The Signs of the Times
March 5, 1896
Divinity in Humanity
“Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” ST March 5, 1896, par. 1
Christ dwells in him who receives him by faith. Tho trials may come upon the soul, yet the Lord's presence will be with us. The burning bush in which was the Lord's presence did not consume away. The fire did not extinguish a fiber of the branches. Thus will it be with the feeble human agent who puts his trust in Christ. The furnace fire of temptation may burn, persecution and trial may come, but only the dross will be consumed. The gold will shine brighter because of the process of purification. Greater is He that is in the heart of the faithful, than he that controls the hearts of unbelievers. Complain not bitterly of the trial which comes upon you, but let your eyes be directed to Christ, who has clothed his divinity with humanity, in order that we may understand how great his interest in us since he has identified himself with suffering humanity. He tasted the cup of human sorrow, he was afflicted in all our afflictions, he was made perfect through suffering, tempted in all points like as humanity is tempted, in order that he might succor those who are in temptation. He says, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” He will make a man precious by abiding with him, by giving unto him the Holy Spirit. He says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” ST March 5, 1896, par. 2
The Lord has instructed us to call God our Father, to regard him as the fountain of paternal affection, the source of the love that has been flowing from century to century through the channel of the human heart. All the pity, compassion, and love which have been manifested in the earth have emanated from the throne of God, and, compared to the love that dwells in his heart, are as a fountain to an ocean. His love is perpetually flowing forth to make the weak strong, to make the faint-hearted firm, and give moral courage to the wavering. God works through Christ, and man may come unto the Father in the name of the Son. Our science and our song is, “Hear what the Lord hath done for my soul. ST March 5, 1896, par. 3
Who can comprehend the gift of Infinite Love? “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” For centuries before the manifestation of Christ to the world, God exercised forbearance toward a rebellious world. He saw his holy law trampled in the dust, and he let his judgments fall upon the world in a flood; but man did not learn the lesson from this experience, and turned to his rebellious ways. ST March 5, 1896, par. 4
Again men multiplied upon the earth, and again they took the attitude of rebellion against God. Loyalty to the law of God was not only condemned, but punished as a crime. Men made void the law, and naturalized the principles of sin. Those who did not disregard the law of God were subject to the strongest enmity; for every species of sin was legalized. Satan boasted before the angels of heaven that he held dominion over the creation of God. The unity of society was made by enmity to God. A corrupt harmony existed among men in their aversion to God, which bound them together in one vast army. The universe of heaven, and the angels of God, were watching for the exhibition of justice, but when the unfallen worlds expected retribution to be administered, mercy prevailed, and the counsel of God was with the Prince of heaven. He was to unfold the scheme of redemption, to make manifest the plan of salvation. He who was equal with God, who was great in counsel, mighty in working, was equal to the emergency that had arrived in the government of God. God sent his Son into the world, not to pass sentence of condemnation upon a rebellious race, but to make manifest his love, and to hold out the hope of eternal life to those who should believe in his Son. ST March 5, 1896, par. 5
Here was love, and amazing grace that triumphed over justice. Retribution fell upon no less a personage than the Son of the Infinite God, and the universe of heaven rejoiced in the glory of God's benevolence and self-denial in giving the Prince of heaven to our world. Such love was beyond the comprehension of heavenly angels. Christ came to the world to seek his lost pearl, and he had to go through the gates of death to recover his lost jewel. For “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” All who look to him in faith will be healed of their spiritual maladies. He is the Balm in Gilead, he is the great Physician. Christ was the one who consented to meet the conditions necessary for man's salvation. No angel, no man, was sufficient for the great work to be wrought. The Son of man alone must be lifted up; for only an infinite nature could undertake the redemptive process. Christ consented to connect himself with the disloyal and sinful, to partake of the nature of man, to give his own blood, and to make his soul an offering for sin. In the counsels of heaven, the guilt of man was measured, the wrath for sin was estimated, and yet Christ announced his decision that he would take upon himself the responsibility of meeting the conditions whereby hope should be extended to a fallen race. He understood the possibility of the human soul, and united humanity to himself, even as the vine knits the grafted branches and twigs into its being, until, vein by vein, and fiber by fiber, the branches are united to the living Vine. ST March 5, 1896, par. 6
The merchant man sold all to buy the pearl of lost humanity. The sinner also is to lay down his all in order to become a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. He who unites with Christ has his life hid with Christ in God. Christ and the believing soul are joined by the bands of love, and the Lord calls this union “continuing in his love.” He says: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love.” ST March 5, 1896, par. 7
Jesus takes man into copartnership with himself, and the unity and love between Christ and his Father bear the credentials to the world of Christ's divinity. Transformed in character, the believer presents the fact that Christ alone can reshape, purify, and ennoble the soul. The love that God has manifested toward men has no parallel. Jesus says, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life” for the sheep. In this expression he would prove to man that the Father's love is so large, so unbounded towards man, that he even loves the Son for the sacrifice which he made for the recovering of humanity. God himself suffered in the suffering of his Son. While Jesus walked the earth in the habiliments of humanity, he could say, “I and my Father are one.” Having undertaken the work of redemption, the Lord spares nothing, however costly, which is essential to the completion of his design. He withholds not heaven itself, but continues to surround men with its favors, heaping gift upon gift, until the world itself is flooded with its boundless mercy and love. Jesus says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” ST March 5, 1896, par. 8