prayer of Christ in the garden
of Gethsemane!” ..... "O my Father,
if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be
done." Christ was now standing in a
different attitude from that in which he had ever stood before. Hitherto he had
been as an intercessor for others; now he longs for an intercessor for himself.”
..... “It was here that the mysterious cup trembled in his hand. It was here the
destiny of a lost world was hanging in the balance. Would his human nature
bear the strain? Would the sins of an apostate world, since Adam's
transgression to the close of time, be laid upon him? Would he drink the cup? Or
would he wipe the blood drops from his brow, and cast from his soul the guilt of
a perishing world, which was placing him, all innocent, all undeserving, under
the penalty of a just law? Would he refuse to become man's substitute and
surety, refuse to give him another trial, another probation? It was not yet too
late to refuse to drink that awful cup of suffering, the wrath of his Father
against transgression. He might have said, "Let the wilful transgressor receive
the penalty of his sin, and I will go back to my Father." But no; he did not
make this choice. Altho sin was the awful thing that had opened the flood-gates
of woe upon the world, he would become the propitiation of a race that had
willed to sin.” (ST
2-12-1897)
*****
173. “The human nature of Christ was like unto
ours, and suffering was more keenly felt by him; for his spiritual
nature was free from every taint of sin. Therefore his desire for the removal of
suffering was stronger than human beings can experience. How intense was the
desire of the humanity of Christ to escape the displeasure of an offended God,
how his soul longed for relief, is revealed in the words, "O my Father, if this
cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." (ST 9-12-1897)
*****
174. “In assuming human nature, that he
might reach to the very depths of human woe and misery and lift man up, Christ
has shown what estimate he places upon the human race.” (GCD
2-3-1897)
*****
175. “By some the promise of God is grasped so eagerly
that it becomes their own, and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit is their
experience. Others suppose that they must wait until they become worthy. To
these I would say, Never, never, will you become worthy. If this were possible,
the Prince of heaven need not have come to our world. But by taking our
human nature, he declared to the heavenly universe that he united humanity to
divinity, in order that men and women might stand on vantage-ground, and be once
more tested and tried. Through the sacrifice and merits of the Redeemer,
man is made a partaker of the divine nature; but he must act his part by
co-operating with the one who has promised. Not only does Christ say, "I will
give you rest," but, "Ye shall
find rest unto your souls."
(RH 25-4-1899)
*****
176. “It was for the purpose of giving to man a perfect
representation of the character of God that Jesus came to our earth. He said, "I
am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. .
. . Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork, but
Philip could not accept nature as his God. "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so
long time with you and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father." We are to behold the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ. God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ. In the person of
his only begotten Son, the God of heaven has condescended to stoop to our human
nature. The Father in heaven has a voice and a person which Christ
expressed.” (GCD
6-3-1899)
*****
177. “Jesus consented to take human nature, that
he might know how to pity sinful, erring mortals. He volunteered to become
acquainted with the temptations that beset us, that he might know how to deliver
those who are tempted, and that he might know how to plead with his Father in
their behalf. If our perceptions could be quickened to take in this
wonderful work of our Saviour for our salvation, love, deep and ardent, would
burn in our hearts. Apathy and cold indifference would disappear.”
(SW.18-9-1906)
*****
178. “Christ came to subject Himself to all the
temptations wherewith man is beset. In human nature He suffered all the
trials and disappointments, the humiliations and afflictions, that man
suffers. In our behalf Christ took humanity upon Himself, and stood at
the head of humanity. In His humanity, He touched humanity; in His divinity, as
His right, He laid hold on the throne of God.” (ST
10-6-1903)
*****
179. “I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again." While as a member of the human family
He was mortal, as God He was the fountain of life for the world. He
could have withstood the advances of death, and refused to come under its
dominion; but voluntarily He laid down His life, that He might bring life and
immortality to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded
up His life as a sacrifice, that men might not eternally die.” (DA page
484)
*****
180. “But although Christ's divine glory
was for a time veiled and eclipsed by His assuming humanity,
yet He did not cease to be God when He became man. The human did not
take the place of the divine, nor the divine of the human. This is the
mystery of godliness. The two expressions human and divine were,
in Christ, closely and inseparably one, and yet they had a distinct
individuality. Though Christ humbled Himself to become man, the Godhead
was still His own. His Deity could not be lost while He stood faithful and true
to His loyalty. Surrounded with sorrow, suffering, and moral pollution, despised
and rejected by the people to whom had been intrusted the oracles of heaven,
Jesus could yet speak of Himself as the Son of man in heaven. He was ready
to take once more His divine glory when His work on earth was done.”
(ST
10-5-1899)
*****
181.
“Christ was God manifest in the flesh. In Him divinity and
humanity were united. In Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. He
lived in this world a perfect life, revealing the character to which, through
divine grace, man may attain. In His life He left an example that every true
Christian must follow. No falsehood ever fell from His lips. Never did He do a
dishonest act. He stood forth in unsullied purity and goodness, revealing what
man must be before he can enter the holy city.”
(ST.26-4-1905)
*****
182. “The name of God, given to Moses to express the
idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by this Galilean
Rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the self-existent One, He
who had been promised to Israel, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from
the days of eternity." Micah 5:2, margin”. (DA pp. 469,
470.)
*****
183. “In contemplating the incarnation of Christ in
humanity, we stand baffled before an unfathomable mystery, that the human mind
cannot comprehend. The more we reflect upon it, the more amazing does it appear.
How wide is the contrast between the divinity of Christ and the helpless
infant in Bethlehem's manger! How can we span the distance between
the mighty God and a helpless child? And yet the Creator of worlds, He
in whom was the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless
babe in the manger. Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in
dignity and glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity
were mysteriously combined, and man and god became one . It is in this union
that we find the hope of our fallen race. Looking upon Christ in humanity,
we look upon God, and see in Him the brightness of His glory, the express image
of His person”. (ST July
30, 1896)
*****
184. Christ was God manifest in the flesh;
in him dwelt "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." All this glory he longed
to pour upon the world, but men refused to receive it. They were given evidence
upon evidence; but they bound themselves up in their stubborn unbelief and
prejudice. Therefore they were without excuse.”( YI.
21-3-1901)
*****
185. “But while God's Word speaks
of the humanity of Christ when upon this earth, it also speaks decidedly
regarding his pre-existence. The Word existed as a divine being, even as
the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with his Father. From
everlasting he was the Mediator of the covenant, the one in whom all nations of
the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, if thy accepted him, were to be blessed. "The
Word was with God, and the Word was God." Before men or angels were created, the
Word was with God, and was God” (Review and Herald 5-4-1906).
*****
186. "Lord, show us the Father," said Philip, "and it
sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet
hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and
how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of
Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." John 14:1-10.
The disciples did not yet understand Christ's words
concerning His relation to God. Much of His teaching was still dark to
them. They had asked many questions
that revealed their ignorance of God's relation to them and to their present and
future interests. Christ desired them to have a clearer, more distinct knowledge
of God.
"These things have I spoken unto you in parables," He
said; "but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in parables, but
I shall show you plainly of the Father." John 16:25, margin.
When on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured
out upon the disciples, they understood the truths that Christ had spoken in
parables. The teachings that had been mysteries to them were made clear. The
understanding that came to them with the outpouring of the Spirit made them
ashamed of their fanciful theories. Their suppositions and interpretations were
foolishness when compared with the knowledge of heavenly things which they now
received. They were led by the Spirit, and light shone into their once darkened
understanding.
But the disciples had not yet received the complete
fulfillment of Christ's promise. They received all the knowledge of God that
they could bear, but the complete fulfillment of the promise that Christ would
show them plainly of the Father was yet to come. Thus it is today. Our
knowledge of God is partial and imperfect. When the conflict is ended and the
Man Christ Jesus acknowledges before the Father His faithful workers, who, in a
world of sin, have borne true witness for Him, they will understand clearly what
now are mysteries to them.
Christ took with Him to the heavenly courts His
glorified humanity. To those who
receive Him, He gives power to become the sons of God, that at last God may
receive them as His, to dwell with Him throughout eternity. If, during this
life, they are loyal to God, they will at last "see His face; and His name shall
be in their foreheads." Revelation 22:4. And what is the happiness of heaven but
to see God? What greater joy could come to the sinner saved by the grace of
Christ than to look upon the face of God and know Him as Father?” (8T
266-7)
*****
187. "If ye had known Me," Christ said, "ye should have
known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him." But
not yet did the disciples understand. "Lord, show us the Father," exclaimed
Philip, "and it sufficeth us."
Amazed at his dullness of comprehension, Christ asked
with pained surprise, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not
known Me, Philip?" Is it possible that you do not see the Father in the works He
does through Me? Do you not believe that I came to testify of the Father? "How
sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" "He that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father." Christ had not ceased to be God when He became man.
