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Sabbath Bible Lessons

This We Believe

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Lesson 1 Sabbath, January 3, 2009

The Godhead

“This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

“There are three living persons of the heavenly trio . . . the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. 63.

Suggested Reading:   Early Writings, pp. 54, 55, 125-127

Sunday December 28

1. GOD, THE FATHER

a. What does the Bible say about God the Father? John 16:27 (first part); 1 Timothy 1:17. What warnings are given about comparing God to earthly things?

“God cannot be compared with the things His hands have made. These are mere earthly things, suffering under the curse of God because of the sins of man. The Father cannot be described by the things of earth. The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight.”—Evangelism, p. 614.

“The beautiful things of nature reveal [God’s] character and His power as Creator. They are His gift to the race, to show His power and to show that He is a God of love. But no one is authorized to say that God Himself in person is in flower or leaf or tree. These things are God’s handiwork, revealing His love for mankind.”—Medical Ministry, p. 94.

“Nature is not God, nor was it ever God. The voice of nature testifies of God, but nature is not God. As His created work, it simply bears a testimony to God’s power.”—The Review and Herald, November 8, 1898.

b. How is God’s character revealed? Romans 1:20–25; John 17:5, 6.

“Christ came as a personal Saviour to the world. He represented a personal God.”—Ibid.


Monday December 29

2. GOD, THE SON—JESUS CHRIST

a. What was the mission of Jesus before and after His incarnation? 1 Peter 2:21, 22; 1 John 3:5.

“After the Fall, Christ became Adam’s instructor. He acted in God’s stead toward humanity, saving the race from immediate death. He took upon Him the work of mediator between God and man. In the fullness of time He was to be revealed in human form. He was to take His position at the head of humanity by taking the nature but not the sinfulness of man.”—The Signs of the Times, May 29, 1901.

“In thought, word, and act Jesus was sinless. Perfection marked all that He did.”—In Heavenly Places, p. 166.

b. With what words does John introduce Christ? John 1:1–4. As the Son of Man, did Christ ever cease to be God? Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 9:6; 1 Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13, 14.

“Although Christ’s divine glory was for a time veiled and eclipsed by His assuming humanity, yet He did not cease to be God when He became man. The human did not take the place of the divine, nor the divine of the human. This is the mystery of godliness. The two expressions “human” and “divine” were, in Christ, closely and inseparably one, and yet they had a distinct individuality. Though Christ humbled Himself to become man, the Godhead was still His own. His Deity could not be lost while He stood faithful and true to His loyalty.”—The Signs of the Times, May 10, 1899.

“Jehovah is the name given to Christ.”—Ibid., May 3, 1899.

“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.”—Ibid., August 29, 1900.

“ ‘In him was life; and the life was the light of men’ (John 1:4). It is not physical life that is here specified, but immortality, the life which is exclusively the property of God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. . . . In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man.”—Selected Messages, bk. 1, p. 296.

“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 Review and Herald, April 5, 1906.


Tuesday December 30

3. THE INCARNATION

a. What plan was carried out at the incarnation of Christ? John 3:16; 1 John 4:9, 10; 3:8.

“The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption. In order fully to carry out this plan, it was decided that Christ, the only begotten Son of God, should give Himself an offering for sin. And in giving Christ, God gave all the resources of heaven that nothing might be wanting for the work of man’s uplifting. What line can measure the depth of this love? God would make it impossible for man to say that He could have done more.”—The Review and Herald, May 2, 1912.

“The great condescension on the part of God is a mystery that is beyond our fathoming. The greatness of the plan cannot be fully comprehended, nor could infinite wisdom devise a plan that would surpass it. It could only be successful by the clothing of divinity with humanity, by Christ becoming man, and suffering the wrath which sin has made because of the transgression of God’s law. Through this plan the great, the dreadful God can be just, and yet be the justifier of all who believe in Jesus, and who receive Him as their personal Saviour.”—Ibid., October 22, 1895.

b. What were the purposes of Jesus’ incarnation? Luke 19:10; Hebrews 2:14, 15; Isaiah 42:21.

“Jesus Christ has taken the position of one who came to seek and to save that which is lost.”—Ibid., June 30, 1896.

“Blessed is the soul who can say, ‘I am guilty before God: but Jesus is my Advocate. I have transgressed His law. I cannot save myself; but I make the precious blood that was shed on Calvary all my plea. I am lost in Adam, but restored in Christ.’ ”—The Youth’s Instructor, November 8, 1894.

“Christ came to vindicate the sacred claims of the law. He came to live a life of obedience to its requirements and thus prove the falsity of the charge made by Satan that it is impossible for man to keep the law of God. As a man He met temptation and overcame in the strength given Him from God. As He went about doing good, healing all who were afflicted by Satan, He made plain to men the character of God’s law and the nature of His service. His life testifies that it is possible for us also to obey the law of God.”—Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 207, 208.


Wednesday December 31

4. GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT

a. What did Jesus say about the Holy Spirit whom He would send to the world? John 16:13; 14:16, 17.

“The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will cooperate with the obedient.”—In Heavenly Places, p. 336.

“The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that [Jesus] could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 671.

“The Holy Spirit is not only to sanctify but to convict. No one can repent of his sins until he is convicted of his guilt. How necessary, then, it is that we should have the Holy Spirit with us as we labor to reach fallen souls.”—The Review and Herald, July 16, 1895.

b. What Bible proof do we have that the Holy Spirit is God? Acts 5:3, 4. What other evidence shows that the Holy Spirit has a personality? Acts 13:2; Romans 8:16, 26, 27; 1 Corinthians 2:10.

“The Holy Spirit is a person; for He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. . . .

“The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in the mind of God. ‘For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God’ (1 Corinthians 2:11).”—Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, pp. 68, 69.


Thursday January 1

5. THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL

a. What is the only means by which we may receive eternal life both here and in the hereafter? John 3:36; 6:47; 17:3.

“It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 347.

b. What is Jesus’ deep desire in regard to His followers on earth? John 6:37–40; 14:1; 17:24.

“Through sincere prayer we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite. We may have no remarkable evidence at the time that the face of our Redeemer is bending over us in compassion and love, but this is even so. We may not feel His visible touch, but His hand is upon us in love and pitying tenderness.”—Steps to Christ, p. 97.

“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.”—Ibid., p. 21.


Friday January 2

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

a. What common misconceptions should we clear away about God the Father?

b. Consider some key points that many are not aware about Jesus.

c. Why was it necessary for Christ, our Creator, to come to earth as a man?

d. Why is the Holy Spirit so important in securing our salvation?

e. What factors are involved in our redemption to eternal life?

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