Bible Study Guides – “God Who Created All Things By Jesus Christ”

June 26, 1999 – July 2, 1999

MEMORY VERSE: “Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” Isaiah 42:5–6.

STUDY HELP: Testimonies, vol. 8, 258–264.

Introduction

“The Bible is the most comprehensive and the most instructive history which men possess. It came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth, and a divine hand has preserved its purity through all the ages. Its bright rays shine into the far distant past, where human research seeks vainly to penetrate. In God’s word alone we find an authentic account of creation. Here we behold the power that laid the foundation of the earth and that stretched out the heavens.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 25.

“All Things Were Made by Him”

  1. Who is revealed by the Bible to be the Creator of all things? John 1:1–3, Colossians 1:14–17.

NOTE: “All eyes should turn to our Redeemer, all characters should become like His. He is the model to copy, if we would have well-balanced minds and symmetrical characters. His life was as the garden of the Lord, in which grew every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. While embracing in His soul every lovely trait of character, His sensibility, courtesy, and love brought Him into close sympathy with humanity. He was the Creator of all things, sustaining worlds by His infinite power. Angels were ready to do Him homage and to obey His will. Yet He could listen to the prattle of the infant and accept its lisping praise. He took little children in His arms and pressed them to His great heart of love. They felt perfectly at home in His presence and reluctant to leave His arms. He did not look upon the disappointments and woes of the race as a mere trifle, but His heart was ever touched by the sufferings of those He came to save.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 421.

  1. How should the fact that Christ is our Creator affect our relationship to Him? Isaiah 42:5–6.

NOTE: “We are accepted in the Beloved. Christ has pledged Himself to keep us. Then commit the keeping of your souls to Him, as unto a faithful Creator. Repeat the words aloud, ‘I will commit the keeping of my soul to Him.’” General Conference Bulletin, April 4, 1901.

“The Lord Thy God is One Lord”

  1. How definitely does the Bible state that there is only one God? Deuteronomy 6:4, Exodus 20:1–3, Malachi 2:10 first part, Mark 12:29, 32.

NOTE: “It is our privilege to know God experimentally, and in true knowledge of God is life eternal. The only begotten Son of God was God’s gift to the world, in whose character was revealed the character of Him who gave the law to men and angels. He came to proclaim the fact, ‘The Lord our God is one Lord,’ and Him only shalt thou serve.” Review and Herald, March 9, 1897.

  1. How did Jesus re-emphasize the unity that exists between the Father and the Son? John 10:30–33.

NOTE: “From all eternity Christ was united with the Father, and when He took upon Himself human nature, He was still one with God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 228.

“Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed for evermore.” Review and Herald, April 5, 1906.

“The Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”

  1. How does the Bible emphasize both the unity and the distinct-ness of the Godhead? Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Peter 1:2.

NOTE: “Let us remember that the coming of the Lord is nearer than when we first believed. What a wonderful thought it is that the great controversy is nearing its end. In the great closing work we shall meet with perplexities that we know not how to deal with, but let us not forget that the three great Powers of heaven are working, that a Divine Hand is on the wheel, and that God will bring His purposes to pass. He will gather from the world a people who will serve Him in righteousness.” Manuscript Releases vol. 21, 152.

“The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three holy dignitaries of heaven, have declared that they will strengthen men to overcome the powers of darkness. All the facilities of heaven are pledged to those who by their baptismal vows have entered into a covenant with God.” (MS 92, 1901).

  1. How does the Bible reveal the involvement of the Three Great Powers of Heaven in the work of creation? Genesis 1:26, Hebrews 1:1–2, Genesis 1:2.

NOTE: “During a portion of the day, all should have an opportunity to be out of doors. How can children receive a more correct knowledge of God, and their minds be better impressed, than in spending a portion of their time out of doors, not in play, but in company with their parents? Let their young minds be associated with God in the beautiful scenery of nature, let their attention be called to the tokens of His love to man in His created works, and they will be attracted and interested. They will not be in danger of associating the character of God with everything that is stern and severe; but as they view the beautiful things which He has created for the happiness of man, they will be led to regard Him as a tender, loving Father.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 583.

  1. How are we shown that the Three Great Powers of Heaven contribute to our salvation? John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:26, 34.

NOTE: “Keep yourselves where the three great Powers of heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, can be your efficiency. These powers work with the one who gives himself unreservedly to God. The strength of heaven is at the command of God’s believing ones. The man who makes God his trust is barricaded by an impregnable wall.” In Heavenly Places, 176.

“Alpha and Omega”

  1. Does the Bible show that Christ not only created the world but continues to sustain it? Hebrews 1:3.

NOTE: “As regards this world, God’s work of creation is completed. For ‘the works were finished from the foundation of the world.’[Hebrews 4:3.] But His energy is still exerted in upholding the objects of His creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set in motion continues to act by its own inherent energy, that the pulse beats, and breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of the heart is an evidence of the all-pervading care of Him in whom ‘we live, and move, and have our being.’[Acts 17:28.] It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces her bounties, and continues her motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the planets, and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. He ‘bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.’ [Isaiah 40:26.] It is through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear, and the flowers bloom. He ‘maketh grass to grow upon the mountains,’ and by Him the valleys are made fruitful. All the beasts of the field seek their meat from God, [Psalm 147:8; 104:20, 21.] and every living creature, from the smallest insect up to man, is daily dependent upon His providential care. In the beautiful words of the psalmist, ‘These wait all upon Thee. . . . That Thou givest them they gather; Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.’ [Psalm 104:27, 28.] His word controls the elements; He covers the heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth. ‘He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.’ ‘When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures.’ [Psalm 147:16; Jeremiah 10:13.]” Christian Education, 196.

  1. How does Paul further express the thought that everything owes its continued existence to Christ? Colossians 1:17.

NOTE: “To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body. The water we drink is bought by His spilled blood. Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by
the body and the blood of Christ. The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. It is reflected in every water spring. All this Christ has taught in appointing the emblems of His great sacrifice. The light shining from that Communion service in the upper chamber makes sacred the provisions for our daily life. The family board becomes as the table of the Lord, and every meal a sacrament.” Desire of Ages, 660.

  1. How are we shown that God will one day perform another work of creation? Isaiah 65:17, 66:22–23.

NOTE: “There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.” Great Controversy, 676.

“By the Same Word”

  1. How does Peter link the creative power of God’s Word with the end of the world? 2 Peter 3:5–7.

NOTE: “In Noah’s day philosophers declared that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by water; so now there are men of science who endeavour to show that the world cannot be destroyed by fire, that this would be inconsistent with the laws of nature. But the God of nature, the Maker and Controller of her laws, can use the works of His hands to serve His own purpose.

“When great and wise men had proved to their satisfaction that it was impossible for the world to be destroyed by water, when the fears of the people were quieted, when all regarded Noah’s prophecy as a delusion, and looked upon him as a fanatic, then it was that God’s time had come. ‘The fountains of the great deep’ were ‘broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened,’ and the scoffers were overwhelmed in the waters of the Flood. With all their boasted philosophy, men found too late that their wisdom was foolishness, that the Lawgiver is greater than the laws of nature, and that Omnipotence is at no loss for means to accomplish His purposes. ‘As it was in the days of Noah,’ ‘even thus shall it be in the days when the Son of man is revealed.’ Luke 17:26, 30.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 103.

  1. How did Paul show that in the last days even Christians will abandon the teachings of God’s Word? 2 Timothy 4:4–5.

NOTE: “But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority, not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support.’” Great Controversy, 595.

“Every warning for this time must be faithfully delivered; but ‘the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.’ We must cherish carefully the words of our God lest we be contaminated by the deceptive workings of those who have left the faith. We are to resist their spirit and influence with the same weapon our Master used when assailed by the prince of darkness, ‘It is written.’ We should learn to use the word of God skilfully. The exhortation is, ‘Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.’ There must be diligent work and earnest prayer and faith to meet the winding error of false teachers and seducers; for ‘in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ These words portray the character of the men the servants of God will have to meet. ‘False accusers,’ ‘despisers of those that are good,’ will attack those who are faithful to their God in this degenerate age. But the ambassador of Heaven must manifest the spirit that was displayed in the Master. In humility and love he must labour for the salvation of men.” Review and Herald, January 10, 1888.

The Heavenly Trio

That doctrine that denies the absolute Godhead of Jesus Christ, denies also the Godhead of the Father.” Signs of the Times, June 27, 1895.

The Father and the Son

How long has Christ existed?

“If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity. God over all, blessed forevermore.

“The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God. ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way,’ He declares, ‘before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth; while as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth.’ Proverbs 8:22–27.” Review and Herald, April 5, 1906.

