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The Desire of Ages
God, one with Him in nature, in will, and in purpose. In all His works
of creation and providence, I co-operate with God. “The Son can
do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do.” The priests
and rabbis were taking the Son of God to task for the very work He
had been sent into the world to do. By their sins they had separated
themselves from God, and in their pride were moving independently of
Him. They felt sufficient in themselves for all things, and realized no
need of a higher wisdom to direct their acts. But the Son of God was
surrendered to the Father’s will, and dependent upon His power. So
utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made no plans for Himself.
He accepted God’s plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded
His plans. So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the
simple outworking of His will.
When Moses was about to build the sanctuary as a dwelling place
for God, he was directed to make all things according to the pattern
shown him in the mount. Moses was full of zeal to do God’s work; the
most talented, skillful men were at hand to carry out his suggestions.
Yet he was not to make a bell, a pomegranate, a tassel, a fringe, a
curtain, or any vessel of the sanctuary, except according to the pattern
shown him. God called him into the mount, and revealed to him the
heavenly things. The Lord covered him with His own glory, that he
might see the pattern, and according to it all things were made. So to
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Israel, whom He desired to make His dwelling place, He had revealed
His glorious ideal of character. The pattern was shown them in the
mount when the law was given from Sinai, and when the Lord passed
by before Moses 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.”
Exodus 34:6, 7
.
Israel had chosen their own ways. They had not builded according
to the pattern; but Christ, the true temple for God’s indwelling, molded
every detail of His earthly life in harmony with God’s ideal. He said,
“I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.”
Psalm 40:8
. So our characters are to be builded “for an habitation
of God through the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:22
. And we are to “make
all things according to the pattern,” even Him who “suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps.”
Hebrews 8:5
;
1 Peter 2:21
.