Teacher of Truth the Only Safe Educator
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upon men the necessity of prayer, repentance, confession, and the
abandonment of sin. He taught them honesty, forbearance, mercy, and
compassion, enjoining upon them to love not only those who loved
them, but those who hated them, who treated them despitefully. In
this he was revealing to them the character of the Father, who is long-
suffering, merciful, and gracious, slow to anger, and full of goodness
and truth. Those who accepted his teaching were under the guardian
care of angels, who were commissioned to strengthen, to enlighten,
that the truth might renew and sanctify the soul.
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Christ declares the mission he had in coming to the earth. He
says in his last public prayer, “O righteous Father, the world hath
not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that
thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and
will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in
them, and I in them.” [
John 17:25, 26
.] When Moses asked the Lord
to show him his glory, the Lord said, “I will make all my goodness
pass before thee.” [
Exodus 33:19
.] “And the Lord passed by before
him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will
by no means clear the guilty.... And Moses made haste, and bowed
his head toward the earth, and worshiped.” [
Exodus 34:6-8
.] When
we are able to comprehend the character of God as did Moses, we too
shall make haste to bow in adoration and praise. Jesus contemplated
nothing less than “that the love wherewith Thou hast love me” [
John
17:26
.] should be in the hearts of his children, that they might impart
the knowledge of God to others.
O what an assurance is this, that the love of God may abide in the
hearts of all who believe in him! O what salvation is provided; for
he is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him.
In wonder we exclaim, How can these things be? But Jesus will be
satisfied with nothing less than this. Those who are partakers of his
sufferings here, of his humiliation, enduring for his name’s sake, are
to have the love of God bestowed upon them as it was upon the Son.
One who knows, has said, “The Father himself loveth you.” [
John
16:27
.] One who has had an experimental knowledge of the length,
and breadth, and height, and depth of that love, has declared unto us
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this amazing fact. This love is ours through faith in the Son of God,