Thursday, October 25, 2018

“THE KEY TO UNITY”

"THE KEY TO UNITY"

"THE KEY TO UNITY"

 

I was excited as I received the opportunity to write for lesson number four this quarter. The scripture verses are some of my favorite ones and it is a joy to dive deeper into this subject. I must admit that the timing of this quarter's studies and the proverbial elephant in the room/church conversations that seem to be consuming so many can be seen as either exceptionally providential or purposely planned (possibly even both). Either way I do not plan to jump into the fray regarding this elephant but keep us discussing principles from this week's lesson that can change and touch all of our lives regardless of our views on current events. Words and ideas are simply vehicles and can be used to go many different directions, depending on where we steer them. I pray that our time together will be fruitful and a blessing to each of us.

The key to unity could be considered as the joining of three things: knowing who we are; knowing our purpose; and knowing who we believe in. In fact, that last one can redirect anyone as they allow the God of all grace and mercy to reveal Himself fully in each of our lives (shining in the face and life of Jesus, through the Bible, being led and transformed by the Spirit, through nature, etc.). As we come to know God more, through communion and connection, then He clearly and intentionally reveals who we are and why we are here. As God does that He brings us more and more in unity with those traveling that same direction (see Ephesians 4). Unity is a directional focus, not an external conformity.

Going back to humanity's beginning, we were united together with a specific purpose to live and glorify God in the garden. Since sin, God has been working throughout history to get us back to that place, both physically and experientially. In short, God's mission is that we would all be reunited in Christ, redeemed from wherever sin has taken us and reconnected with heaven being put back on God's mission to live our lives worshipping God, ministering to one another, and being a blessing in the world. Therefore, ultimately, unity is based in mission. When we forget our mission we inevitably destroy unity as we will be fragmented in our many different directions.

Interestingly, when sin entered humanity three distinct things changed. Communion and relationship with God were fractured, we lost our identity as children of God, and we derailed our purpose in life as stewards of this world. In the place of those pristine realities the vacuum was filled with fear, shame, brokenness, loss of community, pride, and self-centeredness that have expressed themselves in a myriad of painful ways throughout history (both individually and corporately). Different authors have described these facts in various ways. History is replete with the undeniable evidence.

This week we are studying how God chose all the world in Christ Jesus and has adopted us back into His royal family. We have received exceptional promises and are even reigning with Christ now in the heavenly places (see Ephesians 1-2). When we accept our new relationship with God we are also in a new relationship with others. There is no longer a layering of people. The walls and distinctions are all gone and we are each invited to a unity of purpose (direction) in our shared identity as children of God participating with God on His mission. Galatians 3:26-29 describes this new transformative position in Christ. What amazing promises! God's goal in the full plan of salvation is to bring all three lost realities back into our lives: our position, purpose, and united worship. Hallelujah!

Yet, here is the rub for unity. Those are the realities in heaven's eyes, as they were in the beginning and are even greater in Christ now. Yet, for many of us (either in the church or out, labels notwithstanding), these promises have not been realized. The discord of self continues to shatter the unity of heaven. In the place of God's glorious provisions, we continue to clothe ourselves with sin's three counterfeits: seeking approval from others, judging others, and controlling others. Why?

Without the truths that I have been describing of knowing who we are, whose we are, and what our purpose is, we will desperately seek to find meaning and purpose in other ways. If we are not secure in knowing that we are loved by the great God of love, we will try to find that approval from others. If we have lost our purpose of blessing others then we will change our focus and try to control others in order to mask our lack of self-control and purpose. If we are not worshiping the God of love and knowing that He is God and we are not, then we will naturally live our lives judging others in order to feel good about ourselves.Sometimes our ideas and beliefs can become our idols in the place of God. These three counterfeits of self rise up over and over in our lives and constantly lurk beneath the surface of even our best external actions. Wherever they are held they will invariably destroy unity because they are seeking to gain control in going different directions instead of submitting to God and one another in going His direction.