Though He had humbled Himself to humanity, the Godhead was still His
own. Christ alone could represent the Father to humanity, and this
representation the disciples had been privileged to behold for over three years.
"Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in
Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake." Their faith might safely rest
on the evidence given in Christ's works, works that no man, of himself, ever had
done, or ever could do. Christ's work testified to His divinity. Through Him the
Father had been revealed.
If the disciples believed this vital connection between
the Father and the Son, their faith would not forsake them when they saw
Christ's suffering and death to save a perishing world. Christ was seeking to
lead them from their low condition of faith to the experience they might receive
if they truly realised what He was,--God in human flesh. He
desired them to see that their faith must lead up to God, and be anchored there.
How earnestly and perseveringly our compassionate Saviour sought to prepare His
disciples for the storm of temptation that was soon to beat upon them. He would
have them hid with Him in God.” (DA pages 663-664)
*****
188. "I
know you," Christ declared to the Pharisees, "that ye have not the love of God
in you." He spoke to them thus plainly because they could not discern His
divinity under the veil of humanity. He was God in human flesh,
and He could not but work the works of God. Unbelief, prejudice, and jealousy
beat about Him, and if His humanity had not been united with divinity, He would
have failed and become discouraged. At times His divinity flashed through
humanity, and He stood forth as the Son of God, His veil of flesh too
transparent to hide His majesty. But the men who claimed to be the expositors of
the prophecies refused to believe that He was the Christ. Satan had control of
their minds, and they utterly refused to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus of
Nazareth”. (RH 26-3-1901)
*****
189. “No
one, looking upon the childlike countenance, shining with animation, could say
that Christ was just like other children. He was God in human
flesh. When urged by his companions to do wrong, divinity flashed
through humanity, and he refused decidedly. In a moment he distinguished between
right and wrong, and placed sin in the light of God's commands, holding up the
law as a mirror which reflected light upon wrong. It was this keen
discrimination between right and wrong that often provoked Christ's brothers to
anger. Yet his appeals and entreaties, and the sorrow expressed in his
countenance, revealed such a tender, earnest love for them that they were
ashamed of having tempted him to deviate from his strict sense of justice and
loyalty.” (YI. 8-9-1898)
*****
190. “For centuries the Jews had vainly endeavored to
show wherein the promise of God given by Haggai had been fulfilled; yet pride
and unbelief blinded their minds to the true meaning of the prophet's words. The
second temple was not honored with the cloud of Jehovah's glory, but with the
living presence of One in whom dwelt the fullness of the Godhead
bodily--who was God Himself manifest in the flesh. The "Desire of
all nations" had indeed come to His temple when the Man of Nazareth taught and
healed in the sacred courts. In the presence of Christ, and in this only, did
the second temple exceed the first in glory. But Israel had put from her the
proffered Gift of heaven. With the humble Teacher who had that day passed out
from its golden gate, the glory had forever departed from the temple. Already
were the Saviour's words fulfilled: "Your house is left unto you desolate."
Matthew 23:38”. (GC page 24)
*****
191. “The
second temple was honored, not with the cloud of Jehovah's glory, but with the
presence of the One in whom dwelt "all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily"--God Himself "manifest in the flesh." Colossians 2:9; 1
Timothy 3:16. In being honored with the personal presence of Christ during His
earthly ministry, and in this alone, did the second temple exceed the first in
glory. The "Desire of all nations" had indeed come to His temple, when the Man
of Nazareth taught and healed in the sacred courts.” (Prophets and Kings
597)
*****
192. “In the person of his only begotten Son, the
God of heaven has condescended to stoop to our human nature. To the
question of Thomas, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my
Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith
unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him,
Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he
that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the
Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the
words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth
in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in
me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." (RH
17-3-1904)
*****
193. “The love of Christ for the human family led
him to assume human nature, and to submit to every test that human
beings must bear, that man might be brought into right relation to his
Maker.” (RH
30-9-1909)
*****
194. “Christ took human nature that you might
approach him and learn how to labour for your fellow men. Make use of
your knowledge in bringing souls to Christ. Drop a word here and a word there
that will lift up the Saviour before men, and lead them to higher and holier
purposes.” (RH 6-1-1910)
*****
195. “Point after point Paul lingered over, in order
that those who should read his epistle might fully comprehend the wonderful
condescension of the Saviour in their behalf. Presenting Christ as He was
when equal with God and with Him receiving the homage of the angels, the apostle
traced His course until He had reached the lowest depths of humiliation.
Paul was convinced that if they could be brought to comprehend the amazing
sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven, all selfishness would be banished from
their lives. He showed how the Son of God had laid aside His glory,
voluntarily subjecting Himself to the conditions of human nature,
and then had humbled Himself as a servant, becoming obedient unto death, "even
the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8), that He might lift fallen man from
degradation to hope and joy and heaven.” (AA page
333)
*****
196. “The leaven of truth works a change in the whole
man, making the coarse refined, the rough gentle, the selfish generous. By it
the impure are cleansed, washed in the blood of the Lamb. Through its
life-giving power it brings all there is of mind and soul and strength into
harmony with the divine life. Man with his human nature becomes a partaker
of divinity. Christ is honoured in excellence and perfection of
character. As these changes are effected, angels break forth in rapturous song,
and God and Christ rejoice over souls fashioned after the divine
similitude.” (COL page
102)
*****
197. “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."
Doubting, questioning Thomas feels called upon to
express his discouragement and unbelief: "Lord, we know not whither thou goest;
and how can we know the way?" Jesus mildly and patiently instructed his doubting
disciples in the way of life-- “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my
Father also; and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." Jesus would
have him understand that the Father had been revealed in the Son--in his
teachings that reflected the wisdom of Heaven, and in his works that showed the
power of Omnipotence. Philip perceiving but dimly the meaning of his Lord said
to him, "Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us."
Philip, and also the other disciples were filled with
apprehension and doubt, and they desired that Jesus should give them a last
convincing proof of his divinity by showing them the Father. Christ appeared in
the disguise of humanity as a servant. But those who were partakers of his
divine nature had eyes to perceive his divinity, the glory of which had upon
special occasions, flashed through his human disguise, revealing indeed the
Father. Sad indeed was it that one of his disciples who had
been his companion, and witnessed his mighty works, had so failed to discern the
character of his Saviour as to ask him for another sign”. (ST 17-1-1878)
*****
198. “In plain language the Saviour taught the world
that the tenderness, the compassion, and love that he manifested toward man,
were the very attributes of his Fathers in heaven. Whatever doctrine of grace he
presented, whatever promise of joy, whatever deed of love, whatever divine
attraction he exhibited, had its source in the Father of all. In the
person of Christ we behold the eternal God engaged in an enterprise of boundless
mercy toward fallen man. Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, that
his humanity might touch humanity, and divinity reach divinity.” (ST
20-8-1894)
*****
199. “Here are revealed the heights of attainment that
we may reach through faith in the promises of our Heavenly Father, when we
fulfil his requirements. Through the merits of Christ, we have access to the
throne of infinite power. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up
for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" The
Father gave his Spirit without measure to his Son,
and we also may partake of its fullness. Jesus says: "If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (RH
5-11-1908)
*****
200. “Christ yielded not in the least degree to the
torturing foe, even in his bitterest anguish. Legions of evil angels were all
about the Son of God, yet the holy angels were bidden not to break their ranks
and engage in conflict with the taunting, reviling foe. Heavenly angels were not
permitted to minister unto the anguished spirit of the Son of God. It was in
this terrible hour of darkness, the face of his Father hidden,
legions of evil angels enshrouding him, the sins of the world upon him, that the
words were wrenched from his lips, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?"” (ST 28-8-1879)
*****
201. “There were
men among the disciples of Christ who did not always manifest faith in the word
of God. When Christ told them that he would go away and prepare mansions for
them, and come again and receive them unto himself, and said, "Whither I go ye
know, and the way ye know," Thomas said unto him, "Lord, we know not whither
thou goest; and how can we know the way?" Jesus said unto him, "I am the way,
the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had
known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from henceforth ye know him,
and have seen him." Thomas did not believe in the word of God, and did not
discern the divine character of Christ.
But he was not alone in his unbelief. "Philip saith unto
him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I
been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath
seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that
I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he
doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or
else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works
than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask
in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye
shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." (ST
7-5-1896)
*****
202. “To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and
the life. In our Saviour the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He
has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with
the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes
up again, and gives to humanity. "I am come," He said, "that they might have
life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (DA page
786)
*****
203. “Christ was the foundation of the whole system of
Jewish worship, and in it was shadowed forth the living reality,--the
manifestation of God in Christ. Through the sacrificial system men could see
Christ's personality and look forward to their divine Saviour. But when he stood
before them, representing the invisible God,--for in him dwelt "all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily,--they were not able to discern his
divine character because of their want of spirituality. Their own prophets had
foretold him as a Deliverer. Isaiah had declared: "Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be
no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even forever."
