EGW WritingsJohn 17

Special Testimony to the Brethren in Battle Creek

An Appeal to our Brethren in Battle Creek

PH156 13.3

I pray that you may now, as never before, both ministers and church-members, come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty powers of darkness. Study prayerfully the John 17:1. This chapter is not only to be read again and again. But its truths are to be eaten and digested. “For their sakes,” Christ prayed, “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.... That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Homeward Bound

Vindication of God’s Character, November 7

HB 340.1

Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.—John 17:1.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 111, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 111, 1897, par. 24

Not long before this, He said, “Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.” What melting, heart-stirring words. “Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.” The Father respond to this request. “There came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” [John 12:27, 28; 17:1.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)

Ms 130, 1906

21LtMs, Ms 130, 1906, par. 33

These are the teachings that will be coming forth from sanctified lips. If the study of science so-called was essential to give the mind as its food, why did not Christ specify it distinctly? Of His last prayer to His Father before entering upon His great conflict of suffering and death, we read: “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.” John 17:1, 2. This was the lesson prayer for His disciples. “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” Verse 3. Read this prayer, all you who have had your minds drawn away from the plain, clear, self-evident truth to catch up with science.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 45, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 45, 1893, par. 3

Listen to the prayer of Christ, offered to His Father just before His crucifixion. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:1-3.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 108, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 108, 1893, par. 1

The greatness and majesty of God is not to be limited by human finite conceptions. We are to study His Word. Many know little of God. We need to know what is meant by the prayer Christ offered to His Father. [Read] John 17:1-3. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent” (v. 3). May the Lord enable us [to] appreciate these words, [to] study to know the meaning of them. We are to obtain every ray of light shining upon our pathway that God has given us, and regulate our conduct toward Him by the infallible standard of His own plain and positive declarations.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Ms 3, 1895

10LtMs, Ms 3, 1895, par. 29

God holds men responsible for obtaining a knowledge of Him and of Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. In the prayer of Christ just prior to His crucifixion, “He lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:1-3.] What a saying is this! how full, how deep, how comprehensive!

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 1, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 1, 1897, par. 10

Christ prayed for His disciples, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:1-3.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 59, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 59, 1898, par. 9

The prayer that Christ offered to His Father just before His crucifixion was an educating prayer, for the benefit of His disciples. “Father, the hour is come,” He prayed, “glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that thy might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:1-3.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 15, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 15, 1898, par. 9

The question of how to obtain a knowledge of God is to all a life and death question. Read Christ’s prayer to His Father, intended not merely as an important lesson in education for the disciples, but to come down through all time for the benefit of those who would read the inspired writings. “Father,” He prayed, “the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:1-3.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 150, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 150, 1899, par. 21

Jesus “lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” [John 17:1-3.] Satan is working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish. Those who choose Christ will believe in Him as a personal Saviour, and these will have a personal experience in the knowledge of the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

Sermons and Talks, vol. 1

Talk Faith, and Move Forward

1SAT 304.1

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do” (John 17:1-4)

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)

Ms 11, 1911

25LtMs, Ms 11, 1911, par. 3

“I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work that Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” [John 17:1-4.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 153, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 153, 1899, par. 29

The prayer Christ offered to His Father, just before leaving His disciples, to be betrayed, rejected, and condemned, is for His disciples in all time. In this prayer He said, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee; as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” [John 17:1-5.]

Selected Messages Book 1

Teach the Word

1SM 197.5

We need to study the words that Christ uttered in the prayer that He offered just before His trial and crucifixion. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word” (John 17:1-6).

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)

Lt 263, 1904

19LtMs, Lt 263, 1904, par. 16

We need to study the words that Christ uttered in the prayer that He offered just before His trial and crucifixion. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word.” [John 17:1-6.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Lt 82, 1895

10LtMs, Lt 82, 1895, par. 7

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee; as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.” [John 17:1-8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 17, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 1

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” [John 17:1-3.]

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 4

“I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. ... I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and they have kept Thy word.” [Verses 4, 6.] “They have kept Thy word.” This is what we are to do.

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 8

“I have given unto them the words which thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.” [Verses 8, 9.]

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 9

“And now come I to Thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.” [Verse 13.] Christians are not to go with their heads bowed down with sorrow, talking about their trials and difficulties and sorrows. When Christ’s joy is fulfilled in us, we shall not be hurt because somebody has said something about us. We shall not cherish thoughts of distrust and evil. We shall think of the promises that God has made, making them our own; and our faces will be lighted up with the glory of God.

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 10

“I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” [Verse 14.] We are not to follow the customs and practices of the world. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters.” [2 Corinthians 6:17, 18.]

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 11

“I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” [John 17:15.] Until the Lord puts His hand upon the cruel power of darkness, saying, “Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther,” there will be evil in the world. But in the strength of the Redeemer we can live lives of holiness and purity, uncontaminated by the evil around us. Enoch walked with God in an age as degenerate as the age in which we are living. Did he see God by his side? Only by faith. He knew that the Lord was there, and he adhered steadfastly to the principles of truth. We, too, are to walk with God. When we do this, our faces will be lighted up by the brightness of His presence, and when we meet one another, we shall speak of His power, saying, Praise God. Good is the Lord, and good is the Word of the Lord.

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 12

“As thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” [Verses 18-21.]

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 14

“And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” [Verses 22, 23.]

18LtMs, Ms 17, 1903, par. 15

I ask those who have been drawing apart from one another to think of these things. Christ said, “That they may be made perfect in one.” There is no perfection in our being separate, atoms, each one going his own way and following his own judgment. We must be one; we must speak the same things. “That the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” [Verse 23.] Think of these words. God loves us as He loves His Son. How it must grieve Him, then, to see us fighting and quarreling like a family of unruly children, offended first with one and then with another. My brethren and sisters, do you not desire to live in the unity for which Christ prayed? Then when some one begins to talk of the faults and wrongdoings of some one else, turn the conversation to the subject of Christ’s power and mercy. Speak of heaven and eternal things. Angels of heaven will be close beside you, and you will be lifted from the lowlands of earth to vantage ground with God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 157, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 157, 1901, par. 5

Christ’s work was to unify. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee; as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:1-3.] The right knowledge of the truth, [of] God and of Jesus Christ, the world’s Redeemer, brings eternal life to the receiver—spiritual life in this human existence and eternal life in the kingdom of God.

16LtMs, Lt 157, 1901, par. 6

“I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” [Verse 4.] We should all bear in mind that to every man God has given his work. There is no one in the entire human family who has not been entrusted with talents to be wisely used and improved. Said Christ, “I have glorified Thee in my human character, perfecting that character for the benefit of all humanity, to show human beings that man can keep the law of God in a world of sin and transgression, and through being a partaker of the divine nature, stand as an overcomer.” “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” [Revelation 3:21.] Christ is our pattern.

16LtMs, Lt 157, 1901, par. 7

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” [John 17:15-19.] Christ gave the disciples correct views of truth, and then educated them to obey the truth by revealing its principles in the character.

16LtMs, Lt 157, 1901, par. 8

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” [Verse 20.] This statement takes us all in, binding us up with Christ as we receive Him as a personal Saviour. He says, “I am glorified in them before the world by their reception of me as their Saviour, and by their conformity to my will as they commit themselves and all their interests to my guidance and disposal; and on my side, I will give them power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believe on my name. My love shall be exercised toward them. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”

16LtMs, Lt 157, 1901, par. 10

Christ’s prayer is, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” [John 17:21-23.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 60, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 60, 1898, par. 15

The prayer Christ offered just before His crucifixion is an educating prayer. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” “I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” [John 17:1-4.]

13LtMs, Ms 60, 1898, par. 17

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [Verses 15-23.]

13LtMs, Ms 60, 1898, par. 26

“Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.” [Titus 2:6-8.] Young men are to be educated. God calls for their fresh ability. They are to be taught to be co-workers with Jesus, sharing His life of self-denial and self-sacrifice, voicing the words of the Master, “I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth.” [John 17:19.] God chooses them, if they will yield to Him, that He may connect them with the great Teacher. He designs to make them the chief of His staff, instruments for the accomplishments of His purposes,His designs, for the salvation of souls.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 93a, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 93a, 1899, par. 1

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” John 17:1-4.

14LtMs, Ms 93a, 1899, par. 14

I want to read a few verses more. “I have given them thy word, and the world [hath] hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent them into the world, even so have I sent them also into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:14-19. The truth of God must sanctify the whole man, body and soul. It is not the truth to you unless you practice it.

14LtMs, Ms 93a, 1899, par. 16

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” [Verse 20.] Now that prayer of Christ is for us, that we may be sanctified through the truth. “That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [Verse 21.] Get out the coldness from your heart; get out the evil surmisings; get out every bad thought, and let the Lord Jesus take the throne of the heart and reign there.

14LtMs, Ms 93a, 1899, par. 17

“And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them.” The character that God gave Him, He has given us, “that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [Verses 22, 23.]

Prophets and Kings

Chapter 4—Results of Transgression

PK 69.1

Jesus, the divine Master, ever exalted the name of His heavenly Father. He taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” Matthew 6:9, A.R.V. And they were not to forget to acknowledge, “Thine is ... the glory.” Verse 13. So careful was the great Healer to direct attention from Himself to the Source of His power, that the wondering multitude, “when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see,” did not glorify Him, but “glorified the God of Israel.” Matthew 15:31. In the wonderful prayer that Christ offered just before His crucifixion, He declared, “I have glorified Thee on the earth.” “Glorify Thy Son,” He pleaded, “that Thy Son also may glorify Thee.” “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:4, 1, 25, 26.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 156, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 156, 1903, par. 4

Thus He removed the difficulty from this sin-burdened soul and placed the man, whom He knew was repentant, in a hopeful frame of mind. The Medical Missionary took away the sins of the paralytic and then presented him to the Supreme Governor as pardoned. God had placed upon His Son authority to lay hold of the eternal throne with His divine nature. While Christ stood forth distinct in His own personality, He reflected the luster of the greatness that was His because of His position of honor within the encircling light of the eternal throne, in unity with God. His words were spoken with the authority referred to in the Scriptures: “Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee.” [John 17:1.] “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.” [Matthew 11:27.] “What things soever He (the Father) doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” [John 5:19.]

18LtMs, Ms 156, 1903, par. 12

In His last prayer for His followers, Christ besought the Father to sanctify them through the truth. “For their sakes,” He declared, “I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” [John 17:19-26.]

Manuscript Release No 1033

Sands, Virginia, Sabbath, November 8, 1890

MR1033 23.2

I spoke in the afternoon from John 17. The Lord gave me much of His Holy Spirit. The house was full. I called those forward who wished to seek the Lord more earnestly and for those who wished to give themselves to the Lord a whole sacrifice. For a time not one made a move, but after a while many came forward and bore testimonies of confession. We had a precious season of prayer and all felt broken down, weeping and confessing their sins.—Manuscript 45, 1890, 3-4, 6 (Diary 16, pp. 294, 299).