The key to unity is being set free from these lies. "We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God." Desire of Ages, page 330. This emancipation process defines the direction of life where we can find unity. All those desiring this freedom and purpose will be able to find the refreshing gift of unity journeying together.

Yet, in this freedom, we will not necessarily all look and act the same. Unity is moving in the same direction under God's leadership not external uniformity in action. Each have different gifts and will serve in the uniting purpose of God's mission in different ways. The challenge for us is to constantly watch for self rising up with the need to judge or control others as God leads them in their lives in a way that we may consider different or opposed to our understanding. We need to keep from having our approval come from humanity but to always be anchored in God. Like Paul, we need to die daily to the insidious lies of self.

One last line of thought before we leave this important subject of unity. Sociologists reference two different ways of looking at groups: centered set thinking and bounded set thinking. Dr. Bruce Bauer has written about this in greater detail in the Journal for Adventist Missions, but I will simply summarize the differences for your convenience here. Centered set groups are focused on their purpose and like the spokes on a wheel they all go to the center. The closer they get to the center the closer they get to each other. The directional focus is the same though the locations and placement on the wheel can be very different. Bounded sets are more like boxes. The important questions are who is in and who is out? What are the criteria for determining membership or uniqueness from others? The boundaries become the ultimate focus.

The obvious question when one looks at those two types of groups are: which one can have true unity? Can the bounded set ever truly agree on the exact boundaries in a way that will fit with all cultures? Or, will there end up being a lot of judgment and even control to make sure that one box can fit all? Bounded sets naturally lead to many smaller boxes with their own particular locus of control. I have trouble seeing unity in that model. On the other hand, centered sets by their very definition have the best chance for unity as they are moving in the same direction. As long as the goal and purpose remain primary then the other differences can be subsumed by the continuous pursuit of the center.

As you study this week's lesson on the key to unity may the powerful words of Ephesians bless you and invite you even closer to "Christ the great center!" Desire of Ages, page 680. Please join me in praying that Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1 will be realized in our day as the church recaptures its focus on God's mission. Eugene Peterson captures this prayer powerfully in his paraphrase: "But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him—endless energy, boundless strength! All this energy issues from Christ: God raised Him from death and set Him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which He speaks and acts, by which He fills everything with His presence."

May Paul's prayer centuries ago help us find the key to true unity.

~Bryan Gallant



Wednesday, October 17, 2018

1888 Message Study : That They All May Be One

"THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE"

 

Our sun's energy comes from the process of fusion, the act of combining two or more distinct entities to make a new whole. In its plasma state, two hydrogen ions can fuse to make a helium ion and a neutron. The result is a release of a large amount of energy compared to the mass of the fuel. This is thought to be one of the most efficient sources of energy known to man. Since the 1950's physicists have been trying to reproduce this process. The challenges to replicating fusion as an energy source, are the extreme heat required to maintain the plasma state of hydrogen and the force required to create an environment to allow charged particles to come close enough to fuse. The sun provides this environment because of its extreme temperatures and gravitational forces.

 

With fusion, a bath tub full of water and two laptop batteries theoretically could produce all the electricity and energy one person would need for a lifetime. Scientists, from the European Union, Russia, Japan, Korea, United States, China and India have unified their efforts to create a feasible way to generate energy using fusion. They realize that if they can make this happen, the earth's energy problems would be solved. The entire world could be lightened with the product of fusion.

 

Jesus' prayer in John 17 was a prayer for fusion. It is the solution to disunity of every kind and the ultimate source of light to fill the world with His glory (Revelation 18:1). The Savior prayed, "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." John 17:20-23.

 

Jesus spells out this fusion in His prayer, "as You Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us." and also "that they may be one just as We are one." When Jesus was here on earth, He was one with the Father. His prayer is for us to be one with Them in the same way.

 

To what degree was Jesus one with the Father? He told Phillip, "If you have seen Me you have seen the Father." What Jesus said, how He acted, how He responded, and how He felt about people was exactly the same as if it were the Father Himself. Jesus was the Father personified and lived out in humanity. So, to what degree? To every degree.