But though his character and mission had been so plainly
delineated, though he came unto his own, his own received him not. Occasionally
divinity flashed through humanity, the glory escaped through the disguise of the
flesh, and brought forth an expression of homage from his disciples. But it was
not until Christ ascended to his Father, not until the descent of the Holy
Spirit, that the disciples fully appreciated the character and the mission of
Christ.
After the baptism of the Holy Spirit they began to
realise that they had been in the very presence of the Lord of life and
glory. As the Holy Spirit brought
the sayings of Christ to their remembrance, their understanding was opened to
comprehend the prophecies, to understand the mighty miracles which he had
wrought. The wonders of his life, in all its sacredness, greatness, and glory,
passed before them, and they were as men wakened from a dream. They realised
that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth," (RH
23-4-1895)
*****
204. “In February, 1845, I had a vision of events
commencing with the Midnight Cry. 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, for said he if you should once behold the glory
of his person you would cease to exist.” (B1 6-4-1846)
*****
205. “The
Son of God declared in positive terms that the world was destitute of the
knowledge of God; but this knowledge was of the highest value, and it was his
own peculiar gift, the inestimable treasure which he brought into the world. In
the exercise of his sovereign prerogative he imparted to his disciples the
knowledge of the character of God, in order that they might communicate it to
the world. The only nation who claimed to be worshiping the true God at the
advent of Christ had not a proper conception of his character. They were sitting
in Moses' seat, but they did not present God as Moses presented him, but after
the distorted representation of Satan. The character of God was falsified before
the people. Truth was so overlaid with tradition, religion was so burdened with
man-made tests and commandments, that the purity and luster of truth were
completely hidden, and virtue was considered unattainable. The existing religion
left man without God and without hope in the world. But the Sun of Righteousness
shines forth into the midnight darkness of superstition and error, and rolls
back the cloud, and presents himself as the one in whom dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily, as the exact representation of the
Father. This is his message to the world: "And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent." (ST. 27-6-1892)
*****
206, “Jesus Christ was the foundation of the whole
Jewish economy. The world's Redeemer was symbolized in types and shadows through
their religious services. The glory of God was revealed in Christ within the
veil until Christ should appear in the world, and display to the world all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. In Christ we behold the image of the
invisible God; in his attributes we see the attributes of the character
of the Infinite. Jesus said: "I and my Father are one." "He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father." (ST.29-8-1895)
*****
207. “A Personal God The mighty
power that works through all nature and sustains all things is not, as some men
of science represent, merely an all-pervading principle, an actuating energy.
God is a spirit; yet He is a personal being, for man was made in His
image.” (8T 263)
*****
208. “The mighty power that works through all nature and
sustains all things is not, as some men of science claim, merely an
all-pervading principle, an actuating energy. God is a spirit; yet He is a
personal being, for man was made in His image. As a personal being, God
has revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus, the outshining of the Father's glory,
"and the express image of His person" (Hebrews 1:3), was on earth found in
fashion as a man. As a personal Saviour He came to the world. As a personal
Saviour He ascended on high. As a personal Saviour He intercedes in the heavenly
courts. Before the throne of God in our behalf ministers “One like the Son of man.”
Daniel 7:13.” (Education page 131)
*****
209. “The
union of the divine and the human, manifest in Christ, exists also in the Bible.
The truths revealed are all "given by inspiration of God;" yet they are
expressed in the words of men and are adapted to human needs. Thus it may be
said of the Book of God, as it was of Christ, that "the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us." And this fact, so far from being an argument against the Bible,
should strengthen faith in it as the word of God. Those who pronounce upon
the inspiration of the Scriptures, accepting some portions as divine while they
reject other parts as human, overlook the fact that Christ, the divine, partook
of our human nature, that He might reach humanity. In the work of God
for man's redemption, divinity and humanity are combined.” (5T
747)
*****
210. “Our Saviour laid aside his royal robe and kingly
crown, and left the glories of heaven to come to this world. He clothed
his divinity with humanity. He designed that the fallen humanity might
touch his humanity, and receive from him power to be partakers of the divine
nature, and to overcome the corruption that is in the world through lust. He is
our pattern, and I beseech of you, my brethren, to lay hold of the power that is
ours through the union of the divine and the human in Christ. He overcame for us, and we may claim his merits. We may
plead his power, his virtue. And as we co-operate with him, and live in harmony
with his law, he will cleanse our natures from sin, and impart to us his
righteousness.” (RH 16-7-1908)
*****
211.
“God was in
Christ in human form, and endured
all the temptations wherewith man was beset; in our behalf He participated in
the suffering and trials of sorrowful human nature”. (SW Dec. 10, 1907).
{7BC
930.4}
*****
212. “The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal
what God in his own divine person could do, but what he could do through
humanity. Through faith man is to be a partaker of the divine nature, and to
overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset. It was the Majesty of
heaven who became a man, who humbled himself to our human nature; it was
he who was tempted in the wilderness and who endured the contradiction of
sinners against himself.” (ST
10-4-1893)
*****
213 “Jesus declared to His disciples that not a sparrow
falls to the ground without the notice of the heavenly Father, and that if God
can keep in mind the wants of all the little birds of the air, He will much more
care for those who may become the subjects of His kingdom and through faith in
Him may be the heirs of immortality. Oh, if the human mind were only to
comprehend--in such measure as the plan of redemption can be comprehended by finite minds --
the work of Jesus in taking upon Himself human nature, and what is to be
accomplished for us by this marvellous condescension, the hearts of men would be
melted with gratitude for God's great love, and in humility they would adore the
divine wisdom that devised the mystery of grace!” (5T 749)
*****
214. “All
who are followers of Christ should deal with one another exactly as we wish the
Lord to deal with us in our errors and weaknesses, for we are all erring and
need His pity and forgiveness. Jesus consented to take human nature, that
He might know how to pity, and how to plead with His Father in behalf of sinful,
erring mortals. He volunteered to become man's Advocate, and He
humiliated Himself to become acquainted with the temptations wherewith man was
beset, that He might succour those who should be tempted, and be a tender and
faithful high priest.” (3T 93)
*****
215. “Jesus took human nature, passing through
infancy, childhood, and youth, that he might know how to sympathise with
all, and leave an example for all children and youth. He is acquainted with the
temptations and weaknesses of children.” (YI
1-9-1873)
*****
216. “There is but one way of escape for the sinner.
There is but one agency whereby he may be cleansed from sin. He must accept the
propitiation that has been made by the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of
the world. The shed blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin. "For he hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him." "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." A complete
offering has been made; for "God so loved the world, that he gave his
only-begotten Son,"-- not a son by creation, as were the angels, nor a son
by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, but a Son begotten in the express image
of the Father's person, and in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one
equal with God in authority, dignity, and divine perfection. In him
dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
John said, "We have seen, and do testify that the Father
sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." The Son of God took upon him
human nature,--"the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." "God was
manifest in the flesh." The union of divinity with humanity brings to the fallen
race a value which we scarcely comprehend. The human and the divine were
united in Christ, in order that he might represent those who should
believe in him. He took our nature, and passed through our experiences, and as
our representative he assumed our responsibilities. The sins of men were charged
to Christ, and, innocent though he was, he engaged to suffer for the guilty,
that through faith in him the world might be saved. "We were reconciled to God
by the death of his Son." ” (ST 30-5-1895)
*****
217. “Personality of God Revealed in Christ
As a personal being, God has revealed Himself in
His Son. The outshining of the Father's glory, "and the express image of
His person," Jesus, as a personal Saviour, came to the world. As a personal
Saviour He ascended on high. As a personal Saviour He intercedes in the heavenly
courts. Before the throne of God in our behalf ministers "One like unto the Son
of man." Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 1:13.
Christ, the Light of the world, veiled the dazzling
splendour of His divinity and came to live as a man among men, that they might,
without being consumed, become acquainted with their Creator. Since sin brought
separation between man and his Maker, no man has seen God at any time, except as
He is manifested through Christ.
"I and My Father are one," Christ declared. "No man
knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the
Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." John 10:30; Matthew 11:27.
Christ came to teach human beings what God desires them
to know. In the heavens above, in the earth, in the broad waters of the ocean,
we see the handiwork of God. All created things testify to His power, His
wisdom, His love. Yet not from the stars or the ocean or the cataract can we
learn of the personality of God as it was revealed in Christ.
God saw that a clearer revelation than nature was needed
to portray both His personality and His character. He sent His Son into the
world to manifest, so far as could be endured by human sight, the nature and the
attributes of the invisible God.”
