Lesson 13: Final Restoration of Unity

Lesson 13: Final Restoration of Unity

 

Think of it!--the resplendent KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS coming in the clouds of heaven, surprising His enemies in the very act! He will come to rescue those who are loyal to Him. Then the moment of truth will have come for all earth's inhabitants.

The Book of Revelation pictures that final scene: "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings" (Rev. 17:14).

"I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and makes war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no one knew, but He Himself. He was clothed with a [robe] dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. ... Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rev. 19:11-15).

For centuries, millions have endured--and continue to endure --wars, plagues, crime, grinding poverty, and unending fear. No one can say that God has brought this awful load of suffering on the world--man has done this!

Should not God be "democratic" and allow this planet to go on living in rebellion against His government and His universe? There is a ready answer. He has already done so--He still waits since the fall of man in Eden, hoping for repentance and reconciliation. He cannot and has never abandoned any "remnant" of His people who appreciate His character of love and respond accordingly. They are the ones who rightfully "inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5).

But now in this present day, God looks down upon the earth and sees as plainly as we do that man has nearly ruined this habitat. It is evident that selfishness and sin make human life almost intolerable in many nations on earth.

The Lord tries again and again to save us. He is pleading in the most sublime, compassionate language, saying to every human soul, "'As I live,' saith the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways! For why will ye die?'" (Eze. 33:11). Love could not be more eloquent, or more persistent.

How will the lost feel when at last they actually see the face of Him whom they have persistently resisted and rejected? For those who have urged and supported the mark of the beast, just to look in His eyes will itself be torment "with fire and brimstone" (Rev. 14:9-11). The original language expresses the idea of their beholding in a flash the awful reality of their having rejected the One who suffered hell in order to save them. They can't stand it. The horror of their final realization of guilt tortures every cell of their souls.

The Lord never intended that the sight of His loving face should do that to anyone. While it is true that "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29), it is only to sin that the revelation of His love is so destructive. If a human being persistently clings to any sin as a vine clings to a tree, the physical sight of Him who is love incarnate must also be instant destruction.

But Jesus promises that "the pure in heart ... shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). They "shall dwell with the devouring fire, ... with everlasting burnings" (Isa. 33:14). As Christ walked in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace with the three Hebrew youth who believed Him, so He will save those physically who have already permitted Him as Saviour to save them spiritually from sin.

The enemy will capitulate. Even Satan himself at the end of history will openly, publically confess before the inhabitants of earth, and the intensely interested universe, his hopeless rebellion, and welcome the destruction that will mean that the great controversy is finally over: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever!'" (Rev. 5:13).

The second coming of Christ is not the end of happiness or of our delight in the flora and fauna of earth, but the beginning of a renewal of life without pain and death, both for man and for the planet: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create. ... The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," saith the LORD (Isa. 65:17-25).

In the final judgment every human being will see that God could not have been more fair, more patient, more compassionate than He has been: "God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. ... And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light" (John 3:16-19).

Rightly understood, the world has never heard any better good news than the glorious second coming of Christ: "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:11-14, New International Version).

What a bargain for "all men"! This godly grace has already come to you. The hardest thing we have to do is to say "No" to sinful temptation, but this grace actually teaches us to say it.

Believe the powerful good news, and immediately the second coming becomes your "blessed hope." "It … will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay" (Hab. 2:3, NIV). At any time when He comes, the waiting will seem to have been short!

Worldwide, "the grace of God" is working night and day "to purify for Himself a people that are His very own." The nightly TV anchors may not tell us about this, but it is the most important news in the world, and it is good.

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/ixPN3qnPZZk

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 12: Church Organization and Unity

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 12: Church Organization and Unity

 

The only times we read that Jesus mentioned His "church" were twice--Matthew 16:18 and 18:17. He used the word ecclesia, which means "called out," a people designated and separated from the world, defined and denominated in a form that the world could recognize as an entity.

The apostles called ancient Israel a "church in the wilderness" (Acts 7:38), and we read that Israel was a visible organization that the world could see as God's denominated people.

Paul thought of a beautiful illustration of what the church is--it's a "body." "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular ... in the church" (1 Cor. 12:12-28). In his brilliant depiction of the relationship of the church and its members to Christ, Paul considers the church to be the "body of Christ" which "is not one member, but many" (vss. 27, 14). "As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ" (vs. 12). "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, ... The body is not one member, but many" (vss. 13, 14). Paul describes the corporate unityof the church.

There is no English adjective that can be used to describe this relationship of the body to the head, or of the various members of the body to each other. Hence it is necessary to employ a Latin derivative as an adjective to describe this "body" relationship: corporate. (The word comes from the Latin corpus, meaning "body.") For example, "all the members of that one body, being many, are one body" (vs. 12). They bear a corporate relationshipone to another.

In Revelation 12 we see the history of the true church and the identification of the "remnant" church. Through the ages she is symbolized as a "woman." After the horrors of 1260 years of papal persecution, she emerges as from a tunnel, now identified as "the remnant": "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (vs. 17).

With the end of the Dark Ages, inventions began pouring out of fertile minds. The horror of slavery began to be abolished; the little nation of ex-British colonies began to prosper in the New World; Christian people awakened as from a long sleep--the second coming of Christ was near. The world had embarked on what the Bible describes as "the time of the end." A preparation for the return of Jesus Christ became to intelligent people a reasonable "blessed hope." Through unmistakably divine leading, the message began to go worldwide.

Hearts responded and capable people did things. Clearly blessed by the Holy Spirit, a message joining together the gospel of Jesus with the ideals of healthful living worked wonders in tired, sickly people; the world's finest health institution (for then) was established in Battle Creek, Michigan, where even European royalty crossed the Atlantic to come. There the "West's" finest Christian publishing house was established. What the apostles after Pentecost longed for seemed to be on the verge. A solemn but joyous sense that the world had entered into the cosmic Day of Atonement gripped hearts worldwide. The "blessed hope" of the imminent return of Christ made life here below a taste of heaven.

