FIRST QUARTER 2023
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #1
JANUARY 7, 2023
“PART OF GOD’S FAMILY”

 

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what [is] the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21, NKJV).

The lesson this week explores a foundational principle of the quarter’s topic of Managing for the Master, that is, how our family identity informs how we manage the family resources. The text above puts the emphasis solidly where it belongs - on Christ and the riches He provides to His children, to His family.

Although every inhabitant of the world is a child of God, not all know it or live the reality of that family identity. The reason for this is rooted in the sin problem and Adam’s fall. Before the fall, Adam was “son of God” (Luke 3:38). He was given dominion over the earth as a royal son. But when he disobeyed God, manifesting unbelief in His goodness and love, he lost his estate as he disavowed his sonship. Ever since, every child of Adam has had the same choice to make. Simply being born into Adam’s race is no guarantee of taking one’s place in the family of “heaven and earth.” Those of us who are parents wish we could pass our decision to join the divine-human family on to our children.  But God has no grandchildren in this sense. We must be twice born to truly live in His family.

The lesson by and large assumes that every reader is a member of the divine-human family restored in Christ. But how do we know if we are indeed members of this family, restored in Christ?

“Because we have the same Father as Jesus, He is our brother, and we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. Jesus became a member of the earthly family so that we could become members of the heavenly family. ‘The family of heaven and the family of earth are one.’” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 835.

Notice that Jesus became one with the fallen race in order that we could become members of the heavenly family. Also found in this quote, however, is the idea that we are already members of the family “in the Lord.” That is, the objective truth of what Christ accomplished for the whole world is already an established fact into which we must enter.

“He took in His grasp the world over which Satan claimed to preside as his lawful territory, and by His wonderful work in giving His life, He restored the whole race of men to favor with God.”— Ellen G. White, Manuscript 50, 1900.

In order to truly become members of the divine-human family, we must accept our new identity in and through Christ. It is more than a mental assent — it is a death to our family identity in Adam. We take a new identity in Christ, prepared beforehand for us. It is also an intelligent appreciation of the endless resources provided in the gift, and the willing response to that gift in sharing it with others through money, time, and compassion that is the essence of our responsibility, literally our ability to respond. Even that is a gift. Ephesians 3 makes it clear: Intelligent heart appreciation and acceptance of His marvelous love which surpasses knowledge revealed in the Cross is the power that works in us.

This is a vital connection, and only comes through faith in His work of righteousness accomplished in Christ.

“The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.”— Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 324.

“Before ascending to heaven, Christ gave His disciples their commission. He told them that they were to be the executors of the will in which He bequeathed to the world the treasures of eternal life.” — Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 27.

Great blessings in heaven and earth are our inheritance in Him. Only in connection with Him can we use them wisely.

 

———

 

March 10, 1896

The Christ of Judea - 1

W. W. Prescott

How did he completely identify himself with those he came to save?-By being one with them, and one of them; by being brought into the family just as any other member is brought in, by birth. And so Jesus Christ of Judea came here, and joined this family by birth. He was a member of the divine family, that family of the Father of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. But he gave up his divine mode of existence, and came to this world, and took upon himself the human mode of existence. We read farther of this in the second chapter of Hebrews: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

 

Jesus Christ was perfect as the Son of God, but when he came here and took upon himself our human nature, he entered upon a new mode of existence: and as the Son of man, he was to be made perfect as we are made perfect, through suffering. "For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one." This is the complete identification of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, with us in our humanity. "For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power death, that is, the devil." Observe the simplicity and yet the clearness of the statement: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood." We know what that means, that is our mode of existence; and as he came to save us and lift us up, "he also himself likewise took part of the same,"-the same flesh and the same blood,-"that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." He became identified with us, subjected to death with us, for this very purpose. "And deliver them, who through fear of death were all the lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." How could the thought be set before us more clearly that Jesus Christ identified himself with us, by partaking of our flesh and blood and becoming one with us, a member of the human family, just as we are?

