The Desire of Ages
“God, who
commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts,
to give the light of knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ.”
2
Corinthians 4:6.
“God With
Us”
His name shall
be called Immanuel,…God with
us.” “The light of the
knowledge of the glory of God”
is seen “in the face of Jesus
Christ.” From the days of
eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was
one with the Father; He was “the
image of God,” the image of His
greatness and majesty, “the
outshining of His glory.” It was
to manifest this glory that he came
to our world. To this sin-darkened
earth He came to reveal the light of
God’s love, - to be “God
with us.” Therefore, it was
prophesied of Him, “His name
shall be called Immanuel.”
By
coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to
reveal God both to men and to the
angels. He was the Word of God, -
God’s thought made audible. In
His prayer for His disciples He says,
“I have declared unto them Thy
name,”-“merciful and
gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and
truth,”-“that the love
wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be
in them, and I in them.” But not
alone for His earthborn children was
this revelation given. Our little
world is the lesson book of the
universe. God’s wonderful
purpose of grace, the mystery of
redeeming love, is the theme into
which “angels desire to
look,” and it will be their
study throughout endless ages. Both
the redeemed and the unfallen beings
will find in the cross of Christ
their science and their song. It will
be seen that the glory shining in the
face of Jesus is the glory of
self-sacrificing love. In the light
from Calvary it will be seen that the
law of self-renouncing love is the
law of life fro earth and heaven;
that the love which “seeketh not
her own” has its source in the
heart of God; and that in the meek
and lowly One is manifested the
character of Him who dwelleth in the
light which no man can approach unto.
In the
beginning, God was revealed in all
the works of creation. It was Christ
that spread the heavens, and laid the
foundations of the earth. It was His
hand that hung the worlds in space,
and fashioned the flowers of the
field. “His strength setteth
fast the mountains.” “The
sea is His, and He made it.”
Psalm 65:6; 95:5. It was He that
filled the earth with beauty, and the
air with song. And upon all things in
earth, and air, and sky, He wrote the
message of the Father’s love.
Now sin
has marred God’s perfect work,
yet that handwriting remains. Even
now all created things declare the
glory of His excellence. There is
nothing, save the selfish hearts of
man that lives unto itself. No bird
that cleaves the air, no animal that
moves upon the ground, but ministers
to some other life. There is no leaf
of the forest, or lowly blade of
grass, but has its ministry. Every
tree and shrub and leaf pours forth
that element of life without which
neither man nor animal could live;
and man and animal, in turn, minister
to the life of tree and shrub and
leaf. The flowers breathe fragrance
and unfold their beauty in blessing
to the world. The sun sheds its light
to gladden a thousand worlds. The
ocean, itself the source of all our
springs and fountains, receives the
streams from every land, but takes to
give. The mists ascending from its
bosom fall in showers to water the
earth that it may bring forth and
bud.
The
angels of glory find their joy in
giving, - giving love and tireless
watch care to souls that are fallen
and unholy. Heavenly beings woo the
hearts of men; they bring to this
dark world light from the courts
above; by gentle and patient ministry
they move upon the human spirit, to
bring the lost into a fellowship with
Christ which is even a closer than
they themselves can know.
But
turning from all lesser
representations, we behold God in
Jesus. Looking unto Jesus we see it
is the glory of our God to give.
“I do nothing of Myself,”
said Christ; “the living Father
hath sent Me, and I live by the
Father.” “I seek not Mine
own glory,” but the glory of Him
that sent Me. John 8:28; 6:57; 8:50;
7:18. In these words is set forth the
great principle that is the law of
life for the universe. All things
Christ received from God, but He took
to give. So in the heavenly courts,
in His ministry for all created
beings: through the beloved Son, the
Father’s life flows out to all;
through the Son it returns, in praise
and joyous service, a tide of love,
to the great Source of all. And thus
through Christ the circuit of
beneficence is complete, representing
the character of the great Giver, the
law of life.
In
heaven itself, this law was broken.
Sin originated in self-seeking,
Lucifer, the covering cherub, desired
to be first in heaven. He sought to
gain control of heavenly beings, to
draw them away from their Creator,
and to win their homage to himself.
Therefore, he misrepresented God,
attributing to Him the desire for
self-exaltation. With his own evil
characteristics, he sought to invest
the loving Creator. Thus, he deceived
angels. Thus, he deceived men. He led
them to doubt the word of God, and to
distrust His goodness. Because God is
a God of justice and terrible
majesty, Satan caused them to look
upon Him as severe and unforgiving.
Thus, he drew men to join him in
rebellion against God, and the night
of woe settled down upon the world.
The earth was
dark through misapprehension of God.
That the gloomy shadows might be
lightened, that the world might be
brought back to God, Satan’s
deceptive power was to be broken.
This could not be done by force. The
exercise of force is contrary to the
principles of God’s government;
He desires only the service of love;
and love cannot be commanded; it
cannot be won by force or authority.