For a century and a half that church has been identified by divine inspiration as the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, which had its roots in the Great Disappointment of 1844 and the reformations that followed in succeeding decades until its formal organization in 1863. Throughout the years of Ellen White's long lifetime, she constantly identified the Seventh-day Adventist Church as that "remnant." Yet even in her day there were unfaithful leaders and pastors who taught error and even apostasy, whom she rebuked, corrected, and sometimes even denounced.

Then it was discovered that Christ's message to the seventh church of history had become applicable: the church was "Laodicea," the one whose worldly lukewarmness made the Lord so nauseous that He felt like throwing up (Rev. 3:14-21). Now a battle rages in people's minds and hearts: is that last organization into a "body of Christ" doomed to eventual failure? Or is a corporate repentance possible (and sure)? Can the dream be recovered?

The 1888 General Conference brings us to our modern times; we learn that our own brethren virtually "rejected Christ" and "insulted" [1] the Holy Spirit in negative reactions against the message that was the "beginning" of the latter rain. This also occurred before any of us were born; but it is not enough to write off this history as past and not realize how we would do the same if we had the "opportunity" unless we specifically repent of that sin.

The Lord Himself, not an official committee nor an independent ministry, will "shake" this church, cleanse and purify it. But He has to have human agents with whom to work. The reason why the final events have not yet taken place may well be that those who do "sigh and cry" are doing so negatively instead of positively. To "sigh and cry" does not mean to wring one's hands in despair; it means to do something to help. Of ourselves we are powerless to stem the rising tide of evil, but we can seek to save every soul that our sphere of influence may touch.

All believers in Christ need the discipline of fellowship with a larger number of brethren and sisters whose association can be used by the Holy Spirit for the maturing of their Christian experience. (The Lord sees that one way we must learn to "gather warmth" is from "the coldness of others." [2]).

May we plead with the Lord, in this time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, to grant us the precious gift of corporate repentance--the discernment to see how the sins of others would be our sins but for the grace of a Saviour, to discern how they could be our sins if we were subjected to the same pressures and temptations they have had to meet. We need Christ's righteousness 100 percent, not less. When He has a people who can so humble their hearts before heaven, He can begin to work. 

The bottom-line issue is denominational repentance. The "bride" of Christ is repeatedly declared to be His church. She has indeed been unfaithful to her true Lover, but she can repent. Many in leadership have maintained for decades that "we" do not need such repentance; other despairing people have maintained that denominational repentance is needed but is impossible. But Christ calls for it; His vindication requiresit; our history demonstrates the need for it; and prophecyassuresit.

Does it seem impossible that a spirit of contrition shall be poured out on a leadership congested by organizational complexity? The more involved the church becomes with its multitudinous entities, the greater is the danger of its huge collective self choking the simple, direct promptings of the Holy Spirit. Each individual catching a vision is tempted to feel that his hands are tied--what can he do? The great organizational monolith, permeated with formalism and lukewarmness, seems to move only at a snail's pace. Aside from this "Spirit of grace and supplication," the nearer we come to the end of time and the bigger the church becomes, the more complex and congested is its movement, and the more remote appears the prospect of repentance.

But let us not overlook what the Bible says. We need to remember that long before we developed our intricate systems of church organization, the Lord created infinitely more complex systems of organization, and yet "the spirit ... was in the wheels" (Ezek. 1:20). Our problem is not the complexity of organization; it is the collective love of self. And the message of the cross can take care of that!

--From the Writings of Robert J. Wieland

Endnotes:
[1] Examples of Ellen White's use of these expressions are: Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 30; Through Crisis to Victory, pp. 279, 280, 290, 301; Special Testimonies to the Review and Herald Office, pp. 16, 17; Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pp. 96, 97, 294; Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 472; MS 24, 1890.
[2] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 136.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/HDHtBxc4VkY

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 10: Unity and Broken Relationships

Sabbath School Today

With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ

Lesson 10: Unity and Broken Relationships

 

When we appreciate what it took for the Father and Jesus to forgive us sinners, then we will find it in our hearts to forgive others their sins toward us.

The "good news" that salvation in Christ is not a mere provision, but a fact; that Christ is not merely offeredto every man, but givento every man; that the Lord loves us so much that we cannot be lost unless we resist the Holy Spirit; that it is easy to be saved and hard to be lost, in view of this great salvation; that when Christ died on the cross, He actually did something for "every man"; that it is God who takes the initiative in effecting our salvation, and that it is impossible to be lost unless we take the initiative in resisting and rejecting what He has effected for us; and that justification by God's free grace is effected for "all," God in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, "all men" owe even their physical life to Christ's sacrifice and by His stripes they are healed.

This all sounds like "good news" to me. But the world does not know or understand it because no one is telling it to them, or at least very few are; and those in the remnant church who should understand it and proclaim it powerfully and effectively are themselves confused by conflicting concepts of justification by faith. Here are several Scripture passages which support the 1888 view:

"We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1, 2). "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). Truly this "propitiation" applies to "all men." It is more than a mere "provision," for "never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. The cross of Calvary Is stamped on every loaf." [1] "Our Saviour Jesus Christ ... hath brought lifeand immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10).

The "propitiation" therefore is already effective for "all," "saint or sinner." "All men" live because of it. It is the basis for justification. Only because of the "propitiation" is it possible for God to overlook "the sins of the whole world" and send His "rain on the just and on the unjust", and open His hand, to satisfy "the desire of every living thing" (Matt. 5:45; Psalm 145:16).

Christ "is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). The text does not say that provisionally, possibly, maybe, perhaps, Christ will be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world if and when and not until the sinner "accepts." Christ already is that propitiation. This grand "provision" of the cross is "set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood" (Rom. 3:25). When the "propitiation" is "set forth" to the sinner and he believes it, then he experiences justification by faith.

"When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,... God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ... When we were enemies, we were reconciledto God by the death of His Son" (Rom. 5:6-10).

The death of Christ made effective a lawful justification applicable to all men. Legally, "all men" were justified, because He died for "all" (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). He satisfied the demands of the law for sinners. And He died for them "while we were yet sinners" (Rom. 5:8). "When" we were still "enemies, we were reconciled ..." (Rom. 5:10).

That sounds like a blatant contradiction, doesn't it? How can you be "reconciled" while you are still in enmity? The answer is: we were justified legallyby a sacrifice made for "all men" (Rom. 5:18), and the reconciliation is included.