(MH page 418-9)
*****
218. “Before the foundations of the world were
laid, Christ, the Only Begotten of God, pledged Himself to become the
Redeemer of the human race, should Adam sin. ...
“ In His incarnation He gained in a new sense the title of the Son of God. Said the angel to Mary, "The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). While the Son of a human being, He became the Son of God in a new sense. Thus He stood in our world--the Son of God, yet allied by birth to the human race.” (1SM, PG- 226, 227)
*****
219. “He came to this world
in human form, to live a man amongst men. He assumed the liabilities of human
nature, to be proved and tried. In His humanity He was a partaker of the divine
nature . In His incarnation He gained in a new sense the title of the Son
of God”. (The Signs of the Times, Aug. 2,
1905).
*****
220. “Christ brought men and
women power to overcome. He came to this world in human form, to
live a man amongst men. He assumed the liabilities of human nature, to be proved
and tried. In His humanity He was a partaker of the divine nature. In His
incarnation He gained in a new sense the title of the Son of God. Said
the angel to Mary, "The power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God"
(Luke 1:35). While the Son of a human being, He became the Son of God in a
new sense. Thus He stood in our world--the Son of God, yet allied by
birth to the human race” (Selected Messages book 1 p
226)
*****
221. “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 page 21)
*****
222. “Thus was presented to the prophet’s vision the
great and solemn day when the characters and the lives of men should pass in
review before the Judge of all the earth, and to every man should be rendered
“according to his works.” The Ancient of Days is God the Father.
Says the psalmist: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art
God.” Psalm 90:2. It is He, the source of all being, and the
fountain of all law, that is to preside in the judgement. And holy angels as
ministers and witnesses, in number “ten thousand times ten thousand, and
thousands of thousands,” attend this great tribunal.” (GC page 479
)
*****
223. “The greatness of God is to us incomprehensible.
"The Lord's throne is in heaven" (Psalm 11:4); yet by His Spirit He is
everywhere present. He has an intimate knowledge of, and a personal
interest in, all the works of His hand.” (Education p 132
1903)
******
224. “The Bible shows us God in His high and holy place,
not in a state of inactivity, not in silence and solitude, but surrounded by ten
thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of holy beings, all
waiting to do His will. Through these messengers He is in active communication
with every part of His dominion. By His Spirit He is everywhere
present. Through the agency of His Spirit and His angels He ministers to
the children of men.
Above the distractions of the earth He sits enthroned;
all things are open to His divine survey; and from His great and calm eternity
He orders that which His providence sees best.” (MH page
417)
*****
225. “The Saviour has given the promise of His
presence to all who labour in the spirit of true service. "All power is
given unto Me in heaven and in earth," He says; "go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy, Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." As you
present the Word to your hearers, claim this promise of Christ's
presence. There is no day, no hour of the day, when He will not be near
you by His Holy Spirit. He is in every meeting that is held in His
name. His promise is given for as long as time shall last.” (AU
30-12-1907)
*****
226. “The best recommendation you can carry with you of
this school and its influence is a well-ordered life and a godly conversation.
Wherever you may be, maintain the principles that you have been studying here.
Wherever you go, carry on the good work of searching the Scriptures, and
the Lord Jesus will always be at your right hand to help you. He
is a merciful high priest pleading in your behalf. He will send his
representative, the Holy Spirit; for He says, "I will not leave you comfortless;
I will come to you." By the Spirit the Father and the Son will come and make
their abode with you.”
(BE 15-1-1893)
*****
227. “Though apparent impossibilities obstruct their
way, by His grace they are to go forward. Instead of deploring difficulties,
they are called upon to surmount them. They are to despair of nothing, and to
hope for everything. With the golden chain of His matchless love Christ has
bound them to the throne of God. It is His purpose that the highest influence in
the universe, emanating from the source of all power, shall be
theirs. They are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor
death, nor hell can master, power that will enable them to overcome as Christ
overcame.” (DA page
679)
*****
228. “The office of the Holy Spirit is to control all
our spiritual exercises. The Father has given his Son for us that through
the Son the Holy Spirit might come to us, and lead us unto the Father.
Through divine agency, we have the spirit of intercession, whereby we may plead
with God, as a man pleadeth with his friend.” (ST
3-10-1892)
*****
229. “Our sanctification is the work of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is the fulfilment of the
covenant that God has made with those who bind themselves up with Him, to
stand with Him, with His Son, and with His Spirit in holy fellowship.
Have you been born again? Have you become a new being in Christ Jesus? Then
co-operate with the three great powers of heaven who are working in your behalf.
Doing this you will reveal to the world the principles of
righteousness.” (ST
19-6-1901)
*****
230. “Upon coming up out of the water, Jesus bowed in
prayer on the river bank.” ... “The Saviour's glance seems to penetrate heaven
as He pours out His soul in prayer. Well He knows how sin has hardened the
hearts of men, and how difficult it will be for them to discern His mission, and
accept the gift of salvation. He pleads with the Father for power to overcome
their unbelief, to break the fetters with which Satan has enthralled them, and
in their behalf to conquer the destroyer. He asks for the witness that God
accepts humanity in the person of His Son. Never before have the angels listened
to such a prayer. They are eager to bear to their loved Commander a message of
assurance and comfort. But no; the Father Himself will answer the petition
of His Son. Direct from the throne issue the beams of His glory. The
heavens are opened, and upon the Saviour’s head descends a dove like form of
purest light, – fit emblem of Him, the meek and lowly One.” (DA pages
111-112)
*****
231. “Never before had angels listened to such a prayer
as Christ offered at His baptism, and they were solicitous to be the bearers of
the message from the Father to His Son. But, no! Direct from the Father
issues the light of His glory. The heavens were opened and beams of
glory rested upon the Son of God and assumed the form of a dove, in appearance
like burnished gold. The dove like form was emblematical of the meekness and
gentleness of Christ. . . . From the opening heavens came these words: "This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." . . . Notwithstanding the Son
of God was clothed with humanity, yet Jehovah, with His own voice, assures Him
of His sonship with the Eternal. In this manifestation to His Son, God
accepts humanity as exalted through the excellence of His beloved Son”. (That
I May Know Him page 31)
*****
232. “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.” (RH, 3-12-1908)
*****
233. “The Indwelling of the Spirit. —The influence
of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. We do not see
Christ and speak to Him, but His Holy Spirit is just as near us in one place as
in another. It works in and through every one who receives
Christ. Those who know the indwelling of the Spirit reveal the fruits of the
Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith” (MS 41,
1897). (6BC-1112)
*****
234. “ 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 to take away sin.”
(This Day with God: page 257)
*****
235. “The Holy Spirit is the breath of spiritual
life in the soul. The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life
of Christ. It imbues the receiver with the attributes of Christ. Only
those who are thus taught of God, those who possess the inward working of the
Spirit, and in whose life the Christ-life is manifested, are to stand as
representative men, to minister in behalf of the church.” (DA page
805)
*****
236. “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.” (DA page
827)
*****
237. “The sap of the vine, ascending from the
root, is diffused to the branches, sustaining growth and producing blossoms and
fruit. So the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Saviour,
pervades the soul, renews the motives and affections, and brings even the
thoughts into obedience to the will of God, enabling the receiver to bear the
precious fruit of holy deeds.” (AA page 284)
*****
238. “I am the Vine; ye are the branches,” Christ said
to His disciples. Though He was about to be removed from them, their
spiritual union with Him was to be unchanged. The connection of the branch with
the vine, He said, represents the relation you are to sustain to Me. The scion
is engrafted into the living vine, and fibre by fibre, vein by vein, it grows
into the vine-stock. The life of the vine becomes the life of the branch. So the
soul dead in trespasses and sins receives life through connection with Christ.
By faith in Him as a personal Saviour the union is formed. The sinner
unites his weakness to Christ’s strength, his emptiness to Christ’s fullness,
his frailty to Christ’s enduring might. Then he has the mind of Christ. The
humanity of Christ has touched our humanity, and our humanity has touched
divinity. Thus through the agency of the Holy Spirit man becomes a
partaker of the divine nature. He is accepted in the Beloved.”
(DA page
675)
*****
239. “Jesus has loved men, and has made every provision
that the blood-bought soul shall have a new birth, a new life derived from
his own life, as the branch derives its life from the parent stock . “He that
hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
Those who believe in Christ derive their motive power and the texture of
their characters from him in whom they believe.”
