Hello Again,
After finding that quote last night, “Those who do the words of Christ will perfect a Christian character, because Christ’s will is their will. Thus is Christ formed within, the hope of glory. { PH028 8.2 }” I did a search on “Christ formed within” which yielded 51 hits. Here are some of the highlights I found.
The hidden wisdom, which is Christ formed within, the hope of glory, is a wisdom high as heaven. ( The Review and Herald, July 18, 1899). { 6BC 1114.1 }
We want Christ formed within, the hope of glory. { GH December 1, 1899, par. 2 }
Catch the divine rays of light from Christ and you need not try to shine; for you will reflect his image, which is formed within. You can not help shining. { GH December 1, 1899, par. 3 }
As the blood is formed in the body by the food eaten, so Christ is formed within by the eating of the Word of God, which is his flesh and blood. He who feeds upon that Word has Christ formed within, the hope of glory. The written Word introduces to the searcher the flesh and blood of the Son of God; and through obedience to that Word, he becomes a partaker of the divine nature. As the necessity for temporal food cannot be supplied by once partaking of it, so the Word of God must be daily eaten to supply the spiritual necessities. { RH November 23, 1897, par. 11 }
As the life of the body is found in the blood, so spiritual life is maintained through faith in the blood of Christ. He is our life, just as in the body our life is in the blood. He is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, just as the bone, sinew, and muscle are nourished, and the whole man built up, by the circulation of the blood through the system. In vital connection with Christ, in personal contact with him, is found health for the soul. It is the efficacy of the blood of Christ that supplies its every need and keeps it in a healthy condition. { RH November 23, 1897, par. 12 }
…..the first principles of the gospel, which is Christ formed within, the hope of glory. { SpTA01b 25.1 }
He who feeds on the Bread of life has Christ formed within him. The Word is to be brought into the practical life. By reason of the waste in the body, the blood must ever be renewed by food. So it is with the Lord’s working instrumentalities. The Word must daily be received, believed, and acted. Christ must dwell in us, energizing the whole being, providing the life-blood of the soul. His example must be our guide. We must reveal His sympathy in dealing with our fellow laborers. There must be a real working out of Christ’s grace in our hearts. Then we can say with the apostle, “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” [Galatians 2:20]. Christ’s life, abiding and moving in our souls as the blood moves in the veins, is the cause of our joy and the pledge of our glory. Oh, the goodness and love God has expressed in our behalf! { 13MR 228.3 }
What we need is Christ formed within, the hope of glory. We want that you should have a deep and earnest longing for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Your old, tattered garments of self-righteousness will not give you an entrance into the kingdom of God, but that garment that is woven in the loom of heaven—the righteousness of Jesus Christ—will. { 1SAT 202.3 }
Let none make a mistake as to the character they must positively form in this life. If they live righteously, they will have the evidence day by day that they have [Christ] formed within. They are the Lord’s property. { 1888 464.3 } –Battle Creek, Mich., October 28, 1889
Edson and Emma, you must have Christ formed within, the hope of glory. Then that which before seemed to you but a meager supply will prove to be a rich feast. You will be satisfied yourselves, and you will have something to give to others. Walk humbly with Christ, daily learning the lesson of meekness and lowliness. Thus your heart will become a temple for the Holy Spirit, and nothing but God alone can fill a temple where God dwells. { 1888 1807.2 }
I especially like where Christ being formed within, by feeding on the bread of life is mentioned along with Gal 2:20. Also the last one where having Christ formed within is mentioned along with becoming a temple of the Holy Spirit.
On another note, about possession, I was thinking about the following quote.
When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end. { DA 324.1}
The main question I asked myself was, how can Satan make the heart his abiding place? Can his spirit be omnipresent and live in multiple hearts? I surely don’t think so. Of course God can do things that Satan can’t. Still I had to think if I wasn’t going to take that literally about Satan abiding in those who don’t co-operate with heavenly agencies, then maybe I should think more deeply about how Christ abides in those who surrender to him.
Like I mentioned I’m still studying. But I’ve already seen a lot of enlightening information on how the angels are involved.
It is amazing how much comes from the Holy Spirit: wisdom, light, love, grace, joy, peace, power. Plus “…the holy Spirit is the comforter, as the personal presence of Christ to the soul. { RH November 29, 1892, par. 3 }” I think I heard that from “How Many Divine Beings? – by David Sims” (https://www.youtube.com/
Hopefully this wasn’t too long. I’m excited to be learning about all of this. It is interesting because I never really believed in the trinity, yet it still seems that I was effected by it in the idea of how the Holy Spirit works. I’ve heard you and others talk about coming out of the belief of the trinity and how eye opening it was, which is kind of how I think I’m feeling now, even though I’ve only been studying these new ideas for about a month and still have to do more digging.
Andrew White
Does this not lift you higher? The joy in hearing a Truth that we didn’t even know was there brought to light is wonderful. Praise God!
Amen!