 

Adam lost God's image and begat sons and daughters in his image rather than in the image of God. God's purpose is that man shall be born again in his image; and he made a provision for this by Jesus Christ's coming into the world. So he came and joined himself to humanity, that the divine power in him might raise humanity to the place where God designed it should be. He came and connected himself with humanity, and reached out his hand and lifted us up. He became his one with us, and in his lifting up, we were lifted up. So we are what a complete identification there is between Christ, our Saviour, and man, who was to be saved.  — W. W. Prescott, March 10, 1896, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, p. 152.

 

 

March 17, 1896

The Christ of Judea - 2

W. W. Prescott

Jesus Christ established a new family, of which he became the head. "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaves. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall bear the image of the heavenly." 1 Cor. 15:45-49. So Jesus Christ the Lord from heaven, the last Adam, in entering into this relationship with the human family, became the head of this family just as Adam was the head of the divine-human family originally. Jesus Christ was God in heaven, and he came to this world, and was born of the flesh, and thus he who had been born of the Spirit, was afterward born of the flesh, and by this double birth this family was established,-the divine-human family of which he is the head,-in order that we who have already been born of the flesh, may by his grace and the power of the same Spirit, be born of the Spirit,-that is, every member of this divine-human family is twice born. And Jesus Christ took the same relationship to this family that the first Adam took in the beginning, in whom were found all the members of the family. As in Adam every member was created, when he was given the power to reproduce, so in Christ every member of the family which he established, of which he is the head, was in him, and has gathered into himself the whole family. The same relationship is sustained toward him as was sustained toward the first Adam. As what we receive by birth from flesh is the flesh of sin, with all the tendencies of evil,-for that which is born of the flesh is flesh,-and as by birth of the flesh we enter into all the experiences of Adam, by having his nature; so by this new, this second birth, we enter into the family of God and the nature of Jesus Christ our Saviour, becoming partakers of the divine nature. Jesus Christ identified himself so fully and completely with us in his humanity as our divine Saviour, as well as our brother in the flesh, that he said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." — W. W. Prescott, March 17, 1896, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, p. 168.

 

 

March 24, 1896

The Christ of Judea - 3

W. W. Prescott

The image of God had long been lost, but Jesus Christ came, and has shown to the human family the character of the ideal man. He did not come as a full-grown man, but as a child, a young man, and a man at full age. He was in every stage of life the ideal for humanity. "Even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps." 1 Peter 2:21. He was the example to the world of what God intended humanity should be. "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." 1 John 2:6. The walking of Jesus Christ was the pattern for man's walk. Then a further purpose of Christ's mission to this world was to reveal the possibility of a life wholly dependent upon God, and yet in perfect harmony with the will of God. We are called upon to be perfect, as the Father in heaven is perfect; he also says, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." But the power for perfection and holiness dwells not in man; he cannot of himself do anything, but Christ was both perfect and holy as the Son of man and the Son of God. Clothing his divinity with humanity, and taking upon himself all the conditions of fallen humanity, he was in his humanity an example to us of what it is possible for humanity to be by dependence on God.

 

In his work here as the man Christ Jesus, he did not avail himself of his own divine power in order to assist him to live the life of God. He might have done it for himself; but had he done so, he would not have been our example; we cannot do it; we have no divine power of our own. He voluntarily took that place of weakness with us. "For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you." 2 Cor. 13:4. He took a place where he would not obtain strength in any other way than that open to us; and let it be remembered for our encouragement, that our Saviour, when he was here in the flesh, did not use any power for a righteous life which is not at our command to-day. It shows the possibility for humanity. "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." John 6:57; 5:19. He voluntarily took that place where he could do nothing of himself. Why did Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, give up heaven, and come here as the Son of man, and voluntarily put himself in our place?-So that everything he gained as the Son of man might come to us. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcome, and am set down with my Father on his throne." And the very place at his own right hand belongs to Jesus Christ as Son of man; and as he won it as the Son of man, that same place belongs to every believer in Jesus. So Jesus Christ came here to reveal to us, in the flesh, what God's ideal for humanity is, and how it may be lived out.

