Christ Revealed the Father by Ellen G. White (1890)

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Christ came to the world to reveal the character of the Father, and to redeem the fallen race. The world’s Redeemer was equal with God. His authority was as the authority of God. He declared that he had no existence separate from the Father. The authority by which he spoke, and wrought miracles, was expressly his own, yet he assures us that he and the Father are one. John bore witness of Christ, and pointed all men to him as the promised Messiah. When he beheld Jesus before him, he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me; for he was before me.” “And of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”As legislator, Jesus exercised the authority of God; his commands and decisions were supported by the Sovereignty of the eternal throne. The glory of the Father was revealed in the Son; Christ made manifest the character of the Father. He was so perfectly connected with God, so completely embraced in his encircling light, that he who had seen the Son, had seen the Father. His voice was as the voice of God. Mark Christ’s prayer before his crucifixion: “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” Again he says, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” “No man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”Christ was misjudged by the Jews, because he did not dwell constantly on the law as written in the tables of stone. He invited men to learn of him, for he was a living representation of the law of God. He was the only one in human garb that could stand among a nation of witnesses, and, looking round upon them, say, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” He knew that no man could point out any defect in his character or conduct. What power his spotless purity gave to his instructions, what force to his reproofs, what authority to his commands! Truth never languished on his lips, never lost any of its sacredness, because it was illustrated in the divine character of its Advocate. How simple, how clear and definite, were his utterances! Jesus declared his mission before Pilate, saying, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”When Jesus spoke, it was not with hesitating uncertainty, with repetition of words and familiar figures. The truth came from his lips clothed in new and interesting representations that gave it the freshness of a new revelation. His voice was never pitched to an unnatural key, and his words came with an earnestness and assurance appropriate to their importance and the momentous consequences involved in their reception or rejection. When his doctrines were opposed, he defended them with so great zeal and certainty as to impress his hearers that he would die, if need be, to sustain the authority of his teachings.Jesus was the light of the world. He came forth from God with a message of hope and salvation to the fallen sons of Adam. If men would but receive him as their personal Saviour, he promised to restore to them the image of God, and to redeem all that had been lost through sin. He presented to men the truth, without one thread of interwoven error. When he taught, his words came with authority; for he spoke with positive knowledge of the truth.The teaching of men is wholly different from the teaching of Christ. There is a constant tendency on the part of man, to present his own theories and opinions as matter worthy of attention, even when they have no foundation in truth. Men are very tenacious for their erroneous ideas and idle opinions. They will hold firmly to the traditions of men, and defend them as vigorously as if they were the veritable truth. Jesus declared that every one that was of the truth would hear his voice.How much more power would attend the preaching of the word today, if men dwelt less upon the theories and arguments of men, and far more upon the lessons of Christ, and upon practical godliness. He who had stood in the counsel of God, who had dwelt in his presence, was well acquainted with the origin and elements of truth, and understood its relation and importance to man. He presented to the world the plan of salvation, and unfolded truth of the highest order, even the words of eternal life.Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles spoke as they were moved upon by the ...