Further Study: Ellen G. White, “Divine-Human Saviour,” pp. 1126–1128 in The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5. “While God’s Word speaks of the humanity of Christ when upon this earth, it also speaks decidedly regarding His pre-existence. The Word existed as a divine being, even as the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with His Father. . . . The world was made by Him, ‘and without him was not any thing made that was made’ (John 1:3 ). If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 247. “In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath the Son hath life.’ 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 530. Discussion Questions: 1 Demons knew and confessed that Jesus was “ ‘the Holy One of God’ ” (Mark 1:24, NKJV), “the Son of God” ( Mark 3:11), “ ‘Son of the Most High God’ ” ( Mark 5:7, NKJV). See also James 2:19. Why is this kind of acknowledgment not enough for our salvation? How can we avoid the trap of being satisfied with a mere intellectual acceptance of Jesus? 2 When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Jesus, saw how He died, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God” ( Mark 15:39). The best place to understand Jesus is at the foot of His cross. How often do you go there? When was the last time you were there? Why don’t you take a moment, right now, to meditate on the infinite sacrifice He made for your salvation? 3 A good number of Jesus’ contemporaries rejected Him because they had wrong ideas about the Messiah. Unfortunately, many people today refuse to yield their lives to Jesus, because they have prejudices or a distorted concept about Him. How can we help them to see Jesus as He really is? What do we have as Seventh-day Adventists in particular that could help give them a clearer view of who Jesus really is? Inside Story The Power of Many Believers in western Russia work together to win their neighbors—and sometimes thieves—to Jesus. They write the names of people for whom they are praying in a book at church. Then they deliver tracts or newsletters to those people during the week. One woman who owns a goat farm asked God whom to pray for, and God showed her in an unusual way. The woman noticed that her goats were disappearing. Then she found a man lifting one of her goats from its pen. She stopped him. “My family is hungry,” the man said. “If I sell the goat, they can eat.” The woman asked the man to put the goat back into its pen while she prepared food for his family. She gave him the food and some missionary tracts as well. The man’s family read the tracts. The man now works as a goat herder for this Seventh-day Adventist woman, and his family worships with the Adventist congregation in town. Three sisters were praying for an apartment to rent. An old woman offered to rent them an apartment, and the sisters moved in. Then they discovered that their landlady spoke to the spirits. The sisters prayed for the woman, but they were afraid to speak to her about her alliance with the devil. Instead, they left some Bible tracts on the table where she would find them. The woman picked up the tracts and read them. One of the tracts dealt with the devil’s skillful lies. While reading it, the landlady realized that her alliance was with the devil. The landlady has asked the sisters for more tracts and a book about God. Through their faithfulness in sharing their faith, a congregation has grown. But the members had no church in which to meet. The nearest church was several miles away in another town. They struggled to raise money for a church until the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped make their dream a reality. Today a simple church stands in this town in western Russia, a lighthouse and a testimony to the power of many working together as one to finish God’s work.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 10:23:55 +0000
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