"The revelation of Himself that God has given in His word is for our
study. This we may seek to understand. But beyond this we are not to penetrate.
The highest intellect may tax itself until it is wearied out in conjectures
regarding the nature of God, but the effort will be fruitless. This problem
has not been given us to solve. No human mind can comprehend God. None
are to indulge in speculation regarding His nature. Here silence is eloquence.
The Omniscient One is above discussion."—The Ministry of Healing,
p. 429.
"The Father cannot be described by the things of earth. The Father is
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight.
The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God
declares Him to be 'the express image of His person.' (Hebrews 1:3). 'God
so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' (John
3:16). Here is shown the personality of the Father. The Comforter that
Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven is the Spirit in all
the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace
to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There
are three living persons of the heavenly trio: in the name of these three
great powers—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those
who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will
co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their effort to live
the new life in Christ."—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, pp.
62, 63 (1905).—Evangelism, p. 614, 615.
"God is a spirit; yet He is a personal being, for man was made in His
image." —Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 263.
A. THE FATHER
The Father is the first Person of the Godhead. Matthew 3:17; 11:25;
John 14:28; 15:1, 9; Acts 1:7; 2 Corinthians 1:3; Hebrews 1:1-13; James
1:17.
Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, the Father is the Creator and Sustainer
of all. Malachi 2:10; Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 1:14-16; John 1:3; Job
26:13; 33:4; Psalm 104:30.
God is the Father of all who accept Christ as their personal Saviour
and obey all His commandments. Matthew 5:48; 6:9; John 1:12, 13; 20:17;
Romans 8:15-17; 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18; 1 John 3:24.
The most outstanding attribute of the Father—which motivated the
plan of salvation—is His love. John 3:16; 1 John 4:8-13, 16. His
love is revealed in us if He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. John
14:16, 23; Romans 8:14; 1 John 4:16.
"Jesus teaches us to call His Father our Father. He is not ashamed to
call us brethren. Hebrews 2:11. So ready, so eager, is the Saviour's heart
to welcome us as members of the family of God, that in the very first
words we are to use in approaching God, He places the assurance of our
divine relationship, 'Our Father.'"—Mount of Blessings, p. 103.
"The Ancient of Days is God the Father. Says the psalmist: 'Before the
mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and
the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.' Psalm
90:2. It is He, the source of all being, and the fountain of all law,
that is to preside in the judgment." —The Great Controversy, p. 479.
B. THE SON
Christ, the second Person of the Godhead (1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13;
Hebrews 1:8), is the eternal, self-existent Son of God, the "express image"
(Hebrews 1:3; John 14:7-10) of the Father. Together with the Father, He
is the beginner (Revelation 3:14), (Gr. Arche—originator), of all
things. John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2; Romans 9:5 (cf John
17:3; 1 John 5:20); Isaiah 9:6; John 6:33.
The eternal pre-existence of Christ is clearly taught in the Bible.
Micah 5:2; Proverbs 8:22-30; John 1:1, 2, 14; 17:5, 24. A comparison between
Isaiah 40:3-5 and Matthew 3:3 proves that Christ is part of the Godhead.
See also Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58.
As Christ is also God, one with the Father and equal with Him, He is
also to be worshiped. This would not be the case if He were a created
being (Revelation 19:10). John 10:30; 20:28; Matthew 14:33; Luke 4:8;
Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:6; Luke 24:52.
Without giving up His divinity, Christ accepted humanity and became
a man at His incarnation, when He was born of the virgin Mary. Isaiah
7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35. At His birth in Bethlehem, He did not take
the nature of Adam before the fall, but the seed of Abraham and of David.
John 1:14; Romans 8:3; Hebrews 2:14, 16, 17; Philippians 2:7, 8; Romans
1:3, 4; 2 Timothy 2:8.
