Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2.

Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, knows all His children by name, and on those who believe shall come the glory of God…. Those who behold Jesus become changed to His image, become assimilated to His nature, and the glory of God that shines in the face of Jesus, is reflected in the lives of His followers. More and more the Christian is changed from glory to glory…. The more he looks on Christ, the more he loves and longs to look again, and the more light and love and glory he sees in Christ, the more his light increases….

It is by faith that the spiritual eye beholds the glory of Jesus. This glory is hidden until the Lord imparts the light of spiritual truth, for the eye of reason cannot see it. The glory and mystery of Christ remains incomprehensible, clouded by its excessive brightness, until the Lord flashes its meaning before the soul…. By faith the soul catches divine light from Jesus. We see matchless charms in His purity and humility, His self-denial, His wonderful sacrifice to save fallen man. Contemplation of Christ leads man to place a proper estimate upon himself…. The possibility of being like Jesus, whom he loves and adores, inspires within him that faith which works by love and purifies the heart….

Jesus is more precious to the soul that beholds Him by the eye of faith than is anything else beside, and the believing soul is more precious to Jesus than fine gold of Ophir. Christ looks upon His hands—the marks of the crucifixion are there—and He says, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:16). The Christian is walled in by the rich full promises of an infinite God.

The Lord is coming with power and great glory. All who have made Christ their refuge will reflect His image, and they will be like Him, for they shall see Him as He is. They are to be presented to Him without “spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:27).^{31The Review and Herald, October 7, 1890.}

From That I May Know Him

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 1 John 3:1.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12)…. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:14-18).

John cannot find adequate words wherein to describe the amazing love of God to sinful man, but he calls upon all to behold the love of God revealed in the gift of His only begotten Son. Through the perfection of the sacrifice given for the guilty race, those who believe in Christ … may be saved from eternal ruin. Christ was one with the Father, yet when sin entered our world through Adam’s transgression, He was willing to step down from the exaltation of One who was equal with God, who dwelt in light unapproachable by humanity, so full of glory that no man could behold His face and live, and submit to insult, mockery, suffering, pain, and death, in order to answer the claims of the immutable law of God, and make a way of escape for the transgressor by His death and righteousness. This was the work which His Father gave Him to do, and those who accept Christ, relying wholly upon His merits, are made the adopted sons and daughters of God—are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ….

Let no one … think that it is a condescension for any man, however talented or learned or honored, to accept Christ. Every human being should look to heaven with reverence and gratitude, and exclaim with amazement, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.” ^{30The Youth’s Instructor, September 27, 1894.}

From That I May Know Him

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. Proverbs 23:26.

Dear youth, the very best thing you can do is to enlist freely and decidedly in the army of the Lord. Surrender yourself into the hands of God, that your will and ways may be guided by the One who is unerring in wisdom and infinite in goodness. To withhold yourself from God is to rob God of that which is His own. The Lord hath need of you, and you have need of the Lord. It is not safe for you to put off the decisive step, or delay the matter of making a complete surrender of yourself to God. If you have not already given yourself to God, I beseech you to do it now. Let your name be enrolled in the heavenly records as one of the chosen and elect of God….

“God so loved the world, the he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)…. It is through the inestimable gift of Christ that all our blessings come. Life, health, friends, reason, happiness, are ours through the merit of Christ. O that the young and the old might realize that all comes to them through the virtue of Christ’s life and death, and acknowledge the ownership of God….

Even when we were under the control of a cruel master, even when the prince of darkness ruled our spirits, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the ransom price of His own blood for us. You have been bought with a price, even with the precious blood of Christ; you are His property, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s….

Were it not for the love freely given us of Christ, we should now be in hopeless despair, in spiritual midnight. Thank God every day that He gave us Jesus. Will you not accept His gift? Will you not be His witness? Time is short, and it becomes you to work while the day lasts, living an imperishable life, hiding your life with Christ in God. Then “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).^{29The Youth’s Instructor, September 5, 1895.}

From That I May Know Him

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Matthew 13:44.

Without the kingdom of God we are lost … and are without hope in the world, but salvation has been provided for us through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the treasure, and when the rubbish of the world is swept away, we are enabled to discern His infinite value….

The divinity of Christ was as a hidden treasure. At times when He was upon earth divinity flashed through humanity, and His true character was revealed. The God of heaven testified to His oneness with His Son. At His baptism the heavens were opened and the glory of God in the similitude of a dove like burnished gold hovered over the Saviour, and a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). But the nation to whom Christ came, though professing to be the peculiar people of God, did not recognize the heavenly treasure in the person of Jesus Christ….

The Majesty of heaven was not discerned in the disguise of humanity. He was the divine Teacher sent from God, the glorious Treasure given to humanity. He was fairer than the sons of men, but His matchless glory was hidden under a cover of poverty and suffering. He veiled His glory in order that divinity might touch humanity, and the treasure of immense value was not discerned by the human race….

“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The treasure indeed is hidden under the garb of humanity. Christ is the unsearchable riches, and he who finds Christ finds heaven. The human agent who looks upon Jesus, who dwells by faith on His matchless charms, finds the eternal treasure.^{27The Youth’s Instructor, August 22, 1895
.}

Christ does not use this parable to commend the man who hides the treasure until he can buy the field, but His object in using this illustration is to convey to our mind the value of spiritual things. To obtain worldly treasure, the man would make a sacrifice of his all, and how much more should we give for the priceless, heavenly treasure! ^{28The Youth’s Instructor, April 26, 1894.}

From That I May Know Him

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8:14.

Through the ministry of the angels the Holy Spirit is enabled to work upon the mind and heart of the human agent and draw him to Christ…. But the Spirit of God does not interfere with the freedom of the human agent. The Holy Spirit is given to be a helper, so that man may cooperate with the Divine, and it is given to Him to draw the soul but never to force obedience.

Christ is ready to impart all heavenly influences. He knows every temptation that comes to man, and the capabilities of each. He weighs his strength. He sees the present and the future, and presents before the mind the obligations that should be met, and urges that common, earthly things shall not be permitted to be so absorbing that eternal things shall be lost out of the reckoning. The Lord has fullness of grace to bestow on every one that will receive of the heavenly gift. The Holy Spirit will bring the God-entrusted capabilities into Christ’s service, and will mold and fashion the human agent according to the divine Pattern.^{24Letter 71, 1893.}

The Holy Spirit is our efficiency in the work of character building, in forming characters after the divine similitude. When we think ourselves capable of molding our own experience, we make a great mistake. We can never of ourselves obtain the victory over temptation. But those who have genuine faith in Christ will be worked by the Holy Spirit. The soul in whose heart faith abides will grow into a beautiful temple for the Lord. He is directed by the grace of Christ. Just in proportion as he depends on the Holy Spirit’s teaching he will grow.^{25Manuscript 8, 1900.}

The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. We do not now see Christ and speak to Him, but His Holy Spirit is just as near us in one place as another. It works in and through every one who receives Christ. Those who know the indwelling of the Spirit reveal the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.^{26Manuscript 41, 1896.}

From That I May Know Him