General Conference Bulletin, vol. 7

Bible Study Hours - SPIRITUAL GROWTH

A. T. ROBINSON

June 4, 8:30 A. M.

During the hour devoted to Bible study, Elder Robinson read many passages of Scripture and extracts from the testimonies, illustrative of spiritual development through a daily study of God’s Word. In the Scriptures we are exhorted to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18. This exhortation is in reality a command, and every command of God is a promise. That which is demanded of God’s children, they are enabled to do. And so when we are bidden to grow, we may be assured that all the conditions necessary for spiritual development have been provided. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.1

In the beginning, abundant provision was made for man’s spiritual growth, as well as for physical sustenance. In the midst of the garden was the tree of life, symbolic of spiritual food of which he was to partake freely. It was through a turning away from counsels given, that man was separated from the source of his power to grow. Man doubted God’s word, and thus became separated from the tree of life, alienated from the life of God. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.2

Christ, the second Adam, overcame on the very point on which the first Adam failed. By faith in the promises recorded in Holy Writ, he triumphed over Satan. This signal triumph came after years of continuous spiritual development. “From the first dawning of intelligence,” after Christ appeared in this world, he was “constantly growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.” “Education,” page 107. And he is our example. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.3

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“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. This is in harmony with a statement in “Steps to Christ,” that “Christ alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul.” And this new birth comes through faith in the promises of the living Word. Christ is nigh those who call upon him; he is nigh those who study his Word. By a comparison of Deuteronomy 30:11-14 with Romans 10:6-8, it is evident that Christ and the Word are very closely connected. “The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart.” It is through the creative power in this Word, that the hearts of the sons of men are transformed. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.4

God “spake, and it was.” He upholds all things by the word of his power. The words he has spoken still live, keeping everything in place. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.5

The antedeluvians were willingly ignorant of the fact that in this Word is creative power. 2 Peter 3:5. But it was the power vested in the Word that brought the flood, a hundred and twenty years after that Word has been spoken. God’s Word “liveth and abideth forever.” It is this Word that will bring about the removal of sin in all varied forms, and will restore the earth to its Edenic state. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.6

As the garden of Eden Christ and the Word and the tree of life were closely identified, so ever since the fall Christ has been the source of all spiritual life and power. On this point I read: “Jesus is the source of power, the fountain of life. He brings us to his Word, and from the tree of life presents to us leaves for the healing of sin-sick souls. At every step we touch his living power.”—The Acts of the Apostles, 478. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.7

We are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” As parents naturally desire to see their children develop, so God desires to see his children grow in grace. At first they partake of the sincere milk of his Word. Afterward they become strong men and women in Christ Jesus. As pointed out in “Desire of Ages” (chap. 41, par. 19), “Those who see Christ in his true character, and receive him into the heart, have everlasting life.” It is by faith through the Word, that we receive Christ. I believe, brethren and sisters, that the Word of God is to the Christian today exactly what the tree of life was to man before the fall. We can get life in no other way; we can live and grow in no other way. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.8

Many are dying spiritually because of their neglect of the Word. Let me illustrate: Supposing I should see some one I have known when he was in the best of health, come tottering down the aisle, almost ready to fall, Supposing further, that when I say to him, “What is the matter? are you sick? he replies: “O, no, I have been so busy that I have not had time to eat. Of course I must eat once in a while, or else I would die; but I go for days, sometimes, without eating. That is all that is the matter with me.” We are not very apt to do this, but did you ever hear a Christian, every time he comes to prayer-meeting, say, “I am so weak!” Brethren, I wish to read a statement on this point: “As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the Word of God.. GCB June 5, 1913, page 273.9

It is not enough that we come to a general meeting like this, and listen to our attention the spiritual food that has sustained their life. Every one must partake for himself. “As we eat for ourselves to receive nourishment, so we must receive the Word for ourselves. We are not to receive it merely through the medium of another’s mind.” Preaching has its God-given place, but the preaching that does not bring us to the Word of God, and lead us to take it and live by it, does not do us any lasting good. GCB June 5, 1913, page 274.1

The measure of physical growth is attainment to manhood and womanhood. The measure of spiritual growth is Christ. The process of physical growth is illustrated by the words of the Saviour, “Consider the lilies, how they grow.” GCB June 5, 1913, page 274.2

Steps to Christ, 72: “In the matchless gift of his Son, God has encircled the whole world with an atmosphere of grace, as real as the air which circulates around the globe. All who choose will live, and grow up to the stature of men and women in Christ Jesus.” GCB June 5, 1913, page 274.3

“No man hath ascended up to heaven, except he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” John 3:13. Heaven is a condition, rather than a place. Of course there is a place known as heaven, but it is heaven because of conditions existing there, not because of the location. Heaven is where there is no sin. Jesus has made it possible for you and for me to live the beautiful life he lived while on this earth. The reason why Christ lived such a life on earth was because he lived in heaven all the while. Let me read a statement about heaven, taken from “Desire of Ages,” chapter 34, paragraph 15:— GCB June 5, 1913, page 274.4

“As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to his invitation, Come, learn of me; and in thus coming we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with his love, satisfied with his presence. All that human nature can bear we may receive here. But what is this compared with the hereafter?” GCB June 5, 1913, page 274.5

With this additional thought, from “Desire of Ages,” chapter 41, paragraph 32, I must close:— GCB June 5, 1913, page 274.6

“God will make the most precious revelations to his hungering, thirsting people. As they feed upon his Word, they learn that it is spirit and life. The Word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus.... Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. That is what it means to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ That is eating the bread that comes down from heaven.” GCB June 5, 1913, page 274.7