But think about it, legal justification and "receiving the atonement" are two different things. We receivethe atonement [reconciliation] only when we believe. "We have now received the atonement [reconciliation]," Paul says in Romans 5:11,when we are "justified by faith" (verse 1). To confuse legal justification with justification by faith will not help us finish the work in this generation; it will set our clock back to the 16thcentury, and lead to antinomianism. Instead of completing the Reformation begun by Luther and Calvin, such confusion will only retard its progress.

"Therefore as by the offence of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of Onethe free giftcame upon all men unto justification of life" (Rom. 5:18).

Again we have what appears to be a contradiction! How can Paul contrast the "judgment" which came by Adam upon "all men to condemnation" with the "free gift ... unto justification" coming likewise"upon all men"? The vast majority of "all men" certainly do not exhibit any of the fruits of "justification by faith"!

The answer to this apparent contradiction is simply to say that that is true--"all men" do notexhibit the fruits of justification by faith because they have not been justified by faith. They have only been justified legally;and the simple fact that they live is evidence of that legal justification. "All men" would not be able to draw even one breath if that forensic justification were not effective for them. The very fact they live is proof that Christ died for them, and is the "propitiation" for their sins.

Here is where the "gospel" comes in. We are commissioned by the Lord to "go into all the world" and tell "all men" that they have been justified. We are to bear "good news." God has no chip on His shoulder against them. He is not imputing their trespasses unto them. The propitiation is already a fact, not a mere provision. And when some believe, that moment they are "justified by faith."

"If One died for all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves ..." (2 Cor. 5:14, 15).

All wouldbe dead if He had not "died for all." The grave is what we deserve. The very fact "all" live is evidence that a forensic justification has been effective for them in that "our Saviour Jesus Christ ... hath brought life... to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10). "Life" has thus been provided for "all men" who deserve only death. More than this, those who appreciatethe "Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9), those who "believe," for themChrist Jesus also "hath brought immortalityto light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10).

"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor. 5:19).

Clearly, God does not "impute" any man's trespasses unto him until he rejects Christ. Therefore, the only sin for which anyone will be condemned in the Judgment is the sin of unbelief, that is, the sin of not appreciating the sacrificewhich effected a legal justification for all. [2] When Christ died, He did something for every man, woman, and child in the world. He was "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). This "Light" is not a mere provision--it is effective. "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men" (verse 4). No one, saint or sinner, ever knows a moment of joy, ever smiles, but by virtue of the sacrifice of Christ. This is "news" the world needs to hear; and for those who believe it, it is "goodnews."

"For all alike have sinned, and are deprived of the divine splendor, and all are justified by God's free grace alone, through His act of liberation in the person of Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:23, 24, New English Bible).

This "all" means what it says, for it harmonizes with the other passages. The New English Biblecorrectly translates the Greek "justified," which is a present participle with the word "all" as its proper subject. Since God's grace is "free," it must be equally manifested to "all." If it is a mere provision subject to certain conditions it cannot be described as "free." But this "justification by God's free grace alone" obviously must be forensic, for "all men" do not believe it and receive it.

Paul continues in verses 25-28 to discuss justification, proceeding from the forensic justification effected for "all" to the experiential justification which brings "remission of sins" "throughfaithin His blood." And because faith is counted for righteousness, God can "be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." This involves a change of heart! Justification by faithis not merely forensic, a judicial "declaring" millions of light-years away. It includes remissionof sins! "Remission" is not a mere entry in a legal record, without relation to the heart of the sinner. "Remission" is the actual taking away of the sin, accomplished in justification by faith.

--Paul E. Penno

Endnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 660.
[2] Cf. ibid., p. 58.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/TU6qd2gdFGQ

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

Sent from my iPad

Lesson 9: The Most Convincing Proof

Lesson 9: The Most Convincing Proof

 

Is it possible to sort out the truth in this cacophony of voices that we hear today? Jesus says yes: "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Ellen White also voices an encouraging yes: "The house of Israel [the organized church] is to be imbued with the Holy Spirit, and baptized with the grace of salvation. Amid the confusing cries, 'Lo, here is Christ! Lo, there is Christ!' will be borne a special testimony, a special message of truth appropriate for this time, which message is to be received, believed, and acted upon. ... Falsehoods will be urged upon the attention of God's people, but the truth is to stand clothed in its beautiful, pure garments" (Review and Herald, October 13, 1904).

_______________________________________

The history and content of the 1888 message are of keen interest to Seventh-day Adventists around the world. Ellen White has said repeatedly that failure to understand and to accept that message has greatly retarded the progress of the church and delayed the triumph of the "everlasting gospel" message.

In our modern day, schisms, apostasies, fanaticisms, conflicting interpretations of the prophecies, the inroads of the so-called "new theology" [and current divisions on women's ordination and other issues] have plagued the church. The resultant loss of ministers and members has been heavy. These many problems are related to confusion and misconception of the 1888 history and message.

Those who believe the New Testament recognize that the Jews rejected and crucified their Messiah. If the Jewish nation should wish to get right with God, would it not be a good idea for them to understand that mistake and repent of it?

If we wish to get right with the Lord, would it not be wise for us to understand our history and accept His gift of repentance? "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history" [1] It would follow logically that we have everything to fear if we forget our past and disregard "His teaching in our past history."

A true understanding of the gospel is precisely what this sin-cursed world desperately needs to know. After Christianity has professed to proclaim the gospel for two thousand years, the agony and evil in the world appear to be getting worse. Millions who want to believe in God feel forced to doubt that He exists or that He cares. Could it be that the pure gospel has not yet been proclaimed as it should be?

Surprising as it may be, there is more than one gospel: (a) the pure truth that Paul and the apostles preached which he calls "the grace of Christ," and (b) there is a counterfeit gospel which he says is "another gospel: which is not another," but a perversion of "the gospel of Christ." According to Paul's strong words, "any other gospel" than the true one Christ gave ends up being a "curse" (Gal. 1:6-9).

The reason why the enemy of Christ specializes in perverting the gospel is because he knows that the true one is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16), just as good food is healthful nourishment to one's body. But a little arsenic mixed in one's diet is lethal. In the final judgment all will see that the world's continual agony has been the direct result of a perversion of the gospel which "Babylon" has foisted on mankind (Rev. 18:24).

