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END TIME -- PREPARATION What Do Adventists Mean by the Great Controversy Theme1 Part Two By Herbert E. Douglass, Th.D. Another outflow of the GCT [Great Controversy Theme] (as it clarifies the reasons why Jesus became man) is a larger understanding of the “atonement.” Limited ideas of the character and purposes of God (i.e., GCT) lead to limited ideas of the atonement. Monumental arguments have arisen throughout Christian history because the disputants did not understand the issues involved in the Great Controversy, especially in their limited understanding of why Jesus became man and the purpose of the gospel. Ellen White was led to see the results of “limited views of the atonement” (2T:213). Some of these results of “limited views” include: 1. A limited sense of what Christ suffered on Calvary, linking His agony to physical pain only.2 2. A limited sense of how the Father was involved in the agony of Calvary, not sensing that God’s “wrath” expressed in His withdrawal of His immediate presence was the ultimate cost of sin, not the penalizing wrath of retributive justice.3 3. A limited sense of how far-reaching was Christ’s atonement. Many Christians still do not believe that Christ died every person’s second death. The limited view was caused by the presupposition that God’s sovereignty has chosen only the special “elect” to be redeemed.4 4. Limited sense of how Christ’s life and death together were “earning the right” for Jesus to become humanity’s High Priest.5 5. A limited sense of the “cost” of what God “gave” (John 3:16) in the death of Jesus by not recognizing that Jesus did not resume all of His former prerogatives, that He indeed “gave” Himself to the human race, to forever identify as a human with the human race—He was forever limited to time and space.6 6. A limited sense of what Christ “satisfied”—not that He died so that obedience to God’s law was no longer necessary “but that [believers] may return to their loyalty and keep God’s commandments.”7 7. A limited sense of the “atonement” in that it “is not a more skillful way to have our sins pardoned” but “it is a divine remedy for the cure of transgression and the restoration of spiritual health” not sensing that “it is the Heaven-ordained means by which the righteousness of Christ may be not only upon us but in our hearts and characters.”8 8. A limited sense of the depth in Christ’s cry, “My God, my God, why. . .?” Anyone believing in the immortal soul error, can not grasp that Christ’s hour of death was that which all sinners will experience in their “second” death after the judgment. Jesus felt the agony of sinners who finally realize what they have rejected—life will end and forever.9 9. A limited sense of sin in that most Christians have no idea of the universal impact of sin on this earth and how it affects the well-being of the universe.10 10. A limited sense of how God plans, because of the atonement, to “place things on an eternal basis of security,” a plan that involves an executive review prior to the Second Advent of all people who have ever lived and then the peer review conducted by the redeemed between the two resurrections (John 5:29).11
The GCT transcends the either-or arguments in crucial theological areas which have divided Christians for centuries. In these following examples, note the ellipse of truth that joins twin truths as securely as hydrogen bonds with oxygen to make water—that, without the bonding, there is neither water nor truth; the truth about the “atonement” is not in either the cross alone or in the heavenly sanctuary alone anymore than water is in either H or O. [The following order does not suggest an order of importance—each example is as important as the other.] The relationship between Christ’s work on the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit: “The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. . . . It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer” (DA:671). The relationship between the law and the gospel: “No man can rightly present the law of God without the gospel, or the gospel without the law. The law is the gospel embodied, and the gospel is the law unfolded. The law is the root, the gospel is the fragrant blossom and fruit which it bear” (COL:128).12 The relationship between Christ as Redeemer and as Ruler: “Let this point be fully settled in every mind: If we accept Christ as a Redeemer, we must accept Him as a Ruler. We cannot have the assurance and perfect confiding trust in Christ as our Saviour until we acknowledge Him as our King, and are obedient to His commandments. Thus we evidence our allegiance to God. We have the genuine ring in our faith, for it is a working faith. It works by love” (FW:16). The