Basic HTML Version
The Sum and Substance, April 8
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
John 17:3
.
The sum and substance of the whole matter of Christian grace and
experience is contained in believing on Christ, in knowing God and His
Son whom He hath sent. But here is where many fail, for they lack faith
in God. Instead of desiring to be brought into fellowship with Christ in
His self-denial and humiliation, they are ever seeking for the supremacy of
self.... O if we did but appreciate the love of God, how our hearts would be
expanded, our limited sympathies would be enlarged, and break away from
the icy barriers of selfishness, and our comprehension would be deeper
than it now is....
It is because we do not know God, we do not have faith in Christ, that
we are not deeply impressed with the humiliation He endured in our behalf,
that His abasement does not lead us to the humbling of self, to the exalting
of Jesus.... O if you loved Him as He has loved you, you would not shun
an experience in the dark chapters of the suffering of the Son of God!
In order to be partakers with Christ in His sufferings, we must behold
the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. When we
contemplate the humiliation of Christ, beholding His self-denial and self-
sacrifice, we are filled with amazement at the manifestation of divine love
for guilty man. When for Christ’s sake we are called to pass through trials
that are of a humiliating nature, if we have the mind of Christ we shall
suffer them with meekness, not resenting injury, or resisting evil. We shall
manifest the spirit that dwelt in Christ.... We are to understand what the
sacrifice, the labors, and the sufferings of Christ are, in order that we may
cooperate with Him in working out the great scheme of redemption
The knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ expressed in character is the
very highest education. It is the key that opens the portals of the heavenly
city. This knowledge it is God’s purpose that all who put on Christ shall
possess
[105]
12
The Review and Herald, May 24, 1892
.
13
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 37
.
105