Lesson 3 Helps

October 10 - 16

   Father; Son; and Holy Spirit

Memory Verse: {Rom 11:33-36 NIV} Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! {34} "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" {35} "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" {36} For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973,1978 & 1984 by the International Bible Society: Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House."

Sabbath Afternoon

{Deu 6:4 KJV} Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

{Deu 6:4 NIV} Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

{Mark 12:29 NIV} "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

{Mat 28:19 NIV} Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

{Mat 6:9 NIV} "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

{John 11:41 NIV} So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

{Mat 3:16-17 NIV} As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. {17} And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Sunday

The True God

{Deu 6:4 NIV} Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

{Mark 12:29 NIV} "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

{1 Cor 8:4-6 NIV} So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.

{1 Cor 8:5-6} For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), {6} yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

{Eph 4:4-6 NIV} There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- {5} one Lord, one faith, one baptism; {6} one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Read Isaiah chapter 43

{Isa 43:1 NIV} But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

{Isa 43:11-12 NIV} I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. {12} I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.

{Isa 43:15 NIV} I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King."

{Psa 19:1 NIV} For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Monday

Three Persons

{Mat 28:19 NIV} Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

{Gen 1:1-3 NIV} In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. {2} Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. {3} And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

{John 1:1 NIV} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

{Gen 1:26 NIV} Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Evangelism, p. 615

The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God declares Him to be "the express image of His person." "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have (p. 615) everlasting life." Here is shown the personality of the Father. {Ev 614.3}

The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers --the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized,

Evangelism, p. 615 (continued)

and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.-- Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, pp. 62, 63. (1905) {Ev 615.1}

The Pre-existent, Self-existent Son of God.--Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God.... In speaking of his pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him.--Signs of the Times, Aug. 29, 1900. {Ev 615.2}

He was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent. . . . He is the eternal, self-existent Son.--Manuscript 101, 1897. {Ev 615.3}

From Everlasting.--While God's Word speaks of the humanity of Christ when upon this earth, it also speaks decidedly regarding His pre-existence. The Word existed as a divine being, even as the eternal Son of God, in union and oneness with His Father. From everlasting He was the Mediator of the covenant, the one in whom all nations of the earth, both Jews and Gentiles, if they accepted Him, were to be blessed. "The Word was with God, and the Word was God." Before men or angels were created, the Word was with (p. 616) God, and was God.--Review and Herald, April 5, 1906. {Ev 615.4}

{Gen 16:7-13 NIV} The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. {8} And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered. {9} Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." {10} The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count." {11} The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. {12} He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." {13} She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."

{Gen 48:16 NIV} the Angel who has delivered me from all harm --may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth."

{Isa 9:6 NIV} For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

{Isa 11:2 NIV} The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD--

{Isa 42:1 NIV} "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.

Tuesday

God The Father

{Mat 6:9 NIV} "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

{Dan 7:9-10 NIV} "As I looked, "thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. {10} A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

{Heb 1:2-3 NIV} but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. {3} The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 738 - 739

No man, without divine aid, can attain to this knowledge of God. The apostle says that "the world by wisdom knew not God." Christ "was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." Jesus declared to His disciples: "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." In that last prayer for His followers, before entering the shadows of Gethsemane, the Saviour lifted His eyes to heaven, and in pity for the ignorance of fallen men He said: "O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee." (P. 738) "I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world." {5T 737.2}

From the beginning it has been Satan's studied plan to cause men to forget God, that he might secure them to himself. Hence he has sought to misrepresent the character of God, to lead men to cherish a false conception of Him. The Creator has been presented to their minds as clothed with the attributes of the prince of evil himself,--as arbitrary, severe, and unforgiving,--that He might be feared, shunned, and even hated by men. Satan hoped to so confuse the minds of those whom he had deceived that they would put God out of their knowledge. Then he would obliterate the divine image in man and impress his own likeness upon the soul; he would imbue men with his own spirit and make them captives according to his will. {5T 738.1}