Was Christ ever created or did He receive His divine power from any other source?

“In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath the Son hath life.’ The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life.” Evangelism, 616.

“ ‘In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.’ It is not physical life that is here specified, but immortality, the life which is exclusively the property of God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. Physical life is something which each individual receives. It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the Life-giver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life. But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life from Him. ‘I lay it down of myself,’ He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ.” Maranatha, 302.

Does Christ have a “lower position” in the Godhead than does God the Father?

“The Father can not be described by the things of earth. The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight. The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. The word of God declares Him to be ‘the express image of His person.’ Here is shown the personality of the Father.” Bible Training School, March 13, 1906.

Is Christ equal in power and authority with God the Father?

“Christ left His position in the heavenly courts, and came to this earth to live the life of human beings. This sacrifice He made in order to show that Satan’s charge against God is false—that it is possible for man to obey the laws of God’s kingdom. Equal with the Father, honored and adored by the angels, in our behalf Christ humbled Himself, and came to this earth to live a life of lowliness and poverty—to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1129.

“In contemplating the incarnation of Christ in humanity, we stand baffled before an unfathomable mystery, that the human mind cannot comprehend. The more we reflect upon it, the more amazing does it appear. How wide is the contrast between the divinity of Christ and the helpless infant in Bethlehem’s manger! How can we span the distance between the mighty God and a helpless child? And yet the Creator of worlds, He in whom was the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless babe in the manger. Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one. It is in this union that we find the hope of our fallen race. Looking upon Christ in humanity, we look upon God, and see in Him the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1130.

“Satan was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ. Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge His supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, Satan bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred. Christ had been taken into the special counsel of God in regard to His plans, while Satan was unacquainted with them. He did not understand, neither was he permitted to know, the purposes of God. But Christ was acknowledged sovereign of Heaven, His power and authority to be the same as that of God Himself.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 18.

Did Christ cease to be God when He took on the form of humanity?

“But although Christ’s divine glory was for a time veiled and eclipsed by His assuming humanity, yet He did not cease to be God when He became man. The human did not take the place of the divine, nor the divine of the human. This is the mystery of godliness.” SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1129.

“This wonderful problem—how God could be just, and yet the justifier of sinners—is beyond human ken. As we attempt to fathom it, it broadens and deepens beyond our comprehension. When we look with the eye of faith upon the cross of Calvary, and see our sins laid upon the victim hanging in weakness and ignominy there,—when we grasp the fact that this is God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,—we are led to exclaim, ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us!’ Christ could at any moment have called legions of angels to His side; He could have swept every sinner from the face of the earth, and created new beings by His power; but God so loved the world, degraded as it was by sin, that ‘He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 11, 1897.

Is it possible for us to fully comprehend the mystery of the union of divinity and humanity in Christ?

“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.” Signs of the Times, June 17, 1897.

“Science is too limited to comprehend the atonement; the mysterious and wonderful plan of redemption is so far-reaching that philosophy can not explain it; it will ever remain a mystery that the most profound reason can not fathom. If it could be explained by finite wisdom, it would lose its sacredness and dignity. It is a mystery that One equal with the eternal Father should so abase Himself as to suffer the cruel death of the cross to ransom man; and it is a mystery that God so loved the world as to permit His son to make this great sacrifice.” The Signs of the Times, October 24, 1906.

Is God the Father a person like the Son?

“I have often seen the lovely Jesus, that He is a person. I asked him if His Father was a person, and had a form like Himself. Said Jesus, ‘I am in the express image of My Father’s Person.’ I have often seen that the spiritual view took away the glory of heaven, and that in many minds the throne of David and the lovely person of Jesus had been burned up in the fire of spiritualism.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 74.

“Our ministers must be very careful not to enter into controversy in regard to the personality of God. This is a subject that they are not to touch. It is a mystery, and the enemy will surely lead astray those who enter into it. We know that Christ came in person to reveal God to the world. God is a person and Christ is a person. Christ is spoken of in the Word as ‘the brightness of His Father’s glory, and the express image of His person.’ ” Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 343.

God The Holy Spirit

How many members are there in the Godhead?

“The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Savior. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.” Evangelism, 615. [Emphasis Supplied]

Does the Holy Spirit also have the fullness of divine power?

“The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power.

It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer.” The Desire of Ages, 671.

Is the Holy Spirit God?

“The Holy Spirit indites all genuine prayer. I have learned to know that in all my intercessions the Spirit intercedes for me and for all saints; but His intercessions are according to the will of God, never contrary to His will. ‘The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities;’ and the Spirit, being God, knoweth the mind of God; therefore in every prayer of ours for the sick, or for other needs, the will of God is to be regarded. ‘For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.’” Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892. [All emphasis supplied.]

Is the Holy Spirit also a divine person?

“The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in the mind of God. ‘For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.’” Evangelism, 617.

“We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds.” Evangelism, 616.

“The Holy Spirit always leads to the written word. The Holy Spirit is a person; for He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. When this witness is borne, it carries with it its own evidence. At such times we believe and are sure that we are the children of God. What strong evidence of the power of truth we can give to believers and unbelievers when we can voice the words of John, ‘We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.’ ” Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 68.

What is the work of the Holy Spirit?

“The Lord knows your desire; by faith keep close to Him, and expect to receive the Holy Spirit. The office of the Holy Spirit is to control all our spiritual exercises. The Father has given His Son for us that through the Son the Holy Spirit might come to us, and lead us unto the Father. Through divine agency, we have the spirit of intercession, whereby we may plead with God, as a man pleadeth with his friend.” Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892.

“Under the Holy Spirit’s working even the weakest, by exercising faith in God, learned to improve their entrusted powers and to become sanctified, refined, and ennobled. As in humility they submitted to the molding influence of the Holy Spirit, they received of the fullness of the Godhead and were fashioned in the likeness of the divine.” The Acts of the Apostles, 49.

“When God’s people search the Scriptures with a desire to know what is truth, Jesus is present in the person of His representative, the Holy Spirit, reviving the hearts of the humble and contrite ones.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 145.

Does the Holy Spirit speak?

“The Holy Spirit must work the man; the man must not endeavor to work the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a servant, but a controlling power. The Holy Spirit causes the truth to shine in every mind, and speaks through every discourse where the minister surrenders himself to its working. The Holy Spirit walks with the soul by the way, and talks with the human agent. It is He who gives the atmosphere that surrounds the soul, and speaks to the impenitent through words of warning.” The Voice in Speech and Song, 285.

What part does the Holy Spirit act when we pray?

“We must not only pray in Christ’s name, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This explains what is meant when it is said that the Spirit ‘maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.’ Romans 8:26. Such prayer God delights to answer. When with earnestness and intensity we breathe a prayer in the name of Christ, there is in that very intensity a pledge from God that He is about to answer our prayer ‘exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.’ Ephesians 3:20.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 147.

Message to Parents

Recently there have been repeatedly given to me messages of warning and instruction to parents, pointing out the need of diligent effort, and of seeking the Lord with close searching of heart and with earnestness of purpose. God desires us as a people to stand in a position where we shall honor Him; and we can do this only as we humble our hearts before God, bringing ourselves and our families into right relation to Him. We are safe only when we stand under the broad shield of Omnipotence. Only there can God work through us to will and to do of His good pleasure, as we work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

The Lord desires to see both the youth and those older brought into a sacred nearness to Himself. Christ is not here in person, as in the days of His earthly ministry, to teach the youth; but it is the privilege of parents and teachers so to represent Christ in word and character that the light of heaven will shine into the hearts of the youth, and many will be converted to Christ.

Parents have a great and important work before them. With an eye single to the glory of God, they must work to fashion the characters of their children after the perfect pattern. Who is this pattern?—It is the Son of God. Christ came to this world as a human being, that He might by His example teach men and women how to bring their lives into conformity to the will of God. He speaks to fathers and mothers, saying, “Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Christ is to be the teacher of those who must train the youth. The law of the Lord is to be their rule of life, for this law is to be written on the hearts of the youth, or they will never obey the truth of God’s word. All the will must be yielded to God; He demands entire obedience. If the youth will learn of Him, Christ will impart to them the knowledge and wisdom needed to serve Him acceptably.

Fathers and mothers, how can I find words to describe your great responsibility! By the character you reveal before your children you are educating them to serve God or to serve self. Then offer to heaven your earnest prayers for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that your hearts may be sanctified, and that the course you pursue may honor God and win your children to Christ. It should give to parents a sense of the solemnity and sacredness of their task, when they realize that by careless speech or action they may lead their children astray.

