CHAMPIONS OF LOVE

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

I will have JESUS as the guide of my life by.

1- Accepting Him as my personal Saviour from sin, surrendering my all to Him, asking Him not only for forgiveness but for a genuine change of heart, a new nature (Ezek. 36:26; John 3:3-5).

2- Complying with the Scripture terms of pardon – thorough repentance, confession of all known sin to God, and making matters right with my fellow men so far as it is possible (Acts 3:19; 1 John 1:9; Luke 19:8).

3- Receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as my indwelling Saviour, daily and constantly surrendering myself to Him, permitting Him by His Holy Spirit to live His life in me (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20).

4- Accepting the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, as my only guide, gladly choosing to follow its teachings (2 Tim. 3:16,17; John 17:17).

5- Walking with Christ each day, by the power of His grace obeying all His commandments (Rev. 14:12; Phil. 2:13).

6- Feeding the new spiritual nature by daily prayer and the study of His Word, and expressing that new nature by sharing my faith with others (Ps. 55:17; Matt. 4:4; Mark. 5:19).

7- Accepting vital Scripture truths such as the personal, literal, and imminent return of Christ (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; Rev. 1:7; 22:12); immortality trough Christ alone, bestowed at His coming (2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Cor. 15:51-55); the unconscious sleep of man in death as he awaits the resurrection (9:5,6; John 5:28,29); the final destruction of those who reject the Saviour´s appeal (Mal. 4:1-3; Rev. 20:9); and the truths that make up God´s special message for this hour, as summarized in Revelation 14:6-12.

8- Showing my love and loyalty to Christ by observing, as He has commanded, the true Sabbath, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday – the same seventh-day Sabbath that, as Creator, He set apart for man at the close of Creation week, and the day that, as my Example, He observed during His life on earth (Gen. 2:3; Ex. 20:8-11; Luke 4:16).

9- Remembering Christ as I handle the money He gives me, returning to Him first the tithe, the tenth of my increase (Gen. 28:122; Mal. 3:8-10; matt. 23:23; see 1 Cor. 9:13,14), and then offerings as I am able, as He prospers me (Deut. 16:17; 2 Cor. 9:7).

10- Recognizing that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 6:19,20); desiring to dedicate it a living sacrifice to Him (Rom. 12:1); endeavouring to eat and drink that will keep my body in the best condition (see Isa. 55:2); and totally abstaining from all intoxicating liquors (Prov. 23:29-32), tobacco in all its forms (see 1 Cor. 3.16,17), swine´s flesh (Isa. 66:17), and other unclean or harmful food or drink.

11- Representing Jesus in my dress, observing His rule of modesty and simplicity in attire, and refraining from the wearing of ornaments, as taught in 1 Timothy 2:9,10 and 1 Peter 3:3,4.

12- Honouring Christ in my selection of reading, conversation, and associates, being separate from the world, as He commands (2 Cor. 6:17), and refraining from all sinful practices of the world – dancing, card playing, theatre attendance, and every other questionable worldly amusement that would feed the old mature (1 John 2:15; James 1:27;4:4).

13- Attending worship service on the Sabbath whenever possible (Heb. 10:25), as well as other services of the church; giving to the Sabbath school my hearty and practical support; and endeavouring to do my part in the work of the church (Rom. 12:4-8).

14- Taking part in the beautiful ordinance of humility, instituted and commanded by the Saviour as a preparation for the communion service (John 13:12-15).

15- Accepting the Spirit of Prophecy as the promised testimony of Jesus in His church of the last days – not to take the place of the Bible, but to keep me close to the Bible (Rev. 12:17; 19:10).

16- Sealing my acceptance of the Saviour and His truth for this hour with baptism by immersion, according to His command and His example (Matt. 28:19,20; Mark 1:9-11; Rom.6:3-6).

FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE

No matter how mixed up or even ruined this planet is at times, if the sun rises and sets, and earth is still spinning on its axis, then God is not done with this planet yet. No matter how terrible your own life may seem to be going and no matter how great your temptation to give up in despair might be, if you are still living and breathing on this planet, then God is not done with you yet. In the midst of all the struggle and perplexity of this life, there is a gift from God called HOPE.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, the Apostle Paul tells us there are three great virtues or strengths that God imparts to us. Faith, Hope and Love. Many are the times we Christians have heard wonderful teachings about Faith and Love. Few are the times we’ve heard studies about Hope. Basically, HOPE is the strength an dinner knowing placed in our heart by the Holy Spirit that

our life IS going somewhere definite, somewhere good, and our journey on this earth is not some random process, but a journey directed by the hand of God bringing us to a good destination, whether or not we can see or understand that destination at the present moment. The Apostle Paul gives a specific description of that hope in Titus 2;13 where he calls the return of Jesus Christ “the blessed hope.” The appearance and return of Jesus Christ is when all questions will be answered and all problems will be solved. As we look at current events, we more and more see the words of Jesus’ own prophecies about His return being fulfilled and the time drawing closer.

