We Are One With Christ
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. John 17:21. SD 294.1
Christ has left us a perfect, sinless example. His followers are to walk in His footsteps. If they are not transformed in character, they can never dwell with Him in His kingdom. Christ died to elevate and ennoble them, and those who retain hereditary tendencies to wrong can not dwell with Him. He suffered all that it is possible for human flesh to suffer and endure, that we might pass triumphantly through all the temptations Satan may invent to destroy our faith. SD 294.2
In Christ is our only hope. God has daily victories for His people to gain.... By His heavenly gifts the Lord has made ample provision for His people. An earthly parent can not give his child a sanctified character. He can not transfer his character to his child. God alone can transform us. Christ breathed on His disciples, and said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” This is the great gift of heaven. Christ imparted to them through the Spirit His own sanctification. He imbued them with His power, that they might win souls to the gospel. Henceforth Christ would live through their faculties, and speak through their words. They were privileged to know that hereafter He and they were to be one. They must cherish His principles and be controlled by His Spirit. They were no longer to follow their own way, to speak their own words. The words they spoke were to proceed from a sanctified heart, and fall from sanctified lips. No longer were they to live their own selfish life; Christ was to live in them.... He would give to them the glory that He had with the Father, that He and they might be one in God.33The General Conference Bulletin, October 1, 1899. SD 294.3
Young men and young women should realize that to be one with Christ is the highest honor to which they can attain.... Consecrate all that there is of you—soul, body, and spirit—to the Lord. Yield every power you have to the control of the Holy Spirit.34The Review and Herald, May 9, 1899. SD 294.4