Counsel Together

[SPECIAL TESTIMONIES TO MINISTERS AND WORKERS (SERIES A, NO. 5, 1896), PAGES 3-7.]

The greatest work is before us. The peril which threatens our usefulness, and which will prove our ruin if not seen and overcome, is selfishness–placing a higher estimate upon our plans, our opinions, and our labors, and moving independently of our brethren. “Counsel together” have been the words repeated by the angels again and again. {TM 252.1}

Satan may move through one man’s mind to warp things out of their proper channel; he may succeed with two who view things in a similar light; but with several minds enlisted there is greater safety against his wiles. Every plan will be more liable to be viewed from all sides, every advance will be more carefully studied, so that no enterprise will be so likely to be entered upon which will bring confusion and perplexity and defeat to the work in which we are engaged. In union there is strength; in division there is weakness and defeat. {TM 252.2}

God is leading out a people and fitting them for translation. Are we who are acting a part in this work standing as sentinels for God? Are we uniting our forces: Are we willing to become servants of all? Are we imitating the great Pattern? {TM 252.3}

Proper Methods in Labor

The truth cannot be introduced in any haphazard way among the colored people, neither can advice be given to the believers and to those who teach the truth, to be presumptuous. When the period comes in the Southern States to do as did the three worthies who refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s image, that time will present decisions for or against the commandments of God. There is no need of closing up our own way wholly. It will be made more difficult to work the many fields that have not yet been touched. Our policy is, Do not make prominent the objectionable features of our faith, which strike most decidedly against the practices and customs of the people, until the Lord shall give the people a fair chance to know that we are believers in Christ, that we do believe in the divinity of Christ and in His preexistence. Let the testimony of the world’s Redeemer be dwelt upon. “I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.” There is need of strictly guarding the word that the pen traces upon paper. The Lord help us to learn in the school of Christ His meekness and lowliness. {TM 252.4}

If the Majesty of heaven guarded His every word lest He should stir up the spirit of Satan and the fallen angels, how much more careful should we be in all things! {TM 253.1}

To the Saviour’s words, “Believest thou?” Martha responded, “Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” She did not comprehend in all their significance the words spoken by Christ, but she confessed her faith in His divinity, and her confidence that He was able to perform whatever it pleased Him to do. {Ellen White, Desire of Ages p.530.4}

Question: What did Martha say that confessed her faith in Christ’s divinity?
Answer: “I believe that Thou are the Christ, the Son of God”

Proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is a way to confess belief in Christ’s divinity. Christ being God’s only begotten Son is connected with His divinity.

Question: Do Seventh-day Adventist non-trinitarians believe in the divinity of Christ?
Answer: Yes, SDA non-trinitarians believe that the Son of God is truly the divine Son of God.

Many church members who believe in the Trinity do not believe that Christ is truly the Son of God. The trinitarian believes Jesus is a Son in a figurative/metaphorical way. A trinitarian does not believe that God has a true Son. A trinitarian does not believe that Jesus Christ is a true Son of the living God because then the Son could not be coeternal (equally eternal). For this reason many trinitarians cannot respond to Christ how Martha responded “I believe that Thou are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”

Another dangerous heresy is the doctrine that denies the divinity of Christ. Men who have no experimental knowledge of Jesus, will yet assume an appearance of great wisdom, as though their judgment were beyond question, and boldly declare that the Son of God had no existence prior to his first advent to this world. This position directly contradicts the plainest statements of our Saviour concerning himself; yet it is received with favor by a large class who claim to believe the Scriptures. With such persons it is folly to argue. No argument, however conclusive, will convince those who reject the direct testimony of the Son of God. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” [1 Corinthians 2:14.] Those who persistently cling to such errors, give evidence of their own ignorance of God and of his Son. {4SP 347.3}

Question: What was one way to deny the divinity of Christ back in 1884?
Answer: Declaring that the Son of God had no existence prior to his first advent to this world denied the divinity of Christ. In other words the divinity of Christ is connected with his pre-existence. If you didn’t believe Jesus pre-existed prior to his first advent then you did not believe that Jesus was divine.

Question: Do non-trinitarians deny the divinity of Christ?
Answer: No, Seventh-day Adventist non-trinitarians do not deny the divinity of Christ. They believe that the Son of God had existence prior to his first advent to this world. Many SDA trinitarians on the other hand believe that Jesus Christ was a “Son of God” only at his first advent. They do not believe Jesus was the Son of God before his first advent. It should be noted that SDA trinitarians do believe Jesus Christ existed prior to his first advent but many don’t believe He was a Son before that time

There were quite a number of the First-day Adventists present. They are believers in the age to come, and disbelievers in the pre-existence of Christ before He came to our world. Although I had not the slightest knowledge of the faith of those present, being a stranger to the people, yet the remarks were so fitting to those present that Brother Jones, elder of the church, said he thought they would accuse him of telling me; but we came directly into the meeting without one word of conversation with anyone. I dwelt particularly upon the divine character of Jesus Christ. {1888 784.2}

Oh, eagerly the men watched to catch something from my lips they could take advantage of. Some deny the divinity of Christ, and refuse to believe His pre-existence before the world was made. {1888 784.3}

Question: What does it mean to believe in Christ’s pre-existence?
Answer: It means to believe in Christ’s existence before He came to our world and it means to believe in Christ’s existence before the world was made.

Question: Do Seventh-day Adventist non-trinitarians believe in Christ’s pre-existence?
Answer: Yes. SDA non-trinitarians believe that Jesus Christ existed before He came to our world and that He did exist before the world was made.