 

How was Jesus able to do this? We might be tempted to quickly say, "because He was God". While it's true, His identity was still God, if we stopped there we would be ignoring what He became when becoming Immanuel, God with us. When Jesus stepped down to be one with humanity He chose to put Himself in a position of vulnerability where He would have to say, "I can of My own self do nothing".

 

In speaking of Jesus when He calmed the storm the servant of the Lord writes, "It was not as the "Master of earth and sea and sky" that He reposed in quiet. That power He had laid down, and He says, "I can of Mine own self do nothing." John 5:30. He trusted in the Father's might. It was in faith - faith in God's love and care-that Jesus rested, and the power of that word which still the storm was the power of God." DA 336

 

It was by faith that Jesus was one with the Father and the Father was one with Him. It was by yielding at every step His own will whenever He was tempted to deviate from His Father's will. And we know He was tempted in this way for "He was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin" and in Gethsemane He prayed, "Never the less not My will but Yours be done."

 

It was this fusion that He experienced and lived out while on this earth that He prayed for His followers to experience. His prayer was that by a full and living faith, they would be one with Him and the Father in the same way and to the same degree. Paul expressed this same idea when he wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20.

 

As Christ and His followers become one in the same way as He and His Father are one, each follower will by necessity be one with each other. Oneness and unity with each other will only come as each is unified with Christ first. That is biblical new covenant unity and anything less is an imitation, an old covenant shadow, based on man's own resources and means. New covenant unity will lead to the manifestation of the body of Christ, united in heart and purpose, in word and doctrine, in worship, and in life.

 

Read how Waggoner puts it. "The church is the body of Christ. This does not mean that anything that calls itself the church is therefore necessarily the body of Christ, but that nothing is the church unless it is the body of Christ; and nothing is the body of Christ unless it is the living manifestation of the Spirit of Christ. Only those are Christ's who have His Spirit. Romans 8:9. The body of Christ is that which is directly connected with the Head, so that it "increaseth with the increase of God." Colossians 2:19. In short, it is "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." PTUK August 31, 1893, p.338

 

Think about it. We have a chance to answer Jesus' prayer by yielding to the Spirit of God and allowing this fusion to take place. Him in us and us in Him. The result will be the glory that God revealed in Jesus, will be revealed in us. As we do this as a church the world will be lightened by fusion as the energy that could only come from the Son is released. There is sufficient heat in the love of this Son and more than enough compelling force in His sacrifice. Let's answer His prayer with a resounding and immediate yes. The world is waiting.

 

More food for thought from E.J. Waggoner:

 

"But the Lord said, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." John 10:16. Some people quote this text to justify the numerous divisions in the professed church of Christ; but they certainly do not read it thoughtfully. It is true that the Lord has other sheep - sheep that are wandering in the desert, and that are even in the jaws of a lion. But He will gather them, for His mission is to the lost, and then there will be "one fold, and one Shepherd." Unity is the perfection of God's plan. His desire for His people is "that they all may be one." John 17:21. It is only "in the unity of the faith" that they come "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13" PTUK March 12, 1896, p.162

 

"It is useless to attempt to unite the discordant fragments of Christendom into one harmonious body, through the methods that are commonly tried. No amount of argument or debating or summoning of councils or revising of creeds will ever secure the result. How then can it be obtained? The answer to this question has been given by Jesus Christ. "That they all may be one; as Thou, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us... I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one." John 17:21-23. It is by the possession of the Spirit. There is but one Spirit; and when all are controlled and actuated by it, laying aside self, no other condition but that of Christian unity will be possible." PTUK August 31, 1893, p. 338

 

~Kelly Kinsley


https://www.1888msc.org/resources/ssi/2018-q4/that-they-all-may-be-one




Friday, October 12, 2018

“CREATION AND FALL”

"CREATION AND FALL"

 

In preparing for the Insights this week, I came across a 1929 article, "Covenant of Grace," by W. W. Prescott, which fits very nicely with this week's lesson theme. Brother Prescott loved and preached the "most precious message" of Christ our righteousness. May these words be received as a fresh revelation of Jesus and His love, a token of the abundant rain that is yet to come. Looking unto Jesus is our only hope for Oneness in Christ, the theme for this quarter's lessons.

