July 26, 1905

The Knowledge of God

EGW

The knowledge of God is as a great ocean, without bottom or shore. No line can fathom it, no eye measure it. Every needy soul may be supplied from this boundless sea. In every emergency, in every time of need, men and women may receive God's grace and power, and yet there will be no lessening of the supply. God's great resources can not be too heavily drawn upon. The gifts provided for all true, earnest seekers after truth are without measure.ST July 26, 1905, par. 1

In all ages God has given human beings divine revelations, that thus He may fulfil His purpose of unfolding gradually the doctrines of grace. His manner of imparting truth is illustrated by the words, “His going forth is prepared as the morning.” He who places himself where God can enlighten him, advances, as it were, from the partial obscurity of dawn to the full radiance of noonday.ST July 26, 1905, par. 2

A cold, lifeless theory is not a knowledge of God. Those who have a knowledge of God must have His love, must understand its sacrifice, its condescension. The hungry mind and heart must receive His grace, to impart to others its fulness, its sufficiency. It is not a head acceptance of truth, but heart reception, that moulds and fashions aright the emotions and impulses of the soul, making it tender and compassionate, humble and contrite. Christ received into the soul makes man one with God in His beloved Son. Then the love of the Redeemer is acknowledged as beyond all estimate. And more than this: the life and character are changed by the presence of the indwelling Saviour.ST July 26, 1905, par. 3

Only when the heart is moulded and fashioned by the love of God can human beings reveal Christ. Then and then only can they impart the knowledge of God as it shines in the face of His Son. The Holy Spirit is with them, quickening their minds, showing that Bible truth has life-giving power, power to convict hearts and transform lives. The lifting up of Christ's countenance upon the human agent, the glorious light shining from His face, makes all things clear.ST July 26, 1905, par. 4

The knowledge of God is the knowledge of all truth, and is the beginning of all understanding. It is our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption. To those who receive and practise them, the truths of the Word of God are as the leaves of the tree of life. But before man can receive these truths, he must realize his need.ST July 26, 1905, par. 5

Out of Bondage

Self—the old disobedient nature—must be crucified, and Christ must take up His abode in the heart. Thus the human agent is born again, with a new nature. The newborn child of God begins to have some conception of what God is. To all intents and purposes, truth is truth to him. He has caught a glimpse of God's glory. A sense of his accountability to God quenches the unholy ambition that keeps upon the soul a galling yoke of guilt. The light in which he enters is softened and subdued, tempered to suit his condition. By daily beholding Jesus and striving to practise His virtues, his spiritual perceptions grow clearer and stronger.ST July 26, 1905, par. 6

God says, “A new heart will I give you.” Every learner may be renewed in knowledge and true holiness. The ransom of an enslaved race was Christ's purpose in coming to this earth. Christ alone can make us free. And those whom He makes free are free indeed. His power breaks the yoke of bondage that binds man to the great deceiver. But how many there are who are unwilling to allow Christ to break their shackles. How many there are who choose to cling to the thraldom of sin.ST July 26, 1905, par. 7

The Gospel of Christ is truly believed only when it is practised. Faith is justified by works. Self must be hid; Christ must appear as the Chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely. When an unreserved surrender of the powers of the whole being is made to the Saviour, self no longer strives for the mastery. What man needs today is the crucifixion of self and the revelation in his life of Christ, the hope of glory. Then will be fulfilled the words, “Ye are the light of the world.”ST July 26, 1905, par. 8

As yet we have scarcely been a light in the world, because we cling to our sinful practises. We have been too well satisfied with the twilight glow of heavenly enlightenment. We have not yet gained the experience that would make us feel at home in heaven. As yet we are but stepping over the threshold of the sanctuary containing the truth that every one who enters heaven must receive and practise.ST July 26, 1905, par. 9