Christian Life

The Malignity of Sin, Part I

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The test results are conclusive; you have cancer. It is inoperable, and I am sorry to have to say, it is terminal.” Those are probably some of the most traumatic words anyone could ever hear.

It was not too long ago that a neighbor came to my door inquiring about natural remedies. Her husband’s cancer had returned after having been in remission, and the doctors did not offer any hope. Two years earlier, her husband had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, which had attached itself to one of his lungs. Sadly, it was malignant. At that time, surgery had been performed in hopes of preventing it from spreading. Tragically, during the surgery, the nerve to his diaphragm had been severed, resulting in the complete loss of the use of his good lung—the lung without cancer. In spite of this, the surgery seemed to have been successful, as far as the cancer was concerned. A tumor the size of a grapefruit had been removed. Since then, he has had x-rays taken of his lungs every few months to check for any signs of the cancer’s return.

Now their worst fears were a reality. It was back, and it had taken root in his chest cavity. The doctor referred them to the Cancer Research Foundation, telling them
that there was nothing he could do. Maybe the Foundation could help—good luck.

After bouncing from one sympathetic listener, unable to help, to another, my neighbor decided to investigate natural remedies. She was highly motivated—she wanted her husband to live! Both she and her husband realized that this was a matter of life and death.

Stop drinking coffee? No problem! Give up eating sugar and meat? No problem! Drink the juice of fresh vegetables three times a day? No problem! Exercise, breathe fresh air, drink plenty of water . . . no problem! Whatever it takes.

Why is it that something drastic has to happen to us to prompt us to re-evaluate our priorities? So often, when we find ourselves in a crisis, we earnestly plead, “Lord, save me! I promise, from now on . . . .” In our moment of need, and usually with good intentions, we solemnly promise to do this or change that. Whatever it takes. Like children wandering in the wilderness, we say, “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” (Exodus 19:8.) But after the crisis passes and things are going along fairly well, we find ourselves slipping back into our old ways. Though we may not utter the words, our actions betray us. “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” (Exodus 5:2.)

Giving Good Gifts

The Word of God is an important factor in the maintenance of our health and physical well-being. “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” Proverbs 4:20–22. “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” 111 John 2.

From the beginning, God has been very specific about the importance of temperance and a healthy diet. Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, were given an abundance of fresh, wholesome food. (See Genesis 1:29.) After the flood, more instructions were given. (See Genesis 9:3.) Ancient Israel was given specific orders regarding clean and unclean foods. (See Leviticus 11:1–47.) At each step of the way, God has given His people ample instruction. It is no less true today. Through His modern-day prophet, Ellen White, God has given explicit instruction for the people upon whom the end of the earth is come.

Why? He has very good reasons. He has a vested interest in the great controversy, which is wrapping up, and He is acquainted, all too well, with our human nature and our bent toward sin. Deuteronomy 14:2, 3 makes it very clear: “For thou [art] an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.”

The Right Stuff

The world today is very much self-oriented and ego-driven. The youth are mercilessly pressured to “fit in.” To be different in any way is to be exiled to a life on the outside of the “in” crowd. For the most part, a good grade point average is not a thing to be sought after or desired. On the other hand, anything displaying a Nike logo is to die for. To be “cool” is to go along with the rest of crowd—the cigarettes, sex, alcohol, and drugs. Not to do so is to be viciously cast out. The young people know they have to do certain things to be accepted—hang with a certain crowd and wear the right stuff. To be accepted seems to be the most important thing. This is the world in which they live.

“Say no to drugs,” they are told by worldly educators—the same adults who are puffing on cigarettes and drinking cocktails. Is it any wonder children are confused and rebellious? Yet they are expected to conform to a standard which adults, in their sphere, seldom reach. And yes, it holds true inside the church as well. The youth are told, you have to do this; you cannot do that, and all the while they see inconsistencies in the lives of adults all around them.

When a youth becomes involved with drugs, alcohol, sex, cigarettes, or other vice, they are told, “Just say no!”—usually by an adult who will not say “No!” to his or her own vices. Youth see right through the facade. “Why should I listen to you when you cannot get it right?”

In a nation where the currency proclaims “In God We Trust,” to have Christian morals and values is to be scorned today. Unfortunately, that is not confined to the younger generation, nor is it just with the world. Too often, professing Christian (including Seventh-day Adventist) adults permit peer pressure to sway them from standing in steadfast opposition against wrong. “What will someone think?” “I might lose my position.”

We are too concerned about what others—our friends, neighbors, co-workers or family—will think if we do this or do not do that. We expect our children to ignore peer pressure and do the right thing. But how often do we do it? As Christians, should we not be showing them how to do it? Should not we be consulting God first, instead of our friends and neighbors? Should not we be doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do?

Putting it on the Altar

It is easy enough for us to read the story of Cain and Abel, and say, “Oh, I would never do that!” But if we examine our lives, we might discover that our actions betray our profession. Though we may not literally place fruits or vegetables upon the altar, upon closer inspection we may be surprised to see that our offering may not be precisely what God requires. Like Cain, we have disregarded the Lord’s direct and explicit command.

From Patriarchs and Prophets, 72, 73, we read: “Cain and Abel represent two classes that will exist in the world till the close of time. One class avail themselves of the appointed sacrifice for sin; the other venture to depend upon their own merits; theirs is a sacrifice without the virtue of divine mediation, and thus it is not able to bring man into favor with God. . . .

“True faith, which relies wholly upon Christ, will be manifested by obedience to all the requirements of God. From Adam’s day to the present time the great controversy has been concerning obedience to God’s law. In all ages there have been those who claimed a right to the favor of God even while they were disregarding some of His commands. But the Scriptures declare that by works is ‘faith made perfect;’ and that, without the works of obedience, faith ‘is dead.’ James 2:22, 17. He that professes to know God, ‘and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’ 1 John 2:4.”

A Polluted Offering?

Spend some time considering your offering. Dust off your copy of The Sanctified Life and read chapter three. Space does not permit us to print the entire chapter here, but it would be time well spent to study it. The following excerpts may provide the challenge we need to face our personal obstacles and press toward the mark.

“ ‘Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul,’ is the language of the apostle Peter (1 Peter 2:11). Many regard this text as a warning against licentiousness only, but it has a broader meaning. It forbids every injurious gratification of appetite or passion. Let none who profess godliness regard with indifference the health of the body, and flatter themselves that intemperance is no sin, and will not affect their spirituality. A close sympathy exists between the physical and the moral nature. Any habit which does not promote health degrades the higher and nobler faculties. Wrong habits of eating and drinking lead to errors in thought and action. Indulgence of appetite strengthens the animal propensities, giving them the ascendancy over the mental and spiritual powers.” The Sanctified Life, 25.

“In the ten commandments God has laid down the laws of His kingdom. Any violation of the laws of nature is a violation of the law of God.

“The Lord has given His holy commandments to be a wall of protection around His created beings, and those who will keep themselves from the defilement of appetite and passion may become partakers of the divine nature.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1105.

“Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:25–27.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.

“We are to use every spiritual nerve and muscle in the contest for the crown of life. No one who does his best will fail in this contest.

“All who seek for the prize are to place themselves under strict discipline. ‘Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.’ [1 Corinthians 9:25.] . . .

“How much more should those who enter for the gospel race, restrain themselves from the unlawful indulgence of appetite and ‘abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.’ [1 Peter 2:11.] They must be temperate at all times. The same restraint that gives them the power to obtain the victory at one time will, if practiced constantly, give them a great advantage in the race for the crown of life.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1089.

“So the Christian today needs to keep strict guard over his appetite. He needs to subject himself to severe training, that he may not run uncertainly or at random, without seeing his standard and striving to reach it. He must obey the laws of God. The physical, mental, and moral powers must be kept in the most perfect condition if he would obtain the approval of God. ‘I keep under my body,’ the apostle says. [1 Corinthians 9:27.] This means literally to beat back its desire and impulses and passions by severe discipline . . . .” Ibid.

“God has bought us, and He claims a throne in each heart. Our minds and bodies must be subordinated to Him, and the natural habits and appetites must be made subservient to the higher wants of the soul. But we can place no dependence upon ourselves in this work. We cannot with safety follow our own guidance. The Holy Spirit must renew and sanctify us. In God’s service there must be no halfway work.” Ibid., 1088.

“Again, the apostle writes to the believers, ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service’ (Romans 12: 1). Specific directions were given to ancient Israel that no defective or diseased animal should be presented as an offering to God. Only the most perfect were to be selected for this purpose. The Lord, through the prophet Malachi, most severely reproved His people for departing from these instructions.

“ ‘A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Where-in have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts. . . . Ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord’ (Malachi 1:6–13).

“Though addressed to ancient Israel, these words contain a lesson for the people of God today. When the apostle appeals to his brethren to present their bodies ‘a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,’ he sets forth the principles of true sanctification. It is not merely a theory, an emotion, or a form of words, but a living, active principle, entering into the everyday life. It requires that our habits of eating, drinking, and dressing be such as to secure the preservation of physical, mental, and moral health, that we may present to the Lord our bodies, not an offering corrupted by wrong habits, but ‘a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.’ ” The Sanctified Life, 27, 28.

Defining the Terms

A closer look at Romans 12:1 needs to be taken. You can probably recite it from memory, but you need to understand more fully what the words really mean. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.”

living (zao): lively, active, enduring, living and constant, as opposed to what is dead, inactive, or intermittent.

holy (hagios): set apart, sanctified, consecrated. Chaste, pure. Its fundamental idea is separation, consecration, devotion to the service of Deity, sharing in God’s purity and abstaining from earth’s defilement. It particularly means perfect, without blemish.

acceptable (euarestos): well-pleasing, used with reference to God, that which God wills and recognizes. Antonym: hard to bear, oppressive, bad, bitter, heavy, grievous, difficult, perilous.

reasonable (logikos): from logos, pertaining to reason; that service to God which implies intelligent meditation or reflection, without heathen practices.

service (latreia): service for hire or as a slave, divine service. Synonym: religion, worship; voluntarily adopted worship; piety; godliness; service, ministry.

In like manner, let us define several more words pertaining to our subject.

appetite: 1) a: any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life. b: a desire for food or drink. 2) a desire to satisfy any bodily need or craving. 3) a desire or liking for something; fondness, taste; an appetite for power or pleasure. 4) an inherent, insatiable craving. Synonym: longing, inclination, wish, relish, gusto, zest.

lust: 1) a: pleasure, delight. b: personal inclination: wish; 2) intense or unbridled sexual desire: lasciviousness. 3) a: an intense longing: craving. b: enthusiasm, eagerness.

passion: 1) any emotion or feeling (love, desire, anger, hate, fear, grief, joy, hope, etc.) especially when of a powerful or compelling nature; 2) strong feeling or desire; . . . 6) a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything; . . . 8) an outburst or strong emotion or feeling; 9) violent anger; 10) the state of being acted upon or affected by something external, especially something alien to one’s nature or to one’s customary behavior. Synonym: fervor, zeal, ardor, ire, fury, wrath, rage.

Appetite is not spelled H-U-N-G-E-R

If Eve was hungry when she tasted the forbidden fruit, inspiration is strangely silent on the point. That fact is worthy of consideration. Please notice that appetite is not hunger; rather, words such as desire and craving are given. It could be said that for Eve it was a desire to appease her curiosity that caused her to leave her husband’s side. And we all know the rest of that story.

Appetite in and of itself is not sin. However, permitting the appetite to rule or have dominance over that which God has set forth as principles of health is surely a violation of the first commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3.

“It is as truly a sin to violate the laws of our being as it is to break the ten commandments. To do either is to break God’s laws. Those who transgress the law of God in their physical organism, will be inclined to violate the law of God spoken from Sinai.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 17.

Taste is only one of the five senses—taste, sight, smell, touch, and hearing. Our nature is a combination of the spiritual, mental, and physical being. Our character is made up of the things we think, do, and say. An unsanctified appetite can, or dare I say will, disqualify a person from acceptable service to God by corrupting the senses, nature, and character, ultimately bringing that person to eternal ruin.

“The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan. But those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character.” Ibid., 59.

“It is impossible for those who indulge the appetite to attain to Christian perfection.” Ibid., 22.

This is not about an egg or a piece of chocolate. It goes so much deeper than that. In fact, the first two sections of Counsels on Diet and Foods are entitled “Reasons for Reform” and “Diet and Spirituality,” and they provide a wonderful foundation upon which to base our decisions and build our characters. Each day we place our offering upon the altar. The decisions we make reveal to the watching universe precisely who is upon the throne in our hearts—either the god of this world, or the God of Heaven.

To be concluded . . .

Cathy Summers Timmons, a member of LandMarks’ editorial staff, writes from her home in Wichita, Kansas. She may be contacted by e-mail at cathytimmons@stepstolife.org.

The Malignity of Sin, Part II

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You do realize, do you not, that the entire universe is watching you? Do not forget that you have been granted a probationary period in which to demonstrate your loyalty to the god you serve. “During probationary time the grace of God is offered to every soul. But if men waste their opportunities in self-pleasing, they cut themselves off from everlasting life. No after-probation will be granted them. By their own choice they have fixed an impassable gulf between them and their God.” God’s Amazing Grace, 243.

“Probationary time is granted us, opportunities and privileges are given us, to make our calling and election sure. How we should prize this precious time and improve every talent God has given, that we may be faithful stewards over ourselves!” In Heavenly Places, 359.

“Fallen man has the privilege of becoming intelligent in regard to the will of God. While probationary time is granted us, we should put our faculties to the very highest use, that we may make of ourselves all that it is possible; and while we endeavor to reach a high standard of intelligence, we should feel our dependence upon God, for without his grace, our efforts cannot bring lasting benefit. It is through the grace of Christ that we are to be overcomers; through the merits of his blood we are to be of that number whose names will not be blotted out of the book of life. Those who are final overcomers will have the life that runs parallel with the life of God, and wear the crown of the victor. When such great and eternal reward awaits us, we should run the race with patience, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” The Signs of the Times, June 15, 1891.

This is a Test

Perhaps Abraham was called to give the greatest sacrifice ever required by a human being. Imagine being asked to cut the throat of your son! Do you realize that, because of Abraham’s earlier demonstration of lack of faith, Satan made accusations against him before the angels?

“The sacrifice required of Abraham was not alone for his own good, nor solely for the benefit of succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction of the sinless intelligences of heaven and of other worlds. . . . Because Abraham had shown a lack of faith in God’s promises, Satan had accused him before the angels and before God of having failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant, and as unworthy of its blessings. God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant before all heaven, to demonstrate that nothing less than perfect obedience can be accepted, and to open more fully before them the plan of salvation.

