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

--

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 3: "That They All May Be One"

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 3: "That They All May Be One"

 

Almost every Sabbath School class can be split on Bible issues such as what nature did Christ "take" in His incarnation, or what is the unique Adventist idea of the cleansing of the sanctuary, or what is justification. The good news of our overcoming "even as [Christ] overcame" is often denigrated as the heresy of "perfectionism." "Independent ministries" and independent publications are legion. Our interpretations of the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation are variant and contradictory.

Our leaders wistfully ask with reference to the earth-lighting fourth angel's message of Revelation 18, "How can we light the world with the glory of the three angels' messages if we are busy fighting among ourselves?" Some times in our Sabbath School Lessons, Christlike unity is spoken of, as "it-would-be-nice-if." Is Jesus still praying His prayer of John 17? The nearer we come to the end of the world, the more we seem to be riven asunder by our heart convictions of what is truth. Most pastors now refuse to preach about the solid Seventh-day Adventist core truths that established our identity.

What is the only effective solution?

Jesus asked His Father to "sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. ... For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. ... I pray ... that they all may be one ... that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (vss. 17-21). In other words, Revelation 18 is a mere fantasy unless we come into unity in the simple experience of believing revealed truth.

In the celebrated 1848 Sabbath Conferences our pioneers on their knees wrestled their "sanctified" way through to solid truths that established this church. They resolved the Great Disappointment confusion by whole-heartedly embracing the truth of the sanctuary doctrine.

But the Lord Jesus saw that after a few decades the truth was still largely an intellectual conviction. A dead formalism was gripping the church and its ministerial or pastoral leadership. Therefore in 1888 "in His great mercy" He "sent a most precious message" which He intended should bring us into a perfect heart and intellectual unity, prepared for the final movement of Revelation 18. For many decades the full truth of what happened was carefully concealed from our knowledge as Ellen White's testimonies regarding "1888" were buried in her Ellen G. White Estate Vault and research was discouraged. In 1987, preparatory to a grand Centennial in 1988, the White Estate published in four huge volumes, The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, every word that she had written about "1888." The total is 1821 pages.

The result: we find that numerous times she likens "our" denominational reaction to that "most precious message" as "just like the Jews'" reaction to Jesus Christ. She compares the same raw unbelief that plagued ancient Israel in the days of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, to our disunity of unbelief regarding the Lord's leading in the 1888 message. [1] This spirit was not one-hundred percent, but it was "in a great measure" and "in a great degree." [2] The result was decisive in that it turned away the gift of the latter rain and prevented that generation from witnessing the events of Revelation 18.

A genuine faith includes within itself a belief of the truth. Ellen White declared that the time will come when Seventh-day Adventists will be totally united in their heartfelt belief of theological truth, as it was in our pioneer beginning. There will be no more split Sabbath School classes or divided churches. Speaking of "those who are engaged in proclaiming the last solemn message to a dying world," she says, "although possessing different temperaments and dispositions, they will see eye to eye in all matters of religious belief. They will speak the same things; they will have the same judgment; they will be one in Christ Jesus." [3]

Ancient Israel's problem was rebellion against the Lord's leading; it's ours, too. But the Holy Spirit is giving the gift of denominational repentance: "Then the work will move forward with solidity and double strength. A new efficiency will be imparted to the workers in every line. Men will learn of the reconciliation from iniquity which the Messiah has brought in through His sacrifice. The last message of warning and salvation will be given with mighty power. The earth will be lightened with the glory of God, and it will be ours to witness the soon coming in power and glory, of our Lord and Saviour." [4]

--Paul E. Penno

Endnotes:
[1] The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 600.
[2] Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 235.
[3] Ellen G. White, Historical Sketches, p.124.
[4] Ellen G. White, Medical Ministry, p. 185.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://youtu.be/urzd_BTmU28

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 2: Causes of Disunity

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 2: Causes of Disunity

 

How people in a church can truly believe the same thing (be in unity) is important, because Jesus said that the only way the world can be brought to believe in Him is when His followers "all may be one, ... that the world may believe that You sent Me" (John 17:21). Something He calls "Your truth" is the only thing that will unite them (vs. 17). Paul calls it "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5, 14). The success or failure of Christ's mission for the world therefore depends on that "truth" bringing His people who profess to "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" into one (Rev. 14:12).

Take the problem of Genesis 1. Christ and His apostles accepted that "the truth of the gospel" required sincere, honest hearts to believe that God created the earth in six literal days. People who insist they are equally sincere understand the idea of six literal days to be ancient mythology; science makes such belief naive, they say.