The truth is that the Lord has given us a special message of Good News that people must learn to believe. The Lord never called Seventh-day Adventists to preach legalism to the world. Our special commission is to recover and proclaim the precise Good News that is already "the salvation of God" and which prepares a people for the second coming of Christ. In fact, the message of the three angels of Revelation 14:6-12 is in a unique sense "the everlasting gospel" for the last days. It must be the best Good News the world has ever heard.

Can the Seventh-day Adventist Church ever come into unity in knowing and accepting this Good News message?If it is the true "remnant" church of Revelation 12:17 and 14:12, the answer has to be, Yes. If grace is stronger than sin, then truth has to be stronger than error, and the Holy Spirit must be stronger than the flesh, and light must be stronger than darkness. We do not say "if" because we doubt; we would rather say, "Because it is the remnant church," the answer has to be yes. "Mind will be arrayed against mind, plans against plans, principles of heavenly origin against principles of Satan. Truth in its varied phases will be in conflict with error in its ever-varying, increasing forms, and which, if possible, will deceive the very elect." [2] Note: the "elect" are not deceived. "Truth in its varied phases" will overcome "error in its ... increasing forms." That's Good News!

Ellet J. Waggoner has written: "The union of the Father and the Son is union of Spirit. We cannot comprehend this union, but we may know that it is not a forced union, but that it results from their very nature. They have one life. Their thoughts and purposes are the same, not because they come together and compare notes and agree to be alike, but because one life is in them both. So the union of believers is to be a vital union, or it is not any union at all. It is not accomplished by strife and debate and decisions of majorities, but by yielding the mind to Christ and hearing His voice. They are to be united by the mind and Spirit of Christ. The life of the Father and the Son in each member of the church will produce the most perfect union in the whole body. ...

"This gives no ground for the idea that there may be divisions in the church of Christ, one division believing one thing, and another division believing and practising another thing. God has 'tempered the body together, ... that there should be no schism in the body (1 Cor. 12:24, 25). 'There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all' (Eph. 4:4-6). The apostle's exhortation is, 'that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment' (1 Cor. 1:10). But let it be borne in mind that this union is not artificial, but natural; not the human nature, however, but the divine nature. ...

"Christ desires unity, but He does not try to force it, because the unity which is essential is the unity of growth into Christ, and growth cannot be forced. The religion of Jesus is love, and force kills love. Where there is no love there is no righteousness; ..." [3]

We want to "win" not merely "warn" those with whom we are in disagreement. We live in a time fraught with tremendous significance; we are living this side of the greatest world movement that has ever happened in 6000 years of history--the earthis to be "lightened" with the glory of that fourth angel of Revelation 18. The "beginning" of that wonderful work came in 1888.

Let me encourage you: Be true to the truth; defend it, but do so with Christ-like words, in a generous spirit.

--From the Writings of Robert J. Wieland

Endnotes:
[1] Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 196.
[2] Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 407.
[3] Ellet J. Waggoner, "Unity and Uniformity," The Present Truth, April 20, 1893.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://youtu.be/CSXig2A_fV4

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 8: Unity in Faith

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 8: Unity in Faith

 

The Quarterly begins with a snapshot of the controversy of 1888, but the image is blurred, and must be brought into proper focus.

Yes, there was discussion about just which tribes constituted the ten horns of Daniel 7. However, the controversy and "hostile attitudes" began two years before, and remains with us to this day. In 1886, E. J. Waggoner wrote a commentary on the covenants that focused Galatians 3:24 on Christ instead of the law. The General Conference leadership took exception to Waggoner's position because they saw it as undermining the foundation of their argument in support of the perpetuity of the Sabbath. Their attitude was, throw out the law and you throw out support for the Sabbath truth! Waggoner was not throwing out the law. He was instead placing the law where it belonged. The goal was not perfect law-keeping, but the perfect righteousness of Christ as the only source of our salvation.

When Ellen White came down on the Waggoner and Jones' side of the debate, the older and "more experienced brethren" became upset. A. G. Daniells later wrote that she had to stand "almost alone" against nearly the entire General Conference in her defense of Waggoner and Jones' position on righteousness by faith in Christ alone. [1] The elder brethren's feet were firmly set in the concrete of their "stand by the old landmarks" position. They could not accept that two young men with practically no theological experience could have been chosen of God, and given "divine credentials" [2] to teach them--the theologically experienced brethren--concerning the everlasting covenant and righteousness by faith.

As the argument continued through the years following Minneapolis, in 1890 Ellen White wrote to Uriah Smith that he, Dan Jones, and "Brother Porter" were "spending [their] investigative powers for naught to produce a position on the covenants to vary from the position that Brother Waggoner has presented. ... The covenant question is a clear question and would be received by every candid, unprejudiced mind ... You have turned from plain light because you were afraid that the law question in Galatians would have to be accepted." [3]

Ellen White wrote, "In the manifestation of the power that lightens the earth with its glory [referring to Rev. 18:4 under the power of the latter rain], they [the opposers of the 1888 message] will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears and they will brace themselves against it. Because the Lord does not work according to their expectations and ideas, they will oppose the work."[4]

Tuesday's lesson discusses our unique sanctuary doctrine. We most assuredly must stand firmly on our distinctive and essential doctrines--the work of our High Priest for His people, and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. This is our "essential doctrine" that called us out in 1844, and separates us from all other denominations in the whole world. But when was the last time you heard a sermon on Sabbath morning on any aspect of the sanctuary? [5] There are other people who keep the Sabbath, who long for the coming of Christ in clouds of glory, and who understand the non-immortality of the "soul" of man. But no other people understand the ministry of our High Priest in purifying a "peculiar people" who will defend His character of love before a disintegrating world on the brink of self destruction.

During the same time when God was seeking a people upon whom He could rain down the blessings from heaven, Satan was fast at work creating a counterfeit theory of righteousness so deceptive that it captured the minds of many of God's "elect." This deception was rooted in pantheism, taught by J. H. Kellogg at Battle Creek, and infected some of the "brightest stars" of the church at that time. It was a theory that made the sanctuary unneeded baggage in man's quest for holiness.

