LESSON 8 *August 12–18
Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Eph. 4:17–32; Col. 3:1–17; Zech. 3:3–5; Zech. 8:16; Isa. 63:10; Rom. 8:16, 26, 27.
Memory Text: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24, NIV).
Jose Antonio lived on the streets of Palma, Spain, as a homeless man for years. With gray, straggly hair and beard, Jose looked older than his 57 years. One day, Salva Garcia, the owner of a hair salon, approached Jose and proposed a complete makeover.
With Jose in the salon chair, a hardworking team cut, dyed, and styled the tangled bundles of hair and beard. Next, Jose then got new stylish clothes. Then came the reveal! As Jose sat in front of a mirror, tears came. “Is this me? I’m so different; no one is going to recognize me!” Later he would add, “It wasn’t just a change of looks. It changed my life.”
In Ephesians 4:17–32, Paul argues that believers have experienced a complete transformation. They have taken off their old selves and have embraced their new identity. Somewhat like Jose’s change, though, this is no mere external transformation. It includes being “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Eph. 4:23, ESV), bringing into the life “true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24, ESV). This is the ultimate makeover.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 19.
EGW Notes — SATURDAY ↓
Sabbath Afternoon, August 12
Lesson 8 - Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech
[Let] us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will preserve us. Looking unto Jesus, we are safe. Nothing can pluck us out of His hand. In constantly beholding Him, we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
It was thus that the early disciples gained their likeness to the dear Saviour. . . . Those disciples were men “subject to like passions as we are.” James 5:17. They had the same battle with sin to fight. They needed the same grace, in order to live a holy life.
Even John, the beloved disciple, the one who most fully reflected the likeness of the Saviour, did not naturally possess that loveliness of character. He was not only self-assertive and ambitious for honor, but impetuous, and resentful under injuries. But as the character of the Divine One was manifested to him, he saw his own deficiency and was humbled by the knowledge. The strength and patience, the power and tenderness, the majesty and meekness, that he beheld in the daily life of the Son of God, filled his soul with admiration and love.
Day by day his heart was drawn out toward Christ, until he lost sight of self in love for his Master. His resentful, ambitious temper was yielded to the molding power of Christ. The regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit renewed his heart. The power of the love of Christ wrought a transformation of character. This is the sure result of union with Jesus. When Christ abides in the heart, the whole nature is transformed. Christ’s Spirit, His love, softens the heart, subdues the soul, and raises the thoughts and desires toward God and
heaven.—Steps to Christ, pp. 72, 73.
“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Through the power of Christ, men and women have broken the chains of sinful habit. They have renounced selfishness. The profane have become reverent, the drunken sober, the profligate pure. Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan have become transformed into the image of God. This change is in itself the miracle of miracles. A change wrought by the Word, it is one of the deepest mysteries of the Word. We cannot understand it; we can only believe, as declared by the Scriptures, it is “Christ in you, the hope of
glory.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 476.
SUNDAY August 13
The Downward Spiral of Sin
Compare Ephesians 4:17–32 with Colossians 3:1–17. How does Paul
advocate for believers to live in a way that encourages the unity of
the church?
* Your notes will not be saved!
In the prior section, Ephesians 4:1–16, Paul’s theme was the unity of
the church. When we compare Ephesians 4:1 and Ephesians 4:17, we
note how similar these two exhortations are about how to walk or to
live. This resemblance suggests that Paul addresses the same theme—
unity and the lifestyle that supports it—but from a new and initially
more negative vantage point.
In Ephesians 4:17–24, Paul contrasts Gentile lifestyle, which he
regards as undermining unity (Eph. 4:17–19), with truly Christian
patterns of life that nourish it (Eph. 4:20–24). As we read Paul’s sharp
critique of the depraved, Gentile lifestyle, we should recall his conviction
that Gentiles are redeemed by God through Christ and offered
full partnership in the people of God (Eph. 2:11–22, Eph. 3:1–13). In
Ephesians 4:17–19, then, he is offering a limited and negative description
of “Gentiles in the flesh” (Eph. 2:11).