Parents need the guardianship of God and His Word. If they do not heed the counsels of the Word of God, if they do not make the Bible the man of their counsel, the rule of their life, their children will grow careless and will walk in paths of disobedience and unbelief. Christ lived a life of toil and self-denial, and died a death of shame, that He might give an example of the spirit that should inspire and control His followers. As in their home life parents strive to be Christ-like, heavenly influences will be shed abroad in the lives of their family.

In every Christian home God should be honored by the morning and evening sacrifices of praise and prayer. Every morning and evening earnest prayers should ascend to God for His blessing and guidance. Will the Lord of heaven pass by such homes, and leave no blessing there?—Nay, verily. Angels hear the offering of praise and the prayer of faith, and they bear the petitions to Him who ministers in the sanctuary for His people, and pleads His merits in their behalf. True prayer takes hold upon Omnipotence, and gives men the victory. Upon his knees the Christian obtains strength to resist temptation.

As laborers together with God, parents, you are to carry out His plans for your children. This will call for continual watch-care, unceasing effort; for the enemy of souls is on the alert to lead them astray. So long as you live, your responsibility for them will not end. Your interest in their spiritual welfare must be deep and constant. But by your ministry for them, in cooperation with the Spirit of God, they may be led to see God’s purpose for them, and to accept His will for the disposition of their lives. Who can estimate the value of faithful work in the home? In the midst of difficulties and unceasing care, it is the privilege of parents to look forward to the joys of eternity, and by the eye of faith behold the reward of the faithful.

Until every member of your family is united with you in the faith, do not feel that you can relax your efforts. Through the pleasures and ambitions of the world, the enemy is working to draw the youth into his ranks, and he has much success. As we approach nearer to the close of time, he will invent every possible attraction to draw their minds into worldly channels. At this time we need a pure and undefiled religion. And if parents will make the training of their children their chief work, God will give them increased ability.

God calls us to come out from the world and be separate. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon,” Christ declared. If we are indulging habits that unfit us for a place in the kingdom of heaven, let us in Christ’s strength overcome these habits. By our example of surrender to the will of God, we are to teach our children that if they would inherit eternal life, they must consecrate their lives to Him. If we share the joys of the redeemed in the future life, we must give no place in this life to foolishness and pride and vanity. We are to be overcomers over everything that wars against the principles of the kingdom of God.

We need to seek for a true understanding of how to train our children for the future life. At this time when wickedness is constantly increasing, we cannot afford to be careless or negligent. Our children are God’s property. Shall we let them depart from the paths of righteousness, and make no effort to save them? They have eternal life to win; eternal death to shun; and it is ours to help them to choose the good and resist the evil. When they learn to welcome the spirit of Christ into their hearts, the salvation of God will be seen in their lives.

It is sometimes essential to correct children; when this is necessary, do it in love. Show them that you punish them, not because you like to, but because you fear not to do so, lest they continue to cherish evils in their lives. Parents and children need the softening, subduing influence of the Holy Spirit of God. Often we do more to provoke than to win. Let your methods be of a character that they will create love. Love begets love. Do not scold. This will work counter to the results which God desires to see accomplished. An exhibition of passion on your part will never cure your child’s evil temper. Talk kindly with the children. Pray with them, and teach them how to pray for themselves. They will not forget these experiences, and the blessing of God will rest upon such instruction, leading the hearts of the children to Christ. The Lord wants you to lay hold of eternal things, and to have an experience in Christian development that will be marked by those with whom you associate. It is your privilege to give to the world a representation of the transforming grace of Christ that will cause them to wonder.

When children realize that their parents are trying to help them, they will bend their energies in the right direction. And to the children who have right instruction in the home, the advantages of our schools will be greater than to those who are allowed to grow up without spiritual help at home.

Do not be turned away from your God-given work by the fleeting and unsatisfying pleasures that the world can offer. Parents have no time to spend in parties of pleasure while their children are left to the temptations of the enemy. Say to those who invite you to join them in worldly pleasure, God has given me the work of training my children for eternity. I want them to stand by my side to help me, and I want to help them to accomplish all that they are capable of accomplishing through faith in Christ and His Word. I want to take my children with me to the city of God, to be crowned with immortal life. I want them to sing His praises in the earth made new. I cannot serve the world and accomplish this work.

Do not neglect your children for visitors. Your children should not be left to themselves because company has come to your home. Let your friends understand that your first attention belongs to your children, and that you cannot engage in pleasures that will divert your mind from the interest you should exercise in their behalf. You cannot afford to let any time pass unimproved. You cannot afford to let your children go hither and thither without guardianship or control. The solemn work given to you to do can be neglected only at eternal loss, but the reward for faithful effort is greater than human minds can compute. In winning heaven your children win an inheritance whose value is above that of any earthly possession. Great will be your satisfaction and reward in the future life when you see your children enjoying eternal pleasures, which might have been denied them, had you by the indulgence of self in this life withheld the advantages to be gained by an education in right principles and practice.

Do not spend your time in chatting on the trifling subjects of dress and fashion. Talk of the heavenly dress, the spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness, which all must wear who stand in confidence before the throne of God. Talk to your friends of the truth and the requirements of God’s Word. As you make use of the knowledge you have, God will give you increased light.

We are facing events that closely precede the coming of the Lord. At this time it behooves us to be faithful, to guard well our words and actions. Let us not trifle with eternal realities. Those who would be prepared for the coming of Christ must make diligent work for eternity. They have no time to lose; for the end of all things is at hand. Let heart and mind be sanctified by the truths of the Word. Give evidence that you are preparing for the solemn events of eternity.

Will fathers and mothers work wisely for their children, helping them to form righteous characters? You with your children are to prepare to graduate to the higher grades of the school above. Then educate yourselves daily away from every tendency and practise that would unfit you to pass the test of the great examination day. Let it be seen by those with whom you associate that Christ is your pattern in all things.

Let the instruction you give your children be simple, and be sure that it is clearly understood. The lessons that you learn from the Word you are to present to their young minds so plainly that they will understand. By simple lessons drawn from the Word of God and their own experience you may teach them how to conform their lives to the highest standard. They may learn, even in childhood and youth, to live thoughtful, earnest lives, that will yield a rich harvest of good.

As united rulers of the home kingdom, let the father and the mother show kindness and courtesy to each other. Never should their deportment militate against the precepts they seek to inculcate. Parents, be in earnest in seeking to perfect in your children true wisdom,—the wisdom of righteousness. If you would do this, you must set them an example worthy of imitation. Should you be remiss in this respect, and your children fail in meeting the standard of the Word of God, what will you answer when they stand before the bar of heaven as witness to your neglect? How terrible will be your realization of loss and failure as you face the Judge of all the earth with the fruits of your unfaithfulness before you!

I cannot find words to describe to you the scenes of the judgment. I cannot represent to you how terrible in that day will be the disappointment of those who in this life have chosen to follow their own will instead of the will and way of God. The low standard of the world is not Christ’s standard. The world’s measurement of righteousness is not His measurement. Those only who in their probationary time use their capabilities to honor and glorify God will hear from His lips the benediction and welcome: “Well done, good and faithful servant:…enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

To every father and mother God has given a work in soul-saving that they cannot throw upon others. In this work it is their privilege to draw from the Word of God instruction that will give help in every time of need. For all who make it their life-work to seek for the righteousness of Christ there awaits a welcome to the city of God, where they may join the song of triumph and praise, that the battle of life is over. O that we might as a people appreciate more fully the Word which teaches us the way of this wonderful salvation!

Taken from two Review and Herald articles of the same title, published on February 2, 1912 and February 8, 1912.

The Devil’s Trinities

Before me as I write is a small booklet written by one Margaretha Tierney of Australia dealing with the concept of the “Trinity.” The author has done a commendable job of sifting through the writings of such well-known authorities as Alexander Hislop, Benjamin Wilkinson, and others to establish the fact that virtually all of the pagan religions of the world had the concept of a “Trinity.” This is not new. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have been saying the same thing for many years. Tierney sets forth seven major pagan religions of the world as examples, and quotes her author’s affirmations that there is virtually no exception to the rule that pagan religions had “Trinities.” She then goes a step further and proposes that since all pagan religions come from the devil, it follows that the concept of the “Trinity” came into these pagan religions only from Satan, who originated it.

This does not surprise me, nor does it trouble me. What does astonish me is the fact that virtually all anti-Trinity writers drop their investigations at this point, and act as if they have said all that there is to say on the subject. This is very far from the truth. No treatment of this subject can be considered adequate unless it deals with the vital and critical question, where did the devil get the idea of a Trinity?

Why did he so unfailingly work that idea into all of his false religions?

Why did he never set up a false religion with a godhead of two divine beings, or four, or five, or six?

Why did he stick so religiously to his “false religion blueprint,” that there must always be a godhead of three divine beings in every false religion?

