EGW Writings1 Corinthians 15

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 69, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 69, 1897, par. 3

“Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.” [1 Corinthians 14:20.] “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied; for greater is he that prophesieth then he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. Now brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except that I shall speak to you by revelation or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, concept they give a distinction in so the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?” [Verses 4-7.] “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” [1 Corinthians 15:1, 2.]

12LtMs, Lt 69, 1897, par. 5

Paul was approaching the end, when his work was to be rounded off, when these words were spoken. The church to which they were addressed was composed of strange characteristics, which the Lord saw must have sharp treatment. We cannot possibly have a changing religion. The gospel is to be proclaimed and personally received. A general as sent is not enough. There must be an intelligent heart reception of the truth wherein the receiver must stand and perseveringly communicate to others the knowledge received. The truth must be practiced in every respect, holding fast the Word of life, “by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” [Verse 2.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Lt 224, 1906

21LtMs, Lt 224, 1906, par. 4

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I have preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” [1 Corinthians 15:1-4.]

Life Sketches of Ellen G. White

At the Grave

LS 479.3

Elder I. H. Evans read the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, as recorded in the eleventh chapter of John. Jesus has declared: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” Elder Evans also read, from the apostle Paul’s inspired testimony in 1 Corinthians 15, many positive and comforting assurances concerning the resurrection of the righteous. “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.” “In Christ shall all be made alive.” “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 80, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 80, 1902, par. 1

I have read your last letter to me, and the copy of your letter to Brother Shireman. I hope that Brother Shireman will listen to the counsel of his brethren. This will be his safety and his strength. The Lord has not qualified any one of us to bear the burden of the work alone. He has associated together men of different minds, that they may counsel with and assist one another. In this way the deficiency in the experience and the abilities of one is supplied by the experience and the abilities of another. We should all study carefully the instruction given in Corinthians and Ephesians regarding our relation to one another as members of the body of Christ.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Ms 141, 1904

19LtMs, Ms 141, 1904, par. 2

Thank the Lord this morning I have had better rest and sleep the past night, Thursday, than several nights past. I praise the Lord for His great goodness and mercy to me. I open to 1 Corinthians this morning. In this is a lesson for every household and every church. May the words of the apostle encourage us to meet and be thankful that it is our privilege to place ourselves in right relation to God. The letter written by the great apostle Paul comes down the line to our time.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 128, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 128, 1906, par. 1

On Sabbath day, Elder Haskell spoke to our people in the old Oakland church building, which was mercifully spared us. Sister Haskell spoke to a company assembled at Alameda. Brother Dores Robinson spoke to the Berkeley church. In the afternoon I filled an appointment in Oakland. We had a large, commodious meeting room, which was well filled. I brought before the hearers lessons from the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)

Ms 129, 1907

22LtMs, Ms 129, 1907, par. 1

On Sabbath day, Elder Haskell spoke to our people in the old Oakland church building, which was mercifully spared us. Sister Haskell spoke to a company assembled at Alameda. Brother Dores Robinson spoke to the Berkeley church. In the afternoon I filled an appointment in Oakland. We had a large, commodious meeting room, which was well filled. I brought before the hearers lessons from the first epistle to the Corinthians.

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 29—A Message of Warning and Entreaty

AA 298.1

The first epistle to the Corinthian church was written by the apostle Paul during the latter part of his stay at Ephesus. For no others had he felt a deeper interest or put forth more untiring effort than for the believers in Corinth. For a year and a half he had labored among them, pointing them to a crucified and risen Saviour as the only means of salvation, and urging them to rely implicitly on the transforming power of His grace. Before accepting into church fellowship those who made a profession of Christianity, he had been careful to give them special instruction as to the privileges and duties of the Christian believer, and he had earnestly endeavored to help them to be faithful to their baptismal vows.

AA 298.2

Paul had a keen sense of the conflict which every soul must wage with the agencies of evil that are continually seeking to deceive and ensnare, and he had worked untiringly to strengthen and confirm those who were young in the faith. He had entreated them to make an entire surrender to God; for he knew that when the soul fails to make this surrender, then sin is not forsaken, the appetites and passions still strive for the mastery, and temptations confuse the conscience.

AA 299.1

The surrender must be complete. Every weak, doubting, struggling soul who yields fully to the Lord is placed in direct touch with agencies that enable him to overcome. Heaven is near to him, and he has the support and help of angels of mercy in every time of trial and need.

AA 299.2

The members of the church at Corinth were surrounded by idolatry and sensuality of the most alluring form. While the apostle was with them, these influences had but little power over them. Paul’s firm faith, his fervent prayers and earnest words of instruction, and, above all, his godly life had helped them to deny self for Christ’s sake rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin.

AA 299.3

After the departure of Paul, however, unfavorable conditions arose; tares that had been sown by the enemy appeared among the wheat, and erelong these began to bring forth their evil fruit. This was a time of severe trial to the Corinthian church. The apostle was no longer with them to quicken their zeal and aid them in their endeavors to live in harmony with God, and little by little many became careless and indifferent, and allowed natural tastes and inclinations to control them. He who had so often urged them to high ideals of purity and uprightness was no longer with them, and not a few who, at the time of their conversion, had put away their evil habits, returned to the debasing sins of heathenism.

AA 300.1

Paul had written briefly to the church, admonishing them “not to company” with members who should persist in profligacy; but many of the believers perverted the apostle’s meaning, quibbled over his words, and excused themselves for disregarding his instruction.

AA 300.2

A letter was sent to Paul by the church, asking for counsel concerning various matters, but saying nothing of the grievous sins existing among them. The apostle was, however, forcibly impressed by the Holy Spirit that the true state of the church had been concealed and that this letter was an attempt to draw from him statements which the writers could construe to serve their own purposes.

AA 300.3

About this time there came to Ephesus members of the household of Chloe, a Christian family of high repute in Corinth. Paul asked them regarding the condition of things, and they told him that the church was rent by divisions. The dissensions that had prevailed at the time of Apollos’s visit had greatly increased. False teachers were leading the members to despise the instructions of Paul. The doctrines and ordinances of the gospel had been perverted. Pride, idolatry, and sensualism, were steadily increasing among those who had once been zealous in the Christian life.

AA 300.4

As this picture was presented before him, Paul saw that his worst fears were more than realized. But he did not because of this give way to the thought that his work had been a failure. With “anguish of heart” and with “many tears” he sought counsel from God. Gladly would he have visited Corinth at once, had this been the wisest course to pursue. But he knew that in their present condition the believers would not profit by his labors, and therefore he sent Titus to prepare the way for a visit from himself later on. Then, putting aside all personal feelings over the course of those whose conduct revealed such strange perverseness, and keeping his soul stayed upon God, the apostle wrote to the church at Corinth one of the richest, most instructive, most powerful of all his letters.

AA 301.1

With remarkable clearness he proceeded to answer the various questions brought forward by the church, and to lay down general principles, which, if heeded, would lead them to a higher spiritual plane. They were in peril, and he could not bear the thought of failing at this critical time to reach their hearts. Faithfully he warned them of their dangers and reproved them for their sins. He pointed them again to Christ and sought to kindle anew the fervor of their early devotion.

AA 301.2

The apostle’s great love for the Corinthian believers was revealed in his tender greeting to the church. He referred to their experience in turning from idolatry to the worship and service of the true God. He reminded them of the gifts of the Holy Spirit which they had received, and showed that it was their privilege to make continual advancement in the Christian life until they should attain to the purity and holiness of Christ. “In everything ye are enriched by Him,” he wrote, “in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

AA 302.1

Paul spoke plainly of the dissensions that had arisen in the Corinthian church, and exhorted the members to cease from strife. “I beseech you, brethren,” he wrote, “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

AA 302.2

The apostle felt at liberty to mention how and by whom he had been informed of the divisions in the church. “It hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.”

AA 302.3

Paul was an inspired apostle. The truths he taught to others he had received “by revelation;” yet the Lord did not directly reveal to him at all times just the condition of His people. In this instance those who were interested in the prosperity of the church at Corinth, and who had seen evils creeping in, had presented the matter before the apostle, and from divine revelations which he had formerly received he was prepared to judge of the character of these developments. Notwithstanding the fact that the Lord did not give him a new revelation for that special time, those who were really seeking for light accepted his message as expressing the mind of Christ. The Lord had shown him the difficulties and dangers which would arise in the churches, and, as these evils developed, the apostle recognized their significance. He had been set for the defense of the church. He was to watch for souls as one who must render account to God, and was it not consistent and right for him to take notice of the reports concerning the anarchy and divisions among them? Most assuredly; and the reproof he sent them was as certainly written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God as were any of his other epistles.

AA 303.1

The apostle made no mention of the false teachers who were seeking to destroy the fruit of his labor. Because of the darkness and division in the church, he wisely forbore to irritate them by such references, for fear of turning some entirely from the truth. He called attention to his own work among them as that of “a wise master builder,” who had laid the foundation upon which others had built. But he did not thereby exalt himself; for he declared, “We are laborers together with God.” He claimed no wisdom of his own, but acknowledged that divine power alone had enabled him to present the truth in a manner pleasing to God. United with Christ, the greatest of all teachers, Paul had been enabled to communicate lessons of divine wisdom, which met the necessities of all classes, and which were to apply at all times, in all places, and under all conditions.

AA 303.2

Among the more serious of the evils that had developed among the Corinthian believers, was that of a return to many of the debasing customs of heathenism. One former convert had so far backslidden that his licentious course was a violation of even the low standard of morality held by the Gentile world. The apostle pleaded with the church to put away from among them “that wicked person.” “Know ye not,” he admonished them, “that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.”

AA 304.1

Another grave evil that had arisen in the church was that of brethren going to law against one another. Abundant provision had been made for the settlement of difficulties among believers. Christ Himself had given plain instruction as to how such matters were to be adjusted. “If thy brother shall trespass against thee,” the Saviour had counseled, “go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:15-18.

AA 304.2

To the Corinthian believers who had lost sight of this plain counsel, Paul wrote in no uncertain terms of admonition and rebuke. “Dare any of you,” he asked, “having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? ... Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?”

AA 305.1

Satan is constantly seeking to introduce distrust, alienation, and malice among God’s people. We shall often be tempted to feel that our rights are invaded, even when there is no real cause for such feelings. Those whose love for self is stronger than their love for Christ and His cause will place their own interests first and will resort to almost any expedient to guard and maintain them. Even many who appear to be conscientious Christians are hindered by pride and self-esteem from going privately to those whom they think in error, that they may talk with them in the spirit of Christ and pray together for one another. When they think themselves injured by their brethren, some will even go to law instead of following the Saviour’s rule.