(YI-10-1-1895)
*****
240. “In the matchless gift of His Son, God has
encircled the whole world with an atmosphere of grace as real as the air which
circulates around the globe. All who choose to breathe this life-giving
atmosphere will live and grow up to the stature of men and women in Christ
Jesus.” (Steps to Christ page 68)
*****
241. “Cumbered with humanity Christ could not be in
every place personally, therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He
should leave them to go to His Father and send the Holy Spirit to be His
successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself, divested of the
personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would
represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit.” (Manuscript
Releases Volume 14 (No’s 1081-1135) MR No.1084
*****
242. “The Holy Spirit is Christ's representative, but
divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered
with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore
it was for their interest that He should go to the Father, and send the Spirit
to be His successor on earth. No one could then have any advantage because of
his location or his personal contact with Christ. By the Spirit the Saviour
would be accessible to all. In this sense He would be nearer to them than if He
had not ascended on high.” (DA page 669)
*****
243. The Lord says
this because He knows it is for our good. He would build a wall around us, to
keep us from transgression, so that His blessing and love may be bestowed on us
in rich measure. This is the reason we have established a school here. The Lord
instructed us that this was the place in which we should locate, and we have had
every reason to think that we are in the right place. We have been brought
together as a school, and we need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is
as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds,
that the Lord God is our keeper, and helper. He hears every word we utter and
knows every thought of the mind. (Ms 66, 1899, p. 4. (Talk, April 15,
1899).
*****
244. “The work of the holy Spirit is immeasurably great.
It is from this source that power and efficiency come to the worker for God; and
the holy Spirit is the comforter, as the personal presence of Christ to
the soul. He who looks to Christ in simple, childlike faith, is made a
partaker of the divine nature through the agency of the holy Spirit. When led by
the Spirit of God, the Christian may know that he is made complete in him who is
the head of all things. As Christ was glorified on the day of Pentecost, so will
he again be glorified in the closing work of the gospel, when he shall prepare a
people to stand the final test, in the closing conflict of the great
controversy.” (RH 29-11-1892)
*****
245. “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.
Our way and will must be in submission to God's will, knowing that it is
holy, just, and good.” (ST 3-10-1892)
*****
246. “Yet those who receive the Spirit of God, though
they were dead in trespasses and sins, will experience the active working of
that power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The vital power of the
Holy Spirit will raise up those who realise their helplessness, and who
come confessing their sins and believing in Jesus .... The Spirit of God alone
can make and keep men pure. Its work upon the soul is represented as
bringing life to the dead, and freeing the soul from the slavery of sin, which
has brought it under the condemnation of the law, where wrath and tribulation
fall upon every evil doer.” (ST, 5-11-1894)
*****
247. In describing to his
disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with
the joy and hope that inspired his own heart. He rejoiced because of the
abundant help he had provided for his church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of
all gifts that he could solicit from his
Father for the exaltation of his
people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the
sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been
strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity
was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency
of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but
in the fulness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes
effectual what has been wrought out by the world's Redeemer. 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 on his church. (RH, November 19,
1908 par.
5)
*****
248. “The Holy Spirit
is a free, working, independent agency. The God of heaven uses his
Spirit as it pleases him, and human minds and human judgment and human methods
can no more set boundaries to its working, or prescribe as to the channel
through which it shall operate, than they can say to the wind, "I bid you to
blow in a certain direction, and to conduct yourself in such and such a manner."
(Review and Herald. 5th May 1896)
*****
249. “ The Holy
Spirit always leads to the written word. The Holy Spirit is a person; for
He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God.
When this witness is borne, it carries with it its own evidence. At such times
we believe and are sure that we are the children of God. What strong evidence of
the power of truth we can give to believers and unbelievers when we can voice
the words of John, "We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God
is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in
him."
The Holy
Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with
our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also
be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in
the mind of God. "For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of
man, which is in him; even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit
of God." (Ms 20, 1906.Manuscript releases Volume 20 No.
1437)
*****
250. “To comprehend the atonement; the mysterious
and wonderful plan of redemption is so far-reaching that philosophy can not
explain it; it will ever remain a mystery that the most profound reason can not
fathom. If it could be explained by finite wisdom, it would lose its sacredness
and dignity. It is a mystery that One equal with the eternal Father
should so abase Himself as to suffer the cruel death of the cross to ransom man;
and it is a mystery that God so loved the world as to permit His Son to make
this great sacrifice. The Holy Spirit exalts and glorifies the Saviour. It is
His office to present Christ, the great salvation that we have through Him, and
the sacred, elevated purity of His righteousness.” ( ST
24-10-1906)
*****
251. "I am the resurrection, and the life." He who had
said, "I lay down my life, that I might take it again," came forth from the
grave to life that was in himself. Humanity died: divinity
did not die. In his divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the
bonds of death. He declares that he has life in himself to quicken whom he will.
All created beings live by the will and power of God.
They are recipients of the life of the Son of God. However able and talented,
however large their capacities, they are replenished with life from the source
of all life. He is the spring, the fountain, of life. Only he who alone hath
immortality, dwelling in light and life, could say, "I have power to lay down my
life, and I have power to take it again."
The words of Christ, "I am the resurrection, and the
life," were distinctly heard by the Roman guard. The whole army of Satan heard
them. And we understand them when we hear. Christ had come to give his life a
ransom for many.” (YI 4-8-1898)
*****
252. “When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at
Christ’s tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour came forth from the
grave by the life that was in Himself ...: “In His divinity Christ
possessed the power to break the bonds of death.” (DA - page
785)
*****
253. “Jesus said to Mary,
"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." When he closed his eyes
in death upon the cross, the soul of Christ did not go at once to Heaven, as
many believe, or how could his words be true--"I am not yet ascended to my
Father"? The spirit of Jesus slept in the tomb with his body, and did not wing
its way to Heaven, there to maintain a separate existence, and to look down upon
the mourning disciples embalming the body from which it had taken flight.
All that comprised the life and intelligence of Jesus remained with his
body in the sepulcher; and when he came forth it was as a whole being; he did
not have to summon his spirit from Heaven. He had power to lay down his
life and to take it up again”. (Vol. 3 Spirit
of Prophecy page 203)
*****
254. “The world is to be taken captive by Satan's
deceiving representations. Where then is our security? How shall we guard
against Satan's bewitching artifices? -- By reading the Word of God with an
intensity of desire to know Him in the light of revelation which He has left on
record of Himself; by meditating upon His precepts diligently. We are to
obey His commands, afraid to venture out of the path of divine revelation, and
to indulge in fallacious reasoning. We are to realise that if we work
the works of Christ, we shall not unite with the world. The Holy Spirit will
give us a clear, distinct message to the world. If we will come into close
relation to Christ, we shall have a part to act in carrying forward the work of
present truth for this time. We are to cooperate with the three highest
powers in heaven,-- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,--and these
powers will work through us, making us workers together with God. But when a man
goes forth in human sufficiency, then the enemy comes in and inspires him, and
he knows not what manner of spirit he is of. The Lord saw this, and instructed
me that at the General Conference held in Oakland, I should hold no conversation
with you.” (Special Testimonies Series B No 7 pages 50-51
(1905)
*****
*****
256. “Christ became one flesh with us, in order that
we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we
are to come forth from the grave,-- not merely as a manifestation of the power
of Christ, but because, through faith, His life has become ours. Those
who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have
everlasting life. It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us;
and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of
the life eternal.” (DA page 388)
*****
257. “He [the believer] may die, as Christ died, but the
life of the Saviour is in him. His life is hid with Christ
in God. "I am come that they might have life," Jesus said, "and that
they might have it more abundantly." He carries on the great process by which
believers are made one with Him in this present life, to be one with Him
throughout all eternity. . . . At the last day He will raise them as a
part of Himself. . . . Christ became one with us in order that we
might become one with Him in divinity.” (R&H
18-6-1901)
*****
258. “In Christ is God; and yet he, the
Alpha,--the beginning,--the Omega,--the ending,--came as man. In taking
upon himself humanity, Christ is related to the whole human family; but to any
church this relationship is of no avail without a personal faith,--the
identification of the individual heart and mind and soul and strength with Jesus
Christ. Christ came to teach that through living faith in him, we may become one
with him. And his promise is, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out"
as branches that are withered and bear no fruit. As the representative of the
human family, he came to save all who would make application, with prayer and
supplication to, God in his name”.
(RH.1897-11-09.003)
*****
259. “Never
was the Son of God more beloved by His Father, by the heavenly family, and by
the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds, than when He humbled Himself to
bear disgrace, humiliation, shame, and abuse. By becoming the sin
bearer, He lifted from the human race the curse of sin. In His own
body He paid the penalty of that on which the power of Satan over
humanity is founded—sin”. (YI June 28, 1900). {7BC
924.5}
*****
260. “Divine
culture brings perfection. If in connection with God the work is carried
forward, the human agent, through Christ, will day by day gain victory and honor
in the battle. Through the grace given he will overcome, and will be placed on
vantage ground. In his relation to Christ he will be bone of His bone, flesh of
His flesh, one with Christ in a peculiar relationship, because Christ took the
humanity of man. He became subject to temptation, endangering as it were,
His divine attributes. Satan sought, by the constant and curious devices
of his cunning, to make Christ yield to temptation. Man must pass over the
ground over which Christ has passed. As Christ overcame every temptation
which Satan brought against Him, so man is to overcome. And those who
strive earnestly to overcome are brought into a oneness with Christ that the
angels in heaven can never know”. Letter 5 1900 {7BC
926.5}
*****
261.
