The Signs of the Times
May 18, 1891
The Unsearchable Riches Of Christ
Jesus left the glory of heaven, laid aside his royal robes, and clothed his divinity with humanity, that he might uplift fallen man, and make him a partaker of the divine nature. The heart of Infinite Love was touched with the sorrows of man. As Jesus looked upon the lost race, his heart was stirred with pity, for he saw them bound in cruel captivity to the prince of evil. Jesus freely devoted all his power and majesty to the cause of fallen humanity, that a plan might be worked out that would make the salvation of man possible, and bring the ruined race back to allegiance to God. ST May 18, 1891, par. 1
Satan had misrepresented the character of God to the world, and had tempted man to rebellion; but Jesus came to make manifest in his own life and character what was the true nature of the Father. Everywhere he went, he revealed the Father as a God of infinite love and unbounded compassion. ST May 18, 1891, par. 2
Christ says, “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Through knowledge of Christ we may be brought into union with the Father. Oh, that our dull comprehension might be enlarged, that we might realize what there is in this thought of oneness with Christ! Perfection of character is offered to fallen man through the righteousness of Christ. The repentant sinner may be robed in the robe of righteousness, and God will behold in him only the unspotted purity of his Son. Then we shall be loved by the Father as he loves his Son. Jesus declares that nothing less than oneness with him and his Father will ever satisfy the divine requirement; but when we are united with Christ, our life is hid with Christ in God, and we are represented as members of the body of Christ. ST May 18, 1891, par. 3
Christ may abide in our hearts by faith. God manifested in the flesh is the mystery that has been hidden “from ages and from generations.” Oh, the depth of the riches of the love of God that hath abounded to man in the person of his Son! God in Christ, and Christ in God, and Christ abiding by faith in man, is so large a truth that the mind cannot fully comprehend it. It is so great a theme, so grand a conception, so far beyond the power of reason to explain, that, as we speak of it, we feel our insufficiency. Our comprehension is too restricted, our language too limited, to unfold this great truth. The mind fails and sinks down weary under the effort, and we can speak of this truth only in softened, subdued tones, acknowledging our helplessness, and bowing in adoration before the infinite love that has provided so great a salvation. ST May 18, 1891, par. 4
We cannot explain the unsearchable riches of Christ, but we can embrace them by faith. Let us bring faith into exercise. When Paul obtained some glimmerings of the light, and the immensity of the plan of salvation, and saw something of the richness of the treasures of grace, his soul was oppressed with a sense of their overwhelming greatness. He says: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of 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 by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” ST May 18, 1891, par. 5
In Christ the character of the Father was made manifest, and, by contemplation of Christ, we may be changed into the same image. We are to represent Christ to the world as he represented the Father. By appropriating the righteousness of Christ, we represent not only the character of Christ, but also the character of the Father. We can have a knowledge of God only through a knowledge of Christ. Christ declared, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Christ was the brightness of his Father's glory. Turning from every other representation of God as dim and veiled in comparison, we may, with open face, behold in Christ the glory of the Lord. ST May 18, 1891, par. 6
The less we cherish self, and the lower we lie at the foot of the cross, the more distinct and full will be our comprehension of the excellency of our Lord and Saviour. But all the lessons that Christ has given will be lost to us unless we appropriate them and bring them into our daily life. We cannot reflect the likeness of Christ to the world unless we grow continually in love for God and man. Every power of the renewed soul must be put to the stretch that the character may be fashioned after the divine Pattern. When the image of Christ is reflected in the life and character of his followers, the church will be vocal with praise to Him who is glorious in holiness. ST May 18, 1891, par. 7