"Any man who seeks to present theories which would lead us from the light that has come to us on the ministration in the heavenly sanctuary, should not be accepted as a teacher. A true understanding of the sanctuary question means much to us as a people." [6] These words were written in the context of the pantheism crisis precipitated by the teachings of Kellogg on the nature of God. "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 within him." [7]

The crisis that confronted the church at the turn of the last century (the "alpha"), will raise its head again (as the "omega") just before Christ returns. Many people will be confused about our distinctive doctrines, and will be led to abandon the sanctuary truth and all that is part of that truth (e.g., the investigative judgment; cleansing and transformation of our characters before the second coming).

"There is in it [pantheism] the beginning of theories which, carried to their logical conclusion, would destroy faith in the sanctuary question and in the atonement. I do not think that Dr. Kellogg saw this clearly. I do not think that he realized that in laying his new foundation of faith, he was directing his steps toward infidelity." [8]

Pantheism's theory is that all is one and all is god (monism). If all is god, then man is god. This idea was deceptively transformed into "Christ in you," a counterfeit to the Biblical teaching of "Christ in you, the hope of glory ... that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." (Col. 1:27, 28). If all is god, then all is good, and the concept that sin separates us from God is denied, and salvation "from sin" loses all meaning. We don't need a Saviour if god is "us," as pantheism declares. All a person needs to do is "seek the god"--or "divine spark"--within each of us, by opening the mind through "mindfulness" meditation, controlled breathing, slowly repeating resonant syllables while attempting to obtain a "clear mind," and "focusing on the divine."

However, there is a vast gulf between this "new age" type of hypnotic meditation and the "meditate upon every Word of God" type of "thoughtful hour" we are counseled to do when "contemplating the life of Christ." "It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross." [9]

Notice: The focus is not on us, but on Christ's work of righteousness. Such deep contemplation may and should elicit a response from a broken and contrite heart. Tears may flow, heart rate quicken (rather than slow, as in "new age" meditation), as our mind reflects on the differences between our sinfulness, and the love and righteousness demonstrated by God in Gethsemane and on the cross.

Returning to our discussion on the sanctuary, we find that an essential element to the sanctuary doctrine is Christ, our High Priest, and His ministry in cleansing a people from all sin. The nature which Christ assumed in His incarnation is a necessary aspect of the sanctuary. If Christ was not "touched with the feelings of our infirmities" so that He could be "in all points tempted like as we are" (Heb. 4:15), then He does not qualify as our High Priest. In God's design in the earthly sanctuary, the priest was taken from among the people he was to represent in his work of intercession. The priest had common temptations and inclinations to sin; he "knew what was in man" (see for example John 2:25), and therefore was prepared to present the repentant petitions of fallen men and women before the throne of grace.

When Christ became human, in order to save the human race, He had to assume that which He was not. Even though Jesus took upon Himself the common inclinations and propensities of fallen flesh, never once did He indulge them, and never once did Jesus sin, not even by a thought. Therefore, Paul implores us, "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" because with that mind, we too can overcome all sin. [10]

"Now as to Christ's not having 'like passions' with us: In the Scriptures all the way through He islikeus andwithus according to the flesh. He is the seed of David according to the flesh [Rom. 1:3]. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh [Rom. 8:3]. Don't go too far. He was made in the likeness of sinfulflesh, not in the likeness of sinfulmind.Do not drag His mind into it. His flesh was our flesh, but the mind was 'the mind of Christ Jesus.' Therefore it is written: 'Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.' [Phil. 2:5]. If He had taken our mind, how, then, could we ever have been exhorted to 'let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus?' It would have been so already." [11]

If we would just "let" this mind be in us--stop fighting against the work of Holy Spirit to cleanse us--then Christ could finish His work in the heavenly sanctuary, and come to take His purified people home. The work of purifying a people must begin in the hearts of the people, which is the source of the fountain of sin that flows into the heavenly sanctuary.

"The service in the earthly sanctuary shows also that in order for the sanctuary to be cleansed and the course of the gospel service there to be finished, it must first be finished in the people who have a part in the service. ... The cleansing of the sanctuary, as to the sanctuary itself, was the taking out of and away from the sanctuary all the transgression of the people ... And this stream must be stopped at its fountain in the hearts and lives of the worshipers, before the sanctuary itself could possibly be cleansed. ... The ministry of Christ in the true sanctuary does take away sins forever, does make the comers thereunto perfect, does perfect 'forever them that are sanctified.'" [12]

Overcoming all sin in this present life through the power of Christ's faith alone working in us to "will and to do of His good pleasure," will produce the outworking of His love through us toward others (Phil. 2:12, 13). This is the goal of Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary--the final display of God's power to transform our characters. Then we will be prepared to visibly display His character of love to the lost world. [13] It is this that will develop a united and "peculiar people" of whom He can declare: "Here are they that keep the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus!" (Rev. 14:12).

--Ann Walper

Endnotes:
[1] See A. G. Daniells, The Abiding Gift of Prophecy, p. 369.
[2] Ellen G. White,Testimonies to Ministers, p. 91; Selected Messages, book 1, p. 259.
[3] The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 604; Letter 59, 1890.
[4] Review and Herald Extra, Dec. 23, 1890.
[5] An excellent source book for studying the sanctuary message isThe Cross and Its Shadow, by S. N. Haskell, who was a delegate to the 1888conference, and one of the few at that time who believed the Jones and Waggoner message.
[6] Ellen G. White, Manuscript 125, 1907, p. 6.
[7] Ellen G. White,The Faith I Live By, p. 40.
[8] Ellen G. White, Letter 33, 1904, par. 4.
[9] Ellen G. White,TheDesire of Ages, p. 83.
[10] See Robert J. Wieland'sThe Good News is Better Than You Think, CFI Book Division ed. (2018), pp. 13, 14, 24, 52, and 53 for a discussion of how we "let" Christ's mind be in us.
[11] A. T. Jones,"The Third Angel's Message No. 17," 1895 General Conference Bulletin, p. 327.
[12] A. T. Jones, The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, pp. 120, 121, Glad Tidings ed. (2003).
[13] See Ellen G. White,Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 415, 416.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/Sdn9GeTx5yk

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 7: When Conflicts Arise

Lesson 7: When Conflicts Arise

 

The unity of the church is a precious fruit of "the truth of the gospel." Jesus is the Truth. "The most precious message," which uplifts and honors the sacrifice of Christ, unifies. So-called "gospels" derived from the old covenant--man's power to be saved--divide the church.