Let us proceed slowly and carefully. In order to achieve the greatest possible degree of simplicity and clarity, let us use a question and answer method.

Question: Where was the devil born?

Answer: The devil was not born, he was created.

Question: Who created the devil?

Answer: God created him.

Question: Did a good God create a bad devil?

Answer: No, God created Lucifer, a perfect angel, and he made himself a devil.

Question: Where did God create Lucifer?

Answer: God created Lucifer in heaven.

Question: What was Lucifer’s position in heaven?

Answer: “Among the inhabitants of heaven, Satan, next to Christ, was at one time most honored of God, and highest in power and glory. Before his fall, Lucifer, “son of the morning,” was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. He stood in the presence of the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God rested upon him.” Signs of the Times, July 23, 1902.

Question: In that position, would it have been possible for Lucifer to know about the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

Answer: It would have been impossible for him not to know about them. He had Daily converse and association with them. He knew them as intimately as it is possible for any created being to know its Creator.

Question: How can we be sure that there was a “Trinity” in heaven and that Lucifer knew about it?

Answer: Because he set up a counterfeit of it in all of his false religions. Satan is a master counterfeiter. God has a Sabbath; Satan has a counterfeit, Sunday. God has baptism: Satan has a counterfeit, sprinkling. God has prophets; Satan has counterfeits, false prophets. God has a gift of tongues; Satan has a counterfeit, gibberish. God has divine healing; Satan has a counterfeit, pretended healing. God has faith; Satan has a counterfeit, presumption. God has divine worship; Satan has a counterfeit, celebration worship. God has conditional immortality for the faithful, Satan as a counterfeit, natural immortality for everybody. God has fire that will destroy the wicked: Satan has a counterfeit, a fire that will never stop burning the wicked. And so on and on. Satan has overlooked nothing. He has counterfeited everything that God is or does!

In view of these unquestionable realities, and in view of his intimate knowledge of the three heavenly persons of the true Godhead, would it not be reasonable for us to suppose that he would fail to counterfeit the heavenly Trinity? And is it not perfectly obvious that he did not fail to do this? Just look at his pagan religions. Do they not all have their trinities?

And there is another point to be considered. Several of Satan’s false religions not only have their trinities; they also have their miraculously born babies. Tierney faithfully copies Hislop’s list of them on page two of her booklet. How did this happen, and what does it mean? Does it prove that the miraculous birth of Jesus is only a pagan myth? Not by any means. It only affords additional proof that Satan counterfeits everything God does. How did Satan know about the miraculous birth of Jesus so long before it happened? Look again at the first promise of a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15.

“I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15.

Visualize the three persons listening intently to these words, Adam, Eve, and Satan. Would not Satan’s first puzzlement be the greatest? Consider the progression of his thoughts. “A child of this woman bruise my head? That is ridiculous! No human being could bruise my head.” Then, “Not even an angel could bruise my head.” Then, “No one but God could bruise my head.” Then, “That is it! If any child descended from this woman is going to bruise my head, that would have to be a child who is part God, a divine-human child! That is the only what that it could happen! I will have to do something about that!”

So that is why some pagan religions not only had a trinity, they also had miraculously born child, a divine-human child, long before Isaiah wrote, “A virgin shall conceive, and bear a child.”

Counterfeits are more effective when they are made in advance. And consider this question: Do counterfeiters put forth likenesses of things that do not exist? Have you ever seen, or heard of, a counterfeit four-dollar bill? Or a six, seven, or eight-dollar bill? Does not the existence of the counterfeit indicate the existence of the genuine? Think it over. Satan may not have anticipated that Christ Himself would come down from His throne to be that divine-human baby, but he surely saw the principle involved.

Now tell me what you would think of me if I did something like this. I come out on the platform to speak and observe a man sitting on the front row, and a lady sitting beside him.

“Sir,” I say to him, “Who is that lady sitting beside you?”

He answers, “She is my wife.”

Then I proceed to talk to him like this: “Do you think I was born yesterday? You must think I am pretty dumb. Well let me tell you something, sir. I am not so dumb. I have been to school and I know how to count. The Bible states clearly that when a man and a woman marry, they become “one.” But you two are certainly not one. You are two. I am not blind. I can count. Do not try to tell me that you are married. You are not one.”

I believe that you would be ready to say, “Larson, you are making a fool of yourself.”

And you would be right. I would be making a fool of myself. Yet how many times we have heard people talk just like that when the subject of the Trinity is brought up. I find it very depressing. We have to face it, folks. Our little heads simply cannot be wrapped around the Godhead. It just is not possible! “Canst thou by searching find out God?” Job 11:7.

“Human talent and human conjecture have tried by searching to find out God. Many have trodden this pathway. The highest intellect may tax itself until it is wearied out, in conjectures regarding God, but the effort will be fruitless; and the fact will remain that man, by searching, cannot find out God. This problem has not been given us to solve.” Loma Linda Messages, 253.

I have seen it tried. I have watched a class of highly educated graduate students spend an entire hour trying to work out a definition of the Godhead that would express clearly both the unity of the Godhead and the individuality of the Godhead. When they were finished they had nothing better to offer than the simple Bible affirmation that there are three divine beings, and that the three are one. This combines unity with individuality in a way that no human mind can explain, but it is the “given” with which we have to do. Like the statement that a husband and wife are one, it is a truth as stated, but not explained. If we were to study the mystery of the Godhead throughout eternity, there would still be mysteries beyond our comprehension. We have been told as much as we need to know. Let us accept that and move on. Let us waste no time in conjectures and speculations about the nature of the Godhead. And let us not forget that the devil had his concept of a trinity from heaven. He did not just manufacture it out of thin air. He did not originate it. He was counterfeiting what he had seen in the courts of glory.

It cannot be denied that our pioneers, who came from different religious backgrounds, took awhile to learn this. They also took awhile to learn the truth about the Sabbath and unclean meats. But God sent light to them through His chosen messenger, Ellen White, which gradually cleared away the darkness. Here is a small sampling of the light that came through her.

Concerning the Three–member Godhead:

“The three powers of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…” Australasian Union Conference Record. October 7, 1907.

“The eternal heavenly dignitaries—God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit…” Manuscript 145, 1901.

“…The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption.” God’s Amazing Grace, 190.

Concerning the divinity of the Holy Spirit:

“…the Spirit being God, knoweth the mind of God.” Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892.

“…the third person of the Godhead,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. November 19, 1908.

“…the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead.” In Heavenly Places, 336.

“…the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.” Evangelism, 617.

On the divinity of Christ:

“The divinity of Christ is our assurance of eternal life.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 11, 1897.

“Another dangerous error, is the doctrine that denies the divinity of Christ, claiming that he had no existence before his advent to this world…If men reject the testimony of the inspired Scriptures concerning the divinity of Christ, it is in vain to argue the point with them; for no argument, however conclusive, could convince them.” The Great Controversy, 524.

“That doctrine that denies the absolute Godhead of Jesus Christ denies also the Godhead of the Father.” Signs of the Times, June 27, 1895.

Is there a ray of light through the confused and confusing theories and arguments that are now besetting the Historic Adventist people? I think there is. When the devil gives a great deal of time and attention to a movement among God’s people, I think that it is pretty clear indication that those people are doing something right.

Courage in the Lord.

Inspiration – Father’s Position and Responsibilities

True Definition of Husband

The home is an institution of God. God designed that the family circle, father, mother, and children, should exist in this world as a firm.

The work of making home happy does not rest upon the mother alone. Fathers have an important part to act. The husband is the house-band of the home treasures, binding by his strong, earnest, devoted affection the members of the household, mother and children, together in the strongest bonds of union.

His name, “house-band,” is the true definition of husband. . . . I saw that but few fathers realize their responsibility.

The Head of the Family Firm

The husband and father is the head of the household. The wife looks to him for love and sympathy and for aid in the training of the children; and this is right. The children are his as well as hers, and he is equally interested in their welfare. The children look to the father for support and guidance; he needs to have a right conception of life and of the influences and associations that should surround his family; above all, he should be controlled by the love and fear of God and by the teaching of His word, that he may guide the feet of his children in the right way. . . .

The father should do his part toward making home happy. Whatever his cares and business perplexities, they should not be permitted to overshadow his family; he should enter his home with smiles and pleasant words.

The Lawmaker and Priest

All members of the family center in the father. He is the lawmaker, illustrating in his own manly bearing the sterner virtues: energy, integrity, honesty, patience, courage, diligence, and practical usefulness. The father is in one sense the priest of the household, laying upon the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice. The wife and children should be encouraged to unite in this offering and also to engage in the song of praise. Morning and evening the father, as priest of the household, should confess to God the sins committed by himself and his children through the day. Those sins which have come to his knowledge and also those which are secret, of which God’s eye alone has taken cognizance, should be confessed. This rule of action, zealously carried out by the father when he is present or by the mother when he is absent, will result in blessings to the family.