From Heaven With Love

How the Holy Spirit Makes Christ’s Work for Us Effective

HLv 448.3

Before offering Himself as the sacrificial victim Christ sought for the most essential gift to bestow on His followers. “I will pray the Father,” He said, “and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you.” John 14:16-18, margin. While Christ was on earth, the disciples had desired no other helper. Not until deprived of His presence would they feel their need of the Spirit, and then He would come.

The Desire of Ages

Chapter 73—“Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled”

DA 662.1

Looking upon His disciples with divine love and with the tenderest sympathy, Christ said, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” Judas had left the upper chamber, and Christ was alone with the eleven. He was about to speak of His approaching separation from them; but before doing this He pointed to the great object of His mission. It was this that He kept ever before Him. It was His joy that all His humiliation and suffering would glorify the Father’s name. To this He first directs the thoughts of His disciples.

DA 662.2

Then addressing them by the endearing term, “Little children,” He said, “Yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek Me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.”

DA 662.3

The disciples could not rejoice when they heard this. Fear fell upon them. They pressed close about the Saviour. Their Master and Lord, their beloved Teacher and Friend, He was dearer to them than life. To Him they had looked for help in all their difficulties, for comfort in their sorrows and disappointments. Now He was to leave them, a lonely, dependent company. Dark were the forebodings that filled their hearts.

DA 662.4

But the Saviour’s words to them were full of hope. He knew that they were to be assailed by the enemy, and that Satan’s craft is most successful against those who are depressed by difficulties. Therefore He pointed them away from “the things which are seen,” to “the things which are not seen.” 2 Corinthians 4:18. From earthly exile He turned their thoughts to the heavenly home.

DA 663.1

“Let not your heart be troubled,” He said; “ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” For your sake I came into the world. I am working in your behalf. When I go away, I shall still work earnestly for you. I came into the world to reveal Myself to you, that you might believe. I go to the Father to co-operate with Him in your behalf. The object of Christ’s departure was the opposite of what the disciples feared. It did not mean a final separation. He was going to prepare a place for them, that He might come again, and receive them unto Himself. While He was building mansions for them, they were to build characters after the divine similitude.

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Still the disciples were perplexed. Thomas, always troubled by doubts, said, “Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.”

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There are not many ways to heaven. Each one may not choose his own way. Christ says, “I am the way: ... no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” Since the first gospel sermon was preached, when in Eden it was declared that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, Christ had been uplifted as the way, the truth, and the life. He was the way when Adam lived, when Abel presented to God the blood of the slain lamb, representing the blood of the Redeemer. Christ was the way by which patriarchs and prophets were saved. He is the way by which alone we can have access to God.

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“If ye had known Me,” Christ said, “ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.” But not yet did the disciples understand. “Lord, show us the Father,” exclaimed Philip, “and it sufficeth us.”

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Amazed at his dullness of comprehension, Christ asked with pained surprise, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?” Is it possible that you do not see the Father in the works He does through Me? Do you not believe that I came to testify of the Father? “How sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” Christ had not ceased to be God when He became man. Though He had humbled Himself to humanity, the Godhead was still His own. Christ alone could represent the Father to humanity, and this representation the disciples had been privileged to behold for over three years.

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“Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.” Their faith might safely rest on the evidence given in Christ’s works, works that no man, of himself, ever had done, or ever could do. Christ’s work testified to His divinity. Through Him the Father had been revealed.

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If the disciples believed this vital connection between the Father and the Son, their faith would not forsake them when they saw Christ’s suffering and death to save a perishing world. Christ was seeking to lead them from their low condition of faith to the experience they might receive if they truly realized what He was,—God in human flesh. He desired them to see that their faith must lead up to God, and be anchored there. How earnestly and perseveringly our compassionate Saviour sought to prepare His disciples for the storm of temptation that was soon to beat upon them. He would have them hid with Him in God.

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As Christ was speaking these words, the glory of God was shining from His countenance, and all present felt a sacred awe as they listened with rapt attention to His words. Their hearts were more decidedly drawn to Him; and as they were drawn to Christ in greater love, they were drawn to one another. They felt that heaven was very near, and that the words to which they listened were a message to them from their heavenly Father.

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“Verily, verily, I say unto you,” Christ continued, “He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also.” The Saviour was deeply anxious for His disciples to understand for what purpose His divinity was united to humanity. He came to the world to display the glory of God, that man might be uplifted by its restoring power. God was manifested in Him that He might be manifested in them. Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as He was.

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“And greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.” By this Christ did not mean that the disciples’ work would be of a more exalted character than His, but that it would have greater extent. He did not refer merely to miracle working, but to all that would take place under the working of the Holy Spirit.

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After the Lord’s ascension, the disciples realized the fulfillment of His promise. The scenes of the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ were a living reality to them. They saw that the prophecies had been literally fulfilled. They searched the Scriptures, and accepted their teaching with a faith and assurance unknown before. They knew that the divine Teacher was all that He had claimed to be. As they told their experience, and exalted the love of God, men’s hearts were melted and subdued, and multitudes believed on Jesus.

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The Saviour’s promise to His disciples is a promise to His church to the end of time. God did not design that His wonderful plan to redeem men should achieve only insignificant results. All who will go to work, trusting not in what they themselves can do, but in what God can do for and through them, will certainly realize the fulfillment of His promise. “Greater works than these shall ye do,” He declares; “because I go unto My Father.”

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As yet the disciples were unacquainted with the Saviour’s unlimited resources and power. He said to them, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name.” John 16:24. He explained that the secret of their success would be in asking for strength and grace in His name. He would be present before the Father to make request for them. The prayer of the humble suppliant He presents as His own desire in that soul’s behalf. Every sincere prayer is heard in heaven. It may not be fluently expressed; but if the heart is in it, it will ascend to the sanctuary where Jesus ministers, and He will present it to the Father without one awkward, stammering word, beautiful and fragrant with the incense of His own perfection.

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The path of sincerity and integrity is not a path free from obstruction, but in every difficulty we are to see a call to prayer. There is no one living who has any power that he has not received from God, and the source whence it comes is open to the weakest human being. “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name,” said Jesus, “that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

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“In My name,” Christ bade His disciples pray. In Christ’s name His followers are to stand before God. Through the value of the sacrifice made for them, they are of value in the Lord’s sight. Because of the imputed righteousness of Christ they are accounted precious. For Christ’s sake the Lord pardons those that fear Him. He does not see in them the vileness of the sinner. He recognizes in them the likeness of His Son, in whom they believe.

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The Lord is disappointed when His people place a low estimate upon themselves. He desires His chosen heritage to value themselves according to the price He has placed upon them. God wanted them, else He would not have sent His Son on such an expensive errand to redeem them. He has a use for them, and He is well pleased when they make the very highest demands upon Him, that they may glorify His name. They may expect large things if they have faith in His promises.

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But to pray in Christ’s name means much. It means that we are to accept His character, manifest His spirit, and work His works. The Saviour’s promise is given on condition. “If ye love Me,” He says, “keep My commandments.” He saves men, not in sin, but from sin; and those who love Him will show their love by obedience.

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All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.

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As Christ lived the law in humanity, so we may do if we will take hold of the Strong for strength. But we are not to place the responsibility of our duty upon others, and wait for them to tell us what to do. We cannot depend for counsel upon humanity. The Lord will teach us our duty just as willingly as He will teach somebody else. If we come to Him in faith, He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Our hearts will often burn within us as One draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. Those who decide to do nothing in any line that will displease God, will know, after presenting their case before Him, just what course to pursue. And they will receive not only wisdom, but strength. Power for obedience, for service, will be imparted to them, as Christ has promised. Whatever was given to Christ—the “all things” to supply the need of fallen men—was given to Him as the head and representative of humanity. And “whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” 1 John 3:22.

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Before offering Himself as the sacrificial victim, Christ sought for the most essential and complete gift to bestow upon His followers, a gift that would bring within their reach the boundless resources of grace. “I will pray the Father,” He said, “and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you.” John 14:16-18, margin.

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Before this the Spirit had been in the world; from the very beginning of the work of redemption He had been moving upon men’s hearts. But while Christ was on earth, the disciples had desired no other helper. Not until they were deprived of His presence would they feel their need of the Spirit, and then He would come.

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The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore it was for their interest that He should go to the Father, and send the Spirit to be His successor on earth. No one could then have any advantage because of his location or his personal contact with Christ. By the Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. In this sense He would be nearer to them than if He had not ascended on high.

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“He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” Jesus read the future of His disciples. He saw one brought to the scaffold, one to the cross, one to exile among the lonely rocks of the sea, others to persecution and death. He encouraged them with the promise that in every trial He would be with them. That promise has lost none of its force. The Lord knows all about His faithful servants who for His sake are lying in prison or who are banished to lonely islands. He comforts them with His own presence. When for the truth’s sake the believer stands at the bar of unrighteous tribunals, Christ stands by his side. All the reproaches that fall upon him, fall upon Christ. Christ is condemned over again in the person of His disciple. When one is incarcerated in prison walls, Christ ravishes the heart with His love. When one suffers death for His sake, Christ says, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, ... and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 1:18. The life that is sacrificed for Me is preserved unto eternal glory.

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At all times and in all places, in all sorrows and in all afflictions, when the outlook seems dark and the future perplexing, and we feel helpless and alone, the Comforter will be sent in answer to the prayer of faith. Circumstances may separate us from every earthly friend; but no circumstance, no distance, can separate us from the heavenly Comforter. Wherever we are, wherever we may go, He is always at our right hand to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer.

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The disciples still failed to understand Christ’s words in their spiritual sense, and again He explained His meaning. By the Spirit, He said, He would manifest Himself to them. “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things.” No more will you say, I cannot comprehend. No longer will you see through a glass, darkly. You shall “be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.” Ephesians 3:18, 19.

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The disciples were to bear witness to the life and work of Christ. Through their word He was to speak to all the people on the face of the earth. But in the humiliation and death of Christ they were to suffer great trial and disappointment. That after this experience their word might be accurate, Jesus promised that the Comforter should “bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

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“I have yet many things to say unto you,” He continued, “but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” Jesus had opened before His disciples a vast tract of truth. But it was most difficult for them to keep His lessons distinct from the traditions and maxims of the scribes and Pharisees. They had been educated to accept the teaching of the rabbis as the voice of God, and it still held a power over their minds, and molded their sentiments. Earthly ideas, temporal things, still had a large place in their thoughts. They did not understand the spiritual nature of Christ’s kingdom, though He had so often explained it to them. Their minds had become confused. They did not comprehend the value of the scriptures Christ presented. Many of His lessons seemed almost lost upon them. Jesus saw that they did not lay hold of the real meaning of His words. He compassionately promised that the Holy Spirit should recall these sayings to their minds. And He had left unsaid many things that could not be comprehended by the disciples. These also would be opened to them by the Spirit. The Spirit was to quicken their understanding, that they might have an appreciation of heavenly things. “When He, the Spirit of truth, is come,” said Jesus, “He will guide you into all truth.”