It was by falsifying the character of God and exciting distrust of Him that Satan tempted Eve to transgress. By sin the minds of our first parents were darkened, their natures were degraded, and their conceptions of God were molded by their own narrowness and selfishness. And as men became bolder in sin, the knowledge and the love of God faded from their minds and hearts. "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God," they "became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." {5T 738.2}

At times Satan's contest for the control of the human family appeared to be crowned with success. During the ages preceding the first advent of Christ the world seemed almost wholly under the sway of the prince of darkness, and he ruled with a terrible power as though through the sin of our first parents the kingdoms of the world had become his by right. Even the covenant people, whom God had chosen to preserve in the world the knowledge of Himself, had so far departed from Him that they had lost all true conception of His character. {5T 738.3}Christ came to reveal God to the world as a God of love, (p. 739) full of mercy, tenderness, and compassion. The thick darkness with which Satan had endeavored to enshroud the throne of Deity was swept away by the world's Redeemer, and the Father was again manifest to men as the light of life. {5T 738.4}

When Philip came to Jesus with the request, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us," the Saviour answered him: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" Christ declares Himself to be sent into the world as a representative of the Father. In His nobility of character, in His mercy and tender pity, in His love and goodness, He stands before us as the embodiment of divine perfection, the image of the invisible God. {5T 739.1}

Says the apostle: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." Only as we contemplate the great plan of redemption can we have a just appreciation of the character of God. The work of creation was a manifestation of His love;

Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 738 - 739 (continued)

but the gift of God to save the guilty and ruined race, alone reveals the infinite depths of divine tenderness and compassion. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." While the law of God is maintained, and its justice vindicated, the sinner can be pardoned. The dearest gift that heaven itself had to bestow has been poured out that God "might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." By that gift men are uplifted from the ruin and degradation of sin to become children of God. Says Paul: "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." {5T 739.2}

Brethren, with the beloved John I call upon you to "behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." What love, what matchless love, that, sinners and aliens as we are, we may be brought back to God and adopted into His family! We (p. 740) may address Him by the endearing name, "Our Father," which is a sign of our affection for Him and a pledge of His tender regard and relationship to us. And the Son of God, beholding the heirs of grace, "is not ashamed to call them brethren." They have even a more sacred relationship to God than have the angels who have never fallen. {5T 739.3}

{2 Cor 5:17-21 NIV} Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! {18} All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: {19} that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. {20} We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. {21} God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Wednesday

God The Son

{John 1:14 NIV} The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

{John 1:18 NIV} No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

{John 1:1-4 NIV} In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. {2} He was with God in the beginning. {3} Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. {4} In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

{John 15:26 NIV} "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

{John 14:26 NIV} But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

{John 5:19-22 NIV} Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. {20} For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

{John 5:21-22} For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. {22} Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,

{John 5:23-26 NIV} that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. {24} "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. {25} I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. {26} For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.

{John 20:28 NIV} Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

{John 20:29 NIV} Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Thursday

God The Holy Spirit

{2 Cor 13:14 NIV} May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

No verse 2 Cor 13:15

{Luke 1:35 NIV} The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

{Luke 3:21-22 NIV} When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened {22} and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

{1 Tim 4:1 NIV} The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

{Rom 8:26 NIV} In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

{Rev 22:17 NIV} The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

{Eph 4:30 NIV} And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

{Gal 5:16-26 NIV} So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. {17} For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. {18} But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. {19} The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; {20} idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

{Gal 5:21-26} and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. {22} But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, {23} gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. {24} Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. {25} Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. {26} Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

{Rom 8:29 NIV} For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

{Gal 4:19 NIV} My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

Friday

{1 Tim 3:16 NIV} Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 746 - 749 (not included with lesson helps)

Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 29

Extending the Triumphs of the Cross "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32. {7T 29.1}

