Part II — The Sanctuary: Justification, Sanctification, Glorification

One door, one entrance — John 10:9; Matt. 7:13; Luke 13:24:

• John 10:9. "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" — Christ is the gate; the court has but one way in, and He is it.
  • gate = faith, the single entrance into the court of salvation — Christ Himself received by believing (John 10:9, "I am the door"; Heb. 11:6, "without faith it is impossible to please him"; Eph. 2:8, "by grace are ye saved through faith") — there is no other door, and the door is laid hold of by no other hand than faith.
• Matt. 7:13. "Enter ye in at the strait gate... wide is the gate... that leadeth to destruction" — the saving gate is narrow; the broad road needs no faith.
• Luke 13:24. "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many... shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able" — the gate admits, but only the believing pass through.

Jesus enters at the faith He sees — Mark 2:5; Matt. 9:2; Luke 5:20:

• Mark 2:5. "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" — He acts upon faith first; pardon comes through the open gate.
• Matt. 9:2. "Jesus seeing their faith said... thy sins be forgiven thee" — the same scene: sight of faith, then forgiveness (handled at "The Altar of Sacrifice — Forgiveness").
• Luke 5:20. "when he saw their faith, he said... thy sins are forgiven thee" — three Gospels, one order: faith seen, then the work begun.
• WitnessDA 268.4. White: "In simple faith he accepted the words of Jesus as the boon of new life... too happy for words" — the gate opened, and life came in.
• WitnessDA 268.3. White: "the peace of forgiveness rests upon his spirit... The helpless paralytic is healed! the guilty sinner is pardoned!" — through the one gate of faith, both the pardon and the power follow.

The woman enters at the gate of faith — John 8:11:

• John 8:11. "She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said... Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" — her "Lord" is faith's confession; at it the gate opens to forgiveness ("Neither do I condemn thee") and power ("go, and sin no more").
• WitnessDA 461.5. White: quotes the scene whole, "Woman, where are those thine accusers?... No man, Lord. And Jesus said... go, and sin no more" — the same three steps as the paralytic, gated by her one word of faith.

Faith is the gift of God, not a work — Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 12:3:

• Eph. 2:8. "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" — the gate itself is given; no man manufactures his entrance.
• Eph. 2:9. "Not of works, lest any man should boast" — the gate is not earned, lest the court's first step become a wage.
• Rom. 12:3. "God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" — the gift is distributed to every man; none is left without the means to enter.
• Witness3SM 198.3. White: "We can do nothing to originate faith, for faith is the gift of God... All the longing after a better life is from Christ, and is an evidence that He is drawing you to Himself" — the gift and the drawing are one.
• WitnessAG 315.4. White: "Faith is the gift of God, but the power to exercise it is ours. Faith is the hand by which the soul takes hold upon the divine offers of grace and mercy" — given as gift, exercised as our act; the hand that grasps the gate.
• Witness6BC 1073.7. White: "not that there is any virtue in faith whereby salvation is merited, but because faith can lay hold of the merits of Christ" — faith earns nothing; it only takes hold (defined at "The Altar of Sacrifice — Forgiveness").
• WitnessFW 25.2. White: "There is danger in regarding justification by faith as placing merit on faith... Faith is rendering to God the intellectual powers, abandonment of the mind and will to God, and making Christ the only door to enter into the kingdom of heaven" — faith merits nothing; it makes Christ the door and walks through.

The drawing is the lifted-up Christ — John 12:32; 6:44; 6:37:

• John 12:32. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" — the cross is the magnet; the drawing toward the gate is Christ crucified.
• John 6:44. "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" — none reaches the gate by native power; the Father draws.
• John 6:37. "him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" — the drawn who come are never refused; the gate stands open to all who reach it.
• WitnessLHU 230.3. White: "I, if I be lifted up... will draw all men unto me. If the cross does not find an influence in its favor, it creates an influence... Christ on the cross was the medium whereby mercy and truth met together" — the lifted-up Christ is the drawing itself.
• WitnessSC 27.1. White: "whenever they make an effort to reform, from a sincere desire to do right, it is the power of Christ that is drawing them... as Christ draws them to look upon His cross, to behold Him whom their sins have pierced" — the unconscious pull toward the gate is already grace.

Without faith, no man pleases God — Heb. 11:6, 1; Rom. 5:1; 10:17; Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17:

• Heb. 11:6. "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" — the gate is mandatory; there is no pleasing God around it.
• Heb. 11:1. "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" — Scripture's own definition of the gate.
• Rom. 5:1. "being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" — past the gate lies peace; justification is its first room.
• Rom. 10:17. "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" — the gift is given through the Word; the gate is opened by the truth heard.
• Hab. 2:4. "the just shall live by his faith" — life itself runs on faith, from the gate onward.
• Rom. 1:17. "the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith... The just shall live by faith" — faith at the entrance, faith to the end.
• WitnessMYP 102.3. White: "without this it is impossible to please God. Faith is the hand that takes hold of infinite help; it is the medium by which the renewed heart is made to beat in unison with the heart of Christ" — the hand at the gate and the pulse of the new life are the same faith.
• WitnessCOL 112.4. White: "This faith is inseparable from repentance and transformation of character. To have faith means to find and accept the gospel treasure, with all the obligations which it imposes" — faith is no bare assent; it takes the treasure and its obligations together.

The pioneers on the gate — faith is taking God at His word, and it obeys:

• WitnessLOF_ATJ 15.1. Jones: "Faith is the expecting the word of God to do what it says and the depending upon that word to do what it says" — the gate is taking God at His word.
• WitnessLOF_ATJ 7.1. Jones: "the righteousness of God is revealed from 'faith to faith'—faith in the beginning and faith to the end... 'The just shall live by faith'" — entrance and walk are one continuous faith.
• WitnessLOF_ATJ 8.3. Jones: "Without faith not an act can be performed that will meet the approval of God... the best deeds that a man can do will come infinitely short of the perfect righteousness of God" — no work counts that did not first pass the gate.
• WitnessWOR 8.4. Waggoner: "True faith is obedience... a profession of faith in Christ which is not accompanied by obedience, is worthless... he does good works because the works are the necessary result of faith" — the gate that admits also produces; faith works (see "The Laver — Power").
• WitnessWOR 11.1. Waggoner: "Faith means obedience; for faith is counted for righteousness... Faith also means humility... 'his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith'" — the gate is strait because it is low; pride cannot stoop through it.
• WitnessSTTHD 246.1. Smith: the invitation "Come unto me for pardon and everlasting life. The way of our coming is described in Acts 20:21: 'Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ'" — the named way through the gate.
• WitnessCIS 23.1. Haskell: Christ "reaches His hand down over the battlements of heaven to clasp the hand of every one who will reach up by faith... if he allows doubt and unbelief to break the connection, he is in darkness" — the gate is a clasped hand; unbelief breaks the grip.
• WitnessCIS 22.4. Haskell: the heavenly sanctuary is "the great power-house of Jehovah, whence all the help necessary to overcome every temptation of Satan is sent to each one who is connected with it by faith" — faith is the connection to the whole sanctuary's power.
• WitnessLIFIN 344.2. J. White: "Abel brought a firstling of the flock, in faith of Christ, the great sacrifice for sin. God accepted his offering... Are we Christians by virtue of living faith in Christ? So was Abel" — the gate is as old as the fall; Abel entered by it.

The paralytic — the sin is dealt with before the body — Mark 2:3-12:

• Mark 2:3-4. "bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four... they uncovered the roof... and let down the bed" — faith carries the helpless man to Christ (see “The Gate — Faith”); having entered, he stands at the second piece of furniture.
• Mark 2:5. "When Jesus saw their faith, he said... Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" — Christ speaks to the sin first, not the palsy; forgiveness is the outer-court step that stands at the altar.
  • altar of sacrifice (= forgiveness) = the place where the sinner's guilt is lifted because a Substitute has been slain in his stead (Lev. 1:3-5, the offering "accepted for him to make atonement for him"; Mark 2:5, "thy sins be forgiven thee") — forgiveness flows from a finished sacrifice, never from the sinner's own work (SC 37.2).
• Mark 2:7. "who can forgive sins but God only?" — the scribes confess the truth they deny: pardon is a divine prerogative, and Christ is exercising it.
• Mark 2:9-10. "Whether is it easier to say... Thy sins be forgiven thee; or... Arise... that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins" — the visible healing is offered as proof of the invisible pardon; forgiveness is the greater work, attested by the lesser.
• Mark 2:11-12. "Arise, and take up thy bed... and immediately he arose" — the pardon at the altar is what makes the rising at the laver possible (see "The Laver — Power"); the order is fixed: forgive, then walk.
• Matt. 9:2. "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee" — the same word, the despair lifted before the limbs.
• Luke 5:20. "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee" — the third witness; faith seen, sin pardoned.
• WitnessDA 268.3. White: "The burden of despair rolls from the sick man's soul; the peace of forgiveness rests upon his spirit... The helpless paralytic is healed! the guilty sinner is pardoned!" — the soul-healing precedes and exceeds the body-healing.
• WitnessDA 270.1. White: "The spiritual healing was followed by physical restoration... thousands... like the paralytic, are longing for the message, 'Thy sins are forgiven'" — the altar's word is the want of every sin-sick soul.

The woman taken in adultery — condemnation removed — John 8:3-11:

• John 8:3, 7. "the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery... He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone" — accusers gather, but only the Sinless One holds the right to condemn.
• John 8:9-10. "convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one... Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" — every human accuser withdraws; she stands alone with the only Judge.
• John 8:11. "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" — the second outer-court step spoken in the second case: forgiveness as the lifting of condemnation, joined (as ever) to the power to walk (see "The Laver — Power").
• Rom. 8:1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" — "Neither do I condemn thee" stated as the standing law of the justified.
• WitnessDA 461.5. White quotes it whole: "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" — the altar-word and the laver-word in a single breath.
• WitnessDA 462.3. White: "While He does not palliate sin... He seeks not to condemn, but to save... The Sinless One pities the weakness of the sinner, and reaches to her a helping hand" — pardon that neither lessens guilt nor leaves the sinner in it.
• WitnessWOR 125.15. Waggoner: "There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ. Why? Because he received the curse of the law, that the blessing might come on us... in him all curses are turned to blessings, and sin is displaced by righteousness" — the no-condemnation rests wholly on the Substitute bearing the curse.