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The Comforter is called “the Spirit of truth.” His work is to define and maintain the truth. He first dwells in the heart as the Spirit of truth, and thus He becomes the Comforter. There is comfort and peace in the truth, but no real peace or comfort can be found in falsehood. It is through false theories and traditions that Satan gains his power over the mind. By directing men to false standards, he misshapes the character. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the heart. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It is by the Spirit of truth, working through the word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself.

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In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He rejoiced because of the abundant help He had provided for His church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.

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Of the Spirit Jesus said, “He shall glorify Me.” The Saviour came to glorify the Father by the demonstration of His love; so the Spirit was to glorify Christ by revealing His grace to the world. The very image of God is to be reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people.

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“When He [the Spirit of truth] is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The preaching of the word will be of no avail without the continual presence and aid of the Holy Spirit. This is the only effectual teacher of divine truth. Only when the truth is accompanied to the heart by the Spirit will it quicken the conscience or transform the life. One might be able to present the letter of the word of God, he might be familiar with all its commands and promises; but unless the Holy Spirit sets home the truth, no souls will fall on the Rock and be broken. No amount of education, no advantages, however great, can make one a channel of light without the co-operation of the Spirit of God. The sowing of the gospel seed will not be a success unless the seed is quickened into life by the dew of heaven. Before one book of the New Testament was written, before one gospel sermon had been preached after Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon the praying apostles. Then the testimony of their enemies was, “Ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine.” Acts 5:28.

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Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But like every other promise, it is given on conditions. There are many who believe and profess to claim the Lord’s promise; they talk about Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine agencies. We cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit God works in His people “to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. But many will not submit to this. They want to manage themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train. It is given according to the riches of the grace of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the capacity to receive.

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In His discourse to the disciples, Jesus made no mournful allusion to His own sufferings and death. His last legacy to them was a legacy of peace. He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

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Before leaving the upper chamber, the Saviour led His disciples in a song of praise. His voice was heard, not in the strains of some mournful lament, but in the joyful notes of the Passover hallel:

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“O praise the Lord, all ye nations:
Praise Him, all ye people.
For His merciful kindness is great toward us:
And the truth of the Lord endureth forever.
Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 117.

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After the hymn, they went out. Through the crowded streets they made their way, passing out of the city gate toward the Mount of Olives. Slowly they proceeded, each busy with his own thoughts. As they began to descend toward the mount, Jesus said, in a tone of deepest sadness, “All ye shall be offended because of Me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” Matthew 26:31. The disciples listened in sorrow and amazement. They remembered how in the synagogue at Capernaum, when Christ spoke of Himself as the bread of life, many had been offended, and had turned away from Him. But the twelve had not shown themselves unfaithful. Peter, speaking for his brethren, had then declared his loyalty to Christ. Then the Saviour had said, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” John 6:70. In the upper chamber Jesus said that one of the twelve would betray Him, and that Peter would deny Him. But now His words include them all.

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Now Peter’s voice is heard vehemently protesting, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.” In the upper chamber he had declared, “I will lay down my life for Thy sake.” Jesus had warned him that he would that very night deny his Saviour. Now Christ repeats the warning: “Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice.” But Peter only “spake the more vehemently, If I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee in anywise. Likewise also said they all.” Mark 14:29, 30, 31. In their self-confidence they denied the repeated statement of Him who knew. They were unprepared for the test; when temptation should overtake them, they would understand their own weakness.

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When Peter said he would follow his Lord to prison and to death, he meant it, every word of it; but he did not know himself. Hidden in his heart were elements of evil that circumstances would fan into life. Unless he was made conscious of his danger, these would prove his eternal ruin. The Saviour saw in him a self-love and assurance that would overbear even his love for Christ. Much of infirmity, of unmortified sin, carelessness of spirit, unsanctified temper, heedlessness in entering into temptation, had been revealed in his experience. Christ’s solemn warning was a call to heart searching. Peter needed to distrust himself, and to have a deeper faith in Christ. Had he in humility received the warning, he would have appealed to the Shepherd of the flock to keep His sheep. When on the Sea of Galilee he was about to sink, he cried, “Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:30. Then the hand of Christ was outstretched to grasp his hand. So now if he had cried to Jesus, Save me from myself, he would have been kept. But Peter felt that he was distrusted, and he thought it cruel. He was already offended, and he became more persistent in his self-confidence.

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Jesus looks with compassion on His disciples. He cannot save them from the trial, but He does not leave them comfortless. He assures them that He is to break the fetters of the tomb, and that His love for them will not fail. “After I am risen again,” He says, “I will go before you into Galilee.” Matthew 26:32. Before the denial, they have the assurance of forgiveness. After His death and resurrection, they knew that they were forgiven, and were dear to the heart of Christ.

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Jesus and the disciples were on the way to Gethsemane, at the foot of Mount Olivet, a retired spot which He had often visited for meditation and prayer. The Saviour had been explaining to His disciples His mission to the world, and the spiritual relation to Him which they were to sustain. Now He illustrates the lesson. The moon is shining bright, and reveals to Him a flourishing grapevine. Drawing the attention of the disciples to it, He employs it as a symbol.

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“I am the true Vine,” He says. Instead of choosing the graceful palm, the lofty cedar, or the strong oak, Jesus takes the vine with its clinging tendrils to represent Himself. The palm tree, the cedar, and the oak stand alone. They require no support. But the vine entwines about the trellis, and thus climbs heavenward. So Christ in His humanity was dependent upon divine power. “I can of Mine own self do nothing,” He declared. John 5:30.

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“I am the true Vine.” The Jews had always regarded the vine as the most noble of plants, and a type of all that was powerful, excellent, and fruitful. Israel had been represented as a vine which God had planted in the Promised Land. The Jews based their hope of salvation on the fact of their connection with Israel. But Jesus says, I am the real Vine. Think not that through a connection with Israel you may become partakers of the life of God, and inheritors of His promise. Through Me alone is spiritual life received.

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“I am the true Vine, and My Father is the husbandman.” On the hills of Palestine our heavenly Father had planted this goodly Vine, and He Himself was the husbandman. Many were attracted by the beauty of this Vine, and declared its heavenly origin. But to the leaders in Israel it appeared as a root out of a dry ground. They took the plant, and bruised it, and trampled it under their unholy feet. Their thought was to destroy it forever. But the heavenly Husbandman never lost sight of His plant. After men thought they had killed it, He took it, and replanted it on the other side of the wall. The vine stock was to be no longer visible. It was hidden from the rude assaults of men. But the branches of the Vine hung over the wall. They were to represent the Vine. Through them grafts might still be united to the Vine. From them fruit has been obtained. There has been a harvest which the passers-by have plucked.

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“I am the Vine, ye are the branches,” Christ said to His disciples. Though He was about to be removed from them, their spiritual union with Him was to be unchanged. The connection of the branch with the vine, He said, represents the relation you are to sustain to Me. The scion is engrafted into the living vine, and fiber by fiber, vein by vein, it grows into the vine stock. The life of the vine becomes the life of the branch. So the soul dead in trespasses and sins receives life through connection with Christ. By faith in Him as a personal Saviour the union is formed. The sinner unites his weakness to Christ’s strength, his emptiness to Christ’s fullness, his frailty to Christ’s enduring might. Then he has the mind of Christ. The humanity of Christ has touched our humanity, and our humanity has touched divinity. Thus through the agency of the Holy Spirit man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. He is accepted in the Beloved.

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This union with Christ, once formed, must be maintained. Christ said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” This is no casual touch, no off-and-on connection. The branch becomes a part of the living vine. The communication of life, strength, and fruitfulness from the root to the branches is unobstructed and constant. Separated from the vine, the branch cannot live. No more, said Jesus, can you live apart from Me. The life you have received from Me can be preserved only by continual communion. Without Me you cannot overcome one sin, or resist one temptation.

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“Abide in Me, and I in you.” Abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of His Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to His service. The channel of communication must be open continually between man and his God. As the vine branch constantly draws the sap from the living vine, so are we to cling to Jesus, and receive from Him by faith the strength and perfection of His own character.

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The root sends its nourishment through the branch to the outermost twig. So Christ communicates the current of spiritual strength to every believer. So long as the soul is united to Christ, there is no danger that it will wither or decay.

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The life of the vine will be manifest in fragrant fruit on the branches. “He that abideth in Me,” said Jesus, “and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing.

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“My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away.” While the graft is outwardly united with the vine, there may be no vital connection. Then there will be no growth or fruitfulness. So there may be an apparent connection with Christ without a real union with Him by faith. A profession of religion places men in the church, but the character and conduct show whether they are in connection with Christ. If they bear no fruit, they are false branches. Their separation from Christ involves a ruin as complete as that represented by the dead branch. “If a man abide not in Me,” said Christ, “he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”

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“And every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth [pruneth] it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” From the chosen twelve who had followed Jesus, one as a withered branch was about to be taken away; the rest were to pass under the pruning knife of bitter trial. Jesus with solemn tenderness explained the purpose of the husbandman. The pruning will cause pain, but it is the Father who applies the knife. He works with no wanton hand or indifferent heart. There are branches trailing upon the ground; these must be cut loose from the earthly supports to which their tendrils are fastening. They are to reach heavenward, and find their support in God. The excessive foliage that draws away the life current from the fruit must be pruned off. The overgrowth must be cut out, to give room for the healing beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The husbandman prunes away the harmful growth, that the fruit may be richer and more abundant.

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“Herein is My Father glorified,” said Jesus, “that ye bear much fruit.” God desires to manifest through you the holiness, the benevolence, the compassion, of His own character. Yet the Saviour does not bid the disciples labor to bear fruit. He tells them to abide in Him. “If ye abide in Me,” He says, “and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” It is through the word that Christ abides in His followers. This is the same vital union that is represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The words of Christ are spirit and life. Receiving them, you receive the life of the Vine. You live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. The life of Christ in you produces the same fruits as in Him. Living in Christ, adhering to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing nourishment from Christ, you bear fruit after the similitude of Christ.

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In this last meeting with His disciples, the great desire which Christ expressed for them was that they might love one another as He had loved them. Again and again He spoke of this. “These things I command you,” He said repeatedly, “that ye love one another.” His very first injunction when alone with them in the upper chamber was, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” To the disciples this commandment was new; for they had not loved one another as Christ had loved them. He saw that new ideas and impulses must control them; that new principles must be practiced by them; through His life and death they were to receive a new conception of love. The command to love one another had a new meaning in the light of His self-sacrifice. The whole work of grace is one continual service of love, of self-denying, self-sacrificing effort. During every hour of Christ’s sojourn upon the earth, the love of God was flowing from Him in irrepressible streams. All who are imbued with His Spirit will love as He loved. The very principle that actuated Christ will actuate them in all their dealing one with another.

