Faith Not to Rest on Evidences of Sight—Before Christ left heaven and came into the world to die, He was taller than any of the angels. He was majestic and lovely. But when His ministry commenced, He was but little taller than the common size of men then living upon the earth. Had He come among men with His noble, heavenly form, His outward appearance would have attracted the minds of the people to Himself, and He would have been received without the exercise of faith....
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The faith of men in Christ as the Messiah was not to rest on the evidences of sight, and they believe on Him because of His personal attractions, but because of the excellence of character found in Him, which never had been found, neither could be, in another (The Spirit of Prophecy 2:39).
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(Colossians 2:9; Ephesians 3:9; 1 Peter 1:11, 12.) The Mystery Into Which Angels Desire to Look—In Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead. But the only way in which He could reach men was to veil His glory by a garb of humanity. The angels beheld the hiding of His glory, that divinity might touch humanity. Christ ever retained the utmost hatred for sin, but He loved the purchase of His blood. He suffered in the place of sinful men, taking them into union with Himself.
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This is the mystery into which angels desire to look. They desire to know how Christ could live and work in a fallen world, how He could mingle with sinful humanity. It was a mystery to them that He who hated sin with intense hatred felt the most tender, compassionate sympathy for the beings that committed sin (The Signs of the Times, January 20, 1898).
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(Colossians 1:26, 27.) An Unexplainable Blending—Christ could have done nothing during His earthly ministry in saving fallen man if the divine had not been blended with the human. The limited capacity of man cannot define this wonderful mystery—the blending of the two natures, the divine and the human. It can never be explained. Man must wonder and be silent. And yet man is privileged to be a partaker of the divine nature, and in this way he can to some degree enter into the mystery (Letter 5, 1889).
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The Most Marvelous Thing in Earth or Heaven—When we want a deep problem to study, let us fix our minds on the most marvelous thing that ever took place in earth or heaven—the incarnation of the Son of God. God gave His Son to die for sinful human beings a death of ignominy and shame. He who was Commander in the heavenly courts laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and clothing His divinity with humanity, came to this world to stand at the head of the human race as the pattern-man. He humbled Himself to suffer with the race, to be afflicted in all their afflictions.
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The whole world was His, but so completely did He empty Himself that during His ministry He declared, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” [Hebrews 2:14-18 quoted] (Manuscript 76, 1903).
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Christ Above All Law—The Son of God came voluntarily to accomplish the work of atonement. There was no obligatory yoke upon Him; for He was independent and above all law.
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The angels, as God′s intelligent messengers, were under the yoke of obligation; no personal sacrifice of theirs could atone for fallen man. Christ alone was free from the claims of the law to undertake the redemption of the sinful race. He had power to lay down His life and to take it up again. “Being in the form of God,” He “thought it not robbery to be equal with God” (The Southern Work, September 4, 1906).
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(Exodus 3:5.) Christ′s Humanity a Golden Chain—To redeem man, Christ became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The humanity of the Son of God is everything to us. It is the golden linked chain which binds our souls to Christ and through Christ to God. This is to be our study. Christ was a real man, and He gave proof of His humility in becoming a man. And He was God in the flesh.
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When we approach the subject of Christ′s divinity clothed with the garb of humanity, we may appropriately 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. We must come to the study of this subject with the humility of a learner, with a contrite heart. And the study of the incarnation of Christ is a fruitful field, and will repay the searcher who digs deep for hidden truth (Manuscript 67, 1898).
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6 (John 1:1-3, 14; see EGW comment on John 1:1-3; Revelation 12:10). Equality Between Christ and the Father—Christ′s position with His Father is one of equality. This enabled Him to become a sin-offering for transgressors. He was fully sufficient to magnify the law and make it honorable (Manuscript 48, 1893).
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8 (John 17:3; Colossians 1:19; see EGW comment on Revelation 3:1). The Highest Science—In Christ all fullness dwells. He teaches us to count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. This knowledge is the highest science that any man can reach. It is the sum of all true science. “This is life eternal,” Christ declared, “that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”(John 17:3)(Manuscript 125, 1907).
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8-10. Paul′s Estimate of God′s Grace—[Philippians 3:8, 9 quoted.] The righteousness that before he [Paul] had thought worth so much was now worthless in his sight. His own righteousness was unrighteousness. The deep longing of his soul was, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”Philippians 3:10.
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He would know for himself the power of the Saviour′s grace. He trusted in His power to save even him, who had persecuted the church of Christ. In his estimation no treasure could equal the value of the gift of the knowledge of Christ (Manuscript 89, 1903).
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13. This One Thing I Do—Paul’s calling demanded from him service of varied kinds—working with his hands to earn his living, traveling from place to place, establishing churches, writing letters to the churches already established. Yet in the midst of these varied labors, he declared, “This one thing I do.”
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One thing he kept steadfastly before him in all his work—to be faithful to Christ, who, when he was blaspheming His name and using every means in his power to make others blaspheme it, had revealed Himself to him. The one great purpose of his life was to serve and honor Him whose name had once filled him with contempt. His one desire was to win souls to the Saviour. Jew and Gentile might oppose and persecute him, but nothing could turn him from his purpose (Letter 107, 1904).
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Instruction of Highest Value—The manifestation of real goodness is the bearing of fruit in good works. This bears the endorsement of heaven. Read the first chapter of Paul′s Epistle to the Colossians. The instruction it contains is of the highest value. The religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent. It countenances no littleness, no mean transactions. True Christians have a nobility which allows none of the cheap, covetous actions that are a disgrace to the doer of them (Letter 58, 1900).
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