“Heavenly beings were witnesses of the scene as the faith of Abraham and the submission of Isaac were tested. . . . All heaven beheld with wonder and admiration Abraham’s unfaltering obedience. All heaven applauded his fidelity.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 154, 155.

As with Abraham, because of our lack of faith, the test of loyalty we must go through (and should strive to excel) will tax our faith to the uttermost. The universe is watching us today. As we face our temptations, tests, and trials, heavenly beings are watching with great interest. One day soon our probationary time will be over. We do not know when, but we do know that the time will surely come. We will not receive a warning notice in the mail, nor will we be able to make arrangements for an extended period of grace. The books will be closed. What will be your final tally? It is up to you. Only you can make the difference.

The Work of Faith

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Hebrews 11. What an inspiration to read the accounts, “By faith . . . .” Our Bible heroes accomplished great things! Why don’t you put this study aside for a few minutes, get your Bible, and read that motivating chapter right now! Again and again we read the accounts where Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and others feared, trusted, and obeyed the Lord and were blessed. Consistently, they received instruction from the Lord, acted upon it and received a blessing. Instruction + Action = Blessings!

While chapter 11 is an historical account, chapter 12 is for us today. I encourage you to go through this chapter in your personal study time, but for right now, take a close look at the first four verses: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.”

“The weights that are here referred to [Hebrews 12:1] are the evil habits and practices we have formed by following our own natural dispositions. Who are the witnesses? They are those spoken of in the previous chapter—those who have breasted the evils and difficulties in their way, and who in the name of the Lord have braced themselves successfully against the opposing forces of evil. They were sustained and strengthened and the Lord held them by His hand.

“There are other witnesses. All about us are those who are watching us closely, to see how we who profess a belief in the truth conduct ourselves. At all times and in all places, so far as possible, we must magnify the truth before the world.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 934.

For the most part, we do not know what it means to resist unto blood, striving against sin. Usually, we do not even work up a good sweat. When one of our “desires” presents itself to us, we may, at first, put up a little resistance. We may even mentally give a decided No! But before long, we are smitten. We parley with the tempter. Then we begin to negotiate—“Just a little of this. Maybe just this once.” We begin to justify what we are about to do. Before we know it, we are seduced. We are in the spider’s web. Captured.

“Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:14, 15.

Although temptation alone is not sin, when it is ignited by the sparks of humanity’s lustful desires, sin is the result. Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4), a departing from Him alone Who can save us.

“The tempted one needs to understand the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man—the power of decision, of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. Desires for goodness and purity are right, so far as they go; but if they stop here, they avail nothing. Many will go down to ruin while hoping and desiring to overcome their evil propensities. They do not yield the will to God. They do not choose to serve Him.” The Ministry of Healing, 176.

“The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.” The Desire of Ages, 555, 556.

The Way of Escape

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].” 1 Corinthians 10:13.

“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This [is] the way, walk ye in it . . . .” Isaiah 30:21.

“I have seen the tender love that God has for His people, and it is very great. I saw angels over the saints with their wings spread about them. Each saint had an attending angel. If the saints wept through discouragement, or were in danger, the angels that ever attended them would fly quickly upward to carry the tidings, and the angels in the city would cease to sing. Then Jesus would commission another angel to descend to encourage, watch over, and try to keep them from going out of the narrow path; but if they did not take heed to the watchful care of these angels, and would not be comforted by them, but continued to go astray, the angels would look sad and weep. They would bear the tidings upward, and all the angels in the city would weep, and then with a loud voice say, ‘Amen.’ But if the saints fixed their eyes upon the prize before them and glorified God by praising Him, then the angels would bear the glad tidings to the city, and the angels in the city would touch their golden harps and sing with a loud voice, ‘Alleluia!’ and the heavenly arches would ring with their lovely songs.” Early Writings, 39.

Obviously, we do not realize the effort expended in heaven to provide us every opportunity to be successful, because if we did, we would take full advantage of it. When the temptation comes, a way of escape is made available. The same power available to Jesus, by which He was victorious, is available to us today. Right now!

“In Christ dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This is why, although He was tempted in all points like as we are, He stood before the world, from His first entrance into it, untainted by corruption, though surrounded by it. Are we not also to become partakers of that fullness, and is it not thus, and thus only, that we can overcome as He overcame?” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 907.

When you resist this effort—the heavenly power to keep you from falling to temptation—you demonstrate the true power of your will. If need be, all of heaven would be emptied in answer to your cry. Jesus is waiting, and the angels are ever ready and willing to come to your aid. But when the temptation comes, you cry, “I am weak,” and in your “weakness” (which is more accurately your strength, because in reality, you desire to partake of the temptation), you resist the power of the entire Godhead. That is what you and I do each time we decide to sin. In our “weakness” we manifest our true strength and desire to sin. But when we choose to do the right thing, and then do it, all heaven rejoices!

“As soon as we incline our will to harmonize with God’s will, the grace of Christ stands ready to cooperate with the human agent.” In Heavenly Places, 27.

“In the whole Satanic force there is not power to overcome one soul who in simple trust casts himself on Christ.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 157.

“Satan is ever ready to insinuate that prayer is a mere form, and avails us nothing. He cannot bear to have his powerful rival appealed to. At the sound of fervent prayer, the hosts of darkness tremble. Fearing that their captive may escape, they form a wall around him, that Heaven’s light may not reach his soul. But if in his distress and helplessness the sinner looks to Jesus, pleading the merits of his blood, our compassionate Redeemer listens to the earnest, persevering prayer of faith, and sends to his deliverance a re-enforcement of angels that excel in strength. And when these angels, all-powerful, clothed with the armory of Heaven, come to the help of the fainting, pursued soul, the angels of darkness fall back, well knowing that their battle is lost, and that one more soul is escaping from the power of their influence.” The Signs of the Times, November 18, 1886.

“We want to become so sensitive to holy influences, that the lightest whisper of Jesus will move our souls.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 355.

Partakers of the Divine Nature

“Those who would overcome must put to the tax every power of their being. They must agonize on their knees before God for divine power. . . . Men may have a power to resist evil—a power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master; a power that will place them where they may overcome as Christ overcame. Divinity and humanity may be combined in them.” Review and Herald, February 18, 1890.

We have another formula: Humanity + Divinity = Victory. How does this happen? The first ten verses of 11 Peter 1 give us a glimpse, but let us look at verse 4: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” This theme lies at the root of many of Paul’s writings. (See also Ephesians 2:1–6.)

Inspiration gives us clear illustrations of how this happens. “We must realize that through belief in him [Jesus Christ] it is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, and so escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity. . . .

“As we partake of the divine nature, hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are cut away from the character, and we are made a living power for good. Ever learning of the divine Teacher, daily partaking of His nature, we co-operate with God in overcoming Satan’s temptations. God works, and man works, that man may be one with Christ as Christ is one with God. Then we sit together with Christ in heavenly places.” Review and Herald, April 24, 1900.

“It is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. God has plainly stated that He requires us to be perfect; and because He requires this, He has made provision that we may be partakers of the divine nature. Only thus can we gain success in our striving for eternal life. The power is given by Christ. ‘As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God’ (John 1:12).” Selected Messages, Book 3, 203.

“God’s purpose for us is that we shall be partakers of the divine nature. Only thus can we overcome the evils that beset us. It is by beholding Christ that we are made partakers of his nature. Keeping him ever in view, we are changed into his likeness. Thus we gain strength to overcome as he overcame. God does not ask us to fight the battle against sin in our own strength. He has given Christ to be our helper in every time of need.” Review and Herald, September 3, 1903.

“Christ has pledged himself to co-operate with those who work with him. He has pledged himself to train us to be his colaborers. He will help us to follow his example, doing good, and refusing to do evil. By Christ’s wonderful union of divinity with humanity, we are assured that even in this world we may be partakers of the divine nature, overcoming the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Ibid., May 13, 1909.

“The human agent who yields obedience to God, who becomes a partaker of the divine nature, finds pleasure in keeping the commandments of God; for he is one with God; he holds as vital a relation with God as does the Son to the Father. He understands the oneness that Christ prayed might exist between the Father and the Son.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 24, 1895.

“When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.” The Desire of Ages, 668.

The Diagnosis

My friend, you and I suffer from the same terminal disease—sin. Yours may not be as far advanced and widespread as mine, but it is, nonetheless, just as deadly. Just as my neighbor and her husband are willing to do “whatever it takes” to overcome his cancer [see Part I in the February 2004 LandMarks], so must we be willing to do whatever is necessary to overcome our sins. The sins, which so easily beset us, must be resisted unto blood—now! Just as the addict and alcoholic must forsake their drug of choice, we must turn away from our cherished sins. There is only one type of offering that will be accepted by the God of Heaven. It has no blemish. It has no taint of carnal humanity.

There is coming a day—and I believe it is sooner than we would like to believe—when each of us will have to face our life’s record. On that day, there will be no negotiations, no explanations, and no exemptions. Our lives, our words, and our deeds will be measured alongside God’s unchangeable law—the same law that has governed this universe from the beginning and will continue throughout eternity. This may be your last reminder.

“Your only safety is in coming to Christ, and ceasing from sin this very moment. The sweet voice of mercy is sounding in your ears today, but who can tell if it will sound tomorrow?” The Signs of the Times, August 29, 1892.

It is far too late in this earth’s history to be playing games with your eternal destiny. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . .” Joshua 24:15.

The Cure

“If man will cooperate with God by returning willingly to his loyalty, and obeying the commandments, God will receive him as a son. Through the provision Christ has made by taking the punishment due to man, we may be reinstated in God’s favor, being made partakers of the divine nature. If we repent of our transgression, and receive Christ as the Life-giver, our personal Saviour, we become one with him, and our will is brought into harmony with the divine will. We become partakers of the life of Christ, which is eternal. We derive immortality from God by receiving the life of Christ for in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This life is the mystical union and cooperation of the divine with the human.” The Signs of the Times, June 17, 1897.

Cathy Summers Timmons, a Steps to Life staff member and a member of LandMarks’ editorial staff, writes from her home in Wichita, Kansas. She may be contacted by e-mail at: cathytimmons@stepstolife.org.

Heaven’s Plan of Government

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The history of God’s church goes back thousands of years. Before Steven was martyred, he spoke of the “congregation in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38), referring to the wilderness wanderings.

During this time, the church was highly organized and there were certain ordinances that if violated would result in the death penalty. The book of Leviticus provides insight into the organizational instructions that the Lord gave to Moses to be used for His church.

Following the establishment of the children in the Promised Land, the church was located first at Shiloh. Later the headquarters were set up at Jerusalem. However, synagogues were set up throughout the land. When Jesus was on earth, He attended the synagogue every Sabbath and was an active participant in the worship services. In John 2 we read that Jesus was intensely interested in the church and respected the offices of the priests. Those He healed were instructed to go and show themselves to the priests as Moses had commanded.

In symbolic language the church is spoken of as a vineyard. In Matthew 21, Jesus told the parable of the husbandmen who killed the servants of the lord of the vineyard that were sent to them. When the son was sent to them, the vinedressers decided to murder him and take his inheritance. In this parable Jesus warned what was going to happen to the Jewish people because they decided to murder the Messiah. He said, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it” (Matthew 21:43).

Because of their treachery, the kingdom of God would be taken away from the Jewish people. They were no longer going to be God’s special chosen people. Jesus said to them, “See! Your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:38).

Of course, any house becomes desolate when God leaves it. Before the final rejection of the Jewish people, Jesus provided a dwelling place for Himself, a church that would be the depository of God’s truth on earth. In fact, a considerable time before the final rejection of the Jews as a nation, Jesus had laid the foundation of the Christian church, which was to take over the vineyard and become God’s custodian of truth for the world.

Since His ascension, Jesus’ chief work in heaven has been on behalf of His appointed church. John, in vision on the isle of Patmos where he had been banished, says, “Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands” (Revelation 1:12). Those are the seven golden lamp stands in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, and Christ is seen standing and walking amidst them (verse 13).

Notice what Jesus said in verse 20: “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”

Immediately after this is recorded the letters to the seven churches. The number seven represents perfection. This is a number that indicates that Jesus is giving a message to all the Christian churches from then until the end of time.

“Christ designs that heaven’s order, heaven’s plan of government, heaven’s divine harmony, shall be represented in His church on earth.” The Desire of Ages, 680. Notice the three things mentioned – heaven’s order, heaven’s plan of government, and heaven’s divine harmony.

What does heaven’s order involve?

Heaven, at the present time, is the home of the angels. Christian’s hope that heaven will also become their home where they will be able to live and associate with holy angels. O wondrous thought! Are you ready to live with angels? In His mercy God is allowing us this time to prepare ourselves for that blessed experience.

The church on earth and the church in heaven is just one church. When Jesus comes, He is going to take His church on earth to unite with the church in heaven.

Have you studied about the angels, how they live, how they work, and what they do?

“Angels work harmoniously. Perfect order characterizes all their movements. The more closely we imitate the harmony and order of the angelic host, the more successful will be the efforts of these heavenly agents in our behalf. If we see no necessity for harmonious action, and are disorderly, undisciplined, and disorganized in our course of action, angels, who are thoroughly organized and move in perfect order, cannot work for us successfully. They turn away in grief, for they are not authorized to bless confusion, distraction, and disorganization. All who desire the co-operation of the heavenly messengers must work in unison with them. Those who have the unction from on high will in all their efforts encourage order, discipline, and union of action, and then the angels of God can co-operate with them. But never, never will these heavenly messengers place their endorsement upon irregularity, disorganization, and disorder. All these evils [that’s irregularity, disorganization, and disorder] are the result of Satan’s efforts to weaken our forces, to destroy courage, and prevent successful action.

“Satan well knows that success can only attend order and harmonious action. He well knows that everything connected with heaven is in perfect order, that subjection and thorough discipline mark the movements of the angelic host.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 649, 650.

Subjection is a concept that keeps coming up as you start studying about the angels and heaven’s arrangement. “It is his [Satan’s] studied effort to lead professed Christians just as far from heaven’s arrangement as he can; therefore he deceives even the professed people of God and makes them believe that order and discipline are enemies to spirituality, that the only safety for them is to let each pursue his own course, and to remain especially distinct from bodies of Christians who are united and are laboring to establish discipline and harmony of action. All the efforts made to establish order are considered dangerous, a restriction of rightful liberty, and hence are feared as popery. These deceived souls consider it a virtue to boast of their freedom to think and act independently. They will not take any man’s say-so. They are amenable to no man. I was shown that it is Satan’s special work to lead men to feel that it is in God’s order for them to strike out for themselves and choose their own course, independent of their brethren.” Ibid., 650.