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This love is the evidence of their discipleship. “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples,” said Jesus, “if ye have love one to another.” When men are bound together, not by force or self-interest, but by love, they show the working of an influence that is above every human influence. Where this oneness exists, it is evidence that the image of God is being restored in humanity, that a new principle of life has been implanted. It shows that there is power in the divine nature to withstand the supernatural agencies of evil, and that the grace of God subdues the selfishness inherent in the natural heart.

DA 678.2

This love, manifested in the church, will surely stir the wrath of Satan. Christ did not mark out for His disciples an easy path. “If the world hate you,” He said, “ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent Me.” The gospel is to be carried forward by aggressive warfare, in the midst of opposition, peril, loss, and suffering. But those who do this work are only following in their Master’s steps.

DA 678.3

As the world’s Redeemer, Christ was constantly confronted with apparent failure. He, the messenger of mercy to our world, seemed to do little of the work He longed to do in uplifting and saving. Satanic influences were constantly working to oppose His way. But He would not be discouraged. Through the prophecy of Isaiah He declares, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely My judgment is with the Lord, and My work with My God.... Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and My God shall be My strength.” It is to Christ that the promise is given, “Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth; ... thus saith the Lord: ... I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that Thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves.... They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them.” Isaiah 49:4, 5, 7-10.

DA 679.1

Upon this word Jesus rested, and He gave Satan no advantage. When the last steps of Christ’s humiliation were to be taken, when the deepest sorrow was closing about His soul, He said to His disciples, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.” “The prince of this world is judged.” Now shall he be cast out. John 14:30; 16:11; 12:31. With prophetic eye Christ traced the scenes to take place in His last great conflict. He knew that when He should exclaim, “It is finished,” all heaven would triumph. His ear caught the distant music and the shouts of victory in the heavenly courts. He knew that the knell of Satan’s empire would then be sounded, and the name of Christ would be heralded from world to world throughout the universe.

DA 679.2

Christ rejoiced that He could do more for His followers than they could ask or think. He spoke with assurance, knowing that an almighty decree had been given before the world was made. He knew that truth, armed with the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, would conquer in the contest with evil; and that the bloodstained banner would wave triumphantly over His followers. He knew that the life of His trusting disciples would be like His, a series of uninterrupted victories, not seen to be such here, but recognized as such in the great hereafter.

DA 679.3

“These things I have spoken unto you,” He said, “that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Christ did not fail, neither was He discouraged, and His followers are to manifest a faith of the same enduring nature. They are to live as He lived, and work as He worked, because they depend on Him as the great Master Worker. Courage, energy, and perseverance they must possess. Though apparent impossibilities obstruct their way, by His grace they are to go forward. Instead of deploring difficulties, they are called upon to surmount them. They are to despair of nothing, and to hope for everything. With the golden chain of His matchless love Christ has bound them to the throne of God. It is His purpose that the highest influence in the universe, emanating from the source of all power, shall be theirs. They are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master, power that will enable them to overcome as Christ overcame.

DA 680.1

Christ designs that heaven’s order, heaven’s plan of government, heaven’s divine harmony, shall be represented in His church on earth. Thus in His people He is glorified. Through them the Sun of Righteousness will shine in undimmed luster to the world. Christ has given to His church ample facilities, that He may receive a large revenue of glory from His redeemed, purchased possession. He has bestowed upon His people capabilities and blessings that they may represent His own sufficiency. The church, endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depositary, in which the riches of His mercy, His grace, and His love, are to appear in full and final display. Christ looks upon His people in their purity and perfection, as the reward of His humiliation, and the supplement of His glory,—Christ, the great Center, from whom radiates all glory.

DA 680.2

With strong, hopeful words the Saviour ended His instruction. Then He poured out the burden of His soul in prayer for His disciples. Lifting His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”

DA 680.3

Christ had finished the work that was given Him to do. He had glorified God on the earth. He had manifested the Father’s name. He had gathered out those who were to continue His work among men. And He said, “I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are.” “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; ... I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”

DA 680.4

Thus in the language of one who has divine authority, Christ gives His elect church into the Father’s arms. As a consecrated high priest He intercedes for His people. As a faithful shepherd He gathers His flock under the shadow of the Almighty, in the strong and sure refuge. For Him there waits the last battle with Satan, and He goes forth to meet it.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Ms 21, 1889

6LtMs, Ms 21, 1889, par. 26

The words of Christ’s prayer to His Father in (John 17) are full of instruction. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Verse 3. This is the precious pearl, the knowledge of God. This is unto us wisdom, sanctification, and eternal life. We may seek her as silver and search for her as for hid treasures, and we will never be disappointed.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Ms 45, 1890

6LtMs, Ms 45, 1890, par. 16

I spoke in the afternoon from John 17. The Lord gave me much of His Holy Spirit. The house was full. I called those forward who wished to seek the Lord more earnestly and for those who wished to give themselves to the Lord a whole sacrifice. For a time not one made a move, but after a while many came forward and bore testimonies of confession. We had a precious season of prayer and all felt broken down, weeping and confessing their sins. Oh, that each may understand! It is their privilege to apportion out their means, putting it into circulation to supply the deficiencies by giving back to the Lord His own portion to advance His cause in the world.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Lt 85, 1890

6LtMs, Lt 85, 1890, par. 3

Bro. Olsen had freedom and I was blessed with a measure of freedom and then we had a long social meeting. If you had heard the testimonies borne of gratitude to God for the truth they had heard, could you have seen the tears shed, you would have concluded that there were those who heartily received the Word with gladness. I spoke from John 16[17?] and John 6:53-45 [65?].

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Lt 109, 1890

6LtMs, Lt 109, 1890, par. 15

I slept last night about ten hours; praise the Lord, praise His holy name. I believe He will give me strength and grace. I am making my home with Sister Ellen Warfe, one of the number, a kind family. We have things here convenient and pleasant. I shall go to Danvers Wednesday. I have been so deeply interested in John, chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17 that I am writing on the subject. I have written twelve pages today upon (John 14), for fear I should have the force of the subject wear away from my mind. This will come in Life of Christ. I have in all forty pages written.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Ms 42, 1890

6LtMs, Ms 42, 1890, par. 19

I feel intensely when I read and dwell upon the subjects contained in the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th chapters of John. These lessons are of deep import and need to be studied and even committed to memory. The richest promises are found here. I am pained when I see so little real, genuine piety among Seventh-day Adventists, when we have had so great light. We must be more diligent searchers of the Word, that we may speak a word in season to the oppressed, the sorrowful, the afflicted. We must keep the mind as a storehouse of truth from which to draw the richest consolation to impart to others who are ready to perish. “Thus saith the Lord” and “It is written” should be ever upon our lips, and our souls should be like a natural garden whose waters fail not, refreshing all who are around us. Let us read the Bible and study the meanings of every word.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 6 (1889-1890)

Ms 51, 1890

6LtMs, Ms 51, 1890, par. 29

We thank the Lord with heart and with voice for His manifestation of His Holy Spirit which is full of the promise of eternal life. We know that Jesus and heavenly angels were in the assembly, binding up souls in the mystical union with Himself, their lives hid with Christ in God. Every one is dear to Him, and He has declared in (John 17) that the Father loveth them as He loved His Son Jesus Christ. One with Christ, and Christ one with God—bound up together with Christ in God! They are His chosen ones, His children, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, redeemed to Himself by the blood of the Lamb. They are His remnant people, in whose hearts is His law.

6LtMs, Ms 51, 1890, par. 38

Let the church arise to her exalted privileges, and let each of its members stand in his place to represent the life and the character of Jesus Christ. He said, “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified.” John 17:19. He devoted Himself wholly and entirely to the work of the redemption of the world. “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 3:10, 11.

6LtMs, Ms 51, 1890, par. 52

Many, many self-deluded souls are in the world who claim holiness and purity but hate the mention of the commandments of God. Christ prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 9, 1892

7LtMs, Lt 9, 1892, par. 64

Please read (John 17) carefully with humble hearts, and try to take it all in in the fullest sense. Christ pleads for His disciples, “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [Verses 21-23.] Is it possible that this can be? Yes, it is true that the Lord will love all who believe in Jesus as He loves His Son, because He gives them His glory. And what is His glory? His own character.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 37, 1892

7LtMs, Ms 37, 1892, par. 7

This morning I spoke at eleven o’clock. My mind and heart are full of the important subject contained in the seventeenth chapter of John. As I think of the possibilities contained in the prayer of Christ for His disciples and all who should believe on Him through their word, my faith is strengthened, and I gain a higher idea of what the Christian may become by striving to answer this prayer.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 40, 1891

7LtMs, Ms 40, 1891, par. 1

New Year’s day opens with a soft rainstorm. Another year has commenced; 1890 has passed into eternity with its burden of record. I renew my consecration to God. Said Christ, “I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified.” “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” [John 17:19, 17.] I claim the rich promises of God through the matchless love and spotless character of Jesus Christ, my Advocate. I have labored almost constantly, and yet I see so much that needs to be done that it makes me restless, for it seems I have done so little compared with the great work to be done.

7LtMs, Ms 40, 1891, par. 50

Spoke in the meeting of the Ministers’ Institute from John 17. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Verse 3.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 21, 1892

7LtMs, Ms 21, 1892, par. 9

This morning I spoke at eleven o’clock. My mind and heart are full of the important subject contained in the seventeenth chapter of John. As I think of the possibilities contained in the prayer of Christ for His disciples and all who should believe on Him through their word, my faith is strengthened and I gain a higher idea of what the Christian may become by striving to answer this prayer.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 16j, 1892

7LtMs, Lt 16j, 1892, par. 3

Time is given to unimportant matters, but the very things of eternal consequence scarcely arrest the attention and seem to make but faint impress on the mind. Actions speak for themselves. The thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John need careful study and earnest practice if we honor God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. We cannot afford to be living in neglect of the very duties, specified by our Substitute and Surety, that bear the divine credentials to the world that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 31, 1892

7LtMs, Lt 31, 1892, par. 9

As there are divisions everywhere in society, the Lord Jesus would have the unity of His workers appear in marked contrast to the divisions. In unity there is strength; in division there is weakness. In seeking to answer the prayer of Christ, that His disciples may be one, you are making manifest to the world the power and principles of truth and thus increasing their influence in the world. “Ye are the light of the world.” [Matthew 5:14.] Listen to the prayer of Christ that all His disciples may be one, “That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [John 17:21.] Diverse in mind, in ideas, one subject is to bind heart to heart—the conversion of souls to the truth, which draws all to the cross. All should be working to the utmost of their ability to win souls to Christ.

