Creation, an Expression of Love

Nature in its present condition carries an ambiguous message that

mingles both good and evil. Rosebushes can produce lovely and fra-

grant roses but also harmful and painful thorns. A toucan can impress

us with its beauty and then dismay us by assaulting the nests of other

birds and eating their frail chicks. Even human beings, who are capa-

ble of kindness one moment, can be vicious, hateful, and even violent

in the next. No wonder that in the parable of the wheat and the tares,

the servants asked the field owner, “ ‘ “Sir, did you not sow good seed

in your field? How then does it have tares?” ’ ” (Matt. 13:27, NKJV).

And the owner replied, “ ‘ “An enemy has done this” ’ ” (Matt. 13:28,

NKJV). Likewise, God created the universe perfect, but an enemy

defiled it with the mysterious seeds of sin.

Read 1 John 4:8, 16. What can the certainty that “God is love” tell us

about the nature of His creative activities?

The fact that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16, NKJV) conveys at

least three basic implications. First, love by its very nature cannot

exist closed in itself but must be expressed. (What kind of love is not

expressed?) God’s love is shared internally among the Three Persons of

the Godhead, and externally in His relationship with all His creatures.

Second, all that God does is an expression of His unconditional and

unchangeable love. This includes His creative works, His redemp-

tive actions, and even the manifestations of His punitive judgments.

Actually, “God’s love has been expressed in His justice no less than in

His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His

love.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 762. And third, since

God is love and all that He does expresses His love, He cannot be the

originator of sin, which is in direct opposition to His own character.

But did God really need to create the universe? From the perspective

of His sovereignty, one could say “No,” because it was a decision of His

free will. But from the perspective of His loving nature, He wanted a

universe as a means of expressing His love. And how amazing that He

created some forms of life, such as humans, not only to be capable of

responding to His love but also of sharing and expressing love, not just

to Him but to others, as well. (See also Mark 12:30, 31.)

Look around at the created world. In what ways can you see in it

reflections of God’s love, despite the ravages of sin? How can we

learn to draw lessons of hope from the expression of God’s love

revealed in creation?

Read for This Week’s Study: 1 John 4:8, 16; 1 John 4:7–16;

Ezek. 28:12–19; Isa. 14:12–15; Revelation 12.

Memory Text: “ ‘How you have fallen from heaven, you star of the

morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you

who defeated the nations!’ ” (Isa. 14:12, NASB).

Many thinkers have tried to explain the origin of evil. Some sug-

gest that evil always has existed because, in their view, good

can be appreciated only in contrast to evil. Others believe

that the world was created perfect but, somehow, evil emerged. For

example, in Greek mythology, evil started when the curious Pandora

opened a sealed box out of which flew all the evils of the world (this

myth, however, does not explain the origin of the evils supposedly hid-

den in that box).

By contrast, the Bible teaches that our loving God is all-powerful

(1 Chron. 29:10, 11) and perfect (Matt. 5:48). All that He does must

likewise be perfect (Deut. 32:4), which includes how He created

our world. How, then, could evil and sin appear in a perfect world?

According to Genesis 3, the fall of Adam and Eve brought sin, evil,

and death here.

But that answer raises another issue. Even before the Fall, evil

already had existed, manifested by the “serpent,” who deceived Eve

(Gen. 3:1–5). Hence, we need to go back, even before the Fall, in order

to find the source and origins of the evil that so dominates our present

existence and that at times can make it pretty miserable.

Sabbath School new quarter introduction

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Gethsemane,” pp. 685–697,

and “Calvary,” pp. 741–757, in The Desire of Ages.

“Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity

shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice. But now the history of the

human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. He sees that the

transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish. He sees the

helplessness of man. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamenta-

tions of a doomed world rise before Him. He beholds its impending

fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself.

He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him perishing millions

may gain everlasting life. He has left the courts of heaven, where all is

purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world

that has fallen by transgression. And He will not turn from His mission.

He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin. His

prayer now breathes only submission: ‘If this cup may not pass away

from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The

Desire of Ages, pp. 690, 693.

Discussion Questions:

Ê How does it help us in our own sufferings, this knowledge that

God Himself, in the person of Christ, suffered more than any of

us ever could? What should the sufferings of Christ in our behalf

mean to us? What comfort can we draw from this amazing truth?

As you think about your answer, keep in mind the following state-

ment from Ellen White: “All the suffering which is the result of sin

was poured into the bosom of the sinless Son of God.”—Selected

Messages, book 3, p. 129.