Jesus designs that heaven’s order be seen and represented in His church on earth. First of all, there are no politics in heaven, no political campaigns. The political campaign that Lucifer started resulted in a civil war and Lucifer, with his followers, were cast out of heaven. Since that time there have not been any political campaigns in heaven.

I have often studied and prayed about the perfect order in heaven. As a small child, I was very disorderly. I never wanted to go to sleep. I never wanted to take a nap or go to bed on time. I wanted to stay up and do something. When it came time in the morning to get up, I couldn’t find my clothes because I just threw them off when I went to bed. I seemed always to be looking to find my shoes because of my lack of order.

To be orderly does not just apply to our possessions. Order has to do with time. Those who understand order have a place for their things, and things are in their place, and there is a time for things, and things are on time.

God is so orderly that since ancient times clocks have been set by the revolutions of the heavenly bodies that He created.

One lesson that God has given right in the heart of the Ten Commandments has to do with time. As a young minister I decided that I would always endeavor to be early rather than late. This required me to start developing techniques. I knew what time the sun was going to go down, so I needed to start planning my day and figuring out how to accomplish each task on time to avoid being late.

To be prepared to fit in with the perfect order in heaven it is necessary to learn the discipline of being perfectly orderly here on earth.

Another thing about heaven’s order to be learned is that among the angels there are no star players, for all are team players. In other words, the angels work together for common goals and do not compete with one another.

We see team work at the resurrection of Jesus. “When the mighty angel came down to the tomb, he was joined by another, who with his company had been keeping guard over the Lord’s body. As the angel from heaven rolled away the stone, the other entered the tomb, and unbound the wrappings from the body of Jesus.” The Desire of Ages, 789. The angels worked together each doing his part.

There are many places in Inspired writings that describe the angels working together as a team. That type of order is to be represented and revealed in God’s church on earth. There are orders of angels including supervising angels who give directions to the teams to which the angel team members obey.

Angels watched at the trial of Christ and were distressed at what they saw. Ellen White wrote, “Under God the angels are all-powerful. … How easily could the angels, beholding the shameful scene of the trial of Christ, have testified their indignation by consuming the adversaries of God! But they were not commanded to do this.” The Desire of Ages, 702.

How they wanted to step in and save their Commander! They were angry at what the people were doing to Jesus. The least powerful angel, the weakest angel, could have instantly destroyed them all. But they stayed still because they were not commanded to interfere. They follow orders. “It was difficult for the angels to endure the sight. They would have delivered Jesus, but the commanding angels forbade them, saying that it was a great ransom which was to be paid for man; but it would be complete and would cause the death of Him who had the power of death. … The weakest angel could have caused that mocking throng to fall powerless and could have delivered Jesus.” Early Writings, 170. What a temptation they denied because of obedience!

Again, “They [soldiers] covered His [Jesus’] head with an old garment, blindfolding Him, and then struck Him in the face and cried out, ‘Prophesy, who is it that smote Thee’ (Luke 22:64)?” Ibid.

When this happened, Ellen White says, “There was commotion among the angels. They would have rescued Him instantly; but their commanding angels restrained them.” Early Writings, 170. They obey orders. Are you prepared and ready to go into a society like that?

Unless the church members are directed, guided, and controlled by the Holy Spirit they cannot do their work of spreading the gospel to the world.

In The Desire of Ages, 803, 804, Ellen White quotes from John 20:21, 22. “ ‘Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you!” … “Receive the Holy Spirit.” ’ ” Then she wrote, “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.” Ibid., 805.

We must ask ourselves, Have we received the Holy Spirit? That was the question the apostle Paul asked when he met believers with whom he was not acquainted. One time in Corinth, “… and finding some disciples he [Paul] said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ … And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ ” (Acts 19:1–3) or what were you baptized for?

When Peter told the people that they were responsible for crucifying Jesus and they realized how guilty they were, they asked, What are we going to do? Peter said, Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 2:36–38.) God’s intention is for all who are baptized to receive the Holy Spirit. A person should not be baptized until they are prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. That is why we do not baptize infants, because you can’t receive the Holy Spirit without faith, and an infant cannot exercise faith. That does not mean they cannot be saved. There will be a multitude of people in the kingdom of heaven who died in infancy, many of them as martyrs.

However, to be a member of a church, to conduct the business of the church, and to do the mission of the church requires the Holy Spirit or the work cannot be done. So, after the ascension of Christ, it was God’s will that everyone, on becoming a member of the church, would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The statement that we read in The Desire of Ages, 680, indicated that not only was heaven’s order to be manifested in Christ’s church, but heaven’s plan of government was to be implemented as well.

Heaven’s government is not a hierarchy. The Jewish church was hierarchically organized and the work of Christ tended to break down that hierarchy.

Jesus explained clearly the problem with the hierarchical system. Rebuking the scribes and Pharisees He said, “They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ [or monsignor]; but you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:6–12).

The apostle Paul explains God’s government to the Corinthians. “Even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:5, 6).

If heaven’s plan of government is to be represented in God’s church on earth, it must mirror the heavenly church without competition, rivalry, contention, or fighting.

Consider these characteristics of the church in heaven:

  1. It is a kingdom. That is a major subject of the gospel of Matthew. Christ’s church is a spiritual kingdom and He is the Lord of that kingdom.
  2. All are subject to the King and the law of the King, including the angels. That was a point of contention at the beginning of the great controversy. Lucifer said that the angels should not be subject to or be under law. But all beings need law to be in harmony.
  3. God’s last church on earth will have the Spirit of Prophecy. Compare Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 19:10. Having the Spirit of Prophecy does not mean that you will have a series of black books, or red books, or some other kinds of books on your bookshelf. It means, “You were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you” (1Corinthians 1:5, 6). To have the testimony of Christ confirmed in you means it is in your mind, that your life is in harmony with its principles. In order for heaven’s plan of government to be manifested in God’s church on earth that church has to be living in harmony with Inspired writings.

Heavenly angels are organized like an army. At the time of and before Satan’s rebellion in heaven, “The angels were marshaled in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel.” Early Writings, 145.

Ellen White saw in a vision that “There is perfect order and harmony in the Holy City. All the angels that are commissioned to visit the earth hold a golden card, which they present to the angels at the gates of the city as they pass in and out.” Ibid., 39.

Each angel has a special work to do. Angels just don’t come down here and randomly decide what they should do each day. They are organized in their work.

From the beginning we read that “The happiness of the angelic host consisted in their perfect obedience to law. Each had his special work assigned him; and until Satan rebelled, there had been perfect order and harmony among the angels in heaven.” The Signs of the Times, January 9, 1879. They accepted the assignment that each of them was given.

To a young minister and his wife, Ellen White once wrote, “With the spirit of self-confidence that you now possess, neither of you could be happy in heaven; for there all, even the exalted angels, are subordinate. You have yet to learn subordination and submission.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 325. This same counsel applies to all today.

We are told: “Each angel has his particular post of duty, which he is not permitted to leave for any other place.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 103. Now that’s interesting. Angels are not at liberty to go where they please. They are assigned duties which they happily perform.

Ellen White illustrates the order that the angels have in heaven by the order of the children of Israel while in the wilderness. In Egypt Moses had become a general who could not be over-ruled by any other man. His organizational skills were also apparent as he led the Children of Israel through the wilderness. Tents were pitched in their assigned places and they all marched in order, receiving orders from the front of the group. Those assisting Moses used trumpets to signal the leaders who were over each section, telling them exactly what was required. There was perfect order, being an example of what God desires among His people throughout all time.

The angels are available to assist those in this fallen world to help us come into the same kind of order and harmony that exists in heaven. Sadly we don’t have it yet. “The Lord gives to every angel his work for this fallen world. … Heavenly angels are working to bring the human family into a close brotherhood, a oneness described by Christ as like that existing between the Father and the Son.” The Review and Herald, July 4, 1899.

“In our churches let companies be formed for service. In the Lord’s work there are to be no idlers. Let different ones unite in labor as fishers of men. Let them seek to gather souls from the corruption of the world into the saving purity of Christ’s love.

“The formation of small companies as a basis of Christian effort is a plan that has been presented before me by One who can not err. If there is a large number in the church, let the members be formed into small companies, to work not only for the church members, but for unbelievers also.” Australasian Union Conference Record, August 15, 1902.

In Malachi 3:6, it says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change.” “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). So if God was a God of order then, He is still a God of order now.

Imagine what will be achieved when there is a church, anywhere in the world, governed by heaven’s plan of government where harmony and order is developed. That will be the condition of the church, ready and waiting for the Lord’s return and we can be part of it.

 

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Robes of White

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The Robes of White

Some day these scarlet robes we wear

Shall turn to lily white,

And all these crosses that we bear

Will change to crowns so bright.

The days and nights will be the same—

No darkness in the land.

And with the last tear wiped away

We’ll touch the Saviour’s hand.

He’ll gently lead us down the path

He long ago prepared,

And in that land so glorious

There’ll be no parting there.

Oh what a day that’s going to be,

The one we’ve waited for.

Our lovely robes of purest white

No stains for evermore.

Our crowns will shine so beautifully

Each gem’s been set with care.

And in our robes of righteousness

We’ll wear no crosses there.

Virginia Atwood Shaw

Becoming Like Jesus

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Many people lose their physical lives because they believe a lie. Years ago, it was not uncommon for physicians to advise patients with a sore throat or chronic bronchitis that they should smoke. It was thought that smoking would be like breathing in steam, that it would warm up the lungs and help clear up the bronchitis or whatever the related ailment was. Physicians used to prescribe cigarettes and other tobacco products, and people died because they believed a lie. The physicians did not intentionally lie—it was not a malicious lie, but it was a non-truth. People are lost for believing a lie.

Need to Know Truth

We need to know the truth. God has told us and promised us that He will guide us into all truth. (John 16:13.) That is a very important promise, because the Bible says that in the last days there will be every wind of doctrine blowing. (Ephesians 4:14.) What makes it especially critical is that God wants to guide us into a fuller understanding of Bible truth than we now have. So, we cannot just overthrow everything that we do not understand and say that since we have never seen something a certain way before we will not listen to new or different understandings. We cannot do that. Yet we cannot just run off after every tangent that comes along. Nevertheless, as the Holy Spirit leads us, we need to be willing to investigate new truth. We must do it carefully and prayerfully, because it is very, very easy to be deceived.

When we are investigating something, we need to read the whole context. If it is quoting from the Bible, read from where it is quoted—read the entire chapter and the surrounding chapters. Many people quote a certain aspect from the Bible, but they only quote a little phrase or sentence, and by taking that one thought out of context, sometimes they change the whole meaning of it.

Purpose of Study

Truth is very important. It is vital to salvation. But as important as that may be, that is not the most important thing we can study in our daily devotions. The thing that must happen in our devotional lives with the Lord is to become like Jesus!

It does not matter what truth we may know; if we are not like Jesus, we have not accomplished anything. In our devotional lives, we must have our characters changed. That is why in our devotions it is important to spend some time every day in studying about Jesus. We may not be learning all kinds of wonderful theology in studying about Jesus, but we will be becoming like Him. We need to, as well, find time to study Daniel and Revelation and Malachi and Zechariah and Isaiah—all of these wonderful books—but we find Jesus scattered all through all these books. We must spend some time every day in just looking at the life of Jesus, trying to meditate on His character, and asking Jesus to make us like Him. That is the most important thing that can happen.

It is much more important to be able to live a Christian life than to preach a good sermon. When we live Christian lives, lives like Jesus, then God is going to pour out His Holy Spirit upon us.

When Jesus was here, He preached all kinds of wonderful sermons, but the Holy Spirit was never poured out. But when the disciples got together at Pentecost, and spent time in prayer and put away their sins and became like Jesus, then the Holy Spirit came. There is a place for sermons, and there is a place for evangelistic meetings, but the first thing that must happen in our lives every day is that we must look at Jesus and try to become like Him.

Why Jesus Came

Jesus came down to this earth to teach us new truth, but the biggest reason Jesus came down to this earth was to show us the love of God, to demonstrate a Christian life. When we read the Bible stories from the gospels, we read some of the sermons that Jesus gave. Matthew records quite a few sermons. John records some of His teaching. What most of the gospel writers recorded, however, are not so much His sermons as His life. It was Jesus’ life that shows us the love of God.

Consider Jesus on the cross. Why is it that so much of the Bible is written about Jesus’ experience on the cross? There was no sermon there at all, was there? God’s love was demonstrated there. It showed that God loved us enough that He was willing to send His own Son to die for us. That is the same kind of love we must have. When we have that love, then we will have the same kind of power that Jesus had.

Secret of Witnessing

Surely you, like I, have been impressed with various mission stories. I love mission stories! Sometimes I have heard stories of people who have gone out and witnessed who had not been trained for public speaking, who did not have very many skills, but the Holy Spirit led them to souls, and because the Holy Spirit was working through them, the people were converted. I have watched people that I have thought really did not do a very good job at preaching or giving Bible studies, but they had a Christian character, and the Lord used these people to win souls. The greatest thing we need is not more truth. We need truth, but the greatest thing we need is to be more like Jesus, to have His character.

Dwell in the Midst

In Exodus 25:8, it mentions how God asked the children of Israel to make Him a sanctuary that He might dwell among them. The sanctuary was put right in the middle of the camp of the children of Israel, so every day when they got up, wherever they were, they could see the sanctuary. John tells us that that sanctuary was a type of Jesus. John 1:14, in some translations, says, “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” That is the way the Revised Version translates it, and that is the translation Ellen White often used for that verse—“The Word became flesh and tabernacled,” referring back to the tabernacle of the children of Israel that was put right in the middle of the camp. Jesus came and dwelt among us. Instead of a tabernacle of goat’s skin, Jesus came and dwelt in our midst, so God might dwell among us and we might see what God is all about.

In the first few verses of John 1, it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” What happened to that Word? It came down to this earth and dwelt among us so that we might observe and see what God is really like, so we might become like God in character.

Hebrews 1 begins almost the same as does the Book of John. In verse 3, speaking of Jesus, it says, “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 at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Jesus was the express image of the Father. He came to earth in the brightness of His Father’s glory. What was that glory when Jesus came down? Did people have to hide their eyes because He was so bright they could not look at Him, like Moses was when he came down from the mountain? Moses was a type of Jesus, but that was only the type. When the real brightness came, it was a totally different kind of brightness than a literal brightness. The Old Testament always shows something literal, and the New Testament always shows what was literal in the Old Testament in a spiritual sense. In the Old Testament, when Moses, who was a type or a figure of Christ, came down from the mount, his face was radiant with glory, so the people could not even look at him. In the New Testament, Jesus came down from heaven, and He was radiant with glory but with spiritual glory instead of a literal glory—spiritual brightness instead of a literal brightness.