AA 305.2

Christians should not appeal to civil tribunals to settle differences that may arise among church members. Such differences should be settled among themselves, or by the church, in harmony with Christ’s instruction. Even though injustice may have been done, the follower of the meek and lowly Jesus will suffer himself “to be defrauded” rather than open before the world the sins of his brethren in the church.

AA 306.1

Lawsuits between brethren are a reproach to the cause of truth. Christians who go to law with one another expose the church to the ridicule of her enemies and cause the powers of darkness to triumph. They are wounding Christ afresh and putting Him to open shame. By ignoring the authority of the church, they show contempt for God, who gave to the church its authority.

AA 306.2

In this letter to the Corinthians Paul endeavored to show them Christ’s power to keep them from evil. He knew that if they would comply with the conditions laid down, they would be strong in the strength of the Mighty One. As a means of helping them to break away from the thralldom of sin and to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord, Paul urged upon them the claims of Him to whom they had dedicated their lives at the time of their conversion. “Ye are Christ’s,” he declared. “Ye are not your own.... Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

AA 306.3

The apostle plainly outlined the result of turning from a life of purity and holiness to the corrupt practices of heathenism. “Be not deceived,” he wrote; “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, ... nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” He begged them to control the lower passions and appetites. “Know ye not,” he asked, “that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?”

AA 307.1

While Paul possessed high intellectual endowments, his life revealed the power of a rarer wisdom, which gave him quickness of insight and sympathy of heart, and brought him into close touch with others, enabling him to arouse their better nature and inspire them to strive for a higher life. His heart was filled with an earnest love for the Corinthian believers. He longed to see them revealing an inward piety that would fortify them against temptation. He knew that at every step in the Christian pathway they would be opposed by the synagogue of Satan and that they would have to engage in conflicts daily. They would have to guard against the stealthy approach of the enemy, forcing back old habits and natural inclinations, and ever watching unto prayer. Paul knew that the higher Christian attainments can be reached only through much prayer and constant watchfulness, and this he tried to instill into their minds. But he knew also that in Christ crucified they were offered power sufficient to convert the soul and divinely adapted to enable them to resist all temptations to evil. With faith in God as their armor, and with His word as their weapon of warfare, they would be supplied with an inner power that would enable them to turn aside the attacks of the enemy.

AA 307.2

The Corinthian believers needed a deeper experience in the things of God. They did not know fully what it meant to behold His glory and to be changed from character to character. They had seen but the first rays of the early dawn of that glory. Paul’s desire for them was that they might be filled with all the fullness of God, following on to know Him whose going forth is prepared as the morning, and continuing to learn of Him until they should come into the full noontide of a perfect gospel faith.

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 30—Called to Reach a Higher Standard

AA 309.1

In the hope of impressing vividly upon the minds of the Corinthian believers the importance of firm self-control, strict temperance, and unflagging zeal in the service of Christ, Paul in his letter to them made a striking comparison between the Christian warfare and the celebrated foot races held at stated intervals near Corinth. Of all the games instituted among the Greeks and the Romans, the foot races were the most ancient and the most highly esteemed. They were witnessed by kings, nobles, and statesmen. Young men of rank and wealth took part in them and shrank from no effort or discipline necessary to obtain the prize.

AA 309.2

The contests were governed by strict regulations, from which there was no appeal. Those who desired their names entered as competitors for the prize had first to undergo a severe preparatory training. Harmful indulgence of appetite, or any other gratification that would lower mental or physical vigor, was strictly forbidden. For one to have any hope of success in these trials of strength and speed, the muscles must be strong and supple, and the nerves well under control. Every movement must be certain, every step swift and unswerving; the physical powers must reach the highest mark.

AA 310.1

As the contestants in the race made their appearance before the waiting multitude, their names were heralded, and the rules of the race were distinctly stated. Then they all started together, the fixed attention of the spectators inspiring them with a determination to win. The judges were seated near the goal, that they might watch the race from its beginning to its close and give the prize to the true victor. If a man reached the goal first by taking an unlawful advantage, he was not awarded the prize.

AA 310.2

In these contests great risks were run. Some never recovered from the terrible physical strain. It was not unusual for men to fall on the course, bleeding at the mouth and nose, and sometimes a contestant would drop dead when about to seize the prize. But the possibility of lifelong injury or of death was not looked upon as too great a risk to run for the sake of the honor awarded the successful contestant.

AA 310.3

As the winner reached the goal, the applause of the vast multitude of onlookers rent the air and awoke the echoes of the surrounding hills and mountains. In full view of the spectators, the judge presented him with the emblems of victory—a laurel crown and a palm branch to carry in his right hand. His praise was sung throughout the land; his parents received their share of honor; and even the city in which he lived was held in high esteem for having produced so great an athlete.

AA 311.1

In referring to these races as a figure of the Christian warfare, Paul emphasized the preparation necessary to the success of the contestants in the race—the preliminary discipline, the abstemious diet, the necessity for temperance. “Every man that striveth for the mastery,” he declared, “is temperate in all things.” The runners put aside every indulgence that would tend to weaken the physical powers, and by severe and continuous discipline trained their muscles to strength and endurance, that when the day of the contest should arrive, they might put the heaviest tax upon their powers. How much more important that the Christian, whose eternal interests are at stake, bring appetite and passion under subjection to reason and the will of God! Never must he allow his attention to be diverted by amusements, luxuries, or ease. All his habits and passions must be brought under the strictest discipline. Reason, enlightened by the teachings of God’s word and guided by His Spirit, must hold the reins of control.

AA 311.2

And after this has been done, the Christian must put forth the utmost exertion in order to gain the victory. In the Corinthian games the last few strides of the contestants in the race were made with agonizing effort to keep up undiminished speed. So the Christian, as he nears the goal, will press onward with even more zeal and determination than at the first of his course.

AA 311.3

Paul presents the contrast between the chaplet of fading laurel received by the victor in the foot races, and the crown of immortal glory that will be given to him who runs with triumph the Christian race. “They do it,” he declares, “to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” To win a perishable prize, the Grecian runners spared themselves no toil or discipline. We are striving for a prize infinitely more valuable, even the crown of everlasting life. How much more careful should be our striving, how much more willing our sacrifice and self-denial!

AA 312.1

In the epistle to the Hebrews is pointed out the single-hearted purpose that should characterize the Christian’s race for eternal life: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1, 2. Envy, malice, evil thinking, evilspeaking, covetousness—these are weights that the Christian must lay aside if he would run successfully the race for immortality. Every habit or practice that leads into sin and brings dishonor upon Christ must be put away, whatever the sacrifice. The blessing of heaven cannot attend any man in violating the eternal principles of right. One sin cherished is sufficient to work degradation of character and to mislead others.

AA 312.2

“If thy hand cause thee to stumble,” the Saviour said, “Cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire. And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell.” Mark 9:43-45, R.V. If to save the body from death, the foot or the hand should be cut off, or even the eye plucked out, how much more earnest should the Christian be to put away sin, which brings death to the soul!

AA 313.1

The competitors in the ancient games, after they had submitted to self-denial and rigid discipline, were not even then sure of the victory. “Know ye not,” Paul asked, “that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?” However eagerly and earnestly the runners might strive, the prize could be awarded to but one. One hand only could grasp the coveted garland. Some might put forth the utmost effort to obtain the prize, but as they reached forth the hand to secure it, another, an instant before them, might grasp the coveted treasure.

AA 313.2

Such is not the case in the Christian warfare. Not one who complies with the conditions will be disappointed at the end of the race. Not one who is earnest and persevering will fail of success. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. The weakest saint, as well as the strongest, may wear the crown of immortal glory. All may win who, through the power of divine grace, bring their lives into conformity to the will of Christ. The practice, in the details of life, of the principles laid down in God’s word, is too often looked upon as unimportant—a matter too trivial to demand attention. But in view of the issue at stake, nothing is small that will help or hinder. Every act casts its weight into the scale that determines life’s victory or defeat. And the reward given to those who win will be in proportion to the energy and earnestness with which they have striven.

AA 314.1

The apostle compared himself to a man running in a race, straining every nerve to win the prize. “I therefore so run,” he says, “not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” That he might not run uncertainly or at random in the Christian race, Paul subjected himself to severe training. The words, “I keep under my body,” literally mean to beat back by severe discipline the desires, impulses, and passions.

AA 314.2

Paul feared lest, having preached to others, he himself should be a castaway. He realized that if he did not carry out in his life the principles he believed and preached, his labors in behalf of others would avail him nothing. His conversation, his influence, his refusal to yield to self-gratification, must show that his religion was not a profession merely, but a daily, living connection with God. One goal he kept ever before him, and strove earnestly to reach—“the righteousness which is of God by faith.” Philippians 3:9.

AA 314.3

Paul knew that his warfare against evil would not end so long as life should last. Ever he realized the need of putting a strict guard upon himself, that earthly desires might not overcome spiritual zeal. With all his power he continued to strive against natural inclinations. Ever he kept before him the ideal to be attained, and this ideal he strove to reach by willing obedience to the law of God. His words, his practices, his passions—all were brought under the control of the Spirit of God.

AA 315.1

It was this singlehearted purpose to win the race for eternal life that Paul longed to see revealed in the lives of the Corinthian believers. He knew that in order to reach Christ’s ideal for them, they had before them a life struggle from which there would be no release. He entreated them to strive lawfully, day by day seeking for piety and moral excellence. He pleaded with them to lay aside every weight and to press forward to the goal of perfection in Christ.

AA 315.2

Paul pointed the Corinthians to the experience of ancient Israel, to the blessings that rewarded their obedience, and to the judgments that followed their transgressions. He reminded them of the miraculous way in which the Hebrews were led from Egypt under the protection of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Thus they were safely conducted through the Red Sea, while the Egyptians, essaying to cross in like manner, were all drowned. By these acts God had acknowledged Israel as His church. They “did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” The Hebrews, in all their travels, had Christ as a leader. The smitten rock typified Christ, who was to be wounded for men’s transgressions, that the stream of salvation might flow to all.

AA 315.3

Notwithstanding the favor that God showed to the Hebrews, yet because of their lust for the luxuries left behind in Egypt, and because of their sin and rebellion, the judgments of God came upon them. The apostle enjoined the Corinthian believers to heed the lesson contained in Israel’s experience. “Now these things were our examples,” he declared, “to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” He showed how love of ease and pleasure had prepared the way for sins that called forth the signal vengeance of God. It was when the children of Israel sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play, that they threw off the fear of God, which they had felt as they listened to the giving of the law; and, making a golden calf to represent God, they worshiped it. And it was after enjoying a luxurious feast connected with the worship of Baalpeor, that many of the Hebrews fell through licentiousness. The anger of God was aroused, and at His command “three and twenty thousand” were slain by the plague in one day.

