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01 - The Desire of Ages - Ellen Gould · Sacred Texts Archive

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The Desire of Ages by ELLENJY. White, Chapter one, God with Us.
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His name should be called Immanuel, God with Us. The like of
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the knowledge of the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
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From the days of eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ was one with the
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Father. He was the image of God, the image of his greatness and
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majesty, the outshining of his glory. It was to manifest this glory that
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he came to our world, to this sin darkened earth. He came to
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reveal the light of God's love, to be God with us. Therefore it
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was prophesied of him his name shall be called Immanuel. By coming to dwell
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with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels.
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He was the word of God, God's thought made audible. In his prayer
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for his disciples, he says, I have declared unto them thy name,
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merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant, and goodness and truth, that
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the love wherewith thou hast lefd me, may be in them, and I
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in them, but not alone for his earth born children. Was this revelation
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given our little world is the lesson Book of the Universe, God's wonderful purpose
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of grace. The mystery of redeeming love is the theme into which angels desired
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to look, and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the
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redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the Cross of Christ their science and
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their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of
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Jesus is the glory of self sacrificing love. In the light from cavalry,
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it will be seen that the law of self renouncing love is the law of
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life for earth and heaven. That the love which seeketh not her own,
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has its source in the heart of God, and that in the meek and
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lowly one is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no
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man can approach himTo. In the beginning, God was revealed in all the
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works of creation. It was Price that spread the heavens and laid the foundations
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of the earth. It was his hand that hung the worlds in space,
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and fashioned the flowers the field. His strength setteth fast the mountains. The
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sea is his, and he made it some sixty five six ninety five five.
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It was he that filled the earth with beauty and the air with song,
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And upon all things in earth and air and sky he wrote the message
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of the Father's love. Now sin has marred God's perfect work, yet that
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handwriting remains. Even now all created things declare the glory of His excellence.
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There is nothing save the selfish heart of man that lives unto itself, no
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bird that cleaves the air, no animal that moves upon the ground, but
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ministers to some other life. There is no leaf in the forest, or
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lowly blade of grass, but has its ministry. Every tree and shrub and
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leaf pours forth that element of life without which neither man nor animal can live.
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And man and animal in turn minister to the life of the tree and
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shrub and leaf. The flowers breathe fragrance and unfold their beauty and blessing to
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the world. The sun sheds its light to gladden a thousand worlds. The
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ocean itself, the source of all our springs and fountains, receives the streams
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from every land, but takes to give the mists ascending from its bosom,
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fall in showers, to water the earth that it may bring forth and bud
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the angels of Glory find their joy in giving, giving love, and tireless
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watch care to souls that are fallen and unholy heavenly beings woo the hearts of
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men. They bring to this dark world light from the courts above. By
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gentle and patient ministry. They move upon the human spirit to bring the lost
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into a fellowship with Christ, which is even closer than they themselves can know.
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But turning from all lesser representations, we behold God God in Jesus.
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Looking unto Jesus, we see that it is the glory of our God to
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give. I do nothing of myself, said Christ, the Living Father hath
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sent me, and I live by the Father. I seek not my own
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glory, but the glory of Him that sent me John eight twenty eight,
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six fifty seven, eight fifty seven eighteen. In these words is set forth
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the Great Principle, which is the law of life for the universe. All
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things Christ received from God, but he took to give so in the heavenly
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courts, in his ministry for all created beings. Through the beloved Son,
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the Father's life flows out to all. Through the Son, it returns in
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praise and joyous service. A tide of love to the great source of all
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and thus through Christ, the circuit of beneficence is complete. Representing the character
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of the Great giver the law of life in heaven itself. This law was
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broken originated in self seeking Lucifer, the covering cherub desire to be first in
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heaven. He sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away
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from their creator and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God,
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attributing to him the desire for self exaltation with his own evil characteristics.
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He sought to invest the loving Creator. Thus he deceived angels. Thus he
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deceived men. He led them to doubt the word of God and to distrust
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his goodness. Because God is a god of justice and terrible majesty, Satan
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caused them to look upon him as severe and unforgiving. Thus he drew men
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to join him in rebellion against God, and the Knight of Woe settled down
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upon the world. The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the
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gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God.
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Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by
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force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government.
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He desires only the service of love, and love cannot be commanded. It
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cannot be won by force or authority, only by love, as love awakened.
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To know God, as to love him, his character must be manifested.