What was the brightness that lighted up the face of Jesus? Paul tells us in 11 Corinthians 4:4, 6: “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” What is that glory? “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” It is God’s character that is revealed in Jesus. What was that character, in 1 John 4:8? “God is love.” That character was revealed through Jesus Christ.

Love Revealed

Somehow we, day by day, must develop the character of love that Jesus had. We must show love—love to our husbands and wives, to our children, to our parents, to church members, to our neighbors, to one another. Things do not always go in a way that makes us want to be loving. It is when things go wrong that love is really revealed. Love is not revealed when everything is going right. That is how Jesus revealed His love.

Where did Jesus really reveal the most love? Was it when He was sitting down at dinner with Mary and Martha and enjoying a good meal, or was it on the cross when people were spitting in His face and hammering the nails in His hands? Where was the love shown the most? He had the same love both places, but we did not see all of it until He was put on the cross. His love was there with Mary and Martha, too, and we could see that it was there, but the worse the situation became, the more the love was revealed.

Ellen White wrote about Jesus: “The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; force or authority cannot win it. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan.” The Desire of Ages, 22.

“Only by love is love awakened.” If we are going to have a church that will exemplify the character of God, that is, the character of love, how are we going to become that way? Is it by the board deciding that it is going to be that way and making a rule that we are all going to be loving from now on? How about a sermon? Could that do it? The only way that the church can become loving is by individual members becoming like Jesus and demonstrating that love to others.

Character Development

The only way God’s love can be demonstrated is for God to allow Satan to bring a certain amount of hardship and trouble into our lives—not because He wants us to suffer anything but so our characters can be developed and we can demonstrate that God is living in our lives. One thing about the trials that God sends us or even the ones He allows Satan to send us, He always brings us through. We never lose anything when we are all done. We only gain. In fact, the Bible says that “everything works together for good to those who love God.” Romans 8:28. We never lose anything, if we remain true.

Every test that comes our way does one of two things: it either makes us more like God, or it makes us more unlike God. We either turn away from Him, or we turn towards Him. We cannot stay neutral when trials and tests come. So it is that if we are really going to demonstrate the love of God, very likely God will allow certain trials and troubles to come into our lives to develop our characters so we can demonstrate His love. That is one reason why, after Jesus talked about trials and troubles and persecutions and revilings and all those things in the Beatitudes, He said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” Matthew 5:10, 11.

Verse 16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” You see, it is when people say unkind things about us that we have a chance to let our lights shine and that we can demonstrate the love of God.

Developing Love

None of us, of course, have the love of Jesus by nature, do we? Neither can we develop it on our own. That is why we must spend time with Jesus every day in prayer and Bible study. Remember, the most important aspect of prayer and Bible study is not to learn truth but to become like Jesus.

If we are just trying to rush through a book and we have a certain schedule to follow to finish it, and when we get done, we check that book off the list—have our characters changed much? How much better it would be to read half as much and to kneel down and really ask Jesus to make us like what we are reading, to spend time thinking about it, and to become like what it says, letting our lives be changed.

Ellen White said, “The Lord desires me to call the attention of His people to the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Read this chapter every day, and from it obtain comfort and strength. Learn from it the value that God places on sanctified, heaven-born love, and let the lesson that it teaches come home to your hearts. Learn that Christlike love is of heavenly birth, and that without it all other qualifications are worthless.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1904. Read that chapter not to learn some great new thing but to look at Jesus’ love. What is love? What is it that God wants us to become?

The Love Chapter

This is a chapter that probably describes Jesus’ character better than any other chapter in the Bible. It is a chapter that describes what we are to become. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” Verse 1. This is really speaking to preachers or Sabbath School teachers or evangelists. We can have silver tongues; we can speak like angels; we can be the greatest orators in the entire world; but if we do not have love, what good is it going to do? It is worthless.

“And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge . . .” Do you see why I said that learning truth is not the most important thing? Paul says we can know all the truth in the world; we can have even the gift of prophecy; and we can understand all the mysteries and all the knowledge and even have all faith so that we could remove mountains; but if we do not have love, we are nothing. Verse 2.

A Balance

We do not have to make these two things exclusive. We can still learn a little knowledge while we are getting a little love. I am not saying we should not try to get a little knowledge along the way. We ought to know the Bible. That is very important, but the first thing is love.

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Verse 3. Nothing in the Bible is written without truth, and no illustrations are given without merit. Do you suppose that there could have been people who gave their bodies to be burned or eaten by the lions that really were not totally converted? Ellen White wrote, “We may obtain a knowledge of the truth and read its most hidden mysteries, and even give our bodies to be burned for its sake; yet if we have not love and charity, we are as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 133.

What Love Is

Then Paul tells us what love is: “Love suffers long [and] is kind.” It does not say that love just suffers a little while—it will suffer and suffer. People saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing or misunderstanding—that will continue. Life goes on. As long as life lasts, it will continue to manifest love no matter what the situation may be. And it is kind. That little four-letter word kind is such a nice little word. It is nice when people are kind to one another.

“Love does not envy.” Now that is a tall order! It is so easy to envy—especially when you think you are better than the other person is, but the other person is getting all the attention. That is what Satan did in heaven; he envied Jesus; he thought he could do a better job than Jesus. “Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.” Verses 4, 5.

“[Love] does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.” Verse 6. That really cuts right across gossip! Times do come when we need to know about certain situations. We need to be warned, but just plain rejoicing, just cannot wait until somebody stumbles or somebody does something so we can report it, is wrong.

Demonstrate His Love

“Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether [there are] prophecies, they will fail; whether [there are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there is] knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Verses 7–13.

What Paul is saying in these last few verses is this: All the prophecy we know of is just dimly understood. We do not really understand prophecy very much. We understand a little bit. We do not even know ourselves. We do not know one another very well. Just dimly do we really understand each other. We do not really read the hearts of one another. But there is one thing that we can demonstrate, regardless, and that we can have. We may not be able to have perfect faith or perfect hope or perfect knowledge, but we can become like Jesus in character, and we can demonstrate His love. That is what God wants in the church today. He wants the church to demonstrate the love and the character of Jesus.

It is interesting that 1 John, the book that talks about how Jesus came down to earth and lived, ends with what it is that God is like. “God is love.” That is what we are to become—like God—and God is love. How is it that we can develop this kind of character? It is not something that happens overnight. We can gain knowledge much quicker than we can gain character. It takes time to develop character. That is why God gives us a time to live. We need to use every moment we have to be developing that character. Every time a trial comes our way, we need to realize that this is a chance to develop the character that God wants us to have. We will miss all those opportunities, however, unless God is helping us.

The Fruit of Love

Jesus said, in John 15:1, 2, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away.” What is the fruit? One part of the fruit is winning other souls, but that is not all of the fruit. What is the fruit of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering. (Galatians 5:22.) As we study John 15, we see that Jesus is talking about the fruit of the Spirit as well as the fruit of other souls. First and foremost, He is talking about the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of our character.

Verses 12 and 13 tell us the fruit with which He is especially concerned: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Throughout the chapters of John, Jesus talks about the fruit of our characters, the fruit of love especially. In chapter 13, He said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Verse 35.

Every branch that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2.) “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Verses 3, 4. Think of the one fruit that He is really addressing here. He is addressing all the fruit, of course, but consider the one He comments upon later, the fruit of love. Insert that in these verses and read it to get the full import. We could insert other fruits of the Spirit, too, but we will just use love.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear love He takes away; and every [branch] that bears love He prunes, that it may bear more love.” Pruning means to cut or take away unnecessary things—those extras that we do not really need, but we think we need, that God sometimes takes away. He may take it out of our checkbook or He may take it out of our time. We may have our day all planned, and God takes away some of that time for something else—our day may get pruned.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear love of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you [are] the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much love; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw [them] into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much love; so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in my love.” Verses 4–9. Is He talking about love?

To the Point

He comes right down to the point at the end. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and [that] your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Verses 10–12.

More than anything else, I want to see all of God’s people perfectly demonstrate the love of God towards one another. When we have that, we will have joy, Jesus said, and we will have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We cannot have it of ourselves. We can only have it as we abide in Jesus day by day. Our daily devotions are especially for the purpose of our becoming more like Jesus.

Yes, we need to study and understand Daniel and Revelation. We need to study Isaiah and Deuteronomy and Leviticus as well as the other books of the Bible, but we need to make the first part of our study specifically something that will help us to become more loving like Jesus. Study about the life of Jesus.

Ellen White says, “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.” The Desire of Ages, 83.

Pastor Marshall J. Grosboll, with his wife Lillian, founded Steps to Life. In July 1991, Pastor Marshall and his family met with tragedy as they were returning home from a camp meeting in Washington state, when the airplane he was piloting went down, killing all on board.

Jesus’ Life of Dependence

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A great controversy has been going on for quite some time. In the beginning of that great controversy, God’s Law, His government, and His character were brought into question. Satan has claimed that God’s law is not possible to keep. He knew God could keep it because He is God, but he insisted that nobody else could keep it.

Certainly Satan understood what was recorded in James 1:13: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” When it says that God cannot be tempted, basically, Satan challenged God to come down and fight like a man—a created man to be exact. Christ answered that challenge. He did come down—as a fallen man—and He did fight like a man.

Christ came to redeem us—fallen man. We all have fallen natures, and that is where the battle had to take place. To be our example, He had to deal with sin the same way we have to deal with sin.

“Christ secured probation for man at an infinite cost. He must suffer for the sins of the world, that the purposes of God might not be defeated. . . . Nothing less than the life of Christ would atone for man’s transgression. He must restore man by placing on vantage ground every one who would believe in Him as a personal Saviour. When there was no heart to pity, His arm brought salvation. God laid help on One that was mighty, saying, ‘Save man from destruction.’ The Son of God accepted the work joyfully, becoming man’s substitute and surety, that He might save him from his sin, and call him from transgression to obedience. He pledged Himself to take man’s nature, and stand at the head of the human race, to satisfy every claim made against them as a people bound in the slavery of sin. Through this gift of God to the world man has been given every opportunity of knowing God and the laws of His government.” The Signs of the Times, November 15, 1899.

Righteousness by Faith

Christ not only proved Satan wrong but He paved the way so that anyone, who chooses to, can follow in His footsteps. How did Jesus do that? How did He fight that battle? How can we fight that battle?

A little over 100 years ago, God sent a message to the Seventh-day Adventist Church that would prepare a people to not only stand in the last days but to stand every day of their lives. This message has been called by several different names—Christ our righteousness, righteousness by faith, justification by faith. Sometimes it is called the 1888 Message, because that is the year it was given.

The 1888 Message was rejected at that time, and we have been suffering the results of that rejection ever since. That is why we are still in this world. We have been here for 100 years longer than we should have, but until a group of people understands and experiences this message, the great controversy will continue. I believe this message is the key to how we will stand in the last days.

Same Battle

Over the years, the Lord has given me many victories in my life, but I could not tell you exactly how I gained them. Most Seventh-day Adventists understand that victory over self, sin, and Satan involves conflicts, struggles, and battles, but I am not sure that we understand all the rules of engagement in those battles or if we even understand where the battles are all the time. We know there is a battle, but do we know where to battle?

It seems to me that, with the exception of a few people, we have been doing the same thing—fighting the same battle—repeatedly for about 6,000 years, with similar results over and over and over again. That is why we are still here. God wants us to quit repeating history. He wants us to understand what was rejected and missed in 1888 and bring it into our lives so we can stop doing the same thing over and over and get beyond our failures into the perfection to which God has called us to. At some point in time, there will be a group of people who will have that experience. I want to be part of that group! Do you?

That group will experience righteousness by faith, and that message and experience will unite with and give power to the third angel’s message. We will not only be able to tell people about the downtrodden law, but we will be able to tell them how to experience the victory that accompanies that law. At that time, the latter rain will be poured out, and that other angel of Revelation 18 will join the third angel’s message. In Revelation 18, we are told that the whole world will be lighted with his glory.

Cooperation Needed

As I have analyzed the times when God has given me the greatest victories—and I do not mean the ability to stop some outward action but a change of mind and heart so the temptation held no appeal to me—it has occurred to me that such victories came when I gave up on my own abilities and strength and turned to God in absolute desperation. When I have reached that point and cried out to Him, He has every time given me the victory.

Now do not misunderstand me; turning to God does not do away with our part in the battle. We are told that the greatest lesson to be learned is cooperation with Christ in the work of salvation. (See Lift Him Up, 217; Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 434.) In Education, 29, we are told that cooperation with the power of Christ is man’s greatest need. Selected Messages, Book 1, 380, 381, says: “Man is to cooperate with God, employing every power according to his God-given ability.” “Let no man present the idea that man has little or nothing to do in the great work of overcoming; for God does nothing for man without his cooperation.” These statements make our cooperation sound pretty important! In Testimonies, vol. 6, 236, we are told: “For all created beings there is the one great principle of life—dependence upon and co-operation with God.”

Consider the story given in John 11 about the death of Lazarus. Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus with Martha and Mary. The tomb was a cave with a stone covering its entrance, and Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” That sounds like a simple request, but it was full of meaning. In writing of this, Ellen White said: “Christ could have commanded the stone to remove, and it would have obeyed His voice. He could have bidden the angels who were close by His side to do this. At His bidding, invisible hands would have removed the stone. But it was to be taken away by human hands. Thus Christ would show that humanity is to co-operate with divinity. What human power can do divine power is not summoned to do. God does not dispense with man’s aid. He strengthens him, co-operating with him as he uses the powers and capabilities given him.” The Desire of Ages, 535.

What an important lesson! Combining His power with our effort equals victory! The two work together—His part and our part—in perfect unity. The question that should be asked is, What is His part, and what is our part?

In this study, we will look at verses in the Book of John that show how Jesus lived when He dwelt on this earth in our fallen nature and how He maintained the victory over self and sin. As our Example, if we understand His method, we should be able to have that same victorious experience.

Background of the Gospels

The four Gospels were written for different reasons, for different groups of people with different mindsets. Matthew wrote mostly to the Jews, and his concern was with Christ’s right to the throne of David—Jesus as king. Of the four writers, Matthew was the sermon reporter. Mark wrote mostly to the Gentiles, and his main theme was Jesus as servant. Luke was the careful historian. His main emphasis was Jesus as the Son of man.

John was the theologian of the four. His main emphasis was on Jesus’ words, and he was very careful to record exactly what Jesus said. His favorite themes were the infinite love of Christ and Jesus as God.