AA 316.1

The apostle adjured the Corinthians, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” Should they become boastful and self-confident, neglecting to watch and pray, they would fall into grievous sin, calling down upon themselves the wrath of God. Yet Paul would not have them yield to despondency or discouragement. He gave them the assurance: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

AA 316.2

Paul urged his brethren to ask themselves what influence their words and deeds would have upon others and to do nothing, however innocent in itself, that would seem to sanction idolatry or offend the scruples of those who might be weak in the faith. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.”

AA 317.1

The apostle’s words of warning to the Corinthian church are applicable to all time and are especially adapted to our day. By idolatry he meant not only the worship of idols, but self-serving, love of ease, the gratification of appetite and passion. A mere profession of faith in Christ, a boastful knowledge of the truth, does not make a man a Christian. A religion that seeks only to gratify the eye, the ear, and the taste, or that sanctions self-indulgence, is not the religion of Christ.

AA 317.2

By a comparison of the church with the human body, the apostle aptly illustrated the close and harmonious relationship that should exist among all members of the church of Christ. “By one Spirit,” he wrote, “are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.... God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

AA 318.1

And then, in words which from that day to this have been to men and women a source of inspiration and encouragement, Paul set forth the importance of that love which should be cherished by the followers of Christ: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

AA 318.2

No matter how high the profession, he whose heart is not filled with love for God and his fellow men is not a true disciple of Christ. Though he should possess great faith and have power even to work miracles, yet without love his faith would be worthless. He might display great liberality; but should he, from some other motive than genuine love, bestow all his goods to feed the poor, the act would not commend him to the favor of God. In his zeal he might even meet a martyr’s death, yet if not actuated by love, he would be regarded by God as a deluded enthusiast or an ambitious hypocrite.

AA 319.1

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” The purest joy springs from the deepest humiliation. The strongest and noblest characters are built on the foundation of patience, love, and submission to God’s will.

AA 319.2

Charity “doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.” Christ-like love places the most favorable construction on the motives and acts of others. It does not needlessly expose their faults; it does not listen eagerly to unfavorable reports, but seeks rather to bring to mind the good qualities of others.

AA 319.3

Love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” This love “never faileth.” It can never lose its value; it is a heavenly attribute. As a precious treasure, it will be carried by its possessor through the portals of the city of God.

AA 319.4

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

AA 319.5

In the lowering of the moral standard among the Corinthian believers, there were those who had given up some of the fundamental features of their faith. Some had gone so far as to deny the doctrine of the resurrection. Paul met this heresy with a very plain testimony regarding the unmistakable evidence of the resurrection of Christ. He declared that Christ, after His death, “rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” after which “He was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve: after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of me also.”

AA 320.1

With convincing power the apostle set forth the great truth of the resurrection. “If there be no resurrection of the dead,” he argued, “then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.”

AA 320.2

The apostle carried the minds of the Corinthian brethren forward to the triumphs of the resurrection morn, when all the sleeping saints are to be raised, henceforth to live forever with their Lord. “Behold,” the apostle declared, “I show you a mystery: 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ... Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

AA 321.1

Glorious is the triumph awaiting the faithful. The apostle, realizing the possibilities before the Corinthian believers, sought to set before them that which uplifts from the selfish and the sensual, and glorifies life with the hope of immortality. Earnestly he exhorted them to be true to their high calling in Christ. “My beloved brethren,” he pleaded, “be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

AA 321.2

Thus the apostle, in the most decided and impressive manner, endeavored to correct the false and dangerous ideas and practices that were prevailing in the Corinthian church. He spoke plainly, yet in love for their souls. In his warnings and reproofs, light from the throne of God was shining upon them, to reveal the hidden sins that were defiling their lives. How would it be received?

AA 321.3

After the letter had been dispatched, Paul feared lest that which he had written might wound too deeply those whom he desired to benefit. He keenly dreaded a further alienation and sometimes longed to recall his words. Those who, like the apostle, have felt a responsibility for beloved churches or institutions, can best appreciate his depression of spirit and self-accusing. The servants of God who bear the burden of His work for this time know something of the same experience of labor, conflict, and anxious care that fell to the lot of the great apostle. Burdened by divisions in the church, meeting with ingratitude and betrayal from some to whom he looked for sympathy and support, realizing the peril of the churches that harbored iniquity, compelled to bear a close, searching testimony in reproof of sin, he was at the same time weighed down with fear that he might have dealt with too great severity. With trembling anxiety he waited to receive some tidings as to the reception of his message.

The Great Controversy

Chapter 33—The First Great Deception

GC 544.2

In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust;” “for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22. But a distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth. “All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29. They who have been “accounted worthy” of the resurrection of life are “blessed and holy.” “On such the second death hath no power.” Revelation 20:6. But those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression—“the wages of sin.” They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, “according to their works,” but finally ending in the second death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to save the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which his transgressions have forfeited and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer: “Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” And another declares: “They shall be as though they had not been.” Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.

GC 546.3

And said Paul: “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:16-18. If for four thousand years the righteous had gone directly to heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if there is no resurrection, “they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished”? No resurrection would be necessary.

GC 547.2

It is an undeniable fact that the hope of immortal blessedness at death has led to a widespread neglect of the Bible doctrine of the resurrection. This tendency was remarked by Dr. Adam Clarke, who said: “The doctrine of the resurrection appears to have been thought of much more consequence among the primitive Christians than it is now! How is this? The apostles were continually insisting on it, and exciting the followers of God to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness through it. And their successors in the present day seldom mention it! So apostles preached, and so primitive Christians believed; so we preach, and so our hearers believe. There is not a doctrine in the gospel on which more stress is laid; and there is not a doctrine in the present system of preaching which is treated with more neglect!”—Commentary, remarks on 1 Corinthians 15, paragraph 3.

GC 549.3

Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10-12. In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken (Ecclesiastes 12:6), man’s thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is done under the sun. Job 14:21. Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.... So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:52-54. As they are called forth from their deep slumber they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Verse 55.

The Review and Herald

June 13, 1893

RH June 13, 1893, par. 6

At the foot of the cross our laborers must learn the lessons to be communicated to the people. Thus will they bring sheaves to Jesus Christ. In the first chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul has given us instruction which every true laborer needs to study, especially the following verses: “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Here is a lesson of special consequence to every worker in the vineyard of the Lord. It will not result in solid work for men to preach to please the ears of the people, while the truth is not held forth in a manner to bring them to the cross of Jesus Christ. The messenger of God must present eternal truths plainly, and keep in distinct view before the people their peril in neglecting eternal interests. While self is kept out of sight, Jesus Christ must be ever lifted up and exalted.

The Review and Herald

November 5, 1901

RH November 5, 1901, par. 8

The first chapter of 1 Corinthians contains instruction which all who are workers together with God should follow. Paul heard that there was contention among the church-members at Corinth, and he wrote to them, saying, “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Those who practice this instruction will reveal in their lives the purity of Christ, and will manifest His love in their dealings with one another.

From Trials to Triumph

Chapter 29—Lawsuits and Sexual Looseness Challenged

TT 159.1

For a year and a half Paul had labored among the believers in Corinth, pointing them to a crucified and risen Saviour and urging them to rely implicitly on the transforming power of His grace. Before accepting them into church fellowship he had been careful to instruct them as to the duties of the Christian believers, and he had endeavored to help them be faithful to their baptismal vows.

TT 159.2

Paul had a keen sense of the conflict every soul must wage with the agencies of evil, and he had worked untiringly to strengthen those young in the faith. He had entreated them to make an entire surrender to God, for he knew that when the soul fails to make an entire surrender, sin is not forsaken, and temptations confuse the conscience. Every weak, doubting, struggling soul who yields fully to the Lord is placed in direct touch with agencies that enable him to overcome. He has the help of angels in every time of need.

TT 159.3

The members of the church at Corinth were surrounded by idolatry and sensuality. While the apostle was with them, these influences had little power over them. Paul’s prayers, earnest words of instruction, and godly life helped them to deny self, for Christ’s sake, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin.

TT 159.4

After the departure of Paul, however, little by little many became careless and allowed natural tastes and inclinations to control them. Not a few who at their conversion had put away evil habits returned to the debasing sins of heathenism. Paul had written briefly, admonishing them “not to associate” with members who should persist in profligacy; but many quibbled over his words and excused themselves for disregarding his instruction.

TT 160.1

A letter was sent to Paul by the church, asking for counsel concerning various matters, but saying nothing of the grievous sins existing among them. The apostle was, however, impressed by the Holy Spirit that the true state of the church had been concealed.

TT 160.2

About this time there came to Ephesus members of the household of Chloe, a Christian family in Corinth. They told Paul that the dissensions that had prevailed at the time of Apollos’s visit had greatly increased. False teachers were leading the members to despise the instructions of Paul. Pride, idolatry, and sensualism were steadily increasing.

TT 160.3

Paul saw that his worst fears were more than realized. But he did not give way to the thought that his work had been a failure. With “anguish of heart” and with “many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4) he sought counsel from God. Gladly would he have visited Corinth at once, but he knew that in their present condition the believers would not profit by his labors; therefore he sent Titus to prepare the way for a visit from himself later on. Then the apostle wrote to the church at Corinth one of the richest, most instructive, most powerful of all his letters.

TT 160.4

With remarkable clearness he answered questions and laid down general principles which, if heeded, would lead them to a higher spiritual plane. Faithfully he warned them of their dangers and reproved them for their sins. He reminded them of the gifts of the Holy Spirit they had received and showed them that it was their privilege to advance in the Christian life until they should attain to the purity and holiness of Christ.

TT 160.5

Paul spoke plainly of the dissensions in the Corinthian church. “I appeal to you, brethren,” he wrote, “that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” “It has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you.”

TT 161.1

Paul was an inspired apostle. The truth he taught he had received “by revelation”; yet the Lord did not directly reveal to him at all times the condition of His people. In this instance those who were interested in the church had presented the matter before the apostle, and from divine revelations he had formerly received he was prepared to judge these developments. Notwithstanding the fact that the Lord did not give him a new revelation for that special time, those who were seeking for light accepted his message as expressing the mind of Christ. As evils developed, the apostle recognized their significance. He had been set for the defense of the church. Was it not right for him to notice the reports concerning the divisions among them? Most assuredly; and the reproof he sent was as certainly written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God as were any of his other letters.