In Jeremiah 29:11, we read: “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” Through the prophet Jeremiah, God promises His people that He has a plan, a future, and a hope for each of us. As we walk through this life, those of us who belong to Jesus Christ have a hope—the assurance from

God that this thing called life on earth is all going somewhere definite—we are not just subject to the random buffeting of accidental events and happenings, but the hand of Almighty God is upon each of our lives molding, fashioning, and guiding us to a destination—and that destination is the ultimate full union and sharing of God’s life with our being fashioned into the very image and likeness of His Son Jesus Christ for all eternity.

Hope tells us that we are headed toward this destination at every moment of our life in Christ whether we can clearly see or understand the present moment or not. Hope is this strength which is given to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit Himself in us is God’s down payment or guarantee of our final destination (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us there are three great virtues or strengths that God gives us—Faith, Hope and Love. Although these three are listed and studied separately, they often work together, and like all the things of God, are meant to work together. Paul tells us rightfully that love, or AGAPE, is the greatest. Then faith is ability to reach into the invisible world of the spirit, lay hold of a promise of God, and bring it to pass back here in the visible material world (PISTIS). Hope (Greek: ELPIS) is the assurance that our life is being directed by God to His goal for us. Paul tells us that we can have faith without love. We can also have hope without love. But love, or AGAPE, is so far superior that if we have love, we will also always have faith and hope. 1 Corinthians 13:8 tells us that love believes all things, hopes all things, and never fails.

Nevertheless, hope is a platform when both love and faith can stop and rest during the difficult moments of life. Hope is a place where love and faith can stop and “catch their breath.” In Hebrews 6:18-20, the Apostle Paul calls hope the anchor of the soul. Just as an anchor holds a boat steady at its place in a harbor—hope holds us steady in our walk with God. The storm cannot shake loose a boat that is held by a good anchor. Hope is that “gut feeling” given to us by the Holy Spirit to keep us steady in the storms of life.

Hope works as a helper to both love and faith. Hope tells us to keep having faith even when it doesn’t seem worthwhile to believe anymore. Hope tells us to keep loving even when it doesn’t seem worth it to love anymore.

The prime example of a person of hope is Abraham. We normally think of Abraham as a man of great faith, and indeed he was. The Old Testament hada special title for him— “Abraham the Believer.” The New Testament calls him the Father of our faith. Abraham was also a man of great hope. He was a man who drew on hope when his faith had been stretched almost to the

breaking point. He had been promised a son by God. The promise was made when Abraham was 75 years old and his wife Sarah was barren. For 25 years, he waited, and waited, and waited. So much time passed and nothing happened. Humanly speaking, the fulfillment of the promise was more than impossible. The word “impossible” was optimistic. But the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans, Chapter 4, that Abraham “hoped against hope.” He drew on hope when not only faith seemed foolish, but even hope seemed ridiculous.

Abraham would continually tell his wife Sarah, “Sarah, this is all going someplace good.” And no doubt, Sarah would half-humor him and probably say, “Yes, I know, Abe. It happens every day—a 100 year-old man and a barren 90 year-old woman have a son.” And Abraham would probably counter and say, “No, Sarah, that’s just the point. It doesn’t happen every day, but God promised ME it WOULD happen to us. That’s why I have faith and hope.” And Paul writes that Abraham, in hope, grew strong in faith and trusted God to perform His promised—and God DID, and Abraham had a son named Isaac.

The opposite of hope is despair. Despair is when we feel there is no reason to go on, no reason to keep living, no reason to believe that anything will ever change again for the better. Hell is the place of eternal despair. The Lord Jesus gave some very detailed descriptions of hell—a place of

darkness, fire, and torment, a place of separation from God where lost souls eternally cry and scream out in agony. But the real hell of Hell is that there is no more hope, ever again. There is the realization of everlasting despair.