Believing that the angelic character he [Satan] had assumed defied detection, he now feigned to doubt the divinity of Christ.—2SP 91. {TA 172.2}

The First Temptation

Satan reasoned with Christ thus: If the words spoken after His baptism were indeed the words of God, that He was the Son of God, He need not bear the sensations of hunger; He could give him proofs of His divinity by showing His power in changing the stones of that barren wilderness into bread.—Redemption or the First Advent of Christ With His Life and Ministry, 48. {TA 172.3}

Satan told Christ that He was only to set His feet in the blood-stained path, but not to travel it. Like Abraham He was tested to show His perfect obedience. He also stated that he was the angel that stayed the hand of Abraham as the knife was raised to slay Isaac, and he had now come to save His [Christ’s] life; that it was not necessary for Him to endure the painful hunger and death from starvation; he would help Him bear a part of the work in the plan of salvation.—RH Aug. 4, 1874. {TA 172.4}

He [Satan] then called the attention of Christ to his own attractive appearance, clothed with light and strong in power. He claimed to be a messenger direct from the throne of Heaven, and asserted that he had a right to demand of Christ evidences of His being the Son of God.—RH Aug. 4, 1874. {TA 173.1}

Notice how the “divinity of Christ” and Him being the “Son of God” are connected. Satan doubted Christ’s divinity and wanted proof of His divinity. What evidence was Satan looking for? Satan demanded of Christ evidences of Him being the Son of God.

For instance, an effort was made to obtain the use of the hall at a village four miles from Hastings, where some of our workers proposed to present the gospel to the people; but they did not succeed in obtaining the hall, because a school-teacher there opposed the truth, and declared to the people that Seventh-day Adventists did not believe in the divinity of Christ. This man may not have known what our faith is on this point, but he was not left in ignorance. He was informed that there is not a people on earth who hold more firmly to the truth of Christ’s pre-existence than do Seventh-day Adventists. But the answer was given that they did not want that the doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists should be promulgated in that community. So the door was closed. {RH, December 5, 1893 par. 5}

Question: How does Ellen White go about proving that Seventh-day Adventist’s believe in the divinity of Christ?
Answer: By holding firmly to the truth of Christ’s pre-existence.

The Saviour has said, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” He says again, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” Mohammedanism has its converts in many lands, and its advocates deny the divinity of Christ. Shall this faith be propagated, and the advocates of truth fail to manifest intense zeal to overthrow the error, and teach men of the pre-existence of the only Saviour of the world? O how we need men who will search and believe the word of God, who will present Jesus to the world in his divine and human nature, declaring with power and in demonstration of the Spirit, that “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” O how we need believers who will now present Christ in life and character, who will hold him up before the world as the brightness of the Father’s glory, proclaiming that God is love! {HM, September 1, 1892 par. 4}

Question: What should we teach people to keep them from the error of believing that Jesus was not divine?
Answer: Teach men of the pre-existence of the only Saviour of the world.

He was to call men’s attention to the gospel, which God had promised by the word of the prophets. He was to unfold the divine revelations of the Old Testament, and to show how the gospel shed a light into the old dispensation. He was to demonstrate the fact that both prophets and apostles were witnesses of Christ as the Messiah. In his divine nature Jesus was declared to be the Son of God, but the divinity of Christ was the fact that was constantly opposed by the Pharisees. The great argument that substantiated the divinity of Christ was his resurrection from the dead. Overwhelming testimony came to those that believed on him, for he had been seen among them, and those who would not receive the great array of evidence that could be presented, would not have been convinced by any amount of proof. {ST, August 5, 1889 par. 3}

Question: Was it his human nature or his divine nature that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God?
Answer: In His divine nature Jesus was declared to be the Son of God.

The Pharisees had gathered close about Jesus as he answered the questions of the scribe. He now turned to them and put them a question: “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?” Jesus was evidently testing the faith of the Pharisees in his divinity, whether they regarded him simply as a man, or the divine Son of God. Ellen White, 3SP p.55.2

Question: Is Jesus Christ the divine Son of God?
Answer: Yes, Jesus Christ is truly the divine Son of God. Jesus is divine. Jesus is a Son. Jesus is God’s very own Son.

Dangers in Speculative Study

     The light of truth which God designs shall come to the people of the world at this time is not that which the world’s men of learning are seeking to impart, for these men in their research often arrive at erroneous conclusions and in their study of many authors become enthused with theories that are of satanic origin. Satan, clothed in the garb of an angel of light, presents for the study of the human mind subjects which seem very interesting and which are full of scientific mystery. In the investigation of these subjects, men are led to accept erroneous conclusions and to unite with seducing spirits in the work of propounding new theories which lead away from the truth.  {9T 67.3}

There is danger that the false sentiments expressed in the books that they have been reading will sometimes be interwoven by our ministers, teachers, and editors with their arguments, discourses, and publications, under the belief that they are the same in principle as the teachings of the Spirit of truth. The book Living Temple is an illustration of this work, the writer of which declared in its support that its teachings were the same as those found in the writings of Mrs. White. Again and again we shall be called to meet the influence of men who are studying sciences of satanic origin, through which Satan is working to make a nonentity of God and of Christ.  {9T 68.1}

The Father and the Son each have a personality. Christ declared: “I and My Father are one.” Yet it was the Son of God who came to the world in human form. Laying aside His royal robe and kingly crown, He clothed His divinity with humanity, that humanity through His infinite sacrifice might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.  {9T 68.2}

Christ was tempted in all points as man is tempted, but at no time did He bring against the tempter a railing accusation. To every temptation He presented the word of the Lord. “It is written” was His never-failing weapon. We, as the representatives of Christ, are to meet every thrust of the enemy with the word of the living

God. Never should we allow ourselves to follow the trail of the serpent by using his scientific arguments. Satan can never gain advantage of the child of God who relies on the word of God as his defense.  {9T 68.3}

Our Counselor impressed deeply on our minds that God’s commandment-keeping people must be sanctified through the truth and that truth must ever be given the foremost place. We must not forget that Satan still lives to exercise his deceptive power through false science.  {9T 69.1}

Christ was the Majesty of heaven, the Prince of life; yet He humbled Himself as a man and became obedient to every law of God. He passed over the ground that every man must tread who takes His name, and came forth from His trial pure and untainted by sin. He was our example in all things.  {9T 69.2}

The first advent of Christ and His life of ministry are not studied as they should be. His life was one of self-denial, in which truth in all its noble qualities was expressed. He lived to bless humanity by every good word and work.  {9T 69.3}

     “And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” All through the Scriptures, the Father and the Son are spoken of as two distinct personages. You will hear men endeavoring to make the Son of God a nonentity. He and the Father are one, but they are two personages. Wrong sentiments regarding this are coming in, and we shall all have to meet them.  {RH, July 13, 1905 par. 3}

Question: Does the Trinity doctrine make God, Christ and the Holy Spirit one being?
Answer: Yes, God and Christ lose their distinct personages as Ellen White has mentioned. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit become one being.