No genealogy is given by John. He starts at the very beginning of his book by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That verse is, of course, talking about Jesus. John was interested in Jesus as God.

John’s account is the most chronologically correct of the four Gospels. He records none of Christ’s parables, and approximately 92 percent of his book is not recorded anywhere in the other Gospels.

Total Dependency

“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” John 4:34. This verse confirms that the Father sent Jesus. John 7:28 says, “Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.” Again, Jesus is saying that He did not come on His own behalf. He was sent. The Father sent Him.

The words of Jesus, “sent me,” are found 23 times in the Book of John. It is interesting that Jesus did not just come on His own—His Father sent Him. Do we go where the Father sends us? We should be so in harmony with the Father that we know where He wants to send us—and go willingly. Jesus knew, and He went where the Father sent Him.

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” John 5:19. These are not words Jesus would have said before His incarnation. He would not have said, before the incarnation, that the Son can do nothing of Himself. The Son could do everything the Father could do, before the incarnation. This shows us that Jesus had laid down His divinity when He became a man. He came to fight the battle as we have to fight it, and He laid aside the power not available to us except as we obtain it the way He did. In other words, He laid aside His omnipotence.

“For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” John 5:26. Jesus received life from the Father. From the time He came to this earth until His resurrection, all the life He had and all the life He gave to others—the raising of people from the dead—He got from the Father. Christ’s power was restored at His resurrection, when He raised Himself by His own power. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, 357, 358.)

Will of the Father

Verse 30 says, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” A similar statement is recorded in John 6:38: “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Jesus stated three different times that of His own self He could do nothing.

Interesting insight is given to this by Ellen White: “Before He came to earth, the plan lay out before Him, perfect in all its details. But as He walked among men, He was guided, step by step, by the Father’s will.” The Desire of Ages, 147. That is something that would not have concerned Christ before He came to the earth, because His will was in perfect harmony with the Father, but as He took on the nature of fallen man, He could no longer trust His will. He had to depend on the Father’s will completely to guide His will.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had to pray three times to bring His will into harmony with God’s will. He agonized so in His struggle to accomplish that that His sweat was as drops of blood. (See Matthew 26:36–45; Luke 22:44.) In Hebrews 12:4 we are told that, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” The key to that verse is the little word yet. We have not yet done it, but we may have to before our lives on this world end. Overcoming sin is a battle, and we may come to the point of sweating blood to bring our wills into harmony with God’s will.

“Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.” John 7:16. His doctrine was not His own. Even it came from the Father. A lot of the world makes up its own doctrine. We need to make sure that, like Jesus, we get our doctrine from the Father.

Words and Works

“I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.” John 8:26. Jesus got His words from the Father. Continuing in verse 28, “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” John 12:49, 50. Do we want our words to be words of life like Jesus’ words were? Then we need to speak the words of the Father, not our own. We need to watch our words, and speak only those things that are pleasing to God, as did Jesus.

Jesus’ words and works came from 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 14:10. “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4. John 10:17, 18 says, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because 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 [or authority] to lay it down, and I have power [or authority] to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” Verse 37 says, “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.”

Obedience of Love

“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” John 8:29. Jesus was seeking to please the Father. No feeling of satisfaction can compare to knowing that we have God’s approval—of what we are doing, saying, seeing, reading . . . The list could go on and on.

In verse 42, Jesus said, “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.”

“He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” John 14:24. And verse 31 says, “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.” The Father gave the commandment, and He obeyed.

Totally Dependent

From the beginning to the end of Christ’s life on this earth, everything was the Father’s—the will, the works, the words, the mission, the teaching, the doctrine, the decisions. All were His. The Son did not do anything on His own. He was totally dependent upon the Father. What an important lesson for us to learn! If Jesus needed to depend totally upon the Father to get through the battles He encountered on this earth, without falling into sin, how much more do we need to depend on the Father? This is a major key to righteousness by faith—total dependence on the Father for everything.

As stated previously, Jesus had to lay down His omnipotence when He took on the nature of fallen man. He did not have His omnipresence while on earth either. He was confined to a human body.

He also, apparently, laid down His omniscience. In Mark 13:32, Jesus said, “But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” only. Jesus even laid down His all-knowing. In Luke 2:52, it says He grew in knowledge. It would be impossible for Him to grow in knowledge, if He already knew everything. While on earth, He did not know everything.

“Christ in His life on earth made no plans for Himself. He accepted God’s plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans.” The Ministry of Healing, 479. How nice it would be to get up in the morning and have the Father lay all our plans out for the day! That is the point to which He wants us to come. We must come to be so in harmony with God that we know exactly what He wants us to do every step of the way.

Unbroken Intimacy

“He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” John 8:29. The Father was with Jesus all the time. We need to experience that same closeness.

John 10:15 says, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.” The Father knew Him. What a wonderful privilege to have the Father actually know us, to have a personal relationship with Him. We get to know the Father by spending time in His Word every day and in talking with Him through prayer. We get to know God just like we get to know a friend—by spending time with him or her, talking to them, listening to them, and doing things together.

If we are not spending time with God and His Word, we are not getting to know Him. We do not put enough emphasis on how much time we need to spend with God and His Word, in prayer, and in doing things together. God speaks to us in His Word. We speak to Him through prayer. We do things together such as overcoming sin and witnessing to others. We do things with God, as we become co-workers with Him in saving others—and ourselves—from sin.

If we are not spending time doing those things, we really are not Christians. We are in a lost condition. Jesus said, in John 6:53, that unless we eat the bread and drink the blood of the Son of man, there is no life in us. If there is no life in us, we are in a lost condition.

Oneness

We are told, in John 10:17, that the Father loves us: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.”

In verse 30, we read, “I and [my] Father are one.” That is a truly intimate relationship. That is the kind of relationship the Bible describes between a husband and wife. They become one. (See Genesis 2:24.)

Description of this close relationship continues in verses 37 and 38: “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father [is] in me, and I in him.” And in John 14:11, Jesus said, “Believe me that I [am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.” The Father was in Jesus, and Jesus was in Him.

“And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said [it], that they may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 11:42. The Father heard Jesus, and He hears us. Is it not a nice thing to know that the Father hears us when we speak? He listens! If we take time to pray, He will take time to listen.

John 17:21 also talks about the intimacy of being one: “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.” Jesus experienced that oneness with the Father, and He wants us to experience it with Him and the Father.

Incredible Privilege

“Human language is being stretched to its utmost limits to describe the unbroken intimacy between the Father and the Son. The Father is with me, He does not leave me alone, He knows me, He loves me, He always hears me, He is in me, and I am in Him. We are one.

“We read and marvel. We look at the picture with the wistful longing of a boy staring at toys through a storefront window. What might it be to live like that! What confidence, security, trust—what freedom from fear, from stress! What an incredible privilege!

“As we look with longing, we hear Him say, ‘Would you like to go through life the way I did?’

“We answer, ‘Why do you mock us, Lord? You know we can’t do that. We were born of earthly fathers and your Father was God. We can’t live the way you did. Why do you mock us?’

“He answers, ‘I am not mocking you. I am telling you the truth. You can live on this earth in the same way that I did. The Heavenly Father is willing to be with you, to hear you, to know you, to love you, and to be one with you, just as He was one with Me.’

“Again we protest, ‘Lord, how can this be? We had earthly fathers, and you – —.’

“But He says, ‘You are greatly mistaken. You are asking the wrong questions, and you are looking to the wrong place. Get your mind off my birth. That is not “where it’s at.” ’ Then He challenges us with some questions:

“ ‘Have you read the story of my life on earth?’

“ ‘Yes, Lord, we have.’

“ ‘Have you found one place, even one place, in that life story in which I explained any of my works by a reference to my birth?’

“ ‘No, Lord, we have not.’

“ ‘Then, how do I explain them?’

“ ‘Well, you always explained them in terms of your ongoing relationship with the Father.’

“ ‘Exactly. Why then do you continue to look to the wrong place and ask the wrong questions? My life of victory on earth was not made possible by the circumstances of my birth. It was made possible by my ongoing relationship with the Father, and you can have exactly the same relationship if you want it. Go to the scriptures and read!’

“And so we read of the Incredible Privilege that is extended to us in Christ’s words reported in the Gospel of John.” Ralph Larson, Tell of His Power, Cherry Stone Press, Cherry Valley, California, 1988, 14, 15.

Eat and Drink of the Son

As we study the Incredible Privilege, read John 6:57: “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” Unless we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God, there is no life in us.

Ellen White wrote: “In the study of the Bible the converted soul eats the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son of God, which He himself interprets as the receiving and doing of His words, that are spirit and life. The Word is made flesh, and dwells among us, in those who receive the holy precepts of the word of God.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 378.

The people in Jesus’ day did not like hearing those words any more than people like hearing them today. When He said those words, there were about 5,000 people ready to follow Him and be His disciples, but when they heard those words, so many left that He turned to the 12 disciples and asked, “Are you going to leave also?” And they said, “Where would we go? You have the words of life.” (John 6:67, 68.) It has never been popular to talk about devotional time, but it is absolutely a necessity.

Experience Oneness

“At that day ye shall know that I [am] in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” John 14:20. Jesus offers us the incredible privilege of being in them just as they were in each other!

The incredible privilege of being one with Christ and the Father is offered again in John 17:11: “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we [are].”

Jesus also offers us the incredible privilege of being sanctified through the truth, just as He was. “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world [talking about the disciples—about us]. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” Verses 18, 19.

The incredible privilege of being one with Him is given again in verse 21: “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.” That intimate relationship that Jesus experienced with the Father is offered to us. What a privilege!

“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.” Verses 22, 23.

Love as He Loved

In addition to addressing oneness, Jesus talked about how the Father has love for us just as much as He had love for Christ. It is almost incomprehensible that the Father can love us as much as He loved Jesus, but that is what the Bible tells us, and we need to believe it.

“And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare [it]: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Verse 26. The incredible privilege of having that love in us that was in Him is being offered to us. We can learn to love as He loved. When we read 1 Corinthians 13, we realize how important that is. If we do not have love, we are not going to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Unbelievable Words

Dr. Larson goes on to say, “There it is. These are the words of Jesus—in unmistakable clarity. Do we believe them?” That is the question. They sound almost unbelievable, but we need to believe them. That is what faith is all about.

“The apostle Paul believed them. Their full significance was not lost on Him. The words ‘in Christ,’ or ‘in the Lord’ appear in his epistles 90 times.

“According to Paul we are baptized into Christ, we are new creatures in Christ, we have no condemnation in Christ, we are established in Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we speak in Christ, we say the truth in Christ, we have liberty in Christ, we have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, and consolation in Christ, we are rooted and built up in Christ, we have persecution in Christ, and when we die we are the dead in Christ!

“He wraps it up in two beautiful summary statements:

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

“Philippians 1:21 ‘For to me to live is Christ.’

“The pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist church believed the words of Jesus too. They did not regard them as simply rhetorical devices such as a politician might use, spoken for effect and not meant to be taken seriously.” Larson, 15, 16.

Literal Words

We are to take these words literally. Even though they stretch our minds, we still are to believe them literally. If we never really believe these words, not only will we not experience them but we will not be able to teach them to others with power. They have got to become part of our thought processes. Just as our bodies assimilate food that becomes part of our physical makeup, we need to assimilate the Word of God until it becomes part of our thought processes, and our minds are brought into harmony with Christ.

If you have not made it your habit to study the life of Christ, I want to challenge you to make the decision right now to do so every day from this day forward. If you do not make it a part of your daily life, there will be no life in you.

If we are going to have the mind of Christ in us, we must meditate on His words. Our minds, by beholding, will become changed. Our characters are our thoughts and feelings combined, and if we are going to have Christ’s character perfectly reproduced in us, we must learn to think and feel as He does—to see things from His perspective instead of our perspective. We must come into harmony with Him in all our thoughts.

Words, Part I

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In Hebrews 4:2, the apostle Paul says, “For the gospel is preached to us as well as them, but the word did not profit them, not being mixed with faith.” Friends, I need to forewarn you. What we will be studying in this article could be very discouraging, if you do not have enough faith. But if you realize that for everything God has told us to do or not to do, He will give us the grace and power to do it—if we trust in Him and choose to follow Him—then what we are going to study can be very exciting.

Heaven Talk

Have you ever wondered how people talk in heaven? Do you talk in your home the way people talk in heaven? When do you think you should learn to talk like people talk in heaven? Now? Yes, now!

In the Book of James, we are told that the one who controls his tongue is a perfect man. (James 3:2.) If you are not yet perfect, do not be discouraged. Just take hold of the Lord by faith and say, “Lord, this is the way you want me to speak, and I am determined, by Your grace, to talk the way You want me to talk.” If you follow the principles, the Lord will give you the power and the grace to talk His way. Of course, we need to understand how God wants us to talk.

As I have studied the Spirit of Prophecy writings, I have been interested to discover how much Ellen White wrote on the subject of speech in reference to the family. We are going to look at some of these principles, and I hope they will be as great a blessing to you as they have been to me.

Plan Each Morning

One of the first principles is that we need to plan in the morning what we are going to say.

“The first missionary work is to see that love, light, and joy come into the home circle. Let us not be looking for some great temperance or missionary work to do until we have first done the duties at home. Every morning we should think, What kind act can I do today? What tender word can I speak? Kind words at home are blessed sunshine. The husband needs them, the wife needs them, the children need them.” Review and Herald, December 23, 1884.

What do you suppose, friends, would happen in our homes if every morning, every husband, before he got out of bed, was thinking to himself, “What kind word, what tender word, what kind act can I do today for my wife or for my children?” If every wife was thinking before she got out of bed, “What kind word can I speak to my husband today? What tender act could I do for him or for my children?” If we started making plans the first thing in the morning, like the Lord has instructed us, would that make a difference in our homes?

We need the sunshine of kind and tender words in our homes, but that is going to take some planning. Have you noticed that anything worthwhile does not just happen? Someone has to make plans. If we want our speech to be right, the time to start is before we ever get out of bed in the morning. We need to start making plans then—“What kind and tender word could I speak to my spouse today? What act could I do for my spouse today or for my children?” If we start making plans each morning, like the Lord has told us to do, it will have a tremendous influence in our homes. Who knows? We might even think of something kind and tender to say before breakfast!

How We Should Speak

How should we speak? In The Signs of the Times, November 14, 1911, Ellen White advised that we should “cultivate soft tones.” What is the opposite of soft? Harsh—so we want to avoid all harshness of expression.

Mrs. White also said, “We should accustom ourselves to speak in pleasant tones.” Ibid., February 22, 1905. We all like to be spoken to with pleasant tones. She also told us what to avoid: “Never let a frown gather upon your brow.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 532. That is a high standard! Did you know that people do not frown in heaven? They do not, and we are to cultivate a heavenly atmosphere in our homes.