Paul is not just concerned about specific sins or behaviors
exhibited by Gentiles. He is concerned about a pattern of behavior
that they exhibit, a downward trajectory of living in the grip of
sin. At the heart of Ephesians 4:17–19 is a portrait of a calloused
spirituality: “in the futility of their mind, having their understanding
darkened, being alienated from the life of God” (Eph. 4:17, 18,
NKJV). This calloused spirituality is the source of the darkened
understanding highlighted at the beginning of the passage (“because
of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They
have become callous,” Eph. 4:18, 19, ESV) and the depraved sexual
practice underlined at its end (“and have given themselves up to
sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity,” Eph. 4:19,
ESV). Alienated from God, they don’t know how to live, and separated
from His saving grace, they continue in a downward spiral of
sin and depravity.
What has been your own experience with the power of sin to continue
to drag a person downward into even more sin?
EGW Notes — SUNDAY ↓
Sunday, August 13
The Downward Spiral of Sin
It was when the Israelites were in a condition of outward ease and security that they were led into sin. They failed to keep God ever before them, they neglected prayer and cherished a spirit of self-confidence. Ease and self-indulgence left the citadel of the soul unguarded, and debasing thoughts found entrance. It was the traitors within the walls that overthrew the strongholds of principle and betrayed Israel into the power of Satan. It is thus that Satan still seeks to compass the ruin of the soul. A long preparatory process, unknown to the world, goes on in the heart before the Christian commits open sin. The mind does not come down at once from purity and holiness to depravity, corruption, and crime. It takes time to degrade those formed in the image of God to the brutal or the satanic. By beholding we become changed. By the indulgence of impure thoughts man can so educate his mind that sin which he once loathed will become pleasant to him. . . .
The mind is educated to familiarity with sin . . . that the once tender conscience . . . becomes hardened, and they dwell upon these things with greedy
interest.—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 459.
To hate and reprove sin, and at the same time to show pity and tenderness for the sinner, is a difficult attainment. The more earnest our own efforts to attain to holiness of heart and life, the more acute will be our perception of sin and the more decided our disapproval of any deviation from the right. We must guard against undue severity toward the wrongdoer, but we must also be careful not to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. There is need of showing Christlike patience and love for the erring one, but there is also danger of showing so great toleration for his error that he will look upon himself as undeserving of reproof, and will reject it as uncalled for and unjust. . . .
He who has blunted his spiritual perceptions by sinful leniency toward those whom God condemns, will erelong commit a greater sin by severity and harshness toward those whom God approves.
By the pride of human wisdom, by contempt for the influence of the Holy Spirit, and by disrelish for the truths of God’s word, many who profess to be Christians, and who feel competent to teach others, will be led to turn away from the requirements of God. Paul declared to Timothy, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.”—The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 503, 504.
MONDAY August 14
A Dramatic Change of Clothing
In retelling the story of the conversion of his audience, what essential
main point is Paul getting across to them? Eph. 4:20–24.
Having described their former, Gentile existence (Eph. 4:17–19),
Paul does not say, “That is not the way you learned about Christ.”
Instead, he exclaims, “That is not the way you learned Christ!” (Eph.
4:20, ESV). Noting that the addressees “heard Him” [Christ] (NKJV),
and were taught “in him” (Eph. 4:21, ESV) or “by Him” (NKJV), Paul
further advocates the adoption of a Christ-shaped life with the phrase
“as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph. 4:21). For Paul, coming to faith centers
on a personal connection with Christ, one so vivid and real that it may
be described as “learning Christ.” We acknowledge that the risen and
exalted Jesus is alive and present with us. We are shaped by His teachings
and example and exercise loyalty to Him as our living Lord. We
open our lives to His active guidance and direction through Spirit and
Word.
Paul tells us that the adoption of a Christ-shaped life requires three
processes, which he expresses through clothing imagery: (1) to “put
off ” or turn away from the old way of life (Eph. 4:22); (2) to experience
inner renewal (Eph. 4:23); and (3) to “put on” the new, Godlike pattern
of life (Eph. 4:24). Paul’s metaphor reflects the use of clothing in the
Old Testament as a symbol for both sinfulness (e.g., Ps. 73:6; Zech.