Christ came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke
19:10); to live and die for our justification and sanctification (Romans
5:9-10; 1 John 1:9; John 17:19); to take away our sins (Matthew 1:21;
John 1:29; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 3:5); to redeem us from the penalty
of the law (Galatians 3:13; 4:4-5); to condemn sin in the flesh, enabling
us, by the Holy Spirit, to fulfill the righteousness of the law (Romans
8:3-4); to give us an example of obedience (John 15:10; 1 Peter 2:21-24;
1 John 2:5-6; Hebrews 5:8-9); and to destroy the works of the devil (1
John 3:8).
As a man, Christ was tempted in all points like ourselves; yet He knew
no sin. Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1, 2, 13; Hebrews 2:18; 4:15; John 14:30; 2
Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22.
The vicarious death of Christ on the cross provides the sacrificial
part (the blood offering) of the atonement for the sins of the human race.
Only those who accept this provision will be saved. Isaiah 53:1-12; John
3:14-17; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; 1 John 1:7.
Dual Nature
"The Godhead was not made human, and the human was not deified by the
blending together of the two natures. Christ did not possess the same
sinful, corrupt, fallen disloyalty we possess, for then He could not be
a perfect offering." —Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 131.
"He [Christ] has a twofold nature, at once human and divine. He is both
God and man. Manuscript 76, 1903."—SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6,
p. 1074.
"The two natures were mysteriously blended in one Person—the Man
Christ Jesus. Letter 280, 1904."—."—SDA Bible Commentary, vol.
5, 1113.
"By His humanity, Christ touched humanity; by His divinity, He lays
hold upon the throne of God. As the Son of man, He gave us an example
of obedience; as the Son of God, He gives us power to obey."—The
Desire of Ages, p. 14.
Divine Nature
"Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God
from all eternity, God over all, blessed for evermore."—Selected
Messages, book 1, p. 247.
"In speaking of his pre‑existence, Christ carries the mind back
through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when
He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God."—Evangelism,
p. 615.
"From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father."—The
Desire of Ages, p. 19.
"Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses
to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own
by this Galilean Rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the self-existent
One, He who had been promised to Israel, 'whose goings forth have been
from of old, from the days of eternity.' Micah 5:2, margin."—The
Desire of Ages, pp. 469-470.
"When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ's tomb, saying,
Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour came forth from the grave by the life
that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His words, 'I lay down
My life, that I might take it again. . . . I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again.' Now was fulfilled the prophecy He
had spoken to the priests and rulers, 'Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up.' John 10:17, 18; 2:19.
"Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in triumph,
'I am the resurrection, and the life.' These words could be spoken only
by the Deity. All created beings live by the will and power of God. They
are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the highest seraph to
the humblest animate being, all are replenished from the Source of life.
Only He who is one with God could say, I have power to lay down My life,
and I have power to take it again. In His divinity, Christ possessed the
power to break the bonds of death."—The Desire of Ages, p. 785.
"In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. When Christ was
crucified, it was His human nature that died. Deity did not sink and die;
that would have been impossible."—SDA Bible Commentary (EGW Comments),
p. 1113.
"The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life."—The
Desire of Ages, p. 530.
Human Nature
"It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God
to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But
Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand
years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the
working of the great law of heredity."—The Desire of Ages, p. 49.
"At an infinite cost, and by a process mysterious to angels as well
as to men, Christ assumed humanity. Hiding his divinity, laying aside
his glory, he was born a babe in Bethlehem."—The Youth's Instructor,
July 20, 1899.
"When Jesus took human nature, and became in fashion as a man, He possessed
all the human organism. His necessities were the necessities of a man.
He had bodily wants to be supplied, bodily weariness to be relieved. By
prayer to the Father He was braced for duty and for trial (Letter 32,
1899)."—SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1130.
"He is a brother in our infirmities, but not in possessing like passions.
As the sinless One, His nature recoiled from evil."—Testimonies for
the Church, vol. 2, pp. 201-202.
"The humanity of the Son of God is everything to us. It is the golden
chain that binds our souls to Christ, and through Christ to God. This
is to be our study. Christ was a real man; He gave proof of His humility
in becoming a man. Yet He was God in the flesh. When we approach this
subject, we would do well to heed the words spoken by Christ to Moses
at the burning bush, 'Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place
whereon thou standest is holy ground' (Exodus 3:5)." —Selected Messages,
vol. 1, p. 244.