The issue of circumcision threatened to split the early church. The rites and ceremonies of the law of Moses as a means of salvation assumed an idol-status in the minds of certain "false brethren" (Gal. 2:4) who came to the Antioch church from Judea (Acts 15:1). They taught "unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1, New King James Version).

"They insisted that the Jewish laws and ceremonies should be incorporated into the rites of the Christian religion. They were slow to discern that all the sacrificial offerings had but prefigured the death of the Son of God, in which type met antitype, and after which the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation were no longer binding" [1] They succeeded in gathering to themselves the support of the Jewish Christians in Antioch, creating no small stir.

The Apostle Paul felt obliged to confront this matter head-on for it was an issue over "the truth of the gospel." Is it the power of God's grace that saves sinners; or, is it circumcision that saves, and hence the power of man's obedience to the whole law that saves?

It had been some time since Paul had paid a visit to Jerusalem. The church of Antioch thought it would be a good thing for him to go and discuss this matter with the other apostles and brethren assembled there (Acts 15:2).

Paul's visit to Jerusalem was a divine mandate--"by revelation" (Gal. 2:2). God's purpose for him going was to preserve the unity of the church leadership regarding the gospel. Obviously the "false brethren" were intentionally seeking to unsettle the minds of the apostles and create a division between the churches and an internal conflict among the apostles over the gospel.

Paul's purpose in going was not to see whether his gospel was in harmony with the brethren. He was clear that "the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of JesusChrist" (Gal. 1:11, 12). His purpose in going to Jerusalem was to proclaim the gospel to the apostles in order to preserve the unity of the church. That which creates disunity in the church is "another gospel," which is not really the gospel. Satan knows this and seeks to bring in the principle of the old covenant self-reliance, and self-sufficiency, in every possible way to create dissension and disunity.

The entourage that accompanied Paul to Jerusalem were Barnabas and Titus. Paul brought Titus into the church without circumcision. The significance of this detail is that the apostles in Jerusalem didn't require Titus to be circumcised in order to fellowship with them. This was a confirmation of the unity which prevailed among the apostles.

The "false brethren" conspired to enslave the Gentiles to the yoke of bondage--the old covenant. Peter said: "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" (Acts 15:10). "Peter here referred to the law of ceremonies, which was made null and void by the crucifixion of Christ." [2] Whoever induces people to trust in the law for righteousness without Christ simply puts a yoke upon them and fastens them in bondage.

Those who "seemed to be pillars" (Cephas, James, and John) in the church, "perceived," "the grace that was given unto Paul" (Gal. 2:9). They finally relented and humbled their hearts and extended to Paul "the right hands of fellowship" (vs. 9). In effect the apostles said, "Paul, thank God, you are preaching the true gospel. You must go to the Gentiles and we will go to the Jews." Even with this the apostles didn't go far enough.

What the apostles should have said was, "Paul, we want you to go to the Gentiles, but go to the Jews also; and we will go to the Gentiles also." So Peter, James, and John still weren't clear that it was their job to go to the whole world as is indicated by the incident that followed.

At Antioch Peter was accustomed to eating in fellowship with the Gentiles. When he saw a delegation from Jerusalem headquarters sent by James, he got up from eating with the Gentiles. He went to another table and the Jewish Christians followed him. Peter's action was prompted by "fearingthem which were of the circumcision" (Gal. 2:12).

Paul had brought these Gentiles into church fellowship with the knowledge that Christ was their Messiah. Now Peter's actions sent the wrong message to the Gentiles. The Gentiles might be led to think, "We are lost because the Messiah is only for the Jews." Paul was not afraid of these "false brethren." So Paul confronted Peter publicly over the issue "because he was to be blamed" (Gal. 2:11).

Paul "saw that they [Peter and the "false brethren"] walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:14). Peter was sending the message to the Gentiles that in order to be saved they must be circumcised. In other words, believing that Christ is the Messiah is fine. However, the power of man's obedience to the whole law must be added to this in order to be saved. This false gospel had the potential of dividing the church.

The 1888 message brings to the forefront the principles of the two covenants. The old covenant is manifested by many different so-called "gospels," all based on self-sufficiency. "All that the Lord hath spoken wewill do" (Ex. 19:8). God's new covenant promise is the "much more abounding grace" of Christ crucified and resurrected. It is this true gospel that unites the church. The old covenant "gospels" generate bondage to sin and foster disunity.

There is only one "truth of the gospel" that is in harmony with all God's ten commandments and that is the "most precious message" which uplifts and honors the sacrifice of Christ. It is "present truth" in the setting of our cosmic day of at-one-ment-with God. That is, it is God's love revealed in the ever-present cross, that reconciles alienated hearts to Himself by means of Christ's High Priestly ministry. This gets to the taproot of unconscious sin so that the soul identifies with the crucified One. Justification by faith and the cleansing of the sanctuary truth become one grand truth which lightens the earth with God's glorious true character of self-denying agape-love.

--Paul E. Penno

Footnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 189.
[2] Ibid., p. 194.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/2vplR0s1jGQ

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 6: Images of Unity

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Images of Unity
Lesson 6: Images of Unity

 

 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing--life forever" (Psalm 133:1-3).

____________________________

The Bible is full of metaphors but none is more important for the church than the 1888 message's concept that we are all "in" Christ. All other metaphors are developed out of that basic concept. To understand this, there are some hints in David's psalm quoted above. He connects unity to the "oil" as the vehicle which connects "brothers." How do we come to understand that we are all brothers and how does that unify us? The answer is in the sacrifice of the cross.