In fact, we see the beginning of that hell of despair even in this life in all those who do not have Jesus Christ as their Lord. The Apostle Paul describes such people in Ephesians 2:12—Paul states that if we are separated from Christ, we have NO hope in this world and we are not partakers of the promises of God. How true that is. In our own nation of so much prosperity, we see so many people who own so many possessions, but have such empty hearts—hearts that really have NO hope, for true hope can only come from peace with God through His ஒன்லி begotten Son Jesus Christ. Hope and fulfillment cannot come by owning “one more thing,” or one more better possession.

We also learn from this same scripture in Ephesians that we have two reasons FOR hope if we are in Christ:

1) The Word of God and His promises and covenants and the DURABILITY of those promises and covenants. The entire Word of God is a testimony to the faithfulness of Almighty God to His promises and covenants—He fulfills His promises time after time after time—so that we have a certain hope in them.

2) Jesus Christ and His durability and reliability. He is the only one that God Almighty raised from the dead and miracle power is released whenever His resurrection is proclaimed. On the basis of that reliability and durability, we have a certain hope that we will share in His glory (Colossians 1:27) and we are promised His return to earth to set up a righteous Kingdom of love,

peace and holiness. Paul calls this the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). Just as His resurrection and enduring power remain, we know for certain He will return.

Finally, hope is what keeps us faithful during the battles of this life. The Lord Jesus said no person can serve two masters. The trials of life force us to choose at a given moment what is most important to us—God or some thing.

Hope causes us to choose God. One preacher once said that it’s hard to really embrace or hug someone with a lot of things in your hands. Hope causes us to say we’d rather empty our hands of all things, if necessary, so that we can hug God more tightly. But when we do let go of those things rather than lose God, we find that we are hugging the God who is owner of all things and can fill our hands with all the things we let go of, and more.

More important, He has filled our hearts with good things. Faith, Hope, and Love always work together. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul states love never fails. In Romans 5:5, he says hope is never disappointed.

So, if love never fails and hope is never disappointed, faith will always work.

GOD´S LOVE LETTER

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST

"Faith cometh by Hearing, and Hearing by the Word of God!"

Did you know that all who hope to ever enter the Heavenly Gates, must sit at the feet of Jesus in the SCHOOL OF CHRIST here on this earth? Many do not realize it but this is one of the MAIN THEMES of Ellen White's messages from the Throne of God, and one of the most essential to understand!

Everywhere God's true servants, be they men or angels are offering entrance applications for this School in the form of Present Truth for this time. Those who are aroused by this Mighty Message are, like the Bereans of old, to begin to study to LEARN FOR THEMSELVES whether these things are so. This is the Entrance Exam for the SCHOOL OF CHRIST, The Mighty Cleaver of Truth!

"The mighty cleaver of truth has taken them out of the world. Then there is the work to be done for them to fit them for God's temple. They are hewed and squared and chiseled and fitted for the mansions in heaven." Sermons and Talks Volume One -PG- 33

By accepting this truth, they enter the SCHOOL OF CHRIST where under the direct instruction of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and guidance of the angels, they begin the course of study that will prepare them for the Higher School above. Notice what they need to learn and how it is taught:

"Learn of Me," says Jesus; "for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest." We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God." The Desire of Ages -PG- 330 "All have lessons to learn in the school of Christ, in order to perfect Christian characters, and have a oneness with Christ." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald -DT- 06-22-86 "In the lower school of earth we are to learn the lessons that will prepare us to enter the higher school, where our education will continue under the personal instruction of Christ." UL -PG- 197 "Here is the admonition, "Come. . .and learn of me." How difficult to enter the school of Christ by giving up our wills, and submitting to the will of our heavenly Father! Christ knows our weakness. He has given us promises to encourage us by the way, and is ever ready to bear our burdens for us if we will bring them to Him." Manuscript Releases Volume Three -PG- 72 "The religion of Jesus Christ has a refining influence upon men and women. When the truth of God finds access to the heart, it commences its refining process upon the character. Men who are coarse and rough become humble, teachable, learning, ever learning, in the school of Christ." Talks Volume One -PG- 33

This SCHOOL is a personal course of study; each student is to receive one on one tutoring from the Three Heavenly Dignitaries Themselves, and the assistant Heavenly angels. Although interacting with other believers, and taking part in a church worship group, this NEVER takes the place of your need to sit in the SCHOOL OF CHRIST. As I said before, only individuals enter this SCHOOL, we cannot be given any 'honorary certificates' because we have our name on church books or even are working for the 'church'.

Although a Pastor or Minister may be one of the reference sources you find in your studies; always remember that they, too, are STUDENTS, who must sit beside you and learn or they won't ever enter the Higher School either! Human Pastors and Teachers are not ever to usurp the place of the Heavenly teachers. Never take a human being as an 'Ultimate Authority'!