Why forgiveness costs a death — the altar and the lamb — Lev. 1; 4:29; 17:11:

• Lev. 1:3-4. "a male without blemish... he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him" — the sinner lays his hand on the victim's head, transferring guilt to a spotless substitute.
  • the Lamb / Substitute = the innocent victim that takes the sinner's place and bears his guilt, slain that the guilty may go free (Lev. 1:4, "accepted for him to make atonement for him"; John 1:29, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world"; Isa. 53:6, "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all") — the type slain a thousand times pointing to the One slain once (1SM 321.4).
• Lev. 1:5. "he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests... shall sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar" — the worshipper's own hand slays; the priest carries the blood.
• Lev. 4:29. "he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering" — the same transfer-then-death in the sin offering proper.
• WitnessPP 354.2. White: "placing his hand upon the victim's head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. By his own hand the animal was then slain" — the mechanism of the altar named: confession, transfer, death.
• WitnessCWCP 63.2. Jones: the offerer "laid his hands upon its head and confessed his sins and it was 'accepted for him to make atonement for him'... 'the priest shall make an atonement for his sin... and it shall be forgiven him'" — the whole plan of forgiveness rehearsed at the altar door.
• WitnessCIS 124.1. Haskell: "The sinner, with his hands laid upon the head of the lamb, confessed over it all his sins, and then with his own hand he killed it... 'that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate'" — the court-altar type lands on Calvary.
• WitnessCIS 124.2. Haskell: "by confessing his sins over the lamb, in type and shadow transferred them to the lamb... typifying the death of the Lamb of God, who would offer his life for the sins of the world" — the figure interpreted by its Antitype.
• John 1:29. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" — every altar in Israel was pointing here; the Substitute is named.
• John 1:36. "Behold the Lamb of God!" — the herald repeats the title; the Lamb walks the earth.
• WitnessCIS 69.1. Haskell: "there is none more dear to humanity than the 'Lamb of God' (John 1:29, 36) and 'High Priest'... He lifts poor fallen humanity up" — the altar-Lamb is also the sanctuary's Priest (see "The Holy Place — Sanctification").

Without shedding of blood, no remission — Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:12-22:

• Lev. 17:11. "the life of the flesh is in the blood... I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement" — God Himself fixes the price; the blood IS the ransom, because the life is in it.
  • blood (= the ransom) = the life of the Substitute poured out as the purchase-price of the sinner's pardon (Lev. 17:11, "the life of the flesh is in the blood... the blood that maketh an atonement"; Eph. 1:7, "redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins"; Matt. 26:28, "my blood... shed for many for the remission of sins") — the precious blood of a lamb without blemish, not silver or gold (CHR 70.3).
• Heb. 9:22. "without shedding of blood is no remission" — the law of pardon stated absolutely; no death, no forgiveness.
• Heb. 9:12. "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" — the typical blood retired; the real ransom paid once, forever.
• Heb. 9:14. "the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience" — the spotless Offerer is also the Offering; the conscience cleansed at the altar.
• Isa. 53:5-6. "he was wounded for our transgressions... the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" — the transfer of Leviticus 1 written over the cross beforehand.
• Matt. 26:28. "this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" — the Substitute names His own blood the ransom for remission.
• 2 Cor. 5:21. "he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" — the innocent counted guilty so the guilty may be counted righteous.
• Rom. 5:8-9. "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us... being now justified by his blood" — the ransom paid before any merit of ours; justification is by the blood.
• Eph. 1:7. "redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" — forgiveness is a purchased thing, bought with blood.
• 1 Pet. 2:24. "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree... by whose stripes ye were healed" — the Substitute carries the sin in His body, exactly as the lamb carried the laid-on hand.
• 1 John 1:7, 9. "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin... he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" — the ransom applied to the confessing sinner; the altar's word made present.

The Substitute who pays the debt — the pioneers on the ransom:

• WitnessCHR 60.1. Waggoner: "Christ has been set forth by God as the One through whom forgiveness of sins is to be obtained... God... puts His own righteousness on the sinner who believes in Jesus, as a substitute for his sins" — forgiveness IS the imputing of Christ's righteousness in the sinner's place.
• WitnessCHR 67.2. Waggoner: "what brings justification or the forgiveness of sins? It is faith... The righteousness of God is given unto and put upon everyone that believeth" — the gate-step (faith) is the hand that lays hold of the altar-step (forgiveness).
• WitnessCHR 70.3. Waggoner: "The price that was paid for us was His own blood—His life... 'with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot'" — the ransom named: not gold, but the life-blood of the spotless Lamb.
• WitnessCWCP 67.1. Jones: "the whole problem and plan of forgiveness, of atonement, of salvation, was worked out before their faces. The sacrifice... was in faith of the sacrifice which God had already made in giving His Son" — the altar service was the gospel preached in type.
• Witness1SM 321.4. White: "We can make no atonement for ourselves; but by faith we can accept the atonement that has been made... Guiltless, He bore the punishment of the guilty... He who knew no sin became sin for us" — the Substitute is guiltless; the punishment is the guilty's; the exchange is received by faith.
• WitnessCOL 244.3. White: "Man was under the condemnation of the broken law. He could not save himself... and to every soul He freely offers the blood-bought pardon" — the debt man could not pay, the King forgives at His own cost.
• WitnessCOL 157.1. White: "Christ has pledged Himself to be our substitute and surety... He who could not see human beings exposed to eternal ruin without pouring out His soul unto death" — the Substitute pledged Himself before He paid.
• WitnessDA 483.5. White: "In becoming your substitute and surety... by taking your liabilities, your transgressions, I am endeared to My Father" — Christ owns the role: He took the liabilities that were ours.
• WitnessSC 35.4. White: "When Satan comes to tell you that you are a great sinner, look up to your Redeemer... The merits of His sacrifice are sufficient to present to the Father in our behalf" — the answer to accusation is the altar, not the self.
• WitnessSC 37.2. White: "the conditions of obtaining mercy... are simple and just and reasonable... he that confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy" — the sinner's part is confession and forsaking (1 John 1:9); the ransom is already paid.

The piece itself — Ex. 30:18-21; 40:30-32:

• Ex. 30:18. "Thou shalt also make a laver of brass... to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar" — the third station, standing between the altar of pardon and the door of the holy place.
  • laver = the basin of cleansing water by which the pardoned sinner is washed and made fit to walk with God; the power of regeneration that follows forgiveness (Ex. 30:18-21; Titus 3:5, "the washing of regeneration"; Ezek. 36:25-27, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you... and cause you to walk in my statutes") — the figure of power received, not merely guilt removed.
• Ex. 30:19-20. "Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat... when they come near to the altar to minister... that they die not" — the washing is the condition of approach and of life; unwashed service is death.
• Ex. 30:21. "they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever" — hands (what is done) and feet (where one walks) cleansed; the laver answers the doing and the going.
• Ex. 40:30-32. "he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there... and when they came near unto the altar, they washed" — Moses sets it exactly where the order requires: after the altar, before the inner walk.

Forgiveness and power are one word — Mark 2:9-12; Matt. 9:6:

• Mark 2:9. "Whether is it easier to say... Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?" — Jesus binds the inward pardon to the outward rising; the two cannot be parted.
• Mark 2:10-11. "that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins... I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way" — the visible rising is the proof of the invisible pardon; power is forgiveness made manifest.
  • power — the same word fulfilled here; defined in this section under laver.
• Mark 2:12. "immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all" — no interval between the word and the walking; healing was never separated from power.
• Matt. 9:6. "the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins... Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house" — Matthew records the same sign, the same logic: pardon authenticated by power to walk.
• WitnessDA 269.2. White: "whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?... He said, turning to the paralytic, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house" — the healing is staged to prove the forgiving.
• WitnessDA 269.3. White: "he... rises to his feet with the elasticity and strength of youth. The life-giving blood bounds through his veins" — pardon issues immediately in restored life and motion.
• WitnessDA 270.2. White: "He still has the same life-giving power as when on earth He healed the sick, and spoke forgiveness to the sinner. He forgiveth all thine iniquities, He healeth all thy diseases" — the forgiving and the healing are the one continuing work.
• WitnessSC 49.3. White: "Jesus healed the people of their diseases when they had faith in His power... thus inspiring them with confidence in Him concerning things which they could not see — leading them to believe in His power to forgive sins" — the visible cure was given to certify the invisible pardon and its power.
• WitnessCHR 89.2. Waggoner: "For what purpose were the miracles of healing recorded... It was not simply to show that He can heal disease but to show His power over sin" — every healing is a parable of power over sin.

The word "forgiven" is creative power — John 5:8-14:

• John 5:8-9. "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk... immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked" — the command itself supplies the strength to obey it.
• John 5:14. "Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" — the made-whole man is charged to sin no more; wholeness is given precisely that he may stop sinning.
• WitnessLOF_ATJ 59.2. Jones: "the creative energy is in that word 'forgiven' to take away all sin and create the man a new creature... Do you believe in the creative energy that is in the word 'forgiven'?" — pardon is creative; it makes, not merely cancels.
• WitnessCWCP 41.1. Jones: "it is not enough that we shall be saved from the sins that we have actually committed; we must be saved from committing other sins... we must become possessed of power to keep us from sinning" — forgiveness without power is not the gospel; the laver supplies the keeping power.

"Go, and sin no more" — John 8:10-11:

• John 8:10-11. "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" — pardon ("neither do I condemn") and power ("go, and sin no more") issued in one breath; the second is the fruit and the proof of the first.
• WitnessDA 462.3. White: "While He does not palliate sin, nor lessen the sense of guilt, He seeks not to condemn, but to save... The Sinless One pities the weakness of the sinner, and reaches to her a helping hand... Jesus bids her, Go, and sin no more" — the helping hand reached down is the power given to obey the charge.
• WitnessMH 89.2. White: "This was to her the beginning of a new life, a life of purity and peace... In the uplifting of this fallen soul, Jesus performed a greater miracle than in healing the most grievous physical disease" — the inward cure is the greater work the outward healing pointed to.

