The Review and Herald
March 12, 1901
Lessons from the Christ-Life
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” God has laid the work of judgment upon Christ because He is the Son of man. He was made in all points like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest. He was to become acquainted with the weakness of every human being. He could do this only by taking upon himself human nature. He must be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, that at the judgment of the great day none might question the justice of the decisions made. Our High Priest has been over the ground over which we must pass. He is acquainted with the circumstances of every case. He sees not as man sees, and judges not as man judges. He judges righteously. He has shown His love for men and women by giving His own life to ransom them from the penalty that must fall upon the transgressors of God's law. He knows the value of human souls. He will not close the door of heaven against any one unless, for the safety of heaven, it is necessary to do so. RH March 12, 1901, par. 1
Lucifer refused to accept Christ as the Prince of heaven, his Sovereign and Leader. He refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the Son of God. The controversy between the Prince of life and the prince of darkness has been long and fierce. Those who place themselves under Satan's banner, who refuse, as did the Jews, to yield allegiance to God or to obey His laws, can never be members of the heavenly family. They would make war against the law of Jehovah, calling it, as did Satan, a yoke of bondage. RH March 12, 1901, par. 2
Ever since his fall, Satan has been the leader of rebellion. Ever since that time he has been leading men and women astray. Christ's work began with the beginning of transgression. Then the warfare between good and evil was begun. The Scriptures speak plainly of this warfare, carrying us down to the final triumph of Christ over Satan and his adherents. This conflict never ceases. RH March 12, 1901, par. 3
As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. Christ knew what He would have to suffer, yet He became man's substitute. As soon as Adam sinned, the Son of God presented himself as surety for the human race, with just as much power to avert the doom pronounced upon the guilty as when He died upon the cross of Calvary. RH March 12, 1901, par. 4
As our Mediator, Christ works incessantly. Whether men receive or reject Him, He works earnestly for them. He grants them life and light, striving by His Spirit to win them from Satan's service. And while the Saviour works, Satan also works, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, and with unflagging energy. But victory will never be his. RH March 12, 1901, par. 5
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Christ was engaged in this warfare in Noah's day. It was His voice that spoke to the inhabitants of the old world in messages of warning, reproof, and invitation. He gave the people a probation of one hundred and twenty years, in which they might have repented. But they chose the deceptions of Satan, and perished in the waters of the flood. RH March 12, 1901, par. 6
It was Christ who kept the ark safe amid the roaring, seething billows, because its inmates had faith in His power to preserve them. RH March 12, 1901, par. 7
When Christ came to the earth in person, Satan's fiercest warfare was directed against Him. But by causing the Son of God to be crucified. Satan struck a blow at himself. When Christ died on the cross, Satan's death-knell was sounded. His deceptions were narrowly watched by the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds, as he, in disguise, worked in such a way that he thought he could not possibly be detected. But he was left to follow his own course, to condemn himself by his own deeds. And before the cross of Calvary he stood revealed in his true character. When Christ cried out, “It is finished,” the unfallen worlds were made secure. For them the battle was fought and the victory won. Henceforth Satan had no place in the affections of the universe. The argument he had brought forward, that self-denial was impossible with God, and therefore unjustly required from His created intelligences, was forever answered. Satan's claims were forever set aside. The heavenly universe was secured in eternal allegiance. RH March 12, 1901, par. 8
It was because of the issues at stake that the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds watched with such intense interest the struggle between the Prince of life and the prince of darkness. Those who had not sinned needed not the application of Christ's blood, but they did need to be made secure from Satan's power. The result of the conflict had a bearing on the future of all the worlds, and every step that Christ took in the path of humiliation was watched by them with the deepest interest. RH March 12, 1901, par. 9
Christ overcame the enemy for every created intelligence. Thus He has secured the salvation of all who will accept the provision made. None who will accept Him need be vanquished. Around all is thrown the protection of His meditation. RH March 12, 1901, par. 10
By personal experience Christ is acquainted with the warfare which, since Adam's fall, has been constantly going on. How appropriate, then, for Him to be the judge. To Jesus, the Son of man, is committed all judgment. There is one mediator between God and men. Only by Him can we enter the kingdom of heaven. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. From His decision there is no appeal. He is the Rock of ages, a rock rent on purpose that every tried, tempted soul may find a sure hiding place. RH March 12, 1901, par. 11
“Verily, verily, I say unto you,” Christ continued, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.... The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” RH March 12, 1901, par. 12
Christ here referred to those occasions upon which He should raise the dead. But His words have a deeper meaning. Not only was He to give life to those who were physically dead, but to raise to spiritual life those who were dead in trespasses and sins. Hearts palsied by transgression were to be roused by the work of the Holy Spirit. RH March 12, 1901, par. 13
By nature man has no love for God. It is not natural for him to think of heavenly things. Satan has worked against God and His government, leading men to attribute to God the traits which belong to the power of evil. Christ came to this world to reveal the Father. The human family had sinned against God. The terror of a broken law hung over them; and so low had they sunk, that it seemed impossible to infuse them with spiritual life. But in His work Christ was not to fail nor to be discouraged. RH March 12, 1901, par. 14
The Saviour saw that man has vast powers and capabilities for good, which can be used in the upbuilding of God's kingdom. He came to restore to life those dead in sin. His voice is to be heard saying, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead.” “As the Father hath life in himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in himself.” RH March 12, 1901, par. 15
To arouse those spiritually dead, to create new tastes, new motives, requires as great an outlay of power as to raise one from physical death. It is indeed giving life to the dead to convert the sinner from the error of his ways; but our Deliverer is able to do this; for He came to destroy the works of the enemy. And will He not accomplish that which He has pledged himself to perform? RH March 12, 1901, par. 16