As long as life on this earth shall last, we are never, never to cease from studying and learning, ever seeking to bring as much of Heaven into our hearts and lives as we possibly can. Never will we graduate if we merely try to learn only from Pastors and ministers; fellow students themselves; and do not have the one on one tutoring of the Heavenly Powers!

What are the text books in the SCHOOL OF CHRIST? The number one is the Holy Bible, and part of the course is to learn to recognise the TRUE textbook from modern per-versions! Then we have the wonderful resource given to us in the Spirit of Prophecy writings, the special Gift of the Master of the School to His last day people. We are taught also lessons from the books of experience, including crash courses in suffering and trials.

We learn from the books of History and Nature; which must always be studied by the Light of Inspiration in order to be rightly translated and understood. The Master of the School has hidden countless lessons for us in these books.

Part of the Course is learning the Lessons woven into our own wonderfully made Bodies; by learning and living under the discipline of the Laws of Health designed by the Creator, we are helped in all our other studies.

Remember, we are never to graduate from the SCHOOL OF CHRIST as long as life continues here on earth. Never are we to sit back and feel; I have heard it all before, I know all the Bible Lessons, I can just relax and be entertained week after week by the Pastor. If we stop learning for ourselves as individuals under the DIRECT instruction of Jesus and the Holy Spirit —we are DROPOUTS!! We will never reach the HIGHER SCHOOL in Heaven!

Remember too, that reading papers or books from other students must NEVER take the place of reading and studying the Inspired Writings with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Other books and papers are only helpful to the degree in which they draw upon and utilize the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy; man's own ideas and opinions are WORTHLESS! Indeed a student feeding on these will soon flunk out of the SCHOOL OF CHRIST and never graduate to the Heavenly School! Instead, he will transfer to the School of Antichrist, a branch of the School of Satan, and often will not notice the change until too late!

We are pleased to be able to present to you a compilation of 122 of the over 500 references to this ESSENTIAL SUBJECT, through the labors of Elder William O. Berry. We urge you to study these and also go to the context and study more deeply. Your Eternal Life depends on the awareness given in these references!

Mt 13:52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

GOD LOVE YOU

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "And a second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." ( Matthew 22:37-40)

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." ( John 13:34-35)

"Whatever you want others to do for you, do so for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." ( Matthew 7:12)

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward in heaven will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men." ( Luke 6:35)

"Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many." ( Mark 10:43-45)

"If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you." ( John 13:14-15)

MY JESUS, I LOVE THEE

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

WE ARE HERE TO WORSHIP

THE HERITAGE SINGERS: THE PRAYER

THE CRISTOLOGY OF E.J.WAGGONER

During this period E J Waggoner emerged as a theological writer of no mean ability. Only 29 years of age in 1884, a perusal of his articles during that year in The Signs of the Times indicates a theological grasp and a clear style of writing. His pen was rapidly to bring him into prominence within his church and would lead to his being one of the two main speakers at the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference session, the highest deliberative gathering of the church.

The main platform of Waggoner during this period was The Signs of the Times printed in California, U.S.A., with some articles appearing in the Australian counterpart, Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, from 1886 to 1888. A careful analysis of the articles would indicate that Waggoner specialized in the theological study of the law and the gospel.15 Intermingled with these themes was the role of justification by faith and the important place and role of Christ. It is as Waggoner discusses the involvement of Christ in the law and the gospel that we are able to obtain glimpses of his Christology.

1. The Divinity of Christ

Waggoner taught that all things were created by Christ and therefore angels worship the only-begotten Son with equal reverence as the Father.16 Christ partakes of the attributes of God and has life within Himself.17 In speaking of the Lord's day Waggoner says that the title 'Lord' can be applied to both Christ and the Father, thus indicating their equality.18

In an article appearing in the June 19, 1884, The Signs of the Times, Waggoner discusses the Biblical story of the rich young man and Christ as recorded in Matthew 19:16-22. In commenting on Christ's remark, "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God" (Matt.19:17), Waggoner says: "Our Saviour did not mean to intimate by this that He was not good."19 He then proceeds to show Biblical evidence that Christ knew no sin and that He was absolutely good and the very embodiment of goodness. He then concludes by stating:

"This being the case, we can understand His words, 'there is none good but one, that is God,' as nothing but a statement of the fact that He Himself was entitled to be called God. If there is but one that is good, viz., God, and Christ is good, then Christ must be God."20