Ë As a class, go over the sufferings of Christ examined in this

week’s lesson. What were the crucibles that Christ faced? In what

ways are they like our own, and in what ways are they different?

What can we learn from how He handled these challenges that can

help us amid our own crucibles?

Ì What are some of your favorite Bible promises, promises that

you can cling to amid sorrow and pain? Write them out, claim

them for yourself, and share them in class.

Í Write out a summary paragraph, highlighting whatever main

points you got from this quarter’s lessons. What questions were

resolved for you? What issues still remain unanswered? How can

we help each other work through those things that still greatly

perplex and trouble us?

The Suffering God

We might as well get used to it: as long as we are here, in this world,

we are going to suffer. As fallen creatures, it is our fate. Nothing in the

Bible promises us anything different. On the contrary:

What do the following texts have to tell us about the topic at hand? Acts

14:22, Phil. 1:29, 2 Tim. 3:12.

Yet, in the midst of our suffering, we should keep two things in mind.

First, Christ, our Lord, has suffered more than any of us ever could.

At the cross, He “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa.

53:4, NKJV); what we know only as individuals, He suffered for us all

corporately. He who was sinless became “sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21), suf-

fering in a way that we, as sinful creatures, couldn’t begin to imagine.

But second, as we suffer, we should remember the results of Christ’s

suffering; that is, what we have been promised through what Christ has

done for us.

Read John 10:28, Romans 6:23, Titus 1:2, and 1 John 2:25. What are

we promised?

Whatever our sufferings here, thanks to Jesus, thanks to His bearing

in Himself the punishment of our sin, thanks to the great provision

of the gospel—that through faith we can stand perfect in Jesus right

now—we have the promise of eternal life. We have the promise that

because of what Christ has done, because of the fullness and complete-

ness of His perfect life and perfect sacrifice, our existence here, full of

pain, disappointment, and loss, is no more than an instant, a flash, here

and gone, in contrast to the eternity that awaits us, an eternity in a new

heaven and a new earth, one without sin, suffering, and death. And all

this is promised to us and made certain for us only because of Christ

and the crucible He went into so that one day, coming soon, He will see

“the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isa. 53:11).

The Crucified God

Death by crucifixion was one of the harshest punishments the

Romans meted out to anyone. It was considered the worst way to die.

Thus, how horrific for anyone to be killed that way, in particular the

Son of God! Jesus, we must always remember, came in human flesh

like ours. Between the beatings, the scourgings, the nails hammered

into His hands and feet, and the harrowing weight of His own body

tearing at the wounds, the physical pain must have been unbearable.

This was harsh, even for the worst of criminals; how unfair, then, that

Jesus, innocent of everything, should face such a fate.

Yet, as we know, Christ’s physical sufferings were mild in contrast to

what really was happening. This was more than just the killing of an

innocent man.

What events surrounding the death of Jesus showed that more was

going on than most people there understood at the time? What

significance can we find in each of these events that can help reveal

what happened there?

Matt. 27:45

Matt. 27:51, 52

Mark 15:38

Clearly, something much more was happening here than just the

death, however unfair, of an innocent man. According to Scripture,

God’s wrath against sin, our sin, was poured out upon Jesus. Jesus on

the cross suffered a righteous God’s righteous indignation against sin,

the sins of the whole world. As such, Jesus suffered something deeper,

darker, and more painful than any human being could ever know or

experience.

As you go through whatever struggles you are facing, what hope

and comfort can you draw from the reality of Christ suffering for

you on the cross?

Jesus in Gethsemane

“And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto

death: tarry ye here, and watch” (Mark 14:34).

Whatever Jesus suffered throughout His 33 years here on earth,

nothing compared to what He began to face in the last hours before the

Cross. From the eternal ages (Eph. 1:1–4; 2 Tim. 1:8, 9; Titus 1:1, 2),

the sacrifice of Jesus as the offering for the world’s sin was planned,

and now it was all coming to pass.

What do the following texts tell us about Christ’s suffering in

Gethsemane? Matt. 26:39, Mark 14:33–36, Luke 22:41–44.

“He went a little distance from them—not so far but that they could

both see and hear Him—and fell prostrate upon the ground. He felt that

by sin He was being separated from His Father. The gulf was so broad,

so black, so deep, that His spirit shuddered before it. This agony He

must not exert His divine power to escape. As man He must suffer the

consequences of man’s sin. As man He must endure the wrath of God

against transgression.

“Christ was now standing in a different attitude from that in which

He had ever stood before. His suffering can best be described in the

words of the prophet, ‘Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and

against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.’ Zech.