The washing of regeneration — Titus 3:5; Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:5-6:

• Titus 3:5. "according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" — the laver named in plain doctrine: a washing that regenerates, the Spirit's renewing work.
• Ezek. 36:25-27. "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean... A new heart also will I give you... And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes" — the water, the new heart, and the caused obedience are one promise; cleansing is power to walk.
  • new heart = the renewed inward man God gives at regeneration, from which obedience flows (Ezek. 36:26; 2 Cor. 5:17, "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature") — the heart of flesh in place of the stony heart.
• John 3:5-6. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God... that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" — the new birth, water and Spirit together, is the laver experience: regeneration, not reform.
• WitnessSC 18.2. White: "unless he shall receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life... The idea that it is necessary only to develop the good that exists in man by nature, is a fatal deception" — the laver gives a new nature; it does not polish the old.
• Rom. 6:4. "buried with him by baptism into death... even so we also should walk in newness of life" — out of the cleansing water the man rises to a new walk.
• PTUK October 22, 1896, page 677.6. Jones: "The tree must be made good, root and branch. It must be made new. Ye must be born again... Let no one ever attempt to serve God with anything but the present, living power of God, that makes him a new creature" — the service of God is impossible without the regenerating power of the laver.

Partakers of the divine nature — 2 Pet. 1:3-4:

• 2 Pet. 1:3. "his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him" — the power is His divine power, conveyed through knowing Him (the image-thread: by beholding, transformed).
• 2 Pet. 1:4. "by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" — the highest name for the laver's gift: a share in God's own nature, by which the corruption is escaped.
  • divine nature = a real participation in God's own life and character, given to the believer, by which sin is overcome and the image restored (2 Pet. 1:4; COL 314.2, "in harmony with God's great standard of righteousness, His holy law") — power to obey, because the obedient nature is imparted.
• WitnessDA 24.3. White: "As the Son of man, He gave us an example of obedience; as the Son of God, He gives us power to obey... 'God with us' is the surety... of our power to obey the law of heaven" — the incarnation guarantees the power to obey, not merely the pattern.
• WitnessCWCP 47.5. Jones: "Christ, who was altogether of the divine nature, was made partaker of human nature in order that we who are altogether of the human nature might be partakers of the divine nature" — the divine exchange: He took ours that we might take His.
• WitnessCTr 32.3. White: "Fallen humans, by laying hold of the divine power brought within their reach, can become one with God" — the power is brought within reach; it is laid hold of, not earned.
• WitnessCCh 216.4. White: "It is His grace that gives man power to obey the laws of God... the only power that can make him and keep him steadfast in the right path" — the laver's water is grace as power, the sole power that keeps.
• WitnessCOL 314.2. White: "He who becomes a partaker of the divine nature will be in harmony with God's great standard of righteousness, His holy law" — the gift's test and fruit is the kept law.
• WitnessSC 79.1. White: "He has granted men the privilege of becoming partakers of the divine nature and, in their turn, of diffusing blessings to their fellow men" — the cleansed and empowered man becomes a channel of the same.
• WitnessEVCO 324.1. Waggoner: "Christ is High Priest 'after the power of an endless life'—a life that saves to the uttermost" — the Levitical priests "could deal with sin only in its outward manifestations, that is, actually not at all," but Christ's priesthood supplies the inward power the laver figures.
• WitnessCWCP 50.1. Jones: "the power of God to deliver him from sin and to keep him from sinning... this is the faith of which He is the Author and Finisher" — the same faith that justifies brings the power that keeps.

One miracle holds all three — Mark 2:5, 9-12:

• Mark 2:5. "When Jesus saw their faith, he said... Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" — faith first, then the word of pardon; the Gate opens before the Altar speaks.
  • faith — defined in "The Gate — Faith."
• Mark 2:9. "Whether is it easier to say... thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise... and walk?" — Jesus binds the two halves into one question; the same authority does both.
• Mark 2:10. "that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins" — the proof of pardon is the power that follows; the unseen forgiveness is demonstrated by the seen rising.
  • justification = God's act of making a man just — faith counted for righteousness, the sin pardoned, and power given to do the law — never the one without the others (Mark 2:5, 10-12; Rom. 4:5, "his faith is counted for righteousness"; WOR 66.3, "Justification means making just, or making righteous... faith which puts the doing of the law into him").
• Mark 2:11. "Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way" — the pardoned man is commanded to walk; pardon and power are issued in one sentence.
• Mark 2:12. "immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all" — the man does what he could not do; justification proved by the walk (see “The Laver — Power to Overcome”).
• WitnessSC 50.1. White: "From the simple Bible account of how Jesus healed the sick, we may learn something about how to believe in Him for the forgiveness of sins" — the healing IS the model of how pardon is received.
• WitnessEd 36.1. White: the sacrifice taught "the lesson of pardon of sin, and power through the Saviour for obedience unto life" — pardon and power named together as one lesson of the altar (see “The Altar of Sacrifice — Forgiveness”).

The woman taken in adultery — the same three — John 8:7, 10-11:

• John 8:7. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" — the accusers fall away; only the sinless Judge is left to deal with her.
• John 8:10. "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" — the court is emptied; she is left alone with mercy.
• John 8:11. "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" — forgiveness ("neither do I condemn") and power ("sin no more") spoken in one breath, just as in Mark 2.
  • forgiveness — defined in "The Altar of Sacrifice — Forgiveness."
• WitnessDA 461.5. White quotes the scene whole — "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" — the pardon and the charge are inseparable.
• WitnessDA 462.3. White: "In His act of pardoning this woman and encouraging her to live a better life, the character of Jesus shines forth in the beauty of perfect righteousness... He seeks not to condemn, but to save" — pardon that lifts to a better life, not pardon that leaves her in sin.
• WitnessSC 51.1. White: "You confess your sins and give yourself to God. You will to serve Him. Just as surely as you do this, God will fulfill His word" — the believing soul's part, and God's certain answer.

The faith comes from Christ lifted up — John 12:32; Eph. 2:8-9:

• John 12:32. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" — the very faith that justifies is drawn out by the cross; it is not self-generated.
• Eph. 2:8. "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" — faith itself is the gift; justification has nothing in it to boast of.
• Eph. 2:9. "Not of works, lest any man should boast" — the just one cannot claim the doing as his own merit.
• WitnessWOR 18.4. Waggoner: "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God... With the heart man believeth unto righteousness" — believing brings power, the two never sundered.

Justified by faith without the deeds of the law — Rom. 3:24-28; 4:5; 5:1:

• Rom. 3:24. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" — justification is free, grounded in Christ's redemption, not the sinner's record.
• Rom. 3:25. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood... for the remission of sins that are past" — the blood of the Altar is the ground of pardon (see “The Altar of Sacrifice — Forgiveness”).
  • blood — defined in "What Is a Trumpet?" (here, the propitiating blood of Christ).
• Rom. 3:26. "that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" — God remains just while justifying; the cross satisfies the law He upholds.
• Rom. 3:28. "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" — the deeds do not earn it; faith receives it.
• Rom. 4:5. "to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" — the bare definition: faith counted for righteousness.
• Rom. 5:1. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" — justification's fruit is peace, the broken peace restored.
• WitnessCHR 60.1. Waggoner: forgiveness "consists simply in the declaration of His righteousness... God... puts His own righteousness on the sinner who believes in Jesus, as a substitute for his sins" — pardon is the imputing of Christ's righteousness.
• WitnessCHR 57.1. Waggoner: "Let us first have an object lesson on justification or the imparting of righteousness" — Waggoner reads justification as a single act of imparted righteousness, not a bare verdict.
• Witness1SM 360.1. White: "the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, not because of any merit on our part, but as a free gift from God" — the 1888 message in one line.
• WitnessMB 27.2. White: "'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God'... Whoever consents to renounce sin and open his heart to the love of Christ, becomes a partaker of this heavenly peace" — peace given to the one who renounces sin, not the one who keeps it.

Faith that works — not forgiveness without power — Gal. 5:6; Rom. 6:14; Acts 13:38-39:

• Gal. 5:6. "faith which worketh by love" — justifying faith is never idle; it works.
  • faith which worketh by love = the only faith that justifies — faith that does the law from love, never bare assent (Gal. 5:6; GTI 209.4, "faith alone, which works by love, can do anything... found only in Christ Jesus").
• WitnessGTI 209.4. Waggoner: "Circumcision is not able to do anything... but faith alone, which works by love, can do anything. This faith which works by love is found only in Christ Jesus" — the working faith is Christ's own faith in the believer.
• Rom. 6:14. "sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" — grace breaks sin's dominion; pardon that left sin reigning would be no grace.
• Acts 13:38. "through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins" — forgiveness preached,
• Acts 13:39. "and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" — and justification reaching where the law could not, freeing from "all things."
• WitnessWOR 66.3. Waggoner: "Justification means making just, or making righteous... Faith which justifies, therefore, is faith which makes a man a doer of the law" — justification is making-just, and the just one does.
• Witness1SM 394.1. White: "Abundant grace has been provided that the believing soul may be kept free from sin... In ourselves we are sinners; but in Christ we are righteous" — grace not only pardons but keeps free.

No pardon while practising known sin — 1SM 366.1; 1 John 1:9:

• 1 John 1:9. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" — pardon ("forgive") and power ("cleanse") in one promise; the two are one act.
• Witness1SM 366.1. White: "no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ's righteousness while practicing known sins... God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place" — forgiveness-without-power is not justification; surrender precedes it.
• WitnessDA 608.2. White: the scribe "needed to recognize the divine character of Christ, and through faith in Him receive power to do the works of righteousness" — faith receives power; that is the whole transaction.

The power is the faith of Christ Himself — Gal. 2:16, 20; Rom. 8:3-4:

• Gal. 2:16. "a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ" — justified by the faith OF Christ, His own faith lent to us.
• Gal. 2:20. "Christ liveth in me... I live by the faith of the Son of God" — the indwelling Christ supplies both the believing and the doing.
• Rom. 8:3. "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh... condemned sin in the flesh" — Christ took our nature and conquered sin where we are tempted (see “The Nature of Christ — Tempted in All Points”).
• Rom. 8:4. "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk... after the Spirit" — the law's righteousness fulfilled IN us — justification finishing as a walk, not a verdict only.
• WitnessCWCP 41.1. Jones: "it is not enough that we shall be saved from the sins that we have actually committed; we must be saved from committing other sins... we must become possessed of power to keep us from sinning" — pardon for past sin plus power against future sin, the whole gift.
• WitnessCWCP 26.2. Jones: "this is 'the faith of Jesus' and the power of it... able to save to the uttermost every soul who will come to God by Him" — the faith of Jesus IS the power.
• WitnessSLWM 61.4. James White: those "who have received the forgiveness of sin through the sprinkling of the blood of Christ... are kept by the mighty power of God through faith unto salvation" — forgiveness by the blood, keeping by the power, one continuous act of faith.
• WitnessSLWM 69.2. James White: "I mourn for sin, and trust the Lord To have it pardoned and subdued" — the believer's own prayer asks pardon AND subduing in the same line.