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

Then there's the problem of Jesus Himself. When He became incarnate, did He "take" the sinless nature of the unfallen Adam, thus breaking the genetic line of His descent from the real Adam? Or did He accept the working of the great law of heredity and enter the stream of humanity by taking our fallen, sinful nature yet living a sinless life? Here again is disunity; the assumption is that unity is impossible. Or is it?

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 proclaims 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 peoples to [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 is as certain as day follows night.

Is it possible for Seventh-day Adventist theologians to originate today among themselves a message that again would be the "beginning" or continuation of the latter rain and the loud cry? Must we re-study and accept the 1888 message before we can recover the latter rain which has been so long delayed?

If the Lord was capable of sending "a most precious message" to His people through the 1888 "messengers," Elders E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones, He is surely capable of sending such a message through any chosen instrument He may select today. But problems arise immediately!

Why hasn't He already done so? Why the long delay of decade after decade?

Again, it is no secret that many of our theologians and ministers claim to be preaching "righteousness by faith" accurately and clearly. Why does it seem that rarely two of them can agree? Jones and Waggoner maintained a remarkable harmony in their message, even when separated from each other by thousands of miles, for about a decade or more.

Is it reasonable that the Lord would grant additional light to His people while they continue to neglect or even despise light that He has already given them? We don't know for sure; but one thing issure, it would be absolutely contrary to His manner of working in past ages. For example, we could as well argue that He should send the Jews a new "Messiah" while they continue to reject the One He already sent them two thousand years ago. Most of us would agree that the Jews at the Wailing Wall praying for the Messiah to come would do well to study the New Testament documents that tell how the Lord already sent Him to them!

If the message of justification by faith as taught by the 16th century Reformers is "the third angel's message in verity," why didn't the Lord in 1888refer our people to theminstead of sending the message He did send by Jones and Waggoner?

One thing is crystal clear: The Lord Jesus Christ calls upon the "angel of the church of the Laodiceans" to "repent." What can such "repentance" mean for the remnant church? "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]

What can bring unity to the remnant church? Some say it is impossible; the best we can hope for is a "shaking," and disunity until probation closes.

It seems impossible that the church could ever be united on teachings of "righteousness by faith" as advanced by Sunday-keeping Reformers and theologians. Not only do we find almost hopeless disagreement among themselves, but we also find serious cautions expressed by Ellen G. White concerning undue confidence in the Reformers' positions. While it is true that "the great doctrine of justification by faith" was "clearly taught by Luther," it is obvious that the Lord's servant means by that statement that he taught it "clearly" for his day and under his circumstances. Elsewhere she makes clear that Luther did not preach "the everlasting gospel" in the setting of "the last days." "This message [the first angel's] is a part of the gospel which could be proclaimed only in the last days, for only then would it be true that the hour of judgment had come." [2]

But what the 16th century Reformers never did, Jones and Waggoner went on to do. They built upon this foundation a grand edifice of biblical truth that is unique and distinctly Seventh-day Adventist as a completion of the Reformation begun long ago. They developed a message of righteousness by faith parallel to and consistent with the unique Adventist truth of the cleansing of the sanctuary.

"The message of Christ's righteousness" that is to lighten the earth with glory is ministered from the Most Holy Apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ our High Priest is completing His work of reconciliation on this antitypical Day of Atonement. This required a clearer view of Christ's sacrifice on His cross, and of His righteousness manifested in human flesh, clearer than had ever been seen before.

In summation, any message of righteousness by faith which succeeds in uniting the world church must be: (a) biblical; (b) in harmony with the writings of Ellen G. White; and (c) in harmony with Seventh-day Adventist Church history.

Therefore, it seems that the only reasonable basis for unity is indeed the 1888 message itself. It is (a) biblical, for Jones and Waggoner relied entirely in Scripture; (b) in complete harmony with Ellen White's writings, and enjoys her unequivocal support and endorsement in forcefulness and emphasis completely unprecedented in her long prophetic career; and (c) Seventh-day Adventist history points unmistakably in that direction as the path to repentance in fulfillment of our Lord's command.

"Let us thank the Lord that He is dealing with us still, to save us from our errors, to save us from our dangers, to keep us back from wrong courses, and to pour upon us the latter rain, that we may be translated. That is what the [1888] message means--translation--to you and me. ... Let us receive it with all the heart, and thank God for it." [3]

Remember: Truth never causes disunity; only error does.