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In contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one being in
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all the universe could do. Only he who knew the height and depth of
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the love of God could make it known. Upon the world's dark night.
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The Son of Righteousness must rise with healing in his wings. Malachi for too,
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the plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after
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the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of the mystery which hath been
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kept in silence through times Eternal Romans sixteen twenty five r V. It was
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an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God's
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throne. From the beginning, God in Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan
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and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God
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did not ordain that sin should exist, but he foresaw its existence and made
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provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was his love for the world
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that he covenanted to give his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him
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should not perish, but have everlasting life. John three sixteen. Lucifer had
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said, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will
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be like the most high Isaiah fourteen, thirteen and fourteen. But Christ,
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being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped
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to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form
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of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. Philippians two six
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and seven r v Margin. This was a voluntary sacrifice. Jesus might have
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remained at the Father's side. He might have retained the glory of heaven and
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the homage of the angels. But he chose to give back the scepter into
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the Father's hands and to step down from the throne of the universe, that
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he might bring light to the benighted and life to the perishing. Nearly two
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thousand years ago, a voice of mysterious import was heard in heaven from the
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throne of God. Lo, I come sacrifice an offering, thou wouldest not
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but a body that hast thou prepared me? Lo I come. In the
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volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will o God
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Hebrews ten five and seven. In these words is announced the fulfillment of the
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purpose that had been hidden from eternal ages. Christ was about to visit our
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world and to become incarnate. He says, a body hast thou prepared me.
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Had he appeared with the glory that was his with the Father before the
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world was, we could not have endured the light of his presence, that
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we might behold it and not be destroyed. The manifestation of his glorylory was
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shrouded. His divinity was veiled with humanity, the invisible glory in the visible
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human form. The great purpose has been shadowed forth in types and symbols.
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The burning bush in which Christ appeared to Moses revealed God. The symbol chosen
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for the representation of the deity was a lowly shrub that seemingly had no attractions.
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This enshrined the infinite, the all merciful God, shrouded his glory in
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a most humble type that Moses could look upon it and live. So in
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the pillar of cloud by day, in the pillar of fire by night,
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God communicated with Israel, revealing to men his will and imparting to them as
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grace. God's glory was subdued and his majesty veiled, that the weak vision
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of finite men might behold it. So Christ was to come in the body
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of our humiliation Philippians three twenty one r V. In the likeness of men.
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In the eyes of the world, he possessed no beauty that they should
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desire him. Yet he was the incarnate God, the light of heaven and
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earth. His glory was veiled. His greatness and majesty were hidden, that
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he might draw near to sorrowful, tempted men. God commanded Moses for Israel,
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let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them Exodus twenty
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five eight. And He abode in the sanctuary in the midst of his people.
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Through all their weary wandering in the desert. The symbol of his presence
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was with them. So Christ set up his tabernacle in the midst of our
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human encampment. He pitched his tent by the side of the tents of men,
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that he might dwell among us and make us familiar with his divine character
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in life. The word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld
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his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of
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grace and truth. John one fourteen r v. Margin. Since Jesus came
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to dwell with us, we know that God is acquainted with our trials and
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sympathizes with our griefs. Every son and daughter of Adam may understand that our
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Creator is the friend of sinners. For in every doctrine of grace, every
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promise of joy, every deed of love, every divine attraction presented in the
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Saviour's life on earth, we see God with us. Satan represents God's law
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of love as a law of selfishness. He declares that it is impossible for
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us to obey its precepts the fall of our first parents, with all the
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woe that has resulted. He charges upon the Creator, leading men to look
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upon God as the author of sin and suffering and death. Jesus was to
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unveil this deception. As one of us. He was to give an example
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of obedience. For this, he took upon himself our nature and passed through
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our experiences. In all things, it behooved him to be made like unto
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his brethren Hebrews two seventeen. If we had to bear anything which Jesus does
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not endure, then upon this point Satan would rep present the power of God
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as insufficient for us. Therefore Jesus was in all points tempted like as we
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are Hebrews. Four fifteen. He endured every trial to which we are subject,
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and he exercised in his own behalf no power that is not freely offered
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to us. As man. He met temptation and overcame in the strength given
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him from God. He says, I delight to do thy will, O
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my God, YEA, Thy law is within my heart Psalms forty eight.
