MR No. 664—Christ’s High Standard Attainable by His Grace
When the truth is manifested in the daily life, the fruit will be unto righteousness and true holiness. In the life that He lived on this earth, Christ has given us an example of what the lives of those who believe on Him should be. God calls for a depth of piety that many have not yet known.
(9MR 1.1)
Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water through the Word. His prayer for the believers is:
(9MR 1.2)
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: That the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.—John 17:20-23.
(9MR 1)
This high standard Christ has made it possible for us to reach. He will be present in His grace and strength, to help every striving soul not to fall short of His high calling. Our expectations need to be elevated far above that which is seen in the piety of many professing Christians. God calls upon us to reveal the Saviour to the world in works of righteousness. He calls upon us to remember that we are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.—Manuscript 17, 1906, p. 5. (“The United States as an Asylum for Religious Liberty.”)
(9MR 1.3)