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The Great Controversy

(Part 2)

by Jack Carpenter

"All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men, are but as a tiny rill to the boundless ocean when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God. Tongue cannot utter it, pen cannot portray it. You may meditate upon it every day of your life. You may search the scriptures diligently in order to understand it. You may summon every power and capability that God has given you, in the endeavor to comprehend the love and compassion of the Heavenly Father, and yet there is an infinity beyond. You may study that love for ages; you can never fully comprehend the length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of the love of God in giving His Son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal it. Yet as we study the Bible, and meditate upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great themes will open to our understanding more and more. And it will be ours to realize the blessing which Paul desired for the Ephesian church when he prayed 'that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe'" (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 740).

Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me" John 12:32.

Think about it. This is our part in the great controversy. Whatever others may be doing, we must lift the cross, higher and still higher! "What the world needs is Jesus--just a glimpse of Him."

"Hanging upon the cross, Christ was the gospel. Now we have a message, 'Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.' Will not our church members keep their eyes on a crucified and risen Saviour, in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered? This is our message, our argument, our doctrine, our warning to the impenitent, our encouragement for the sorrowing, the hope for every believer. If we can awaken an interest in men's minds that will cause them to fix their eyes on Christ, we may step aside, and ask them only to continue to fix their eyes upon the Lamb of God. They thus receive their lesson. 'Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,and follow Me.' He whose eyes are fixed on Jesus will leave all. He will die to selfishness. He will believe in all the Word of God, which is so gloriously and wonderfully exalted in Christ.,

"As the sinner sees Jesus as He is, an all-compassionate Saviour, hope and assurance take possession of his soul. The helpless soul is cast without any reservation upon Jesus. None can bear away from the vision of Christ Jesus crucified a lingering doubt. Unbelief is gone" (Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1113).

"The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption--the Son of God uplifted on the cross. This is to be the foundation of every discourse given by our ministers" (Gospel Workers, p. 315).

Don't miss this! Do not allow the sworn adversary of truth and righteousness, working through humans, to interpret the character of God for you. The cross is about God. Salvation is about God. Sacrifice is about God. The plan of redemption is about God. Can you visualize the gospel as a portrayal of God? Can you see the central theme of the great controversy to be the unveiling of the true character of God? Yes, God's people are "destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6) The day is rapidly approaching when "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). God's glory is His character. (see Exodus 33:18, 19; 34:6, 7; Christ's Object Lessons, p. 414).

To know God as He is, provides us with the truth we need for salvation (see John 17:3). The end is here.

"And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. . .

"The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty, declare that God is love" (Great Controversy, p. 678).

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