relationship between objective authority and subjective responsibility in the faith experience: “Faith in Christ as the world’s Redeemer calls for an acknowledgment of the enlightened intellect, controlled by a heart that can discern and appreciate the heavenly treasure. This faith is inseparable from repentance and transformation of character. To have faith means to find and accept the gospel treasure, with all the obligations which it imposes” (COL:112).13 The relationship between God’s work and man’s work in the salvation process: “God works and cooperates with the gifts He has imparted to man, and man, by being a partaker of the divine nature and doing the work of Christ, may be an overcomer and win eternal life. The Lord does not propose to do the work He has given man powers to do. Man’s part must be done. He must be a laborer together with God, yoking up with Christ. . . . God is the all-controlling power. He bestows the gifts; man receives them and acts with the power of the grace of Christ as a living agent. . . . Divine power and the human agency combined will be a complete success, for Christ’s righteousness accomplishes everything.” (FW:26-27). The relationship between imputed and imparted righteousness: “Our only ground of hope is in the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought out by His Spirit working in and through us” (SC:63). The relationship between forgiveness of sin and a transformed life in defining genuine Christianity: “The religion of Christ means more than the forgiveness of sin; it means taking away our sins, and filling the vacuum with the graces of the Holy Spirit. It means divine illumination, rejoicing in God. It means a heart emptied of self, and blessed with the abiding presence of Christ. When Christ reigns in the soul, there is purity, freedom from sin. The glory, the fullness, the completeness of the gospel plan is fulfilled in the life. The acceptance of the Saviour brings a glow of perfect peace, perfect love, perfect assurance. The beauty and fragrance of the character of Christ, revealed in the life, testifies that God has indeed sent His Son into the world to be its Saviour” (COL:419-420).14 The relationship between the prayer for pardon and the prayer for divine help to resist sin: To show how simple theology, rightly put, can be understood by the general public, note Ellen White’s report of a sermon in Basle, Switzerland: “All listened with the deepest interest, and at the close of the discourse an invitation was given for all who desired to be Christians, and all who felt that they had not a living connection with God, to come forward, and we would unite our prayers with theirs for the pardon of sin, and for grace to resist temptation.”15 The relationship between Christ’s role as Sacrifice/Saviour and as High Priest/Mediator: “Satan invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds, that they may not dwell upon the very work with which we ought to be best acquainted. The archdeceiver hates the great truths that bring to view an atoning sacrifice and an all-powerful mediator. He knows that with him everything depends on his diverting minds from Jesus and His truth” (GC:488). The relationship between the new birth and obedience to God’s law: “In the new birth the heart is brought into harmony with God, as it is brought into accord with His law. When this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty” (GC:468). The relationship between repentance and reformation: “No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven” (DA:555-556; see also PP:92). The relationship between the work of Christ without and the work of the Spirit within: “I call upon every one who claims to be a son of God, never to forget this great truth, that we need the Spirit of God within us in order to reach heaven, and the work of Christ without us in order to give us a title to the immortal inheritance” (TM:442)15 The relationship between faith and works: “Abraham’s faith was made manifest by his works. . . . There are many who fail to understand the relation of faith and works. They say, ‘Only believe in Christ and you are safe. You have nothing to do with keeping the law.’ But genuine faith will be manifest in obedience” (PP:153,154). The relationship between believing in Christ and abiding in Him: “It is not enough that the sinner believe in Christ for the pardon of sin; he must, by faith and obedience, abide in Him” (PP:517). The relationship between Christ’s free gift of remission of sins and His free gift of His attributes in the development of the Christian’s character: “His life stands for the life of men. Thus they have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God can ‘be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus ( Rom.