Christ laid aside His divinity ("emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of men," Phil. 2:7). Notice, He did not abandon his divinity, He laid it aside. In other words, He didn't use it to help Him during His earthly ministry. Many find this difficult to believe because He performed miracles and never sinned. Christ came to demonstrate to the world and watching universe that the Holy Spirit can indwell "sinful flesh" so completely, that "our life will be a life of continual obedience" as if "carrying out our own impulses." [1]

Why did Christ have to lay aside His divinity? The Bible teaches that it is unethical for someone to be punished for another's wrong. Ezekiel 18:20 makes it very clear: "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself." Since the first Adam brought the entire human race into sin, the only solution was the eternal (second) death; no human sacrifice could pay this penalty and be resurrected. That required the death of Someone with the poawer to resurrect, but Divinity cannot die.

To resolve this dilemma, Hebrews 10:5 says, "Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired, but a body Thou hast prepared for Me" In order for God to save us through Christ He had to qualify Christ to be our Savior. God did this by combining the divine life of His Son with the human Adamic life and uniting the two in the womb of Mary. Corporately, the entire race, out of all the created beings in the universe, was united with Divinity. We did not deserve this, but our magnificent and gracious God made this supreme sacrifice.

"None but the Son of God could accomplish our redemption; for only He who was in the bosom of the Father could declare Him. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it manifest. Nothing less than the infinite sacrifice made by Christ in behalf of fallen man could express the Father's love to lost humanity." [2]

"By His life and His death, Christ has achieved even more than recovery from the ruin wrought through sin. It was Satan's purpose to bring about an eternal separation between God and man; but in Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen. In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us." [3]

The angel told Mary that Jesus' conception would be accomplished by the Holy Spirit which "will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Mary's pregnancy was not initiated by an ordinary man, but by the Holy Spirit. Thus, humanity and divinity were combined her womb.

"If He were not of the same flesh as are those whom He came to redeem, then there is no sort of use of His being made flesh at all. More than this: Since the only flesh that there is in this wide world which He came to redeem, is just the poor, sinful, lost, human flesh that all mankind have; if this is not the flesh that He was made, then He never really came tothe world which needs to be redeemed. [4]

When Jesus told Nicodemus we must be born again, He meant born of the Spirit, just as the Spirit caused His conception in the womb of Mary. David must have recognized something of this mechanism when he could think of nothing to compare his joy to except the anointing oil which inaugurated Aaron's high priestly imagery. That oil was given so lavishly that it fell onto his beard and cloths, all the way to the hem of his garment. Again, the imagery was echoed when Mary Magdalene found there was so much of her gift of oil that she had to use her hair to catch the excess.

The imagery is continued at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the earth to facilitate Christ's high priestly ministry, which He began at His ascension. The imagery parallels the lavish oil of Aaron, which resulted in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that the believers at Pentecost were anointed with the oil which anointed Jesus in heaven.

The result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, if accepted in the heart of the believer results in the washing of regeneration. David saw this when his mind went to the "dew of Hermon" which washed Zion.

Imagery and metaphor are wonderful vehicles to help us understand the plan of salvation. David's Psalm 133 describes that only the oil of the Holy Spirit and the washing of regeneration can accomplish unity among believers. By accepting our position in Christ, we realize we stand equally with all believers. Whatever degree of unity is necessary to protect the church will flow naturally from that.

--Arlene Hill

Footnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 668.
[2] Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 14.
[3] The Desire of Ages, p. 25.
[4] A. T. Jones, The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, p. 41; Glad Tidings ed. (2003).

Notes:
Bible verses are from the New American Standard Bible.

Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/l4z5gBLfAi8

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 5: The Experience of Unity in the Early Church

Sabbath School Today

With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ

Lesson 5: The Experience of Unity in the Early Church

 

During this quarter, millions of Christians around the world are giving special study to unity within the church. We're studying what the Bible speaks of as unity within the church. Christ prayed for it (John 17:20, 21). Paul said that Christ's agapewill produce it (Eph. 4:13-16). The very doctrine of God demands it (vss. 2-6). But we have to face reality: churches often have disagreements and divisions, even within one denomination and even within one church body.

In a church that has for 150 years stood for creation in 6 days, a literal reading of Genesis 1, 2, etc., there are now powerful voices advocating evolution. And there are divisions about women's ordination, about music in church worship services, etc. And for many, "the blessed hope" of the soon second coming of Christ is receding into the background, and a materialistic earthly millennium is taking its place.

Why does disunion seem to flourish so? And how can the church enlighten the earth with glory if it is in a divided state? And what can bring the true unity Christ prayed for? There is a solution.

If God is real and if His Bible is true, it follows that God has a solution for the problem of disunity.

God will bring His people into unity. That which to doubters today seems impossible, the Holy Spirit will accomplish.

He brought the disunited eleven apostles into unity before the Day of Pentecost. They were "with one accord in one place" (Acts 2:1). That was "the former rain," and the "latter rain" is promised to be even greater.

God cannot use force to accomplish it. For Him to burn down the churches or strike them with lightning, wouldn't solve the root problem.

Ephesians tells us the solution: for those "tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine," is the message of agape(4:14, 15). Such a message is the objective gospel, the message of what Christ accomplished, the pure biblical truth of justification by faith.

Christ has promised solemnly that if He is lifted up on His cross, that is, if His agapeis clearly proclaimed, He "will draw all men unto [Himself]," and that of course is perfect unity (John 12:32). Let the leadership of a church that is being fragmented receive that most precious message of Christ's righteousness; the miracle of unity will be as certain as day follows night.

"Pentecost" is a big word to Christian people. It came 50 days after Christ's resurrection. The disciples met together to pray and study for 10 days previous, so that by the time that the Day of Pentecost arrived, they were finally in total harmony and unity, "in one accord" (Acts 2:1). May the Lord hasten the day when His modern "apostles" will finally be in "one accord" in their understanding of the truth of the gospel!

A great blessing came on that day. The true and genuine "gift of tongues" was manifest so that everyone from all parts of the world who were gathered in Jerusalem heard the glad tidings in his own language so he could clearly understand it. The Holy Spirit was given in a fullness that has never since been equaled.

What was it about the message of Pentecost that had such tremendous power that 3000 were converted, truly converted, in a day?

Was it something that even Paul did not as clearly articulate? Ellen G. White has said, "Great truths that have lain unheeded and unseen since the day of Pentecost, are to shine from God's word in their native purity" (Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 473; 1897).