Question: Doe the Trinity doctrine make the Son of God a nonentity?
Answer: Yes, Jesus Christ is no longer truly the “Son of the living God” but now is merged into the “One God.” The Christian world at large still says the words “Son of God” but they do not recognize Jesus as a true divine Son but more as “the one God.” Have you noticed people moving towards the phrase “God the Son” which cannot be found in the Bible. Popular Seventh-day Adventist ministries are taking verses that should only apply to the Father (Deuteronomy 6:4) and teaching people that the verse applies to more than one personage. The picture below is taken from an Amazing Facts comic book that teaches the Trinity doctrine. This book is still available for purchase at Amazing Facts (as of September 15, 2018.)

Question: Is it possible that the Trinity doctrine of the Seventh-day Adventist church could fit the description of what Ellen White calls an “erroneous conclusion” and “theories that are of satanic origin?”
Answer: Yes, here are three reasons why I believe the Trinity doctrine is a deception of the enemy that has crept into the church.

1.) John Harvey Kellogg and the trinity doctrine – TheProphetStillSpeaks.co.uk Website
2.) Was Ellen White a Trinitarian? – TrinityTruth.org Website
3.) Seven Ways Leroy Froom Helped SDA’s Embrace the Trinity – JetsOfLight Website

Chap. 14 – Come Out and be Separate

Sanitarium, Cal., November, 1905.

I have not been able to sleep during the past night. Letters have come to me with statements made by men who claimed to have asked Dr. Kellogg if he believes the testimonies that Sister White bears. He declares that he does, but he does not. He sent a sensible letter to me while I was at Melrose, Mass., saying, “I have surrendered,” But he has not spoken or acted as a man who has surrendered. He has felt bitterness of soul against the Lord’s appointed agencies who have occupied the position of president of the General Conference. He has hated them. Has he surrendered that gall of bitterness? The Lord will not accept anything that he affirms which is false. {SpTB07 60.3}

The whole of the matter is not revealed. I have been waiting to see the least evidence of surrender. The word of the Lord to me is, “He is only gathering his forces for another display to magnify himself. The ministers of God are being drawn in and deceived by his science. He is doing all in his power to create a division between the medical work and the ministry of the word. He has his messenger going forth to test the pulse of God’s people, and please him by disparaging the strength of the ministerial force.” {SpTB07 61.1}

This large work and its sure results are plainly presented to me. I am so sorry that sensible men do not discern the trail of the serpent. I call it thus; for thus the Lord pronounces it. Wherein are those who are designated as departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, departing from the faith which they have held sacred for the past fifty years? I leave that for the ones to answer who sustain those who develop such acuteness in their plans for spoiling and hindering the work of God. {SpTB07 61.2}

If—had come into line, the work of God would have been years in advance of what it now is. He would have connected himself with the Lord, and Christ would have worked through him. {SpTB07 61.3}

The Lord would now have a straight-forward, decided testimony borne regarding every point of present truth. We are a denominated people, and we are not to yield up our faith to the science of human sophistry. {SpTB07 61.4}

November, 1905.–I slept well during the past night, from seven o’clock until half-past two. It is the Sabbath of the Lord, and I shall speak in the church at St. Helena this morning. My health is very good. I attend to my writings continuously, that everything may be in readiness if I should be taken away at a moment’s notice. I do not regard that time with any fear or distrust. I am heeding to the best of my knowledge the message that Christ came from heaven to give John, as recorded in the first, second, and third chapters of Revelation. {SpTB07 61.5}

“But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye already have hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” {SpTB07 62.1}

I am instructed to say, The sentiments of those who are searching for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such representations as the following are made: “The Father is as the light invisible; the Son is as the light embodied; the Spirit is the light shed abroad.” “The Father is like the dew, invisible vapor; the Son is like the dew gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit is like the dew fallen to the seat of life.” Another representation: “The Father is like the invisible vapor; the Son is like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is rain fallen and working in refreshing power.” {SpTB07 62.2}

All these spiritualistic representations are simply nothingness. They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the Majesty which no earthly likeness can be compared to. God can not be compared with the things His hands have made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God because of the sins of man. The Father can not be described by the things of earth. The Father is all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight. {SpTB07 62.3}

The Son is all the fulness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God declares Him to be “the express image of His person.” “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Here is shown the personality of the Father. {SpTB07 63.1}

The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fulness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit– those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ. . . . {SpTB07 63.2}

There will have to be a second conversion in the hearts of some of our leading medical fraternity, and a cutting away from the men who are trying to guide the medical ship into the harbor, else they themselves will never reach the haven of rest. Christ calls, Come out from among them, and be ye separate. {SpTB07 63.3}

I write this because any moment my life may be ended. Unless there is a breaking away from the influence that Satan has prepared, and a reviving of the testimonies that God has given, souls will perish in their delusion. They will accept fallacy after fallacy, and will thus keep up a disunion that will always exist until those who have been deceived take their stand on the right platform. All this higher education that is being planned will be extinguished; for it is spurious. The more simple the education of our workers, the less connection they have with the men whom God is not leading, the more will be accomplished. Work will be done in the simplicity of true godliness, and the old, old times will be back when, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, thousands were converted in a day. When the truth in its simplicity is lived in every place, then God will work through His angels as He worked on the day of Pentecost, and hearts will be changed so decidedly that there will be a manifestation of the influence of genuine truth, as is represented in the descent of the Holy Spirit. {SpTB07 63.4}

The Holy Spirit never has, and never will in the future, divorce the medical missionary work from the gospel ministry. They can not be divorced. Bound up with Jesus Christ, the ministry of the word and the healing of the sick are one. {SpTB07 64.1}

The fifty-eight chapter of Isaiah contains instruction for today. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sin.” God does not accept Dr. Kellogg as His laborer, unless he will now break with Satan. The work would not have been hindered as it has been for the past several years if Dr. Kellogg were a converted man. “Come,” I call, “come ye out and be separate from him and his associates whom he has leavened.” I am now giving the message God has given me, to give to all who claim to believe the truth: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate,” else their sin in justifying wrongs and framing deceits will continue to be the ruin of souls. We can not afford to be on the wrong side. We can not afford to cover the truth with scientific problems. We urge that decided changes be made, and no more stumbling-blocks be placed before the feet of the people of God. Let every soul put on the gospel shoes. Let every soul pray and work, placing their feet upon the foundation Christ laid in giving His life for the life of the world. {SpTB07 64.2}

Heavenly Trio Article – Ellen White talks about the “heavenly trio”, “the eternal heavenly dignitaries” or “three highest powers in heaven.” Are these trinitarian phrases?