The father represents the divine Lawgiver in his family. He is a laborer together with God, carrying out the gracious designs of God and establishing in his children upright principles, enabling them to form pure and virtuous characters, because he has preoccupied the soul with that which will enable his children to render obedience not only to their earthly parent but also to their heavenly Father.

The father must not betray his sacred trust. He must not, on any point, yield up his parental authority.

To Walk With God

The father . . . will bind his children to the throne of God by living faith. Distrusting his own strength, he hangs his helpless soul on Jesus and takes hold of the strength of the Most High. Brethren, pray at home, in your family, night and morning; pray earnestly in your closet; and while engaged in your daily labor, lift up the soul to God in prayer. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. The silent, fervent prayer of the soul will rise like holy incense to the throne of grace and will be as acceptable to God as if offered in the sanctuary. To all who thus seek Him, Christ becomes a present help in time of need. They will be strong in the day of trial.

Maturity of Experience Called For

A father must not be as a child, moved merely by impulse. He is bound to his family by sacred, holy ties.

What his influence will be in the home will be determined by his knowledge of the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. “When I was a child,” Paul says, “I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” The father is to stand at the head of his family, not as an overgrown, undisciplined boy, but as a man with manly character and with his passions controlled. He is to obtain an education in correct morals. His conduct in his home life is to be directed and restrained by the pure principles of the word of God. Then he will grow up to the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus.

Submit the Will to God

To the man who is a husband and a father, I would say, Be sure that a pure, holy atmosphere surrounds your soul. . . . You are to learn daily of Christ. Never, never are you to show a tyrannical spirit in the home. The man who does this is working in partnership with satanic agencies. Bring your will into submission to the will of God. Do all in your power to make the life of your wife pleasant and happy. Take the word of God as the man of your counsel. In the home live out the teachings of the word. Then you will live them out in the church and will take them with you to your place of business. The principles of heaven will ennoble all your transactions. Angels of God will cooperate with you, helping you to reveal Christ to the world.

A Fitting Prayer for a Quick-tempered Husband

Do not allow the vexations of your business to bring darkness into your home life. If, when little things occur that are not exactly as you think they should be, you fail to reveal patience, long forbearance, kindness, and love, you show that you have not chosen as a companion Him who so loved you that He gave His life for you, that you might be one with Him.

In the daily life you will meet with sudden surprises, disappointments, and temptations. What saith the word? “Resist the devil,” by firm reliance upon God, “and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” [James 4:7; Isaiah 27:5.] Look unto Jesus at all times and in all places, offering a silent prayer from a sincere heart that you may know how to do His will. Then when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard for you against the enemy. When you are almost ready to yield, to lose patience and self-control, to be hard and denunciatory, to find fault and accuse—this is the time for you to send to heaven the prayer, “Help me, O God, to resist temptation, to put all bitterness and wrath and evilspeaking out of my heart. Give me Thy meekness, Thy lowliness, Thy long-suffering, and Thy love. Leave me not to dishonor my Redeemer, to misinterpret the words and motives of my wife, my children, and my brethren and sisters in the faith. Help me that I may be kind, pitiful, tenderhearted, forgiving. Help me to be a real house-band in my home and to represent the character of Christ to others.”

Exercise Authority With Humility

It is no evidence of manliness in the husband for him to dwell constantly upon his position as head of the family. It does not increase respect for him to hear him quoting Scripture to sustain his claims to authority. It will not make him more manly to require his wife, the mother of his children, to act upon his plans as if they were infallible. The Lord has constituted the husband the head of the wife to be her protector; he is the house-band of the family, binding the members together, even as Christ is the head of the church and the Saviour of the mystical body. Let every husband who claims to love God carefully study the requirements of God in his position. Christ’s authority is exercised in wisdom, in all kindness and gentleness; so let the husband exercise his power and imitate the great Head of the church.

The Adventist Home, 211–215.

Christ’s Concept of Fatherhood

Our concepts of fatherhood are gained by observation. As we pass from infancy through childhood to maturity, we form our opinions as to what a father is and what a father does, as well as what he does not do, by watching our own fathers. In my childhood, an incident involving my father made a deep and lasting impression upon my mind.

A Father Protects

When I was about ten years old, our family was living on a farm in Oregon, and there were cows to milk each morning and evening. One evening, my sister and I were in the barn milking the cows, somewhat nervously and apprehensively. This was because my older brother was raising a hunting dog, and the dog had been acting strangely for several days. Because this type of dog was known to go mad at times, we were worried.

Then it happened. From the hill behind the barn there came a frenzy of strange, unnatural barking, and it was clearly moving in our direction. We quickly put our milk pails on the floor and scrambled to the top of the stanchions, which held the cows’ heads. These were only six feet high, but it was the best that we could do. There was no place else to go.

We had little more than climbed to our unsteady perches than the dog appeared, wild-eyed and slobbering. He clawed his way through the slightly open door, came to where we were, and started leaping up at us. We could do nothing but call desperately for our father, who had gone to the house on an errand.

Fortunately, our father had heard the frenzied barking, noted where it was coming from, and was already running toward the barn. As he came through the door, without decreasing his speed, he picked up some small object from the floor, and armed with this altogether inadequate weapon, he went straight for the dog. I believe he was ready to grapple with that mad dog with his bare hands, if necessary, in order to protect his children. The dog saw him coming and fled through the back door.

This, to me, was an unforgettable lesson—a father protects his children.

A Father Listens

Now Christ had no earthly father, yet He had some very clear concepts of fatherhood. He must have gained them by watching his stepfather, Joseph. We have very little direct information about Joseph in the Bible, beyond the simple statement that he was a just man (Matthew 1:19). Who was this man, to whom the Creator of the universe entrusted the care of His only-begotten Son? We would like to know more about him. What kind of a father was he? Actually, there is no mystery. As we look at the various statements that Christ made about fathers and fatherhood, we are really looking at Joseph, and we can see that God did well to choose him as a stepfather for His Son.

The gospel of John records over 100 instances where Christ applied the term Father to God. This was far and away His favorite usage. Why? Having grown up in a Hebrew home, He could have used the Hebrew Elohim or Adonay. Since He and most of His listeners spoke Greek, He could have used the Greek, Theos (God) or Kurios (Lord). Apparently these terms did not adequately convey the meaning that He wanted His hearer to understand, so He made the greatest usage of the endearing term, Father. According to Jesus, a father listens.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He instructed them to begin their prayers with the words, “Our Father.” This would be chancy at best, if it were not that the Father is always listening. Jesus knew that if His instruction was followed, there would be prayers ascending to the Father at all hours of the day and night, so His words were equal to a declaration that the Father is always listening.

Jesus also inspired Ellen White to write: “You need not fear an improper hour. His eye never slumbers nor sleeps. He always hears the prayer of the humble suppliant and grants His blessing. He never turns away unblessed those who seek Him with the whole heart.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 319. [Emphasis supplied.]

In addition to that she wrote: “The Father hears every prayer of His contrite children. The voice of supplication from the earth unites with the voice of our Intercessor, who pleads in heaven, whose voice the Father always hears. Let our prayers therefore continually ascend to God. Let them not come up in the name of any human being, but in the name of Him who is our Substitute and Surety.” In Heavenly Places, 79. [Emphasis supplied.]

A Father Provides

Jesus said it like this: “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” Matthew 6:31, 32.

“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11:11–13.

“Christ made an appeal to us concerning the willingness of God to help, arguing from the natural love of the parent to his offspring. What father could turn from his son who asks bread? Should anyone dishonor God by imagining that He will not respond to the call of His children?” Selected Messages, Book 1, 329.

A Father is Merciful

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36.

“Mercy is an attribute that the human agent may share with God. As did Christ, so man may lay hold on the divine arm and be in communication with divine power. To us has been given a service of mercy to perform for our fellow-man. In performing this service, we are laboring together with God. We do well, then, to be merciful, even as our Father in heaven is merciful.” Signs of the Times, May 21, 1902.

A Father Loves

“For the Father himself loveth you . . . .” John 16:27.

“There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ, and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I would say, do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and mistakes; but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God. No, Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Said the beloved John, ‘These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ And do not forget the words of Christ, ‘The Father Himself loveth you.’ John 16:27. He desires to restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness reflected in you. And if you will but yield yourself to Him, He that hath begun a good work in you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ.” The Faith I Live By, 118.

A Father Transmits His Likeness

“He that hath seen me hath seen the Father . . . .” John 14:9.

