From Trials to Triumph

Christ, the Creator

The apostle exalted Christ as the One by whom God created all things. The hand that sustains the world in space is the hand that was nailed to the cross: “For in Him were all things created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, ... all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” TT 249.3

The Son of God came to this earth to be “wounded for our transgressions” and “bruised for our iniquities.” Isaiah 53:5. He was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became flesh, even as we are. He knew what it meant to be hungry, thirsty, and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He was tempted and tried as men and women of today are tempted and tried, yet lived a life free from sin. TT 249.4

Surrounded by the influences of heathenism, the Colossian believers were in danger of being drawn away from the simplicity of the gospel. Paul pointed them to Christ as the only safe guide: “I say this in order that no one may delude you with beguiling speech... . As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught... . See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.” TT 249.5

Christ had foretold that deceivers would arise, through whose influence “iniquity” should “abound,” and “the love of many” should “wax cold.” Matthew 24:12. The church would be in more danger from this evil than from the persecution of her enemies. By receiving false teachers, they would open the door to errors by which the enemy would shake the confidence of those newly come to the faith. All that was not in harmony with Christ's teachings they were to reject. TT 250.1

As men tried in the days of the apostles by philosophy to destroy faith in the Scriptures, so today, by higher criticism, evolution, spiritualism, theosophy, and pantheism, the enemy of righteousness is seeking to lead souls into forbidden paths. To many the Bible is as a lamp without oil, because they have turned their minds into channels of speculative belief that bring confusion. The work of higher criticism, in dissecting, conjecturing, and reconstructing, is destroying faith, robbing God's Word of power to control and inspire human lives. Spiritualism teaches that desire is the highest law, that license is liberty, and that man is accountable only to himself. TT 250.2

The follower of Christ will meet with spiritualistic interpretations of the Scriptures, but he is not to accept them. He is to discard all ideas that are not in harmony with Christ's teaching. He is to regard the Bible as the voice of God speaking directly to him. The knowledge of God as revealed in Christ is the knowledge that all who are saved must have. This knowledge works transformation of character. This is the knowledge beside which all else is vanity and nothingness. TT 250.3

In every generation and in every land, the true foundation for character building has been the same—the principles contained in the Word of God. With the Word the apostles met the false theories of their day, saying, “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid.” 1 Corinthians 3:11. TT 250.4

In his letter, Paul entreated the Colossian believers not to forget that they must put forth constant effort: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” TT 251.1