3:3, 4; Mal. 2:16) and salvation (e.g., Isa. 61:10; Ezek. 16:8; Zech.
3:4, 5).
In ancient times, men wore a knee-length tunic as an undergarment
and a cloak or mantle to offer protection from the sun. Similarly,
women wore a tunic and a robe. The cultures reflected in the Bible were
subsistence ones. Garments were precious and expensive and were kept
for a long time. It would have been unusual to own more than one set
of clothing. The quality and style of those garments signaled identity
and status markers about the wearer. To change one’s clothes, exchanging
one set of clothes for another, was an unusual and important event
(rather than the trifling occurrence it is in many cultures today). Paul
imagines the change in life to be as noticeable as exchanging one set
of clothing for another would have been in this first-century context.
What is the difference, the crucial difference, between learning
about Christ and learning to know Christ?
EGW Notes — MONDAY ↓
Monday, August 14
A Dramatic Change of Clothing
The apostle admonishes his brethren, in the name and by the authority of the Lord Jesus, that after having professed the gospel they should not conduct themselves as did the Gentiles, but should show by their daily deportment that they had been truly converted.
“Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Once they were corrupt, degraded, enslaved by lustful passions; they were drugged by worldly opiates, blinded, bewildered, and betrayed by Satan’s devices. Now that they had been taught the truth as it is in Jesus, there must be a decided change in their life and
character.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 171, 172.
It is by the renewing of the heart that the grace of God works to transform the life. No mere external change is sufficient to bring us into harmony with God. There are many who try to reform by correcting this bad habit or that bad habit and they hope in this way to become Christians, but they are beginning in the wrong place. Our first work is with the heart. . . .
If studied and obeyed, the Word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute. The Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin, and the faith that springs up in the heart works by love to Christ, conforming us, body, soul, and spirit, to His
will.—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 223.
We are to accept of Christ as our personal Saviour, or we shall fail in our attempt to be overcomers. It will not answer for us to hold ourselves aloof from Him, to believe that our friend or our neighbor may have Him for a personal Saviour, but that we may not experience His pardoning love. We are to believe that we are chosen of God, to be saved by the exercise of faith, through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit; and we are to praise and glorify God for such a marvelous manifestation of His unmerited favor. It is the love of God that draws the soul to Christ, to be graciously received, and presented to the Father. Through the work of the Spirit the divine relationship between God and the sinner is renewed. The Father says: “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. I will exercise forgiving love toward them, and bestow upon them my joy. They shall be to me a peculiar treasure; for this people whom I have formed for myself shall show forth my
praise.”—Our High Calling, p. 77.
TUESDAY August 15
Unity-Building, Grace-Filled Speech
Which of Paul’s words of counsel with regard to the use of speech
among believers is the most important to you just now? Why? Eph. 4:25–29.
Paul repeatedly uses an interesting structure in Ephesians 4:25–32,
which is illustrated by Ephesians 4:25 (NKJV): a negative command
(“putting away lying”); a positive command next (“ ‘let each one of
you speak truth with his neighbor’ ”); and then a rationale (“for we
are members of one another,” which seems to mean “because we are
members of one body and so related to one another as parts of that
one body”). Paul’s exhortation to “speak truth” is not an invitation to
confront other church members with a tactless recitation of facts. Paul
alludes to Zechariah 8:16, which exhorts speaking the truth as a way
of fostering peace.
Since in Ephesians 4:31 Paul banishes anger and angry speech, his
words in Ephesians 4:26 provide no permission to exercise anger within
the congregation. Rather, Paul concedes the possibility of anger, while
limiting its expression with the sense, “Should you become angry, do
not allow it to bear fruit in full blown sin.”
Paul appears to interrupt his theme of speech with a negative command
about thieves: “Let the thief no longer steal” (Eph. 4:28, ESV).