 

The Covenant of Grace

 

When I become confused over the apparent chaos in world affairs, and am perplexed over some of my own trying experiences, and a suggestion of doubt about the love of God arises in my mind, I find an antidote for such a poisonous atmosphere by thinking of Jesus and Calvary. God does love us. His thoughts toward us are "thoughts of peace." Jeremiah 29:11. He has given us full proof of His love. What more could He do for us that He has not done? Isaiah 5:4. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?" Romans 8:31, 32. Away with doubt and fear! "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3."O Jehovah, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name." Isaiah 25:1.

 

In considering the wondrous love of God as revealed to us in redeeming us from sin and its dreadful consequences, it may throw light upon the whole problem of His manifested grace if we give some thought to the divine purpose in creating us. This is clearly stated in the Scriptures. God speaks of His sons and daughters as those "whom I have created for My glory." Isaiah 43:7. And He further says of Israel, "Thou art My servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Isaiah 49:3.

 

Creation was an act of love on the part of a holy God in bringing into existence beings who could reveal the glory of His own love. Love formed us in His own image, that we might love. Genesis 1:26. Hence the fundamental law of our being, and the very purpose for which we have been redeemed, was expressed by our Lord when He was asked to distinguish between the commandments in the law: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40. In our relation to God nothing can take the place of this love. "If I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:3. A burning body cannot be substituted for burning love. And why? Because God made us to reveal His character of love by living with Him in the atmosphere of His love; anything short of this will not satisfy the heart of God.

 

Sin banishes love and genders hatred. Sin seeks to abolish the law of love to God and man, and to put in its place the law of selfishness. Sin has no time or place for the worship of God, but sets up the idolatry of self. Sin must be dealt with in order that the purpose of God in our creation may not be thwarted, but that the image of God may be restored in us. And God has dealt with sin.

 

Man was originally crowned with glory and honor, and given dominion over the world (Psalm 8:5; Genesis 1:26), empowered to reign upon a throne of love; but distrust of God dethroned him, and he became the slave of sin. The purpose of God in the gospel is to restore man to his place on the throne by renewing the love of God in his heart, and so enabling him to conquer selfishness; "He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne." Revelation 3:21. Love is the all-conquering power, and love will win.

 

The source and ground of our salvation is the grace of God, which is love dealing with sin. The assurance of this love manifested in saving grace is made known to us in the promises of God, which constitute the covenant of grace. The fundamental promises, designated as the "new covenant," are thus expressed; "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will accomplish [margin] a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; for they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will covenant [margin] with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and on their heart also will I write them: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people: and they shall not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more." Hebrews 8:8-12.

 

That which clearly distinguishes the new covenant, the covenant of grace, from the covenant made with the fathers at Sinai, is that it consists wholly of promises made by God Himself, instead of being a compact based upon mutual promises. Both covenants have reference to the same law, and the object sought in both cases is the same-obedience to that law. In the old covenant the blessings were conditioned upon the promise of the people (Exodus 19:8), who relied upon their own power to fulfill that promise, not realizing their need of a mediator; in the new covenant all depends upon the promises of God, and a mediator is provided. And so we read: "Now hath He obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises." Hebrew 8:6. The new covenant, the covenant of grace, is as much better than the old covenant, the covenant of works, as the promises of God are better than the promises of man.