Is there a "great truth" that shone clearly on the Day of Pentecost that even the apostle Paul did not preach? Yes, there is one: Speaking to that great crowd of thousands of people from many nations and languages, Peter boldly declared that theyhad crucified the Son of God: "Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). A few days later he told them, "Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, ... and killed the Prince of life" (Acts 3:14, 15). Nothing in Paul's epistles is quite so strong, so directly confrontational!

What happened on the day of Pentecost? A repentance deeper than has ever been known. The murder of the Son of God is the greatest sin ever committed; repentance for that sin is the greatest a human heart can ever know. Do you think it might be possible that Peter's sermon applies to us today?

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/wA2bML8eDKU

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

Sent from my iPhone

The Key to Unity

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 4: The Key to Unity

 

Chaos. It's becoming the defining word for the world we live in. The Middle East has been at war for more than twenty years, with Syria nearly annihilating their own civilian population. Politics, whether in the United States or Europe has become a divisive, almost uncivil enterprise. Some nations are on the brink of financial chaos. Society is divided on many levels: women's liberation movement against any form of male leadership; LGBTQ+ against the Christians; Democrats against the Republicans in a caustic battle for power; a rising liberal youth segment against anyone older than 30. Central Africa has seen civil war at unprecedented levels, with famine and plagues exacerbating the situation for the populace.

Even the natural world seems stirred to chaotic levels. The Pacific has seen more cyclones with wind speeds greater than 155 miles per hour this year than any other on record. The Atlantic ocean has produced two catastrophic storms in a matter of weeks. Earthquakes, volcanoes erupting, fires destroying vast swathes of western United States forests and some towns. It seems that the very earth is revolting.

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows" (Matt. 24:7, 8).

Our study this quarter is unity. How can unity be accomplished in the face of such chaos? Unity in today's world seems to be akin to the proverbial "black swan." Juvenal, the Roman poet of the first century, advanced the philosophical theory that applied to events that were so rare as to be considered nearly impossible. He called such events a "black swan." His phrase caught on, and the truism held for nearly 1700 years--no one had ever seen a black swan until a Dutch explorer discovered one in western Australia in 1697. We have been proclaiming the "soon coming" of Jesus for 175 years, but for many people, it seems like that proverbial black swan, something the world will never see, or least, something that we will never see in our lifetime.

The last message to be given to the world engulfed in chaos, is the message of God's unfathomable love. That Love, "so loved the world" that it was willing to sacrifice itself so that others might live. "From the foundation of the world" this Love has unstintingly laid itself down for us. God "ordained" or "predestined" to be saved, every human being who would ever be born on this planet. "[God] hath chosen us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). Peter wrote that we have been [past tense] "redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, Who verily was foreordained from the foundation of world" (1 Peter 1:19, 20). Paul wrote in his first letter to Timothy, that Christ is "the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe" (1 Tim. 4:10).

As soon as sin entered this world, Christ stepped between the living and dead, giving His own life, that the human race would continue through Adam. Adam and Eve did not die that afternoon in the Garden (see Gen. 2:17) because the Substitute was found--Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). "As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. Christ knew that He would have to suffer, yet He became man's substitute. As soon as Adam sinned, the Son of God presented Himself as surety for the human race, with just as much power to avert the doom pronounced upon the guilty as when He died upon the cross of Calvary." [1]

Now, imagine what would have happened if no substitute had stepped forward that afternoon. God had stated emphatically (Hebrew doubling, "die, you shall die") that the day Adam sinned was the day he would die. If Adam had reaped the just punishment for his rebellion, then the human race would have ceased to exist that very afternoon. We are only still here six millennia later because of the infinite love of our God.

This truth is the essential meaning of that complicated sounding phrase, "legal justification." Standing before the broken law, Christ stepped into Adam's "shoes" and assumed complete responsibility for the crime Adam committed, and accepted the just punishment to be inflicted upon Himself. To do this, Christ had to also, one day, assume the nature of fallen Adam.

Corporately, as the "Last Adam," Christ took upon His sinless nature the nature that needed redeeming, and as corporate mankind, He lived a perfect life, and then took that perfect life and offered it on the cross of Calvary. "Because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead" (2 Cor. 5:14). And as Christ is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," His "one just act" (see Rom. 5:15-19) emancipated the entire human race. [2] Thus, the Godhead canceled the death penalty for every human being--"especially those who believe." For the many who will not believe, "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation" (Heb. 10:26, 27).

What a message we have been given to share with the dying world--a world in chaos, that is looking for love in all the wrong places! God loves you with an intimate, personal, undying love that will not let you go, unless you resist and chose to run away. Such good news, when shared with people who are searching for relief from the troubles of this world, will bring unity "in Christ" when they learn to appreciate what has already been done to save them eternally from sin. They don't have to "get better" first, before God will love them. They are already "beloved" in Christ who gave His life for them, and "adopted" them into His family (Eph. 1:3-5).

The "goal" of unity is not some future reward in heaven that we must diligently work for.The goal is Christ! Learning from Him how to consistently behave like a child of the King of the universe, as we grow daily into the likeness of His character, "till we all come, in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). [The additional comma after the word "come," is intentional. It places the emphasis of Paul's words on the goal of Christ--the Perfect Man--rather than on our "faith." All punctuation in the Bible is translator supplied.]

The key to unity, is not more agreement between individuals or in church councils. True unity will happen when individuals rally behind the great truths of the 1888message that, when accepted in its fullness, will allow heaven to open its doors and pour out the long-awaited Latter Rain upon a penitent and humbled people. Not everyone wants to be united, and it's a pipe dream to think all will be united. Disunity arises from a sinful, selfish heart that most of the world will cling to right up to the very end.

This means that, just as in the past, there will continue to be opposition to God's final message to the dying world--the message of Christ and His righteousness. But when God finally has a people--that mysterious 144,000--who are willing to give up on self and "follow the Lamb wherever He goes," then the Latter Rain will fall upon that "especially-who-believe" group of people.

Everyone will not be the recipients of this blessing from heaven. "Onlythose who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light. Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it." [3]

--Ann Walper

Endnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White,Review and Herald, March 12, 1901.
[2] See Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 90.
[3] Ellen. G. White,Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 507.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/t-kWFTADQFk

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

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RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz