2:19Ephesians 2:19

Once outsiders far off without God and without hope, Gentile believers are brought near through Christ's blood and faith in his sacrifice into equal belonging with Jewish believers.Ms 59, 1902, par. 10–11+4 This is salvation by rich mercy and great love, by grace through faith as God's gift and not by works, with access to the Father by one Spirit.Ms 142, 1899, par. 5–6+4 To be fellow citizens is to hold full citizenship among God's holy people in the kingdom of heaven, and to be of the household is to be adopted as sons and daughters with free access to God as Father.Ms 189, 1903+4 Together they are built upon the apostles and prophets with Christ as cornerstone into a holy temple growing into a dwelling place for God through the Spirit.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+3 That one household joins people of every nation and condition in common brotherhood, calling them to press together in harmony without strife or faction and to live lives the gospel can approve.2MR 185.1–2+4

The verse describes a former condition of being outsiders, without Christ, aliens and strangers, far off, without God and without hope in the world.Ms 59, 1902, par. 10–11+3 That former life was death in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of the world and the prince of the power of the air, in disloyalty to God.Ms 141, 1899, par. 5–6+1 The change announced is that those far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, with access by one Spirit unto the Father, so they are no longer strangers and foreigners.Ms 59, 1902, par. 10–11+2 By rich mercy and great love they are quickened together with Christ and raised up, saved by grace through faith as the gift of God and not of works.Ms 141, 1899, par. 5–6 Called away from the world as His purchased heritage, they are to build character in obedience and labor together with God in His vineyard, and the converted soul is to do personal work in the name of Jesus to bring other souls still dead in sin to a knowledge of the truth.Ms 141, 1899, par. 5–6+1

Gentile believers, once alienated from God's people and excluded from God's promises, are brought near through Christ's blood and through faith in His atoning sacrifice.AA 175.1–3+2 They are no longer strangers and foreigners but enter equal belonging with Jewish believers as fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household.AA 175.1–3+2 Through Christ's death they become fellow heirs with Israel, sharing the privileges and promises of God's people.ST May 15, 1879 This ingathering, first seen when Cornelius and his household became first fruits of a wider harvest as grace spread through a Gentile city, expresses the worldwide reach of God's plan as the gospel brings in those once outside.AA 139.3+1

To be fellow citizens with the saints is to be brought from outside into full citizenship among God's holy people and membership in God's family.Ms 189, 1903+2 This citizenship is in the kingdom of heaven, where those who accept Christ are enrolled as subjects of that kingdom together with God's holy people.Lt 58a, 1898, par. 22–23+1 It carries rights and privileges to claim and a share in the promises, with the mind fixed on Jesus as Author and Finisher of faith and the soul receiving sanctification and refining.Lt 151, 1899, par. 6+1 Together with what follows, the verse presents the church as a spiritual temple built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone, joined together into a holy temple and dwelling place for God through the Spirit.AA 595.2–596.2+1 God gave wisdom as to a skillful architect to labor in the Gentile quarry to bring out valuable stones and lay them on the foundation stone Jesus Christ, so that by contact with that living stone they become living stones.8RED 77.1–2

To be of the household of God is to be adopted into the divine family as sons and daughters of God, born into the kingdom and brought into God's own family and the household of faith.11MR 341.1–3+2 Pure and undefiled religion makes all children of God one family, bound up with Christ in God, who binds men and women to Himself, to God, and to one another, building no wall of separation between a person and his fellow.Ms 83, 1902, par. 10–11 The gospel was designed to give all who embrace it free access to God as their Father, leading them to love one another as brethren and to be one in mind and spirit and action rather than misjudging and becoming alienated.Lt 194, 1900, par. 1–5 Through Christ they are given every advantage of the Saviour's power and redeeming love, so suffering humanity of all classes is to be received together without distinction, while proud, partial, exclusive reasoning that favors only a few is contrary to this oneness.Ms 83, 1902, par. 10–11 Belonging to that household means conversion with the whole tenor of life changed, conviction by the Word, acceptance of unpopular truth, and responsibility in this probationary time to educate and train children as part of the family firm lest they remain in disobedience under the banner of the prince of darkness.11MR 334.3–335.1

The verse belongs to a larger passage teaching salvation by grace through faith, access to the Father by one Spirit, and growth into a holy temple built on the apostles and prophets with Christ as cornerstone.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+2 Through Christ's blood and peace those far off are reconciled to God, made alive together with Christ by rich mercy and great love as His workmanship created in Christ for good works ordained of God, not earned by works.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+2 They belong to a spiritual building founded on the apostles and prophets with Christ as its cornerstone, fitly framed together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord and built together as a habitation of God through the Spirit.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+3 As part of Ephesians 2:4-22 it is given to comfort the depressed and is full of instruction to be read carefully, meaning Christ dwelling in the heart by faith through contemplating, beholding, and cherishing Him as best and honored Friend so as not to grieve Him.Lt 40, 1896, par. 1–2 It calls for faith grounded in truth and not feeling, holding fast when Satan casts his hellish shadow to obstruct faith and eclipse Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness, until, rooted and grounded in love and cleansed from moral impurity, believers comprehend the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of God and become a temple for the Holy Spirit.Lt 40, 1896, par. 1–2