She continued, “Never let a frown gather upon your brow or a harsh word escape your lips. Harsh words sour the temper and wound the hearts of children, and in some cases these wounds are difficult to heal. Children are sensitive . . . .” Ibid. Are your children sensitive? I have known for a long time that my children are sensitive, but I have learned, as I have studied this subject, that all children are sensitive. “Children are sensitive to the least injustice, and some become discouraged under it and will neither heed the loud, angry voice of command nor care for threatenings of punishment.” Ibid. Some become discouraged and may finally decide they do not care whether they are punished or not; they will do what pleases them. We do not want our children to develop that frame of mind, so we must avoid all harsh words and not let frowns develop on our brows.

Passionate Words

We are all tempted to speak passionately at times. What should we do when we realize passionate feelings are arising, and we are about to really let somebody have it? There are all kinds of expressions for this in our language. Have you heard anyone say that they are going to give somebody “a piece of their mind”? Usually they do not mean a good piece!

What should we do when such feelings start to develop? “When about to speak passionately, close your mouth. Don’t utter a word. Pray before you speak, and heavenly angels will come to your assistance and drive back the evil angels, who would lead you to dishonor God, reproach His cause, and weaken your own soul.” Ibid., vol. 2, 82.

When we are tempted to speak passionately, it is time not to speak. It is time to close our mouths. If we are really heated up, we might even need to seek a private place, get down on our knees, and have a session of prayer, asking the Lord to calm our souls so our spirits will not be chaffed. We cannot avoid speaking passionately if our spirits are chaffed. That irritableness in our spirits has to be taken away. The Lord has to take it away, or no matter what we say, our words will not be right. Friends, if we ask, God will give us victory over the passion of spirit. We must have that. Otherwise, when we open our mouths, no matter how good are our intentions, we will have a lot of apologizing to do, to say the least.

Begins in the Home

“The work of sanctification begins in the home. . . .

“In the home the spirit of criticism and faultfinding should have no place. . . .

“No harsh, passionate word is ever spoken without grieving the Lord Jesus, and hurting the heart of speaker and of hearer. From the Christian home all angry or trifling speeches will be excluded; for in the home above nothing of this character finds place.” The Signs of the Times, February 17, 1904.

We are to avoid all angry, trifling, passionate speeches. In the Christian home, those must be excluded, along with the spirit of criticism and faultfinding. That does not mean we are to close our eyes and not be aware of what is going wrong, but we are not to have a spirit of trying to tear down.

Have you ever noticed how sensitive we are to having our faults exposed? I have been amazed, over and over again, at how sensitive we as human beings are. We may have a hundred things wrong, but to have someone point out even one fault, just about tears us to pieces. Have you ever wondered about your children? Since we as adults are sensitive to having someone point out any fault that we have, do you suppose our children might be sensitive to having their faults pointed out? If you keep that in mind, it will be a great help to you.

We need to do a lot of praying, friends, before we seek to point out a fault in our children. Remember, they are just as sensitive as we are, maybe more so. It takes great tact and love and kindness to be able to point out a fault and have it received in the right way so that the child will be drawn to Jesus and be determined to correct it. Mrs. White talked about this: “When you are obliged to correct a child, do not raise the voice to a high key . . . .” Ibid.

Some of us have this problem. I personally have to do a lot of praying about this. It is easy for me to raise my voice to a high key. What happens when we do that? “Do not raise the voice to a high key bringing into it that which will arouse the worst passions of the child’s heart.” Ibid. When the voice is raised to a high key, what is a natural response for the listener? It is easy for the child to feel like he or she is getting scolded, and that might be exactly what is happening.

Hasty Speech

“Restrain every hasty speech that struggles for utterance. Before you speak that fretful, impatient word, stop and think of the influence which, if spoken, it will exert. Remember that children are quick to hear every word, and to mark every intonation of the voice.” Ibid.

I have tested this out on our dog. I did not want to test it on my children. I have found that I can speak the most severe reproofs, commands, and awful things to our dog, and if I speak softly, with a smile on my voice, she just wags her tail. But if I yell at her, telling her that I love her and that she is a good dog, she starts to cower. Children will respond just as dogs do. They recognize the tone of our voices. That is why we are to accustom ourselves to always speaking in pleasant tones.

Should we not reprove our children? God has commanded us to not allow the faults of our children to pass by without being corrected. Notice what Mrs. White wrote about this: “Under all circumstances reproof should be spoken in love. . . .

“Not one word is to be spoken unadvisedly.” Ibid., February 22, 1905.

Corrupt Communication

The Bible talks about corrupt communication in 1 Corinthians. What is corrupt communication? “No evil speaking, no frivolous talk, no fretful repining or impure suggestions, will escape the lips of him who is following Christ. . . . A corrupt communication does not mean only words that are vile. It means any expression contrary to holy principles and pure, undefiled religion. It includes impure hints and covert insinuations of evil. Unless instantly resisted, these lead to great sin.

“Upon every family, upon every individual Christian, is laid the duty of barring the way against corrupt speech. When in the company of those who indulge in foolish talk, it is our duty to change the subject of conversation if possible.” Ibid.

We do not want corrupt communication in our homes. We cannot have it in our homes if we are getting ready to go to heaven, because people do not talk like that in heaven.

False Witness

Mrs. White also gave the definition of false witness: “We think with horror of the cannibal who feasts on the still warm and trembling flesh of his victim; but are the results of even this practice more terrible than are the agony and ruin caused by misrepresenting motive, blackening reputation, dissecting character? . . .

“God’s Word condemns also the use of those meaningless phrases and expletives that border on profanity.” Ibid., March 1, 1905.

Do you know what an expletive is? An expletive is a word that is not used according to its dictionary definition, but is used to express emotion. Unfortunately, many people use the characteristics of God as expletives, thereby breaking the third commandment. The characteristics of God are listed in Exodus 34:6. “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth . . . .” Those are the characteristics of God.

One of the words used to describe His characteristics is the word merciful. Have you ever heard the word mercy used as an expletive? That is a name for God, friends. It is part of His character. To use that word just to express emotion is to break the third commandment. Part of His Name is the word gracious. To use that word in a flippant way is to break the third commandment.

There are all sorts of words that I do not want to repeat and develop bad habits of speaking by repeating them, but you know what I am talking about. Have you ever heard somebody say, “Oh, _____”? There are several words that could follow that. Some of them men’s names—and they are not used to refer to any man. They are just used to express emotion. Those are expletives. Mrs. White calls them “meaningless phrases.” Jesus never used those. You will not find any expletives that He ever used in the entire Gospel account, and He is our example.

Deceptive Compliments

The Bible condemns the deceptive compliments, meaningless phrases, and expletives that border on profanity. Oh, friends, this bothers me. This is a problem, friends, for Christians. We have a big problem in giving deceptive compliments, trying to make people feel good in saying something to them that we do not really believe. That is breaking the ninth commandment.

“The evasions of truth, the exaggerations . . .” You know, some people have become so used to exaggerating that in their common, everyday speech—whatever they are talking about—they exaggerate. That will not happen in heaven, friends. They do not make understatements or give exaggerations there. Since I have studied this, I am trying to correct my own speech. We need to be careful that our speech is accurate.

“Closely allied to gossip is the covert [hidden] insinuation, the sly innuendo, by which the unclean in heart seek to insinuate the evil they dare not openly express. Every approach to these practices the youth should be taught to shun as we would shun the leprosy.” Ibid.

Friends, if we are getting ready for heaven, we must train our children to not speak the way they hear other people speaking. Other people are not to be our guides. Jesus is our Guide. We must train our children from babyhood that they must not say anything that they hear other people speaking. This is one of the reasons we as parents need to take time to talk with our children. We need to know how they speak and what they are saying. If they are picking up phrases and expressions from someone else that are not suitable, not understanding what they mean, we must correct their speech and teach them how to speak appropriately. This is also a reason for being careful with whom our children associate.

Quarreling Children

What do you do with children in the home who are quarreling? Ellen White gave counsel regarding that. “Parents, do all in your power to keep disagreements out of the home circle. If the children quarrel, remind them that God has said, ‘Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.’ Teach them never to let the sun go down on angry feelings or sin unconfessed. Teach them that harmony should reign in the home, even as it reigns in heaven. . . .

“Repress every harsh word. Remember that fretting and scolding are as injurious to your children as profanity, and that too much management is as bad as no management at all. Be firm, but let no loud, angry words escape your lips. [There, again, are two kinds of speech we are to avoid—harsh words and loud, angry words.] Rule your children with tenderness and compassion, remembering that ‘their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.’ . . . Work with loving tenderness; for this is the way Christ works.” The Signs of the Times, April 23, 1902.

Of what are we to remind the children? Not to let the sun go down on their wrath. That is a very literal expression from the Bible. (Ephesians 4:26.) We are to tell our children to not let the sun go down before they have made things right—to not let the sun go down on unconfessed sin or angry feelings.

Self-Control

“God looks into every secret thing of life. By some a constant battle is maintained for self-control.” The Signs of the Times, August 23, 1899. Perhaps you have a constant battle with your tongue. God knows that, friend. You may have to keep up a constant battle your whole life, but God will give you the victory. “Daily they [those battling for self-control] strive silently and prayerfully against harshness of speech and temper. These strivings may never be appreciated by human beings. They may get no praise from human lips for keeping back the hasty words which sought for utterance. The world will never see these conquests, and if it could, it would only despise the conquerors. But in heaven’s record they are registered as overcomers. There is One who witnesses every secret combat and every silent victory, and He says, ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’ [Proverbs 16:32.]” Ibid.

Scolding

A few statements about scolding have already been addressed, but in the following statement, we are given some counsel on dealing with children who are in trouble. Now, children from the earliest ages get into troubles of various kinds. Their feelings are aroused; maybe they are angry or depressed or hurt or discouraged. Children have all of these kinds of problems just as do adults. To them, their trials are just as severe as our trials are to us. How do we deal with these?

“The little ones must be carefully soothed when in trouble. Children between babyhood and manhood and womanhood do not generally receive the attention they should have. Mothers are needed who will so guide their children that they will regard themselves as a part of the family. Let the mother talk with her children regarding their hopes and their perplexities. Let parents remember that their children are to be cared for in preference to strangers. They are to be kept in a sunny atmosphere, under the mother’s guidance. Be careful that you are not rude to your children, either in speech or in temper. Require obedience, and do not allow yourself to speak carelessly to your children, because your manners and your words are their lesson-book. Help them gently, tenderly, over this period of their life. Let the sunshine of your presence make sunshine in their hearts. These growing boys and girls feel very sensitive, and by roughness you may mar their whole life. Be careful, mothers. Never scold; for that never helps.” Ibid., August 23, 1899. We do not want to do something that would never help, do we? That does not mean, however, that we should not be firm. The very next sentence says, “Firmness is ever to be united with love in the home life.” Ibid.

Harmony

How much harmonious speech in the home means to the children! “Allow in the home nothing that savors of cheapness or commonness. You are preparing your children for entrance into the City of God, and nothing that defiles can enter there.

“Be pleasant and cheerful. Remember that love is the power that binds your children to you.” Ibid., September 16, 1903. We should always remember that sentence. It is the power of love that binds our children to us.

“Keep your words and actions free from anger. Do nothing that will destroy the harmony of the home. Let the sharp words [there is another type of word to avoid] that you are tempted to speak die unspoken. Such words wound and bruise the hearts of the hearers.” Ibid.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Rein, Rain, Reign

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There are two spirits that are always struggling for control of our minds. I know there are many of you who have burdens on your hearts and in your minds—financial, spiritual, emotional, and physical burdens. I invite you to take God at His Word and cast those anxieties, those burdens, those worries upon Christ, because He is our Burden-bearer. He knows best how to meet the needs and to use the circumstances to draw us close to Him. Do that now, so as we open God’s Word, those things are not the first burden in your heart but God’s Word and seeking what He has for you is first in your hearts.

Homophones

As I have pondered about the Holy Spirit, three identical sounding words—homophones—came to my mind: rein, rain, and reign. They sound exactly the same, but they are quite different in spelling and definition. Sounding the same is all, really, that they have in common, except they each apply to the Holy Spirit.

Originating from a Latin word, the root of which is to arrest, the first noun definition of rein, given by Webster’s, is: “The strap of a bridle fastened to the curve or a snaffle on each side by which the rider of a horse restrains and governs him.” If we “give rein,” it gives license to the animal to leave without restraint; we have no control. To “take the reins” is to take guidance or government; to give a restraining influence, a guiding power. The verb definition of rein is to govern—check or direct—by a bridle.

The second word we will look at is rain. The verb definition of this word is “to fall in drops from clouds” or “as water, to pour or shower down from the upper regions like rain from the clouds.” Ibid. In the Scriptures, the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven.” Exodus 16:4. When witnessing a severe thunderstorm, we sometimes use the expression, “It is raining cats and dogs.” The noun form of rain is “the descent of water in drops from the clouds.” Ibid. It is different from mist or fog, because the drops are visible.

The third word we will consider is reign. The verb definition of this word is: “to possess or exercise sovereign power or authority to rule or exercise governmental authority as a king or queen or emperor.” Ibid. The noun form refers more to the “royal authority, supreme power, sovereignty as the queen, or emperor.” Ibid.

I have thought a lot about those words, because I like words. My dad was an English teacher, and my mom was an early grade teacher; so words were always fun. As a family, we played games with dictionaries. Our first books were encyclopaedia sets. We had all kinds of fun with words and things at our house.

Rein

The Holy Spirit begins in our life with rein. “. . . the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins.” Psalm 7:9. In this verse, “the hearts” refers to our emotions, and the governing power of our minds or ourselves is referred to by “the reins.” Rein associates with the governing power of man over an animal. It is attached to a bridle with a bit in the mouth of the horse or oxen, so that it is uncomfortable for the animal not to submit. There are types of bits that make it even more uncomfortable for the animal when it is being “broken”; its will is being broken to be in submission to the master.

This is especially meaningful to me, because one of the places God has worked, and continues to work, with me is found in James 1:26: “If any man [or woman] among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his [or her] tongue, but deceiv-eth his [or her] own heart, this man’s [or woman’s] religion [is] vain.” Vain is not a good description of how we want to be. We are to bridle our tongues. Our words betray very quickly who our master is.