TT 161.2

The apostle made no mention of the false teachers who were seeking to destroy the fruit of his labor. He wisely forebore to irritate them by such references. He called attention to his own work as “a skilled master builder” who had laid the foundation on which others had built. “We are God’s fellow workers.” He acknowledged that divine power alone had enabled him to present the truth in a manner pleasing to God. Paul had communicated lessons which were to apply at all times, in all places, and under all conditions.

TT 161.3

One former convert had so far backslidden that his licentious course violated even the low standard of morality held by the Gentile world. The apostle pleaded with the church to put away from them this man. “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened.”

TT 162.1

Another grave evil was that of brethren going to law against one another. Christ Himself had given instruction as to how such matters were to be adjusted: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” Matthew 18:15-17, RSV.

TT 162.2

“When one of you,” Paul asked, “has a grievance against a brother, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, matters pertaining to this life! ... I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong?”

TT 162.3

Satan is constantly seeking to introduce distrust, alienation, and malice among God’s people. We shall often be tempted to feel that our rights are invaded, even when there is no real cause for such feelings. Those who will place their own interests first will resort to almost any expedient to maintain them. Many are hindered by pride and self-esteem from going privately to those whom they think in error, that they may talk with them in the spirit of Christ and pray together. When they think themselves injured by their brethren, some will even go to law instead of following the Saviour’s rule.

TT 162.4

Christians should not appeal to civil tribunals to settle differences among church members. Even though injustice may have been done, the follower of the meek and lowly Jesus will suffer himself “to be defrauded” rather than open before the world the sins of his brethren in the church.

TT 163.1

Christians who go to law with one another expose the church to the ridicule of her enemies. They are wounding Christ afresh and putting Him to open shame. By ignoring the authority of the church, they show contempt for God, who gave the church its authority.

TT 163.2

In this letter Paul endeavored to show the Corinthians Christ’s power to keep them from evil. To help them break from the thralldom of sin, Paul urged the claim of Him to whom they had dedicated their lives: “You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

TT 163.3

Paul begged them to control the lower passions and appetites. He aroused their better nature and inspired them to strive for a higher life. He knew that at every step in the Christian pathway the Corinthian believers would be opposed by Satan and that they would have to engage in conflicts daily. They would have to force back old habits and natural inclinations, ever watching unto prayer. But Paul knew also that in Christ crucified they were offered power sufficient to enable them to resist all temptations to evil.

TT 163.4

The Corinthian believers had seen but the first rays of the early dawn of God’s glory. Paul’s desire for them was that they might follow on to know Him whose going forth is prepared as the morning, and learn of Him until they should come into the full noontide of a perfect gospel faith.

From Trials to Triumph

Chapter 30—Paul Strengthens the Church for All Time

TT 164.1

Of all the games instituted among the Greeks and the Romans, the ancient foot races near Corinth were the most highly esteemed. They were witnessed by kings, nobles, and statesmen. Young men of rank and wealth took part and shrank from no effort or discipline necessary to obtain the prize.

TT 164.2

The contests were governed by strict regulations, from which there was no appeal. Those who desired to enter had to undergo severe preparatory training. Harmful indulgence of appetite, or anything that would lower mental or physical vigor, was forbidden. The muscles must be strong, and the nerves well under control. The physical powers must reach the highest mark.

TT 164.3

As the contestants made their appearance before the waiting multitude, their names were heralded, and the rules of the race were distinctly stated. Then they all started together, the fixed attention of the spectators inspiring them with determination to win. The judges were seated near the goal, that they might watch the race from beginning to end and give the prize to the true victor.

TT 164.4

Great risks were run. Some contestants never recovered from the terrible physical strain. It was not unusual for men to fall on the course, bleeding at the mouth and nose, and sometimes a contestant would drop dead when about to seize the prize.

TT 164.5

As the winner reached the goal, applause rent the air. The judge presented him with the emblems of victory—a laurel crown and a palm branch to carry in his hand. His praise was sung throughout the land, his parents received their share of honor, and even the city in which he lived was held in high esteem for having produced so great an athlete.

TT 165.1

Paul referred to these races as a figure of the Christian warfare. “Every athlete,” he declared, “exercises self-control in all things.” The runners put aside every indulgence that would tend to weaken the physical powers. How much more important that the Christian bring appetite and passion under subjection to reason and the will of God! Never must he allow his attention to be diverted by amusements, luxuries, or ease. Reason, enlightened by God’s Word and guided by His Spirit, must hold the reins of control.

TT 165.2

In the Corinthian games the last few strides of the contestants in the race were made with agonizing effort to keep up undiminished speed. So the Christian, as he nears the goal, will press onward with even more determination than at the first of his course.

TT 165.3

Paul contrasts the chaplet of fading laurel received in the foot races, and the crown of immortal glory that will be given to him who runs with triumph the Christian race. “They do it,” he declares, “to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” The Grecian runners spared themselves no toil or discipline. How much more willing should be our sacrifice and self-denial!

TT 165.4

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1, 2. Envy, malice, evil-thinking, evil-speaking, covetousness—these are weights that the Christian must lay aside. Every practice that brings dishonor on Christ must be put away, whatever the sacrifice. One sin cherished is sufficient to work degradation of character and to mislead others.

TT 166.1

The competitors in the ancient games, after they had submitted to self-denial and rigid discipline, were not even then sure of victory. “In a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize.” One hand only could grasp the coveted garland. As some reached forth to secure the prize, another, an instant before them, might grasp the coveted treasure.

TT 166.2

In the Christian warfare, not one who complies with the conditions will be disappointed at the end of the race. The weakest saint, as well as the strongest, may wear the crown of immortal glory. The principles laid down in God’s Word are too often looked upon as unimportant—too trivial to demand attention. But nothing is small that will help or hinder. And the reward given to those who win will be in proportion to the energy and earnestness with which they have striven.

TT 166.3

The apostle compared himself to a man running in a race, straining every nerve to win. “I do not run aimlessly,” he says, “I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” The words, “I pommel my body,” literally mean to beat back by severe discipline the desires, impulses, and passions.

TT 166.5

Paul realized the need of putting a strict guard on himself, that earthly desires might not overcome spiritual zeal. He continued to strive against natural inclinations. His words, his practices, his passions—all were brought under the control of the Spirit of God.

TT 166.6

Paul knew that the Corinthian believers had before them a life struggle from which there would be no release. He pleaded with them to lay aside every weight and press forward to the goal of perfection in Christ.

TT 167.1

He reminded them of the miraculous way in which the Hebrews were led from Egypt—they were conducted through the Red Sea, while the Egyptians, trying to cross in like manner, were all drowned. Israel “ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” The Hebrews had Christ as leader. The smitten rock typified Him, wounded for men’s transgressions that the stream of salvation might flow to all.

TT 167.2

Yet, because of the Hebrews’ lust for the luxuries left behind in Egypt, and because of their rebellion, the judgments of God came on them. “Now these things are warnings,” the apostle declared, “for us, not to desire evil as they did.” Love of ease and pleasure had prepared the way for sins that called forth the vengeance of God. When the children of Israel sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, they threw off the fear of God. Making a golden calf, they worshiped it. And it was after a luxurious feast connected with the worship of Baal-peor that many Hebrews fell through licentiousness. The anger of God was aroused, and 23,000 were slain by the plague in one day.

TT 167.3

If the Corinthians should become boastful and self-confident, they would fall into grievous sin. Yet Paul gave them the assurance: “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

TT 167.4

Paul urged his brethren to do nothing, however innocent, that would seem to sanction idolatry or offend those who might be weak in the faith. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God.”

TT 167.5

The apostle’s words are especially applicable to our day. By idolatry he meant not only the worship of idols, but self-serving, love of ease, the gratification of appetite and passion. A religion that sanctions self-indulgence is not the religion of Christ.

TT 168.1

By a comparison of the church with the human body, the apostle illustrated the close relationship that should exist among all members of the church. “The body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body... . But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as He chose... . God has so adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”

TT 168.2

And then Paul set forth the importance of love: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

TT 168.3

No matter how high the profession, he whose heart is not filled with love for God and his fellowmen is not a true disciple of Christ. In his zeal he might even meet a martyr’s death, yet if not actuated by love, he would be a deluded enthusiast or an ambitious hypocrite.

TT 168.4

“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful.” The noblest characters are built on the foundation of patience, love, and submission to God’s will.

TT 169.1

Love “is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.” Christ-like love places the most favorable construction on the motives and acts of others. It does not listen eagerly to unfavorable reports, but seeks to bring to mind the good qualities of others.

TT 169.2

This love “never ends.” As a precious treasure, it will be carried by its possessor through the portals of the city of God.

TT 169.3

Among the Corinthian believers, some had gone so far as to deny the doctrine of the resurrection. Paul met this heresy with a very plain testimony regarding the unmistakable evidence of the resurrection of Christ. He was “raised on the third day,” after which “He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me.”

TT 169.4

“If there is no resurrection of the dead,” Paul argued, “then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain and your faith is in vain... . For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life we who are in Christ have only hope, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

TT 169.5

“I tell you a mystery,” he declared. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.”

TT 169.6

The apostle sought to set before the Corinthian believers that which uplifts from the selfish and the sensual and glorifies life with the hope of immortality. “My beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

TT 170.1

Thus the apostle spoke plainly, yet in love. Light from the throne of God was shining, to reveal the hidden sins that were defiling their lives. How would it be received?

TT 170.2

Paul dreaded a further alienation and sometimes longed to recall his words. Those who have felt responsible for churches or institutions, can appreciate his depression and self-accusing. Servants of God who bear the burden of His work for this time know something of the same experience of labor, conflict, and anxious care. Burdened by divisions in the church, realizing the peril of churches that harbored iniquity, compelled to bear a searching testimony in reproof of sin, Paul was at the same time weighed down with fear that he might have dealt with too great severity. With anxiety he waited to receive some tidings as to the reception of his message.

From Trials to Triumph

The Race Where Everyone Can Win

TT 166.4

Paul realized that his conversation, his influence, his refusal to yield to self-gratification, must show that his religion was not a profession merely, but a daily, living connection with God. One goal he ever strove earnestly to reach—“the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” Philippians 3:9, RSV.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 9 [Nos. 664-770]

Mr No. 730—Righteousness By Faith

9MR 213.2

The Works of True Faith—We cannot possibly have a changing religion. The gospel is to be proclaimed and personally received. A general assent is not enough. There must be an intelligent heart reception of the truth wherein the receiver must stand and perseveringly communicate to others the knowledge received. The truth must be practiced in every respect, holding fast the word of life, “by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 126, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 126, 1899, par. 37

We know and believe the truth in vain, unless we cultivate the memory of the Word. “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” [1 Corinthians 15:2.] Many are hearers of the Word, but not doers; and “if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” [James 1:23, 24.] He does not look closely enough into the mirror to see the defects that need to be corrected. Many things are brought before him, but he soon forgets what the mirror revealed to him as needing reformation. God calls for an earnest, thorough change in the manner of working for the advancement of His truth in the world.