Question: Is God identified in these paragraphs as “a relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit?”
Answer: No, God is clearly identified as the Father. (see blue highlights above)

Question: Does the phrase “heavenly trio” imply that God is one being who is three persons (1-in-3)?
Answer: No, God is a personal being.

As a personal being, God has revealed Himself in His Son. (Ellen White, Ministry of Healing p.418)

God is the Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has been given an exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the counsels of God are opened to His Son. (Ellen White, Testimonies Volume 8 p.268.3)

In Hebrews chapter one you can see that God is identified in the singular and not in the plural. God is a personal being. There is no hint of a God who is a Trinity. Trio is not the same as Trinity.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Hebrews 1:1-3

Question: Where in the Bible do we see an example of the pronoun “He” being referred to the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit?
Answer: I have not found anywhere in Scripture which references the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by using the pronoun “He.” Using the pronoun “He” to talk about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit changes the identity of God.

Question: How is Jesus Christ identified in this paragraph?
Answer: Jesus is identified as the “express image” of God. (see green highlights above) Jesus is not the same personal being as God. The current Seventh-day Adventist belief says that Jesus is the same personal being as God. I quote: “God is a relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The only being worthy of our worship”

The Trinity belief about God trys to define God as one God in three persons. Ellen White on the other hand clearly reveals that God and Christ are two different beings. The heavenly trio is never defined by Ellen White as a unity of three co-eternal persons.

God is the Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has been given an exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the counsels of God are opened to His Son. (Ellen White, Testimonies Volume 8 p.268.3)

Question: How is the Holy Spirit identified in this paragraph?
Answer: The Holy Spirit is identified as the Comforter and is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace.

Question: Who is the comforter?
Answer:

“Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and the Comforter is the Holy Ghost.” — (E.G. White, 14MR 179.2)

“This refers to the omnipresence of the Spirit of Christ, called the Comforter.” — (E.G. White, 14MR 179.2)

“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, which is sent to all men to give them sufficiency, that through His grace we might be complete in Him.” — (E.G. White, 14MR 84.3)

“Let them be thankful to God for His manifold mercies and be kind to one another. They have one God and one Saviour; and one Spirit–the Spirit of Christ–is to bring unity into their ranks.” — (E.G. White, 9T 189.3, 1909)

For a more detailed study, visit the Trinity Truth article about who is the comforter.

August 29, 1900 Resistance to Light. No. 3

(Concluded.)

The Pharisees took offense at the words, “The truth shall make you free.” “We be Abraham’s seed,” they said, “and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free?” Jesus answered: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 1}

Paul declares: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 2}

“I know that ye are Abraham’s seed,” Christ continued; “but ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you. . . . If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me, a Man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not Abraham.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 3}

Christ declares that lineal connection is superseded by spiritual connection. The Jews were indeed Abraham’s seed according to the flesh, but they manifested a spirit very different from the spirit of righteous Abraham. By their unbelief and persistent rejection of truth they disinherited themselves. Abraham obeyed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. By their works the Jews showed that they bore no real relationship to Abraham. {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 4}

On one occasion when Christ was informed that His mother and brethren were without, desiring to speak with Him, He looked upon the men and women who were feasting on His words, and, stretching forth His hands toward them, said: “Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.” Precious, glorious truth, spoken to comfort all believers, who may indeed be encouraged by knowing how Christ regards them! {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 5}

“Ye do the deeds of your father,” Christ said to the Jews, and they answered scornfully, “We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” “If God were your Father,” Christ said, “ye would love Me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye can not hear My word.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 6}

With faithful, unsparing hand Christ unmasked the men who had professed so much and done so little. Behind their pretentious piety there lay concealed deceitful malignity, the controlling principle of their lives. Children of Abraham, children of God, they were not, and neither could they be. By their works they bore evidence that they were the children of the enemy of God. {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 7}

Christ saw that the time had fully come to rend from the Jewish leaders their covering of pretended piety, and to show that they were but whited sepulchers. “Ye are of your father the devil,” he said plainly, “and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not. Which of you convinceth Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me? He that is of God heareth God’s words; ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto Him, Say we not well that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honor My Father, and ye do dishonor Me. And I seek not Mine own glory; there is One that seeketh and judgeth.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 8}

“Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” The keen eyes of jealousy had been watching Christ, trying to find something whereby He might be condemned. But nothing could be found. “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me,” the Saviour declared. No envy, no worldly ambition, no pride, no selfishness, could be found in Him. “I know thee who thou art,” the evil spirits cried, “the Holy One of God.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 9}

Standing in the presence of the multitude, Christ uttered words which, if spoken by any one else, would have been blasphemous. “If a man keep My saying, He shall never see death,” He said. “Then said the Jews unto Him, Now we know that Thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and Thou sayest, If a man keep My saying, he shall never taste of death. Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead; whom makest Thou Thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing; it is My father that honoreth Me; of whom ye say, that He is your God. Yet ye have not known Him; but I know Him; and if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know Him, and keep His saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 10}

The command given to Abraham to slay his son was the most severe test that could be brought upon him. But as he prepared in faith to obey God, there was opened before him the coming of the Just One, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world for the sins of the human race. As by faith he grasped the promise, Christ revealed Himself to him. Abraham saw the incarnate Saviour, and rejoiced. {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 11}

“Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?” “Verily, verily, I say unto you,” Jesus answered, “Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” Their eyes were blinded that they might not see Him. {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 12}

“Before Abraham was, I am.” Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God. The message He gave to Moses to give to the children of Israel was, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” The prophet Micah writes of Him, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, tho thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of Thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 13}

Through Solomon Christ declared: “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. . . . When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 14}

In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him. {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 15}

