418
Counsels for the Church
The theory that God is an essence pervading all nature is one of
Satan’s most subtle devices. It misrepresents God and is a dishonor to
His greatness and majesty.
Pantheistic theories are not sustained by the Word of God. The light
of His truth shows that these theories are soul-destroying agencies.
Darkness is their element, sensuality their sphere. They gratify the
natural heart and give license to inclination. Separation from God is
the result of accepting them.
Our condition through sin has become preternatural, and the power
[323]
that restores us must be supernatural, else it has no value. There is
but one power that can break the hold of evil from the hearts of men,
and that is the power of God in Jesus Christ. Only through the blood
of the Crucified One is there cleansing from sin. His grace alone can
enable us to resist and subdue the tendencies of our fallen nature. This
power the spiritualistic theories concerning Go
make of no effect.
If God is an essence pervading all nature, then He dwells in all men;
and in order to attain holiness, man has only to develop the power that
is within him.
These theories, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away
the whole Christian economy. They do away with the necessity for
the atonement and make man his own savior. These theories regarding
God make His word of no effect, and those who accept them are in
great danger of being led finally to look upon the whole Bible as a
fiction. They may regard virtue as better than vice; but God being
removed from His position of sovereignty, they place their dependence
upon human power, which, without God, is worthless. The unaided
human will has no real power to resist and overcome evil. The defenses
of the soul are broken down. Man has no barrier against sin. When
once the restraints of God’s word and His Spirit are rejected, we know
not to what depths one may sink.
Those who continue to hold these spiritualistic theories will surely
spoil their Christian experience, sever their connection with God, and
lose eternal life
579
* A teaching that has as its foundation the principle that God is the good that is
everywhere and in everything.—The Compilers.
580
Testimonies for the Church 8:290-292