From Trials to Triumph

Chapter 13—How God Educated Paul

TT 66.1

Paul remained “certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God,” who “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; ... was buried, and ... rose again the third day.” 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4. His arguments from prophecy were so conclusive that the Jews were confounded and unable to answer him.

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 13—Days of Preparation

AA 123.1

After his baptism, Paul broke his fast and remained “certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” Boldly he declared Jesus of Nazareth to be the long-looked-for Messiah, who “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; ... was buried, and ... rose again the third day,” after which He was seen by the Twelve and by others. “And last of all,” Paul added, “He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4, 8. His arguments from prophecy were so conclusive, and his efforts were so manifestly attended by the power of God, that the Jews were confounded and unable to answer him.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 94, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 94, 1897, par. 31

“I delivered unto you first of all that which I received,” Paul writes to the Corinthians, “how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again according to the Scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, and then of the twelve; after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain until this present; but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. After that he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” [1 Corinthians 15:3-8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 41, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 41, 1897, par. 13

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” [Verse 6.] When the apostle Paul, through the revelation of Christ, was converted from a persecutor to a Christian, he declared that he was as one born out of due time. [1 Corinthians 15:8.] “For me to live is Christ,” he declared. [Philippians 1:21.] This is the most perfect interpretation in a few words in all the Scriptures, of what it means to be a Christian. This is the whole truth of the gospel. Paul understood that which many seem unable to comprehend. How intensely in earnest he was. His words show that his mind was centered on Christ, that his whole life was bound up with his Christ. Christ was the author, the source, and the support of his life.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 9, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 9, 1898, par. 35

Saul did not treat with indifference the unbelief which had led him to follow in Satan’s track, and cause the suffering and death of the most precious of earth—those of whom the world was not worthy. He did not plead that his error of judgment was excusable. Long after his conversion he spoke of himself as the chief of sinners. “For I am the least of the apostles,” he said, “that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” [1 Corinthians 15:9.] He did not make one excuse for his cruel course in following faithfully the impressions of a conscience that was false.

My Life Today

The Grace of God Is for Me, April 5

ML 99.1

By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10.

Life Sketches of Ellen G. White

Chapter 60—The Memorial Service at Richmond

LS 456.4

The opening hymn, “Sweet be thy rest,” and the Scripture reading by Elder E. W. Farnsworth (1 Corinthians 15:12-20, 35-38, 42-45; 2 Corinthians 4:6-18; 5:1-10), prepared the minds of the congregation to enter into the spirit of Elder Loughborough’s invocation, in the course of which he acknowledged that “while afflictions come upon us, and while workers in this cause may lay down the armor because of lack of physical strength,” yet God’s purpose will be accomplished. When the Saviour was laid away, it was thought by His disciples that His work on earth was at an end; but His death on the cross was in reality the very life of the cause He had advocated.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 18 [Nos. 1301-1359]

MR No. 1310—Christ and the Law

18MR 76.2

“If Christ be not risen,” wrote the apostle Paul, “Then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain: ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished” [1 Corinthians 15:14-18]. “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” [Acts 4:33].

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 106, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 106, 1897, par. 21

“If Christ be not raised,” wrote the apostle Paul, “then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ; whom He raised not up,if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” [1 Corinthians 15:14-18.] “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” [Acts 4:33.]

The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4

Chapter 28—The First Great Deception

4SP 366.2

Paul declares: “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” [1 Corinthians 15:16-18.] If for four thousand years the righteous had gone directly to Heaven at death, how could they be said to perish, even though there should never be a resurrection?

The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)

Chapter 33—The First Great Deception

GC88 544.2

In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust;” [Acts 24:15.] “for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” [1 Corinthians 15:22.] But a distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth. “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” [John 5:28, 29.] They who have been “accounted worthy” of the resurrection of life are “blessed and holy.” “On such the second death hath no power.” [Revelation 20:6.] But those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression,—“the wages of sin.” They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, “according to their works,” but finally ending in the second death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with his justice and mercy, to save the sinner in his sins, he deprives him of the existence which his transgressions have forfeited, and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer, “Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.” And another declares, “They shall be as though they had not been.” [Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16.] Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.

GC88 547.1

And said Paul: “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” [1 Corinthians 15:16-18.] If for four thousand years the righteous had gone directly to Heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if there is no resurrection, “they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished”? No resurrection would be necessary.

GC88 550.1

Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and his apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to Heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection. [1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10-12.] In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken, [Ecclesiastes 12:6.] man’s thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is done under the sun. [Job 14:21.] Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep, they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.... So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” [1 Corinthians 15:52-55.] As they are called forth from their deep slumber, they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death, the last thought that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” [1 Corinthians 15:52-55.]

From Here to Forever

The First Resurrection

HF 336.2

Said Paul: “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:16-18. If for 4000 years the righteous had gone directly to heaven at death, how could Paul have said that if there is no resurrection, “they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished”?

HF 337.3

Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. ... So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:52-54.

HF 337.4

Called forth from their slumber, they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 5 [Nos. 260-346]

MR No. 318—The Christian Pathway

5MR 259.1

When the Son of man comes from heaven with all His glory, He will then reward every man according to his works. Here we are appointed to the future life. We have a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Paul says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” [1 Corinthians 15:19.] We want to think of the future home, where there is no disappointment, no sin, no enemy, no outburst of passion. And all of this will be realized by those who will follow the true Shepherd and obey the commandments of God. Although Satan is at war with the followers of Christ, the true Shepherd will not allow anyone to pluck them out of His hand. Every soul that comes in sincerity will find help. Our heavenly Father tells us to ask, and if we ask we shall receive. He knows that we are deformed by sin. He knows our weakness. He knows that Satan is striving to control the passions of men; and He has sent Christ to break every yoke, to set before man an example, and it is for us to copy the perfect Pattern, for heaven is worth everything.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)

Ms 38, 1886

4LtMs, Ms 38, 1886, par. 8

When the Son of man comes from heaven with all His glory, He will then reward every man according to his works. Here we are pointed to the future life. We have a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Paul says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” 1 Corinthians 15:19. We want to think of the future home where there is no disappointment, no sin, no enemy, no outburst of passion. And all of this will be realized by those who will follow the true Shepherd and obey the commandments of God. Although Satan is at war with the followers of Christ, the true Shepherd will not allow any one to pluck them out of His hand. Every soul that comes in sincerity will find help. Our heavenly Father tells us to ask, and if we ask we shall receive. He knows that we are deformed by sin. He knows our weakness. He knows that Satan is striving to control the passions of men; and He has sent Christ to break every yoke, to set before man an example, and it is for us to copy the perfect Pattern, for heaven is worth everything.

The Faith I Live By

Christ the First Fruits, June 23

FLB 180.1

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 1 Corinthians 15:19, 20.

Lift Him Up

Lift Him Up the Risen Saviour, March 27

LHU 100.1

Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 1 Corinthians 15:20.

Christ in His Sanctuary

Types in the Sanctuary Service

CIHS 123.1

These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate His own death as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29 That same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day, “the first fruits of them that slept,” 1 Corinthians 15:20 a sample of all the resurrected just, whose “vile body” shall be changed, and “fashioned like unto His glorious body.” Philippians 3:21.

The Great Controversy

Chapter 22—Prophecies Fulfilled

GC 399.2

The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death of Christ. Says Paul: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. The sheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the Passover was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord and of all His people: “Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:23. Like the wave sheaf, which was the first ripe grain gathered before the harvest, Christ is the first fruits of that immortal harvest of redeemed ones that at the future resurrection shall be gathered into the garner of God.

GC 399.3

These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate His own death as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” That same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day, “the first fruits of them that slept,” a sample of all the resurrected just, whose “vile body” shall be changed, and “fashioned like unto His glorious body.” Verse 20; Philippians 3:21.

The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)

Chapter 22—Prophecies Fulfilled

GC88 399.1

The slaying of the passover lamb was a shadow of the death of Christ. Says Paul, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” [1 Corinthians 5:7.] The sheaf of first-fruits, which at the time of the Passover was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord, and of all his people, “Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” [1 Corinthians 15:23.] Like the wave-sheaf, which was the first ripe grain gathered before the harvest, Christ is the first-fruits of that immortal harvest of redeemed ones that at the future resurrection shall be gathered into the garner of God.

GC88 399.2

These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which, for fifteen long centuries, the passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the passover with his disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate his own death as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” That same night he was taken by wicked hands, to be crucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wave-sheaf, our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day, “the first-fruits of them that slept,” [1 Corinthians 15:20.] a sample of all the resurrected just, whose “vile body” shall be changed, and “fashioned like unto his glorious body.” [Philippians 3:21.]

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Source of All Vitality, April 10

JNN 110.1

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.—1 Corinthians 15:21, 22

Christ Triumphant

Adam’s Disgraceful Fall Redeemed by Christ, August 27

CTr 246.1

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:22.

God’s Amazing Grace

Christ the Second Adam, February 3

AG 42.1

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:22.

From Here to Forever

The Wages of Sin

HF 334.2

In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves: “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust,” “for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” But a distinction is made between the two classes brought forth: “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life: and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22; John 5:28, 29.

From the Heart

The First Promise of the Gospel, July 5

FH 198.1

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:22.

The Great Hope (Condensed)

Two Destinies

GrH_c 17.5

In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves: “There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust,” “for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” But a distinction is made between the two classes brought forth: “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life: and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22; John 5:28, 29.

Homeward Bound

Victory Through the Merits of Christ, April 25

HB 134.1

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.—1 Corinthians 15:22.

Conflict and Courage

Home Again! January 17

CC 23.1

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 1 Corinthians 15:22, 23.

Our Father Cares

Adam Home Again! July 2

OFC 195.1

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 1 Corinthians 15:22, 23.

Heaven

Chapter 3—The Second Coming Promised Throughout History

Hvn 20.2

The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death of Christ. Says Paul: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. The sheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the Passover was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord and of all His people: “Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:23. Like the wave sheaf, which was the first ripe grain gathered before the harvest, Christ is the first fruits of that immortal harvest of redeemed ones that at the future resurrection shall be gathered into the garner of God.—The Great Controversy, 399.

