THE MEMORIAL OF CREATION

“The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honorable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth forever. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered.” Psalm 111:2-4. In the Jewish translation the last clause reads in this way: “He hath made a memorial of his wonderful works.” What then is the memorial? “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any Work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11. What is the reason given for the institution of the Sabbath?-Because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Sabbath is designed to call our attention to the Creator. It is his memorial. But we have already learned that it was Jesus Christ through whom God created the heaven and the earth; therefore it was Jesus Christ who rested on the seventh day. It was Jesus Christ who blessed the seventh day; it was Jesus Christ who hallowed the seventh day; it was Jesus Christ who sanctified the seventh day; and the purpose of this day thus blessed, thus hallowed, thus sanctified, is to call the attention of men everywhere to the Creator. But the Creator is Jesus Christ. The purpose, therefore, of all created things to which our attention is thus called by the Sabbath, is that we may understand the power and the divinity of Jesus Christ. This is made clear by another scripture: “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Ezekiel 20:20. But all we can know about God and his character, is as it is revealed to us in Jesus Christ. So the force of the scripture is this: That ye may know Jesus Christ, that thus knowing him ye may know the Father.CAS 12.3

So the Sabbath institution is for the purpose of revealing Jesus Christ, of teaching us of his power, of his divinity. And it follows, therefore, that he who observes the seventh day, the day upon which God in Jesus Christ rested, the day upon which God in Jesus Christ let his blessing rest, the day which was thus hallowed and sanctified,-the one who observes the seventh day, thus blessed, hallowed, and sanctified, acknowledges by this act before heaven and earth that he believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ.CAS 13.1