“The Lord Jesus
has made a great sacrifice in order to meet man where he is. He took not
on Him the nature of angels. He did not come to save angels. It is the
seed of Abraham that He is helping. "I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance." Christ helps humanity by taking human nature”.
(Letter 97, 1898). {7BC
927.2}
*****
262. “The
presence of Jesus Christ, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day
and the pillar of fire by night, followed this people in their
wilderness wandering. The Angel of the covenant came in the name of
God, as the invisible leader of Israel. The Son of God over His
own house is higher than Moses, higher than the highest angel. He
bears the name of Jehovah upon His miter, while on His breastplate is
written the name of Israel. Christ took humanity that humanity might touch
humanity. In the form of man He humbled Himself, and became a servant, but
as the Son of God He was higher than the angels. By His life in humanity
man may become a partaker of the divine nature. As the Majesty of heaven,
He was exalted above the angels, and in His work of redemption He
carries with Him all who have received Him and believed on His name” (Letter
97, 1898). {7BC 927.9}
*****
263. “The Son
of God . . . has fulfilled His pledge, and has passed into the heavens, to take
upon Himself the government of the heavenly host. He fulfilled one phase
of His priesthood by dying on the cross for the fallen race. He is now
fulfilling another phase by pleading before the Father the case of
the repenting, believing sinner, presenting to God the offerings of His people.
Having taken human nature and in this nature having overcome the
temptations of the enemy, and having divine perfection, to Him has been
committed the judgment of the world. The case of each one will be brought in
review before Him. He will pronounce judgment, rendering to every
man according to his works”. (MS 42, 1901). {7BC
929.1}
*****
264. “Sin of
Presumption.
There are many who fail to distinguish between the rashness of
presumption and the intelligent confidence of faith. Satan thought that by his
temptations he could delude the world's Redeemer, to make one bold move in
manifesting his divine power, to create a sensation, and to surprise all
by the wonderful display of the power of his Father in preserving him from
injury. He suggested that Christ should appear in his real character, and by
this masterpiece of power, establish his right to the confidence and faith of
the people, that he was indeed the Saviour of the world. If Christ had been
deceived by Satan's temptations, and had exercised his miraculous power to
relieve himself from difficulty, he would have broken the contract made
with his Father, to be a probationer in behalf of the race.
It was a
difficult task for the Prince of Life to carry out the plan which he had
undertaken for the salvation of man, in clothing his divinity with
humanity. He had
received honor in the heavenly courts, and was familiar with absolute power. It
was as difficult for him to keep the level of humanity as it is for men to rise
above the low level of their depraved natures, and be partakers of the divine
nature.
Christ was put
to the closest test, requiring the strength of all his faculties to resist the
inclination when in danger, to use his power to deliver himself from
peril, and triumph over the power of the prince of darkness. Satan
showed his knowledge of the weak points of the human heart, and put forth his
utmost power to take advantage of the weakness of the humanity which
Christ had assumed in order to overcome his temptations on man's
account”. (RH. 1-4-1875)
*****
265. "Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may
be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand"
"Strong in the strength which God
supplies
Through his eternal Son." (ST. 1-4-1883)
*****
266. “The ministers of Christ, who bear the message of
truth to men, will never become self-sufficient or self-exalted if they have
correct views of the character and work of Christ, the author of man's
salvation. The unworthiness, weakness, and inefficiency of their own efforts in
contrast with those of the eternal Son of God, will render them
humble, distrustful of self, and will lead them to rely upon Christ for strength
and efficiency in their work. Habitually dwelling upon Christ, his exalted
character, and the all-sufficient merits of his sacrifice, increases the faith,
sharpens the imaginative power, strengthens the longing desire to be like him,
and creates holy earnestness in prayer, that makes it efficacious”. (RH.
8-8-1878)
*****
267. “What a
truth is presented as we gaze upon Jesus in connection with the cross of
Calvary, as we see this Wonderful, this Counselor, this mysterious
victim, stooping beneath the amazing burden of our race! That the
transgressor might have another trial, that men might be brought into favor with
God the Father, the eternal Son of God interposed himself to bear
the punishment of transgression. One clothed with humanity, who was yet
one with the Deity, was our ransom. The very earth shook and reeled at
the spectacle of God's dear Son suffering the wrath of God for man's
transgression. The heavens were clothed in sackcloth to hide the sight of the
divine sufferer”. (RH 8-2-1898)
*****
268. “Even doubts assailed
the dying Son of God. He could not see through the portals of the tomb.
Bright hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the tomb a conqueror
and His Father's acceptance of His sacrifice. The sin of the world, with all its
terribleness, was felt to the utmost by the Son of God. The displeasure of
the Father for sin, and its penalty, which is death, were all that He could
realize through this amazing darkness. He was tempted to fear that
sin was so offensive in the sight of His Father that He could not be reconciled
to His Son. The fierce temptation that His own Father had forever
left Him caused that piercing cry from the cross: "My God, My God, why hast Thou
forsaken Me?" (2T. p209)
*****
269 “Christ has shown that
His love was stronger than death. He was accomplishing man's salvation; and
although He had the most fearful conflict with the powers of darkness, yet, amid
it all, His love grew stronger and stronger. He endured the hiding of His
Father's countenance, until He was led to exclaim in the bitterness of
His soul: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" His arm
brought salvation. The price was paid to purchase the redemption of man, when,
in the last soul struggle, the blessed words were uttered which seemed to
resound through creation: "It is finished."” (2T.
p212)
*****
270. “Under
the mighty impulse of His love, He took our place in the
universe, and invited the Ruler of all things to treat Him as a
representative of the human family. He identified Himself with our
interests, bared His breast for the stroke of death, took man's guilt and its
penalty, and offered in man's behalf a complete sacrifice to God.
By virtue of this atonement, He has power to offer to man perfect righteousness
and full salvation. Whosoever shall believe on Him as a personal Saviour shall
not perish, but have everlasting life” (RH April 18,
1893)
*****
271.
“Leaving the royal courts of heaven Christ came to our world to represent
the character of His Father, and thus help humanity to return to their
loyalty. The image of Satan was upon men, and Christ came that He
might bring to them moral power and efficiency. He came as a helpless
babe, bearing the humanity we bear. "As the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." He could
not come in the form of an angel; for unless He met man as man, and
testified by His connection with God that divine power was not given to Him in a
different way to what it will be given to us, He could not be a perfect example
for us. He came in humility, in order that the humblest being upon the face of
the earth could have no excuse because of his poverty, or ignorance, and say,
Because of these things, I cannot obey the law of Jehovah. Christ clothed
His divinity with humanity, that humanity might touch humanity; that He might
live with humanity and bear all the trials and afflictions of man. He was
tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. In His humanity He
understood all the temptations that will come to man”. (MS 21,
1895)
*****
272. “As we
view Christ by the eye of faith, we see the necessity of becoming pure in
thought and holy in character. Christ invites us to draw near to him, and
promises that he will draw nigh to us. Looking upon him, we behold the
invisible God, who clothed his divinity with humanity in order that
through humanity he might shed forth a subdued and softened glory, so that our
eyes might be enabled to rest upon him, and our souls not be extinguished by his
undimmed splendor. We behold God through Christ, our Creator and Redeemer. It is
our privilege to contemplate Jesus by faith, and see him standing between
humanity and the eternal throne. He is our Advocate, presenting our prayers and
offerings as spiritual sacrifices to God. Jesus is the great, sinless
propitiation, and through his merit, God and man may hold converse
together”. (YI. 28th October
1897)
*****
273. “Adam and
Eve were given a probation in which to return to their allegiance; and in this
plan of benevolence all their posterity were embraced. After the fall, Christ
became Adam's instructor. He acted in God's stead toward humanity, saving
the race from immediate death. He took upon Him the work of
mediator between God and man. In the fulness of time He was to be
revealed in human form. He was to take His position at the head of
humanity by taking the nature but not the sinfulness of man. In heaven
was heard the voice, "The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn
from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord." (ST. 29th May
1901)
*****
274. “Come, O
my soul, to Calvary. Mark the humble life of the Son of God. He was "a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Behold His ignominy, His agony in
Gethsemane, and learn what self-denial is. Are we suffering want? so was Christ,
the Majesty of heaven. But His poverty was for our sakes. Are we ranked among
the rich? so was He. But He consented for our sakes to become poor, that we
through His poverty might be made rich. In Christ we have self-denial
exemplified. His sacrifice consisted not merely in leaving the royal
courts of heaven, in being tried by wicked men as a criminal and
pronounced guilty, and in being delivered up to die as a malefactor, but in
bearing the weight of the sins of the world”. (3T. p407)
*****
275. “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 Saviour looked on humanity, and saw that it was under the
power of the prince of darkness; but he saw also that there was hope for human
beings because there was power in the divine nature successfully to contend with
evil agencies. With glad assurance he said, "Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me." (RH. 19th May
1904)
*****
276. “"And
when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost: Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." The Holy Spirit was
not yet fully manifested; for Christ had not yet been glorified.