The Great Controversy

Chapter 20—A Great Religious Awakening

GC 359.1

“Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah,” he said, “whose hands and feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, who was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, who after the scepter was taken from Judah, and the legislative power from between his feet, came the first time; shall come the second time in the clouds of heaven, and with the trump of the Archangel” (Joseph Wolff, Researches and Missionary Labors, page 62) “and shall stand upon the Mount of Olives; and that dominion, once consigned to Adam over the creation, and forfeited by him (Genesis 1:26; 3:17), shall be given to Jesus. He shall be king over all the earth. The groanings and lamentations of the creation shall cease, but songs of praises and thanksgivings shall be heard. ... When Jesus comes in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels,... the dead believers shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:23. This is what we Christians call the first resurrection. Then the animal kingdom shall change its nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), and be subdued unto Jesus. Psalm 8. Universal peace shall prevail.”—Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, pages 378, 379. “The Lord again shall look down upon the earth, and say, ‘Behold, it is very good.’”—Ibid., page 294.

The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)

Chapter 20—A Great Religious Awakening

GC88 359.1

“Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah,” he said, “whose hands and feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who after the scepter was taken from Judah, and the legislative power from between his feet, came the first time, shall come the second time in the clouds of heaven, and with the trump of the archangel,” and “shall stand upon the Mount of Olives. And that dominion once consigned to Adam over the creation and forfeited by him (Genesis 1:26; 3:17) shall be given to Jesus. He shall be king over all the earth. The groanings and lamentations of the creation shall cease, but songs of praise and thanksgiving shall be heard.” “When Jesus comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels,” “the dead believers shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:23. This is what we Christians call the first resurrection. Then the animal kingdom shall change its nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), and shall be subdued unto Jesus. Psalm 8. Universal peace shall prevail.” “The Lord again shall look down upon the earth, and say, ‘Behold, it is very good.’”

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Antitype of the Wave Sheaf, August 10

JNN 236.1

But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.—1 Corinthians 15:23

JNN 236.4

The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death of Christ. Says Paul: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The sheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the Passover was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection of Christ. Paul says, in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord and of all His people: “Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming” (1 Corinthians 15:23). Like the wave sheaf, which was the first ripe grain gathered before the harvest, Christ is the first fruits of that immortal harvest of redeemed ones that at the future resurrection shall be gathered into the garner of God.

Maranatha

Faith of the Reformers, January 6

Mar 14.1

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26.

In Heavenly Places

God Has Chosen Me, January 20

HP 26.3

Sanctification is the work, not of a day or of a year, but of a lifetime. The struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, is a lifelong struggle.... Paul’s sanctification was the result of a constant conflict with self. He said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31).... It is by unceasing endeavor that we maintain the victory over the temptations of Satan. Christian integrity must be sought with resistless energy, and maintained with a resolute fixedness of purpose.

This Day With God

Genuine Sanctification, August 30

TDG 251.3

Our morning meeting was held in the tent. I spoke again about thirty minutes in reference to genuine sanctification which is nothing less than a daily dying to self and daily conformity to the will of God. Paul’s sanctification was a daily conflict with self. Said he, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). His will and his desires daily conflicted with duty and the will of God. In the plan of not following inclination, he did the will of God, however unpleasant and crucifying to his nature. The reason many in this age of the world make no greater advancement in the divine life is because they interpret their own will to be just what God wills. They do exactly as they desire and flatter themselves they are conforming to God’s will. They please self in everything and have no conflict with self.

Ye Shall Receive Power

Looking for a Daily Victory, December 10

YRP 353.3

Brethren, be no longer slothful servants. Every soul must battle against inclination. Christ came not to save men in their sins, but from their sins. He has made it possible for us to possess a holy character; do not, then, be content with defects and deformities. But while we are to seek earnestly for perfection of character, we must remember that sanctification is not the work of a moment, but of a lifetime. Said Paul, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Day by day the work of overcoming must go forward. Every day we are to resist temptation, and gain the victory over selfishness in all its forms.

A New Life (Revival and Beyond)

It Takes Perseverance

NL 60.3

The life of the apostle Paul was a constant conflict with self. He said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did God’s will, however crucifying to his nature.

Testimony Treasures, vol. 2

Spirituality and Efficiency

2TT 210.2

I wish that every minister and every one of our workers could see this matter as it has been presented to me. Self-esteem and self-sufficiency are killing spiritual life. Self is lifted up; self is talked about. Oh, that self might die! “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31), said the apostle Paul. When this proud, boasting self-sufficiency and this complacent self-righteousness permeate the soul, there is no room for Jesus. He is given an inferior place, while self swells into importance and fills the whole temple of the soul. This is the reason why the Lord can do so little for us. Should He work with our efforts, the instrument would appropriate all the glory to his own smartness, his wisdom, his ability, and he would congratulate himself, as did the Pharisee: “I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” Luke 18:12. When self shall be hidden in Christ, it will not be brought to the surface so frequently. Shall we meet the mind of the Spirit of God? Shall we dwell more upon practical godliness, and far less upon mechanical arrangements?

True Revival

It Takes Perseverance

TR 66.2

The life of the apostle Paul was a constant conflict with self. He said, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did God’s will, however crucifying to his nature.

From the Heart

Be Separate From the World, May 29

FH 161.1

I die daily. 1 Corinthians 15:31.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 2 (1869 - 1875)

Lt 10, 1870

2LtMs, Lt 10, 1870, par. 3

There is no such thing as an instantaneous sanctification. It is an every day work. Says Paul, “I die daily.” [1 Corinthians 15:31.] He received a conversion daily to God. As the truth and Spirit of God revealed to him the defects in his character, he put away his wrong, died to self and “cleansed himself from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of” the Lord. [2 Corinthians 7:1.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 2 (1869 - 1875)

Ms 2, 1875

2LtMs, Ms 2, 1875, par. 29

The modern conversions of the present time are mostly spurious. There does not come in the new life ... [sentence unfinished]. It was this warfare which led Paul to say, “I die daily.” [1 Corinthians 15:31.] His desires, his selfish nature had to meet with a daily crucifixion. Indwelling sin was constantly striving for the mastery while he was grasping the grace of God by faith and by self-control, subduing the carnal mind. The follower of Christ will be constantly aspiring after holiness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, being earnest to reflect the image of Christ, to tread in His footsteps and overcome as Christ overcame.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 3 (1876 - 1882)

Lt 49a, 1878

3LtMs, Lt 49a, 1878, par. 4

Our morning meeting was held in the tent. I spoke again about thirty minutes in reference to genuine sanctification which was nothing less than a daily dying to self and daily conformity to the will of God. Paul’s sanctification was a daily conflict with self. Said he, “I die daily.” [1 Corinthians 15:31.] His will and his desires daily conflicted with duty and the will of God. In the place of following inclination, he did the will of God, however unpleasant and crucifying to his nature. The reason many in this age of the world make no greater advancement in the divine life is because they interpret their own will to be just what God wills. They do exactly as they desire and flatter themselves they are conforming to God’s will. They please self in everything and have no conflict with self. Many battle well at first against selfish desires for pleasure and ease. They are sincere and earnest, but grow weary of protracted effort of daily death, ceaseless turmoil with resisting Satan’s temptations, and indolence seems inviting, death to self repulsive, and [they] close the drowsy eyes and drop under temptation instead of resisting it. Fashionable sins, pride of life, do not seem so very repulsive.

In Heavenly Places

Living for Others, August 14

HP 233.4

Paul could say: “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). It is the daily dying to self in the little transactions of life that makes us overcomers. We should forget self in the desire to do good to others. With many there is a decided lack of love for others. Instead of faithfully performing their duty, they seek rather their own pleasure.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 5 (1887-1888)

Lt 53, 1887

5LtMs, Lt 53, 1887, par. 16

Oh, I wish that every minister and every one of our workers could see this matter as it has been presented to me. It is the self-esteem and self-sufficiency which are killing spiritual life. Self is lifted up. I is talked about. Oh, that self might die; but self dies hard. “I die daily,” said the apostle Paul. [1 Corinthians 15:31.] When this proud, boasting, self-sufficiency, and this complacent self-righteousness permeate the soul, there is no room for Jesus. He would be placed on the lower seat, while self would swell into importance and fill the whole temple of the soul. This is the reason why the Lord can do so little for us. Should He work with our efforts, the instrument would appropriate all the glory to his smartness, his wisdom, his ability, and congratulate himself as did the Pharisee, “I pray three times a day. I pay tithes of all I possess,” etc. [Luke 18:11, 12], I, I, I, until I finally falls into grievous sins. Then because it is I, thoughts are entertained that the Lord will not hold I to strict account. When I shall die, and self shall be hid in Christ, I will not be brought to the front so frequently. Shall we meet the mind of the Spirit of God? Shall we dwell much more upon practical godliness and far less upon the mechanical arrangements?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 15, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 15, 1894, par. 24

We need a new heart. Paul says, “I die daily,” and when these things come up, we must crucify the flesh. [1 Corinthians 15:31.] Every time we fall we crucify the Son of God afresh. When we come to Him and confess those sins and offer Him praise, He takes our praises and offers it to the Father. I want you to see that this is so. Some people say, “I do not see how my praises can affect God. The Bible does not say so.” But you must read your Bible prayerfully and carefully and then it will be transformed into our very flesh and blood just as the bread and fruit that we eat is transformed into flesh and blood. Christ was the representative of God here on earth.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Lt 80, 1894

9LtMs, Lt 80, 1894, par. 5

There is one thing which you will always be safe in doing, and that is in loving God supremely, and in loving your fellow men. Your hardest conflict will come in making [a] success of keeping the straight and narrow path which leads to eternal life. In order to do this, you must die daily. You will meet with prejudice, you will meet with opposition; if you are seeking to serve God you will meet with treatment that will be contrary to your natural disposition. Paul said, “I die daily.” [1 Corinthians 15:31.] Do not become provoked when you suffer wrongfully. Hold fast your integrity in Jesus Christ.

Life Sketches of Ellen G. White

The New England Conference

LS 237.1

On one occasion I spoke in reference to genuine sanctification, which is nothing less than a daily dying to self and daily conformity to the will of God. While in Oregon I had been shown that some of the young churches of the New England Conference were in danger through the blighting influence of what is called sanctification. Some would become deceived by this doctrine, while others, knowing its deceptive influence, would realize their danger and turn from it. Paul’s sanctification was a constant conflict with self. Said he, “I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31. His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did the will of God, however unpleasant and crucifying to his nature.

Our Father Cares

Living for Others, June 20

OFC 183.4

Paul could say: “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). It is the daily dying to self in the little transactions of life that makes us overcomers. We should forget self in the desire to do good to others. With many there is a decided lack of love for others. Instead of faithfully performing their duty, they seek rather their own pleasure.