The third angel's message in verity — 1SM 372.2:

• Witness1SM 372.2. White: asked whether justification by faith is the third angel's message, "I have answered, 'It is the third angel's message, in verity'" — this court-truth is the heart of the last message to the world.

The healed man is sent home, and the way is Christ — John 14:1-3, 6:

• John 14:1. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me" — the walk begins where justification ended, on faith (see “The Gate — Faith”).
• John 14:2. "In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you" — there is a home, and it is prepared; the destination of the daily walk.
• John 14:3. "I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" — the walk has a terminus: presence with Christ (see "The Presence of God — Glorification").
• John 14:6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" — the road itself is a Person; to walk to heaven is to walk in Christ.
• John 10:9. "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out" — the same Christ who is the gate of the courtyard is the door of the Holy Place; one enters by Him a second time.

The gate is strait, the way is narrow — Matt. 7:13-14; Luke 13:24:

• Matt. 7:13. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" — two roads only; the broad one is crowded and ends in death.
• Matt. 7:14. "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" — life lies down the cramped road the multitude refuses.
  • the narrow way / daily walk = the upward road of sanctification, entered by faith and trodden by daily choosing, on which the redeemed walk in Christ toward the Father's house (Matt. 7:14, "narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life"; John 14:6, the way is Christ; Luke 13:24, "Strive to enter in") — the lifelong walk home, holy ground where "sin cannot be tolerated" yet open to all (MB 140.1).
• Luke 13:24. "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able" — entrance costs striving; a wish at the gate is not a walk on the road.
• WitnessMB 138.2. White: "The narrow, upward road leading to home and rest furnished Jesus with an impressive figure of the Christian way... If you would climb the path of spiritual life, you must constantly ascend; for it is an upward way" — the figure is upward and unceasing.
• WitnessMB 140.1. White: "Though the path is so narrow, so holy that sin cannot be tolerated therein, yet access has been secured for all" — narrow does not mean shut; the gate is hard but open.
• WitnessPK 84.1. White: "All who enter the City of God will enter through the strait gate—by agonizing effort; for 'there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth'" — the strait gate of Matthew 7 is the gate of the City itself.

The gate of the Holy Place is faith again — Heb. 11:6:

• Heb. 11:6. "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" — the same key that opened the courtyard opens the Holy Place; faith is the gate twice (see “The Gate — Faith”).
• WitnessLOF_ATJ 38.8. Jones: "Men must not only become just by faith—by dependence upon the word of God—but being just, we must live by faith. The just man lives in precisely the same way and by precisely the same thing that he becomes just" — justification and sanctification run on one fuel.
• WitnessGTI 111.2. Waggoner: "To be justified by faith is to be made righteous by faith" — and the same Reformation watchword, "The just shall live by faith" (GTI 5.1), governs the walk that follows.
• WitnessPK 732.1. White: "Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city into the great beyond" — faith is not only the entrance but the guide of the whole road.

The ladder and the gate of heaven — Gen. 28:12, 17; John 1:51:

• Gen. 28:12. "A ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it" — the road home set up between earth and the throne.
• Gen. 28:17. "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" — the place of the ladder is the house of God and the gate of heaven (see "The Sanctuary — Jesus the Ladder, Gate, House of God").
• John 1:51. "Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" — Jesus names Himself the ladder; the way home is Christ Himself, "the way" of John 14:6.

The walk is daily — the cross taken up day by day — Luke 9:23; Matt. 16:24; 1 Cor. 15:31:

• Luke 9:23. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" — the cross is taken up "daily"; the walk is a series of days, not one resolve.
• Matt. 16:24. "Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" — self denied, cross shouldered, Christ followed: the gait of the narrow way.
• 1 Cor. 15:31. "I die daily" — Paul's measure of the walk: a daily dying to self.
• WitnessSC 70.1. White: "Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work... This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day" — sanctification entered every morning by surrender.
• WitnessSC 62.3. White: "You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith and the continual surrender of your will to Him; and so long as you do this, He will work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure" — the daily walk is the continual surrender that keeps the connection.

Walk in the Spirit, renewed day by day — Gal. 5:16, 25; Rom. 6:4; 2 Cor. 4:16:

• Gal. 5:16. "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" — the narrow way is walked by the Spirit, not the flesh.
• Gal. 5:25. "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" — life in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit are one motion (the Spirit received at the laver, see "The Laver — Power").
• Rom. 6:4. "Even so we also should walk in newness of life" — the baptized leave the grave to walk, not to stand still.
• 2 Cor. 4:16. "Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" — the renewal is dated daily; this is the cadence of the walk.
• WitnessMYP 68.4. White: "By faith he who has been renewed lives day by day the life of Christ. Day by day he shows that he realizes that he is God's property" — the renewed man lives Christ's life one day at a time.

Work out salvation; press toward the mark — Phil. 2:12-13; 3:13-14:

• Phil. 2:12. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" — the walk is real human effort, the "agonizing effort" of PK 84.1.
• Phil. 2:13. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" — yet the willing and the doing are God's work in us; effort and grace are not rivals (compare SC 62.3).
• Phil. 3:13-14. "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling" — the walk leans forward; the eye is on the mark, never on the ground covered.

Sanctification is the work of a lifetime — CCh 51.2; COL 65.2; MYP 35.2:

• WitnessCCh 51.2. White: "Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, or a day. It is a continual growth in grace... there is no stopping place, there is no point to which we can come and say we have fully attained" — the road has no resting-bench short of the City.
• WitnessCOL 65.2. White: "As in nature, so in grace; there can be no life without growth... Sanctification is the work of a lifetime" — a living plant grows; a Christian who has stopped growing has stopped living.
• WitnessMYP 35.2. White: "The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven" — the courtyard gave the title, the Holy Place grows the fitness; both are righteousness by faith.

The world is carried inside; the walk is not a flight from it — GTI 20.1, 20.2:

• WitnessGTI 20.1. Waggoner: the would-be hermit found "it was not the world around him but the world inside of him that made him sin" — the narrow way is walked through the world, because the flesh travels with us.
• WitnessGTI 20.2. Waggoner: "Wherever we go, we carry the world with us; we have it in our hearts and on our backs... God's people are the salt of the earth"—and salt "must be mingled with that which is to be preserved" — sanctification is daily victory in the world, not escape from it.
• WitnessCIS 31.2. Haskell: in the first apartment "a service was performed daily throughout the year" — the Holy Place ministry is itself a daily ministry; the type teaches the cadence.
• WitnessBHB 48.2. Haskell: "Aaron, the high priest, officiated twice every day, morning and evening, in the first apartment" — morning and evening, day by day: the sanctuary itself preaches the daily walk (SC 70.1).

The new and living way, consecrated through the flesh — CWCP 82.2, 83.3:

• WitnessCWCP 82.2. Jones: "this is the 'new and living way' which Christ, through the flesh, 'hath consecrated for us'... by which every soul may enter into the holiest of all" — the narrow way runs all the way through the Holy Place into the Most Holy.
• WitnessCWCP 83.3. Jones: "He has endowed every soul with divine right to walk in this consecrated way... He has given actual assurance, that every human soul can walk in that way" — Christ, walking it in our flesh, made the walk possible for us; the path that "few find" is open to "every human soul."

The table itself, set on the north — Ex. 25:23, 30; Lev. 24:5-8:

• Ex. 25:23. "Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood" — the first vessel inside the door of the Holy Place, standing on the north side.
  • table of shewbread = the place where the Word of God is set continually before the LORD, the soul's daily food in the sanctified walk (Ex. 25:23, 30; Lev. 24:5-8) — bread of the Presence, never absent from the table.
• Ex. 25:30. "Thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway" — bread of the Presence, kept before God without break; the table is never bare.
• Lev. 24:5-6. "twelve cakes... two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD" — twelve loaves for the twelve tribes; the whole people fed from the one Word.
• Lev. 24:7. "pure frankincense upon each row... for a memorial, even an offering made by fire" — the Word is offered up with incense; reading rises to God as prayer (see "The Altar of Incense — Prayer").
• Lev. 24:8. "Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually" — fresh bread set in order without ceasing; the eating is to be a continual, never a now-and-then thing.
  • shewbread / bread (= the Word, daily) = the Word of God set on the table and eaten continually, by which the soul lives and is renewed (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4; John 6:51, 63) — bread of the Presence, taken fresh every day.

Man lives by the Word — Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4:

• Deut. 8:3. "man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD" — the manna was given to teach that the true bread is the Word.
• Matt. 4:4. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" — Christ in the wilderness answers temptation by feeding on the Word; the Word is His meat and ours.
• Jer. 15:16. "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart" — the prophet eats the Word and it becomes his joy; this is the eating the table teaches.
• 1 Pet. 2:2. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" — the Word is food we grow by; the table feeds the growth of the Holy-Place life.
• PTUK December 31, 1896, page 837.1. Jones: "Even physically, man cannot live on what has no life in it... Whatever we take in the way of food or drink must have in it the element of life" — the Word is living bread because it carries the life of God.
• WitnessEVCO 248.3. Waggoner: "God gave manna to sinful, unbelieving Israel, in order that they might know that man lives 'by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God;' and 'they did all eat the same spiritual meat,' which was Christ" — the manna was Christ, the Word, eaten in figure.
• WitnessLOF_ATJ 38.10. Jones: man shall live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God... it is perfectly plain that He simply said, in other words, Man shall live by faith" — to live by the Word is to live by faith (see “The Gate — Faith”).