Waggoner then shows that this is in harmony with the sentiments of Isaiah 9:6 and John 1:1 and that as the Son of God He partakes of the attributes of God. He is far more exalted than the angels and has life within Himself, being the Creator of all things. Waggoner states that God alone may be worshipped but it is clear from Scripture that Christ accepted worship. The Father and Son are, therefore, one. This unity is expressed in somewhat anthropomorphic terms:

"This oneness, then, is that of two distinct individuals having the same thoughts, the same purposes, the same attributes. The Father and the Son were one in creating the earth, and one in devising and carrying out of the plan of salvation."21

2. Christ the only Saviour in both Dispensations

Waggoner presents a strong view of Christ functioning as Mediator in Old Testament times. "Did the Patriarchs Know Christ?"22 he answers in the In his article, affirmative and shows from Abel's offering, Abraham's faith in Christ, Moses' esteeming the reproach of Christ and the experience of the Israelites drinking from the spiritual Rock that this is so. In answering the charge that men in the Old Testament had very limited knowledge of Christ, Waggoner says:

"If it were true, it would show that God's ways are not equal, and that in different ages of the world He has different ways of saving men; and still worse, the holding of such a view dishonors Christ by virtually denying that in all things He has the pre-eminence."23

Waggoner believed that Christ was the Lamb "slain from the foundation of the world" and it was on the basis of the clear promise of the Old Testament regarding immortality through Christ that any were resurrected in Old Testament times.24

In this connection we must look at a 71-page pamphlet which Waggoner wrote in 1887 entitled, The Gospel in the Book of Galatians, in answer to a 85-page pamphlet put out by G. I. Butler entitled The Law in the Book of Galatians: is it the Moral Law or does it refer to that system of laws peculiarly Jewish?"25 While the pamphlet by Waggoner deals primarily with the law in Galatians we do find some of His Christological views surfacing.

Waggoner believed that the only method of approach to God in Old Testament and New Testament times was through Christ.26 This also meant that the forgiveness in Old Testament times was real.27 He was convinced that God only has one method of salvation and Christ was the Saviour throughout.28 He believed that no one could build on anything except Christ.29 To depend on anything except Christ for justification is the rejection of Christ.30 Waggoner states that Christ was the One who spoke the ten commandments from Sinai and, therefore, He was the great Mediator of the law in Galatians 3.31 He also maintained that the term 'until the seed should come' (Galatians 3:19), not only applied to the first advent of Christ but to the second advent and thus for him the function of the moral law remained to lead men and women experientially to faith in Christ at all times.32

3. Christ and Sin

With regard to the problem of sin, Waggoner taught that man was sinful and Christ was holy and righteous. In 1884 he was teaching that all of Adam's posterity were born into a state of sin.33 As far as Christ was concerned, Waggoner believed that He came into the same position as the sinner and bore the guilt of the sins of man from his entrance into the world and yet was inherently righteous and holy. Note this contrast in his words:

"Christ was sinless; the law was in His heart. As the Son of God His life was worth more than those of all created beings, whether in heaven or on earth...He took upon Himself our nature, Heb. 2:16,17; and on Him was laid 'the iniquity of us all.' Isa. 53:6. In order to save us, He had to come where we were, or, in other words, He had to take the position of a lost sinner...And because Christ was 'numbered with the transgressors,' He suffered the penalty of transgression.

"But the suffering of Christ was not on His own account. 'He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.' Pet. 2:22."34

In an article in The Signs of the Times Waggoner shows that Christ "had to put Himself in the exact condition of those whom He would save."35 Does this mean that Christ was a sinner? No, Waggoner says that Christ was "absolutely good, the embodiment of goodness, yet He was counted as a sinner."36 So Waggoner says that Christ was counted as a sinner although He was not one. He says that "He bore the sins of the world as though they were His own."37 Waggoner believed that the innocent assumed the crimes of the guilty and the sinless One was made sin for us. He wrote:

"None can die except those in whom sin is found; our sins were laid on Christ, and accounted as His; and so, although personally 'He knew no sin,' He was made to suffer the penalty of the law as a transgressor."38

In this article, "Under the Law," Waggoner takes the position that the term 'made under the law' relative to Christ means not merely that Christ was subject to the law but that He was subject to its penalty as an accounted sinner. Christ put Himself in the place of those who had violated the law and were under the condemnation of death and thus suffered the penalty of the law. Waggoner states his position very clearly in his article, "A New Creature in Christ":