7LtMs, Lt 31, 1892, par. 30

I beseech you in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, to put away everything like spiritual pride and love of supremacy. Become as little children if, when the warfare is ended, you would become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly king. Read (John 17) over and over again. That prayer of our Saviour, offered to His Father in behalf of His disciples, is worthy to be oft repeated, and carried in the practical life. This will raise fallen man; for the Lord has promised that if we preserve this unity, God will love us as He loved His Son; the sinner will be saved, and God eternally glorified.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 20, 1892

7LtMs, Ms 20, 1892, par. 58

I spoke from the seventeenth [chapter] of John, emphasizing the necessity of our constantly seeking to answer Christ’s prayer that His disciples may be one in Him. When we are at variance with one another, how can we be branches of the True Vine?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 30a, 1892

7LtMs, Lt 30a, 1892, par. 16

In view of these things I implore my brethren and sisters in the faith to be very careful not to join the evil workers to hurt and weaken your brethren and sisters and make their labors of none effect. Pay special heed to the prayer of Christ in the 17th chapter of John. A converting power of God must be upon human hearts. Christ must abide with the human agents if they are to live in harmony with the prayer. All heaven is at work to answer the prayer of Christ, and the heavenly intelligences are waiting the cooperation of the human agents with the divine. Let us humble our hearts before God. Let us seek that oneness which Christ prayed might exist between His followers as between the Father and the Son.

7LtMs, Lt 30a, 1892, par. 17

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for all them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one ... even as we are one.” [Verses 20-22.] O, wonderful, amazing request. It is almost too great for our faith, that this is the purpose and will of God through Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. The richest blessings of heaven are proffered us in the privilege of becoming one with Christ, as He is one with the Father, and in Christ believers are to be a unit, not separate atoms falling apart.

7LtMs, Lt 30a, 1892, par. 18

“The glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.” [Verses 22, 23.] There is not, cannot be, perfection of character in those who are at variance, who stand ready to catch up anything which will give a chance to show that they are really not one, but divided, criticising and drawing away from one another.

7LtMs, Lt 30a, 1892, par. 19

“Made perfect in one.” Love will break every barrier down. It is this love for Christ, an unselfish, Christlike love for one another, that Christ prayed might exist not only with His early disciples, but with “All who believe on me through their word.” [Verse 20.]

7LtMs, Lt 30a, 1892, par. 20

“That the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” [Verse 23.] What words are these! Can we take hold of them by faith? Is it possible that the Lord can love poor, perverse, fallen men, and accept him through the imputed righteousness of Christ? Oh, what a treasure of hope we have in these words for our faith to grasp. Let us as Christians make it our individual work to draw nigh to God, and then we shall draw nigh to one another. Let us show before heaven that we respect and believe every word of the prayer of Christ, and that we will carry out its principles. Let us, as never before, cause rejoicing among the heavenly host by answering that prayer, in our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 36, 1892

7LtMs, Ms 36, 1892, par. 3

I spoke from the seventeenth [chapter] of John, emphasizing the necessity of our constantly seeking to answer Christ’s prayer that His disciples may be one in Him. When we are at variance with one another, how can we be branches of the True Vine?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Lt 21, 1891

7LtMs, Lt 21, 1891, par. 4

On Sabbath I spoke to our people from the seventeenth chapter of John, from the words, “I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth.” [Verse 19.] The Lord gave me special freedom, and after I closed we had a social meeting. The testimonies borne were of a hearty, decided character. They said they had never before heard words that gave them such hope and courage in regard to justification by faith and the righteousness of Christ. They said they felt that the treasure house of truth had been opened before them, and the words had taken hold upon their souls, filling them with joy and peace and the love of God. One man rose, and with deep feeling he said that he had been a backslider, and no one was to blame but himself. He said the words spoken had taken hold of his soul and that he felt that he must be a converted man. He asked all present to forgive him. We had a most blessed meeting.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)

Ms 2, 1891

7LtMs, Ms 2, 1891, par. 9

Not only are the rays of light to shine in the home circle, but to the church, in bright and distant rays; and again, not to the church only, but the whole world. See how much is contained in the prayer of Christ in the 17th chapter of John, constantly identifying Himself and combining Himself with His believing people, and His believing people binding up with Himself for the work of the salvation of a lost world. In His ministry He shows them the confederacy of evil arrayed against them, and reveals to them that they are in warfare with principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. But angels unite to compose that army; they are mingling in their ranks.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 85, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 85, 1893, par. 45

Sabbath. I spoke in Odd Fellows’ Hall. Thirty were present. The burden of my message was John 17. Read and made remarks upon the entire chapter. Connecting with this was presented the first ten verses of the third chapter of the first epistle of John. I was trying to show that the world and Christians cannot join hands in fellowship and unity, for they are serving different masters. The Lord is the strength, as well as the light and comfort and joy, of His people. We must individually stand in God’s strength, not trusting to our own weak and inefficient strength, and we have an individuality of our own which cannot be submerged in any living human being.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 78, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 78, 1893, par. 23

I spoke under the tent from (John 14) and made large references to John 17. Wonderful chapter is this, Christ’s prayer for His disciples! The seats under the tent were all filled. We had about all that could be seated. Today was a holiday. I had much freedom in speaking, and there were many who manifested intense interest. All gave the best of attention. About one dozen of our brethren and sisters came into the meeting from a distance. Poor scattered sheep are gathering in.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 80, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 80, 1893, par. 43

These (chapters 14, 15, 16, 17) of John are of highest value for every soul who is consecrating his life to the service of God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 93, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 93, 1893, par. 15

If this is not a possible thing to do, then these words would not be written. This whole chapter may be read and most earnestly taken into the life practice, and so answer the prayer of Christ in John 17. “For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” 1 Corinthians 3:9-13.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Lt 86a, 1893

8LtMs, Lt 86a, 1893, par. 12

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” [John 17:15-26.]

8LtMs, Lt 86a, 1893, par. 13

Please read this chapter (John 17) with careful, prayerful attention, and practice the petition which Christ made to His Father. Mark the twentieth to the twenty-third verses. This unity it is our work to cultivate. Even our thoughts are to be brought into captivity to Christ, that we may bind them about, and think no evil of our brethren.

8LtMs, Lt 86a, 1893, par. 14

My brother, we see very much need of ministerial labor in this far-off country, but we are almost destitute of ministers. There is not one qualified to enter our cities and meet the opposition, who can properly do honor to the truth in presenting the reasons of our faith. We see that this work must be done, but there is such a lack of ministers that not one-hundredth part of the vineyard can be worked. There are cities and villages that have never so much as heard the last message of mercy to be given to the world. There is a terrible dearth of men who will hold forth the words of life to souls who are perishing in their sins. We have the world to contend with. Said Christ, “I have given them thy word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” [Verse 14.] The ministers of the denominational churches are, many of them, false shepherds. They deceive the people. They misinterpret the Scriptures, and fill the minds of the people with prejudice. While our hearts feel this deeply, we can only pray and depend on the Lord to make a place for His truth.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)

Ms 37, 1893

8LtMs, Ms 37, 1893, par. 10

I spoke eight times in Auckland, and have already spoken three times in Kaeo. Sunday afternoon we had the privilege of speaking in the Wesleyan Methodist church. The building is set up on a high hill, and considerable climbing was required in order to get to it. The house was filled to overflowing. Extra seats were required, and then some had to stand. I spoke very plainly from the first part of the seventeenth of John, and the people listened as if spellbound. We were requested to hold meetings on Sabbath in the church. We gave an appointment for Sunday evening. The house was full to hear Elder Starr, and appointments were made for Sabbath and Sunday afternoons in the same place.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 16, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 16, 1894, par. 18

We read in John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [John 1:1.] And then we read in the 17th chapter that “this is life eternal, that we might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [Verse 3.] Well then, if we are living in His eternal love, if we can see Christ in His matchless charms in the kingdom of glory, shall we not reveal to the world that we are the happiest people in the world?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 86, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 86, 1894, par. 2

How many today see Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, as He is! How few know Him! How few know the Father! Everyone that knows Christ has a knowledge of the Father. To see Christ as He is is one of the greatest blessings that can ever come to fallen humanity; the precious Saviour, to see Him as He is! How many have partial views of Jesus Christ. How many acknowledge Him as the world’s Redeemer, but they know Him not as a personal Saviour; and this is essential, the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. Here we read in the seventeenth chapter of John, “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give”—what? What should He give? “Eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.” And now I want to know what this is. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [Verses 2, 3.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)

Ms 41, 1894

9LtMs, Ms 41, 1894, par. 39

The Lord Jehovah is our strength. In every family an altar to God should be erected. The head of every family should present his petitions to God morning and evening before his whole family. This is a recognition of service to God and dependence upon Him. Before every member of the family eternal realities are brought to view. The fact that you make your requests known to God, and ask His guidance, is a confession of Christ as your Leader, your Captain, and divine Teacher. The prayer of Christ to His Father, recorded in (John 17:1-26) is an important revelation to all human intelligences.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)

Ms 23, 1895

10LtMs, Ms 23, 1895, par. 6

Sunday morning Elder Wilson, from New Zealand, spoke to those who assembled under the tent. He gave a most profitable, although plain and simple, discourse. It was beautiful in its simplicity. The simpler the teaching, the more the under-shepherd represents the Chief Shepherd. In the afternoon the pavilion was full to overflowing. Quite a number stood on the outside, and all listened with deep interest. The Lord strengthened His servant as I bore a plain testimony to the people, dwelling especially upon our obligation to acknowledge God in all our ways, and to seek more and more to obtain a knowledge of God, as presented in Christ’s prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John. In the evening Professor Prescott gave a most valuable lesson, precious as gold. The tent was full and many stood around the outside. All seemed to be fascinated with the Word, as he presented the truth in such new lines to those not of our faith. Truth was separated from error and made, by the divine Spirit, to shine like precious jewels. It was shown that perfect obedience to all the commandments of God is essential for the salvation of souls. Obedience to the laws of God’s kingdom reveal the divine in the human sanctifying the character.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)

Ms 38, 1896

11LtMs, Ms 38, 1896, par. 2

Every soul who does not receive Christ as his personal Saviour receives, in the place of Christ, satanic agencies. He comes under the control of the great apostate. Christ has declared, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” [Matthew 12:30.] Here the principle is plainly stated. Our Redeemer understood this, and was desirous that all should be saved through faith in Him. His prayer, recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John is full of instruction of the highest type. This prayer, uttered in the hearing of His disciples, was a sample of His intercession carried on in heaven, within the vail, for all who receive Him and believe on His name, even unto the ends of the earth.