The Word is Christ — John 1:1, 14; 6:35, 51, 63:

• John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" — the Word is a Person, and that Person is God.
• John 1:14. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" — the Word took our nature so the bread could be eaten (see "The Nature of Christ").
• John 6:35. "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger" — Christ names Himself the bread the table held in figure.
• John 6:51. "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh" — the bread is His flesh, the Word made flesh.
• John 6:63. "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" — He explains the eating: His words ARE His flesh; to take in the Word is to take in Christ.
• WitnessCHR 8.2. Waggoner, on John 1:1: "He must receive the same honor that is due to God and for the reason that He is God" — the Word eaten is no creature but God Himself.
• WitnessEVCO 243.2. Waggoner: "Life comes only from the Word of God... Man lives only by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" — the Word is the sole channel of life.
• WitnessDA 390.3. White: "The life of Christ that gives life to the world is in His word... The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ" — the Word and the Christ are one bread; the Scriptures show Him.

To eat His flesh is to receive the Word by faith — John 6:53-57; Matt. 26:26:

• John 6:53. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" — there is no life apart from this eating; it is not optional.
• John 6:54. "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" — the eating gives eternal life and resurrection.
• John 6:55. "For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed" — true food, not figure of speech only; the soul is really fed.
• John 6:57. "he that eateth me, even he shall live by me" — the eater lives by Christ as Christ lives by the Father; life passed on, link to link.
• Matt. 26:26. "Take, eat; this is my body" — at the table He hands over the bread that is His body; the supper enacts the eating.
• WitnessEVCO 253.1. Waggoner: "We feed upon Jesus by eating His word; for He is the Word... 'The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life'" — the how of eating is plain: take in the Word.
• WitnessLOF_ATJ 73.2. Jones, quoting John 6:53-54: "This life of Christ we eat and drink by feasting upon his word" — the eating is feeding upon the Word (see “The Gate — Faith”).
• WitnessEVCO 252.1. Waggoner: to the question "How shall I get life?" the answer is "Eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. This is literally true, and covers the whole ground" — eating the Word is the whole answer for this life and the next.
• WitnessDA 389.3. White: "To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive Him as a personal Saviour... It is by beholding His love, by dwelling upon it, by drinking it in, that we are to become partakers of His nature" — beholding and dwelling on Him IS the eating, and the fruit is His nature in us.
• WitnessSC 88.2. White: "Fill the whole heart with the words of God. They are the living water... They are the living bread from heaven" — the same words are bread and water; fill the heart with them.

By the Word eaten the natural is destroyed and the image restored — John 6:63; 17:17:

• John 17:17. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" — the Word eaten is the sanctifier; truth is the agent that transforms (see "The Holy Place — the Daily Walk").
• John 6:63. "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing" — only the Spirit-borne Word gives life; the eating is no mechanical thing.
• WitnessDA 391.1. White: "As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus" — the daily eating is the very means of being changed into His image.
• WitnessCT 374.2. White: "It is life and is to be incorporated into our very existence. Thus received, the word of God will humble man at the footstool of mercy and separate him from every corrupting influence" — the Word taken in becomes part of us and parts us from sin.
• WitnessCOL 129.3. White: "we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh" — the eating is constant, the supply never stale; this is the table's "alway" lived out.
• WitnessEd 126.3. White: "'The words that I speak unto you,' said Jesus, 'they are spirit, and they are life.' 'This is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true God'" — to feed on the Word is to know God, and to know God is life eternal (John 17:3) — the very transformation by knowing (see the governing thread, "The Image of God").
• WitnessDA 660.3. White, on John 6:53-55: "This is true of our physical nature. To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body" — even the bread of the table points back to the broken body of the altar (see “The Altar of Sacrifice — Forgiveness”).

Where to get the bread, and the warning against false bread — 6T 132.2; 1SM 160.3; 1SM 57.3:

• WitnessMB 112.2. White: the prayer for daily bread "includes not only food to sustain the body, but that spiritual bread which will nourish the soul unto life everlasting" — daily bread asked for is daily Word received.
• Witness6T 132.2. White: "In God's word is found wisdom unquestionable, inexhaustible... much of that which God has revealed in His word is dark to men, because the jewels of truth are buried beneath the rubbish of human wisdom and tradition" — the bread is inexhaustible, but tradition buries it; it must be searched out.
• Witness1SM 160.3. White: "Let those who want the bread of life go to the Scriptures, not to the teaching of finite, erring man... Do not mix with your teaching human suppositions and conjectures" — the bread is the Word alone; man's conjecture is not bread.
• Witness1SM 57.3. White: "Tell them to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. Place His Word before them. There will be those who will misinterpret and misrepresent... an entirely wrong meaning will be placed upon the words" — the counterfeit eating twists the words into something else; keep to the plain Word placed before souls.
• WitnessEVCO 231.1. Waggoner: "'The word of God is living and active.'... 'Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live'" — hear the Word and the soul lives; the table's whole lesson in one line.

The lamp that must burn always — Exo. 25:31, 37; 27:20-21; Lev. 24:2, 4:

• Exo. 25:31. "thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches" — one stem and its branches, all "of the same," beaten into shape by the hammer.
  • candlestick = the light of good works, the church holding forth Christ's brightness before men (Matt. 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works"; Rev. 1:20, "the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches"; Zech. 4:2, "a candlestick all of gold... and his seven lamps thereon") — the stand bears the light; it does not make it.
• Exo. 25:37. "thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof... that they may give light over against it" — the lamps are made to give light, not to be hid; that is their whole office.
• Exo. 27:20. "pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always" — the oil is supplied that the flame may never fail.
  • oil = the Holy Spirit, the supply by which the lamp burns (Zech. 4:6, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts"; Zech. 4:2) — the light is the Spirit's, not the vessel's (see "The Altar of Incense — Prayer").
• Exo. 27:21. "Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever" — the priest tends the lamp continually, day after day; the witness is a daily, abiding service.
• Lev. 24:2, 4. "pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually... He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually" — twice "continually": the light is never to go out.
• WitnessTBI 66.2. Smith: "In the holy place, were the candlestick with seven branches, the table of show-bread, and the altar of incense" — the candlestick is furniture of the first apartment, the place of the daily walk.

Christ is the Light; we have none of our own — John 1:4, 9; 8:12; 9:5:

• John 1:4. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men" — the light is the life that is in Christ; light and life are one thing (the Image-thread: He is the Life that restores).
  • light = the life and character of Christ shining out, the Image of God made visible (John 1:4, 9; John 8:12, "I am the light of the world"; 2 Cor. 4:6) — to bear light is to bear His likeness before men.
• John 1:9. "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" — every ray any man has is borrowed from Christ.
• John 8:12. "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" — the lamp's flame is Himself; the follower walks in His light.
• John 9:5. "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" — and that office He hands to His followers (Matt. 5:14), the moon to His sun.
• WitnessMB 40.1. White: "Humanity has in itself no light. Apart from Christ we are like an unkindled taper, like the moon when her face is turned away from the sun... But when we turn toward the Sun of Righteousness... the whole soul is aglow with the brightness of the divine presence." — the taper has no fire of its own; it only reflects.
• WitnessCOL 416.2. White: "Christ, the outshining of the Father's glory, came to the world as its light... anointed 'with the Holy Ghost and with power,' and 'went about doing good.'" — His light WAS His doing good; the lamp and the good works are the same thing.

Ye are the light of the world — Matt. 5:14-16:

• Matt. 5:14. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid" — Christ transfers His own title to His disciples; the lit city cannot be concealed.
• Matt. 5:15. "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house" — the lamp is set on the stand precisely to be seen; hiding it defeats its making.
• Matt. 5:16. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" — the light made visible IS good works, and its end is the Father's glory, not the doer's.
  • good works = the visible fruit of Christ's life in the soul, wrought by His Spirit, that draws others to faith (Eph. 2:10, "created in Christ Jesus unto good works"; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:12; Gal. 5:22-23) — fruit, never root.
• WitnessMB 40.2. White: "Christ's followers are to be more than a light in the midst of men. They are the light of the world... 'As the Father had sent Him into the world, so... have I also sent them into the world.'" — the disciple is sent on Christ's own errand of shining.
• WitnessMB 41.1. White: "Jesus did not bid the disciples, 'Strive to make your light shine;' He said, 'Let it shine.' If Christ is dwelling in the heart, it is impossible to conceal the light of His presence." — the shining is not strained out; it is let out. Where it fails, "the vital power has left them."
• Witness5T 460.2. White: "Everyone who receives the rays of the Sun of Righteousness is to reflect its brightness to all about him... 'Let your light so shine before men.'" — reception obliges reflection; we are not to wait to be solicited.
• Witness5T 381.2. White: "Do not put your light under a bushel, but on a candlestick... 'Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price,' even the precious blood of the Son of God." — the bought servant has no right to hide the light.

Good works are the sign, never the source — Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14; SC 58.3:

• Eph. 2:10. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" — the works are God's prepared path for the new creature, the order being created first, then walking.
• Titus 2:14. "that he might... purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" — the zeal for good works is the FRUIT of being purified, not the price of it.
• WitnessSC 58.3. White: "Those who become new creatures in Christ Jesus will bring forth the fruits of the Spirit... by the faith of the Son of God they will follow in His steps, reflect His character, and purify themselves even as He is pure." — first the new creature, then the fruit; the lamp is lit, then it shines.
• WitnessGTI 104.2. Waggoner: "People take the sign for the substance, the end for the means. They see that righteousness reveals itself in good works; therefore, they assume that the good works bring the righteousness." — the deadly inversion: works reveal righteousness, they do not produce it.
• WitnessCHR 69.1. Waggoner: "God does not adopt us as His children because we are good, but in order that He may make us good" — goodness is the outcome of sonship, not its qualification.
• WitnessWOR 8.4. Waggoner: "True faith is obedience. 'This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom He hath sent.'... A profession of faith in Christ which is not accompanied by obedience, is worthless." — living faith works; an unworking faith is no light at all.
• WitnessWOR 70.2. Waggoner: "'Seest thou how faith wrought?' That is ever the mark of living faith... by faith we establish the law." — the good work is faith's wrought sign, the established law shining in the character.