"God made Christ (the sinless one) to be sin for us. He was made in all things 'like unto His brethren;' and that means not simply as to the outward, physical frame, but that he bore sin, just as we do. The sins that he bore were not his own, but ours. He 'knew no sin,' yet 'the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.' Isa. 53:6. Although the sins that he bore were ours, they were counted as his own, and so caused his death." (Isa. 53:5 quoted).39

In his booklet, The Gospel in the book of Galatians, Waggoner deals with Galatians 4:4 and the fact that Christ became flesh. After quoting John 14 and Romans 8:3, Waggoner says: "Christ was born in the likeness of sinful flesh."40 He then proceeds to quote Phil. 2:5-7 and Heb. 2:9 and writes:

"These texts show that Christ took upon Himself man's nature, and that as a consequence He was subject to death. He came into the world on purpose to die; and so from the beginning of His earthly life He was in the same condition that the men are in whose place He died to save."41

After quoting Romans 1:3, Waggoner states that Christ was made of the seed of David. The nature of David was sinful and Waggoner says: "Don't start in horrified astonishment; I am not implying that Christ was a sinner. I shall explain more fully in a few moments."42 After quoting Heb. 2:16,17 he says that Christ's being made in all things like unto His brethren is the same as His being made in the likeness of sinful flesh. The ancestors of Christ had all the weaknesses and passions that we have and we cannot excuse our sinful acts on the ground of heredity. He says:

"If Christ had not been made in all things like unto His brethren, then His sinless life would be no encouragement to us. We might look at it with admiration, but it would be the admiration that would cause hopeless despair."43

Waggoner then quotes 2 Cor. 5:21 and indicates that Christ was made sin for us from His birth when He was made flesh. He was made like men that He might undergo the suffering of death. Waggoner says that Butler would agree that if Christ was under the condemnation of the law on the cross without being a sinner Himself, then, why could He not be under the condemnation of the law from birth and still be sinless? Quite clearly Waggoner regards Christ as being accounted a sinner and not made one Himself inherently. He goes on to say: "I do not know how the pure and holy Savior could ensure all the infirmities of humanity, which are the result of sin, and be reckoned as a sinner, and suffer the death of a sinner."44 With Waggoner we find this tension between a Christ who knew no sin and did no sin and yet was counted as guilty and covered with degradation.45

On the one hand, for Waggoner, Christ "was made on a level with man"46 and He took the position of the lost sinner. It was in this sense that Christ came in "the likeness of sinful flesh."47 In 1886 Waggoner was speaking of human flesh being depraved and having no good thing in it,48 and at the same time, Christ being the embodiment of goodness and so He could only have depraved flesh in an accounted sense. On the other hand, Waggoner proclaimed Christ as the sinless One,49 the perfect Pattern,50 the One who is perfect righteousness,51 who did no sin52 and knew no sin.53

For Waggoner Christ was sinless and the embodiment of holiness but "He went to the very lowest depth of which man had fallen, in order that He might lift man to His own exalted throne; yet He never ceased to be God, or lost a particle of His holiness."54

In discussing Christ's baptism, Waggoner makes it clear that we are dealing not merely with an example, but with the vicarious nature of the atonement. It must have been for the same reason that He died, namely, for sin. And then Waggoner makes a statement showing clearly the vicarious nature of Christ's whole life:

"Not His own sin, but ours; for as in His death, so in His life, our sins were counted as His. And thus it is that He could be all His life, even from His birth, under the condemnation of the law. It was not on His own account, but on ours."55

Thus, for Waggoner, Christ ever remained sinless but He was verily made or accounted a sinner and a transgressor with the sins of the world upon Him. This was a vicarious atonement for Christ from His birth to His death.

During this period of 1883-1888 we have observed Waggoner's position with regard to the divinity of Christ and Waggoner's high regard for a Saviour who possessed the same attributes as God the Father. Moreover, we have seen Waggoner's insistence on Christ's uniformity of mission and work during both the Old and New Testament dispensations. Finally, we paused to consider Waggoner's view of Christ and sin and found that while Waggoner has Christ coming to the place and position of the sinner from birth, it is in an accounted sense. Thus, while Christ is made sin in a vicarious manner, He remains pure and sinless in Himself.