 

But the moral law, which is to be written in the heart, is the law of love. It is the expression of the very nature of the God of love as interpreted to us in the life and teachings of Christ, Who said, "I have kept My Father's commandments." John 15:10. To keep this law is to love as God loves. To the natural heart this is impossible, and so God has promised to give us a new heart: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Ezekiel 36:26. In harmony with this provision is the prayer of David: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast [margin] spirit within me." Psalm 51:10. We may call this conversion, or regeneration, or the new birth, or the new creation; but in any case, it is the impartation of a new life from God, that life which is love, and is revealed in loving. Those who have this experience are "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), and that nature is expressed in obedience to the divine law of love.

 

When the principle of love is implanted in the heart, when man is renewed after the image of Him that created him, the new covenant promise is fulfilled, 'I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.' And if the law is written in the heart, will it not shape the life? . . . Here is the true test. If we abide in Christ, if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law." {1929 WWP, SOTW 83.1} 

 

And this experience is guaranteed to us by the promise of God, and is provided for us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love: for we know that "the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us." Romans 5:5. "Salvation is of Jehovah." Jonah 2:9.

 

Obedience to the law of love is not a hardship, not a burdensome duty imposed upon us as the price of blessing from God, but the fruit and the test of our fellowship with God through the Spirit. But at the same time, it is the absolute condition of maintaining our standing before God.

 

"At the very root of the relation of a creature to his God, and of God admitting the creature to His fellowship, lies the thought of obedience. . . . In the promise of the new covenant it takes the first place. God engages to circumcise the hearts of His people-in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ-to love God with all their heart, and to obey His commandments. The crowning gift of Christ's exaltation was the Holy Spirit, to bring salvation to us as an inward thing. The first covenant demanded obedience, and failed because it could not find it. The new covenant was expressly made to provide for obedience. To a life in the full enjoyment of the new covenant blessing, obedience is essential."

 

The enabling power for such a life of obedience is ministered to us in this most helpful promise: "I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine ordinances, and do them." Ezekiel 36:27. This means simply that God in Christ has personally assumed the responsibility for our life of love and obedience, according to the covenant promise which He has made in these words: "I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from Me." Jeremiah 32:39, 40. This is the gospel of the grace of God. This is the covenant of grace. Here is the distinguishing feature of Christianity as interpreted to us by Inspiration. By promise and by oath God has pledged Himself as the Saviour of those who trust in Him, that "we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." Hebrews 6:18. "Jehovah, Thou wilt ordain peace for us; for Thou hast also wrought all our works for us." Isaiah 26:12. Blessed assurance! Strong encouragement indeed!

 

Another feature of the new covenant, the covenant of grace, which marks its superiority over the old covenant, is that it has a gloriously efficient Mediator, even Jesus the Son of God. We have not come to Mt. Sinai, but to Mount Zion, and "to Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant" (Hebrews 12:24); to Jesus Who has shared with us in our experiences of temptation (Hebrews 4:15) and knows our need: "for there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, Himself man, Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all." 1 Timothy 2:5, 6. Through His mediation all the blessings of the new covenant are ministered unto us. By His life of suffering obedience, culminating in His death on the cross, He has made atonement for our sins. Exalted at the right hand of God and sitting upon the throne of grace, He has "become the surety of a better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22), and through His mediation the gifts of God are supplied to us, and all the requirements of God are wrought in us. Through His mediation the covenant of grace, instead of being a mutual agreement, is resolved into His "precious and exceeding great promises" (2 Peter 1:4), of which He Himself is the yea: "for how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea: wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us." 2 Corinthians 1:20. Apart from His mediation, we should be utterly helpless, "having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians. 2:12.

 

But someone may feel like suggesting, "You are making it too easy for the transgressor by placing all the responsibility for success in the Christian life upon God." Do not misunderstand me. There is one thing which God does not do, and which He does not permit any other person to do. He has given to us freedom of will, and He will not disregard it. I can say No to God, and He will be governed accordingly, but I must take the inevitable consequences. In this sense I am the arbiter of my own destiny. I can make my own choice. This privilege and its meaning were recognized by Moses, the man of God, when he solemnly declared to the people, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore, choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed." Deuteronomy. 30:19. There is no power which will compel us to choose to commit sin. There is no power which will compel us to choose to do righteousness. We alone are responsible for the choice which we make. Therefore, we commit no sin without first consenting to it, and an act is charged against us as sin when we consent to do that which we know to be contrary to the will of God.