Positively, the thief is to “labor, doing honest work with his own hands”
(Eph. 4:28, ESV; see also 1 Cor. 4:12, 1 Thess. 4:11) based on the
rationale, “so that he may have something to share with anyone in need”
(Eph. 4:28, ESV). Perhaps Paul includes this word about thieves here
because of the connection between theft and deceptive speech as illustrated
by the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1–11. Paul’s faith
in Christ’s transforming power is so strong that he envisions thieves
becoming benefactors!
Paul then commands, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your
mouth” (Eph. 4:29, NKJV), which describes a destructive word making
its seemingly unstoppable way toward the lips to do its damaging work.
Positively, Paul imagines any negative expression not being just stopped,
but replaced by a statement that exhibits three criteria: It (1) “is good for
building up,” (2) “fits the occasion,” and (3) gives “grace to those who
hear” (Eph. 4:29, ESV). If only all our words could be like that!
EGW Notes — TUESDAY ↓
Tuesday, August 15
Unity-Building, Grace-Filled Speech
[Jesus] is our example, not only in His spotless purity, but in His patience, gentleness, and winsomeness of disposition. His life is an illustration of true courtesy. He had ever a kind look and a word of comfort for the needy and the oppressed. . . . As He saw men weary, and compelled to bear heavy burdens, He shared their burdens, and repeated to them the lessons He had learned from nature, of the love, the kindness, the goodness of God. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might attain such a character as would make them manifest as children of
God.—Gospels Workers, p. 121.
The religion of Jesus softens whatever is hard and rough in the temper, and smooths whatever is rugged and sharp in the manners. It makes the words gentle and the demeanor winning. Let us learn from Christ how to combine a high sense of purity and integrity with sunniness of disposition. A kind, courteous Christian is the most powerful argument that can be produced in favor of Christianity.
Kind words are as dew and gentle showers to the soul. The Scripture says of Christ, that grace was poured into His lips, that He might “know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” [Isaiah 50:4.] And the Lord bids us, “Let your speech be alway with grace” “that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” [Colossians 4:6; Ephesians
4:29.]—Gospel Workers, p. 122.
The apostle, seeing the inclination to abuse the gift of speech, gives direction concerning its use. “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,” he says, “but that which is good to the use of edifying.” The word “corrupt” means here any word that would make an impression detrimental to holy principles and undefiled religion, any communication that would eclipse the view of Christ, and blot from the mind true sympathy and love. It includes impure hints, which, unless instantly resisted, lead to great sin. . . .
In all His teaching Christ presented pure, unadulterated principles. He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. Constantly there flowed from His lips holy, ennobling truths. He spoke as never man spoke, with a pathos that touched the heart. . . .
Cultivate a prayerful frame of mind and educate the tongue to speak right words, that will bless in the place of discouraging. Talk of the goodness, the mercy, and the love of God. Put away all unbelieving words and all that is cheap and common. Let the words be sound words, that cannot be condemned, and the peace of God will surely come to the
soul.—In Heavenly Places, p. 175.
WEDNESDAY August 16
The Holy Spirit in the Believer’s Life
In discussing sins of speech within the Christian community, what exhortation
does Paul share about the presence of the Holy Spirit with
believers? Eph. 4:30.
Paul simultaneously offers a daunting warning and a heartwarming
promise. Our sins against one another in the church are not minor misdeeds
with little consequence: what grieves the Holy Spirit is our misuse
of God’s gift of speech to tear down others (Eph. 4:25–27, 29, 31,
32). That Paul echoes Isaiah 63:10 underlines the serious warning: “But
they [Israel] rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to
be their enemy, and himself fought against them” (ESV).
In a reassuring promise, Paul affirms that the Holy Spirit seals
believers from the day they accepted Christ (Eph. 1:13, 14) until
“the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). The Spirit’s relationship with
the believer is not fragile but durable. When believers disregard the
indwelling presence of the Spirit by weaponizing God’s gift of speech,
the Spirit is not said to leave but to grieve. The Spirit intends to remain
present with believers, marking them as owned and protected by God,
until Christ’s return.