15 Notice some of the titles of his articles in The Signs of the Times during 1884 to 1888. The figures behind the titles indicate the number of articles by that name in a series: "Nature of the Law," (3), June 26, 1884, January 21, 28, 1886; "Under the Law," (8), August 28, September 4, 11, 18, 1884; May 6, 13, 27, June 3, 1886; "Jurisdiction of the Law," (4), February 4, 11, 18, 25, 1886; "Comments on Galatians 3," (9), July 8, 15, 22, 29, August 5, 12, 19, 26, September 2, 1886; "Christ the end of the Law," (2), July 24, August 7, 1884.
16 E. J. Waggoner, "Eternal Life," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 33, August 28, 1884, p.522: "Yet He gave His only-begotten Son, - the one by whom all things were made, whom angels worship with reverence equal to that which they yield to God, - that man might have eternal life."

17 "> Ibid., No. 34, September 4, 1884, p.538: "...we turn to John 5:26 and read Christ's words: 'For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself.' Christ, then being the only-begotten Son of God, partakes of His attributes, and has life in Himself. That is, He is able to impart life to others."

18 E. J. Waggoner, "Eternal Life," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 46, December 4, 1884, p.729: "The title Lord is applied to both Christ and the Father. Since these two are one, that which belongs to one must be the property of the other also, there can be no division between them." See also November 27, 1884, p.713. Waggoner wrote a series of five articles on the divinity of Christ appearing in The Signs of the Times from March to May 1889 but we will present their main points in the second period of Waggoner.

19 Ibid., No. 24, June 19, 1884, p.377.

20 Ibid. See also "Which is Evangelical?" The Signs the Times, Vol. 11, No. 43, November 12, 1885, where he applies Heb. 1:2,3 and Col. 2:9 to Christ.

21 E. J. Waggoner, "An Important Question," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 24, June 19, 1884, p.377. See also "Comments on Galatians 3, No. 7" The Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 32, August 19, 1886, p.502: "Thus in everything that concerns man, we see oneness of thought and action between the Father and the Son."
22 Waggoner, "Did the Patriarchs Know Christ?" The Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 50, December 30, 1886, p.790. See also "The Oracles of God," Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 3, No. 7, July 1888, p.106. Waggoner applies Isaiah 6:1 to Christ in "Thine is the glory," Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, Vol. 3, No. 12, December 1888, p.166.
23 Waggoner, "Did the Patriarchs Know Christ?" The Signs of the Times, December 30, 1886, p.790.

24 See Waggoner, "Lesson for the Pacific Coast," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 22, June 5, 1884, p.342.
25 In 1886 Waggoner wrote a series of articles in The Signs of the Times on Galatians in which he advocated that the law in Chapter 3 was the moral law. This disturbed Uriah Smith, editor of the Review and Herald, and George Butler, president of the General Conference. Butler then wrote his pamphlet in favor of the ceremonial law in Galatians and the pamphlet was issued to coincide with the commencement of the 1886 General Conference session on November 18.Butler also brought the matter to the Theological Committee at the General Conference session of December 6. Although Waggoner was a member of this committee, a resolution was passed with the idea that theological views not held by the majority should not be published unless they had first been presented to leading brethren of experience. On February 10, 1887, Waggoner prepared his 71-page reply to the pamphlet issued by Butler. For some reason he held this back for almost two years, only releasing it in December 1888, after the Minneapolis Conference. It could be that a letter from Ellen White dated February 18, 1887, led Waggoner to hold his pamphlet back. In this letter Ellen White spoke words of caution to Waggoner and appealed for unity between the Review and Herald and The Signs of the Times. She expressed her conviction that the matter was not of sufficient importance to have caused Waggoner to have published his views in The Signs of the Times. A copy of Ellen White's letter to Waggoner and Jones was sent to Smith and Butler and they took the opportunity to attack Waggoner's views in the Review and Herald. This led to a letter from Ellen White to Butler and Smith dated April 5, 1887, in which she stated that because of their actions, matters were now different and it would only be fair for open discussion to take place, and for Waggoner to have a fair opportunity to put his case. No doubt, this led to the development of discussion leading to Waggoner's presentation of his talks at the Minneapolis Conference of 1888. In December 1888, Waggoner issued his pamphlet and in the explanatory note he wrote: "The delay of nearly two years has given ample time to carefully review the subject again and again, and to avoid any appearance of heated controversy." McMahon says: "The clash between Butler and Waggoner was a classic conflict between ecclesiastical conservatism and the real spirit of Protestantism" (David P. McMahon, Ellet Joseph Waggoner: The Myth and the Man, p.56). For details see Ibid., pp.53-62.