 

Judas was a traitor at heart before he actually betrayed his Lord. He deliberately chose to do the infamous deed, for we read that "he consented, and sought opportunity to deliver Him unto them in the absence of the multitude." Luke 22:6. We imitate Judas when we consent to commit a known sin. The will determines our way of life.

 

"Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has been given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus, your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, and your thoughts will be in harmony with Him."

 

Such are the results of making a right choice.

 

I do not need to be told that the god of this world will use every possible means to keep us from choosing to serve God. I know it in my own experience. He paints the glories of the world in glowing colors, and promises all that the natural heart desires, if we will only choose to worship him. But we must not forget that "there is no truth in him," and that "he is a liar, and the father thereof." John 8:44. In his service all joy ends in bitterness of soul, all selfish pleasure destroys the capacity to love, and all hope is quenched in everlasting despair. Do not listen to his fables of deceit.

 

From the first promise of victory over the serpent, made in Eden (Genesis 3:15), to the last promise of the advent of our Lord in glory to reward those who have been redeemed by His loving mercy (Revelation 22:12), we are dealing with the covenant of grace. The call to us now, as to His people of old, is, "Come ye, and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten." Jeremiah. 50:5.

 

"Saving faith is a transaction, by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God."

 

Let each one of us say with absolute sincerity, "Into this covenant of a wholehearted love in God and in me I do with my whole heart now enter." Thrice blessed is he who will thus accept the inestimable blessings of the covenant of grace. {1929 WWP, SOTW 79 - 86}

 

~Patti Guthrie


Thursday, October 04, 2018

“CREATION AND FALL”

FOURTH QUARTER 2018

SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #1

OCTOBER 6, 2018

"CREATION AND FALL"

 

In preparing for the Insights this week, I came across a 1929 article, "Covenant of Grace," by W. W. Prescott, which fits very nicely with this week's lesson theme. Brother Prescott loved and preached the "most precious message" of Christ our righteousness. May these words be received as a fresh revelation of Jesus and His love, a token of the abundant rain that is yet to come. Looking unto Jesus is our only hope for Oneness in Christ, the theme for this quarter's lessons.

 

The Covenant of Grace

 

When I become confused over the apparent chaos in world affairs, and am perplexed over some of my own trying experiences, and a suggestion of doubt about the love of God arises in my mind, I find an antidote for such a poisonous atmosphere by thinking of Jesus and Calvary. God does love us. His thoughts toward us are "thoughts of peace." Jeremiah 29:11. He has given us full proof of His love. What more could He do for us that He has not done? Isaiah 5:4. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?" Romans 8:31, 32. Away with doubt and fear! "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3."O Jehovah, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name." Isaiah 25:1.

 

In considering the wondrous love of God as revealed to us in redeeming us from sin and its dreadful consequences, it may throw light upon the whole problem of His manifested grace if we give some thought to the divine purpose in creating us. This is clearly stated in the Scriptures. God speaks of His sons and daughters as those "whom I have created for My glory." Isaiah 43:7. And He further says of Israel, "Thou art My servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Isaiah 49:3.

 

Creation was an act of love on the part of a holy God in bringing into existence beings who could reveal the glory of His own love. Love formed us in His own image, that we might love. Genesis 1:26. Hence the fundamental law of our being, and the very purpose for which we have been redeemed, was expressed by our Lord when He was asked to distinguish between the commandments in the law: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40. In our relation to God nothing can take the place of this love. "If I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:3. A burning body cannot be substituted for burning love. And why? Because God made us to reveal His character of love by living with Him in the atmosphere of His love; anything short of this will not satisfy the heart of God.