Paul underlines the full divinity of the Spirit as “the Holy Spirit of
God” and highlights the personhood of the Spirit by portraying the Holy
Spirit as grieving. (See also Rom. 8:16, 26, 27; 1 Cor. 2:10, 13; 1 Cor.
12:11; Gal. 5:17, 18.)
We must tread with care in discussing the mystery of the Godhead.
The Spirit is both One with and distinct from the Father and the Son.
“The Spirit has His own will and chooses accordingly. He can be
grieved and blasphemed against. Such expressions are not fit for a mere
power or influence but are characteristics of a person. Is the Spirit then
a person just like you and me? No, we use limited human terminology
to describe the divine, and the Spirit is what human beings can never
be.”—Paul Petersen, God in 3 Persons—In the New Testament (Silver
Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2015), p. 20.
It is “the Holy Spirit of God” who lives in such intimate contact
with us that our actions are said to affect Him. We share life with
a member of the Godhead committed to us in a durable relationship
that seals us until the end of time. What should be our faith
response to this amazing truth?
EGW Notes — WEDNESDAY ↓
Wednesday, August 16
The Holy Spirit in the Believer’s Life
The Holy Spirit was promised to be with those who were wrestling for victory, in demonstration of all mightiness, endowing the human agent with supernatural powers, and instructing the ignorant in the mysteries of the kingdom of God. That the Holy Spirit is to be the grand helper, is a wonderful promise. Of what avail would it have been to us that the only begotten Son of God had humbled Himself, endured the temptations of the wily foe, and wrestled with him during his entire life on earth, and died the Just for the unjust that humanity might not perish, if the Spirit had not been given as a constant, working, regenerating agent to make effectual in our cases what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer?
The imparted Holy Spirit enabled his disciples, the apostles, to stand firmly against every species of idolatry and to exalt the Lord and Him alone. Who, but Jesus Christ by his Spirit and divine power, guided the pens of the sacred historians that to the world might be presented the precious record of the sayings and works of Jesus
Christ?—Selected Messages, book 3, p. 137.
In the work that was accomplished on the day of Pentecost, we may see what can be done by the exercise of faith. Those who believed in Christ were sealed by the Holy Spirit. As the disciples were assembled together, “there came a sound . . . as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” And Peter stood up among them and spoke with mighty power. Among those who listened to him were devout Jews, who were sincere in their belief. But the power that accompanied the words of the speaker convinced them that Christ was indeed the Messiah. What a mighty work was accomplished! Three thousand were converted in one day. . . .
More were converted by one sermon on the day of Pentecost than were converted during all the years of Christ’s ministry. So mightily will God work when men give themselves to the control of the Spirit.—Ellen G. White Comments, in
The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1055.
The promised Holy Spirit, whom he would send after he ascended to his Father, is constantly at work to draw the attention to the great official sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary, and to unfold to the world the love of God to man, and to open to the convicted soul the precious things in the Scriptures, and to open to darkened minds the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, the truths that make their hearts burn within them with the awakened intelligence of the truths of
eternity.—Selected Messages, book 3, p. 137.
THURSDAY August 17
Kindness (Not Bitterness)
By referring to “the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30), Paul has just
invited his readers to consider their uses of speech in the context of
Christ’s second coming. Ephesians 4:31, 32, then, may be understood
as addressing the use of speech as we approach that grand event.
In the light of Christ’s return, what attitudes and behaviors, related to
speech, should be discarded? What attitudes and behaviors should
be embraced? Eph. 4:31, 32.
In the final exhortation of Ephesians 4:17–32, Paul again provides a
negative command, this one identifying six vices that are to “be put away
from you” (Eph. 4:31); a positive command to be kind, tenderhearted,
and forgiving (Eph. 4:32), and a rationale. Believers are to forgive one
another “even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32, NKJV). The
list of six vices begins and ends with general, all-encompassing terms,
“all bitterness” and “all malice.” In between come four additional terms:
“wrath,” “anger,” “clamor,” and “slander” (Eph. 4:31, ESV).
