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Advent Lessons

Lesson 1 · April 4, 1896

The Source of Life

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Divisions of the lesson: (1) Creative Power. (2) Creative Work. (3) The Words of Christ Are Life.

Questions.

Creative Power.

  1. 1.Who is said to be the Creator of the heaven and the earth? .
  2. 2.By whom were all things made? .
  3. 3.How can both of these statements be true? ; . Note 1.
  4. 4.To whom was all power given? ; .

Notes

Creative Work.

  1. 5.How did Christ make all things? .
  2. 6.How are all things which He made held in place? .
  3. 7.What act in creation illustrates the active power in Christ's words? ; . Note 2.
  4. 8.What is said of the Scriptures? .
  5. 9.What is the meaning of the word here translated "inspired"? Ans. God-breathed.
  6. 10.When God pronounces our sins forgiven, what power is manifested in His word? .

Notes

The Words of Christ Are Life.

  1. 11.What did Christ say about His words? .
  2. 12.What relation does Christ sustain to life? .
  3. 13.How can He be the fountain of life? .
  4. 14.Into what general divisions has man divided matter? Note 3.
  5. 15.Name the divisions of organic matter. Note 3.
  6. 16.In what respect are the vegetable and animal kingdoms alike? Note 4.
  7. 17.Who organized them as we find them?—
  8. 18.For what purpose did He create all things? .
  9. 19.Give scriptural illustrations of life organized in different ways. . Note 5.
  10. 20.What is said of the similarity of the life of man and that of beasts? ; .
  11. 21.In what respect do they differ? Note 5.
  12. 22.What is said of the life which Christ gives to believers? ; . Note 6.

Notes

1. In Christ is called God, and the One by whom all things were created. All creative power was manifested through Christ, therefore all the power to create all things was vested in Him.

2. When God said, "Let there be light," then light was. This illustrates the power there was in His word. It was not power merely capable of action, but power in action. When He commanded all things, they appeared. The same power exists in His word at the present time.

3. Man, for his convenience in studying God's works in the earth, has divided them into two great divisions, viz., inorganic and organic. The organic is subdivided into vegetable and animal kingdoms. The latter is sometimes spoken of as the brute and human creation.

4. There is one similarity in every created thing in organic division. They all have life. This life came from the word of God, and it is given to each created thing as it needs. If we investigate the great family of the vegetable kingdom, we find the same principle of life, only differently organized. When we come to man, we find a higher state of organization. He is endowed with some faculties we find in neither of the lower creatures, yet his life is the same. God created all of them, and organized each to fill a place in His creation. He created them all for His own pleasure.

5. When God spoke to the plants (), His word imparted life to their seed. When the seed is planted, the life is manifested in the tender shoot that comes forth, lifting or cleaving the hard earth with which it is covered. This is a manifestation of the power of Christ's words. Likewise, the word of Christ is the source of the life of both man and animals. It was the breath that caused both to exist, and sustains each in his sphere. It is all one life, but organized in different ways. In plant life there is growth, yet no power to think, while in animals we see this life manifested so as to produce thought, but not the higher developments which we see in man. This shows that life may exist without consciousness, as seen in plants, and at times in the animals, but consciousness can not exist without life.

6. There is another life higher than that which we have been considering, viz., the divine life. It is the Christ-life (), given only to believers (), and is a gift through Jesus Christ ().

Bible texts in this lesson

Genesis 1:1 · John 1:3 · John 1:14 · John 10:30 · 1 Corinthians 8:6 · Matthew 28:18 · Hebrews 1:3 · Psalms 33:6 · Psalms 33:9 · Genesis 1:3 · Psalms 148:5 · 2 Timothy 3:16 · John 15:3 · John 6:63 · Psalms 36:9 · John 5:26 · Revelation 4:11 · Genesis 1:11 · Genesis 1:20-26 · Genesis 7:21 · Genesis 7:22 · Ecclesiastes 3:19 · Job 33:4 · John 5:24 · Romans 6:23 · John 1:1-3 · 1 John 5:11 · 1 John 5:12

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This lesson PDF Whole quarter PDF · 13 lessons