The Signs of the Times
November 5, 1894
“Comprehended It Not”
The Lord Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, laid aside his royal robe and relinquished his royal crown, gave up his high command, and came into the world, all seared and marred with the curse. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Did the world appreciate the light?—No; they refused to accept the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Thus it will be until the close of time. The Son of God came personally into the world, and men did to him as they listed. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” ST November 5, 1894, par. 1
The Son of God came to our world with his heart overflowing with love for fallen man. He was in the express image of God, and equal with God in character. He was the brightness of his Father's glory, the express image of his person. He came to meet and to conquer his adversary, Satan, the fallen angel, who had become exalted because of his brightness and wisdom, and who desired to place his throne above the throne of God. Satan desired to set aside the law of God, whose precepts could not be altered any more than could his character or his throne. Satan sought to be first among the ranks of heaven, to have the supremacy in the courts of God, and for this sin he was cast out of heaven, and became the lowest of all creatures. Christ came to controvert Satan's assertions, and to reveal his misrepresentations of the character of God. The Son of God clothed his divinity with humanity, and came to the world without parade or display, that he might be accepted, not because of outward attractions, but because of his heavenly attributes of character, as revealed in his words and works. He presented to men lessons whereby their souls were brought into comparison with the law of God, not in a legal light, but in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, that man by beholding might be changed into the divine image. ST November 5, 1894, par. 2
Jesus taught that in no case is man to give up his mind to the guidance of his fellowman, or to follow his own vain imagination. This is what men will do if they drop eternity out of their reckoning, for they will fail to contemplate the things of heaven, and will make the world and the things of time their first consideration. When Christ came to the world, he found men engaged in pursuing phantoms as though they were realities, and eternal realities were looked upon as unreal and unimportant. They were wholly given up to strife for worldly conveniences and for providing possessions for the future. ST November 5, 1894, par. 3
Jesus presented to men eternal considerations, and urged upon them the necessity of not losing eternity out of their reckoning. He sought to attract their minds to contemplation of sacred truth, of a high, immortal character, capable of expanding and elevating the mind and ennobling the soul. He sought to reveal to them the fact that man cannot serve God and mammon, for, through serving the world and seeking for worldly gain and honor, the service of God is made a secondary matter. ST November 5, 1894, par. 4
The Lord Jesus requires that those who would serve God shall make the world and its interests subordinate to the interests of pure and undefiled religion, and he gave to man in his own life an example of what it meant to be a loyal worshiper of God. If men follow the precepts and example of Christ, they will not become the sport of Satan's temptations. They will not let day after day go by without a thought of God, as they follow out their own devices and plans, as did the inhabitants of the world in the time of Noah. In Noah's day men carried out their plans with no reference whatever to God, upon whose power they were continually dependent. We should continually realize that God is at our right hand, saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” ST November 5, 1894, par. 5
In his lessons Jesus presents different symbols and illustrations as he seeks to restore the moral image of God in man, and save the soul from utterly yielding itself to the power of the destroyer. Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden;” and, although you have followed in a course that I have forbidden, and in so doing, you have bound your own souls under Satan's oppressive yoke, and have carried the burden he has imposed upon you, yet “come unto me,....and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Shall we practice this lesson? Shall we daily learn that peace, rest, happiness, power, and true greatness are in becoming meek and lowly of heart? Jesus bids us learn of him, for he was meek and lowly in heart. If he had thought that the best way to save perishing souls was to charm the senses and attract them to his standard through pomp and display, he could have surrounded himself with worldly attractions, and presented to them maxims and sentiments that would have won the approval of the world. ST November 5, 1894, par. 6
But there was but one remedy by which man could be saved,—man must believe God's word, and follow the example of humility and meekness of heart. Jesus leads the minds of men from their worldly philosophy and self-exalting sentiments to the purity and virtue of the gospel. He leads them away from their false religions of fancy and human reason. There is a religion in the world that is apparently beautiful, but which leads men to turn with disgust from the representation given by Christ of the office work of the Holy Spirit. Of the Comforter which he was to send to his disciples, he says, “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The natural heart does not enjoy this constant reproving of sin and continual exalting of righteousness. Men feel disgusted when they are represented as helpless to do good; yet Jesus declares, “Without me ye can do nothing.” The word of God requires humility and practical godliness, and the picture of man's dependence upon God is mortifying to the selfish independence of man, to his grand ideas of eloquence and finery and parade, which he esteems as essential for the conversion of the world. ST November 5, 1894, par. 7
Those who are enamored of this religion of fancy do not relish the idea of destroying the old man with his deeds, and bringing into subjection every rebellious thought to the dominion of Christ. They do not desire to submit themselves to the control of the Spirit of God, which works in the human heart to expel every corruption and to establish vital principles of virtue, temperance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and Christlike love. Yet those who receive the Spirit of God, though they were dead in trespasses and sins, will experience the active working of that power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead. The vital power of the Holy Spirit will raise up those who realize their helplessness, and who come confessing their sins and believing in Jesus. All the faculties are to be brought under the control of the Spirit of God. Unaided humanity may struggle with all its power, may exercise reason, eloquence, and philosophy in seeking to repair the ruins of a fallen, disordered world; men may listen to the theories of men, but the question to ask is, What have been the results? Jesus answers, “Without me ye can do nothing.” When all the wisdom of the schools, all the accumulations of human ability, are brought to bear upon those who are dead in trespasses and sins, they avail nothing for the reformation of character. Human selfishness remains in all its depravity. The Spirit of God alone can make and keep men pure. Its work upon the soul is represented as bringing life to the dead, and freeing the soul from the slavery of sin, which has brought it under the condemnation of the law, where wrath and tribulation fall upon every evil doer. It is the grace of Christ which brings salvation to everyone who receives it. Those who are converted, experience peace and assurance forever. In place of being slaves, they are made free through Jesus Christ. Brought into the liberty of obedient children, they can say, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” ST November 5, 1894, par. 8
We see and are compelled to acknowledge human depravity, but we do not need to stop at this conclusion, for through faith in Christ life and immortality are brought to light. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” Jesus is the one of whom Isaiah said: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” ST November 5, 1894, par. 9
Man is full of frailties and imperfections, and dependent upon God, and yet he stretches himself to enormous proportions of importance, and makes boast of his human wisdom and achievements. He forgets that he is in the world which God has made by his own wisdom. And shall man refuse to admit his obligation to the law of the Creator? The truly converted soul will stand true to the law of God, and be obedient to all his commandments. ST November 5, 1894, par. 10