 

Sin banishes love and genders hatred. Sin seeks to abolish the law of love to God and man, and to put in its place the law of selfishness. Sin has no time or place for the worship of God, but sets up the idolatry of self. Sin must be dealt with in order that the purpose of God in our creation may not be thwarted, but that the image of God may be restored in us. And God has dealt with sin.

 

Man was originally crowned with glory and honor, and given dominion over the world (Psalm 8:5; Genesis 1:26), empowered to reign upon a throne of love; but distrust of God dethroned him, and he became the slave of sin. The purpose of God in the gospel is to restore man to his place on the throne by renewing the love of God in his heart, and so enabling him to conquer selfishness; "He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne." Revelation 3:21. Love is the all-conquering power, and love will win.

 

The source and ground of our salvation is the grace of God, which is love dealing with sin. The assurance of this love manifested in saving grace is made known to us in the promises of God, which constitute the covenant of grace. The fundamental promises, designated as the "new covenant," are thus expressed; "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will accomplish [margin] a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt; for they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will covenant [margin] with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and on their heart also will I write them: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people: and they shall not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more." Hebrews 8:8-12.

 

That which clearly distinguishes the new covenant, the covenant of grace, from the covenant made with the fathers at Sinai, is that it consists wholly of promises made by God Himself, instead of being a compact based upon mutual promises. Both covenants have reference to the same law, and the object sought in both cases is the same-obedience to that law. In the old covenant the blessings were conditioned upon the promise of the people (Exodus 19:8), who relied upon their own power to fulfill that promise, not realizing their need of a mediator; in the new covenant all depends upon the promises of God, and a mediator is provided. And so we read: "Now hath He obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises." Hebrew 8:6. The new covenant, the covenant of grace, is as much better than the old covenant, the covenant of works, as the promises of God are better than the promises of man.

 

But the moral law, which is to be written in the heart, is the law of love. It is the expression of the very nature of the God of love as interpreted to us in the life and teachings of Christ, Who said, "I have kept My Father's commandments." John 15:10. To keep this law is to love as God loves. To the natural heart this is impossible, and so God has promised to give us a new heart: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Ezekiel 36:26. In harmony with this provision is the prayer of David: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast [margin] spirit within me." Psalm 51:10. We may call this conversion, or regeneration, or the new birth, or the new creation; but in any case, it is the impartation of a new life from God, that life which is love, and is revealed in loving. Those who have this experience are "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), and that nature is expressed in obedience to the divine law of love.

 

When the principle of love is implanted in the heart, when man is renewed after the image of Him that created him, the new covenant promise is fulfilled, 'I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.' And if the law is written in the heart, will it not shape the life? . . . Here is the true test. If we abide in Christ, if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law." {1929 WWP, SOTW 83.1} 

 

And this experience is guaranteed to us by the promise of God, and is provided for us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love: for we know that "the love of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us." Romans 5:5. "Salvation is of Jehovah." Jonah 2:9.

 

Obedience to the law of love is not a hardship, not a burdensome duty imposed upon us as the price of blessing from God, but the fruit and the test of our fellowship with God through the Spirit. But at the same time, it is the absolute condition of maintaining our standing before God.

 

"At the very root of the relation of a creature to his God, and of God admitting the creature to His fellowship, lies the thought of obedience. . . . In the promise of the new covenant it takes the first place. God engages to circumcise the hearts of His people-in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ-to love God with all their heart, and to obey His commandments. The crowning gift of Christ's exaltation was the Holy Spirit, to bring salvation to us as an inward thing. The first covenant demanded obedience, and failed because it could not find it. The new covenant was expressly made to provide for obedience. To a life in the full enjoyment of the new covenant blessing, obedience is essential."