Reflecting Christ

God Alone Can Renew the Heart, October 4

RC 291.8

Beset with temptations without number, we must resist firmly or be conquered.... Paul’s sanctification was the result of a constant conflict with self. He said: “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did God’s will, however crucifying to his own nature. God leads His people on step by step.—Testimonies for the Church 8:312, 313.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8

The Work That Requires Our Thought

8T 313.3

Paul’s sanctification was the result of a constant conflict with self. He said: “I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31. His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did God’s will, however crucifying to his own nature.

The Ministry of Healing

The Work That Requires Our Thought

MH 452.4

The life of the apostle Paul was a constant conflict with self. He said, “I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31. His will and his desires every day conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did God’s will, however crucifying to his nature.

The Upward Look

False Sanctification, August 5

UL 231.3

There is no such thing as an instantaneous sanctification. It is an every-day work. Says Paul, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). He received a conversion daily to God. As the truth and Spirit of God revealed to him the defects in his character, he put away his wrong, died to self, and cleansed himself “from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1)....

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)

Ms 84, 1886

4LtMs, Ms 84, 1886, par. 10

Says Paul, I die daily. [1 Corinthians 15:31.] Our natural inclination would be to be like the world, but there is the invitation, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate.” [2 Corinthians 6:17.] There is a reformation that we are to make. We are to be as clay in the hands of the potter. We are to be molded and fashioned, and we are to take on the very fashion and mold that God would have us. We are not to take on our own mold, but we must be working to please the God of heaven, working to regain the moral standard. God wants to fit us for a home in His kingdom, and this is the time of our preparation. It is a time of character building, that we may have the right mold of character. God will do His part, angels will do their part, and we are to understand that all heaven is interested in our salvation.

4LtMs, Ms 84, 1886, par. 23

Christ says, “I know thy works.” He knows whether you are living a life of perfection, and if you love to talk and think of Him, and whether it is your joy to praise Him. Do we expect to get to heaven at last and join the heavenly choir? Just as we go into the grave we will come up, as far as the character is concerned. “For this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruptible shall put on incorruption.” [1 Corinthians 15:53.] It is the body that will be changed then, but now is the time for washing and ironing. It is the time to wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 9 [Nos. 664-770]

MR No. 735—Preparing for Heaven

9MR 259.2

Growth in Grace—Says Paul, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). Our natural inclination would be to be like the world, but there is the invitation, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate” (2 Corinthians 6:17). There is a reformation that we are to make. We are to be as clay in the hands of the potter. We are to be molded and fashioned, and we are to take on the very fashion and mold that God would have us. We are not to take on our own mold, but we must be working to please the God of heaven, working to regain the moral standard. God wants to fit us for a home in His kingdom and this is the time of our preparation. It is a time of character building, that we may have the right mold of character. God will do His part, angels will do their part, and we are to understand that all heaven is interested in our salvation....

9MR 262.2

Christ says, “I know thy works.” He knows whether you are living a life of perfection and if you love to talk and think of Him, and whether it is your joy to praise Him. Do we expect to get to heaven at last and join the heavenly choir? Just as we go into the grave we will come up as far as the character is concerned. For this mortal shall put on immortality and this corruptible shall put on incorruption (see 1 Corinthians 15:54). It is the body that will be changed then, but now is the time for washing and ironing. It is the time to wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 16—Jacob and Esau

PP 181.3

Because of his indifference to the divine blessings and requirements, Esau is called in Scripture “a profane person.” Verse 16. He represents those who lightly value the redemption purchased for them by Christ, and are ready to sacrifice their heirship to heaven for the perishable things of earth. Multitudes live for the present, with no thought or care for the future. Like Esau they cry, “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” 1 Corinthians 15:32. They are controlled by inclination; and rather than practice self-denial, they will forgo the most valuable considerations. If one must be relinquished, the gratification of a depraved appetite or the heavenly blessings promised only to the self-denying and God-fearing, the claims of appetite prevail, and God and heaven are virtually despised. How many, even of professed Christians, cling to indulgences that are injurious to health and that benumb the sensibilities of the soul. When the duty is presented of cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, they are offended. They see that they cannot retain these hurtful gratifications and yet secure heaven, and they conclude that since the way to eternal life is so strait, they will no longer walk therein.

From Eternity Past

Esau Could Not Repent

EP 117.3

Esau is called in Scripture “a profane person.” Verse 16. He represents those who lightly value the redemption purchased for them by Christ and are ready to sacrifice their heirship to heaven for the perishable things of earth. Multitudes live with no thought or care for the future. Like Esau they cry, “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” 1 Corinthians 15:32. The claims of appetite prevail, and God and heaven are virtually despised. When the duty is presented of cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, they are offended.

Selected Messages Book 2

Chapter 13—Should Christians Be Members of Secret Societies?

2SM 129.1

When men are not under the control of the Word and the Spirit of God, they are captives of Satan, and we know not to what lengths he may lead them in sin. The patriarch Jacob beheld those who take pleasure in wickedness. He saw what would be the result of association with them, and in the Spirit he exclaimed, “O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united” (Genesis 49:6). He lifts up the danger signal, to warn every soul against such associations. The apostle Paul echoes the warning: “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11). “Be not deceived: Evil company doth corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33, R.V.).

Sons and Daughters of God

God Wants Us to Have the Best Manners, November 4

SD 315.1

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 1 Corinthians 15:33.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 53, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 53, 1894, par. 25

When men are not under the control of the Word and the Spirit of God, they are captives of Satan, and we know not to what lengths he may lead them in sin. The patriarch Jacob, inspired by the Holy Spirit, beheld those who take pleasure in wickedness. He saw what would be the result of associating with them, and he exclaimed, “O my soul, come not thou into their secret; into their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united.” [Genesis 49:6.] He lifts up the danger signal to warn every soul against such associations. The apostle Paul echoes the warning, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” [Ephesians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 15:33.]

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Divine Remedy, June 28

JNN 191.2

When people are not under the control of the Word and the Spirit of God, they are captives of Satan, and we know not to what lengths he may lead them in sin. The patriarch Jacob beheld those who take pleasure in wickedness. He saw what would be the result of association with them, and in the Spirit he exclaimed, “O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united” (Genesis 49:6). He lifts up the danger signal, to warn every soul against such associations. The apostle Paul echoes the warning: “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11). “Be not deceived: Evil company doth corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33, R. V.).

The Upward Look

Time to Wake Up! February 5

UL 50.1

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not. 1 Corinthians 15:33, 34.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 147, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 147, 1897, par. 38

The apostle Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians lifts a voice of warning, “Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God. (They live in an atmosphere of sin; therefore sin is not to them exceeding sinful.) I speak this to your shame.” [1 Corinthians 15:33, 34.]

The Faith I Live By

An Aroused Conscience, June 4

FLB 161.1

Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 15:34.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 60, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 60, 1898, par. 2

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” [Romans 13:11-14.] “Awake to righteousness and sin not, for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” [1 Corinthians 15:34.]

Christ’s Object Lessons

Chapter 6—Other Lessons from Seed-Sowing

COL 87.1

The seed dies to spring forth into new life, and in this we are taught the lesson of the resurrection. All who love God will live again in the Eden above. Of the human body laid away to molder in the grave God has said, “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” 1 Corinthians 15:42, 43.

Education

Life Through Death

Ed 110.4

The seed dies, to spring forth into new life. In this we are taught the lesson of the resurrection. Of the human body laid away to molder in the grave, God has said: “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” 1 Corinthians 15:42, 43.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 27—“Thou Canst Make Me Clean”

DA 270.2

Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.” “In Him was life,” and He says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” He is “a quickening spirit.” 1 John 3:8; John 1:4; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45. And 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.” Psalm 103:3.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 27—The First Leper to Be Cleansed by Christ

HLv 175.3

Jesus 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.” Psalm 103:3; see 1 John 3:8; John 1:4-10; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45.

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Healer of the Soul, March 21

JNN 89.3

Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.” “In Him was life,” and He says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” He is “a quickening spirit” (1 John 3:8; John 1:4; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45). And He still has the same life-giving power as when on earth He healed the sick, and spoke forgiveness to the sinner....

Jesus, Name Above All Names

Second Adam, December 30

JNN 382.1

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.—1 Corinthians 15:47

The Great Controversy

Chapter 18—An American Reformer

GC 322.1

At His coming the righteous dead will be raised, and the righteous living will be changed. “We shall not all sleep,” says Paul, “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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. And in his letter to the Thessalonians, after describing the coming of the Lord, he says: “The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.

GC 322.2

Not until the personal advent of Christ can His people receive the kingdom. The Saviour said: “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:31-34. We have seen by the scriptures just given that when the Son of man comes, the dead are raised incorruptible and the living are changed. By this great change they are prepared to receive the kingdom; for Paul says: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” 1 Corinthians 15:50. Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible; but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible, enduring forever. Therefore man in his present state cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when Jesus comes, He confers immortality upon His people; and then He calls them to inherit the kingdom of which they have hitherto been only heirs.

The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)

Chapter 18—An American Reformer

GC88 322.1

At his coming the righteous dead will be raised, and the righteous living will be changed. “We shall not all sleep,” says Paul, “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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” [1 Corinthians 15:51-53.] And in his letter to the Thessalonians, after describing the coming of the Lord, he says: “The dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” [1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.]

GC88 322.2

Not until the personal advent of Christ can his people receive the kingdom. The Saviour said: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” [Matthew 25:31-34.] We have seen by the scriptures just given that when the Son of man comes, the dead are raised incorruptible, and the living are changed. By this great change they are prepared to receive the kingdom; for Paul says, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” [1 Corinthians 15:50.] Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible; but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible, enduring forever. Therefore man in his present state cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when Jesus comes, he confers immortality upon his people; and then he calls them to inherit the kingdom, of which they have hitherto been only heirs.

Christ in His Sanctuary

The Study of the Prophecies

CIHS 77.1

At His coming the righteous dead will be raised, and the righteous living will be changed. “We shall not all sleep,” says Paul, “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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. And in his letter to the Thessalonians, after describing the coming of the Lord, he says: “The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.

