I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 17:23.
Let us make it known that provision has been made for our redemption. Christ left the heavenly courts and came to this world to make an atonement for us. All who come to Him in living faith will be enabled to stand on vantage ground. As God’s servants proclaim these things, Satan steps up to some of those who have itching minds and presents his scientific problems. Men will be tempted to place science above God. But who, by searching, can find out God? Men may put their own interpretation upon God, but no human mind can comprehend Him. This problem has not been given us to solve. Let not finite man attempt to interpret Jehovah. Let none indulge in speculation regarding His nature. Here silence is eloquence. The Omniscient One is above discussion.
Christ is one with the Father, but God and Christ are two distinct Personages. Read the prayer of Christ in the seventeenth chapter of John, and you will find this point clearly brought out. How earnestly the Saviour prayed that His disciples might be one with Him as He was one with the Father. But the unity that is to exist between Christ and His followers does not destroy the personality of either. They are to be one with Him as He is one with the Father. By this unity they are to make it plain to the world that God sent His Son to save sinners. The oneness of Christ’s followers with Him is to be the great, unmistakable proof that God did indeed send His Son into the world to save sinners. But a loose, lax religion leaves the world confused and bewildered.
My brethren and sisters, take your stand on an elevated platform, and work to the point to be one with Christ. The heart of the Saviour is set upon His followers’ fulfilling God’s purpose in all its height and depth. They are to be one with Him, even though they are scattered the world over. But God cannot make them one in Christ unless they are willing to give up their own way for His way.
In view of all that Christ has suffered for us, should we complain when we are called to endure self-denial and suffering? Would not this make God ashamed of us? Let us rejoice that it is our privilege to be partakers in the sufferings of Christ, for thus only can we be fitted to be partakers of His glory... Let us live lives that will lead sinners to the Saviour. Christ carried His humanity with Him into the heavenly courts, and all humanity can claim Him as their representative. We may be made complete in Him.—Manuscript 58, “The Work in Washington,” a talk given May 19, 1905.
Reference: E.G. White, "The Upward Look," p. 153