Christ’s words were spoken with a quiet dignity and with an assurance and power that sent conviction to the hearts of the scribes and Pharisees. They felt the power of the message sent from heaven. God was knocking at the door of their hearts, entreating entrance. But they refused to listen. By their persistent rejection of warnings and invitations they caused Him to abandon them to their blindness and its results. Satan was working with all his power to secure them in his cause, and under his control they developed a stubbornness which brought upon them their ruin.
Mrs. E. G. White. {ST, August 29, 1900 par. 16}

As Christ hung on the cross, bearing the taunts and revilings of His persecutors, He might appropriately have asked, Which of you convicteth Me of sin? It was a marvel to the angelic beings that He did not seal the lips of the scoffers and paralyze the hand that smote Him. It was a mystery to them that He did not flash forth His righteous indignation upon the hardened and corrupt soldiers, as they mocked Him and forced a crown of thorns on His head. {12MR 394.3}

But the Son of God knew that the greatest guilt and heaviest responsibility belonged to those who stood in the highest places in the nation, the repositories of sacred trusts that they were basely betraying. Pilate, Herod, the ignorant soldiers, were comparatively ignorant of Jesus. They knew not that this Man was the Sent of God. They thought to please the priests and rulers by abusing Him. They had not the light that the Jewish nation had so abundantly received. They were unacquainted with Old Testament history. Had the light been given to the soldiers, they would not have treated Christ as cruelly as they did.  {12MR 395.1}

Christ was not compelled to endure this cruel treatment. The yoke of obligation was not laid upon Him to undertake the work of redemption. Voluntarily He offered Himself, a willing, spotless sacrifice. He was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent. He was above all finite requirements. He was Himself the law in character. Of the highest angels it could not be said that they had never borne a yoke. The angels all bear the yoke of dependence, the yoke of obedience. They are the appointed messengers of Him who is Commander of all heaven.  {12MR 395.2}

No one of the angels could become a substitute and surety for the human race, for their life is God’s; they could not surrender it. On Christ alone the human family depended for their existence. He is the eternal, self-existent Son, on whom no yoke had come. When God asked, “whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Christ alone of the angelic host could reply, “Here am I; send Me.” He alone had covenanted before the foundation of the world to become a surety for man. He could say that which not the highest angel could say–“I have power over My own life. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” [see John 10:18]. {12MR 395.3}

Christ did not come to this earth merely to live the law, and so reveal the character of God in His spotless life that the one who condemned Him said of him, “I find no fault in Him.” Christ’s work must be deep and thorough. Without shedding of blood there is no remission for sin. He must suffer the agony of a public death on the cross, that witness of it might be borne without the shadow of a doubt.  {12MR 396.1}

At the time of the Passover, the Jews and their adherents were drawn to the Hebrew capital. At this time universal attention in the plan of redemption must be awakened. Matters of eternal interest must now become the theme of conversation. The Old Testament must be searched as never before for evidence of the work and character of the Messiah so long looked for. Minds must be convicted and led to ask, Is not this the Christ? Every transaction in Christ’s life, His trial, His condemnation, His crucifixion, and His resurrection, would become matters of the deepest interest.  {12MR 396.2}

As Christ hung upon the cross, nature sympathized with her dying Author. The heavens shrouded in the deepest darkness, the rent rocks, the convulsed earth, struck terror to the hearts of those who had been actors in His mock trial.  {12MR 396.3}

Twice, at the baptism and at the transfiguration, the voice of God had been heard proclaiming Christ as His Son. The third time, just before Christ’s betrayal, the Father had spoken, witnessing to His Son. But now the voice from heaven was silent. No testimony in Christ’s favor was heard. Alone He suffered abuse and mockery at the hands of wicked men.  {12MR 396.4}

April 5, 1906 The Word Made Flesh

[REPRINTED BY REQUEST, FROM
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES OF APRIL 26, 1899.]

Mrs. E. G. White

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 1}

This chapter delineates the character and importance of the work of Christ. As one who understands his subject, John ascribes all power to Christ, and speaks of his greatness and majesty. He flashes forth divine rays of precious truth, as light from the sun. He presents Christ as the only Mediator between God and humanity. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 2}

The doctrine of the incarnation of Christ in human flesh is a mystery, “even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations.” It is the great and profound mystery of godliness. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Christ took upon himself human nature, a nature inferior to his heavenly nature. Nothing so shows the wonderful condescension of God as this. He “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” John presents this wonderful subject with such simplicity that all may grasp the ideas set forth, and be enlightened. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 3}

Christ did not make believe take human nature; he did verily take it. He did in reality possess human nature. “As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.” He was the son of Mary; he was of the seed of David according to human descent. He is declared to be a man, even the Man Christ Jesus. “This Man,” writes Paul, “was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 4}

But while God’s Word speaks of the humanity of Christ when upon this earth, it also speaks decidedly regarding his pre-existence. The Word existed as a divine being, even as the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with his Father. From everlasting he was the Mediator of the covenant, the one in whom all nations of the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, if they accepted him, were to be blessed. “The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Before men or angels were created, the Word was with God, and was God. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 5}

The world was made by him, “and without him was not anything made that was made.” If Christ made all things, he existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 6}

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.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 7}
There are light and glory in the truth that Christ was one with the Father before the foundation of the world was laid. This is the light shining in a dark place, making it resplendent with divine, original glory. This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths, while it is enshrined in light, unapproachable and incomprehensible. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 8}

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” Here the pre-existence of Christ and the purpose of his manifestation to our world are presented as living beams of light from the eternal throne. “Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” “We preach Christ crucified,” declares Paul, “unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 9}

That God should thus be manifest in the flesh is indeed a mystery; and without the help of the Holy Spirit we can not hope to comprehend this subject. The most humbling lesson that man has to learn is the nothingness of human wisdom, and the folly of trying, by his own unaided efforts, to find out God. He may exert his intellectual powers to the utmost, he may have what the world calls a superior education, yet he may still be ignorant in God’s eyes. The ancient philosophers boasted of their wisdom; but how did it weigh in the scale with God? Solomon had great learning; but his wisdom was foolishness; for he did not know how to stand in moral independence, free from sin, in the strength of a character molded after the divine similitude. Solomon has told us the result of his research, his painstaking efforts, his persevering inquiry. He pronounces his wisdom altogether vanity. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 10}
By wisdom the world knew not God. Their estimation of the divine character, their imperfect knowledge of his attributes, did not enlarge and expand their mental conception. Their minds were not ennobled in conformity to the divine will, but they plunged into the grossest idolatry. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” This is the worth of all requirements and knowledge apart from Christ. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 11}

