"Through His own suffering, Abraham was enabled to behold the Saviour's mission of sacrifice. But Israel would not understand that which was so unwelcome to their proud hearts. Christ's words concerning Abraham conveyed to His hearers no deep significance. The Pharisees saw in them only fresh ground for caviling. They retorted with a sneer, as if they would prove Jesus to be a madman, 'Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?'
"With solemn dignity Jesus answered, 'Verily, verily. I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.'
'Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by this Galilean rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the self-existent One, He who had been promised to Israel, 'whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.' "—The Desire of Ages, pp. 469, 470.
"The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God."—Review and Herald, April 5, 5906.
"From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was 'the image of God,' the image of His greatness and majesty, 'the outshining of His glory.'"—The Desire of Ages, p. 19.
"The personality of the "Father and the Son, also the unity that exists between them, are presented in the seventeenth chapter of John, in the prayer of Christ for His disciples:
"'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word ; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.'
"The unity that exists between Christ and His disciples does not destroy. the personality of either. They are one in purpose, in mind, in character, but not in person. It is thus that God and Christ are one."—Ministry of Healing, pp. 421, 422.
"When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity."—Acts of the Apostles. pp. 38, 39.
"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.
"Here Christ shows them that, although they might reckon His life to be less than fifty years, yet His divine life could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not measured by figures."—Ibid., May 3, 1899.
"Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,—one in nature, in character, in purpose,—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. 'His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' Isa. 9:6. His 'goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.' Micah 5 :2."—Patriarchs and Prophets, P. 34.
"However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons and daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd; He is our 'everlasting Father.' And He sgys, 'I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father.' What a statement is this !—the only-begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He whom God has declared to be 'the Man that is My fellow,'—the communion between Him and the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ and His children on the earth !"—The Desire of Ages, P. 483.
"The only way in which the fallen race could be restored was through the gift of His Son, equal with Himself, possessing the attributes of God. Though so highly exalted, Christ consented to assume human nature, that He might work in behalf of man and reconcile to God His disloyal subject. When man rebelled, Christ pleaded His merit in his behalf, and became man's substitute and surety; He undertook to combat the powers of darkness in man's behalf, and He prevailed, conquering the enemy of our souls, and presenting to man the cup of salvation."—Review and Herald, Nov. 8, 1892.
'Still seeking to give a true direction to her [Martha's] faith, Jesus declared, 'I am the resurrection, and the life.' In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. 'He that bath the Son hath life.' The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life."—The Desire of Ages, p. 530.
"All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are recipients of the life of the Son of God. However able and talented, however large their capacities, they are replenished with life from the source of all life. He is the spring, the fountain, of life. Only He who alone bath immortality, dwelling in light and life, should say, 'I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again.'"—Youth's Instructor, Aug. 4, 1898.
"But 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 God, and was God.
"The world was made by Him, 'and without Him was not anything made that was made.' If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. . . .
"There, are light and glory in the truth that Christ was one with the Father before the foundation of the world was laid. This is the light shining in a dark place, making it resplendent with divine, original glory. This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths, while it is enshrined in light, unapproachable and incomprehen, sible."—Review and Herald, April 5, 1906.
