Is God in Everything?

[Woody]

Quote:

"What a wonderful thought that this same God is in us and in everything!”—General Conference Bulletin, Feb. 12, 1897, p. 83.

[Gerr]

How do you understand the statement to mean? That God is physically IN us?

[skyblue888]

"Not only is He the Originator of all but He is the life of everything that lives." Education,197.

[Gibs]

Just one little quote of EGW,

" The theory that God is an essence pervading all nature is received by many who profess to believe the Scriptures; but, however beautifully clothed, this theory is a most dangerous deception. . . . If God is an essence pervading all nature, then He dwells in all men; and in order to attain holiness, man has only to develop the power within him. These theories [pantheism, etc.], followed to their logical conclusion, . . . do away with the necessity for the atonement and make man his own savior. . . . Those who accept them are in great danger of being led finally to look upon the whole Bible as a fiction. ". . . {FLB 40.5}

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[skyblue888]

Just one little quote of EGW,

" The theory that God is an essence pervading all nature is received by many who profess to believe the Scriptures; but, however beautifully clothed, this theory is a most dangerous deception. . . . If God is an essence pervading all nature, then He dwells in all men; and in order to attain holiness, man has only to develop the power within him. These theories [pantheism, etc.], followed to their logical conclusion, . . . do away with the necessity for the atonement and make man his own savior. . . . Those who accept them are in great danger of being led finally to look upon the whole Bible as a fiction. ". . . {FLB 40.5}

1John 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Gibs, here Mrs. White is talking about "the doctrine of an impersonal God pervating all nature." Testimonies, Vol.8,293.

This is false.

In contrast she writes, ""The heart not yet hardened by contact with evil is quick to recognize the Presence that pervades all created things." Education,1000.

Notice the capital "P"

"Nature is not God nor was it ever God... But those who have a true knowledge of God will not become so infatuated with the laws of nature or the operations of nature as to overlook or refuse to acknowledge the continual working of God in nature." 1 S.M.293.

It is by His Spirit, "an unseen, mighty Intelligence," (Education 14) that God is continually at work in nature. The Spirit is no mere impersonal essence.

So it is clear that in the statement you quoted she is talking about the doctrine of an impersonal essence pervading all nature (Testimonies, Vol.8,293) as opposed to the doctrine of a personal God who by His Spirit is everywhere present, working in and through all, moving in all things according to His will. (Education,14; Ministry of Healing,416)

sky

[Woody]

Quote:

""The heart not yet hardened by contact with evil is quick to recognize the Presence that pervades all created things." Education,1000.

Wow. I didn't realize that the book Education had a thousand pages. I'll have to take another look at it.

[Gibs]

Sky, the Quote I posted was to bring out exactly what you are saying, that is what she is saying in the quote, I didn't state anything myself, why should I? the quote again,

" The theory that God is an essence pervading all nature is received by many who profess to believe the Scriptures; but, however beautifully clothed, this theory is a most dangerous deception. . . . If God is an essence pervading all nature, then He dwells in all men; and in order to attain holiness, man has only to develop the power within him. These theories [pantheism, etc.], followed to their logical conclusion, . . . do away with the necessity for the atonement and make man his own savior. . . . Those who accept them are in great danger of being led finally to look upon the whole Bible as a fiction. ". . . {FLB 40.5}

1John 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[skyblue888]

Oh sorry, I meant to write, p.100

sky

[skyblue888]

Isn't it a fact that for the majority of us, Seventh-day Adventists, the message contained in the following statements is very little understood, if at all.

"Fathers and mothers, teach your children of the wonder-working power of God. His power is manifest in every plant, in every tree that bears fruit. Take the children into the garden and explain to them how He causes the seed to grow. The farmer plows his land and sows the seed, but he cannot make the seed grow. The Lord puts His own Spirit into the seed, causing it to spring into life. Under His care the germ breaks through the case enclosing it and springs up to develop and bear fruit." Testimonies, Vol.8,326.

Now let us read the same truth expressed in different words:

"In a knowledge of God all true knowledge and real development have their source. Wherever we turn, in the physical, the mental, or the spiritual realm, this knowledge is revealed. Whatever line of investigation we pursue, with a sincere purpose to arrive at truth, we are brought in touch with the unseen, mighty Intelligence that is working in and through all. The mind of man is brought into communion with the mind of God, the finite with the Infinite. The effect of this communion on body and mind and soul is beyond estimate." p.14.