“In the Bible the will of God is revealed. The truths of the Word of God are the utterances of the Most High. He who makes these truths a part of his life becomes in every sense a new creature. He is not given new mental powers, but the darkness that through ignorance and sin has clouded the understanding is removed. The words, ‘A new heart also will I give you,’ mean, ‘A new mind will I give you.’ A change of heart is always attended by a clear conviction of Christian duty, an understanding of truth. He who gives the Scriptures close, prayerful attention will gain clear comprehension and sound judgment, as if in turning to God he had reached a higher plane of intelligence.” My Life Today, 24.

A Father Draws

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him . . . .” John 6:44.

In our time, unfortunately, there are fathers who are not worthy of the name. Children who grow up in their homes have a very poor concept of fatherhood and have difficulty applying the term “Father” to God. To them, the word has no richness of meaning, no drawing power, because of the poor example of fatherhood they have had.

It is clear that Jesus had no such problem. He grew up in a home where luxuries may have been lacking, but where the excellent fatherhood qualities of His stepfather, Joseph, were constantly before Him. His childhood experiences gave Him a rich treasury of resources on which to draw in setting before us the attributes of the heavenly Father.

A Father Forgives and Restores

Clearly, the climax to all of the teachings of Jesus about the fatherhood of God is in the immortal parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32. No one ever misunderstands this parable. I need only to refer to it and the picture will be formed in your own mind. I do not need to quote it.

I have heard Adlai Esteb, a missionary to China, tell about a trip that he made into Tibet, during which time he had occasion to speak to a group of primitive Tibetan herdsmen. Not knowing what better thing he could do, he read to them, through a translator, the story of the prodigal son as given by Jesus. When he had finished the story, he said he saw tears trickling down the cheeks of these rough Tibetan tribesmen. They understood!

Everybody understands the story of the prodigal son. Jesus planned it that way, and Jesus planned that His representation of the nature and character of God would cause every one of us to say, with the prodigal, I will arise, and go to my Father.

Bible Study Guides – The Supreme Plan

October 6, 2002 – October 12, 2002

MEMORY VERSE: “If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his uprightness: Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.” Job 33:23, 24.

SUGGESTED READING: Patriarchs and Prophets, 52–62; The Story of Redemption, 42–51.

INTRODUCTION: “The Father and the Son engaged in the mighty, wondrous work they had contemplated—of creating the world. The earth came forth from the hand of the Creator exceedingly beautiful. There were mountains and hills and plains; and interspersed among them were rivers and bodies of water. The earth was not one extensive plain, but the monotony of the scenery was broken by hills and mountains, not high and ragged as they now are, but regular and beautiful in shape. The bare, high rocks were never seen upon them, but lay beneath the surface, answering as bones to the earth. The waters were regularly dispersed. The hills, mountains, and very beautiful plains were adorned with plants and flowers and tall, majestic trees of every description, which were many times larger and much more beautiful than trees now are. The air was pure and healthful, and the earth seemed like a noble palace. Angels beheld and rejoiced at the wonderful and beautiful works of God.” The Story of Redemption, 20.

1 How does God the Father address His Son? Hebrews 1:8–10.

NOTE: “Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity. God over all, blessed forevermore.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1126.

2 What distinctive characteristics describe the Son of God? Colossians 2:9.

NOTE: “In Him [Christ] is gathered all the glory of the Father, the fullness of the Godhead. He is the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person. The glory of the attributes of God is expressed in His character. Every page of the Holy Scriptures shines with His light. The righteousness of Christ, as a pure, white pearl, has no defect, no stain. No work of man can improve the great and precious gift of God. It is without a flaw. In Christ are ‘hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’ Colossians 2:3. He is ‘made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.’ 1 Corinthians 1:30. All that can satisfy the needs and longings of the human soul, for this world and for the world to come, is found in Christ. Our Redeemer is the pearl so precious that in comparison all things else may be accounted loss.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 115.

“In the work of creation, Christ was with God. He was one with God, equal with him, the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, the representative of the Father.” Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893.

3 How does Jesus summarize His relationship with God the Father? John 10:30.

NOTE: “He [Jesus] said, . . . I am the Son of God, one with Him in nature, in will, and in purpose. In all His works of creation and providence, I co-operate with God.” The Desire of Ages, 208.

4 During creation, what was considered the crowning act? Genesis 1:26; Psalm 100:3.

NOTE: “Before the fall of Satan, the Father consulted his Son in regard to the formation of man. They purposed to make this world, and create beasts and living things upon it, and to make man in the image of God, to reign as a ruling monarch over every living thing which God should create.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, 36.

“Man was the crowning act of the creation of God, made in the image of God, and designed to be a counterpart of God. . . . Man is very dear to God, because he was formed in His own image.” My Life Today, 126.

5 In view of the recent rebellion in heaven, what did the Father and Son decide to do? Genesis 2:16, 17.

NOTE:: “The Father consulted His Son in regard to at once carrying out their purpose to make man to inhabit the earth. He would place man upon probation to test his loyalty before he could be rendered eternally secure. If he endured the test wherewith God saw fit to prove him, he should eventually be equal with the angels. He was to have the favor of God, and he was to converse with angels, and they with him. He did not see fit to place them beyond the power of disobedience.” The Story of Redemption, 19.

6 What plan was made to redeem man, should he submit to the wiles of Satan? Job 33:24, 26–30.

NOTE:: “The great plan of redemption was laid before the foundation of the world. And Christ, our Substitute and Surety, did not stand alone in the wondrous undertaking of the ransom of man. In the plan to save a lost world, the counsel was between them both; the covenant of peace was between the Father and the Son. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ The Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, would become a servant. The only-begotten Son, in whom the Father delighted, was given for the ransom of a fallen race.” Signs of the Times, December 23, 1897.

7 What makes man different from all other creatures? Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3–9.

NOTE: “Created to be ‘the image and glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 11:7), Adam and Eve had received endowments not unworthy of their high destiny. Graceful and symmetrical in form, regular and beautiful in feature, their countenances glowing with the tint of health and the light of joy and hope, they bore in outward resemblance the likeness of their Maker. Nor was this likeness manifest in the physical nature only. Every faculty of mind and soul reflected the Creator’s glory. Endowed with high mental and spiritual gifts, Adam and Eve were made but ‘little lower than the angels’ (Hebrews 2:7), that they might not only discern the wonders of the visible universe, but comprehend moral responsibilities and obligations.” Education, 20.

8 Describe Adam’s paradisiacal existence in Eden. Genesis 1:31; 2:8, 15.

NOTE: “Adam was surrounded with everything his heart could wish. Every want was supplied. There was no sin, and no signs of decay in glorious Eden. Angels of God conversed freely and lovingly with the holy pair. The happy songsters caroled forth their free, joyous songs of praise to their Creator. The peaceful beasts in happy innocence played about Adam and Eve, obedient to their word. Adam was in the perfection of manhood, the noblest of the Creator’s work.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 268.

9 How and why was Adam’s fidelity tested? Genesis 2:9, 16, 17.

NOTE: “God created man in his own image, after his likeness, free from sin, and with organs well developed. The earth was to be populated with intelligent beings who were only a little lower than the angels. But God would first prove the holy pair, and test their obedience; for he would not have a world filled with beings who would disregard his laws.” Signs of the Times, January 23, 1879.

“Satan was the first rebel in the universe, and ever since his expulsion from heaven he has been seeking to make every member of the human family an apostate from God, even as he is himself. He laid his plans to ruin man, and through the unlawful indulgence of appetite, led him to transgress the commandments of God. He tempted Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit, and so accomplished their fall, and their expulsion from Eden.” Temperance, 273.

10 Knowing the way Adam failed the test, of what should we be aware? Genesis 3:1–13.

NOTE: “God also requires each of us to subdue self, not giving the rein to self-indulgence or appetite, and to form characters that will stand the test of the judgment and go with us into the future life.” Australasian Union Conference Record, January 5, 1914.

“Adam did the worst thing he could do under the circumstances. In doing that which God had expressly forbidden he set his will against the will of God, thus waging war with his requirements. The pen of inspiration has with accuracy traced the history of our first parents’ sin and fall, that all generations may be warned not to follow Adam’s example, in the slightest disregard of God’s requirements. Had the test been in regard to larger matters, men might have excused the sin of disobedience in what they call smaller things. But God made the test with Adam upon things that are least, to show man that the slightest disobedience to his requirements is sin in every sense of the word. God, the Governor of the universe, has made all things subject to law; things apparently insignificant, and things of the greatest magnitude, are all governed by laws adapted to their natures. Nothing that God has made has been forgotten or left to blind chance. To man, as being endowed with reasoning powers and conscience, God’s moral law is given to control his actions. Man is not compelled to obey. He may defy God’s law, as did Adam, and take the fearful consequences; or by living in harmony with that law he may reap the rewards of obedience.” Signs of the Times, January 23, 1879.