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Christ declares; “no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Christ is invested with power to give life to all creatures. “As the living Father hath sent me,” he says, “and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. . . .It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Christ is not here referring to his doctrine, but to his person, the divinity of his character. “Verily verily, I say unto you,” he says again, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 12}

God and Christ knew from the beginning, of the apostasy of Satan and of the fall of Adam through the deceptive power of the apostate. The plan of salvation was designed to redeem the fallen race, to give them another trial. Christ was appointed to the office of Mediator from the creation of God, set up from everlasting to be our substitute and surety. Before the world was made, it was arranged that the divinity of Christ should be enshrouded in humanity. “A body,” said Christ, “hast thou prepared me.” But he did not come in human form until the fulness of time had expired. Then he came to our world, a babe in Bethlehem. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 13}

No one born into the world, not even the most gifted of God’s children, has ever been accorded such demonstration of joy as greeted the Babe born in Bethlehem. Angels of God sang his praises over the hills and plains of Bethlehem. “Glory to God in the highest,” they sang, “and on earth peace, good will toward men.” O that today the human family could recognize this song! The declaration then made, the note then struck, the tune then started, will swell and extend to the end of time, and resound to the ends of the earth. It is glory to God, it is peace on earth, good will to men. When the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings, the song then started in the hills of Bethlehem will be re-echoed by the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, saying, “Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 14}

By his obedience to all the commandments of God, Christ wrought out a redemption for man. This was not done by going out of himself to another, but by taking humanity into himself. Thus Christ gave to humanity an existence out of himself. To bring humanity into Christ, to bring the fallen race into oneness with divinity, is the work of redemption. Christ took human nature that men might be one with him as he is one with the Father, that God may love man as he loves his only begotten Son, that men may be partakers of the divine nature, and be complete in him. {RH, April 5, 1906 par. 15}

The Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the only begotten Son of God, binds the human agent, body, soul, and spirit, to the perfect, divine-human nature of Christ. This union is represented by the union of the vine and the branches. Finite man is united to the manhood of Christ. Through faith human nature is assimilated with Christ’s nature. We are made one with God in Christ.
–
{RH, April 5, 1906 par. 16}

May 3, 1899 The Word Made Flesh.

“And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight; if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; . . . whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the Word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 1}

Christ came to this earth working the works of God, healing the sick, and raising the dead to life. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” But the priests and rulers of the Jewish nation refused to acknowledge Him as the Messiah. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 2}

The scribes and Pharisees accused Christ of blasphemy because He made Himself equal with God. But He promptly met and denied their accusations. “Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?” they asked Him; “whom makest Thou Thyself?” Jesus answered: “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing; it is My Father that honoreth Me; of whom ye say, that He is your God; yet ye have not known Him, but I know Him; and if I should say, I know Him not, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know Him, and keep His saying. Your Father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 3}

Here Christ shows them that, altho they might reckon His life to be less than fifty years, yet His divine life could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not measured by figures. {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 4}

“Before Abraham was, I am.” Abraham greatly desired to see the Messiah in His day. He offered up the most earnest prayer that he might see Him before He died. “He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. . . . Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 5}

But Abraham saw Christ. A supernatural light was given him, and he acknowledged Christ’s divine character. He had a distinct view of Christ, the Messiah. He saw His day, and was glad. He was given a view of the divine Sacrifice for sin. It was Jesus Christ that had promised him, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 6}

But Abraham was tested. The command came for him to take his son, his only son, Isaac, and offer him as a sacrifice upon a mountain which God would show him. O, in what an agony of conflicting emotion Abraham bowed at the foot of the altar which he had reared for Jehovah, praying for light! But the more he prayed, the darker his mind became. He heard the command, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering.” He thought of the promise, “As the stars, so shall thy seed be,” yet he was on his way to sacrifice the son in whom this hope was centered. With his own hand, by the divine command, he must cut off the only hope of having this promise made true. {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 7}

But as Abraham stood with knife upraised to obey God, his hand was stayed, and he heard a voice, saying, “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from Me.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 8}

This terrible ordeal was imposed upon Abraham that he might see the day of Christ, and realize the great love of God for the world, so great that, to raise it from its degradation, He gave His only-begotten Son to a most shameful death. {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 9}

Abraham learned of God the greatest lesson ever given to mortal. His prayer that he might see Christ before he should die, was answered. He saw Christ; he saw all that mortal can see and live. By making an entire surrender, he was able to understand the vision of Christ, which had been given him. He was shown that in giving his only-begotten Son to save sinners from eternal ruin, God was making a greater and more wonderful sacrifice than ever man could make. {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 10}

“And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh; as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” This was kept in mind by the Jews. When brought into the most difficult places, where there seemed to be no way of deliverance, they would say, “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 11}

This lesson was of great value to all Israel. By it Abraham was shown that God does not require parents to offer their sons and daughters for the sins of the world. This was done by heathen nations, and at times had been practised by the people calling themselves the Israel of God. But they were ever to bear in mind that no human being can be accepted as a sin-offering. The Son of God alone can bear the guilt of the world. {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 12}

“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” What a history is this! The Jews were so blinded by the deception of the enemy that, without any form of trial, they would have stoned Christ to death. They saw that He made Himself equal with God, and because they had no knowledge of God or of Jesus Christ, they thought this to be blasphemy. Had they had a knowledge of God, they would not have rejected His Son, and charged Him with blasphemy. {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 13}

How many today are passing over the same ground! In their ignorance of God, in their misinterpretation of His Word, men wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction. They cherish error as truth, and have a zeal not according to knowledge. {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 14}

The incarnate I AM is our abiding Sacrifice. The I AM is our Redeemer, our Substitute, our Surety. He is the Daysman between God and the human soul, our Advocate in the courts of heaven, our unwearying Intercessor, pleading in our behalf His merits and His atoning sacrifice. The I AM is our Saviour. In Him our hopes of eternal life are centered. He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. In Him is the assurance of every promise. We must acknowledge and receive this almighty Saviour; we must behold Him, that we may be like Him in character. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 15}