11LtMs, Ms 38, 1896, par. 4

The life practice of the believing child of God should exalt the gospel of Christ. It should testify of the power of the Word upon the human life. Christ has said, “If ye love me keep my commandments.” [John 14:15.] “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” [John 17:19, 20.] Here is where the responsibility of individual influence comes in. The words of the disciple of Christ will simply be a voicing of the words of Christ, and are to be received from his servants as the words of Christ.

11LtMs, Ms 38, 1896, par. 6

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [Verses 20, 21.] What courage, what increase of faith, what trust we should have in God as we recall this petition of the Son of God. We can estimate the value He places upon those who receive and believe on Him by this prayer made to His Father in our behalf. Through His prayer on earth and intercessions in heaven, He brings all His true followers into close living union and relationship to Himself. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,” “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.” [John 1:12; Romans 8:17.] Thus the sacred union is formed between Christ and those who receive Him by faith as their personal Saviour. They are one with Christ, as Christ is one with God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 123, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 123, 1897, par. 4

I appeal to you to break the Sabbath no longer. You are called of God to be a part of His great firm, to be in co-partnership with Him, to trade with the Lord’s entrusted goods, and to show yourself faithful in His service. Read the seventeenth chapter of John. Read and reread the prayer there offered by Christ for His disciples.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Lt 117, 1897

12LtMs, Lt 117, 1897, par. 2

Christ’s last prayer for His disciples, recorded in (John 17), followed the instruction given in John 16:24-33. This prayer was not fully appreciated by the disciples till after the resurrection of their Lord, and the descent of the Holy Spirit. Then it was understood and fully appreciated. “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

12LtMs, Lt 117, 1897, par. 3

“I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.” [John 17:1-8.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 27, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 27, 1897, par. 13

“Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children. And walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.” [Ephesians 5:1, 2.] In the wonderful prayer of Christ recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, He said, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: as thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

12LtMs, Ms 27, 1897, par. 14

“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory that thou gavest me before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they know that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given them the words which thou gavest unto me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee: I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me: for they are thine.” [Verses 1-9.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)

Ms 40, 1897

12LtMs, Ms 40, 1897, par. 15

The four apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all bear record that Jew and Gentile, rulers, kings, and governors, priests and people, all classes and tongues, were represented in rejecting and crucifying Christ, the Son of God, a man who was innocent, and against whom they could find no proof. The synagogue of Satan, the prince of darkness and his evil agents, united in a desperate companionship with disloyal, evil men. They resolved to put the whole power of their corrupt energies to work to put out of the world the light of truth.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 55a, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 55a, 1898, par. 14

I pray that you may now, as never before, both ministers and church members, come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty powers of darkness. Study prayerfully the 17th chapter of John. This chapter is not only to be read again and again, but its truths are to be eaten and digested. “For their sakes,” Christ prayed, “I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth. ... That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” [Verses 19, 21-23.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 42, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 42, 1898, par. 12

What do we read in the seventeenth chapter of John? “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely (by experimental knowledge) that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.” [Verse 8.] Please read this chapter; for it is full of richness. “As thou hast sent me into the world,” Christ continued, “so have I sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” [Verses 18-20.] Are we voicing the words of Christ? Are we sanctifying ourselves through obedience to the truth?

13LtMs, Lt 42, 1898, par. 13

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [Verses 20-23.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 55, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 55, 1898, par. 11

Please read the seventeenth chapter of John. The whole of this chapter is not only to be held forth again and again, but is to be eaten and digested. “For their sakes I sanctify myself,” Christ prayed, “that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one, in me: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be made perfect in one: and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [Verses 19-23.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Ms 23, 1898

13LtMs, Ms 23, 1898, par. 20

The fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John are rich in promises, and are calculated to be of inestimable value to the disciples in their future work. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, who is so plainly revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures, believe [also] in me as the brightness of his glory, the manifestation of his character. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I would not deceive you, I go to prepare a place for you, to secure for you the right to a home in my Father’s kingdom. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. I left the royal courts of heaven to come to you, to show you the way. And if I have come to the earth for your sake, I will be with you in the mansions I have prepared. Let not sorrow fill your hearts, because I love you; and whither I go ye know and the way ye know.” [See John 14:1-4.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)

Lt 61, 1898

13LtMs, Lt 61, 1898, par. 11

We must answer the prayer of Christ. He speaks to us from His Word. (John 17.) If we will not hear and obey Christ, we cannot bear any test. We must be laborers together with God. In our different lines of responsibility we must draw with Christ, wearing His yoke. We must die to self, and let Christ abide in us. I am trying each day to seek the Lord for myself. Without the love of Christ all our profession is as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. It is this love that makes us love one another as Christ has loved us. This is a science that our teachers and brethren in responsible positions would do well to bring into their studies.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 136, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 136, 1899, par. 2

Our heavenly Father has made every provision that this should be. Read the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John. There we are shown what God desires to do for the human race. If the Holy Spirit could come upon us as it came upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, eyes now blinded would be opened, for the scales would fall from them.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Lt 40, 1899

14LtMs, Lt 40, 1899, par. 38

He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is in the heart of every man. There must be a decided change in your attitude toward your brethren. Be assured that when this change takes place, you will see a decided change in your brethren. I feel so sorry for my Saviour. I feel such longing of soul that Christ shall mellow and change the soul temple of His people. You need to soften. You need not feel that your brethren are all in the wrong, because they are not. You need the working of the Holy Spirit on your heart as much and even more than many of your brethren need it. When you become one with your brethren, as is represented in the seventeenth chapter of John, you may expect the love and power of God to flow in rich currents into your soul. The work of God is not divided; it is one, and if there is any separation between the medical missionary work and the ministry, it will be because the Holy Spirit is not working upon hearts.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)

Ms 83, 1899

14LtMs, Ms 83, 1899, par. 1

In the plan of redemption a place is allotted to every soul, and each one is to take the place assigned him and do the work appointed him. The work of God’s people may and will be varied, but one Spirit is the mover in it all. God calls upon the members of His church to receive the Holy Spirit, to come together in unity and brotherly sympathy, to bind their interests together in love. Christian unity is a mighty agency. When God’s chosen people are of one mind, barriers of selfishness will disappear as by magic, and many, many more souls will be converted, because of the unity which exists among believers. There is one body and one Spirit. Those who have been building territorial lines of distinction, barriers of color and caste, might better take these down much faster than they put them up. Man is to obey the Word of God declared in the seventeenth chapter of John. He is to be one with his fellow man and with Christ, and in Christ one with God. Then of him can be spoken the words, “Ye are complete in him.” [Colossians 2:10.]

14LtMs, Ms 83, 1899, par. 4

Every soul is to be obedient to the law of God. Those who are loyal to this law bear the insignia which is its distinguishing mark, the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The enemy has made an effort to get rid of the true Sabbath. Seeing what they must do if they admit the fourth precept of the Decalogue, the religious world has been trampling under foot the law of Jehovah. Holy, just and good, this law is the expression of God’s character. Christ prayed, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” [John 17:3.] God is high and lifted up, and the train of His glory fills the temple. A knowledge of His law is essential to a knowledge of His character. To Moses God gave instruction to be given to His chosen people, and in all our schools this knowledge is to be made as clear as possible. It is a power which nothing can equal.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Ms 78, 1900

15LtMs, Ms 78, 1900, par. 17

In the prayer which Christ offered to His Father just before His crucifixion, Christ speaks of the work which should be done by His church. This prayer is a lesson for all believers. Read the first part of the seventeenth chapter of John with a desire to know by experience what it means to every one in service. God’s servants are to preach His Word to the people. Under the Holy Spirit’s working, they will come into order as stars in the hand of Christ, to shine forth with His brightness. “This is life eternal,” He said, “that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” [Verse 3.]

15LtMs, Ms 78, 1900, par. 19

“I have glorified thee on the earth,”—by doing all Thou commandest Me to do. “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” [Verse 4.] Has not God given a work to those who today minister for Him in Word and doctrine? “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.” How did they know this? “For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” [Verses 6-9.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Lt 86, 1900

15LtMs, Lt 86, 1900, par. 27

Wholehearted obedience God requires of His people as their only means of happiness and prosperity. Only through humbling themselves and exalting God by their devotion to Him can they find true prosperity. Yet this is the most difficult lesson for them to learn. Christ and His body, the church, are to become one as is represented in (John 17)—Christ in His people united to God the great Head. The ministry, which has been belittled, will be the power and energy of Christ in Word and doctrine. These are they whom man despiseth, whom the nation abhorreth, because they bear the sign of the original Sabbath. Exodus 31:12-18. God’s commandment-keeping people are made to be a servant to rulers, they are required by man-made laws to disregard the law of God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Lt 108, 1900

15LtMs, Lt 108, 1900, par. 2

Thus a decided influence for good goes forth from the believers, demonstrating the sanctifying power of the truth upon heart and character. Then we shall better know the meaning of Christ’s prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John, in which He prays that His followers may be one with Him as He is one with the Father. Please read this prayer carefully.

15LtMs, Lt 108, 1900, par. 3

“Sanctify them through thy truth,” Christ prayed. [Verse 17.] Error never sanctifies. The Holy Spirit is the great sanctifying power. Truth is the medium of sanctification. By reading and feasting upon the Word of God, by practicing the truth at all times, we receive power to glorify God. But the ministry of the Word is of no value to the receiver unless he has that faith which works by love and purifies the soul. The Word of God is to be the man of our counsel. It is to be consulted with prayer. We are to ask the Lord to give us perception to discern the truth as it is in Jesus. The words of Christ are to be our spiritual food. The reason that the church does not become strong is because the members do not feed upon the Word of God, which is eternal life to all who truly believe.

15LtMs, Lt 108, 1900, par. 4

Shall we not strive to answer the prayer of Christ by cooperating with Him in earnest effort for our sanctification through the truth? “For their sakes I sanctify myself,” Christ said, “that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they may be one; as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [Verses 19-21.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Lt 53, 1900

15LtMs, Lt 53, 1900, par. 4

In our Bible, we might ask, Why need Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Gospels, why need the Acts of the Apostles, and the variety of writers in the Epistles, go over the same thing?

15LtMs, Lt 53, 1900, par. 6

We are not to feel that we must speak the very same things, giving the same representation in the same words, and yet there is to be unity in the diversity. All the different testimonies unite to form one whole, as the books of the Bible are brought together, and bound under one cover. But should Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John go off on some tangent, contradicting each other’s testimony, then there would be confusion. In the presentation of truth by different minds, there is to be unity in diversity.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)

Lt 131, 1900

15LtMs, Lt 131, 1900, par. 3

The will of God in regard to His people is plainly expressed in the sixth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John. If this instruction cannot cure dissension, what can my words or my presence do? I tell you that souls are sick and in need of a physician, but they think themselves whole, and in place of humbling themselves before God as a little child, they are trying to humble someone else. If they would live the prayer of Christ, the sure result would be realized—unity with one another and with Christ.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 76, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 76, 1901, par. 6

In the seventeenth chapter of John, Christ tells His people that it is by their unity that the world is to be convinced of the genuineness of Christianity. It is God’s plan that His people shall work together in church capacity. There is to be no disarrangement of His plan. Satan would hold a jubilee, the forces of hell would triumph, if the church of God, becoming disorganized, were to break up into separate atoms.