Tempted in all Points
"Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the
level of those he wished to save. In him was no guile or sinfulness; he
was ever pure and undefiled; yet he took upon him our sinful nature. Clothing
his divinity with humanity, that he might associate with fallen humanity,
he sought to regain for man that which, by disobedience, Adam had lost
for himself and for the world." —The Review and Herald, December
15, 1896.
"Christ's heart was pierced by a far sharper pain than that caused by
the nails driven into his hands and feet. He was bearing the sins of the
whole world, enduring our punishment,—the wrath of God against transgression.
His trial involved the fierce temptation of thinking that he was forsaken
by God. His soul was tortured by the pressure of great darkness, lest
he should swerve from his uprightness during the terrible ordeal. Unless
there is a possibility of yielding, temptation is no temptation. Temptation
is resisted when man is powerfully influenced to do a wrong action; and,
knowing that he can do it, resists, by faith, with a firm hold upon divine
power. This was the ordeal through which Christ passed. He could not have
been tempted in all points as man is tempted, had there been no possibility
of his failing. He was a free agent, placed on probation, as was Adam,
and as is every man. In his closing hours, while hanging on the cross,
he experienced to the fullest extent what man must experience when striving
against sin. He realized how bad a man may become by yielding to sin.
He realized the terrible consequence of the transgression of God's law;
for the iniquity of the whole world was upon him."—The Youth's Instructor,
July 20, 1899.
"When His ministry commenced, after His baptism, He endured an agonizing
fast of nearly six weeks. It was not merely the gnawing pangs of hunger
which made His sufferings inexpressibly severe, but it was the guilt of
the sins of the world which pressed so heavily upon Him. He who knew no
sin was made sin for us. With this terrible weight of guilt upon Him because
of our sins He withstood the fearful test upon appetite, and upon love
of the world and of honor, and pride of display which leads to presumption."—Testimonies
for the Church, vol. 3, p. 372.
Yet Without Sin
"Christ was the only one who walked the earth upon whom there rested
no taint of sin."—Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 134.
"Be careful, exceedingly careful as to how you dwell upon the human
nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities
of sin. He is the second Adam. The first Adam was created a pure, sinless
being, without a taint of sin upon him; he was in the image of God. He
could fall, and he did fall through transgressing. Because of sin his
posterity was born with inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus
Christ was the only begotten Son of God. He took upon Himself human nature,
and was tempted in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have
sinned; He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him
an evil propensity."—The SDA Bible Commentary (E. G. White Comments),
vol. 5, p. 1128.
"The prince of darkness found nothing in Him; not a single thought or
feeling responded to temptation."—Testimonies for the Church, vol.
5, p. 422.
"He [Christ] was to take His position at the head of humanity by taking
the nature but not the sinfulness of man."—SDA Bible Commentary (EGW
Comments), vol. 7, p. 925.
"We should have no misgivings in regard to the perfect sinlessness of
the human nature of Christ."—SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1131.
"He was unsullied with corruption, a stranger to sin; yet He prayed,
and that often with strong crying and tears. He prayed for His disciples
and for Himself, thus identifying Himself with our needs, our weaknesses,
and our failings, which are so common with humanity. He was a mighty petitioner,
not possessing the passions of our human, fallen natures, but compassed
with like infirmities, tempted in all points even as we are. Jesus endured
agony which required help and support from His Father."—Testimonies
for the Church, vol. 2, pp. 508-509.
"Every sin, every discord, every defiling lust that transgression had
brought, was torture to His spirit."—The Desire of Ages, p. 111.
We Can Overcome in the Same Way
"Many who fall under temptation excuse themselves with the plea that
Christ's divinity helped him overcome, and that man has not this power
in his favor. But this is a mistake. Christ has brought divine power within
the reach of all. The Son of God came to the earth because he saw that
moral power in man is weak. He came to bring finite man in close connection
with God. It is by combining divine power with his human strength that
man becomes an overcomer."—The Youth's Instructor, December 28, 1899.
"Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may
not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all
His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as He
was."—The Desire of Ages, p. 664.
"When we are tempted to question whether Christ resisted temptation
as a man, we must search the Scriptures for the truth. As the substitute
and surety of the human race, Christ was placed in the same position toward
the Father as is the sinner. Christ had the privilege of depending on
the Father for strength, and so have we."—The Youth's Instructor,
December 28, 1899.
"God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried
the same into the highest heaven. . . . In Christ the family of earth
and the family of heaven are bound together."—The Desire of Ages,
pp. 25, 26.
Christ's Intercession
After He had died on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3), Christ
resurrected on the third day (Luke 24:19-24, 46; 1 Corinthians 15:4);
and, forty days later, He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:3,11) to make intercession
for us and complete the work of atonement (Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans
8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:6; Acts 4:12) as He presents the merits of
His blood before the Father for repentant sinners (Hebrews 9:11-14; Revelation
7:14). Through the merits of His blood, the cleansing of the sanctuary
and the blotting out of sins (Acts 3:19), the final phase of the atonement,
commenced in 1844 (Daniel 8:14; Hebrews 8:1-4; 9:23), when the most holy
place of the heavenly sanctuary was opened (Revelation 11:19) .
"The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is
as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross."—The
Great Controversy, p. 489.
"The divine Intercessor presents the plea that all who have overcome
through faith in His blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they
be restored to their Eden home, and crowned as joint heirs with Himself
to 'the first dominion.'"—The Great Controversy, p. 484.
"By His spotless life, His obedience, His death on
the cross of Calvary, Christ interceded for the lost race. And now not
as a mere petitioner does the Captain of our salvation intercede for us,
but as a conqueror claiming His victory." —SDA Bible Commentary,
vol. 7, pp. 930-931.
C. THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit, the Representative of Christ, is the third person of
the Godhead. He is, besides Christ, the greatest of all gifts of God to
man; and through Him, Christ promised to be with His followers. John 14:16-18,
23; Matthew 28:19, 20; 1 John 3:24; 4:12, 13; Ephesians 3:16, 17; Romans
8:9-11.
A comparison between Isaiah 6:8-10 and Acts 28:25-27 shows that the
Holy Spirit is a distinct part of the Godhead. Isaiah 48:16. While Christ
is our Mediator before the Father (1 Timothy 2:5), the Holy Spirit makes
intercession for us by working upon our hearts. Romans 8:26 (cf verse
34).
"Christ, our Mediator, and the Holy Spirit are constantly interceding
in man's behalf, but the Spirit pleads not for us as does Christ who presents
His blood, shed from the foundation of the world; the Spirit works upon
our hearts, drawing out prayers and penitence, praise and thanksgiving.
The gratitude which flows from our lips is the result of the Spirit striking
the cords of the soul in holy memories, awakening the music of the heart."—SDA
Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pp. 1077-1078.
The first work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin and to lead
us to Christ. John 16:8. By accepting Jesus as our personal Saviour, we
yield to the influence and control of the Holy Spirit, who testifies of
Christ and brings repentance, conversion (new birth or regeneration),
and sanctification. He continues to lead us into all truth (obedience),
and we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), having the
mind of Christ. John 15:26; 16:8; 3:5-8; Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11;
2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:1, 2, 9, 14, 16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Galatians
5:16, 25; John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16.
Before a person can receive the gifts of the Spirit, he must bear the
fruits of the Holy Spirit in his life. Galatians 5:22-25; 1 Corinthians
12:7-11.
Our union with Christ through the Holy Spirit is the earnest (pledge)
of our resurrection. The presence of God's Spirit with us is the beginning
of eternal life. Romans 8:9-11 (cf John 11:25, 26; 1 John 4:13).
Personality
The Holy Spirit is often referred to as a power proceeding from the
Father and the Son—a power working in and through human beings. Micah
3:8; Luke 1:35; 4:14; 24:49; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:4.
At the same time, however, the Bible also refers to the Holy Spirit
as a distinct personality. Examples:
"We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a person as
God is a person, is walking through these grounds.—Manuscript 66,
1899. (From a talk to the students at the Avondale School.)"—Evangelism,
p. 616.
