January
31, 2003
THE
WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME, Part II
"I
have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the
will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38, NKJV).
"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 for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated
after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of 'the mystery
kept secret since the world began' (Romans 16:25). 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 whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have eternal 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 on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking
the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.'
(Philippians 2:6, 7). 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, 'Sacrifice and offering
You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me...
Then I said, "Behold, I have come-- In the volume of
the book it is written of Me-- To do Your 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... His
divinity was veiled with humanity,-- the invisible glory in
the visible human form."-- Desire of Ages,
pp., 22, 23.
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