Through blood and peace those who were far off are made near, and Jews and Gentiles are reconciled to God with the middle wall of partition broken down, so outsiders become fellow citizens with the holy people and members of God's household.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+4 Gentiles once strangers to God's people are brought near through shed blood and by faith in the atoning sacrifice, no longer excluded from the promises but sharing the privileges and promises of God's people.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+2 Through death on the cross peace was preached to those afar off and those nigh, and he himself is peace who removed the dividing barrier.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+2 This belonging places the reconciled in a spiritual building founded on the apostles and prophets with Christ as cornerstone, growing into a holy temple and dwelling place for God through the Spirit.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+2

Through Christ both groups have access by one Spirit to the Father, and in that access outsiders become citizens and household members joined into one unified people.Ms 189, 1903, par. 24–27+4 Those once without Christ as aliens and strangers are made near by blood and given entrance to the Father, a lesson against working out of harmony.Ms 189, 1903, par. 24–27+2 This shared entrance fulfills God's purpose for what each person may become, as the whole building fitly framed grows into a holy temple and a habitation of God.Ms 189, 1903, par. 24–27+2

This citizenship is salvation by rich mercy and great love, by grace through faith as God's gift and not earned by works.Ms 142, 1899, par. 5–6+4 Those dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the world and the prince of the power of the air, are quickened together with Christ and raised up, made alive with him as his purchased heritage called away from disloyalty.Ms 142, 1899, par. 5–6+2 The saved are his workmanship created in Christ for good works ordained beforehand, set in the building on the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone.Ms 142, 1899, par. 5–6+3

God's provision joins divine power with human effort, so those brought to life build character in obedience to his word and labor together with God in his vineyard.Lt 139, 1898, par. 46–48+2 Service is accepted from every person receiving sanctification and refining of soul, body, and spirit with the mind fixed on Jesus as author and finisher of faith, bringing outsiders into full citizenship and family membership.Lt 139, 1898, par. 46–48+2 The converted soul is therefore to do for still-lost souls dead in trespasses and sins what was done for them, making personal effort in the name of Jesus to bring them to knowledge of the truth.Ms 141, 1899, par. 5–6+1

Believers are no longer outsiders but belong together as parts of a spiritual building founded on the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone and only true foundation.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+4 Through Christ they have access to the Father by one Spirit, and as consecrated members fitted together they each have an appointed place in the shared work of the church, since Christ and not any human member is its foundation and cornerstone.Ms 189, 1903, par. 24–27+1 This belonging is salvation given by grace through faith and not earned by works, for those saved are God's workmanship created in Christ for good works.Lt 200, 1908, par. 10

The whole building, fitly framed and joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord and is built together as a habitation of God through the Spirit.Lt 56, 1902, par. 19–20+4 Those made alive together with Christ by God's rich mercy and great love are saved by grace through faith as His workmanship upon that foundation.Ms 142, 1899, par. 5–6

Believers are living stones quarried from the Gentile quarry and from the world by the truth and laid upon Christ the living stone and chief cornerstone.8RED 77.1–2+2 By contact with that living stone they themselves become living stones, fitted together as a holy temple in the Lord and a dwelling of God.8RED 77.1–2+1 Each follower is meant to give light and fit into the place assigned in God's spiritual building, and appreciating this place strengthens for God's service and obedience.RH Jul 27, 1911 God gave wisdom as of a skillful architect for laboring in the Gentile quarry to bring out valuable stones and lay them on the foundation stone Jesus Christ.8RED 77.1–2

The spiritual temple is patterned after the Jewish temple built of hewn stones quarried out of the mountains and fitted, hewed, polished and tested before being brought to Jerusalem, then put together without the sound of axe or hammer.Ms 135, 1901, par. 25–26 But it is composed not of dead substances shaped by hammer and chisel, but of living material gathered out of every nation and tongue and people, of all grades, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, and from all social and educational backgrounds.9T 180.2+1 God as Master Builder and Lord of the temple shapes, tests, polishes, hews and fits each person for a respective place until the temple is completed perfect in all its parts.STB 171.1–2+3 No person and no nation is perfect in every habit and thought, so each must receive shaping strokes and learn from another, and the different nationalities must mingle together to be one in judgment and one in purpose, exemplifying the union that is in Christ, until the building is complete and perfect as the admiration of angels and men, for its builder and maker is God.STB 171.1–2+2