The works are made by the Spirit, and the glory goes to God — Phil. 2:15; Luke 12:35; MB 44.4; 80.5:

• Phil. 2:15. "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" — the darker the night around, the plainer the lamp.
• Luke 12:35. "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning" — the servant waits with the lamp alight; readiness is a burning lamp.
• WitnessMB 44.4. White: "Trials patiently borne, blessings gratefully received, temptations manfully resisted, meekness, kindness, mercy, and love habitually revealed, are the lights that shine forth in the character" — the lamp is character, not display; its rays are the daily graces.
• WitnessMB 42.3. White: "As the rays of the sun penetrate to the remotest corners of the globe, so God designs that the light of the gospel shall extend to every soul... If the church of Christ were fulfilling the purpose of our Lord, light would be shed upon all that sit in darkness." — the lamp is given for the world's whole circuit.
• WitnessMB 80.5. White: "By their good works, Christ's followers are to bring glory, not to themselves, but to Him... It is through the Holy Spirit that every good work is accomplished, and the Spirit is given to glorify, not the receiver, but the Giver." — the oil's flame returns its praise to the One who supplied it.

The candlestick IS the church holding forth the light — Zech. 4:2-6; Rev. 1:20; SSP 197.2; 367.2; TAR 56.3:

• Zech. 4:2. "a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps" — the lamps are fed from a single bowl through pipes; the supply is one and from above.
• Zech. 4:6. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" — the candlestick's whole secret: the light burns by the Spirit, not by human strength.
• Rev. 1:20. "the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches" — the New Testament reads the figure plainly: candlestick = the church, set to bear the light.
• Isa. 60:1, 3. "Arise, shine; for thy light is come... And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" — the church's shining draws the nations; good works lead others to faith.
• Prov. 4:18. "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" — the lamp grows brighter, not dimmer, along the daily walk.
• WitnessSSP 197.2. Haskell: "By the prophet Zechariah, the church is represented as a golden candlestick having seven branches, each bearing aloft a light for the world. These seven branches receive their oil from a single bowl, and the oil for this bowl is supplied by two olive trees" — the church is the lamp-stand; the oil is supplied to her, never self-generated.
• WitnessSSP 367.2. Haskell: "Christ says of the church, 'Ye are the light of the world.' The Spirit of God shines forth upon the earth through the church." — the Spirit shines THROUGH the candlestick; the church is the medium, not the source.
• WitnessTAR 56.3. Andrews: "God appointed the church to be the light of the world, and at the same time ordained that his Word should be the light of the church." — the lamp is fed by the Word; the candlestick shines because the Table of Shewbread is eaten (see "The Table of Shewbread — the Word").
• Witness5T 455.2. White: "God has called His church in this day, as He called ancient Israel, to stand as a light in the earth. By the mighty cleaver of truth, the messages of the first, second, and third angels, He has separated them" — the present church is the appointed lamp, lit by the three-angels' truth.

The altar named, and burned upon perpetually — Exo. 30:1, 7-8:

• Exo. 30:1. "And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it" — a distinct altar, separate from the altar of sacrifice in the court, standing in the Holy Place before the veil.
  • altar of incense = the place of intercession before God, where prayer is offered (Exo. 30:1, the burning-altar in the Holy Place; Psa. 141:2, "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense"; Rev. 8:3, "the golden altar which was before the throne") — the west-side piece, set apart against the veil.
• Exo. 30:7-8. "Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning... and... at even... a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations" — morning and evening, without break; prayer is not occasional but continual.
• WitnessPP 353.2. White: "The incense, ascending with the prayers of Israel, represents the merits and intercession of Christ, His perfect righteousness, which through faith is imputed to His people, and which can alone make the worship of sinful beings acceptable to God" — "before the holy, an altar of continual atonement." The incense is Christ's righteousness mingled with the prayer; without it no worship is received.

The Bible defines the incense — Psa. 141:2; Rev. 5:8; 8:3-4:

• Psa. 141:2. "Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice" — the inspired equation: prayer = incense.
  • incense (= prayer) = the prayers of the saints ascending to God (Psa. 141:2, prayer set forth "as incense"; Rev. 5:8, "golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints"; Rev. 8:3-4, "much incense... with the prayers of all saints") — the figure the Bible explains in its own words.
• Rev. 5:8. "golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints" — the vials before the Lamb are filled with prayer; Heaven says outright what the incense is.
• Rev. 8:3-4. "there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints... And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand" — the angel adds incense to the prayers; they do not rise alone but fragrant with another's merit.
• WitnessCIS 22.2. Haskell: "He beheld the golden altar, on which, mingled with fragrant incense, the prayers of earthly saints are offered up before God" — the same altar John saw, the prayers mingled, not bare.
• WitnessCIS 61.2. Haskell: "Our prayers, made fragrant by the righteousness of Christ our Saviour, are presented by the Holy Spirit before the Father" — the incense added is Christ's righteousness; the Spirit is the one who presents.
• WitnessCIS 62.1. Haskell: "there is no part of our religious service that brings us so close to the Master as the pouring out of our souls in earnest prayer" — as the incense-offering brought the priest "so directly into the presence of God," so prayer brings us nearest.

What prayer is, and what it does — SC 93.2; GW 254.4, 259.1; Ed 259.1:

• WitnessSC 93.2. White: "Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend... Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him" — prayer changes the one who prays, lifting him toward God.
• WitnessGW 254.4. White: "Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power... Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the Well-spring of life" — the breath without which the soul cannot live.
• WitnessGW 259.1. White: "The greatest victories gained for the cause of God... are gained in the audience chamber with God, when with earnest, agonizing faith men lay hold upon the mighty arm of power" — the work is won on the knees, not in argument or means.
• WitnessEd 259.1. White: "It was in hours of solitary prayer that Jesus in His earth life received wisdom and power" — even the Son drew His wisdom and power from prayer; the disciple follows His example "at dawn and twilight."

Prayer is the way the Spirit is received — Luke 11:13; Matt. 7:7, 11; Jas. 1:5:

• Luke 11:13. "how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" — the gift named at the end of the asking is the Holy Spirit; prayer is the appointed channel by which He is given.
• Matt. 7:7. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened" — the door of every spiritual gift opens to the one who asks.
• Matt. 7:11. "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" — the same promise; Luke names the chief "good thing" as the Spirit.
• Jas. 1:5. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally... and it shall be given him" — wisdom for understanding the Word is itself asked for and given.
• WitnessCOL 419.1. White: "In the great and measureless gift of the Holy Spirit are contained all of heaven's resources... If all were willing to receive, all would become filled with His Spirit" — the supply is unlimited; the only restriction is on our side, in the asking and the willingness.

The Spirit who inspired the Word must open the Word — 2 Pet. 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Cor. 2:10-14:

• 2 Pet. 1:21. "the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" — the Scripture is the Spirit's own product; He breathed it.
• 2 Tim. 3:16. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine... for instruction in righteousness" — God-breathed, and given to instruct in righteousness; the table of the Word is set by the Spirit.
• 1 Cor. 2:10-11. "God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God... the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" — only the Author can disclose the depths of His own book.
• 1 Cor. 2:12, 14. "we have received... the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things... freely given to us" — yet "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit... neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" — without the Spirit the Word stays shut, however learned the reader.
• WitnessGC vii.2. White: "since it was the Spirit of God that inspired the Bible, it is impossible that the teaching of the Spirit should ever be contrary to that of the word" — the Spirit was "promised by our Saviour, to open the word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its teachings"; He never contradicts what He wrote.
• WitnessCOL 113.2. White: "The Holy Spirit... takes the things of God and reveals them to every soul that has an implicit faith in Christ... the vital truths upon which the salvation of the soul depends are impressed upon the mind" — the same Spirit who searches the deep things presses them home, so "the way of life is made so plain that none need err."
• Witness5T 705.1. White: "however learned they may be, they are liable to err in their understanding of Scripture" when "not seeking... to be in harmony with God" — but when "truly seeking to do God's will, the Holy Spirit takes the precepts of His word and makes them the principles of the life" — understanding is moral before it is mental; the seeking heart is the one taught (see "The Table of Shewbread — Eating the Word").
• WitnessWOR 21.2. Waggoner: "Question the text closely. Probe it again and again, always in a reverent, prayerful spirit, to make it reveal itself... it is the word of God, and... it is infinite in its depth" — the Word yields itself to prayer, not to mere study; the probing is "prayerful."

Without Me ye can do nothing — John 15:5; SC 69.1; 1SM 381.2; CWCP 49.1:

• John 15:5. "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" — the branch bears nothing of itself; fruit is the life of the Vine flowing through, and the flow is severed without abiding.
• WitnessSC 69.1. White: "they seek by their own efforts to live aright. But every such effort must fail. Jesus says, 'Without Me ye can do nothing'... all depend upon our union with Christ" — the man who would walk and bear fruit by his own strength fails; the candlestick cannot shine of itself (see "The Candlestick — Good Works / Our Light").
• Witness1SM 381.2. White: "God does nothing for man without his cooperation... From first to last man is to be a laborer together with God" — "without me ye can do nothing" does not excuse idleness; man works, but only as joined to Christ.
• WitnessCWCP 49.1. Jones: "in the weakness and infirmity of the flesh,—ours which He took—He was as is the man who is without God... it is only without Him that men can do nothing. With Him and through Him... 'I can do all things'" — Christ took our nature and lived dependent, "as the man who is without God," that in Him our dependence might be supplied; the same union that bore fruit in Him bears it in us.

The Spirit is how Christ Himself abides in us — John 14:16-18; 16:13-14; Rom. 8:26-27; Eph. 6:18; Jude 20:

• John 14:16-17. "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth... he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" — the abiding of the Vine in the branch is by the Spirit given; "he shall be in you" is how "I in him" of John 15:5 is accomplished.
• John 14:18. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" — Christ's coming to the disciple and the Spirit's indwelling are one thing; to have the Spirit is to have Christ.
• John 16:13-14. "the Spirit of truth... will guide you into all truth... He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" — the Spirit teaches nothing of His own; He takes Christ's and shows it, which is exactly the opening of the Word.
• Rom. 8:26-27. "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" — even the prayer that rises as incense is shaped by the Spirit within; "he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
• Eph. 6:18. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" — the praying itself is "in the Spirit"; the incense is kindled by the same fire it carries up.
• Jude 1:20. "building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost" — the soul is built up by faith and Spirit-wrought prayer together.
• WitnessCHR 76.1. Waggoner: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God... This Spirit... is the Comforter that Jesus promised. John 14:16" — the Comforter of John 14 is the witnessing Spirit of Romans 8; the indwelling and the assurance are one gift.