 

The enabling power for such a life of obedience is ministered to us in this most helpful promise: "I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep Mine ordinances, and do them." Ezekiel 36:27. This means simply that God in Christ has personally assumed the responsibility for our life of love and obedience, according to the covenant promise which He has made in these words: "I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from Me." Jeremiah 32:39, 40. This is the gospel of the grace of God. This is the covenant of grace. Here is the distinguishing feature of Christianity as interpreted to us by Inspiration. By promise and by oath God has pledged Himself as the Saviour of those who trust in Him, that "we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." Hebrews 6:18. "Jehovah, Thou wilt ordain peace for us; for Thou hast also wrought all our works for us." Isaiah 26:12. Blessed assurance! Strong encouragement indeed!

 

Another feature of the new covenant, the covenant of grace, which marks its superiority over the old covenant, is that it has a gloriously efficient Mediator, even Jesus the Son of God. We have not come to Mt. Sinai, but to Mount Zion, and "to Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant" (Hebrews 12:24); to Jesus Who has shared with us in our experiences of temptation (Hebrews 4:15) and knows our need: "for there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, Himself man, Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all." 1 Timothy 2:5, 6. Through His mediation all the blessings of the new covenant are ministered unto us. By His life of suffering obedience, culminating in His death on the cross, He has made atonement for our sins. Exalted at the right hand of God and sitting upon the throne of grace, He has "become the surety of a better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22), and through His mediation the gifts of God are supplied to us, and all the requirements of God are wrought in us. Through His mediation the covenant of grace, instead of being a mutual agreement, is resolved into His "precious and exceeding great promises" (2 Peter 1:4), of which He Himself is the yea: "for how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea: wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us." 2 Corinthians 1:20. Apart from His mediation, we should be utterly helpless, "having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians. 2:12.

 

But someone may feel like suggesting, "You are making it too easy for the transgressor by placing all the responsibility for success in the Christian life upon God." Do not misunderstand me. There is one thing which God does not do, and which He does not permit any other person to do. He has given to us freedom of will, and He will not disregard it. I can say No to God, and He will be governed accordingly, but I must take the inevitable consequences. In this sense I am the arbiter of my own destiny. I can make my own choice. This privilege and its meaning were recognized by Moses, the man of God, when he solemnly declared to the people, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore, choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed." Deuteronomy. 30:19. There is no power which will compel us to choose to commit sin. There is no power which will compel us to choose to do righteousness. We alone are responsible for the choice which we make. Therefore, we commit no sin without first consenting to it, and an act is charged against us as sin when we consent to do that which we know to be contrary to the will of God.

 

Judas was a traitor at heart before he actually betrayed his Lord. He deliberately chose to do the infamous deed, for we read that "he consented, and sought opportunity to deliver Him unto them in the absence of the multitude." Luke 22:6. We imitate Judas when we consent to commit a known sin. The will determines our way of life.

 

"Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has been given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Thus, your whole nature will be brought under the control of the Spirit of Christ; your affections will be centered upon Him, and your thoughts will be in harmony with Him."

 

Such are the results of making a right choice.

 

I do not need to be told that the god of this world will use every possible means to keep us from choosing to serve God. I know it in my own experience. He paints the glories of the world in glowing colors, and promises all that the natural heart desires, if we will only choose to worship him. But we must not forget that "there is no truth in him," and that "he is a liar, and the father thereof." John 8:44. In his service all joy ends in bitterness of soul, all selfish pleasure destroys the capacity to love, and all hope is quenched in everlasting despair. Do not listen to his fables of deceit.

 

From the first promise of victory over the serpent, made in Eden (Genesis 3:15), to the last promise of the advent of our Lord in glory to reward those who have been redeemed by His loving mercy (Revelation 22:12), we are dealing with the covenant of grace. The call to us now, as to His people of old, is, "Come ye, and join yourselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten." Jeremiah. 50:5.

 

"Saving faith is a transaction, by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God."

 

Let each one of us say with absolute sincerity, "Into this covenant of a wholehearted love in God and in me I do with my whole heart now enter." Thrice blessed is he who will thus accept the inestimable blessings of the covenant of grace. {1929 WWP, SOTW 79 - 86}

 

~Patti Guthrie