As this wonderful, priceless Gift was bestowed, the whole heavenly universe was mightily stirred in an effort to understand God's unfathomable love, stirred to awaken in human hearts a gratitude proportionate to the value of the Gift. Shall we, for whom Christ has given His life, halt between two opinions? Shall we return to God only a mite of the capabilities and powers lent us by Him? How can we do this while we know that He who was Commander of all heaven laid aside His royal robe and kingly crown, and, realizing the helplessness of the fallen race, came to this earth in human nature to make it possible for us to unite our humanity to His divinity? He became poor that we might come into possession of the heavenly treasure, "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Corinthians 4:17. To rescue us He descended from one humiliation to another until He, the divine-human, suffering Christ, was uplifted on the cross to draw all men to Himself. The Son of God could not have shown greater condescension than He did; He could not have stooped lower. {7T 29.2}

This is the mystery of godliness, the mystery that has inspired heavenly agencies so to minister through fallen humanity that in the world an intense interest will be aroused in the plan of salvation. This is the mystery that has stirred all heaven to unite with man in carrying out God's great plan for the salvation of a ruined world. (p.30) {7T 29.3}

Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 326 - 327 (page numbers should read 325 & 327)

Nature a Key to Divine Mysteries As the student thus contemplates the things of nature, a new perception of truth comes to him. The teachings in God's great book of nature bear testimony to the truth of the written word. {8T 325.1}

In the plan of redemption there are mysteries that the human mind cannot fathom, many things that human wisdom cannot explain; but nature can teach us much concerning the mystery of godliness. Every shrub, every tree bearing fruit, all vegetation, has lessons for our study. In the growth of the seed are to be read the mysteries of the kingdom of God. {8T 325.2}

Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 326 - 327 (page numbers should read 325 & 327) (continued)

To the heart softened by the grace of God, the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, the flowers of the field, utter words of counsel. The sowing of the seed carries the mind to spiritual seed sowing. The tree declares that a good tree cannot bear evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bear good fruit. "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16. Even the tares have a lesson. They are of Satan's sowing, and, if left unchecked, spoil the wheat by their rank growth. {8T 325.3}

Fathers and mothers, teach your children of the wonder- working power of God. His power is manifest in every plant, in every tree that bears fruit. Take the children into the garden and explain to them how He causes the seed to grow. The farmer plows his land and sows the seed, but he cannot make the seed grow. He must depend upon God to do that which no human power can do. The Lord puts His own Spirit into the seed, causing it to spring into life. Under His care the germ breaks through the case enclosing it and springs up to develop and bear fruit. {8T 325.4}

As the children study the great lessonbook of nature, God will impress their minds. As they are told of the work that He (p. 327) does for the seed, they learn the secret of growth in grace. Rightly understood, these lessons lead to the Creator, teaching those simple, holy truths that bring the heart into close touch with God. {8T 325.5}

A Lesson of Obedience God's laws for nature are obeyed by nature. Cloud and storm, sunshine and shower, dew and rain, all are under the supervision of God and yield obedience to His command. In obedience to the law of God the spire of grain bursts through the earth, "first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." Mark 4:28. The fruit is first seen in the bud, and the Lord develops it in its proper season because it does not resist His working. So the birds fulfill God's purpose as they make their long migrations from land to land, guided through trackless space by the hand of infinite power. {8T 327.1}

Can it be that man, made in the image of God, endowed with reason and speech, shall alone be unappreciative of His gifts and disobedient to His laws? Will those who might be elevated and ennobled, fitted to be colaborers with Him, be content to remain imperfect in character and to cause confusion in our world? Shall the bodies and souls of God's purchased inheritance be hampered with world-bound habits and unholy practices? Shall they not reflect the beauty of Him who has done all things well, that through His grace imperfect man might hear at last His benediction: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord"? Matthew 25:21. {8T 327.2}God desires us to learn from nature the lesson of obedience.

"Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;
And the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee:
Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee;
And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Who knoweth not in all these,
That the hand of Jehovah hath wrought?"
"With God is wisdom and might;
He hath counsel and understanding." Job 12: 7-9, 13, A. R. V.
"Blessed is the man" whose "delight is in the law of
Jehovah. . . .
He shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
That bringeth forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also doth not wither;
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Psalm 1:1-3, A. R. V.
{8T 327.3}

Ellen G. White Comments, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 915

Chapter 3 1-13 (John 10:11-15). Carefulness in Selecting Church Leaders.-- May the Lord impress upon the minds and hearts of all connected with the sacred work of God, the importance of ascertaining whether those who are to minister as deacons and (p. 915) elders are suitable men to be entrusted with the flock of God. Jesus calls Himself the "Good Shepherd." He does this in contrast with those who occupy positions of trust in connection with the church, but who have no right to these places, because they put a wrong mold upon the work. What is natural will appear. {7BC 914.11}

Compare the Good Shepherd, who gave His life for His sheep, with those who are filled with self-esteem, puffed up, dictatorial, loving to rule in the church. The prophets have specified Christ's attributes. They foretold Him as a gentle Shepherd, who would carry the lambs in His bosom. There are others pointed out by prophecy, who have accepted the position of leaders and religious instructors, whom the Word of God rebukes for their neglect, in their ignorance, to do the work which they should have been doing in their places of responsibility (MS 176, 1898). {7BC 915.1}

16 (Col. 1:26, 27; Rom. 16:25; see EGW on John 1:1-3, 14; 2 Tim. 3:16). Beyond the Ken of Man.--Great is the mystery of godliness. There are mysteries in the life of Christ that are to be believed, even though they cannot be explained. The finite mind cannot fathom the mystery of godliness (Letter 65, 1905). {7BC 915.2}

(1 Peter 1:11, 12.) The Incarnation a Painful Process.--The work of redemption is called a mystery, and it is indeed the mystery by which everlasting righteousness is brought to all who believe. The race in consequence of sin was at enmity with God. Christ, at an infinite cost, by a painful process, mysterious to angels as well as to men, assumed humanity. Hiding His divinity, laying aside His glory, He was born a babe in Bethlehem. In human flesh He lived the law of God, that He might condemn sin in the flesh, and bear witness to heavenly intelligences that the law was ordained to life and to ensure the happiness, peace, and eternal good of all who obey. But the same infinite sacrifice that is life to those who believe is a testimony of condemnation to the disobedient, speaking death and not life (MS 29, 1899). {7BC 915.3}

Chapter 4 The Humble Dependence of Timothy.--In the history of Timothy are found precious lessons. He was a mere lad when chosen by God as a teacher; but so fixed were his principles by a correct education that he was fitted for this important position. He bore his responsibilities with Christlike meekness. He was faithful, steadfast, and true, and Paul selected him to be his companion in labor and travel. Lest Timothy should meet with slights because of his youthfulness, Paul wrote to him, "Let no man despise thy youth." He could safely do this, because Timothy was not self-sufficient, but continually sought guidance. {7BC 915.6}

There are many youth who move from impulse rather than from judgment. But Timothy inquired at every step, "Is this the way of the Lord?" He had no specially brilliant talents, but he consecrated all his abilities to the service of God, and this made his work valuable. The Lord found in him a mind that He could mold and fashion for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. {7BC 915.7}

God will use the youth today as He used Timothy, if they will submit to His guidance. It is your privilege to be God's missionaries. He calls upon you to work for your companions. Seek out those you know to be in danger, and in the love of Christ try to help them. How are they to know the Savior unless they see His virtues in His followers (YI Feb. 13, 1902)? {7BC 915.8}

13-16 (2 Tim. 2:1-3, 7, 15). Intellectual Power Not Enough.--[1 Tim. 4:13-16 quoted.] The charge given to Timothy should be heeded in every household, and become an educating power in every family and in every school. . . . [2 Tim. 2:1-3, 7, 15 quoted.] . . . {7BC 915.9}

The highest aim of our youth should not be to strain after something novel. There was none of this in the mind and work of Timothy. They should bear in mind that, in the hands of the enemy of all good, knowledge alone may be a power to destroy them. It was a very intellectual being, one who occupied a high position among the angelic throng, that finally became a rebel; and many a mind of superior intellectual attainments is now being led captive by his power (YI May 5, 1898). (p. 916) {7BC 915.10}