The more abundant impartation of the Spirit did not take place till after
Christ's ascension.
Not until this
was received could the disciples fulfill the commission to preach the gospel to
the world. But the Spirit was now given for a special purpose. Before the
disciples could fulfill their official duties in connection with the church,
Christ breathed His Spirit upon them. He was committing to them a most sacred
trust, and He desired to impress them with the fact that without the Holy Spirit
this work could not be accomplished. The Holy Spirit is the breath of
spiritual life in the soul. The impartation of the Spirit is the
impartation of the life of Christ. It imbues the receiver with the attributes of
Christ. Only those who are thus taught of God, those who possess
the inward working of the Spirit, and in whose life the
Christ-life is manifested, are to stand as representative men, to minister in
behalf of the church”. (Desire of Ages p805)
Part B
THE SPIRIT OF MAN
“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 recognise
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.” (6BC -
1093)
*****
“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said,
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the
ghost.” (Luke 23:46)
“And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice,
Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell
asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60)
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God:” (Romans 8:16)
“Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and
the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? (Ecclesiastes
3:21)
HOW DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT
INTERCEDE?
“We must not
only pray in Christ's name, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
This explains what is meant when it is said that the Spirit "maketh
intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered." Rom. 8:26.
Such prayer God delights to answer. When with earnestness and intensity we
breathe a prayer in the name of Christ, there is in that very intensity a pledge
from God that He is about to answer our prayer "exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think." Eph. 3:20. (COL 147)
*****
“We have only one channel of approach to God. Our
prayers can come to him through one name only,--that of the Lord Jesus our
advocate. His Spirit must inspire our petitions. No strange fire was to be used
in the censers that were waved before God in the sanctuary. So the Lord
himself must kindle in our hearts the burning desire, if our
prayers are acceptable to him. The Holy Spirit within must make
intercessions for us, with groanings that cannot be uttered.” (RH- 02-
09-97)
*****
ARE THE WRITINGS OF THE ADVENTIST
PIONEERS DEPENDABLE?
“When men come in who would move one pin or pillar from
the foundation which God has established by His Holy Spirit, let the aged men
who were pioneers in our work speak plainly, and let those who are dead
speak also, by the reprinting of their articles in our periodicals.
Gather up the rays of divine light that God has given as He has led His people
on step by step in the way of truth. This truth will stand the test of time and
trial.” Ms 62, 1905, p. 6. ("A Warning against False Theories," May 24,
1905.) Manuscript Releases Volume One -PG- 55
*****
“When the power of God testifies as to what is truth,
that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No
after-suppositions, contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained.
Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but
which are not truth. The truth for this time, God has given us as a foundation
for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will arise, and still
another with new light, which contradicts the light that God has given under the
demonstration of His Holy Spirit. A few are still alive who passed through the
experience gained in the establishment of this truth. God has graciously spared
their lives to repeat and repeat till the close of their lives, the experience
through which they passed even as did John the apostle till the very close of
his life. And the standard bearers who have fallen in death, are to speak
through the reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that thus their voices
are to be heard. They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes
the truth for this time.”
(NBL page 157)
*****
“We are not to receive the words of those who come
with a message that contradicts the special points of our faith. They
gather together a mass of Scripture, and pile it as proof around their asserted
theories. This has been done over and over again during the past fifty years.
And while the Scriptures are God's word, and are to be respected, the
application of them, if such application moves one pillar from the
foundation that God has sustained these fifty years, is a great mistake.
He who makes such an application knows not the wonderful demonstration of the
Holy Spirit that gave power and force to the past messages that have come to the
people of God.” (Counsels to Writers and Editors page
31)
*****
One thing it is certain is soon to be
realised,--the great apostasy, which is developing and increasing and
waxing stronger, and will continue to do so until the Lord shall descend from
heaven with a shout. We are to hold fast the first principles of our
denominated faith, and go forward from strength to increased faith. Ever we are
to keep the faith that has been substantiated by the Holy Spirit of God from the
earlier events of our experience until the present time... “The past fifty years
have not dimmed one jot or principle of our faith as we received the great and
wonderful evidences that were made certain to us in 1844, after the passing of
the time. . . Not a word is changed or denied. That which the Holy Spirit
testified to as truth after the passing of the time, in our great
disappointment, is the solid foundation of truth. Pillars of truth were
revealed, and we accepted the foundation principles that have made us what we
are – Seventh-day Adventists, keeping the commandments of God and having the
faith of Jesus. (Special Testimonies Series B, No. 7 page 57-58)
Sanitarium, Cal., Dec. 4, 1905. SM1: 206-7)
*****
“Many of our people do not realise how firmly the
foundation of our faith has been laid. My husband, Elder Bates, Father pierce,
Elder [Hiram] Edson, and others who
were keen, noble, and true, were among those who, after the passing of the time
in 1844, searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with them, and we
studied and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together until late at night,
and sometimes through the entire night, praying for light and studying the Word.
Again and again these brethren came together to study the Bible, in order that
they might know its meaning, and be prepared teach it with power. When they came
to the point in their study where they said, “We can do nothing more,” the
Spirit of the Lord would come upon me, I would be taken off in vision, and a
clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me, with
instructions as to how we were to labour and teach effectively. Thus light was
given that helped us to understand the scriptures in regard to Christ, His
mission, and His priesthood.
A line of truth extending from that time to the time
when we shall enter the city of God, was made plain to me, and I gave to others
the instruction that the Lord had given me. During this whole time I could not understand the
reasoning of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not
comprehend the meaning of the scriptures we were studying. This was one of the
greatest sorrows of my life. I was in this condition of mind until all the
principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony with the
Word of God. The brethren knew that, when not in vision, I could not understand
these matters, and they accepted, as light directly from heaven, the revelations
given.
Many errors arose, and though I was then little more
than a child, I was sent by the Lord from place to place to rebuke those who
were holding these false doctrines. There were those who were in danger of going
into fanaticism, and I was bidden in the name of the Lord to give them a warning
from heaven.
We shall have to meet these same false doctrines again.
There will be those who will claim to have visions. When God gives you clear
evidence that the vision is from him, you may accept it, but do not accept it on
any other evidence; for people are going to be led more and more astray in
foreign countries and in America. The Lord wants his people to act like men and
women of sense.
“What influence is it that would lead men at this stage
of our history to work in an underhand, powerful way to tear down the foundation
of our faith–the foundation that was laid at the beginning of our work by
prayerful study of the Word and revelation? Upon this foundation we have been
building for the past fifty years. . .” (SPTBO2 Page
56)
*****
Ellen G. White: 1827-1915
“God has given me light regarding our periodicals. What
is it?—He has said that the dead are to speak. How?—Their works shall follow
them. We are to repeat the words of the pioneers in our work, who knew what it
cost to search for the truth as for hidden treasure, and who laboured to lay the
foundation of our work. They moved forward step by step under the influence of
the Spirit of God. One by one these pioneers are passing away. The word
given me is, Let that which these men have written in the past be
reproduced. And in The Signs of the Times let not the articles be long
or the print fine. Do not try to crowd everything into one number of the paper.
Let the print be good, and let earnest, living experiences be put into the
paper.
Not long ago I took up a copy of the Bible Echo. As I
looked it through, I saw an article by Elder Haskell and one by Elder . As I
laid the paper down, I said, These articles must be reproduced. There is truth
and power in them. Men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Let the truths that are the foundation of our faith be
kept before the people. Some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils. They talk science, and the enemy comes in and
gives them an abundance of science; but it is not the science of salvation. It
is not the science of humility, of consecration, or of the sanctification of the
Spirit. We are now to understand what the pillars of our faith are,—the truths
that have made us as a people what we are, leading us on step by step.” Ellen White, Advent Review and
Sabbath Herald, May 25, 1905)
*****
”Early Experiences
Salvation in the
Truth
In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and
we want solid ground for our feet.
