[Note to the Student.—These lessons are not designed to be exhaustive, but suggestive. In references to the “Desire of Ages,” in the lessons, the subscription edition is referred to. Those who have only the trade edition will find the matter in chapters 1, 4, 11, 27, 71, 77, 78; also read “Patriarchs and Prophets,” chapters 5 and 30. “Christ Our Advocate,” Bible Students’ Library No. 129 (price, 10 cents), and “Looking unto Jesus” (price, $1.00) will be found a great help. The SIGNS OF THE TIMES will have an article on the subject of each lesson this quarter by J. O. Corliss. Read these articles in connection with the study of the lesson. We have not space to print all the Scriptures. Let the student study them carefully from the Bible. Those printed are from the Revised Version.]
LESSON 3.—APRIL 20.—POSITION OF OUR HIGH PRIEST.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. What is the position of our High Priest? “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more.” Heb. 8:12. (Col. 3:1; Heb. 10:12; 12:2; Eph. 1:19–21.)
2. Who placed Him in this position? When? “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to that working of the strength of His might which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places.” Eph. 1:19, 20. (Phil. 2:9–11; Heb. 1:3, 5; Ps. 2:6, 7; Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:3, 4. Note .)
3. Of what is He the head? “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.” Eph. 1:22, 23.
4. Where does this place the church? “But God, being rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead thru our trespasses, quickened us together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with Him, and made us to sit with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 2:4–6. (Eph. 1:5, 6. Note .)
5. How long will Christ occupy this position? “The Lord saith unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” “But each in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; then they that are Christ’s, at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all His enemies under His feet.” Ps. 110:1; 1 Cor. 15:23–25.
6. What is one of Christ’s greatest enemies? “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2:15, 16. (James 4:1–4. Note .)
7. What delays the time when Christ will conquer all His foes? “O that My people would hearken unto Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I should soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries.” Ps. 81:13, 14. (Isa. 43:24. Note .)
8. What part have we to act in conquering our foes? “For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4. (Isa. 30:15.)
9. Thru whom is the victory gained? “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, ‘For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors thru Him that loved us.” Rom. 8:35–37. (1 Cor. 15:57.)
NOTES.
1. Just at the time when men could endure Christ no longer, and took counsel together and put Him to death, declaring they had no king but Cæsar, God, by the power of the resurrection, declares Him to be His Son and His King, and places Him at His own right hand, giving Him all power and dominion. And for what purpose? “Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no greater love than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.”—Desire of Ages, p. 57.
2. “God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried this same into the highest heaven. It is the Son of man who shares the throne of the universe. . . . Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of infinite love.”—Desire of Ages, p. 25.
3. If we belong to Christ, our foes and Christ’s foes are the same. They are the sins of our own heart.
4. While we cling to our sins, He can not put them under His feet without putting us there with them, and so He waits for us to give them over into His hands. We are to sit where He sits, and in quietness and confidence give over all our enemies into His hands, and we have the promise that the God of peace shall “bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”