13:7. As the substitute and surety for sinful man, Christ was suf-

fering under divine justice. He saw what justice meant. Hitherto

He had been as an intercessor for others; now He longed to have

an intercessor for Himself.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages,

p. 686.

Dwell upon what was happening to Jesus in Gethsemane.

Already, the sins of the world were starting to fall upon Him. Try

to imagine what that must have been like. No human being has

ever been called to go through anything like this before or since.

What does this tell us about God’s love for us? What hope can

you draw from this for yourself?

Despised and Rejected of Men

Read the following texts, all the while keeping in mind the fact that

Jesus was divine, the Creator of heaven and earth, and that He

came to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world

(Matt. 12:22–24; Luke 4:21–30; John 8:58, 59). How do these texts

help us understand the sufferings that Jesus faced here on earth?

Whether by leaders, or even by the common people, Jesus’ life, acts,

and teaching were constantly misunderstood, leading to rejection and

hatred from people He came to save. In a certain sense, it must be like a

parent who sees a wayward child in need of help, and though the parent

is willing to give everything for that child, the child spurns the parent,

heaping scorn and rejection upon, perhaps, the only person who can

spare that child from utter ruin. That’s what Jesus faced while here on

earth. How painful it must have been for Him.

Read Matthew 23:37. What does it tell us about how Christ felt about

the rejection? As you read, ask yourself, too, Was He feeling bad for

Himself (as we often do when facing rejection), or was it for another

reason? If for another reason, what was it?

We’ve all felt the sting of rejection, and maybe our pain was similar

to Christ’s in that it was unselfish: we were pained, not because we were

rejected, but because of what the rejection would mean for the one who

was rejecting us (perhaps someone we care about who refuses to accept

salvation in Christ). Imagine, though, how it must have felt to Jesus, who

was fully aware of what He was to face in order to save them, and at the

same time fully aware of what the consequences of their rejection would

be. “It was because of His innocence that He [Christ] felt so keenly the

assaults of Satan.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 3, p. 129.

What can you learn from Christ that can help you better cope

with the pain of rejection? What does His example show you?

How can you apply it to your own life?

The Early Days

Scripture gives us little information about the early years of Jesus. A

few verses, however, tell us something about the conditions He lived

under and the kind of world the Savior entered.

Read Luke 2:7, 22–24 (see also Lev. 12:6–8) and Matthew 2:1–18.

What do we see in these texts that gives us an indication of the kind

of life Jesus faced from the start?

Of course, Jesus was not the first person to live in poverty or to face

those who wanted to kill Him, even from an early age. There is, how-

ever, another element that helps us understand the uniqueness of what

Christ suffered from the earliest times.

Read John 1:46. What element does this add to help us understand

what sufferings the young Jesus had faced?

With the exceptions of Adam and Eve before the Fall, Jesus was the

only sinless Person who ever lived on the earth. In His purity, in His

sinlessness, He was immersed in a world of sin. What torture it must

have been, even as a child, for His pure soul constantly to be in contact

with sin. Even in our hardness because of sin, we ourselves often shrink

away from exposure to sins and evil that we find repulsive. Imagine

what it must have been like for Christ, whose soul was pure, who wasn’t

the least bit tainted by sin. Think of the sharp contrast between Himself

and others around Him in that regard. It must have been exceedingly

painful for Him.

Ask yourself, “How sensitive am I to the sins that exist all around

us? Do they bother me, or am I hardened to them?” If you are

hardened to them, could it be because of the things you read,

watch, or even do? Think about it.

Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 2:7, 22–24; Matt. 2:1–18;

John 8:58, 59; Luke 22:41–44; Matt. 27:51, 52; Rom. 6:23; Titus 1:2.

Memory Text: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud

voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My

God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matthew 27:46, NKJV).

Whenever we look at the issue of suffering, the question comes:

How did sin and suffering first arise? Through divine revela­

tion we have good answers: they arose because free beings

abused the freedom God had given them. This leads to another ques-

tion: Did God know beforehand that these beings would fall? Yes, but

obviously He thought it was, as C. S. Lewis wrote, “worth the risk.”

Worth the risk? For whom? For us, while God sits in heaven on His

throne? Not exactly. The freedom of all His intelligent creatures was so

sacred that, rather than deny us freedom, God chose to bear in Himself

the brunt of the suffering caused by our abuse of that freedom. And we

see this suffering in the life and death of Jesus, who, through suffering

in our flesh, has created bonds between heaven and earth that will last

throughout eternity.

The Week at a Glance: What did Christ suffer in our behalf?

What can we learn from His suffering?