We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that
which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as
the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which
there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety
unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty
years?” (Ellen White,
Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 25, 1905)
*****
“Let Pioneers Identify Truth.—When the power of God testifies as to what is
truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No
after-suppositions, contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained.
Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but
which are not truth. The truth for this time, God has given us as a foundation
for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will arise, and still
another, with new light which contradicts the light that God has given under the
demonstration of His Holy Spirit.
A few are still alive who passed through the experience
gained in the establishment of this truth. God has graciously spared their lives
to repeat and repeat till the close of their lives, the experience through which
they passed even as did John the apostle till the very close of his life. And
the standard-bearers who have fallen in death, are to speak through the
reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that thus their voices are to be
heard. They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes the truth for
this time. Preach the Word, p. 5. (Ellen White, 1905, Counsels to Writers and
Editors, pages 31, 32)
*****
Protest
against Removing Landmarks
“When men come in who would move one pin or pillar from
the foundation which God has established by His Holy Spirit, let the aged
men who were pioneers in our work speak plainly, and let those who are dead
speak also, by the reprinting of their articles in our periodicals.
Gather up the rays of divine light that God has given as He has led His people
on step by step in the way of truth. This truth will stand the test of time and
trial.” Ms 62, 1905, p. 6. (A Warning against False Theories, May 24, 1905.)
(Ellen White, 1905, Manuscript Releases Volume One, page
55)
*****
“The Testimony of Pioneer Workers.—I have had
presentations regarding the deceptions that Satan is bringing in at this time.
I have been instructed that we should make prominent the testimony of some
of the old workers who are now dead. Let them continue to speak through their
articles as found in the early numbers of our papers. These articles should now
be reprinted, that there may be a living voice from the Lord’s witnesses. The
history of the early experiences in the message will be a power to withstand the
masterly ingenuity of Satan’s deceptions. This instruction has been
repeated recently. I must present before the people the testimonies of Bible
truth, and repeat the decided messages given years ago. I desire that my sermons
given at camp meetings and in churches may live and do their appointed
work.”—Letter 99, 1905. (Ellen White, 1905, Counsels to Writers and Editors,
page 26)
*****
“I long daily to be able to do double duty. I have been
pleading with the Lord for strength and wisdom to reproduce the writings of the
witnesses who were confirmed in the faith in the early history of the message.
After the passing of the time in 1844, they received the light and walked in the
light, and when the men claiming to have new light would come in with their
wonderful messages regarding various points of Scripture, we had, through the
moving of the Holy Spirit, testimonies right to the point, which cut off the
influence of such messages as Elder A. F. has been devoting his time to
presenting. This poor man has been working decidedly against the truth that the
Holy Spirit has confirmed. When the power of God testifies as to what is
truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No
after-suppositions contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained. …
We are not to receive the words of those who come with a
message that contradicts the special points of our faith. They gather together a
mass of Scripture and pile it as proof around their asserted theories. This has
been done over and over again during the past fifty years. And while the
Scriptures are God’s Word, and are to be respected, the application of them, if
such application moves one pillar of the foundation that God has sustained these
fifty years, is a great mistake. He who makes such an application knows not the
wonderful demonstration of the Holy Spirit that gave power and force to the past
messages that have come to the people of God.
Elder proofs are not reliable. If received, they would
destroy the faith of God’s people in the truth that has made us what we are. We
must be decided on this subject, for the points that he is trying to prove by
Scripture are not sound. They do not prove that the past experience of God’s
people was a fallacy. We had the truth: we were directed by the angels of God.
It was under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that the presentation of the
sanctuary question was given. It is eloquence for everyone to keep silent in
regard to the features of our faith in which they acted no part.
God never contradicts Himself. Scripture proofs are
misapplied if forced to testify to that which is not true. Another and still
another will arise and bring in supposedly great light, and make their
assertions. But we stand by the old landmarks. [1 John 1:1-10 quoted.]
I am instructed to say that these words we may use as
appropriate for this time, for the time has come when sin must be called by its
right name. We are hindered in our work by men who are not converted, who seek
their own glory. They wish to be thought originators of new theories, which they
present, claiming that they are truth. But if these theories are received, they
will lead to a denial of the truth that for the past fifty years God has been
giving to His people, substantiating it by the demonstration of the Holy Spirit.
Let all men beware what is the character of their work.
They would better be falling into line for their own souls’ sake and for the
sake of the souls of others. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, the
blood of Jesus Christ His Son us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). It is nothing to
the credit of any man to start on a new track, using Scripture to substantiate
theories of error, leading minds into confusion, away from the truths that are
to be indelibly impressed on the minds of God’s people, that they may hold fast
to the faith.”—Letter 329, 1905. (To J. A. Burden, December 11, 1905). (Ellen
White, 1905, Manuscript Release No. 760: The Integrity of the Sanctuary Truth,
pages 18-20)
*****
“The leading points of our faith as we hold them today
were firmly established. Point
after point was clearly defined, and all the brethren came into harmony. The
whole company of believers were united in the truth. There were those who came
in with strange doctrines, but we were never afraid to meet them. Our experience
was wonderfully established by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.”—MS 135,
1903. (Ellen G. White, The Early Years Volume 1 - 1827-1862, page 145)
*****
“The record of the experience through which the people
of God passed in the early history of our work must be republished. Many of
those who have since come into the truth are ignorant of the way in which the
Lord wrought. The experience of William Miller and his associates, of
Captain Joseph Bates, and of other pioneers in the advent message, should be
kept before our people. Elder Loughborough’s book should receive
attention. Our leading men should see what can be done for the circulation of
this book.” (Ellen White, Counsels to Writers and Editors, page 145)
*****
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared
with a hot iron. 1 Tim. 4:1, 2.
I am instructed that the Lord, by His infinite power,
has preserved the right hand of His messenger for more than half a century, in
order that the truth may be written out as He bids me write it for publication,
in periodicals and books, Why?—Because if it were not thus written out, when the
pioneers in the faith shall die, there would be many, new in the faith, who
would sometimes accept as messages of truth teachings that contain erroneous
sentiments and dangerous fallacies. Sometimes that which men teach as
“special light” is in reality specious error, which, as tares sown among the
wheat, will spring up and produce a baleful harvest. And errors of this
sort will be entertained by some until the close of this earth’s history.
There are some, who upon accepting erroneous theories,
strive to establish them by collecting from my writings statements of truth,
which they use, separated from their proper connection and perverted by
association with error. Thus seeds of heresy, springing up and growing rapidly
into strong plants, are surrounded by many precious plants of truth, and in this
way a mighty effort is made to vindicate the genuineness of the spurious plants.
So it was with the heresies taught in Living Temple. [*
A BOOK EXPRESSING PANTHEISTIC SENTIMENTS PUBLISHED BY J. H. KELLOGG.] The subtle
errors in this book were surrounded by many beautiful truths. … The seductive
fallacies of Satan undermined confidence in the true pillars of the faith, which
are grounded on Bible evidence. Truth is sustained by a plain “Thus saith the
Lord.” But there has been a weaving in of error, and the use of scriptures out
of their natural connection, in order to substantiate fallacies, which would
deceive, if possible, the very elect. …
Let not the days pass by and precious opportunities be
lost of seeking the Lord with all the heart and mind and soul. If we accept not
the truth in the love of it, we may be among the number who will see the
miracles wrought by Satan in these last days, and believe them.” —Letter 136,
April 27, 1906, to Brethren Butler, Daniells, and Irwin. (Ellen White, 1906,
This Day with God, page 126)
EGW
Abbreviations
BT = Bible Training School
(1902-1917)
GC = Great
Controversy
HM = Home
Missionary
RH = review and
Herald
T =
Testimonies
NBL = Note book leaflets
from the Elmshaven Library
TM = Testimony to
Ministers
SPM = Spalding and Magan
collection manuscript testimonies
SPTB02 = Testimonies
containing letters to physicians and ministers
MH = Ministry of
Healing
AA = Acts of the
apostles
DA = Desire of
Ages
EM = Educational
Messenger
ST = Signs of the
Times
BE = Bible
Echo
MS =
Manuscripts
YI = Youth
Instructor
AU = Australasian Conference
union records
HS = Historical Sketches of
the Foreign Missions of SDA’s 1886
GH = Gospel
Herald
4SGA = Spiritual Gifts
Volume 4A
PP = patriarchs and
Prophets
SG = Story of Jesus
1896
SPTED = Special Testimonies
on Education 1897
GTD = General Conference
Daily Bulletin
SW = Southern Watchman
(1898-1914)
COL = Christ's Object
Lesson
B1 = To the little remnant
scattered abroad (Broadside 1846)
PUR = Pacific Union
Recorder
SJ = The Story of Jesus in
Gethsemane
GCD = General Conference
Daily Bulletins (1891-1899)