John the Baptist sent messengers to Christ, saying, “Art Thou He that should come, or look we for another?” Jesus said to the messengers, “Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 16}

The divinity of Christ’s religion is shown in its adaptability to meet suffering humanity, its condescension to a low estate. Its glory is reflected upon those who receive it. But the Pharisees could not believe it; for they looked for a Saviour who was never promised. The Gospel is to be preached to the poor–not to the spiritually proud, those who claim to be rich, and in need of nothing, is it revealed, but to those that are humble and contrite. One fountain only has been opened for sin, a fountain for the poor in spirit. It is free to all who thirst for the water of life. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 17}

Jehovah is the name given to Christ. “Behold, God is my salvation,” writes the prophet Isaiah; “I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day ye shall say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted.” “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.” {ST, May 3, 1899 par. 18}

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven,” Christ declared; “if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.”
Mrs. E. G. White.
–
{ST, May 3, 1899 par. 19}

Seventh-day Adventists now use the words “pre-existent” and “self-existent” to hint that Ellen White was giving the idea of Christ being “co-eternal.”

Question: What does Ellen White mean when she uses the word “pre-existent?”
Answer: Ellen White used the word pre-existence in relation to believing in Christ’s existence before He came to our world and to believe in Christ’s existence before the world was made.

There were quite a number of the First-day Adventists present. They are believers in the age to come, and disbelievers in the pre-existence of Christ before He came to our world. Although I had not the slightest knowledge of the faith of those present, being a stranger to the people, yet the remarks were so fitting to those present that Brother Jones, elder of the church, said he thought they would accuse him of telling me; but we came directly into the meeting without one word of conversation with anyone. I dwelt particularly upon the divine character of Jesus Christ. {1888 784.2}

Oh, eagerly the men watched to catch something from my lips they could take advantage of. Some deny the divinity of Christ, and refuse to believe His pre-existence before the world was made. {1888 784.3}

Seventh-day Adventist non-trinitarians believe that the divine Son of God has pre-existence and self-existence. One does not need to believe in the Trinity to believe in Christ’s pre-existence and self-existence.

No one of the angels could become a substitute and surety for the human race, for their life is God’s; they could not surrender it. On Christ alone the human family depended for their existence. He is the eternal, self-existent Son, on whom no yoke had come. {12MR 395.3}

The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. The Son of God shared the Father’s throne, and the glory of the eternal, self-existent One encircled both. About the throne gathered the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng–“ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:11.), the most exalted angels, as ministers and subjects, rejoicing in the light that fell upon them from the presence of the Deity. Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will. The Son of God had wrought the Father’s will in the creation of all the hosts of heaven; and to Him, as well as to God, their homage and allegiance were due. Christ was still to exercise divine power, in the creation of the earth and its inhabitants. But in all this He would not seek power or exaltation for Himself contrary to God’s plan, but would exalt the Father’s glory and execute His purposes of beneficence and love. {PP 36.2}

Oh, my brother, do not interpose yourself between God and His heritage. God desires His people to look to Him for guidance that they may be led by His Spirit. He is the eternal, self-existent Source of all life, physical and spiritual. No man is to condemn and denounce his brethren because they do not entertain the ideas and plans that he has worked out.  {21MR 272.3}

Jehovah, the eternal, self-existent, uncreated One, Himself the Source and Sustainer of all, is alone entitled to supreme reverence and worship. Man is forbidden to give to any other object the first place in his affections or his service. Whatever we cherish that tends to lessen our love for God or to interfere with the service due Him, of that do we make a god.  {PP 305.4}

But turning from all lesser representations, we behold God in Jesus. Looking unto Jesus we see that it is the glory of our God to give. “I do nothing of Myself,” said Christ; “the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father.” “I seek not Mine own glory,” but the glory of Him that sent Me. John 8:28; 6:57; 8:50; 7:18. In these words is set forth the great principle which is the law of life for the universe. All things Christ received from God, but He took to give. So in the heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created beings: through the beloved Son, the Father’s life flows out to all; through the Son it returns, in praise and joyous service, a tide of love, to the great Source of all. And thus through Christ the circuit of beneficence is complete, representing the character of the great Giver, the law of life.  {DA 21.2}

Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:4

Question: Where did the self-existent Son’s self-existence come from?
Answer: The glory of the eternal, self-existent One (the Father) encircled both. Christ is the self-existent Son because His Father is the self-existent One. Christ is the self-existent Son of God, begotten with the immortal life of His Father.

Jesus encouraged her faith, saying, “Thy brother shall rise again.” His answer was not intended to inspire hope of an immediate change. He carried Martha’s thoughts beyond the present restoration of her brother, and fixed them upon the resurrection of the just. This He did that she might see in the resurrection of Lazarus a pledge of the resurrection of all the righteous dead, and an assurance that it would be accomplished by the Saviour’s power. {DA 530.1}

Martha answered, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” {DA 530.2}
Still seeking to give a true direction to her faith, Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. “He that hath the Son hath life.” 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life. “He that believeth in Me,” said Jesus, “though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Christ here looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would represent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal life. {DA 530.3}

To the Saviour’s words, “Believest thou?” Martha responded, “Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” She did not comprehend in all their significance the words spoken by Christ, but she confessed her faith in His divinity, and her confidence that He was able to perform whatever it pleased Him to do. {DA 530.4}

Question: What does it mean when it says “In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived?”
Answer: The next sentence of Desire of Ages helps to explain this idea. Ellen White says “The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life.” The life that is original, unborrowed and underived can be defined as:

• Eternal life
• Immortality

It is a great practice when trying to understand what Ellen White was saying to search for other references of the same expression. Here are two quotes below that help to explain life, original, unborrowed, underived.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:1-5. {ST February 13, 1912, par.1}

The world did not see divinity in the humble Man of Nazareth. The only-begotten Son of the infinite God was in the world, and men knew Him not in His true character. {ST February 13, 1912, par.2}

“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” It is not physical life that is here specified, but eternal life, 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 received. 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. He can not earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as his personal Saviour. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3. This is the open fountain of life for the world. {ST February 13, 1912, par.3}

Here is another quote very similar to the one above:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:1-5). The world did not see divinity in the humble Man of Nazareth. The only-begotten Son of the infinite God was in the world, and men knew Him not in His true character. {1SM 296.1}

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). It is not physical life that is here specified, but immortality, the life which is exclusively the property of God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. Physical life is something which each individual receives. It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the Life-giver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life. But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life from Him. “I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18), He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as His personal Saviour. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This is the open fountain of life for the world. {1SM 297.1}

Question: Is the life that is original, unborrowed, underived inherent in man?
Answer: No.