 

What was accomplished for us by the Christ of Judea, our brother in the flesh, by his life and his death on the earth? "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. The Christ of Judea came here to provide the sacrifice; not to appease the wrath of God, but to render stable the very foundation of his government, that God might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin." 1 John 3:5. He was the I AM as he says, "Before Abraham was, I am;" but it was needful that he should be manifested, in order that he might carry out God's plan, that there might be a sacrifice to take away sin. Angels could praise God; angels could do deeds for God; but only Jesus Christ the Son of God could be God in the flesh. So what was accomplished for us by his being here in the flesh?-A sacrifice was provided to take away the sin of the world, and this Lamb of God was also to be a substitute for us. The law having been broken, it demanded death. "The wages of sin is death." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." These are the words of God. Christ came to do all this for us.

 

It was before any one repented that all this was worked out in the mind of God. He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Whether one believes on him or not, all this was done for him just as much and just the same as though he repented. "Behold the Lamb of God which beareth [margin] the sin of the world"-not simply the sins of those who believe, but the sins of the world. So he was our substitute, as we read in Isa. 53:2-4: "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." He bore not simply the iniquities of those who believe on him, but the iniquities of us all. He bore them all, and Jesus Christ suffered and died and paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world. "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:1, 2. God took the whole world into account when be gave Christ, and he provided a sacrifice sufficient for all. Every man's sin has been atoned for. "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many;" "who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified is due time." Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:6. The work of Jesus Christ is for all, and if every sinner should to-day repent and accept Christ, no further provision would need to be made: for the penalty has been met, the price paid, and the ransom is sufficient for all. Nothing more could be given; nothing more need be given. He asks us simply to accept what he has done, on the conditions which he has established. Jesus Christ, the divine Saviour, can come in only when self goes out. He says, Take up thy cross, and follow me. Jesus Christ comes in when self goes out, and he takes the place of self. These are the conditions upon which he asks us to receive him.

 

Not only this, but he has provided for us, by his life on the earth, the righteousness which is wrought into human flesh. There is the righteousness of God,-God the Father, the eternal God, the everlasting God,-but his righteousness, his glory, and character cannot come to our humanity directly from the divinity of God; there must be a mediator, and Jesus Christ came in his flesh and humanity, and wrought into his humanity, which is ours, the very righteousness and character of God, in order that he might present to us the righteousness which he has wrought into human flesh. "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." Rom. 5:18. These are some of the results which were accomplished for us in the life and death of the man Christ Jesus, the Christ of Judea.

 

Let us add one more; and that is, by the work of the Christ of Judea in his life and death on behalf of the human family, that which otherwise would have been eternal death, is changed into sleep: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. 15:22. When Paul was preaching, he preached that there would be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust. When Christ spoke to his disciples concerning Lazarus, he said, "Our friend Lazarus, sleepeth." So by the life, death, and resurrection of the man Christ Jesus, the Christ of Judea, in our flesh, that which otherwise would have been eternal death has been changed into a sleep for every son and daughter of Adam; and so all shall come forth from the grave. The work of Jesus Christ does not save us from this death, but it changes it into a sleep. At the resurrection we are rewarded according to our works, according as we have continued in Adam, or have been translated into the kingdom of Christ.

 

This is something of the work of Jesus of Nazareth, the man Christ Jesus in our humanity, the Christ of Judea. It is beyond the human mind to enter into it fully; but God designs that we shall enter into the experience, even though we are not able to enter into the philosophy of it. — W. W. Prescott, March 24, 1896, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, pp. 185-6.

 

~ Todd Guthrie