That habitation of God through the Spirit includes the individual body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, for by the sacrifice of His own precious life and blood on the cross of Calvary, where mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other, Christ purchased all men and bore individual sins and sorrows.Lt 105, 1893, par. 31–36 Believers are therefore not their own and are not to be servants of men but to glorify God in body and spirit.Lt 105, 1893, par. 31–36 The price reveals the value placed upon men made in His own image bearing the stamp of divinity, with noble intellectual and moral powers capable of placing the will in perfect harmony with His will, redeemed by Christ who clothed His divinity with humanity with the fulness of the Godhead bodily, humbled Himself below man to obedient death even the death of the cross, was highly exalted with a name above every name to be confessed Lord, and now works in believers both to will and to do of His good pleasure.Lt 105, 1893, par. 31–36 A most splendid outward temple amounts to nothing if hearts are not right, and the greatest concern must be the spiritual condition.3MR 234.3–235.1+1 God meets with His people when they gather so that even a small house of worship is precious to Him, and entering the house of God means entering the presence of God and angels and requires reverence, with earnest effort to teach children reverence and to direct thoughts heavenward to God meeting with His people.3MR 234.3–235.1+1

Through Christ those once separated and estranged are no longer outsiders but belong with the saints as members of God's household, made one people in God with shared access to the Father by one Spirit on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ as cornerstone to become a holy temple and dwelling of God through the Spirit.Lt 270, 1903, par. 16–17+2 That belonging is peace establishing unity and love in place of dissension and division, wrought by the Holy Spirit in answer to earnest prayer and living faith for which God is good and to be praised.Lt 70, 1903, par. 20–21+1 It belongs to the shared life and work of the church, which is to be carried forward in harmony, unity of spirit, and peace.5T 266.2

The one household joins people of every nation, race, and tongue and of all grades, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, and every social, educational, and economic condition in one common brotherhood, equal in God's sight on the foundation of Christ's mercy and forgiveness.STB 171.1–2+4 They are living stones, not lifeless material, quarried out from the world by the truth and gathered as living material from every nation and people, patterned after the Jewish temple built of hewn stones quarried from the mountains and fitted, hewed, polished, and tested before being brought to Jerusalem and put together without the sound of axe or hammer.STB 171.1–2+2 The Lord of the temple as Master Builder shapes, tests, polishes, and fits each person for a respective place in one spiritual building, and since no person and no nation is perfect in every habit and thought each must receive shaping strokes and learn from another.STB 171.1–2+3 The different nationalities are to mingle together to be one in judgment and one in purpose, exemplifying the union that is in Christ, not as separate or competing groups but as members of one household and parts of one building united in Christ, until the temple is completed perfect in all its parts, the admiration of angels and men, for its builder and maker is God.STB 171.1–2+2

Belonging means believers are not to separate from one another or into factions but to press together shoulder to shoulder with entire dependence upon Jesus Christ, individual dependence upon Christ, sincere love for one another, oneness of mind, harmony, unity of spirit, and peace.2MR 185.1–2+4 The power of the church lies in that individual dependence on Christ joined with unity between the members as a unit with Christ of one mind, illustrated by a temple whose whole weight rests upon its foundation without which it could not stand, so members build upon Christ as the only true foundation and are fitly framed together growing into a holy temple and habitation of God through the Spirit.Lt 20, 1896, par. 11–16 The gospel was designed to make all who embrace it children of God and members of one family with free access to God as Father, leading them to love one another as brethren and to be one in mind and spirit and action instead of misjudging and becoming alienated from one another.Lt 194, 1900, par. 1–5 To those not working in harmony this gives an instructive lesson that those made nigh by Christ's blood are built upon the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone.Ms 59, 1902, par. 10–11

Every believer has a God-given, appointed place and work in the united structure, and every part is essential to the building that requires all its members to serve and build together, growing into a holy temple and dwelling place for God through the Spirit.Ms 151, 1898, par. 8–10+3 Therefore Christians are not to strive for precedence, seek preeminence, treat another's work as less essential, compete for prominence, or work separately.Ms 151, 1898, par. 8–10+2 No one person is to hold himself as authority or be placed as supreme authority over an institution, church, or sanitarium, but ministers and physicians are to blend and grow together as one temple, since all superiority and chief authority are invested in Christ alone as chief in authority and Christ—not any human member—is foundation and cornerstone.Ms 198, 1899, par. 31–33+1 Every responsible worker must therefore act from his own individual mind, seek divine wisdom through prayerful study, counsel together with united wise counselors, and keep first love in their councils rather than bringing all decisions to one man.Ms 198, 1899, par. 31–33