The last of these translates the Greek word blasphemia, which
English has borrowed as a technical term for demeaning speech against
God. However, the Greek term identifies speech that defames either
God or other humans as “slander” or “evil speaking.” In the list, attitudes
(bitterness, wrath, anger) seem to boil over into angry speech
(clamor, slander). In essence, Paul demilitarizes Christian speech.
The attitudes that drive angry speech and the rhetorical strategies that
employ it are to be removed from the Christian’s arsenal. Christian
community will flourish and unity of the church be fostered (compare
Eph. 4:1–16) only where these things are laid aside.
Evil speech, though, is not so much to be suppressed as replaced. Our
conversations and actions among the family of Christ—and beyond it,
as well—are not to grow out of anger but are to be motivated by kindness,
tenderheartedness, and forgiveness based on the highest standard
of all, the forgiveness that God has extended to us in Christ (Eph. 4:32).
Paul presents “vertical forgiveness” (offered by God to us) as the model
for “horizontal forgiveness” (that which we offer to each other; compare
Col. 3:13; Matt. 6:12, 14, 15).
Think about the power of your words. How can you use them to
be uplifting, encouraging, and faith-building?
EGW Notes — THURSDAY ↓
Thursday, August 17
Kindness (Not Bitterness)
Satan claims the world. He claims us as his. Then shall we give him that which he claims? No. I am somebody else’s property. I have been bought with a price, and my business is to glorify God in my body and spirit. I have no time to talk unbelief. It is faith that I must talk. I must strengthen faith by exercise. And then my faith grows as I venture upon the promises of God, and I can grasp more and more. . . .
One word of doubt, one word of evil thinking and evil speaking, makes room for more of the same kind. It is seed-sowing that will prepare for a harvest that few will care to garner.
Those who are troubled with doubts and have difficulties which they cannot solve should not throw other weak minds into the same perplexity. Some have hinted or talked their unbelief and have passed on, little dreaming of the effect produced. In some instances the seeds of unbelief have taken immediate effect, while in others they have lain buried quite a length of time, until the individual has taken a wrong course and given place to the enemy, and the light of God has been withdrawn from him and he has fallen under the powerful temptations of Satan. Then the seeds of infidelity which were sown so long ago spring up. Satan nourishes them, and they bear
fruit.—Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, p. 676.
Remember that your brethren are fallible creatures like yourself, and regard their mistakes and errors with the same mercy and forbearance that you wish them to exercise toward you. They should not be watched and their defects paraded to the front for the world to exult over. Those who dare to do this have climbed upon the judgment seat and made themselves judges, while they have neglected the garden of their own hearts and have allowed poisonous weeds to obtain a rank growth.
We individually have a case pending in the court of heaven. Character is being weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and it should be the earnest desire of all to walk humbly and carefully, lest, neglecting to let their light shine forth to the world, they fail of the grace of God and lose everything that is valuable. All dissension, all differences and faultfinding, should be put away, with all evil speaking and bitterness; kindness, love, and compassion for one another should be cherished, that the prayer of Christ that His disciples might be one as He is one with the Father may be answered. The harmony and unity of the church are the credentials that they present to the world that Jesus is the Son of God. Genuine conversion will ever lead to genuine love for Jesus and for all those for whom He
died.—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 278, 279.
FRIDAY August 18
Further Thought: “Let your conversation be of such a nature that
you will have no need of repentance. ‘Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ . . . If you have love in
your heart, you will seek to establish and build up your brother in the most
holy faith. If a word is dropped that is detrimental to the character of your
friend or brother, do not encourage this evil-speaking. It is the work of the
enemy. Kindly remind the speaker that the word of God forbids that kind
of conversation.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald,
June 5, 1888.
How would your congregation change if you and each member were
to take and live a pledge consisting of such statements as the following?
1. I wish for my influence within the Seventh-day Adventist Church
family and beyond to be positive, uplifting, faith-building, and
morale-boosting (Eph. 4:29).