11 Why was Jesus willing to give His life for fallen man? John 15:13.

NOTE: “God and Christ knew from the beginning, of the apostasy of Satan and of the fall of Adam through the deceptive power of the apostate. The plan of salvation was designed to redeem the fallen race, to give them another trial. Christ was appointed to the office of Mediator from the creation of God, set up from everlasting to be our substitute and surety.” Review and Herald, April 5, 1906.

“He came from the royal courts of heaven to this world to show how great an interest He had in man, and the infinite price paid for the redemption of man shows that man is of so great value that Christ could sacrifice His riches and honor in the royal courts to lift him from the degradation of sin.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 529.

“Immeasurable love was expressed when One equal with the Father came to pay the price for the souls of men, and bring to them eternal life. Shall those who profess the name of Christ see no attraction in the world’s Redeemer, be indifferent to the possession of truth and righteousness, and turn from the heavenly treasure to the earthly?” Counsels on Stewardship, 226.

12 In what way do angels participate in the plan of redemption? Hebrews 1:14.

NOTE: “The angels prostrated themselves at the feet of their Commander and offered to become a sacrifice for man. But an angel’s life could not pay the debt; only He who created man had power to redeem him. Yet the angels were to have a part to act in the plan of redemption. Christ was to be made ‘a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.’ Hebrews 2:9. As He should take human nature upon Him, His strength would not be equal to theirs, and they were to minister to Him, to strengthen and soothe Him under His sufferings. They were also to be ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who should be heirs of salvation. Hebrews 1:14. They would guard the subjects of grace from the power of evil angels and from the darkness constantly thrown around them by Satan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 64, 65.

13 In the words addressed to the serpent in Eden, what hope did God give to fallen man? Genesis 3:14, 15.

NOTE: “To fallen man was revealed the plan of infinite sacrifice through which salvation was to be provided. Nothing but the death of God’s dear Son could expiate man’s sin, and Adam marveled at the goodness of God in providing such a ransom for the sinner.” Signs of the Times, February 20, 1893.

Children’s Story – The Night Dad Prayed

Back in 1956 we lived way out in the country, and at the time, we didn’t have a car to get around. If we went anywhere, we either had to depend on relatives or neighbors to take us to town, or we would have to walk. We were always very poor. We didn’t have any way to go to and from church, so every once in a while a preacher would come to visit and to minister to all of us, but my dad would go out to the workshop and stay out there until the preacher would leave. Then he would come back to the house.

Well, one day the preacher came to the house, and Dad didn’t have a chance to get away from him like the other times when he had come. The preacher got to minister to him a little bit that day, but Dad still didn’t seem ready to really listen to him yet. All he would say to the preacher would be “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” For years and years that was all he would say whenever someone would try to talk to him about the Lord.

One day a neighbor let my dad use his car to go to town to get some groceries. He didn’t have too much money to buy groceries; course we never had much money, but it was enough to get us by, so he took off early in the afternoon. The rest of the family, along with myself, had finished doing our chores, finished our supper, and it was starting to get dark, but Dad still hadn’t made it home. My mother was starting to get worried, but she wouldn’t let on to the rest of us. Course, we knew something had to be wrong, because Dad had never done anything like that before.

Everyone finally went to bed except for Mother; she sat up and worked on her crocheting—she always had something like that going. I guess it was about three o’clock in the morning when Dad finally got home, carrying all the groceries, which was five full bags. We couldn’t figure out just how he managed to carry all that stuff, but the next day he told all of us the story.

He said he started from town and only went four miles out of town when the car broke down. He didn’t know what to do, so he waited and waited for someone to come by, but to no avail. So he said he got on his knees and prayed to God. Dad said he didn’t know whether God would answer him or not, but he had to try.

While he was praying, he said something was telling him to pick up the bags. He said he didn’t think he would have the strength to be able to carry all the bags, but he picked up all five bags and started out for home. He continued walking until he arrived home. When he arrived home, he said he wasn’t even tired. He also told us that the bags never, ever got too heavy for him to carry, and he did not have to set them down at all. The only way he could have walked the eleven miles home, carrying those full bags of groceries, was with help from God!

From that night on, my dad’s favorite Bible text was Matthew 17:20: “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Be A Man

Surely many of you fathers have watched your young sons put on your shoes and try to walk. They walked clumsily and uncertainly. Were they a man when they did this? Were they a man when they could really wear your shoes? How do you measure a man? Most boys are raised with the idea that someday they will be a man. They are even encouraged to grow up and be a man. But what constitutes the changing of a boy to a man?

When in junior high you may have been considered a man if you had side burns! Certainly if you had a mustache, too, you were really a man!

In high school there were several measures of a man. For instance, when you finally got that long awaited driver’s license and no longer had to walk home or ride the school bus, but were able to drive the family sports car—usually a Ford Fairlane, Chevy Nova or some other exotic brand—you were a man!

How about today? What measures you as a man? Is it money? Is it social status in life? Is it your profession? Is it toughness? Just what measures a man today? The world offers many measures of being a man, none of which are biblical. Let’s look to God’s Word for the measure of a man.

CALLED TO BE A MAN

King David, the greatest king Israel had known, was close to dying. The next King of Israel would be David’s son, Solomon. David, understanding the significance of the matter, called his son to his side and offered him a true measure of a man: “I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whither-soever thou turnest thyself.” 1 Kings 2:2, 3.

There is a point in the life of a boy when he must accept the role of being a man, the filling of a man’s shoes. For Solomon, this was his time. With his father dying, he would be next to step into the shoes of becoming a man. David’s advice was to be strong and walk in the ways of God.

BE STRONG

The world promotes a strong dad as someone whose muscles bulge. In David’s fatherly advice to Solomon, he was saying more than just be a physically strong man. Physical strength alone does not prove one to be a man. David was calling for Solomon to be strong in the Lord, to aquire from the Lord his strength for life’s trials.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10. Ellen White wrote: “To everyone He [God] grants power according to the need. In his own strength man is strengthless; but in the might of God he may be strong to overcome evil and to help others to overcome. Satan can never gain advantage of him who makes God his defense. ‘Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength.’ Isaiah 45:24.” Prophets and Kings, 175.

Solomon, in 1 Kings 3:9, asked God not for strength or riches, but for understanding (wisdom) to lead the people. “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” A real man is not measured from the outside, but from the inside, where God’s strength resides.

WALK IN THE WAYS OF GOD

Solomon was charged with the act of proving himself to be a man by keeping the charge of the Lord and walking in His ways. A true man is a man of God who walks with God.

  • Keep His Statutes

The statutes of God are ordinances to live by, ordinances that give life a sense of stability. “Strength of character is to be honored by those who claim to keep the commandments and statutes of God.—Manuscript 154, 1902, p. 12.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 172. “If they [the people of God] would be faithful to obey all the statutes of God they would have a power which would carry conviction to the hearts of the unbelieving.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 446.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6, 7.

  • Keep His Commandments

The commandments are the Law of God. A true man will strive to keep the commandments of God. “Make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.” Exodus 18:16. “Children should be taught that they are only probationers here, and educated to become inhabitants of the mansions which Christ is preparing for those who love Him and keep His commandments. This is the highest duty which parents have to perform.” The Adventist Home, 146.

The greatest commandment is to love God then one another. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22:37–39. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” 1 John 4:20, 21. To keep this commandment, men, you will find yourself being a real man.

  • Keep His Judgments

“Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” Zephaniah 2:3. “These are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: that thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee . . . all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.” Deuteronomy 6:1, 2.

“The Lord gave his people commandments, in order that by obeying them they might preserve their physical, mental, and moral health.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 414.

  • Keep His Testimonies

“Blessed [are] they that keep his testimonies, [and that] seek him with the whole heart.” Psalm 119:2.

Men, “Let us take this [Psalm 119:1-6] for our lesson. Study every word attentively. Upright principles and pure sentiments, cultivated and practiced, form a character after the divine similitude. A conscience void of offense toward God and man, a heart that feels the tenderest sympathy for human beings, especially that they may be won for Christ, will have the attributes that Christ had. All such will be imbued with His Spirit. They will have a reservoir of persuasion and a storehouse of simple eloquence.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 120.

The testimonies of God speak of His statutes, commandments, and judgments. The man of God will prove himself and prosper by walking in the ways of God.

PASS THE MANTLE

David was passing the mantle to Solomon. David had sinned and suffered the consequences, and now he was instructing his son to keep the ways of God rather than the ways of man. “That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.” 1 Kings 2:4.