"The Holy Spirit... personifies Christ, yet is a distinct personality."
—Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, p. 324.
"The Holy Spirit is a free, working, independent agency."—Review
and Herald, May 5, 1896.
The Holy Spirits shares the omniscience and omnipotence of the Godhead.
"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, powers infinite and omniscient,
receive those who truly enter into covenant relationship with God."—SDA
Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1075.
"He [Christ] knew that the truth, armed with the omnipotence of the
Holy Spirit, would conquer in the battle with evil."—Acts of the
Apostles, p. 21.
"The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this
the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil
had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this
Satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only
through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would
come with no modified energy, but in the fulness of divine power. It is
the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world's
Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure."—The Desire
of Ages, p. 671.
"Our sanctification is the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit."— SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 908.
"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, powers infinite and omniscient,
receive those who truly enter into covenant relation with God. They are
present at every baptism, to receive the candidates who have renounced
the world and have received Christ into the soul temple. These candidates
have entered into the family of God, and their names are inscribed in
the Lamb's book of life (MS 27 1/2, 1900)."—The SDA Bible Commentary,
vol. 6, p.1075.
"The Holy Spirit indites all genuine prayer. I have learned to know
that in all my intercessions the Spirit intercedes for me and for all
saints; but his intercessions are according to the will of God, never
contrary to his will. 'The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities;' and the
Spirit, being God, knoweth the mind of God; therefore in every prayer
of ours for the sick, or for other needs, the will of God is to be regarded.
'For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which
is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God.' If we are taught of God, we shall pray in conformity to his revealed
will, and in submission to his will which we know not. We are to make
supplication according to the will of God, relying on the precious word,
and believing that Christ not only gave himself for but to his disciples.
The record declares, 'He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost."—Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892.
The Nature of the Holy Spirit
Here we enter upon a subject where we have—like Moses in the wilderness—to
take off our shoes. The Lord tells us by His servant: "It is not essential
for us to be able to define just what the Holy Spirit is. Christ tells
us that the Spirit is the Comforter, 'the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth
from the Father.' It is plainly declared regarding the Holy Spirit that,
in His work of guiding men into all truth, 'He shall not speak of Himself.'
John 15:26; 16:13.
"The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery. Men cannot explain it,
because the Lord has not revealed it to them. Men having fanciful views
may bring together passages of Scripture and put a human construction
on them, but the acceptance of these views will not strengthen the church.
Regarding such mysteries, which are too deep for human understanding,
silence is golden."—Acts of the Apostles, pp. 51-52.
Often the Holy Spirit is referred to as a power proceeding from the
Father and the Son—a power working in and through human beings. Micah
3:8; Luke 1:35; 4:14; 24:49; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:4.
Still the nature of the Holy Spirit remains to us a mystery. We should
accept the following advice from Deuteronomy 29:29: "The secret things
belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong
unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of
this law."
Function
"By the Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. In this sense
He would be nearer to them than if He had not ascended on high."—The
Desire of Ages, p. 669.
"Christ, our Mediator, and the Holy Spirit are constantly interceding
in man's behalf, but the Spirit pleads not for us as Christ who presents
His blood, shed from the foundation of the world; the Spirit works upon
our hears, drawing out prayers and pentitence, praise and thanksgiving."—The
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1077.
"Whenever one renounces sin, which is the transgression of the law,
his life will be brought into conformity to the law, into perfect obedience.
This is the work of the Holy Spirit."—Testimonies for the Church,
vol. 6, p. 92.
"If men are willing to be molded, there will be brought about a sanctification
of the whole being. The Spirit will take the things of God and stamp them
on the soul. By His power the way of life will be made so plain that none
need err therein."—The Acts of The Apostles, p. 53.
Power in Resurrection
"Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one
spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth
from the grave,—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ,
but because, through faith, His life has become ours. Those who see Christ
in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting
life. It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit
of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life
eternal."—The Desire of Ages, p. 388. Read Romans 8:11.