I appreciate the beginning of the following verse very much, because it starts, “I,” referring to God. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalm 32:8. This is part of the rein. It is not a bit and bridle here, but He instructs us and teaches us that He can guide us simply with the way He looks. Sometimes that look tells us, “That person is who you need to talk to today,” or “That person is who you need to touch today.” It tells us, also, “Do not be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding.” God gives us understanding, “whose mouth must be held with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.” Verse 9. I like the way this ends in verse 11, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” That is what happens when the reins of the Holy Spirit bridle our mouths, and we can follow Him, even with the glance of His eye, to know where to go and what to do.

Another way that rein is used is found in Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 300, “God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness. Those who are accounted good workers will need to draw nigh to God, they will need the divine touch. They will need to drink more deeply and continuously at the fountain of living water, in order that they may discern God’s work at every point. Workers may make mistakes, but you should give them a chance to correct their errors, give them an opportunity to learn caution, by leaving the work in their hands.” So sometimes we can learn things that we need to learn, but if we give someone a job to do, we should not quickly jerk it out of their hands.

Rain

Our next definition is for rain. Rain nourishes the earth and all growing things. I hope that you have had the opportunity to have your windows open when it is raining. I so much enjoy hearing the rain, then, as the rain stops, listening to the birds as they start singing and the little crickets and bugs as they start their chirping. Everything feels so clean and smells so fresh after a rain shower. Rain purifies and cleanses.

The work of the reins, the bit and bridle, that move us to where God’s eye even guides us, leads to the early rains that germinate the seed. The seed is the Word of God in our lives as we are led by the Holy Spirit. In James 5:7, 8 it says, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” There the early rain and latter rain are connected with the preparation for the Lord’s coming. Christ longs for us to receive that early rain to germinate the seed, and the latter rain to ripen and bring to fruition the gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Acts 3:19 says, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

The showers of rain we receive remind me of the refreshing—that rain that cleanses us, that leads us and guides us. The rain from the Holy Spirit will bring something else: “The presence of the Spirit with God’s workers will give the presentation of the truth a power that not all the honor or glory of the world can give.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 22. Only the Holy Spirit can give that kind of power. “The Spirit furnishes the strength that sustains striving, wrestling souls in every emergency, amidst the unfriendliness of relatives, the hatred of the world, and the realization of their own imperfections and mistakes.” Ibid. He does not cast us off because of us. He works with us; He cleanses us; He purifies us; He changes us.

Reign

The last word we will study is reign, which is associated with authority or rule of a sovereign. Psalm 146:10 says, “The Lord shall reign for ever.” One of my favorite verses is Revelation 19:6: “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

God wants to take the reins of our minds, the reins of our hearts and bring us into submission to His will. We can fight that, but He wants to reign as ruler in our hearts. We must give Him the reins; we must allow His rain to cleanse us that He may reign. The Word of God is true; He will reign forever. The question is, “Will we allow Him to reign in our lives today so that He may reign forever in your heart or my heart?” The only way that He can do that is to now give Him the reins to our hearts and our minds; ask Him, and participate, enjoy, revel in the early and latter rains that He sends, the refreshing that He brings. Place Him on the throne to reign moment by moment and day by day.

I like lists, and many years ago, in my studies, I came across this Ellen White statement which includes a list that will help us prepare for the rein, rain, and reign. “Seek the Lord most earnestly, put away your sins, and tarry in Jerusalem till ye be endowed with power from on high. Let God set you apart to the work. Purify your souls by obeying the truth.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 443. Those are the five things on the list.

“Seek the Lord most earnestly, put away your sins, and tarry [where you are] till you are endowed with power from on high. Let God set you apart to the work. Purify your souls by obeying the truth. Faith without works is dead. Put not off the day of preparation. Slumber not in a state of unpreparedness, having no oil in your vessels with your lamps. Let none leave their safety for eternity to hang upon a peradventure. Let not the question remain in perilous uncertainty. Ask yourselves earnestly, Am I among the saved, or the unsaved? Shall I stand, or shall I not stand? He only that hath clean hands and a pure heart shall stand in that day.” Ibid. [Emphasis in original.]

May you allow the Holy Spirit to take your reins today, so you are prepared to receive the early rain and latter rain that you may enjoy forever the kingdom which reigneth forever.

[All emphasis added unless otherwise noted.]

Paula Currey, a surgical nurse, lives near Wichita, Kansas, with her husband Steve. She may be contacted by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

Words, Part II

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A statement in The Signs of the Times, November 11, 1903, speaks of the power of love: “Never treat your children harshly; for harshness arouses stubbornness and resistance. You will find that they are most easily and successfully governed by kindness and gentleness.” Kindness and gentleness is what we need. “Love breaks down all barriers, and gentleness subdues the most stubborn will. Treat your children as you would wish to be treated were you in their place. Let there be no scolding, no loud-voiced, angry commands.” Ibid. Do not be discouraged, friends. Remember to have faith and say, “Lord, this is how You have told me to speak. I am choosing to follow Your counsel. Give me the grace to speak this way.” Friends, the Lord will do it. The Lord will answer your prayer. If you keep praying, the Lord will keep answering.

No Disagreements

Counsel is also given that the father and mother, in reference to their speech, should not have verbal disagreements between themselves in the children’s presence. Mrs. White says, “Not a particle of variance should be shown by parents in the management of their children. Parents are to work together as a unit. There must be no division. But many parents work at cross-purposes, and thus the children are spoiled by mismanagement. If parents do not agree, let them absent themselves from the presence of their children until an understanding can be arrived at.” Review and Herald, March 30, 1897. Oh friends, if parents would honor this, it would save so much trouble in the home.

As parents, we must have a united front. We must not have the father saying one thing and the mother saying another. That will destroy harmony, and it will ruin the child. Having said this, it does not mean we are to be wishy-washy. When we say, “No,” it has to mean no, and when we say, “Yes,” it has to mean yes.

“Scolding, loud-voiced commands, or threatenings should never be heard. Parents should keep the atmosphere of the home pure and fragrant with kind words, with tender sympathy and love; but at the same time, they are to be firm and unyielding in principle.” Ibid. If a principle is involved, we are not to give way. “If you are firm with your children [this simply means that when you say, ‘No,’ it means no], they may think that you do not love them.” They may think this way for a while, but Mrs. White says, “This you may expect; but never manifest harshness. Justice and mercy must clasp hands; there must be no wavering or impulsive movements.” Ibid.

True Words

Counsel has been given on a subject about which you would think Christians would never need to be counseled, but Ellen White spent considerable time on this subject. Our words at home are always to be true. Oh friends, one of my cherished memories of my own home is that I can never, ever remember either my father or my mother, at any time, telling me something that was not true. My parents did not have to explain to me, as I grew up, that there was not a Santa Claus, because they had never told me that there was a Santa Claus. Neither did they have to explain to me that there was no real Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse or a hundred other things that some children believe. If you tell your children fictitious or untrue stories or speak anything that is untrue, someday their confidence in you is going to be weakened, because a child believes everything that their parents tell them—until they find out their parents do not always tell the truth. Then they flip the other way, and they do not believe anything their parents say.

Mrs. White says, “Never let your children have the semblance of an excuse for saying, Mother does not tell the truth. Father does not tell the truth.” Review and Herald, April 13, 1897. Children, from their earliest years, should have confidence that if mommy said it, it is so. If daddy said it, it is so. We often do not realize how our words affect whether or not our children are going to believe what they hear in Sabbath School or church.

Criticism

Ellen White also speaks about criticism. She wrote, “We should abstain from all evil-speaking and evil-surmising.” Review and Herald, April 21, 1891. Do you know what evil surmising is? I suppose it is something that every individual has been tempted to do at some time or another. Have you ever had suspicions about someone or something—you did not yet have the facts, but things just did not seem right to you? When this happens, you may have suspicions, and you may have to watch things develop, but it is dangerous to talk about your suspicions. This is evil surmising. You think something is bad; you do not yet have the facts; you do not yet have the evidence, but it looks bad. You think there is something awry, so you start talking about it, which starts all kinds of trouble in homes and churches and institutions and everywhere else.

“We should abstain from all evil-speaking and evil-surmising. Our children will be in danger of losing all respect for religion if we indulge in criticism of others.” Ibid.

I have thought about this so many times. How would I feel if someone who knew me really well began telling everybody all of the mistakes I have made? I have made so many mistakes that if anyone but the Lord knew them all, I suppose they would think that I am a bad person. I would prefer that all of the mistakes I have made not be publicized to everybody. Do you suppose that there are other people who feel the same way? When we are talking about the subject of criticism, people think that we are talking about something that is not true, but this is not the case. We can destroy each other while telling the truth! We can destroy our neighbors, and in the process, we will destroy our children. Ellen White says that they will lose all respect for religion.

Respect Those Older

The relationship of our children with the elderly has become very painful in America today. Our young people do not respect older people. Ellen White wrote: “Teach your children to be kind and courteous to all, and especially to respect the old. If you do all that God has given you to do, you will have no time to criticize your neighbor.” Ibid.

Jesting and Joking

I was once acquainted with a person who told a lot of jokes. He was one of the funniest persons I ever knew. When I was with him, I laughed and laughed and laughed, and everybody else did, too. He was a religious person, but when he would give a testimony in church, the young people did not give it much account. Our words need to be true.

When I was in academy, I learned how to tell jokes. I was very fortunate that about the time I started learning how to tell jokes, I read some statements in the Spirit of Prophecy stating that if I jested and joked, I would lose the Holy Spirit. When I found that out, I had to make a decision whether I was going to be a jester and a joker and a popular person, or whether I was going to have the Holy Spirit.

In the same article, it says, “Instead of indulging in jesting and joking, suppose you begin to exalt Jesus, talking of his wonderful charms.” Ibid. Oh friends, that is what we need in our homes. That is what we need in our churches. We need to be exalting Jesus and talking of His wonderful charms, the unsearchable riches of Christ.

The Way Jesus Spoke

One of the main facets of the unsearchable riches of Christ is the way that He spoke. When the people that were sent to arrest Jesus returned without Him, the rulers and the Pharisees asked, “Why did you not bring Him?” They said, “Never a man spoke like this Man.” (John 7:45, 46.)

Friends, if we would learn to speak in our homes as did Jesus, the Christian religion would have an irresistible power, a charm over our children. They would go out from home, telling whomever they meet that the Christian religion is true. They would know it is true, because they have seen the image of Christ demonstrated by their father or their mother. The way we speak at home can mean the salvation of our children. It could be one of the most powerful Christian influences on our children, if we learn to speak to each other in our homes like Christ spoke. You know the children are listening to the way that we as parents speak to each other.

“If you had good home religion, you would be a bright and shining light, and represent Christ to a lost world.” Review and Herald, April 21, 1891.

“In the parable of the virgins, five were found wise, and five foolish. Can it be possible that half of us will be found without the oil of grace in our lamps?” Ibid. The apostle Paul said that our speech is always to be with grace. (Colossians 4:6.) “Shall we come to the marriage feast too late? We have slept too long; shall we sleep on, and be lost at last? Are there those here who have been sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, and will they continue to do so till Christ shall come?” Ibid.

Mothers’ Words

Ellen White had some special words of counsel to speak to mothers concerning their words. These are some of the most beautiful statements in all of the Spirit of Prophecy, in my opinion, in relation to speech.

She says, “It is the heart that needs culture; for it is with the heart-life that women have to do. . . . The precious, finer feelings are to be carefully nourished that they may bloom into actions of goodness, truth, and holiness. . . . The words that are spoken by a mother should be choice words.” The Signs of the Times, March 23, 1891. God will give you the power to do it. He will give you the grace to do it.

“The mother should keep herself under perfect control, doing nothing that will arouse in the child a spirit of defiance. She is to give no loud-voiced commands. She will gain much by keeping the voice low and gentle. . . . If she is a wise Christian, she will not attempt to force the child to submit. She prays earnestly, and as she prays, she is conscious of a renewal of spiritual power. She sees that the same power that is working in her is working also in the child. He becomes more gentle, more submissive. The battle is won.” Ibid., April 1, 1903.

Our Child’s Faults

We are not to mention our children’s faults in the presence of others. “Remember that your child has rights which should be respected. Be very careful never to bring against him an unjust charge. Never punish him [now read this carefully] without giving him an opportunity to explain. Listen patiently to his troubles and perplexities. Never tell others in his hearing of his faults, or his clever sayings or doings. Even in the presence of his brothers and sisters these things should not be spoken of.” Ibid., April 23, 1902.

She goes on to say, “By speaking of his bright words and acts, you encourage self-confidence. By speaking of his faults, you humiliate him without softening him. Hatred springs up in his heart against your course, which he regards as cruel and unjust.” Ibid.

Heaven Talk

Friends, the things we have been studying are the way in which people talk in heaven. They do not speak any unpleasant words there. There are no loud, angry-voiced commands there, no angry, passionate words. They do not utter any unpleasant words there. In fact, a statement from Upward Look, 163, says, “No unpleasant words are spoken in heaven. There no unkind thoughts are cherished. There envy, evil surmising, hatred, and strife find no place.” We are to learn here how to speak, so we will be able to go to heaven. We are to learn it here, and the place we learn it, friends, is in our homes.

Confession

When I was a boy, I thought that everybody in the Adventist Church understood this, but I have had cause to wonder. The apostle James says, “He that does not offend in word is a perfect man.” James 3:2.

I do not know about you, but I have had to go to many people a number of times in my life and confess that what I had said was either not so or not right. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.

Friends, the Lord wants to cleanse us from our improper speech. He wants to cleanse us from all the things that we have said in the past to our wives or our husbands or our children that have been wrong. But He cannot do it if we do not confess. This is so simple and basic; I was a minister for a number of years before I realized that there were many Christians who did not understand this.

Confession of sin is not just kneeling down by your bed at night and saying, “Lord, I confess my sins.” That is not proper confession; it is not wrong, but Ellen White states, in the chapter “Confession,” in Steps to Christ, that true confession is specific. Friends, if the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart right now and telling you that you have something to confess to someone about words you have spoken, I want to appeal to you to not forget it. Write it down right now. Do not let the day go by—maybe you need to write a letter or make a long-distance telephone call.

If we want to reform our speech, one of the first steps is to confess what we have spoken that has injured or damaged someone else or is untrue or is unkind. That is a first step in procuring the kind of speech we desire in our homes.

Maybe you need to confess something to your children. Your child will never turn away from the Christian religion because you decided to confess your sins, because you decided to say to him or her, “I am sorry I said or did this to you and I want you to forgive me.” Your child will not turn away from the Christian religion when you do that.

Unless we confess our sins, the Holy Spirit cannot come into our lives and give us the power that we need to change. “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes [them] will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. That is talking about eternal prosperity, not just temporal prosperity.