16LtMs, Ms 76, 1901, par. 8

We need to study carefully and prayerfully the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John. If we study these chapters with a heart softened and subdued, we shall receive ideas which will make us wise unto salvation.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 92, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 15

Among Christians there is to be Christlike unity and unselfish love. God will utterly destroy all self-exaltation. In His prayer for His disciples and for us Christ said, “Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [John 17:20, 21.]

16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 18

“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” [Verse 22.] I have given them the glory which thou hast given me, that in their unselfish love for one another, the world may see the excellence of the truth.

16LtMs, Lt 92, 1901, par. 20

O that the people of God would believe and practice the instruction contained in the seventeenth chapter of John! They do not yet reach God’s standard of unity. But it must be reached. Every thread of selfishness must be taken out of the web.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 196, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 196, 1901, par. 18

Read the seventeenth chapter of John. This shows us plainly what Christ’s will is concerning us. Let us learn the lesson. For His disciples and for us, Christ prayed, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. ... Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [Verses 15-21.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 113, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 113, 1901, par. 5

It was on Sunday afternoon that I made an appeal for your work. Ninety dollars were raised. This afternoon, Tuesday, I stood again before a large congregation in the tent, and the power of God came upon me. I spoke from the first six verses of the seventeenth chapter of John. Many not of our faith were present, and I was led out in a marked manner to speak of the selfishness and covetousness seen in the world. I spoke of the way in which the great buildings which are being erected will collapse at one touch of God’s hand, and how the great ocean steamers will be swallowed up by the waves. All idols will perish. Men are piling up treasures for the last great day when their robbery, theft, and fraud will be swift witness against them. I felt the power of the message upon me.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 168, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 168, 1901, par. 17

Thursday afternoon, June 6, I spoke to a large number of people. I presented before them the work to be carried forward in our churches, speaking from (John 17), the last prayer of Christ, showing them possibilities and probabilities. There is great danger of the church’s becoming like the world. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” [Verse 3.] The church is in need of the reviving influence of the Holy Spirit of God. We need to sound an alarm for Christ’s sake and try to present before the people of God the Bible claims to stir up pure minds by way of remembrance. The world is, we fear, converting the church into conformity to its practices. The message of warning is to come out from the world and to be separate, else love of display, love of fashion, will weaken the church. Many never have been truly converted. Therefore they take on the form of godliness and do not respect the truth which, if brought into practice, will sanctify the soul. He that “will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” [Matthew 16:24.] There is a tendency to bring down religion to the low level of a respectable materialism. All who trust in the Lord and go forward will find their path is growing brighter and brighter unto a perfect day. A healthy, living church becomes thus through the soul’s grasp of that truth which works by love and sanctifies the soul. But why is there not a cheerful recognition of God?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 183, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 183, 1901, par. 6

The precious Sabbath and Sunday meetings in the new hired hall which Elder Haskell had been trying to secure were a grand success. The blessing of the Lord to work unity prepared the way for my testimony on Sabbath. This was a success. Seven hundred people were before me and an excellent representation of Sabbath-keepers. But few outsiders were in the meeting on Sabbath. The Lord gave me freedom in speaking from the seventeenth chapter of John. Sunday afternoon about as many were present. The Sabbath school children were left at home; yet all who could be seated were present. Quite a large number of outsiders were present. The Lord gave me freedom in speaking from second Peter, the first chapter. They all seemed much pleased and expressed themselves thus in regard to both discourses. Elder Franke spoke by invitation Sunday evening. They report he did excellently.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 125, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 125, 1901, par. 53

The glory of God is His character, and this character was represented in the life of Jesus Christ. He declares: “The glory (character) which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [John 17:22, 23.]

16LtMs, Ms 125, 1901, par. 64

The disciples were filled with great joy. Over and over again they repeated the words Christ had spoken to them in His last lessons, as recorded in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John; and every one had something to say about the instruction, especially with regard to the words of the fourteenth of John:

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 127, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 127, 1901, par. 40

The Saviour’s prayer for His followers is: “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” [John 17:17-21.]

16LtMs, Ms 127, 1901, par. 42

“The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” [Verses 22-26.]

16LtMs, Ms 127, 1901, par. 46

We are living in the testing time. God is proving His people to see who are worthy of admittance into His family. He desires His followers to carry out the instruction contained in the seventeenth chapter of John. The practice of this instruction is to begin in the home. God measures church members by what they are in the home. When Christ’s words are obeyed in the home, the influence extends to the church. Grieve not the Spirit of God from your home by an unchristlike course of action. Work the works of Christ in the home. Then your lamp, burning brightly and clearly, will give light to those in darkness. Have you accepted your trust? Does your light so shine before men that they, seeing your good works, glorify your heavenly Father?

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 21, 1901

16LtMs, Lt 21, 1901, par. 44

By heeding the prayer of Christ in the seventeenth chapter of John, we shall reveal the love of God. It is not enough for a man to think himself safe in following the dictates of his conscience. Many a man who claims to be strictly conscientious is working entirely contrary to his brethren, in whom he should have confidence because they have stood the test of temptation. The question to be settled is, Is the conscience in harmony with the Word of God? If not, it cannot safely be followed; for it will deceive. The conscience must be enlightened by God. Time must be given to a study of the Scriptures and to prayer. Thus the mind will be stablished, strengthened, and settled. There is to be no drawing apart brother from brother. Unity and love for one another are to increase more and more.

16LtMs, Lt 21, 1901, par. 45

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” [Verses 20-23.] Let every church and every institution study and digest these words.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Ms 151, 1901

16LtMs, Ms 151, 1901, par. 7

Just before Christ’s betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion, He offered to His Father the prayer recorded in the seventeenth of John. We should study the whole chapter carefully, for it is a lesson for us all. We are not to trust in man or make flesh our arm; we are instructed to worship the Lord Jesus Christ as our Life-giver. “Him only shalt thou serve.” [Matthew 4:10.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 11, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 17

The Son of God took human nature upon Him and came to this earth to stand at the head of the fallen race. He dwelt on this earth, a man among men. He died on the cross that men and women might live forever in glory. His work stands before us as the work of the greatest medical missionary the world has ever known. If we would study His love, and try to comprehend His greatness, we should reveal more of it in our lives. The seventeenth chapter of John is an unfolding of the love we are to cherish for one another. In His prayer Christ said, “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do.” [Verse 4.] Christ came to represent His Father by revealing a love that is without a parallel. And so untiring were His efforts that when the time came for Him to leave the earth, He could say, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 18

“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.” [Verses 5-10.]

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 20

“Thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.” [Verse 6.] These words will be spoken of every one who receives Christ as a personal Saviour and works with His unselfishness to restore in humanity the image of divinity.

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 21

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. ... I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” [Verses 11, 15, 16.]

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 24

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” [John 17:20-22.]

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 26

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” [Verse 20.] Many are to believe on Christ through the communication of truth by His servants. As they see the beauty of the Word of God, and as they see Jesus revealed in the lives of His servants, they will praise Him with heart and soul and voice.

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 27

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” [Verse 23.] This prayer contains a lesson that for our present and eternal good we should all learn. We must learn it in order to grow in grace and holiness.

17LtMs, Ms 11, 1902, par. 30

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” [John 17:17.] How, you may ask, does the truth sanctify us? Christ is the way, the truth, the life. The truth of His Word enlightens our minds, showing us the principles that should control us. The Holy Spirit is the teacher, the comforter, the author of sanctification. The Holy Spirit only can sanctify. God’s Word, studied and obeyed, brings sanctification. It is as the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the nations.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 8, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 8, 1902, par. 7

We are now to do all we possibly can to harmonize. Most earnestly we must strive to help one another. We must do nothing that will excite prejudice, nothing that will stir up strife. We are to do all in our power to answer the prayer in the seventeenth chapter of John—Christ’s prayer for unity. We must be very guarded, lest we place a stumbling block in our brother’s way. We are to do our appointed work with an eye single to the glory of God. We are to learn the meekness and lowliness of Christ, doing all we can to secure peace and unity. We are to hedge up, if possible, the way of the enemy. We are to exemplify in our lives the love of Christ, soothing disturbed and tempted minds.

Manuscript Release No 1033

Norwich, Connecticut, Monday, December 1, 1890

MR1033 35.3

Was pleasant but cold. I spoke to the church, to a goodly number assembled, upon the words of Christ in John 17.—Diary 16, p. 356.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 139, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 139, 1902, par. 1

I thank the Lord this morning for His keeping power. I awake very early, unable to sleep. During the past night, my mind has been greatly burdened. I am bidden to bear to those who minister in word and doctrine the message that they need to be converted; for they do not understand the philosophy of the genuine missionary work that should be done by those who are acquainted with present truth. In the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John, God’s will is plainly outlined before them. It is their privilege to believe that God means just what He says. God desires them to believe every verse in these chapters and to live them out before their brother ministers.

17LtMs, Ms 139, 1902, par. 20

“As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their words; that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in One; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou has given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” [John 17:18-26.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 264, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 264, 1902, par. 11

I have been having a marked experience in light given that what our people need is the Holy Spirit of God to cleanse away the defilement of unkind rubbish of talk and passing judgment. Until this is done, all the counsels that we may have will prove a detriment. Unless they are a savor of life unto life, they will be a savor of death unto death. The lips need to have the living coal placed upon them to cleanse away the self-assured conversation which hurts souls and is spoiling the work of God. It is the strange fire that many are handling, and Christ’s words to them in the 13th chapter of John, and in the 14th and 15th and 17th chapters, are not heeded.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 208, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 208, 1902, par. 37

My brethren, read the seventeenth chapter of John, and see if you cannot understand that you have left your first love. Christ prayed that His disciples might be one, as He was one with the Father. “As Thou hast sent Me into the world,” He declared to the Father, “even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” [Verses 18-26.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 146, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 146, 1902, par. 2

How much is comprehended in Christ’s prayer for His disciples, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John! In this prayer is expressed His mind toward His Father and toward His disciples. This prayer is a lesson to all who are trying to follow the Saviour.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 169, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 169, 1902, par. 50

When we are willing to have our own minds unsoldered, and resoldered by the melting influences of the Spirit of God, we shall understand with new enlightenment Christ’s instruction to us as recorded in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John. O how great are the possibilities that He has placed within our reach! He says, “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you.” [John 16:23.] He promises to come to us as a Comforter to bless us. Why do we not believe these promises? That which we lack in faith we make up by the use of drugs. Let us give up the drugs, believing that Jesus does not desire us to be sick, and that if we live according to the principles of health reform, He will keep us well.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 222, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 222, 1902, par. 3

How much is comprehended in Christ’s prayer for His disciples, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John! In this prayer is expressed His mind toward His Father and toward His disciples. This prayer is a lesson to all who are trying to follow the Saviour.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 19, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 19, 1902, par. 7

With His long human arm Christ embraces the human race, claiming for them the advantages He has purchased for them by His sacrifice. What are these advantages? Read the seventeenth chapter of John. When you are tempted and tried, think of the power you can claim in Christ’s name.