So this unseen, mighty Intelligence that is working in and through can only be the Holy Spirit, God's immediate Agency.

This is a deep truth.

Thus we read, "Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent presence and active Agency of a Being who moves in all things according to His will." Ministry of Healing,416.

So then, it is clear that this "wonder-working power" present and active in all creation is not a mere impersonal essence (pantheistic teaching) but it is the mind of God, the Holy Spirit, the "unseen, mighty Intelligence" that is moving in all things according to His will.

And by this we are to understand that the same wonder-working power that upholds nature is working also in man:

"The mechanism of the human body cannot be fully understood; it presents mysteries that baffle the most intelligent. It is not as the result of a mechanism, which, once set in motion, continues its work, that the pulse beats and breath follows breath. In God we live and move and have our being. The beating heart, the throbbing pulse, every nerve and muscle in the living organism is kept in order and activity by the power of an ever-present God." Ministry of Healing, 417.

One more statement:

"The physical organism of man is under the supervision of God; but it is not like a clock, which is set in operation, and must go of itself. The heart beats, pulse succeeds pulse, breath succeeds breath, but the entire being is under the supervision of God." 1 S.M.294.

If we accept the above statements, we become better prepared to appreciate this one:

"The heart not yet hardened by contact with evil is quick to recognize the Presence that pervades all created things." Education,100.

sky

[Woody]

Quote:

Education,100

Is that 100 or 1000. :)

[skyblue888]

My copy has 309 pages. Yours?

sky :)

[skyblue888]

There was a time when men knew God but they did not like to retain Him in their knowledge. Romans 1:21-23. So they deified names. Everything was a god; and there was a god of the tree, a god of the wind, a god of the waves, and another god in the earth. Every manifestation of power was a different god. And we have gone on, and the world has gone on, for these hundreds of years, devising names, putting subtle scientific names in the place of God.

Now what true education is, instead of giving these all names in the place of God, and deifying them as if the name did the thing--cohesion, adhesion, gravity, magnetism, etc. etc., it is to put there the Name that is above every name, recognizing that "Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent presence and active Agency of a Being who moves in all things according to His will." Ministry of Healing,416.

"Nature is not God, nor was it ever God... Those who have a true knowledge of God will not become so infatuated with the laws of matter or the operations of nature as to overlook or refuse to acknowledge the continual working of God in nature." 1 S.M.293.

The mighty Agency of the Holy Spirit is "the unseen, mighty Intelligence that is working in and through all," "moving in all things according to His will." Education,14; Ministry of Healing,416,417.

By the Spirit the Father and the Son are perpetually at work in all creation.

In the body we find an association of individual cells gathered together to do business in harmony. Just as in a community of several men there are some who are computer technicians, some carpenters, some electricians, some bakers and cooks, some common labourers, a few doctors, a few preachers, and other people, and each one has his office to perform.

Each cell is independent of all the rest, just as each man in a community is independent. You can not see the individual cells with the naked eye, but through the microscope you can see, in a drop of blood about five millions of these cells. A process is continually going on in these cells. The protoplasm in these cells grows and changes; it is found in very curious forms and shapes. It divides up into little pieces of just the same length and shapes; then these little pieces all split from end to end. After they split, they separate; half of them turn one way and half the other way, and go to the other end of the cell. Then the whole mass begins to break, and shortly afterward it splits in two, and then we have two cells instead of one.

That is the way the cells multiply, and that is the way the human body grows. You can see the whole thing going on through the microscope; you can see them moving along in just the same order as a company of well-trained soldiers, keeping perfect time, marching and countermarching. When we see all these little cells marching along in such perfect order, we feel that we can almost hear the divine voice speaking to these particles, issuing orders to them. We can see there is a divine Intelligence there, who is certainly directing every movement! This thing can not happen by itself!

"The physical organism of man is under the supervision of God; but it is not like a clock, which is set in motion, and must go of itself. The heart beats, pulse succeeds pulse, breath follows breath, but the entire being is under the supervision of God." E.G. White, Selected Messages, Vol.1, p.294.

"In Him all things hold together." Col.1:17.

sky