Friends, I stand myself in very great need of mercy, do you? I know that if I am going to receive the mercy of God in my life, I must confess, and then I must forsake. Do you want that experience? Decide right now you are not going to let the day go by before making whatever confession to whomever you need to make it. It may take you more than one day.

When I first became convicted on this subject, it was as a result of a sermon I listened to by a retired Adventist minister who said that when he became a Christian, he had to write 726 letters of confession. I hope that you do not have to write that many, but I would write however many letters I need to write or call however many people I need to call, to have a clear conscience.

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

Pastor Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Surrender, Part I

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We need to look at our sin problem and ourselves from a new perspective. When it comes to righteousness, we are nothing but in the way! And yet, we are to seek for it: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. We are told to seek for God’s righteousness, but in reality, it is He who seeks us, and we respond to His seeking, as we are told in Romans 3:11: “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

Verse 12 continues, “They are all gone out of the way . . . .” We have all gone out of the way to ignore God and His authority. We want our own authority; we want to do our own thing. The fact is that we, like Eve, want to be our own gods. Oh, we want God to feed us, clothe us, protect us, and take care of us, but we do not want Him to tell us what to do, unless what He tells us is in agreement with what we think or with what we want to do.

Deep down inside, we desire to be our own gods, to call our own shots, to do our own thing, to have our own kingdoms.

The word kingdom comes from two words—king and dominion. A kingdom is a place where one king has total and complete control and authority. We want to have our own kingdoms. We want to be our own authority.

The temptation to be our own god appeals to the unfallen as well as the fallen. When it appealed to Eve, she was in an unfallen state. Before her, it appealed to an unfallen angel, the highest of all the angels, the one closest to the throne of God. A desire arose in Lucifer’s heart to have his own authority, to call his own shots, to be his own king, his own god.

Problem of Pride

Isaiah 14:12–15 gives the reason for Lucifer’s fall: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Lucifer wanted his freedom. He did not want to be under God’s authority. He wanted to establish his own authority.

Pride was the problem. Pride turned an angel into the devil. Ellen White wrote: “There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 154. “Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18.

Pride is an overly high opinion of one’s self, and it leads to rebellion. We need to ask ourselves, How are we doing with pride? Pride is a very dangerous sin—the most dangerous and incurable, we are told. We do not have to have a fallen nature for it to arise, and the reason this is important to us is because it can happen after we have been converted. This is why conversion is not a one time event. It is a daily, moment-by-moment experience.

Satan Spreads the Misery

Lucifer, or Satan, sold his idea to a third of the angels, and they were all cast out of the kingdom of God to this earth, where Satan went about setting up his kingdom. He well knew the power of pride, since he had already fallen for it, so that is the tool he used. He went to the ones who had been created in the very image of God, who, if they had stayed on track, would have become more and more like God throughout eternity. He convinced them that if they would come out from under God’s authority, and develop their own authority, they would become like God.

The bottom line of the lie he told them was, “Come out from under God’s authority, and you will gain status, you will gain knowledge, you will gain authority, you will gain freedom.” As one preacher has said, “As long as a train stays on those twin ribbons of steel, it has a lot more freedom than what we call a ‘free train.’ When a train jumps the tracks and takes off across the meadow, it is free all right, but it is only free to crash.”

The enticement was, “Adam and Eve, come out from under God’s authority and get your own authority.” But the truth was that they already had authority. We are told in Genesis 1 that they were given dominion—in other words, authority and jurisdiction—over the whole world, over the fish, the fowls, and the beasts of the field. Psalm 115:16 says, “The heaven, [even] the heavens, [are] the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men,” and in Psalm 8:4–6, we read, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet.”

Through trickery, though, Satan deceptively snatched that dominion away from them. Adam and Eve had been given authority, as mentioned previously, over all things on earth, and if they had exercised their authority, they probably could have ordered the serpent out of the garden. Adam had been placed in the garden to keep it, to protect it. It was in his possession. He was to take care of it; he was to guard it, but instead, he lost it and the whole world with it to the devil.

How Could This Happen?

How could this happen? First, in spite of being warned to the contrary, Adam allowed Eve to wander away from his side. “The angels had cautioned Eve to beware of separating herself from her husband while occupied in their daily labor in the garden; with him she would be in less danger from temptation than if she were alone.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 53. Alone, Eve became deceived, and then she became Satan’s evangelist. Adam was her first convert. As a result of their actions, they both entered into slavery.

Romans 6:16 says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” The Greek word doulos, which is here translated servant, properly signifies slave. So Adam and Eve became slaves to Satan, and the slave owner owns what the slave owns. This is how Satan gained Adam and Eve’s possessions, how he took this world under his dominion.

Adam and Eve yielded their dominion and their authority, and this is why, when Christ came 4,000 years later, Satan could offer the world to Him. “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” Luke 4:5, 6. The Greek word exousia, translated power, means “authority or jursdiction.”

As long as Adam and Eve were under God’s authority, they had power or authority. As soon as they tried to get more authority, by coming out from under God’s authority, they lost all authority, even over their own wills.

Rebellion of Sin

Every single sin, no matter how big or how little we think it is, is rebellion against God’s authority. This is the underlying issue. Sinning says, “I want to be my own god.” As it says in the parable in Luke 19:14, “We will not have this [man] to reign over us.” This is what we are saying when we sin. We are telling God, “I want to be my own king, and I want my own kingdom. I do not want You to be King over me.” We certainly would not say those words to Him directly, but our actions are actually saying it. Do you see why there is no such thing as a little sin?

“He who willfully breaks one commandment, does not, in spirit and truth, keep any of them. ‘Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.’ James 2:10.

“It is not the greatness of the act of disobedience that constitutes sin, but the fact of variance from God’s expressed will in the least particular; for this shows that there is yet communion between the soul and sin. The heart is divided in its service. There is a virtual denial of God, a rebellion against the laws of His government.” Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, 51.

For what many would consider one little sin, Adam and Eve lost their noble place of authority and joy and communion with God, and they were placed in the position of bondage and fear and servitude to a new master.

Either/Or

A man had legally lost the world’s dominion, and it had to be legally reclaimed by a man. The second Adam had to come and redeem what the first Adam lost. The whole history of humanity boils down to those two men. We are either in Adam or we are in Christ. We are either in the flesh or we are in the Spirit. If we choose to be in Christ, then we can experience Christ’s victory. If we choose to stay in Adam, then we stay in Adam’s bondage.

The question is, How do we make the switch? We are all born into Adam. We have all inherited his nature, and his tendency to rebellion. The only way out is to be reborn into Christ.

We read, in 1 John 5:4, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.” When we are born again, we are born to win.

Christ Conquered

Christ defeated Satan when He was in the wilderness of temptation, on the same ground, with the same test on which Adam fell. How did Christ win the victory? He did not do it by pulling rank. He did not do it by using power that He brought with Him from heaven. He did not do it by being God. He did it by being a man, totally and completely dependent upon and surrendered to God. His weapons were the Spirit of God and the Word of God. With these weapons, He conquered. Adam could have done this. We can do the same thing.

Because of Christ’s victory, authority again changed hands. Christ’s followers no longer have to remain in bondage to the world, to the flesh, and to the devil. The sad part is that most people do not know this. Many Christians do not realize this. Most have probably heard it or read it, but they either do not believe it, because the news seems too good to be true, or, like many throughout history, they believe the truth that we can be free, but they do not know the truth about how to be free. They do not have a clue.

People do not know how to be victorious because they do not learn from God. God tells us how, but a majority of people has been trying a failed plan. This faulty plan did not work the first time somebody tried it, and it will not work today, but many of us keep trying it anyway.

You know, the definition of insanity is to keep trying the same thing over and over, expecting different results. We have been in this state of insanity for about 6,000 years, and God wants us to come out of it. He has tried desperately to teach us another way.

In 1888, God tried to teach the way, but it apparently appeared to be too simple and too humbling to self, so that way has been repeatedly rejected. It is still the only way. Whether we accept it or reject it, it is still the only way. We need to look at the way; we need to humble ourselves to receive it. God wants us to come back under His plan and under His authority. He wants us to take back some of the lost dominion. We would not get it all back right now; we would not have dominion over the animals, for example, but we could have dominion over the flesh and the devil, in the area of temptation. This is what we need. We can have victory!

Not Over Until Under

One thing is certain. We will never be over the things that God wants under us until we get under the things that God sets over us. We must learn to submit to Him. Do you know that there is a large number of Christians who are very committed to the truth and the cause of God, but they are not submitted to the God of the truth and the cause?

Romans 8:37 tells us that we can be more than conquerors through Christ.

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17. So, by one man’s offence—Adam’s—death reigned, but if we are no longer in Adam but in Christ, then we reign over the world, the flesh, and the devil. But we will never be over until we are under.

A Biblical Example

The centurion understood this concept very well. In Matthew 8:5–10 is the story of a centurion who came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant. Jesus said, “Yes, I will come and do it.”

But the centurion said, “No, You do not need to come to my place of dwelling. Just speak the word only, and my servant will be healed.” And the centurion began to explain to Jesus, “I know how this works, because I am a man under authority.” The centurion understood. “The only reason I have authority over 100 Roman soldiers is because I am under the authority of the Roman Government.” And he understood that Christ had authority over evil and sickness and death because He was under the authority of His Father. He was over because He was under.

Not of Ourselves

In John 5:30, Jesus makes this very clear: “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

Jesus sent out 70 disciples as lambs among wolves. Their experience is recorded in Luke 10:17: “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” How could they have that kind of power? Verse 16 says, “He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.”

Do you see the chain of command? There is the Father over Jesus and Jesus over the 70, and the 70 over the devil. It is an authority thing.

Verse 18 says, “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Well, He not only beheld it, but He was the One who cast him out. In verse 19, it says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” The first power in this text is translated from the Greek word exousia meaning “authority.” The second power is translated from dunamis, which is actually referring to “strength.” In other words, “Behold, I give unto you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the strength of the enemy [Satan].”

Authority vs. Power

Authority is a lot better than power. You can have power and have no authority, but when you have authority, you have more than power. You know, when a little skinny police officer holds up his hand and blows his whistle in front of an eighteen-wheeler truck and that eighteen-wheeler comes to a stop, is it because of that little policeman’s power to stop it? No, it could have just run right over him. It is all about authority. The policeman represents authority, and that is why the truck stops. He is under, so he is over.

The devil has power, but he has no authority. Apostasy has no authority, except what men will allow it to have. You may usurp some authority on your own, and people who do not know any better may submit to it, but it will not last long. Someday your little kingdom will come down around you. To have real authority, you must be under real authority.

The devil recognizes whether or not you have authority. He is not fooled. Acts 19:13–16 says, “Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

These exorcists were fortunate. The name of Jesus is not a magical charm, and if we are not surrendered to Jesus, the devil knows it. I say that these exorcists were fortunate because he let them know right away that they did not have any authority. We may not like the way they found out, but it is a good thing that they did find out right then and there. Most of the time the devil is smarter than that, and he does not let us know right away. He plays games with us, and we could end up like the group in Matthew 7:21–23 that comes to the end of time and says, “Lord, Lord, look at all these things we did in Your name. We prophesied; we even cast out devils,” but Christ says, “I never knew you.” It was not Christ who helped them cast out the devils. Who helped them cast out the devils? It was the devil; he was playing a game with them. They did not have any authority over him, but he did not let them know that.

Committed but not Submitted

There are very many who are committed, but they are not submitted. They are committed to the truth, but they are not submitted to God. They are not surrendered. The foolish virgins of Matthew 25 are an example.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish. They that [were] foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.” Verses 1–8.

You know the rest of the story. The door was shut. The five foolish virgins did not make it inside. All ten were virgins—symbolic of a pure religion and a pure doctrine—and they carried lamps.

“Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105. They had the Word of God, and they were not scoffers. They were waiting for the bridegroom to come. Was sleeping the problem? No, all ten slept, both the wise and the foolish, so that was not the problem.

“The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. They have a regard for the truth, they have advocated the truth, they are attracted to those who believe the truth; but they have not yielded themselves [they are never surrendered; they have never submitted] to the Holy Spirit’s working. They have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, and permitted their old nature to be broken up. This class are represented also by the stony-ground hearers. They receive the word with readiness, but they fail of assimilating its principles. Its influence is not abiding. The Spirit works upon man’s heart, according to his desire and consent implanting in him a new nature; but the class represented by the foolish virgins have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 411.

Surrender

So, commitment without surrender can be very dangerous. In fact, it can be downright scary. The word commitment really did not come into large usage among English-speaking Christians until the 1960s. Whenever a word gains popularity, it usually pushes out another word, and in the 1960s, the word commitment pushed out the word surrender. Christians used to talk about being surrendered; now we talk about being committed.

Dangers

As a Bible worker, I am becoming concerned about this, because at the end of a Bible study, I always want a commitment, but I am starting to rethink this. We need to get people to surrender; commitment is not enough. If they have commitment without surrender, we well know the results. We see people come into truth and then fall away.

In 1 Corinthians 13:3, it talks about a people that are so committed to the truth and the cause of God that they are willing to become martyrs for Him. It says that they are willing to give their bodies to be burned. That is commitment! Yet, they are still not saved.

Others become committed but not surrendered, and, eventually, they become discouraged, because they see they are not progressing. If they are honest with themselves, they know that their hearts have not changed; they are still rotten inside; they are just going through the outward motions. They are putting on a show. They usually end up becoming liberal, or what we call antinomians, and they come up with new theologies such as, we do not have to keep God’s Law, because we cannot keep it.

So, you see that commitment without surrender is very dangerous. Commitment without surrender can make us very sincere, legalistic, Pharisaical zealots, but it will never change our hearts. There is no joy in that kind of religion. It may puff up the flesh, but it will never make us Christlike Christians.

Many people are fighting a very worthy battle, but they are fighting it at the wrong time, with the wrong tools, and in the wrong way. When we fight the battle without first surrendering, then we are doing all those things. We can fight all we want, for all we are worth, but we are still going to lose. So why are we so reluctant to surrender?

Hardest Thing To Do

Surrendering seems to be the hardest thing in the world to do. One reason is fear. We are afraid of what God is going to do with us and what He is going to ask of us, if we fully surrender. That just shows that we really do not know Him. To know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to trust Him. To trust Him is to obey Him. To obey Him is to be blessed by Him. The key is knowing Him. What is He like? What is His character like? How does He think and feel?

We will never know the answers to these questions if we are not spending time with Him each day. If we are not doing this, then we do not stand a chance. But as we spend time with Him each day, getting to know Him and to trust Him, a safe environment will develop in which to surrender.

To be continued . . .

Steve Currey is a Bible worker for Steps to Life. He may be contacted by e-mail at: stevecurrey@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.