“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent”—1 Corinthians 1:19

There is positive peril in advising students to pursue one line of education after another, and to leave them to think that by so doing they will attain perfection. The education that will be obtained will only be deficient in every way. The Lord says: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” This is God’s devised plan; and through successive generations, through centuries of heathenism, this plan has been carried forward, not as an experiment, but as an approved way for the spreading of the gospel. Through this method from the beginning, conviction came upon humanity, and the world was enlightened concerning the gospel of God. The highest grade of schooling that any human being can attain to is the schooling given by the Divine Teacher. This is the knowledge that in a special sense we shall greatly need as we draw near the close of this world’s history, and everyone will do well to obtain this kind of education. The Lord requires that men and women shall be under His training. There is a great work to be done in bringing human minds out of darkness into the marvelous light of God. As His human instrumentalities, we are by living faith to carry out His plans. Are we in a condition in which our faith will not work to the glory of God, or are we vessels meet for the Master’s use, prepared for every good work?

Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He received an education in the providence of God; but a large part of that education had to be unlearned, and accounted as foolishness….

The experiment of the world’s wisdom had been fully tested at the advent of Christ, and the boasted human wisdom had proved wanting. Men and women knew not the true wisdom that comes from the Source of all good. The world’s wisdom was weighed in the balances, and found wanting.—Fundamentals of Christian Education, 359-361.

Further Reflection: What will I learn from heaven’s Divine Teacher today?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”—John 13:14

“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:15-17).

There is in human beings a disposition to esteem themselves more highly than others, to work for self, to seek the highest place; and often this results in evil surmisings and bitterness of spirit. The ordinance preceding the Lord’s Supper is to clear away these misunderstandings, to bring men and women out of their selfishness, down from their stilts of self-exaltation, to the humility of heart that will lead them to serve each other.

The holy Watcher from heaven is present at this season to make it one of soul searching, of conviction of sin, and of the blessed assurance of sins forgiven. Christ in the fullness of His grace is there to change the current of the thoughts that have been running in selfish channels. The Holy Spirit quickens the sensibilities of those who follow the example of their Lord. As the Saviour’s humiliation for us is remembered, thought links with thought; a chain of memories is called up, memories of God’s great goodness and of the favor and tenderness of earthly friends….

Whenever this ordinance is rightly celebrated, the children of God are brought into a holy relationship, to help and bless each other. They covenant that the life shall be given to unselfish ministry. And this, not only for one another. Their field of labor is as wide as their Master’s was. The world is full of those who need our ministry. The poor, the helpless, the ignorant, are on every hand. Those who have communed with Christ in the upper chamber will go forth to minister as He did.

Jesus, the served of all, came to be the servant of all. And because He ministered to all, He will again be served and honored by all. And those who would partake of His divine attributes, and share with Him the joy of seeing souls redeemed, must follow His example of unselfish ministry.—The Desire of Ages, 650, 651.

Further Reflection: Jesus who came to save fallen humanity often served the lost, expecting nothing in return. Do I practice this spirit of service when I minister to those in need?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “on the day that I make them My jewels.”—Malachi 3:17

Christ, the heavenly merchantman seeking goodly pearls, saw in lost humanity the pearl of price. In humanity, defiled and ruined by sin, He saw the possibilities of redemption. Hearts that have been the battleground of the conflict with Satan, and that have been rescued by the power of love, are more precious to the Redeemer than are those who have never fallen. God looked upon humanity, not as vile and worthless; He looked upon it in Christ, saw it as it might become through redeeming love. He collected all the riches of the universe, and laid them down in order to buy the pearl. And Jesus, having found it, resets it in His own diadem…. “They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels” (Malachi 3:17).

But Christ as the precious pearl, and our privilege of possessing this heavenly treasure, is the theme on which we most need to dwell. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals to humanity the preciousness of the goodly pearl. The time of the Holy Spirit’s power is the time when in a special sense the heavenly gift is sought and found. In Christ’s day many heard the gospel, but their minds were darkened by false teaching, and they did not recognize in the humble Teacher of Galilee the Sent of God. But after Christ’s ascension His enthronement in His mediatorial kingdom was signalized by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost the Spirit was given. Christ’s witnesses proclaimed the power of the risen Saviour. The light of heaven penetrated the darkened minds of those who had been deceived by the enemies of Christ. They now saw Him exalted to be “a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). They saw Him encircled with the glory of heaven, with infinite treasures in His hands to bestow upon all who would turn from their rebellion. As the apostles set forth the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, three thousand souls were convicted. They were made to see themselves as they were, sinful and polluted, and Christ as their friend and Redeemer. Christ was lifted up, Christ was glorified, through the power of the Holy Spirit resting upon men and women.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 118-120.

Further Reflection: Has the Holy Spirit brought to my view just how precious Jesus is? What in my spiritual life demonstrates that Jesus is precious to me?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the hearts.—Proverbs 17:3

We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon coming. This is not a fable to us; it is a reality…. When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will all be accomplished before that time.

When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us….

We are in a world that is opposed to righteousness and purity of character, and to a growth in grace. Wherever we look we see corruption and defilement, deformity and sin. And what is the work that we are to undertake here just previous to receiving immortality? It is to preserve our bodies holy, our spirits pure, that we may stand forth unstained amid the corruptions teeming around us in these last days.—Testimonies for the Church 2:355, 356.

“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20).

We are not our own. We have been purchased with a dear price, even the sufferings and death of the Son of God. If we could understand this, and fully realize it, we would feel a great responsibility resting upon us to keep ourselves in the very best condition of health, that we might render to God perfect service. But when we take any course which expends our vitality, decreases our strength, or beclouds the intellect we sin against God.—Testimonies for the Church 2:354.

Further Reflection: How does the purity of my life affect the power of my witness?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.—Hebrews 4:15

It was incomprehensible to the selfish soul of Satan that there could exist benevolence and love for the deceived race so great as to induce the Prince of Heaven to leave His home and come to a world marred with sin and seared with the curse. He had knowledge of the inestimable value of eternal riches that humans had not. He had experienced the pure contentment, the peace, exalted holiness, and unalloyed joys of the heavenly abode. He had realized, before his rebellion, the satisfaction of the full approval of God. He … knew that there was no limit to His power.

Satan knew what he had lost. He now feared that his empire over the world was to be contested, his right disputed, and his power broken. He knew, through prophecy, that a Saviour was predicted and that His kingdom would not be established in earthly triumph and with worldly honor and display. He knew that ancient prophecies foretold a kingdom to be established by the Prince of Heaven upon the earth, which he claimed as his dominion. This kingdom would embrace all the kingdoms of the world, and then his power and his glory would cease and he would receive his retribution for the sins he had introduced into the world, and for the misery he had brought upon man. He knew that everything which concerned his prosperity was pending upon his success or failure in overcoming Christ with his temptations in the wilderness. He brought to bear upon Christ every artifice and force of his powerful temptations to allure Him from His allegiance.

It is impossible for human beings to know the strength of Satan’s temptations to the Son of God. Every temptation that seems so afflicting to man in his daily life, so difficult to resist and overcome, was brought to bear upon the Son of God in as much greater degree as His excellence of character was superior to that of fallen man.

Christ was tempted in all points…. As man’s representative He stood the closest test and proving of God. He met the strongest force of Satan. His most wily temptations Christ has tested and conquered in behalf of humanity. It is impossible for humans to be tempted above what they are able to bear while relying upon Jesus, the infinite Conqueror.—Confrontation, 30, 31.

Further Reflection: What cherished sin makes me most vulnerable temptation?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names