26 "Do you mean to intimate by this that there was ever a time when any people could approach God except through Christ?...Your words seem to imply that before the first advent men approached God by means of the ceremonial law, and that after that they approached Him through the Messiah; but we shall have to go outside the Bible to find any support for the idea that anybody could ever approach God except through Christ" (Waggoner, The Gospel in the Book of Galatians, Oakland, California: 1888, pp. 11,12).
27 "How could this be? Simply because Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That He should offer Himself as a sacrifice, was promised to our first parents in Eden, and confirmed to Abraham by an oath from God, and, therefore, by virtue of that promise, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all who wished, could receive as much virtue from the blood of Christ as we can" (Ibid. p.30).

28 Waggoner accuses Butler of having two plans of salvation, one for the Jews before the cross and one for Christians after the cross. To counter this, Waggoner asks: "Were they [the people before the cross] accepted in any other way than by humility of heart, repentance, confession of sins, faith in the blood of Christ, and a determination to obey God? Nay, verily" (Ibid., p.56).

29 "Those who attempt to build their house on anything except the rock Christ Jesus, are building for destruction" (Ibid., p.11).
30 See Ibid., pp.9,11,15,16.
31 Ibid., p.36.

32 Ibid., pp.37-42. It is questionable whether Waggoner was correct in applying the term 'until the seed should come' (Gal. 3:19) to both the first and second advents. It appears reasonable that the phrase has primary application to the historical coming of Christ and the first advent.

33 E. J. Waggoner, "The Mission of Christ," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 41, October 30, 1884, p.650: "The stream, unassisted, cannot rise higher than the fountain, and therefore Adam's posterity were necessarily born into a state of sin. When Adam sinned, God looked down the ages and saw the whole human race in a state of rebellion, and, consequently, of condemnation; and then it was that His great love was manifested, in giving His only-begotten Son to die for a rebellious world." See also "Inheritance of the Saints," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 12, March 19, 1885, p.182: "By his sin, Adam not only lost the dominion for himself, but he made it impossible for any of his posterity to possess it. For since it was forfeited through sin, his descendants could not possess it, because they were born sinful. Moreover his whole posterity were, with himself, doomed to death."

34 E. J. Waggoner, "Condemned and Justified," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 26, July 3, 1884, p.409. See also "Justified by Faith," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 12, March 25, 1886, p.183: "Christ's righteousness was perfect. He delighted to do the will of God, because the law - God's will - was within His heart." See also "Justification and Sanctification," The Signs of the Times, April 1, 1886, p.199.
35 For the source of the statements found in this paragraph see E. J. Waggoner, "Under the Law," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 36, September 18, 1884. p.569.
36 E. J. Waggoner, "Under the Law," The Signs of Times, Vol. 10, No. 36, September 18, 1884, p.569.

37 Ibid.
38 Ibid.

39 E. J. Waggoner, "A New Creature in Christ," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 27,July 17, 1884, p.425.
40 E. J. Waggoner, The Gospel in the Book of Galatians, p.60.

41 Ibid.
42 Ibid., p.61.

43 Ibid.

44 E. J. Waggoner, The Gospel in the book of Galatians, p.62.
45 "And so the Innocent suffered for the guilty. Man had been overcome by sin, and by it brought into bondage (2 Pet. 2:19), and in order to redeem him from this corruption, and the death that must necessarily follow (James 1:15), the spotless Son of God took upon Himself the form of a servant of sin, and consented to be covered with the same degradation into which man had plunged himself." E. J. Waggoner, "Under the Law," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 18, May 13, 1886, p.279.

46 E. J. Waggoner, The Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 41, October 29, 1885.

47 E. J. Waggoner, "Principles and Precepts," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 48, December 17, 1885, p.761. At this stage Waggoner does not elaborate on an explanation of Christ coming "in the likeness of sinful flesh." We will note further development in the next period.

48 E. J. Waggoner, "Brief Comments on Romans 7," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 24, June 24, 1886: "The flesh is depraved, having no good thing in it so that although he may determine to do good, he will not find any power in him to carry out his determination" (p.374).
49 E. J. Waggoner, "Judged 5y the Law," The Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 45, November 26, 1885, p.713.
50 Ibid., Vol. 11, No. 46, December 3, 1885, p.729.
51 Ibid., Vol. 12, No. 13, April 1, 1886, p.199.

52 Ibid., Vol. 10, No. 47, December 11, 1884, p.744.

53 Ibid., "Things We Should Know," No. 2, The Signs of the Times, February 10, 1887.

54 E. J. Waggoner, The Gospel in the book of Galatians, p.63.

55 Ibid.