Sunday
January 17
1. GOSPEL POWER
a. What kind of people will Jesus acknowledge upon His return? Revelation 14:12; Ephesians 5:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
“God who reads the hearts of everyone will bring to light hidden things of darkness where they are often least suspected, that stumbling blocks which have hindered the progress of truth may be removed, and God have a clean and holy people to declare His statutes and judgments.”—Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 333.
“Before giving us the baptism of the Holy Spirit, our heavenly Father will try us, to see if we can live without dishonoring Him.”—Selected Messages, bk. 3, pp. 426, 427.
b. How do men and women become the people of God (“my people”)? John 1:12; Romans 8:14, 17.
“[John 1:12 quoted.] By this power we may overcome our evil tendencies and so modify our imperfect dispositions that the will of God may be fulfilled in us.”—The Upward Look, p. 141.
Monday
January 18
2. THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL
a. Although the patriarchs had known the gospel to some degree, when was it revealed most clearly? Galatians 3:8; Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 1:26, 27.
b. What does Paul say about “the mystery of the gospel”? Romans 9:26, 27; 11:25; 16:25, 26; Ephesians 3:3–6.
“The Father Himself suffered with the Son; for ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself’ (2 Corinthians 5:19). Man, with his human, finite judgment, cannot safely question the wisdom of God. Hence it is unbecoming for him to criticize the plan of salvation. Before the theme of redemption, let man lay his wisdom in the dust, and accept the plans of Him whose wisdom is infinite.”—The Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889.
c. When will the clearest and most complete presentation of the gospel be given to the world? Revelation 14:6, 7; 18:1.
“The Lord God of heaven will not send upon the world His judgments for disobedience and transgression until He has sent His watchmen to give the warning. He will not close up the period of probation until the message shall be more distinctly proclaimed. The law of God is to be magnified; its claims must be presented in their true, sacred character, that the people may be brought to decide for or against the truth. Yet the work will be cut short in righteousness. The message of Christ’s righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other to prepare the way of the Lord. This is the glory of God, which closes the work of the third angel.”—Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 19.
“The proclamation of the gospel is the only means in which God can employ human beings as His instrumentalities for the salvation of souls. As men, women, and children proclaim the gospel, the Lord will open the eyes of the blind to see His statutes, and will write upon the hearts of the truly penitent His law. The animating Spirit of God, working through human agencies, leads the believers to be of one mind, one soul, unitedly loving God and keeping His commandments—preparing here below for translation.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 984.
Tuesday
January 19
3. THE ETERNAL CREATOR
a. What role did Jesus have in the creation of this world? John 1:1–4.
“If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity. God over all, blessed forevermore.
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God.”—Lift Him Up, p. 16.
b. What is written about the preexistence of Jesus? Micah 5:2; John 17:5.
“Christ is the preexistent, self-existent Son of God. . . . In speaking of His preexistence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God.”—Evangelism, p. 615.
“[Christ] was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent. . . . He is the eternal, self-existent Son.”—Ibid.
“Christ, who created the world and all things that are therein, is the life and light of every living thing.”—Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 182.
c. What should be our response when we consider the great condescension of Christ, our Creator, in our behalf? Ephesians 3:8–12; Romans 5:8–11.
“Christ created human beings, and then, by a life of suffering and humiliation, and a death of agony and shame, He redeemed them from sin. O sinner, the Saviour endured all this for you. He died that you might be led to see the sinfulness of sin, and by coming to Him have eternal life.”—The Review and Herald, February 12, 1901.
“Everything beautiful and useful in our world we owe to the mercy of Christ.”—Ibid., October 16, 1883.
Wednesday
January 20
4. A HUMAN MANIFESTATION OF GOD
a. Describe the greatest miracle to occur in history. John 1:14; Philippians 2:6–8.
“The Creator of worlds, He in whom was the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless babe in the manger. Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 5, p. 1130.
“Christ did not make-believe take human nature; He did verily take it. He did in reality possess human nature.”—Lift Him Up, p. 74.
“Jesus was the Commander of heaven, one equal with God, and yet He condescended to lay aside His kingly crown, His royal robe, and clothed His divinity with humanity. The incarnation of Christ in human flesh is a mystery. . . . In all respects the Son of God was to wear the same features as did other human beings. He was not to have such beauty of person as would make Him singular among men. He was to manifest no wonderful charms by which to attract attention to Himself.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 5, pp. 1130, 1131.
b. What motivated God to send His Son to save this world? John 3:16, 17; 1 John 4:10.
“The heart of God yearns over His earthly children with a love stronger than death. In giving up His Son, He has poured out to us all heaven in one gift. The Saviour’s life and death and intercession, the ministry of angels, the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working above and through all, the unceasing interest of heavenly beings—all are enlisted in behalf of man’s redemption.”—Steps to Christ, p. 21.
“God could not express greater love than He has expressed in giving the Son of His bosom to this world. This gift was given to man to convince him that God had left nothing undone that he could do, that there is nothing held in reserve, but that all heaven has been poured out in one vast gift. The present and eternal happiness of man consists in receiving God’s love, and in keeping God’s commandments.”—Lift Him Up, p. 232.
Thursday
January 21
5. THE INCARNATION
a. What does the Bible say about the Godhead of Jesus when He became man? Matthew 1:23; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20.
“Christ had not ceased to be God when He became man. Though He had humbled Himself to humanity, the Godhead was still His own. Christ alone could represent the Father to humanity, and this representation the disciples had been privileged to behold for over three years. . . .
“Christ’s work testified to His divinity. Through Him the Father had been revealed.
“If the disciples believed this vital connection between the Father and the Son, their faith would not forsake them when they saw Christ’s suffering and death to save a perishing world. Christ was seeking to lead them from their low condition of faith to the experience they might receive if they truly realized what He was—God in human flesh. He desired them to see that their faith must lead up to God, and be anchored there. How earnestly and perseveringly our compassionate Saviour sought to prepare His disciples for the storm of temptation that was soon to beat upon them.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 663, 664.
b. How does the incarnation lend power to the gospel? Colossians 1:27, 28; 2:6–10; Hebrews 2:9–11.
“[The Saviour] came to the world to display the glory of God, that man might be uplifted by its restoring power. God was manifested in Him that He might be manifested in them. Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as He was.”—Ibid., p. 664.
Friday
January 22
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
a. What mystery was held in secret from the beginning of the world?
b. What did God give to the world when He sent His Son?
c. For what purpose were Divinity and humanity combined in Jesus?
d. How can we, as individuals, be benefitted by the gift of God?
e. Describe those who will be prepared to meet Jesus at His coming.