Chapter 221—Reveals God’s Character
The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth.
Exodus 34:6
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All the light of the past, all the light which shines in the present and
reaches forth into the future, as revealed in the Word of God, is for every
soul who will receive it. The glory of this light, which is the very glory of
the character of Christ, is to be manifested in the individual Christian, in the
family, in the church, in the ministry of the Word, and in every institution
established by God’s people. All these the Lord designs shall be symbols of
what can be done for the world. They are to be types of the saving power of
the truths of the gospel....
By beholding the goodness, the mercy, the justice, and the love of God
revealed in the church, the world is to have a representation of His character....
In order to manifest the character of God ... we must become personally
acquainted with God. If we have fellowship with God, we are His ministers,
though we may never preach to a congregation. We are workers together
with God in presenting the perfection of His character in humanity.
God has enjoined the duty upon His human agents to communicate the
character of God, testifying to His grace, His wisdom, and His benevolence,
by manifesting His refined, tender, merciful love....
Our work is to restore the moral image of God in man through the
abundant grace given us of God by Jesus Christ.... Oh, how much we need to
know Jesus and our heavenly Father that we may represent Him in character!
The soul that is transformed by the grace of Christ will admire His divine
character.... The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we shall see
to esteem in the infinite purity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view of our
sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon; and when the soul, realizing
its helplessness, reaches out after Christ, He will reveal Himself in power.
The more our sense of need drives us to Him and to the Word of God, the
more exalted views we shall have of His character, and the more fully we
shall reflect His image.
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