Unity prevails even though workers have different talents, dispositions, plans, ideas, and ways of working, and varied gifts combined are necessary for success since different workers fill certain positions more successfully than others.Lt 116, 1903, par. 8–10 Like the different parts of a building that are not all the same and are not made by the same process, the different parts of the work are to be brought together piece by piece to make a complete whole, and the lines of God's work are not all the same nor to be carried forward in exactly the same way.Lt 116, 1903, par. 8–10 God uses those varied gifts so the building founded on the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone is fitly joined, grows into a holy temple, and displays the whole truth without neglecting any part.2MR 185.1–2

Heavenly citizenship confers rights and privileges to be claimed, yet it requires a life the gospel can approve, with separation from the world, conformity to the Lord's requirements, and cheerful service to God.11MR 341.1–3 It leaves no place for strife or vainglory, selfishness or murmuring, disputing, impurity or dishonesty, lest that citizenship be disgraced before angels and men.11MR 341.1–3 Belonging to the Lord's family calls for representing that family in this world through sanctified manners and speech without passion.Lt 304, 1903, par. 19–21 Family membership gives no one authority to act as a tyrant, for God owns all people and those who mistreat others are accountable to Him.Lt 304, 1903, par. 19–21

This belonging means living out the law of Christ's kingdom through sympathy and pure affection that join people to Christ, to God, and to one another as one family without walls of separation.RH Apr 3, 1900 Carrying an unconverted, unreformed disposition into the church spoils the harmony of that family life.Ms 204, 1903, par. 26 That same law of Christ's kingdom is to be carried out in this world by those who are no longer outsiders but fellow citizens and members of God's household.Ms 108, 1899, par. 27 The converted soul who has received this grace through Christ, who broke down the middle wall of partition and preached peace so that both those afar off and those nigh have access by one Spirit to the Father, is therefore to do the same work for other souls still dead in trespasses and sins, making personal effort in the name of Jesus to bring them to knowledge of the truth.Ms 56, 1898, par. 34–36 Those who receive this faith, by which souls without God and without hope and far off are made nigh by Christ's blood and built on the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone into a holy temple, in turn preach the gospel they have received.RH Feb 18, 1909

Together believers are built on the apostles and prophets with Christ as chief cornerstone into a holy temple and dwelling place for God through the Spirit, and this unity with Christ and with one another is vital energy for the church which believers can have when love for Christ is revived.Lt 43, 1892, par. 6 This belonging is a privilege in which they grow into a holy temple on that same foundation.Lt 15, 1892, par. 18–19 Each follower is a living stone meant to give light and fit into the assigned place in God's spiritual building, and appreciating this place in the temple strengthens for God's service and obedience.RH Jul 27, 1911 The passage is given to comfort the depressed and is full of instruction to be read carefully, teaching salvation by grace through faith as God's gift, Christ dwelling in the heart by faith through contemplating, beholding, and cherishing Him as best and honored Friend so as not to grieve Him.Lt 40, 1896, par. 1–2 It teaches grounding faith in truth and not feeling, holding fast when Satan casts his hellish shadow to obstruct faith and eclipse Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness, and, when rooted and grounded in love and cleansed from all moral impurity, comprehending the breadth and length and depth and height of God's love and becoming a temple for the Holy Spirit.Lt 40, 1896, par. 1–2 Being part of that temple and household as living stones means serving faithfully in the church where one is rather than neglecting it, for those who fail to contribute there are not likely to help another church.Lt 61, 1895, par. 12–13

Belonging to the household shapes the care and education of the young, for believers and their children are God's property under His supervision.11MR 334.3–335.1 All who are born into the kingdom are adopted into the household of faith through conversion with the whole tenor of life changed, conviction by the Word of God, and acceptance of unpopular truth, bringing responsibility in this probationary time to educate and train children as part of the family firm so they do not remain in disobedience under the banner of the prince of darkness uniting their God-given powers with the enemy of righteousness.11MR 334.3–335.1 Students and orphans, as souls purchased by Christ's blood, are to receive earnest, God-fearing care and education so they may become members of the Lord's family.STB 577.5–6 Orphans and outcasts of any race can become members of that family through such earnest, God-fearing care and teaching, with neither race nor background excluding them.Lt 40, 1909, par. 5–8 Teachers and students are to form character after the divine pattern so the young may be fitted to become members of the family of heaven.RH Mar 12, 1908 God meets with His people when they gather, so even a small house of worship is precious to Him, while the most splendid temple amounts to nothing if hearts are not right; therefore the greatest concern must be spiritual condition, entering God's house as entering the presence of God and angels with reverence, teaching children reverence and directing thoughts heavenward to God meeting with His people.3MR 234.3–235.1+1