The 1888 General Conference offers us a case study of how the GCT theme and the ellipse of truth could have made a monumental contribution to the future of the Because EGW grasped the big picture, she was able to transcend the objectivism (undue emphasis on doctrinal correctness) and subjectivism (undue emphasis on feeling or human autonomy) that prevailed in conventional nineteenth-century theologies and which surfaced dramatically in the 1888 General Conference. Note her implicit use of the ellipse: “While one class [subjectivists] pervert the doctrine of justification by faith and neglected to comply with the conditions laid down in the Word of God—’If ye love Me, keep My commandments’—there is fully as great an error on the part of those [objectivists] who claim to believe and obey the commandments of God but who place themselves in opposition to the precious rays of light—new to them—reflected from the cross of Calvary. The first class [subjectivists] do not see the wondrous things in the law of God for all who are doers of His Word. The others [objectivists] cavil over trivialities and neglect the weightier matters, mercy, and the love of God. “Many have lost very much in that they have not opened the eyes of their understanding to discern the wondrous things in the law of God. On the other hand, religionists [subjectivists] generally have divorced the law and the gospel, while we [objectivists] have, on the other hand, almost done the same from another standpoint. We have not held up before the people the righteousness of Christ and the full significance of His great plan of redemption. We have left out Christ and His matchless love, brought in theories and reasonings, and preached argumentative discourses”—(FW:15, 16). EGW summarized the basic message that she, A. T. Jones, and E. J. Waggoner were emphasizing: “The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Jones and Waggoner. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited, the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure” (TM:91, 92, emphasis supplied). Note again the implicit use of the ellipse. During the 1890 ministerial institutes in Battle Creek, a little more than a year after Minneapolis, the battles were still raging (in fact, for many, the issues were never settled—they just went underground), EGW wrote Manuscript 36, 1890, a portion of which said: “Let this point be fully settled in every mind: If we accept Christ as a Redeemer, we must accept Him as a Ruler. We cannot have the assurance and perfect confiding trust in Christ as our Saviour until we acknowledge Him as our King, and are obedient to His commandments. Thus we evidence our allegiance to God. We have the genuine ring in our faith, for it is a working faith. It works by love” (FW:16). Note the implicit ellipse. EGW transcended the fears on both sides by making it clear that the everlasting gospel is the joining of law and grace, of pardon and power, of forgiveness and cleansing. Instead of the either/or antithesis that has plagued all philosophy and theology from time immemorial, she introduced the holy “and.” She could not have done this so seamlessly if she did not have the big picture of the GCT. In other words, if she did not understand the fullness of the gospel and the purpose of the salvation plan, she would have been a hopeless observer in 1888. And the Conflict of the Ages set could never have been written as it was.
The GCT embraces a cluster of inter-related doctrines that too often are considered separately, as one would view pearls on a necklace, rather than limbs integrated into a developing oak tree. Another case study—Eschatology No other church looks at the Second Advent as the This “cluster” of biblical concepts exists today because of the writings of EGW. But they exist only as unconnected beliefs (with some rarely defined in contemporary SDA thought) if they are not all seen as connected, integrated, inherent, and subsumed in the GCT. Every last-day concept forming this distinctive “cluster” of doctrines unfolds out of the GCT. When the purpose of the gospel and the plan of salvation is kept clear and up front, each concept in the “cluster” is seen as inherently connected with each other concept. For example: The gospel purpose is restoration (Ed:125), preparing a people to meet the Lord and to be safe to save. Thus sanctification is a significant component of this last-day “cluster:” The concept of character transformation interacts with the Adventist health emphasis—not merely to live ten years longer but to prepare the mind to detect right from wrong quickly and as a habit, so that truth can settle in (so deeply imbedded in neural pathways) that it will never again be moved to say No to God. The concept of character transformation interacts with such concepts as “latter rain” and “loud cry”—that God waits until He has people He can trust with His power, people that won’t embarrass Him with power without His character. The concept of character transformation interacts with the worldwide gospel proclamation (Matthew 24:14); Those described in Revelation This dynamic cluster of concepts needs the integration of them all—or each becomes independently sterile. The emphasis heard a century ago becomes a logical challenge: the SDA message is primarily concerned with preparing people to be translated, as well as preparing them to die. EGW is most explicit, on many occasions, in unfolding the purpose of the gospel within her eschatological grasp of the end-times. Here is one example: “When He comes, He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will all be accomplished before that time. . . . Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy, will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now [sic] that this work is to be accomplished for us. “We embrace the truth of God with our different organizations, and as we come under the influence of that truth, it will accomplish the work for us which is necessary to give us a moral fitness for the kingdom of glory, and for the society of the heavenly angels. We are now in God’s work-shop. Many of us are rough stones from the quarry. But as we lay hold upon the truth of God, its influence affects us. It elevates us, and removes from us imperfection and sin, of whatever nature. Thus we are prepared to see the King in His beauty. . . . And what is the work that we are to undertake here just previous to receiving immortality? It is to preserve our bodies holy, our spirits pure, that we may stand forth unstained amid the corruptions teeming around us in these last days. And if this work is accomplished, we need to engage in it at once, heartily and understandingly” (2T:355, 356; see also 505, 705; LDE:295). This principle of the gospel reflected in last-day Christians is pervasive throughout EGW’s writings. For instance: “Character can not be changed when Jesus comes, nor just as a man is about to die. Character building must be done in this life” (TM:430).