The verse that names the work — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24:

• 1 Th. 5:23. "the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and... your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless" — the whole man set apart, whole and entire.
  • sanctification = the lifelong setting-apart of the whole man — spirit, soul, and body — by which God restores His image in the believer, changing him from glory to glory until he is like Christ (1 Th. 5:23; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1SM 317.2, "the work of sanctification is the work of a lifetime"; COL 65.2, "Sanctification is the work of a lifetime") — the daily walk of the Holy Place.
• 1 Th. 5:24. "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" — the work is God's; He who begins it performs it.
• Phil. 1:6. "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" — God's work, carried to the day of Christ; sanctification is not man's achievement but His finishing.
• WitnessCWCP 80.2. Jones: "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" — the will of God IS the believer's sanctification, wrought by the one offering.

The law of the change: by beholding we become changed — 2 Corinthians 3:18:

• 2 Cor. 3:18. "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" — the master-text: sight of the glory transforms into the image.
  • glass / mirror = the law, the transcript of God's character, in which His glory is seen (1SM 240.3, "the glory of Christ is revealed in the law, which is a transcript of His character") — and the same word reflected back as God's mirror for self (1SM 317.2, "every defect of character must be discerned in God's great mirror").
• WitnessGC 555.1. White: "It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed... It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence" — a fixed law of the soul; the mind takes the shape of what it loves.
• WitnessMB 85.1. White: "by looking unto Jesus we shall become assimilated to His image. By beholding we become changed" — the change is wrought by the look, the daily companion.
• WitnessCOL 355.1. White: "Looking unto Jesus we obtain brighter and more distinct views of God, and by beholding we become changed... we develop a character which is the counterpart of the divine character" — the counterpart, the restored image.
• Witness5T 744.3. White: "by contemplating the perfection of the divine character and claiming the righteousness of Christ as ours by faith, we are to be transformed into the same image" — beholding joined to faith's claim transforms.
• WitnessAA 559.1. White: in John, "Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, he is changed from glory to glory, until he is like Him whom he adores" — the same law worked the transformation of character in a man.

The work is the restoration of the marred image — Ed 15.2; DA 37.3:

• WitnessEd 15.2. White: "Through sin the divine likeness was marred, and well-nigh obliterated... To restore in man the image of his Maker... this was to be the work of redemption" — sanctification is redemption's restoring work, the image brought back.
• WitnessDA 37.3. White: "Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker... to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character" — Christ alone can fashion the ruined character anew. (See "The Image of God — What Was Lost.")
• 2 Cor. 4:16. "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" — the renewing is DAILY, even as the outer man fails.
• Col. 3:9-10. "ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" — the new man renewed back into the Creator's image, by knowledge.
• Eph. 4:22-24. "put off... the old man, which is corrupt... and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and... put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" — off with the old, on with the new, renewed in the mind.
  • old man / new man = the corrupt fallen self put off, and the Christ-formed self put on, created in righteousness (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:9-10; GTI 156.1, "we put on the new man... He alone is the real man, the Man Christ Jesus").
• WitnessGTI 156.1. Waggoner: "In putting on Christ, we put on the new man... He alone is the real man, the Man Christ Jesus. Outside of Him there is no real manhood" — the new man IS Christ formed within; manhood restored is His nature put on.

The daily walk: Pray, Read, Do — Luke 9:23; Romans 12:1-2; John 17:17:

• Luke 9:23. "let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" — the cross is taken up DAILY, as the sanctuary service was daily. (See "The Holy Place — the Daily Walk to Heaven.")
• Rom. 12:1. "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" — the body laid on the altar daily; the living sacrifice that is the daily service.
• Rom. 12:2. "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" — transformation by the renewed mind, not conformity to the world.
• WitnessWOR 183.4. Waggoner: "Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds"; the true Christian is the real non-conformist — when he adopts worldly methods he dishonors the name.
• John 17:17. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" — truth is the sanctifier; the Word read is the means of the change. (See "The Table of Shewbread — Eating the Word.")
• WitnessMB 85.1. White: of secret prayer — "as we make Christ our daily companion... by looking unto Jesus we shall become assimilated to His image" — prayer is the daily looking. (See "The Altar of Incense — Prayer.")

It is the growth of a lifetime, ever toward perfection — 2 Peter 1:4-7; Proverbs 4:18:

• 2 Pet. 1:4. "partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world" — the new nature received, the corruption left behind.
  • divine nature = Christ's own nature imparted to the believer through the precious promises, escaping the world's corruption (2 Pet. 1:4; 1SM 240.3, "made partakers of the divine nature, and grow more and more like their Saviour") — defined in "The Laver — Power Over Sin."
• 2 Pet. 1:5-7. "add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge... temperance... patience... godliness... brotherly kindness... charity" — grace built upon grace, the ladder of growth.
• 2 Pet. 3:18. "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" — the standing command: grow.
• WitnessCOL 65.2. White: "As in nature, so in grace; there can be no life without growth... At every stage of development our life may be perfect; yet... there will be continual advancement. Sanctification is the work of a lifetime" — perfect at each stage, yet ever advancing; the plant must grow or die.
• Witness1SM 317.2. White: "The work of sanctification is the work of a lifetime; it must go on continually... As a miner digs for gold and silver, so the follower of Christ will seek for truth... and will press from light to a greater light" — continual, and choked the moment any light on truth is rejected.
• Witness1SM 240.3. White: men "grow more and more like their Saviour, advancing step by step in conformity to the will of God, till they reach perfection" — step by step to the goal.
• Prov. 4:18. "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" — the just walk a brightening path: more and more, to the perfect day.
• WitnessML 267.2. White: "The formation of a right character is the work of a lifetime... The excellence of character that you possess must be the result of your own effort... You must climb" — the lifetime's effort, the climb.
• WitnessTMR 136.2. Andrews: "Growth in grace... If we would be final overcomers and stand upon Mount Zion, we must be daily overcoming the great foe of our souls... improve the gracious opportunity now granted us to perfect holiness" — daily overcoming, perfecting holiness, to stand on Zion.

The goal named: perfection, the image fully restored — Matthew 5:48; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14:

• Matt. 5:48. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" — the standard is the Father's own perfection: the image fully restored.
• WitnessCWCP 81.1. Jones: "Sanctification is the true keeping of all the commandments of God... This law is perfect, and perfection of character is the perfect expression of this law in the life of the worshiper" — sanctification = the law perfectly expressed in the life; the character a perfect reflection.
• 2 Cor. 7:1. "let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" — holiness perfected, the cleansing that is the worshiper's part.
• Heb. 12:14. "Follow... holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" — holiness is the condition of seeing God; no man enters His presence without it. (See "The Most Holy Place — Glorification.")
• James 1:4. "let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" — patience's perfect work brings the man perfect and entire.
• Phil. 3:12-14. "Not as though I had already attained... but I follow after... I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" — never "arrived," ever pressing; the posture of the sanctified life until glory.
• WitnessCHR 30.2. Waggoner: "What wonderful possibilities there are for the Christian! To what heights of holiness he may attain!... The One stronger than Satan may dwell in his heart continually" — the heights are real, because the indwelling Christ is the One stronger than the foe.
• WitnessMH 425.4. White, citing the master-text: "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" — the whole work in one sentence: behold, and be changed into His image.

No sin can stand in the presence — Isa. 33:14-16:

• Isa. 33:14. "The sinners in Zion are afraid... Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" — the question of the Most Holy Place: who can stand where God dwells?
  • most holy place = glorification, the standing of the redeemed in the unveiled presence of God (Isa. 33:14-16; Jude 1:24, "to present you faultless before the presence of his glory"; GC 676.4, "we shall see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between") — the third compartment, the end of the plan.
  • consuming fire = the manifested glory and presence of God, which no sin can survive (Deut. 4:24, "the LORD thy God is a consuming fire"; Heb. 12:29; Exod. 24:17, "the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire") — His presence is the fire.
• Isa. 33:15-16. "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly... shall dwell on high" — only the righteous dwell with the everlasting burnings; the fire that consumes the sinner is the home of the holy.
• WitnessPK 725.4. White: "In that day only the righteous are promised deliverance," quoting Isaiah 33:14-16 whole — the consuming fire is deliverance to the upright, terror to the hypocrite.
• Exod. 24:17. "the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount" — the same fire on Sinai that the people could not approach.
• WitnessPP 339.2. White: at Sinai "the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire," and at Christ's coming "the whole earth shall be ablaze with the terrible light of His presence" — the Sinai fire is the coming-glory.
• Heb. 12:14. "holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" — and Matt. 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" — purity is the prerequisite of the presence.

Yet the flesh remains sinful — Rom. 8:3:

• Rom. 8:3. "what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" — the law could not save through the flesh, for the flesh is weak; the courtyard forgives and the holy place sanctifies the heart, but this body is still "sinful flesh."
  • flesh = the fallen, sinful nature, weak and not yet changed, carried even by the sanctified until His coming (Rom. 8:3; cf. the holy place's daily walk in "The Holy Place — Sanctification") — the unfinished work, awaiting glorification.
• WitnessCHR 26.1. Waggoner: Christ came "in the likeness of sinful flesh," reading "what Paul says concerning the nature of that flesh" — He bore our very nature, condemning sin in the flesh He took.
• WitnessCWCP 44.3. Jones: "Christ taking our nature as our nature is in its sinfulness and degeneracy, and God dwelling constantly with Him and in Him in that nature" — God demonstrated in Christ's flesh that He will dwell with the most sin-laden to save him; what was proved in Christ's flesh is completed in ours.