--From the Writings of Robert J. Wieland

Endnotes:
[1] Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, emphasis added.
[2] Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 253, 356.
[3] A. T. Jones, General Conference Daily Bulletin, 1893; "The Third Angel's Message No. 9"; p. 185.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/UCz87_rNF6k

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 1: Creation and Fall

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 1: Creation and Fall

 

Not a few are deeply concerned about disunity in the church. Leadership through the mainstream church media are appealing for tolerance. Liberal media say the church is "facing its worst threat to unity in many decades." A church consisting of 20+ million adherents worldwide of such diversity might be expected to face challenges.

We are told that it's man's fault that disunity with God was welcomed to earth. It is God who seeks to bring healing to the rift through His Good News.

But every beautiful truth that God teaches us in His Bible has been twisted and distorted by the master enemy, Satan, to bring about disunity among God's people. Satan's clever deceptions have even been injected into the teaching of God's new covenant (Thursday's lesson).

The truth as the Bible teaches it is so simple that a child can easily grasp it. God's 1888 "messengers" saw it clearly from the Word. When God Himself makes a "covenant," it is always a simple, straightforward promise on His part. No gimmicks, no small print, no "bargains" struck, no "ifs" that can be used to get Him off the hook so He can wriggle out of keeping His promise. In fact, when God makes a "covenant," He goes the second mile and swears an oath that puts His own life and His throne in pawn if He doesn't do what He promises (see Gen. 15:7-18; Heb. 6:13-20). That promise of God was made to Abraham, and confirmed by His solemn oath. God would give him the whole earth for "an everlasting possession" together with the righteousness necessary to inherit it.

When the Lord promised Abraham, He stipulated no "bargain" or "transaction" terms. It was a give-and-take relationship--God would do all the giving, and Abraham would do all the taking. And how did Abraham "take" the blessing? Totally by faith. Abraham "believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6; remember, we are Abraham's "children"). "Abraham believed" His promises--a heart-melting appreciation of the love of God that has redeemed humanity at the cross. Such faith is the kind that is alive, which "works." It reconciles alienated hearts to God and therefore at the same time reconciles their hearts to His holy law.

But for nearly 4000 years both Abraham and his descendants have twisted and distorted this simple good news. Abraham proposed to God that he help Him out of His difficulty by adopting Eliezer, a slave, to be his "heir" (15:2-4). God said No! Then Sarah, embittered because she couldn't get pregnant, proposed that she help God out of His difficulty by adopting a slave-girl's son from Abraham as her own (16:1-4). Again God said No! (17:1-19). The Lord insisted that everything would be His doing 100 percent.

And here is where the battle has raged these thousands of years. We are all "born in sin," inheriting a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5; Rom. 7:14-17). It's easy notto believe. Faith humbles our hearts! The result? We ourselves have invented the "old covenant," our promises to God. Somehow we must help save ourselves!

Don't you wish when you were younger you had understood that God's great promises to Abraham were to you also. Nobody told us! Our whole life would have been different. All that God promised Abraham was precisely what worries us. (Teens are the most worried people on earth.) We wanted to be "a great nation," that is, we want to be "somebody." We don't want to be just a number in humanity. We want to live for a purpose, to amount to something.

Are we sinful? Of course we are! But the desire to be "somebody" is also God-given; and He wants every person to hear His promise, "I will make of you somebody important!"

We also need to hear Him tell us, "I will bless thee." That will lift a load of fear from our hearts. And yes, we want to hear Him tell us that He will make our name "great" in some meaningful way. We don't want to be a glob of jelly, a "blah" person. We want to be "some one" in others' eyes!

And yes, sinful though we are, we do indeed dream of God doing for us what He promised to do for Abraham, "And thou shalt be a blessing." From our dawn of consciousness we dream of becoming something for God. We don't know how, but we want to be a useful person in God's great plan for the world. Oh, we can be so happy if we know that all along God is promising us these wonderful things He promised Abraham!

All seven of those fantastic promises in Genesis 12:2, 3 will rejoice our hearts if only we know that God is telling us all that! We can stand taller and walk more sprightly when we know His promises are for us. We can study better, develop our abilities more efficiently.

And best of all, if we know that God is promising us that someday we will fellowship with Christ in "all families of the earth being blessed," that by His grace we will be an agent He can use in some little but meaningful way to convey that "blessing" everywhere we will go--oh, the new covenant will make all the difference in our thinking and lives. Don't you think it will go a long way in healing disunity in the church?

Now, how about passing on those new covenant promises to someone else?

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/0HtR-Urz8So

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

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz