Giving his charge to Timothy, Paul says, “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, the Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting” (1 Timothy 6:11-16).
(1SM 297.1)
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Writing again, Paul says: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever” (1 Timothy 1:15-17).
(1SM 297.2)
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Christ “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). No man can have an independent spiritual life apart from Him. The sinner is not immortal; for God has said, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). This means all that it expresses. It reaches farther than the death which is common to all; it means the second death. Men start back at this, saying, “Would you make man no more than a beast?” This is thought to be degrading. But what is it that elevates man in the sight of God? Is it his accumulation of money?—No; for God declares, The gold and the silver are mine. If man abuses his entrusted treasures, God can scatter faster than man can gather. Man may have brilliant intellect; he may be rich in the possession of natural endowments. But these are all given him by God, his Maker. God can remove the gift of reason, and in a moment man will become as Nebuchadnezzar, degraded to the level of the beasts of the field. This God does because man acts as though his wisdom and power had been gotten independently of Him.
(1SM 297.3)
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