CIHS 77.2

Not until the personal advent of Christ can His people receive the kingdom. The Saviour said: “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:31-34. We have seen by the scriptures just given that when the Son of man comes, the dead are raised incorruptible and the living are changed. By this great change they are prepared to receive the kingdom; for Paul says: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” 1 Corinthians 15:50. Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible; but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible, enduring forever. Therefore man in his present state cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when Jesus comes, He confers immortality upon His people; and then He calls them to inherit the kingdom of which they have hitherto been only heirs.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 2, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 2, 1893, par. 20

It is court week with us, and He is pleading our cases with the Father. Wonderful work of God! Hebrews 2:16. His human arm encircles humanity, and with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the infinite God. He came to earth that was separated by sin from the continent of heaven. There is a ladder, with God above it, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. They are ministering agents for God. “Ye are laborers together with God.” [1 Corinthians 3:9.] Religion never degrades the receiver. 1 Corinthians 15:51. 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Conflict and Courage

Elijah’s Successor, August 5

CC 223.1

Behold, I shew you a mystery; 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. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52.

Heaven

Preface

Hvn 6.1

We look forward with joyous anticipation to the day when Jesus will return to earth, not as a Man of sorrows but as King of kings and Lord of lords. In that day the dead in Christ will rise first, then his followers who are alive will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52), and together this redeemed company, now immortal, will travel through time and space to the paradise of God, to heaven itself.

Patriarchs and Prophets

Chapter 6—Seth and Enoch

PP 88.3

By faith Enoch “was translated that he should not see death; ... for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5. In the midst of a world by its iniquity doomed to destruction, Enoch lived a life of such close communion with God that he was not permitted to fall under the power of death. The godly character of this prophet represents the state of holiness which must be attained by those who shall be “redeemed from the earth” (Revelation 14:3) at the time of Christ’s second advent. Then, as in the world before the Flood, iniquity will prevail. Following the promptings of their corrupt hearts and the teachings of a deceptive philosophy, men will rebel against the authority of Heaven. But like Enoch, God’s people will seek for purity of heart and conformity to His will, until they shall reflect the likeness of Christ. Like Enoch, they will warn the world of the Lord’s second coming and of the judgments to be visited upon transgression, and by their holy conversation and example they will condemn the sins of the ungodly. As Enoch was translated to heaven before the destruction of the world by water, so the living righteous will be translated from the earth before its destruction by fire. Says the apostle: “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 Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God;” “the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” “The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 17—The Call of Elisha

PK 227.2

Elijah was a type of the saints who will be living on the earth at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,” without tasting of death. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. It was as a representative of those who shall be thus translated that Elijah, near the close of Christ’s earthly ministry, was permitted to stand with Moses by the side of the Saviour on the mount of transfiguration. In these glorified ones, the disciples saw in miniature a representation of the kingdom of the redeemed. They beheld Jesus clothed with the light of heaven; they heard the “voice out of the cloud” (Luke 9:35), acknowledging Him as the Son of God; they saw Moses, representing those who will be raised from the dead at the time of the second advent; and there also stood Elijah, representing those who at the close of earth’s history will be changed from mortal to immortal and be translated to heaven without seeing death.

Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3

Spiritual Gifts

3SG 17.2

The epistles to the corinthians were written for the benefit of the Christian church, not for those Christians only then living at Corinth, but for the church, and some portions have a special application to the present time. We will call attention to two passages where the apostle apparently, by the use of the word we, addresses only those then living, and yet the events of which he speaks are in the future. In Chapter 15:51, 52, Paul says, “Behold, I show you a mystery. 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.” Shall we say that the word “we” used three times in this quotation, embraces only Paul and the members of theChurch at Corinth then living? Circumstances will not admit of so narrow an application. Paul and his brethren at Corinth did sleep—die. The last trump did not then sound. And none of them were changed to immortality in the twinkling of an eye. Hence this testimony has a special application to Christians who are alive on earth at the second coming of Christ.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 46—Jesus Transfigured

HLv 285.4

Moses on the mount of transfiguration represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those living at Christ’s second coming, who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.” 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. Jesus was clothed as He will appear when He shall come the second time “in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38; see Hebrews 9:28. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature—Christ the King, Moses a representative of the risen saints, and Elijah of the translated ones.

From Eternity Past

Enoch Is Translated to Heaven

EP 49.4

By faith Enoch “was translated that he should not see death, ... for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5. The godly character of this prophet represents the state of holiness which must be attained by those who shall be “redeemed from the earth” (Revelation 14:3) at Christ’s second advent. Then, as before the Flood, iniquity will prevail. Men will rebel against the authority of Heaven. But like Enoch, God’s people will seek for purity of heart and conformity to His will, until they shall reflect the likeness of Christ. Like Enoch they will warn the world of the Lord’s second coming and by their holy example will condemn the sins of the ungodly. As Enoch was translated to heaven, so the living righteous will be translated from the earth before its destruction by fire. See 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.

From Splendor to Shadow

Many Will Be Translated Without Tasting Death

SS 121.5

Elijah was a type of the saints who will be living at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,” without tasting death. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. As a representative of those who shall be thus translated, Elijah was permitted to stand with Moses by the side of the Saviour on the mount of transfiguration. The disciples saw Jesus clothed with the light of heaven; they heard the “voice out of the cloud” (Luke 9:35), acknowledging Him as the Son of God. They saw Moses, representing those who will be raised from the dead at the second advent. And there also stood Elijah, representing those who at the close of earth’s history will be changed from mortal to immortal, translated to heaven without seeing death.

Heaven

Chapter 11—Some Are Already in Heaven

Hvn 102.3

Elijah was a type of the saints who will be living on the earth at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,” without tasting of death. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52. It was as a representative of those who shall be thus translated that Elijah, near the close of Christ’s earthly ministry, was permitted to stand with Moses by the side of the Saviour on the mount of transfiguration. In these glorified ones, the disciples saw in miniature a representation of the kingdom of the redeemed. They beheld Jesus clothed with the light of heaven; they heard the “voice out of the cloud” (Luke 9:35), acknowledging Him as the Son of God; they saw Moses, representing those who will be raised from the dead at the time of the second advent; and there also stood Elijah, representing those who at the close of earth’s history will be changed from mortal to immortal and be translated to heaven without seeing death.

Hvn 103.2

Moses And Elijah—Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ’s victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ’s second coming, and who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;” when “this mortal must put on immortality,” and “this corruptible must put on incorruption.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come “the second time without sin unto salvation.” For He will come “in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 46—He Was Transfigured

DA 421.4

Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ’s victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ’s second coming, and who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;” when “this mortal must put on immortality,” and “this corruptible must put on incorruption.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come “the second time without sin unto salvation.” For He will come “in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38. The Saviour’s promise to the disciples was now fulfilled. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature,—Christ the King, Moses a representative of the risen saints, and Elijah of the translated ones.

From Here to Forever

Personal Coming of Christ

HF 201.3

At His coming the righteous dead will be raised and the righteous living changed. “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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” “The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.

From Heaven With Love

Chapter 58—The Raising of Lazarus

HLv 352.4

“Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.” Christ represents death as a sleep to His believing children. Their life is hid with Christ in God, and until the last trump shall sound those who die will sleep in Him. See 1 Corinthians 15:51-54.

Heaven

Chapter 5—Christ’s Second Coming

Hvn 35.3

Jesus Raises the Sleeping Saints to Immortal Life—Amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and the roaring of thunder, the voice of the Son of God calls forth the sleeping saints. He looks upon the graves of the righteous, then raising His hands to heaven He cries, “Awake, awake, awake, ye that sleep in the dust, and arise!” Throughout the length and breadth of the earth, the dead shall hear that voice, and they that hear shall live. And the whole earth shall ring with the tread of the exceeding great army of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. From the prison-house of death they come, clothed with immortal glory, crying, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” [1 Corinthians 15:55.] And the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voices in a long, glad shout of victory.

Hvn 37.1

First Thought of the Resurrected—As they [the righteous] are called forth from their deep slumber they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” [1 Corinthians 15:55].—The Great Controversy, 550.

Hvn 44.1

The Future Kingdom in Miniature—Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ’s victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ’s second coming, and who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;” when “this mortal must put on immortality,” and “this corruptible must put on incorruption.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come “the second time without sin unto salvation.” For He will come “in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38. The Saviour’s promise to the disciples was now fulfilled. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature—Christ the King, Moses a representative of the risen saints, and Elijah of the translated ones.—The Desire of Ages, 421, 422.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 51, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 51, 1901, par. 21

“Behold, I show you a mystery: 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” [1 Corinthians 15:51-55.]

Heaven

Chapter 17—It Will Not Be Long

Hvn 162.1

A Little Longer—Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52.

Manuscript Releases, vol. 12 [Nos. 921-999]

MR No. 973—Need for Unity Among Spiritual Shepherds

12MR 248.2

Then I saw that after Jesus leaves the sanctuary the plagues will be poured out. Said the angel, It is the wrath of God and the Lamb that causes the destruction or death of the wicked. I saw that at the voice of God the saints will be mighty and terrible as an army with banners, but they will not then execute the judgment written. But after they are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye [1 Corinthians 15:52], and are caught up with the sleeping saints [1 Thessalonians 4:17], and receive their harps, crowns, etc., and enter the city, Jesus and the saints sit in judgment, the books are opened, the book of life and the book of death.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 69—On the Mount of Olives

DA 632.3

Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52. A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 1:24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

The Faith I Live By

The Resurrection to Immortality, June 26

FLB 183.5

The living righteous are changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” 1 Corinthians 15:52. At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal, and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air.... Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers’ arms. Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and with songs of gladness ascend together to the city of God.73The Great Controversy, 644, 645.

The Faith I Live By

The Life-giver Is Coming, June 28

FLB 185.5

There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52.82The Review and Herald, November 22, 1906.

The Story of Jesus

Chapter 30—Coming Again

SJ 177.4

There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when the “dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52.

From Heaven With Love

Signs in the Heavens

HLv 425.1

Christ is coming with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead and to change the living saints; to honor those who have loved Him and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. When we look on our dead, we may think of the morning when “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52. The King will wipe all tears from our eyes, and present us “faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 24. “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)

Lt 231, 1905

20LtMs, Lt 231, 1905, par. 5

In your letter you refer to what was said concerning the recovery of Mrs. Stuttaford’s mother at the time of her last illness. It was this way: We had a season of prayer in her behalf, and I tried to encourage faith in the sick mother. I told her that there was no power in us to do the work of healing, but that it was her privilege to say, I shall not die, but live; and that she could keep in her mind the promise, He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. I tried to talk on the faith side of the question and encourage her to believe that living or dying we are the Lord’s, and we shall live with Him in His kingdom. “For the trumpet shall sound, and all that are in their graves shall come forth”—those who have served Him, to live in His kingdom. [1 Corinthians 15:52; John 5:28, 29.]

The Great Hope (Condensed)

Immortality When Jesus Returns

GrH_c 19.2

Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.... So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:52-54.

GrH_c 19.3

Called forth from their slumber, they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55.