God’s
Purpose in the Church
It is God’s
purpose to manifest through His people the principles of His
kingdom. That in
life and character they may reveal these principles, He
desires to
separate them from the customs, habits, and practices of the world.
He seeks to
bring them near to Himself, that He may make known to them His
will.
This was His
purpose in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. At the
burning bush
Moses received from God the message for the king of Egypt:
“Let My people
go, that they may serve Me.” Exodus 7:16. With a mighty
hand and an
outstretched arm God brought out the Hebrew host from the land
of bondage.
Wonderful was the deliverance He wrought for them, punishing
their enemies,
who refused to listen to His word, with total destruction.
God desired to
take His people apart from the world and prepare them
to receive His
word. From Egypt He led them to Mount Sinai, where He
revealed to them
His glory. Here was nothing to attract their senses or divert
their minds from
God; and as the vast multitude looked at the lofty mountains
towering above
them, they could realize their own nothingness in the sight of
God. Beside
these rocks, immovable except by the power of the divine
9
will, God
communicated with men. And that His word might ever be clear
and distinct in
their minds, He proclaimed amid thunder and lightning and
with terrible
majesty the law which He had given in Eden and which was the
transcript of
His character. And the words were written on tables of stone
by the finger of
God. Thus the will of the infinite God was revealed to a
people who were
called to make known to every nation, kindred, and tongue
the principles
of His government in heaven and in earth.
To the same work
He has called His people in this generation. To them
He has revealed
His will, and of them He requires obedience. In the last days
of this earth’s
history the voice that spoke from Sinai is still saying to men:
“Thou shalt have
no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3. Man has set his
will against the
will of God, but he cannot silence this word of command. The
human mind can
never fully comprehend its obligation to the higher power,
but it cannot
evade the obligation. Profound theories and speculations may
abound, men may
try to set science in opposition to revelation, and thus do
away with the
law of God; but stronger and still stronger will the Holy Spirit
bring before
them the command: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and
Him only shalt
thou serve.” Matthew 4:10.
How is the world
treating the law of God? Everywhere men are working
against the
divine precepts. In their desire to evade the cross bearing attendant
on obedience,
even the churches are taking sides with the great apostate in
claiming that
the law of God has been changed or abrogated. Men in their
blindness boast
of wonderful progress and enlightenment; but the heavenly
watchers see the
earth filled with corruption and violence. Because of sin the
atmosphere of
our world has become as the atmosphere of a pesthouse.
10
A great work is
to be accomplished in setting before men the saving truths
of the gospel.
This is the means ordained by God to stem the tide of moral
corruption. This
is His means of restoring His moral image in man. It is His
remedy for
universal disorganization. It is the power that draws men together
in unity. To
present these truths is the work of the third angel’s message. The
Lord designs
that the presentation of this message shall be the highest, greatest
work carried on
in the world at this time.
Satan is
constantly urging men to accept his principles. Thus he seeks to
counterwork the
work of God. He is constantly representing the chosen people
of God as a
deluded people. He is an accuser of the brethren, and his accusing
power he is
constantly using against those who work righteousness. The Lord
desires through
His people to answer Satan’s charges by showing the result of
obedience to
right principles.
All the light of
the past, all the light which shines in the present and reaches
forth into the
future, as revealed in the word of God, is for every soul who will
receive it. The
glory of this light, which is the very glory of the character
of Christ, is to
be manifested in the individual Christian, in the family, in the
church, in the
ministry of the word, and in every institution established by
God’s people.
All these the Lord designs shall be symbols of what can be
done for the
world. They are to be types of the saving power of the truths of
the gospel. They
are agencies in the fulfillment of God’s great purpose for the
human race.
God’s people are
to be channels for the outworking of the highest influence
in the universe.
In Zechariah’s vision the two olive trees which stand before
God are
represented as emptying the golden oil out of themselves through
golden tubes
into the bowl of the sanctuary. From this the lamps of the
sanctuary are
fed, that they
11
may give a
continuous bright and shining light. So from the anointed
ones that stand
in God’s presence the fullness of divine light and love and
power is
imparted to His people, that they may impart to others light and
joy and
refreshing. They are to become channels through which divine
instrumentalities
communicate to the world the tide of God’s love.
The purpose
which God seeks to accomplish through His people today is
the same that He
desired to accomplish through Israel when He brought them
forth out of
Egypt. By beholding the goodness, the mercy, the justice, and
the love of God
revealed in the church, the world is to have a representation
of His
character. And when the law of God is thus exemplified in the life,
even the world
will recognize the superiority of those who love and fear and
serve God above
every other people on the earth. The Lord has His eye upon
every one of His
people; He has His plans concerning each. It is His purpose
that those who
practice His holy precepts shall be a distinguished people.
To the people of
God today as well as to ancient Israel belong the words
written by Moses
through the Spirit of Inspiration: “Thou art an holy people
unto the Lord
thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special
people unto
Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
Deuteronomy 7:6.“Behold,
I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as
the Lord my God
commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye
go to possess
it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in
the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes,
and say, Surely
this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what
nation is there
so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our
12
God is in all
things that we call upon Him for? And what nation is there so
great, that hath
statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set
before you this
day?” Deuteronomy 4:5-8.
Even these words
fail of expressing the greatness and the glory of God’s
purpose to be
accomplished through His people. Not to this world only but
to the universe
are we to make manifest the principles of His kingdom. The
apostle Paul,
writing by the Holy Spirit, says: “Unto me, who am less than
the least of all
saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is
the fellowship
of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath
been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now
unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be [made] known
by the church
the manifold wisdom of God.” Ephesians 3:8-10.
Brethren, “we
are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and
to men.” “What
manner of person sought ye to be in all holy conversation
and godliness,
looking for and hasting the coming of the day of God?” 1
Corinthians 4:9;
2 Peter 3:11, 12, margin.
*****
In order to
manifest the character of God, in order that we may not deceive
ourselves, the
church, and the world by a counterfeit Christianity, we must
become
personally acquainted with God. If we have fellowship with God,
we are His
ministers, though we may never preach to a congregation. We
are workers
together with God in presenting the perfection of His character in
humanity.
REFFERRENCE
Testimonies for the Church,Volume Six
Ellen
G. White,1901,page 9-13
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