Wherever one goes in the writings of EGW, the GCT is there—organizing, integrating, and specifying the truth amidst the accretions of errors piled up through the centuries
What one believes about Righteousness by Faith, or the Atonement, or Christology, or Eschatology, all affect what one believes regarding the other concepts. Everything in truth is interconnected and flows out of one basic principle of the GCT: restoration of sinners into people safe to save. The GCT not only saves us from the errors of the centuries, it provides the church and the world with a message that makes sense to those seeking mental certainty and emotional certitude. The GCT is not a notion that anyone thought up; it is old truth that became “present truth” entrusted by God to a humble, obedient woman, His messenger for these end-times. Footnotes 1 A summary of a presentation made to the First International Conference on Ellen G. White and Adventist History, Battle Creek, MI, May 15-19, 2002. © Herbert E. Douglass, 2002. 2 On Calvary, “Jesus was earning the right to become the advocate of men in the Father’s presence.”—The Desire of Ages, p, 745. 3 Ibid., pp. 213, 214. 4 Ibid. 5The Desire of Ages, p. 745. 6 Review and Herald, December 22, 1891; SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 925; Testimonies to Ministers, p. 19. 7 Testimonies to Ministers, p.134; Review and Herald, January 25, 1898, September, 17, 1901. 8 Letter 406, 1906, cited in SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1074. 9 SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1149; The Desire of Ages, pp. 752, 753; The Great Controversy, pp. 668, 671; Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 429; Selected Messages, bk.1, p. 340. 10 Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 68, 78-9; Signs of the Times, December 22, 1914. 11 The Desire of Ages, p. 759; Selected Messages, bk 1, p. 341; Signs of the Times, December, 30, 1889 cited in SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1132. 12 “There is perfect harmony between the law of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. ‘I and My Father are one,’ says the Great Teacher. The gospel of Christ is the good news of grace, or favor, by which man may be released from the condemnation of sin, and enabled to render obedience to the law of God. The gospel points to the moral code as a rule of life. That law, by its demands for undeviating obedience, is continually pointing the sinner to the gospel for pardon and peace. . . . God has given a complete rule of life in His law. Obeyed, he shall live by it, through the merits of Christ. Transgressed, it has power to condemn. The law sends men to Christ, and Christ points them back to the law.”—Review and Herald, Sept. 20, 1881. 13 “A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith cannot receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 347. 14 “The atonement of Christ is not a mere skillful way to have our sins pardoned; it is a divine remedy for the cure of transgression and the restoration of spiritual health. It is the Heaven-ordained means by which the righteousness of Christ may be not only upon us but in our hearts and characters.”—Letter 406, 1906 cited in Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1074 15 Review and Herald, November 3, 1885. 16 “The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.”—Messages to Young People, p. 35; see also Review and Herald, June 4, 1895. 17 A borrowed phrase, delightful in its succinctness. I think I first heard it from Russell Staples.
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