17LtMs, Ms 19, 1902, par. 8

“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name; those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.” [Verse 12.] The Saviour knew that Judas was the betray him. Yet how guarded He was in dealing with him, how careful to give him no occasion of offense, no excuse for apostasy.

17LtMs, Ms 19, 1902, par. 10

“As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” [John 1:12.] “For their sakes,” He declared, “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” [John 17:19.] God calls upon men and women to become His sons and daughters, that through them, His adopted children, He may reveal His grace to the world.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Lt 184, 1902

17LtMs, Lt 184, 1902, par. 12

Let no one become so self-centered that he will fail to see that the Lord has appointed to every one a work. Let each do his best. This is all that the Lord requires of any one. Let our people read to a purpose the instruction given in the seventeenth chapter of John. The lessons of this chapter are not carried out in their daily practice. The Lord is not glorified in their lives, because they do not cherish love for one another. When their hearts are filled with the love of Christ, backbiting and criticizing will cease. No longer will Seventh-day Adventists weaken one another’s hands; for they will love one another as Christ has loved them.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)

Ms 239, 1902

17LtMs, Ms 239, 1902, par. 6

God calls upon all who claim to believe in Him to put away their hardheartedness and to act justly and benevolently towards their fellow men. All humanity is to have the invitation to come to the Lord Jesus and believe in Him, to humble their naturally proud hearts, becoming truly repentant. God calls for most earnest work. It is through a reception of the Word that men receive that faith that works by love and purifies the soul. The Lord calls for all believers to take an altogether higher, holier standard than they have heretofore conceived of. All dissension and strife [are to cease.] In the seventeenth chapter of St. John [we] have the prayer of Christ to become one as Christ was one with the Father. All who love the Lord Jesus will be doers of His Word.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 68, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 1

We claim to be Christians. What are we doing to answer the prayer of Christ, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John? Are we attaining to the standard set before us? This standard of perfect unity is portrayed in the words: “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” [Verse 23.]

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 3

“O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me.” [Verse 25.]

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 8

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee.” [Verse 1.] What does this mean?—That this prayer is the petition of humanity for humanity; a sinless humanity for a sinful humanity.

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 9

“As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word.” [Verses 2-6.]

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 10

“They have kept Thy word.” [Verse 6.] This is the standard that every one who desires to walk with the heavenly Father must reach.

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 11

“Now they have made known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee.” [Verse 7.] Every believer in Christ is to manifest to a sinful world all that these words imply. He should remember his solemn baptismal vows. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, he was buried with his Lord in baptism, signifying that henceforth he would be dead unto the world. His resurrection from the watery grave was symbolic of the new birth that took place at the time of his conversion.

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 16

Read, in this connection, the whole of the seventeenth of John. Notice verses fifteen to eighteen: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ... As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.”

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 17

Let us seek to understand the spiritual truths comprehended in this assertion. God sends us into the world, even as He sent His Son into the world. And of us Christ said, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” [Verse 16.] Let us endeavor to discern the meaning of this comparison.

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 18

“Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. ... And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” [Verses 17, 19.] Those who cease to follow worldly practices, and choose to stand in the world as Christ’s followers, will understand the mystery of godliness—Christ within, “the hope of glory.” [Colossians 1:27.]

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 19

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.” [John 17:20.] This includes us. Through faith in Christ, we are blessed with all spiritual blessings.

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 20

“That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” [Verse 21.]

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 24

“And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” [John 17:22, 23.]

18LtMs, Ms 68, 1903, par. 26

“Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me (as the Redeemer of the fallen race): for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” [Verses 24-26.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 102, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 102, 1903, par. 1

God calls upon His people to come into line. Let all, for Christ’s sake, seek to overcome the disposition to draw apart, standing alone or in little companies. We need to cherish love for God and for one another, that there may be seen among us the unity for which Christ prayed just before His crucifixion. Every believer is to seek for sanctification through the truth. He is so to use his talents that he may answer the prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 217, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 217, 1903, par. 22

Before Christ left His disciples, He gave them plain, distinct lessons in regard to the future. He urged them to remember that He would not leave them in blindness and ignorance. He would make them acquainted with His purposes and plans. He gave them evidence, in a special manner, of His love for them; for He desired that in all their work and their councils, they should bring this love to mind. He knew the trials and temptations that they were to meet, and in the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John, He gives them instruction that would strengthen them for the difficulties before them. Brother Tenney, study these chapters. They will help you in your work.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 161, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 161, 1903, par. 9

I am instructed to say that we are now to strive to answer the prayer of Christ, recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, by being sanctified through the truth. Let every soul seek the Lord while He may be found. We are building for eternity. We are either going backward or forward. Our feet are traveling in safe paths, preparing for translation to the heavenly mansions, or they are traveling in the path where the enemy is leading. The work for this time is to sow the seed of eternal truth, which will spring up and bring forth a harvest of joy. If bad seed is sown, there will be a harvest of despair. I entreat those who are giving the enemy an advantage by cherishing unbelief to look at themselves in the great moral looking glass, and see what kind of characters they are forming. If they are walking contrary to a “Thus saith the Lord,” let them change their attitude decidedly, ceasing to sin, and rendering cheerful obedience in every department of divine service. We are assured that God’s commands are spirit and life to the obedient. In obedience to the law of God there is great mental and spiritual strength, because thus man is brought into unity with Christ, and Christ is one with God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 171, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 171, 1903, par. 6

I am pleading with the Lord at one o’clock a.m. that the Lord will help His people to take heed to His warnings and counsels before it shall be everlastingly too late. I was in the vision of the night in a council meeting, and there was difference of opinion, showing that the lesson prayer of Christ in John seventeen had not special weight with them. One of authority arose, and every eye was fixed upon Him for He bore the impress of Christ. In a most solemn, touching manner He asked, “Are you converted?”

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 143, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 143, 1903, par. 1

The light given me is that we are to learn to answer the prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John. We are to make it our first study. Every gospel minister, every medical missionary, is to learn the science of Christ’s prayer. My brethren and sisters, I ask you to heed these words and to bring to your study a calm, humble, contrite spirit and the healthy energies of a mind under the control of God. Those who learn the lessons contained in this prayer will not make one-sided developments, which no future training will ever correct.

18LtMs, Ms 143, 1903, par. 2

The Lord calls for men of genuine faith and sound minds—men who recognize the distinction between the true and the false. Last night, I heard important instruction given by One of authority. He said that each one must now be on guard, studying and practicing the lessons given in the seventeenth chapter of John and preserving a living faith in the truth for this time. We need now to search for the truth as for hid treasures. We need that self-control that will enable us to bring our habits into harmony with the prayer of Christ.

18LtMs, Ms 143, 1903, par. 16

I thank the Lord for the instruction that I have received from His Spirit during the past night. The subject dwelt upon seemed to be the same as was dwelt upon the night before. Some advancement was made. Searching questions were put to individuals, and free, open confessions were made. The words “Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth” [John 17:17] were repeated over and over again.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 271, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 271, 1903, par. 14

The seventeenth chapter of John and many other precious things in the Word should be formed into song and sung by the people of God.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 111, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 111, 1903, par. 7

Here again are brought to view the personalities of God and the Son, showing the unity that exists between them. This unity is clearly expressed in the prayer of Christ recorded in the 17th chapter of John:

18LtMs, Ms 111, 1903, par. 8

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one: and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” [Verses 20-23.]

18LtMs, Ms 111, 1903, par. 10

Christ in His prayer to His Father says, “All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.” [Verse 10.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 124, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 124, 1903, par. 15

The seventeenth chapter of John speaks plainly regarding the personality of God and of Christ and of their relation to each other. “Father, the hour is come,” Christ said; “glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee; as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” [Verses 1-3.]

18LtMs, Ms 124, 1903, par. 17

“They have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee. For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came from Thee, and they have believed that thou didst send Me. I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me; that they may be one, as We are.” [Verses 5-11.]

18LtMs, Ms 124, 1903, par. 26

There is a knowledge of God and of Christ which all who are saved must have. “This is life eternal,” Christ said, “that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” [John 17:3.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Lt 193, 1903

18LtMs, Lt 193, 1903, par. 4

I pray that the Holy Spirit of God shall attend you in every effort made. In all our labors, we must, my brother, heed the words of Christ recorded in the seventeenth of John. In our life work we are to answer this prayer that Christ offered. Oneness with Him we are always to maintain; for thus we reveal to the world that God has sent His Son to this earth to save the fallen race. When we are united with Christ, we are sure that He is working with us and we with Him.

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 103, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 103, 1903, par. 19

There is danger of our leaving the simplicity of Christ. Study carefully the instruction found in the gospel of John from the thirteenth to the seventeenth chapters. The Word of God is here plainly stated. Live these truths before your fellow ministers. Study especially these words found in Christ’s wonderful prayer:

18LtMs, Ms 103, 1903, par. 20

“I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one. I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” [John 17:14-26.]

Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)

Ms 190, 1903

18LtMs, Ms 190, 1903, par. 29

God wants us to know Jesus Christ, and I do not know if many of you realize what is comprehended in the prayer of Christ, in the seventeenth chapter of John.

18LtMs, Ms 190, 1903, par. 31

“The hour is come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He would give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him, and this is life eternal.” [Verses 1-3.]

18LtMs, Ms 190, 1903, par. 32

Now here, I want you to hear what life eternal is. “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” [Verse 3.] If the world knew that, what a position they would be in!

18LtMs, Ms 190, 1903, par. 33

A few words more I will quote from this prayer, from the 19th verse: “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified through Thy word.”

18LtMs, Ms 190, 1903, par. 34

First, He said, “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. As Thou has sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world; and for their sakes (to give them an example) I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” [Verses 17-19.]

18LtMs, Ms 190, 1903, par. 35

“Neither pray I for these alone His disciples, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” [Verses 20, 21.]

18LtMs, Ms 190, 1903, par. 36

Now every one of us that is seeking for the great and precious boon of eternal life, I want you to consider this: “That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us.” [Verse 21.]