Only by love is love awakened. To
know God is to love Him; His
character must be manifested in
contrast to the character of Satan.
This work only one Being in all the
universe could do. Only He who knew
the height and depth of the love of
God could make it known. Upon the
world’s dark night the Sun of
Righteousness must rise, “with
healing in His wings.” Malachi
4:2.
The plan
of redemption was not an
afterthought, a plan formulated after
the fall of Adam. It was a revelation
of “the mystery which hath been
kept in silence through times
eternal.” Romans 16:25, R.V. It
was an unfolding of the principles
that from eternal ages have been the
foundation of God’s throne. From
the beginning, God and Christ knew of
the apostasy of Satan, and of the
fall of man through the deceptive
power of the apostate. God did not
ordain that sin should exist, but He
foresaw its existence, and made
provision to meet the terrible
emergency. So great was His love for
the world, that He covenanted to Give
His only-begotten Son, “that
whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting
life.” John 3:16.
Lucifer
had said, “I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God;…
I will be like the Most High.”
Isaiah 14:13,14. But Christ,
“being in the form of God,
counted it not a thing to be grasped
to be an equality with God, but
emptied Himself, taking the form of a
servant, being made in the likeness
of men.” Philippians 2:6,7,
R.V., margin.
This was
a voluntary sacrifice. Jesus might
have remained at the Father’s
side. He might have retained the
glory of heaven, and the homage of
the angels. But He chose to give back
the scepter into the Father’s
hands, and to step down from the
throne of the universe, that he might
bring light to the benighted, and
life to the perishing.
Nearly
two thousand years ago, a voice of
mysterious import was heard in
heaven, from the throne of God,
“Lo, I come.”
“Sacrifice and offering Thou
wouldest not, but a body hast Thou
prepared Me. …Lo, I come (in the
volume of the Book it is written of
Me,) to do Thy will, O God.”
Hebrews 10:5-7. In these words is
announced the fulfillment of the
purpose that had been hidden from
eternal ages. Christ was about to
visit our world, and to become
incarnate. He says, “A body hast
Thou prepared Me.” Had He
appeared with the glory that was His
with the Father before the world was,
we could not have endured the light
of His presence. That we might behold
it and not be destroyed; the
manifestation of His glory was
shrouded. His divinity was veiled
with humanity, - the invisible glory
in the visible human form.
This
great purpose had been shadowed forth
in types and symbols. The burning
bush, in which Christ appeared to
Moses, revealed God. The symbol
chosen for the representation of the
Deity was a lowly shrub that
seemingly had no attractions. This
enshrined the Infinite. The
all-merciful God shrouded His glory
in a most humble type that Moses
could look upon it and live. So in
the pillar of cloud by day and the
pillar of fire by night, God
communicated with Israel, revealing
to men His will, and imparting to
them His grace. God’s glory was
subdued, and His majesty veiled, that
the weak vision of finite men might
behold it. So Christ was to come in
“the body of our
humiliation” (Philippians 3:21,
R.V.), “in the likeness of
men.” In the eyes of the world
He possessed no beauty that they
should desire Him; yet He was
incarnate God, the light of heaven
and earth. His glory was veiled; His
greatness and majesty were hidden,
that he might draw near to sorrowful,
tempted men.
God
commanded Moses for Israel, “Let
them make Me a sanctuary; that I may
dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8),
and He abode in the sanctuary, and in
the midst of His people. Through all
their weary wandering in the desert,
the symbol of His presence was with
them. So Christ set up His tabernacle
in the midst of our human encampment.
He pitched His tent by the side of
the tents of men, that he might dwell
among us, and make us familiar with
His divine character and life.
“The Word became flesh, and
tabernacled among us (and we beheld
His glory, glory as of the
Only-begotten from the Father), full
of grace and truth.” John 1:14,
R.V., margin.
Since
Jesus came to dwell with us, we know
that God is acquainted with our
trials, and sympathizes with our
griefs. Every son and daughter of
Adam may understand that our Creator
is the friend of sinners. For in
every doctrine of grace, every
promise of joy, every deed of love,
every divine attraction presented in
the Savior’s life on earth, we
see “God with us.”
Satan
represents God’s law of love as
a law of selfishness. He declares
that it is impossible for us to obey
its precepts. The fall of our first
parents, with all the woe that has
resulted, he charges upon the
Creator, leading men to look upon God
as the author of sin, and suffering
and death. Jesus was to unveil this
deception. As one of us, He was to
give an example of obedience. For
this He took upon Himself our nature,
and passed through our experiences.
“In all things it behooved Him
to be made like unto His
brethren.” Hebrews 2:17. If we
had to bear anything which Jesus did
not endure, then upon this point
Satan would represent the power of
God as insufficient for us.
Therefore, Jesus was “in all
points tempted like as we are.”
Hebrews 4:15. He endured every trial
to which we are subject. And He
exercised in His own behalf no power
that is not freely offered to us. As
man, He met temptation, and overcame
in the strength given Him from God.