Men, there must be a passing of the mantle from your lives to the lives of your children. What will you pass to them? Will they look to your lives to see the value of walking in the ways of God?

There is a reciprocal law working in your life as well as your children’s lives. “Children live what they learn!” This is perhaps best illustrated by the story of a young pastor who supplemented the income from his first pastorate by mixing feed for livestock. Each day when he came home from work his two boys, ages two and three, would look at him and say, “Boy, Daddy, you sure are dusty.” He would agree with them, then go to take a shower and put on clean clothes.

He did not think too much of this daily exchange until one day when he was working in the garden and noticed his oldest son picking up gravel and stones from the driveway and rubbing them into his pants. “What are you doing?” he asked the little man.

“I want to be dusty like you, Daddy!” came the childish reply.

If a small child would look up to his father for being dusty and want to copy him, a child could look up to his father and follow him in any way. Have your children experienced the truth of God in you? Do your children understand, through your life, what it means to give heart and soul to Christ?

It is not enough to be a man who lets his children decide for themselves. You must show them the way of God through your lives.

Be a man! A real man that is not afraid to let his family and the world know that he stands for Christ and walks in the way of God. A relay coach says that the relay race is won by a successful pass of the baton. In the race of life to reach the goal of heaven, how are you passing on the baton to your children?

A member of the LandMarks’ editorial staff, Anna writes from her home near Sedalia, Colorado. She may be contacted by e-mail at JSchu67410@aol.com.

The Pen of Inspiration – Home Duties of the Father

Few fathers are fitted for the responsibility of training their children.  They, themselves, need strict discipline that they may learn self-control, forbearance, and sympathy.  Until they possess these attributes they are not capable of properly teaching their children.  What can we say to awaken the moral sensibilities of fathers, that they may understand and undertake their duty to their offspring?  The subject is of intense interest and importance, having a bearing upon the future welfare of our country.  We would solemnly impress upon fathers, as well as mothers, the grave responsibility they have assumed in bringing children into the world.  It is a responsibility from which nothing but death can free them.  True the chief care and burden rests upon the mother during the first years of her children’s lives, yet even then the father should be her stay and counsel, encouraging her to lean upon his large affections, and assisting her as much as possible.

The father’s duty to his children should be one of his first interests.  It should not be set aside for the sake of acquiring a fortune, or of gaining a high position in the world.  In fact, those very conditions of affluence and honor frequently separate a man from his family, and cut off his influence from them more than anything else.  If the father would have his children develop harmonious characters, and be an honor to him and a blessing to the world, he has a special work to do.  God holds him responsible for that work.  In the great day of reckoning it will be asked him: Where are the children that I entrusted to your care to educate for me, that their lips might speak my praise, and their lives be as a diadem of beauty in the world, and they live to honor me through all eternity?

In some children the moral powers strongly predominate.  They have power of will to control their minds and actions.  In others the animal passions are almost irresistible.  To meet these diverse temperaments, which frequently appear in the same family, fathers, as well as mothers, need patience and wisdom from the divine Helper.  There is not so much to be gained by punishing children for their transgressions, as by teaching them the folly and heinousness of their sin, understanding their secret inclinations, and laboring to bend them toward the right. . . .

The teachings of Jesus unfold to the father modes of reaching the human heart, and impressing upon it important lessons of truth and right.  Jesus used the familiar objects of nature to illustrate and intensify his meaning.  He drew lessons from every-day life, the occupations of men, and their dealing with one another.

The father should frequently gather his children around him, and lead their minds into channels of moral and religious light.  He should study their different tendencies and susceptibilities, and reach them through the plainest avenues.  Some may be best influenced through veneration and the fear of God; others through the manifestation of his benevolence and wise providence, calling forth their deep gratitude; others may be more deeply impressed by opening before them the wonders and mysteries of the natural world, with all its delicate harmony and beauty, which speak to their souls of Him who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all the beautiful things therein.

Children who are gifted with the talent or love of music may receive impressions that will be life-long, by the judicious use of those susceptibilities as the medium for religious instruction.  They may be taught that if they are not right with God they are like a discord in the divine harmony of creation, like an instrument out of tune, giving forth discordant strains more grievous to God than harsh, inharmonious notes are to their own fine musical ear.

Many may be reached best through sacred pictures, illustrating scenes in the life and mission of Christ.  By this means truths may be vividly imprinted upon their minds, never to be effaced.  The Roman Catholic church understands this fact, and appeals to the senses of the people through the charm of sculpture and paintings.  While we have no sympathy for image worship, which is condemned by the law of God, we hold that it is proper to take advantage of that almost universal love of pictures in the young, to fasten in their minds valuable moral truths, to bind the gospel to their hearts by beautiful imagery illustrating the great moral principles of the Bible.  Even so our Saviour illustrated his sacred lessons by the imagery found in God’s created works.

It will not do to lay down an iron rule by which every member of the family is forced into the same discipline.  It is better to exert a milder sway, and when any special lesson is required, to reach the consciences of the youth through their individual tastes, and marked points of character.  While there should be uniformity in the family discipline, it should be varied to meet the wants of different members of the family.  It should be the parents’ study not to arouse the combativeness of their children, not to excite them to anger and rebellion, but to interest them, and inspire them with a desire to attend to the highest intelligence and perfection of character.  This can be done in a spirit of Christian sympathy and forbearance, the parents realizing the peculiar dangers of their children, and firmly, yet kindly, restraining their propensities to sin.

The parents, especially the father, should guard against the danger of their children learning to look upon him as a detective, peering into all their actions, watching and criticizing them, ready to seize upon and punish them for every misdemeanor.  The father’s conduct upon all occasions should be such that the children will understand that his efforts to correct them spring from a heart full of love for them.  When this point is gained, a great victory is accomplished.  Fathers should have a sense of their children’s human want and weakness, and his sympathy and sorrow for the erring ones should be greater than any sorrow they can feel for their own misdeeds.  This will be perceived by the corrected child, and will soften the most stubborn heart.

The father, as priest and house-band of the family circle, should stand to them as nearly in the place of Christ as possible—a sufferer for those who sin, one who, though guiltless, endures the pains and penalty of his children’s wrongs, and, while he inflicts punishment upon them, suffers more deeply under it than they do.

But if the father exhibits a want of self-control before his children, how can he teach them to govern their wrong propensities?  If he displays anger or injustice, or evidence that he is the slave of any evil habit, he loses half his influence over them.  Children have keen perceptions, and draw sharp conclusions; precept must be followed by example to have much weight with them.  If the father indulges in the use of any hurtful stimulant, or falls into any other degrading habit, how can he maintain his moral dignity before the watchful eyes of his children? . . .

The dangers of youth are many.  There are innumerable temptations to gratify appetite in this land of plenty.  Young men in our cities are brought face to face with this sort of temptation every day.  They fall under deceptive allurements to gratify appetite, without the thought that they are endangering health.  The young frequently receive the impression that happiness is to be found in freedom from restraint, and in the enjoyment of forbidden pleasures and self-gratification.  This enjoyment is purchased at the expense of the physical, mental, and moral health, and turns to bitterness at last.

How important, then, that fathers look well after the habits of their sons, and their associates.  And first of all he should see that no perverted appetite holds him in bondage, lessening his influence with his sons, and sealing his lips on the subject of self-indulgence in regard to hurtful stimulants.

Man can do much more for God and his fellow-man if he is in the vigor of health than if he is suffering from disease and pain.  Tobacco-using, liquor-drinking, and wrong habits of diet, induce disease and pain which incapacitate man for the use he might be in the world.  Nature, being outraged, makes her voice heard, sometimes in no gentle tones of remonstrance, in fierce pains and extreme debility.  For every indulgence of unnatural appetite the physical health suffers, the brain loses its clearness to act and discriminate.  The father, above all others, should have a clear, active mind, quick perceptions, calm judgment, physical strength to support him in his arduous duties, and most of all the help of God to order his acts aright.  He should therefore be entirely temperate, walking in the fear of God, and the admonition of his law, mindful of all the small courtesies and kindnesses of life, the support and strength of his wife, a perfect pattern for his sons to follow, a counselor and authority for his daughters.  He should stand forth in the moral dignity of a man free from the slavery of evil habits and appetites, qualified for the sacred responsibilities of educating his children for the higher life.

The Signs of the Times, December 20, 1877.

Ellen G. White (1827–1915) wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 40 books during her lifetime.  Today, including compilations from her 50,000 pages of manuscript, more than 100 titles are available in English.  She is the most translated woman writer in the entire history of literature, and the most translated American author of either gender.  Seventh-day Adventists believe that Mrs. White was appointed by God as a special messenger to draw the world’s attention to the Holy Scriptures and help prepare people for Christ’s second advent.