He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as His personal Saviour. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This is the open fountain of life for the world. {1SM 297.1}

Question: Is the Christian able to possess the life that is original, unborrowed, underived
Answer: Yes. It is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as His personal Saviour.

He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as His personal Saviour. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This is the open fountain of life for the world. {1SM 297.1}

For an excellent in depth study on the expression life, original, unborrowed, underived please visit the As It Reads website:
http://www.asitreads.com/blog/2017/11/19/life-original-unborrowed-underived

The expression “Christ and the Father” is common in Ellen White’s writings. This expression is not evidence of the Trinity doctrine. Here are a few other quotes with the same expression for your reference.

Notice the two beings that we are going to be forever one with:

To His church, Christ has given ample facilities, that He may receive a large revenue of glory from His redeemed, purchased possession. The church, being endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depository, in which the wealth of His mercy, His love, His grace, is to appear in full and final display. The declaration in His intercessory prayer, that the Father’s love is as great toward us as toward Himself, the only-begotten Son, and that we shall be with Him where He is, forever one with Christ and the Father, is a marvel to the heavenly host, and it is their great joy. The gift of His Holy Spirit, rich, full, and abundant, is to be to His church as an encompassing wall of fire, which the powers of hell shall not prevail against. In their untainted purity and spotless perfection, Christ looks upon His people as the reward of all His suffering, His humiliation, and His love, and the supplement of His glory,–Christ, the great center from which radiates all glory. “Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” {CET 209.1}

Notice the two beings who made the sacrifice in behalf of the human race:

Parents who truly love Christ will bear witness to this in a love for their children that will not indulge, but will work wisely for their highest good. These children have been bought with a price. Christ sacrificed His life that He might redeem them from wrongdoing. Parents who appreciate the sacrifice Christ and the Father have made in behalf of the race will cooperate with them, lending every sanctified energy and ability to the work of saving their children. Instead of treating them as playthings, they will regard them as the purchase of Christ, and will teach them that they are to become the children of God. Instead of allowing them to indulge evil temper and selfish desires, they will teach them lessons of self-restraint. {HP 210.3}

Here is another interesting paragraph:

There is no one who can explain the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. Yet we know that He came to this earth and lived as a man among men. The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty, yet Christ and the Father are one. The Deity did not sink under the agonizing torture of Calvary, yet it is nonetheless true that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” {LHU 235.3}

Who are the two beings that we need greater faith in?

What a work is before us. We need greater faith in Christ and the Father, for this we must certainly have, else we shall be counted with the unbelievers. We see great opportunities and a great amount of work to do. We want the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. We cannot afford to miss the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. The sanctification of the truth, confirming man’s steadfastness in the faith, will constitute men laborers together with God. {OFC 265.2}

United with the Source of all power, persevering in duty, enlarging the apprehension of the love of God in Christ Jesus, they become one with Christ, until they are complete with Christ in God. {OFC 265.3}

Who are continually working through the laws of nature?

Christ and the Father are continually working through the laws of nature. Those who dwell on the laws of matter and the laws of nature, in following their own limited, finite understanding, lose sight of, if they do not deny, the continual and direct agency of God. Many express themselves in a manner which would convey the idea that nature is distinct from the God of nature, having in and of itself its own limits and its own powers wherewith to work. There is with many a marked distinction between natural and supernatural. The natural is ascribed to ordinary causes, unconnected with the interference with God. Vital power is attributed to matter, and nature is made a deity. Matter is supposed to be placed in certain relations, and left to act from fixed laws, with which God himself cannot interfere; that nature is endowed with certain properties and placed subject to laws, and left to itself to obey these laws, and perform the work originally commanded. This is false science; there is nothing in the Word of God to sustain it. God does not annul his laws, but he is continually working through them, using them as his instruments. They are not self-working. {GCDB, February 18, 1897 par. 8}

The Lord Jesus described the difficulties they [would] meet. Having called their minds to rise to an eminence, He bids them look and behold the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against God, against Christ, against all who unite with these holy powers. Christ tells them they were to fight in fellowship with all the children of light; that satanic agencies would combine their forces to extinguish the light of the life of Christ out of their ranks. But they were not left to fight the battles in their own human strength; that the angelic host coming as ministers of God would be in that battle, and also there would be the eternal heavenly dignitaries—God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit—arming them with more than mortal energy, and [who] would advance with them to the work, and convince the world of sin. MS130-1901.52

The subtitle “The Eternal Dignitaries of the Trinity” was not added by Ellen White. This is an addition to Ellen White’s writing and it is very revealing. Whoever wrote this subtitle desired you to read the quoted paragraph through a Trinitarian lens.

Question: Who is the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against?

Answer: “against God, against Christ, against all who unite with these holy powers.” MS130-1901.52 Two beings are being referenced. There is no reference to a third being.

Here are three similar phrases:

“The eternal heavenly dignitaries – God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit”
“three highest powers in heaven”
“heavenly trio”

A simple explanation of these phrases can be found in our previous article on the “heavenly trio” expression.

An excellent article on this paragraph can be viewed at: As It Reads

The Lord is soon to come. We want that complete and perfect understanding which the Lord alone can give. It is not safe to catch the spirit from another. We want the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ. If we commune with God, we shall have strength and grace and efficiency. Letter 66-1894.18

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 heart of the humble and contrite ones. MS158-1898.4

Answer: The third person of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit. This is what the paragraph explains. We also know that Ellen White’s letter 66 reveals who the Holy Spirit is.

The Lord is soon to come. We want that complete and perfect understanding which the Lord alone can give. It is not safe to catch the spirit from another. We want the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ. If we commune with God, we shall have strength and grace and efficiency. Letter 66-1894.18

As It Reads has a good explanation going into more detail on the third person of the Godhead.

Answer: No. The heavenly trio article addresses who these powers are.