He says, “I delight to do Thy
will, O My God: yea, Thy law is
within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. As
He went about doing good, and 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 is
possible for us to obey the law of
God.
By His
humanity, Christ touched humanity; by
His divinity, He lays hold upon the
throne of God. As the Son of man, He
gave us an example of obedience; as
the Son of God, He gives us power to
obey. It was Christ who from the bush
on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying,
“I AM THAT I AM…. Thus
shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, I AM hath sent me unto
you.” Exodus 3:14. This was the
pledge of Israel’s deliverance.
So when He came in the likeness of
men,” He declared Himself the I
AM. The child of Bethlehem, the meek
and lowly Savior, is God
“manifest in the flesh.” 1
Timothy 3:16. And to us He says:
“I AM the Good Shepherd.”
“I AM the living Bread.”
“I AM the Way, the Truth, and
the Life.” All power is given
unto Me in heaven and earth.”
John 10:11; 6:51; 14:6; Matthew
28:18. I AM the assurance of every
promise. I AM; be not afraid.
“God with us” is the surety
of our deliverance from sin, the
assurance of our power to obey the
law of heaven.
In
stooping to take upon Himself
humanity, Christ revealed a character
the opposite of the character of
Satan. But He stepped still lower in
the path of humiliation. “Being
found in fashion as a man, He humbled
Himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the
cross.” Philippians 2:8. As the
high priest laid aside his gorgeous
pontifical robes, and officiated in
the while linen dress of the common
priest, so Christ took the form of a
servant, and offered sacrifice,
Himself the priest, Himself the
victim. “He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities: the chastisement of
our peace was upon Him.” Isaiah
53:5.
Christ
was treated, as we deserve, that we
might be treated, as He deserves. He
was condemned for our sins, in which
He had no share, that he might be
justified by His righteousness, in
which we had no share. He suffered
the death which was ours, that we
might receive the life which was His.
“With His stripes we are
healed.”
By His
life and death, Christ has achieved
even more than recovery from the ruin
wrought through sin. It was
Satan’s purpose to bring about
an eternal separation between God and
man; but in Christ, we become more
closely united to God than if we had
never fallen. In taking our nature,
the Savior has bound Himself to
humanity by a tie that is never to be
broken. Through eternal ages, He is
linked with us. “God so loved
the world, that He gave His
only-begotten Son.” John 3:16.
He gave Him not only to bear our
sins, and to die as our sacrifice; He
gave Him to the fallen race. To
assure us of His immutable counsel of
peace, God gave His only-begotten Son
to become one of the human family,
forever to retain His human nature.
This is the pledge that God will
fulfill His word. “Unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be
upon His shoulder.” God has
adopted human nature in the person of
His Son, and has carried the same
into the highest heaven. It is the
“Son of man” who shares the
throne of the universe. It is the
“Son of man” whose name
shall be called, “Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, the
everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. The I
AM is the Daysman between God and
humanity, laying His hand upon both.
He who is “holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from
sinners,” is not ashamed to call
us brethren. Hebrews 7:26; 2:11. In
Christ, the family of earth and the
family of heaven are bound together.
Christ glorified is our brother.
Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and
humanity is enfolded in the bosom of
Infinite Love.
Of His
people God says, “They shall be
as stones of a crown, lifted up as an
ensign upon His land. For how great
is His goodness, and how great is His
beauty!” Zechariah
9:16,17. The exaltation of the
redeemed will be an eternal testimony
to God’s mercy. “In the
ages to come,” He will
“show the exceeding riches of
His grace in His kindness toward us
through Christ Jesus.” “To
the intent that … unto the
principalities and the powers in the
heavenly places might be made
known… the manifold wisdom of
God, according to the eternal purpose
which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord.” Ephesians 2:7; 3:10,11,
R.V.
Through
Christ’s redeeming work the
government of God stands justified.
The Omnipotent One is made known as
the God of love. Satan’s charges
are refuted, and his character
unveiled. Rebellion can never again
rise. Sin can never again enter the
universe. Through eternal ages, all
are secure from apostasy. By
love’s self-sacrificing, the
inhabitants of earth and heaven are
bound to their Creator in bonds of
indissoluble union.
The work
of redemption will be complete. In
the place where sin abounded,
God’s grace much more abounds.
The earth itself, the very field that
Satan claims as his, is to be not
only ransomed but exalted. Our little
world, under the curse of sin the one
dark spot in His glorious creation,
will be honored above all other
worlds in the universe of God. Here,
where the Son of God tabernacled in
humanity; where the King of glory
lived and suffered and died, - here,
when He shall make all things new,
the tabernacle of God shall be with
men, “and He will dwell with
them, and they shall be His people,
and God Himself shall be with them,
and be their God.” And through
endless ages as the redeemed walk in
the light of the Lord, they will
praise Him for His unspeakable Gift:
Immanuel,
“God with us.”