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As he went about doing good and healing all who were afflicted by Satan,
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he made plain to men the character of God's law and the nature of his
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service. His life testifies that it is possible for us also to obey the
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law of God. By his humanity. Christ touched humanity by his divinity.
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He lays hold upon the throne of God. As the son of man.
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He gave us an example of obedience. As a son of God. He
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gives us power to obey. It was Christ who, from the bush on
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Mount Horeb spoke to Moses, saying, I am that I am. Thus
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shalt thou say unto the children of visual. I Am has sent me unto
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you Exodus three fourteen. This was the pledge of Israel's deliverance. So when
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he came in the likeness of men, he declared himself that I am the
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child of Bethlehem, the meek and lowly Savior, is God manifest in the
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flesh First Timothy three sixteen. And to us he says, I am the
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good Shepherd. I am the Living Bread. I am the Way, the
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Truth in the life. All power is given unto me in heaven and in
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earth. John ten eleven, six fifty one, fourteen six, Matthew twenty
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eight eighteen. I am the assurance of every promise. I am. Do
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not be afraid. God with us is the surety of our deliverance from sin,
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the assurance of our power to obey the law of Heaven. In stooping
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to take upon himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character
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of Satan, but he stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. Being
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found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
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even the death of the cross Philippians two eight. As the high priest
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laid aside his gorgeous pontifical robes and officiated in the white linen dress to the
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common priest. So Christ took the form of a servant and offered sacrifice himself,
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the priest, himself the victim. He was wounded for our transgressions.
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He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him
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Isaiah fifty three five. Christ was treated as we deserved that we might be
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treated as he deserves. He was condemned for our sins in which he had
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no share, that we might be justified by his righteousness in which we had
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no share. He suffered the death which was ours that we might receive the
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life which was his. With his str Yes, we are healed by his
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life and death. Christ has achieved even more than recovery from the ruin wrought
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through sin. It was Satan's purpose to bring about an eternal separation between God
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and man. But in Christ we become more closely united to God than if
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we had never fallen. In taking our nature, the Savior is bound himself
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to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal
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ages. He is linked with us. God so loved the world that he
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gave his only begotten son, John three sixteen. He gave him not only
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to bear our sins and to die as our sacrifice. He gave him to
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the fallen race to assure us of his immutable counsel of peace. God gave
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his only begotten son to become one of the human family forever, to retain
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his human nature. This is the pledge that God will fulfill his word.
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Unto us, a child is born, unto us, a son is given,
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and the government shall be upon his shoulder. God is adopted human nature
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in the person of his son, and has carried the same into the highest
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heaven. It is the son of man who shares the throne of the universe.
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It is the son of man whose name shall be called Wonderful counselor the
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Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace Isaiah nine six The
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i Am is the daysman between God and humanity, laying his hand upon both.
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Hugh is wholly harmless undefiled, separate from sinners, is not ashamed to
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call us brethren Hebrews seven twenty six, two eleven. In Christ, the
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family of Earth and the family of Heaven are bound together. Christ Glorified is
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our brother. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the
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bosom of infinite love of his people. God says they shall be as the
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stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For
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how great is his goodness and how great is his beauty Zechariah nine, sixteen
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seventeen. The exaltation of the redeemed will be an eternal testimony to God's mercy.
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In the ages to come, he will show the exceeding riches of his
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grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus, to the intent that unto
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the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known the manifold
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wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
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Lord, Ephesians two seven three ten eleven r V. Through Christ's redeeming work,
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the government of God stands justified. The omnipotent one is made known as
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the God of Love. Satan's charges are refuted and his character unveiled. Rebellion
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can never again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through eternal
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ages, all are secure from apostasy by love self sacrifice. The inhabitants of
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earth and heaven are bound to their creator in bonds of indissoluble union. The
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work of redemption will be complete in the place where sin abounded. God's grace
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much more abounds the earth itself. The very field that Satan claims as his
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is to be not only ransomed, but exalted. Our little world under the
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curse of sin, the one dark blot in his glorious creation, will be
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honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here where the Son
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of God tabernacled in humanity, where the King of Glory lived and suffered and
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died. Here, when He shall make all things new, the Tabernacle of
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God shall be with men, and he will dwell with them, and they
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shall be his people. And God himself shall be with them and be their
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God. And through endless ages, as a redeemed walk in the light of
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the Lord, they will praise Him for his unspeakable gift Immanuel God with us.
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End of Chapter one,