At His coming the flesh itself is changed — 1 Cor. 15:51-53:

• 1 Cor. 15:51-52. "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" — the flesh that Romans calls sinful is changed at the last trump.
• 1 Cor. 15:53. "this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" — corruptible flesh puts on incorruption; the body, not the soul, is the thing transformed.
• WitnessGC 322.1. White: "At His coming the righteous dead will be raised, and the righteous living will be changed," quoting 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 — the change is at the coming, not before.
• WitnessGC 645.1. White: "The living righteous are changed 'in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye'... now they are made immortal" — the change is the granting of immortality.
• WitnessAA 320.2. White: "all the sleeping saints are to be raised, henceforth to live forever," quoting 1 Cor. 15:51-53 — the resurrection morn puts on incorruption.
• WitnessSEADV 4.1. White (James): "the living righteous will be changed to immortality... at the last trump," quoting the mystery — the trumpet that changes mortal to immortal.
• WitnessEW 287.1. White: the sleeping saints "came forth clothed with glorious immortality, crying, 'Victory, victory, over death and the grave!'" — the resurrection of the just clothed in immortality.
• Witness1SM 304.2. White: Lazarus and the others Christ raised "continued to be subject to death," but those raised at Christ's resurrection "were raised to everlasting life" — only the glorified resurrection is incorruptible.
• WitnessECE 112.1. Jones: "the immortality of both soul and body... God only hath immortality" — immortality is bought for the body, given at the last trump, not native to man.

We shall be like Him — 1 John 3:2-3; Phil. 3:20-21:

• 1 John 3:2. "now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" — the image lost in sin is fully restored: we become like Him by seeing Him.
• 1 John 3:3. "every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" — the hope of glorification drives the sanctifying purification now.
• WitnessDA 113.2. White: quoting 1 John 3:2, "when He shall appear, we shall be like Him... Our Redeemer has opened the way so that the most sinful... may find access to the Father" — the likeness is the access restored.
• WitnessMB 104.4. White: "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ... we shall be like Him," joining 1 John 3:2 to Romans 8:17 — glorified together with Christ.
• WitnessEd 309.2. White: "when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" — beholding completes the change.
• Phil. 3:20-21. "from whence also we look for the Saviour... Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body" — the vile body is fashioned like His glorious body, the flesh of Romans 8:3 made like Christ glorified.
• WitnessEVCO 210.2. Waggoner: "When the Lord comes the second time He 'shall change our vile body'... The power by which our bodies will be changed... is the power by which our sins are subdued" — the resurrection-power that glorifies the body is the same power that subdues sin now.
• Col. 3:4. "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" — appearing with Him in glory.
• 2 Cor. 3:18. "beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" — the beholding that transforms in sanctification reaches its consummation when we see Him as He is (cf. "The Holy Place — Sanctification").
• WitnessCOL 69.1. White: "When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own" — the image perfected in character precedes the coming that perfects the flesh.

Presented faultless before the throne — Jude 1:24-25:

• Jude 1:24. "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" — He presents us faultless before the consuming-fire presence, with joy.
• Jude 1:25. "To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power" — the doxology of the completed plan.
• WitnessGTI 21.1. Waggoner: "He 'is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory'... He did not die in vain. Deliverance is ours" — the presentation is the guaranteed end of the plan.
• Ps. 17:15. "I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" — the satisfied awaking into His likeness.
• Rev. 22:4. "they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads" — the face of God seen, His character (name) borne in full.
• WitnessGC 676.4. White: "we shall see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in His presence and behold the glory of His countenance" — the Most Holy Place reached: open, unveiled communion in the presence.

Man was made in the image — Gen. 1:26-27; 5:3:

• Gen. 1:26. "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" — man's whole reason for being is to reflect the likeness and glory of his Maker.
  • image of God — defined in "The Image of God — What Was Lost."
• Gen. 1:27. "in the image of God created he him" — the image stated twice for certainty; what the Fall undoes is exactly this.
• Gen. 5:3. Adam "begat a son in his own likeness, after his image" — after the Fall the descent is no longer God's image but Adam's fallen one, transmitted from father to son.
• WitnessEVCO 31.8. Waggoner quotes the creation charge: "in the image of God created He him" — the image is man's design and dominion from the first.
• WitnessECE 593.1. Jones: God "intended that they should ever and forever reflect the image and glory of Him who created them" — the design was perpetual reflection.

The image was marred, not the body only — Isa. 59:2; Rom. 3:23:

• Isa. 59:2. "your iniquities have separated between you and your God" — the first effect of the marred image is severed presence (defined in "The Image of God — What Was Lost").
• Rom. 3:23. "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" — every man falls short of the glory, which is the image (Exo. 33:18-19).
• WitnessECE 593.2. Jones: "But they sinned. The glory departed. The image of God was gone... they no longer reflected the image and glory of God, but the image and shame of another." — the Fall did not erase man's nature; it swapped the pattern he reflects.
• WitnessPP 595.2. White: "Sin has marred and well-nigh obliterated the image of God in man." — marred and well-nigh obliterated, but never beyond God's power to restore.
• WitnessEd 15.2. White: "Through sin the divine likeness was marred... Yet the race was not left without hope. By infinite love and mercy the plan of salvation had been devised, and a life of probation was granted. To restore in man the image of his Maker..." — and here the whole plan is named by its single object.

The law is the image — the teacher that shows the marring — 1 John 4:8; Gal. 3:24; GC 467:

• 1 John 4:8. "God is love" — God's essence is love, and His law is the written form of that love (Ed 16.1, White reads love as "the basis of creation and of redemption").
• 1 John 3:4. "sin is the transgression of the law" — therefore whatever mars the character of God is sin; the law measures the image (defined in "The Law — the Image of God in Precept").
• Gal. 3:24. "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" — the law is the image as teacher: it shows the standard and drives the convicted to the Life.
• WitnessCHR 48.2. Waggoner: "Since the law is the righteousness of God — a transcript of His character" — the law is the image of God in precept.
• WitnessECE 575.1. Jones: "the law of God is only the transcript of the character of God; it is but the reflection of himself." — to change the law would be to change God; the standard cannot bend.
• WitnessGC 467.3. White: the law "is a mirror which shows the perfection of a righteous character and enables him to discern the defects in his own." — the image, held up as a glass, reveals the marring it cannot mend.
• WitnessGC 467.4. White: "The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy... The gospel of Christ alone can free him." — the teacher delivers the man to the Life and goes no further.

Christ is the express image — the Life that restores — Heb. 1:3; John 1:1; 14:6; 10:10:

• John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word... and the Word was God" — the Restorer is the Creator who made the image in the first place.
• Heb. 1:3. "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person" — Christ is the image undimmed; in Him the pattern stands whole (defined in "Christ — the Express Image and the Life").
• WitnessCWCP 13.4. Jones quotes Heb. 1:3 of the Son: "the very impress of His substance" — the express image is no copy but the substance itself.
• WitnessCHR 25.1. Waggoner: though "the express image of His Person," Christ "emptied Himself... in order that He might redeem him." — the express image stooped to redeem the marred one.
• John 14:6. "I am the way, the truth, and the life" — the express image is Himself the Life that the law could only point to.
• John 10:10. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" — the Life He gives, rightly understood, is the image restored in man.
• WitnessAG 11.5. White: "Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin." — Christ alone reshapes "the marred character after the pattern of His divine character."
• WitnessCIS 104.3. Haskell: it is "a far greater work to take the earth marred by sin... and re-create them, bringing them really to a higher state of perfection than when they first came from the hand of the Creator." — restoration outdoes creation.
  • restoration (of the image) = the whole work of the plan of salvation — the re-creating of God's marred image (His character, His likeness) in man, by Christ the express image, through the Spirit, until the believer reflects God as Adam did and more (Ed 15.2, the plan "to restore in man the image of his Maker"; AG 11.5, "Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker"; CIS 104.3, re-created "to a higher state of perfection than when they first came from the hand of the Creator"; Rom. 8:29, "conformed to the image of his Son").

Truth is the sanctifier — the daily change from glory to glory — John 17:17; 2 Cor. 3:18:

• John 17:3. "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ" — to know God is to receive His life, for knowing Him remakes the image (defined in "Knowing God Is Life").
• John 17:17. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" — truth is the instrument of the restoring; the Word is the means (defined in "Truth — the Sanctifier").
• 2 Cor. 3:18. "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" — the restoration is by beholding; the image is reproduced by looking at it.
• Witness12MR 55.3. White: "By beholding, we become changed — morally assimilated to the One who is perfect in character." — the law's mirror showed the defect; Christ's glass works the cure.
• Witness8T 322.1. White: "As sin is purged from our hearts, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ... more and more fully will declare Him 'merciful and gracious.'" — Exodus 34's proclaimed name is what the cleansed soul comes to reflect.
• WitnessEVCO 335.1. Waggoner: the lost are those in whom "the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn" — the gospel's whole content is the image of God in Christ.
• WitnessCOL 384.1. White: "The sanctification of the soul by the working of the Holy Spirit is the implanting of Christ's nature in humanity." — the change is the implanting of His nature, wrought out in character.
• WitnessSC 62.3. White: "Christ changes the heart. He abides in your heart by faith." — the restoring is not self-improvement but Christ within, by faith and the surrender of the will.

The sanctuary is the structure; the end is the image whole — Exo. 25:8; Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24; Rom. 8:29; 1 John 3:2:

• Exo. 25:8. "let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" — the sanctuary exists to reverse the separation of Isa. 59:2; its three rooms are the three stages of the one restoration (defined in "The Sanctuary — the Structure of Restoration").
• Col. 3:10. "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" — the new man is the image renewed, and renewed "in knowledge," by the truth.
• Eph. 4:24. "the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" — justification's robe and sanctification's holiness, both named as the new-created image.
• WitnessGTI 200.1. Waggoner: "Christ came to restore that which was lost... the liberty wherewith He makes us free is the liberty that existed before the curse came." — restoration carries man back behind the curse, to Eden's standing.
• WitnessDA 671.3. White: "The very image of God is to be reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people." — God's own honor is staked on the finished image.
• Eph. 4:13. "till we all come... unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" — sanctification's daily walk aims at the full stature, the image grown up.
• WitnessLOF_ATJ 79.3. Jones: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" — God "has given us, everyone, all the grace that He has... that every man may be presented perfect in Christ Jesus." — the perfection commanded is the grace supplied.
• Rom. 8:29. "conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" — the foreordained end of every believer is the image of Christ, and Christ first among a restored family.
• 1 John 3:2. "when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" — glorification finishes what justification began and sanctification advanced: by seeing Him we are made like Him, the image whole at last.
• WitnessPP 595.3. White: the character "whose likeness we are to receive" is "benevolence and love"; every faculty is "to be employed for His glory." — the restored image is the restored law, love lived out — the whole circle closed.