2. Recalling Christ’s calls for unity and love, I will expend more
energy affirming those doing and saying things I believe to be
good than in pointing out the failings of those I believe to be wrong
(John 13:34, 35; John 17:20–23; Eph. 4:1–6; 1 Thess. 5:9–11).
3. When I do disagree with someone, I will make my respect for
my fellow believer clear. I will assume his or her integrity and
commitment to Christ. I will offer my differing opinion gently, not
stridently (Eph. 4:31, 32).
4. I will live joyfully, looking for every opportunity to build up and
affirm my fellow church members, as I await the return of Christ
(Eph. 4:29, 30; Gal. 6:2; Heb. 10:24, 25).
Discussion Questions:
-
1. Review the 11 times in Ephesians that Paul describes the three
members of the Godhead as working closely together for the salvation
of humankind. How does this repeated emphasis inform
our understanding of the Godhead? Eph. 1:3–14, Eph. 1:15–23,
Eph. 2:11–18, Eph. 2:19–22, Eph. 3:1–13, Eph. 3:14–19, Eph. 4:4–6,
Eph. 4:17–24, Eph. 4:25–32, Eph. 5:15–20, Eph. 6:10–20 (where “the
Lord,” Eph. 6:10, refers to Christ).
-
2. How does Paul’s counsel about Christian speech (Eph. 4:25–32)
apply in the age of “computer-mediated communication,” which is
too often used for cyberbullying and anonymous, online character
assassination?
EGW Notes — FRIDAY ↓
Friday, August 18
For Further Reading
In Heavenly Places, “Don’t Retaliate!” p. 176;
The Upward Look, “Light Versus Darkness,” p. 20.
INSIDE STORY
Real Divine Healing: Part 5
By Andrew McChesney
Almira told her parents about her decision to become a Seventh-day
Adventist. She also told them about taking the forbidden classes on the
supernatural, the appearance of the evil spirit, and the persistent nightmares.
Mother wept. “If the church helps you, go,” she said.
After her baptism, Almira was never bothered by the spirit again.
Today, Almira H. Yalysheva, 46, is a linguistics teacher at Zaoksky
Adventist University in Russia. Her husband, Kemil K. Yalyshev, whom she
met and married while studying at Zaoksky in the late 1990s, is a pastor and
the vice president for student affairs at the university. Before working at the
university, the couple served for a decade as missionaries to non-Christian
people in Russia’s North Caucasus region, part of the 10/40 window. More
recently, the couple earned higher education degrees from the Adventist
International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) in the Philippines.
Almira also is a mother, and she has a rule at home forbidding all children’s
cartoons and books that mention magic. After her own experience
with evil spirits, she believes that there is no such thing as good or bad
magic. All magic opens the door to Satan and his evil forces, she said.
Sometimes a parent will ask her, “What will my children talk about with
their friends if they don’t watch cartoons?” She tells them that there are
more interesting things to watch and discuss, including documentaries about
animals and nature, if they choose to have screens in their homes.
Almira’s sister, Faniya, is an Adventist, and their father worshiped with
them on Sabbath before passing away. Their mother, now 75, regularly reads
the Bible and Ellen White’s writings. She no longer has the headaches that
Almira had hoped to cure through the courses on the supernatural. After
being baptized, Almira began to bring health magazines home from church.
Mother read them, and slowly her lifestyle changed. Once a drinker of only
black tea, she replaced the beverage with fresh water and became physically
active. The headaches went away. Almira’s desire was fulfilled, but not in the
way that she had expected. Mother was healed.
Almira prays to be a healing presence in many lives, saying, “The daring
step that I took to give my life to Jesus changed my
life. A spoiled, selfish girl has been given the privilege
of becoming the hands and feet of Jesus. My
biggest desire is to serve Him.”
This mission story illustrates Mission Objective No. 2 of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “I Will Go” strategic plan:
“To strengthen and diversify Adventist outreach . . . across the
10/40 Window.”—IWillGo2020.org
Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at
AdventistMission.org.
