Christ’s Object Lessons—"Tares Among the Wheat: A Lesson in Divine Forbearance”

5T 46.4-47.3 “Every individual, by his own act, either puts Christ from him by refusing to cherish His spirit and follow His
example, or he enters into a personal union with Christ by self-renunciation, faith, and obedience. We must, each for himself,
choose Christ, because He has first chosen us. This union with Christ is to be formed by those who are naturally at enmity
with Him. It is a relation of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud heart. This is close work, and many who profess
to be followers of Christ know nothing of it. They nominally accept the Saviour, but not as the sole ruler of their hearts.
“Some feel their need of the atonement, and with the recognition of this need, and the desire for a change of heart, a
struggle begins. To renounce their own will, perhaps their chosen objects of affection or pursuit, requires an effort, at which
many hesitate and falter and turn back. Yet this battle must be fought by every heart that is truly converted. We must war
against temptations without and within. We must gain the victory over self, crucify the affections and lusts; and then begins
the union of the soul with Christ. As the dry and apparently lifeless branch is grafted into the living tree, so may we become
living branches of the True Vine. And the fruit which was borne by Christ will be borne by all His followers. After this union is
formed, it can be preserved only by continual, earnest, painstaking effort. Christ exercises His power to preserve and guard
this sacred tie, and the dependent, helpless sinner must act his part with untiring energy, or Satan by his cruel, cunning power
will separate him from Christ.
“Every Christian must stand on guard continually, watching every avenue of the soul where Satan might find access.
He must pray for divine help and at the same time resolutely resist every inclination to sin. By courage, by faith, by persevering
toil, he can conquer. But let him remember that to gain the victory Christ must abide in him and he in Christ.
“A union of believers with Christ will as a natural result lead to a union with one another, which bond of union is the
most enduring upon earth. We are one in Christ, as Christ is one with the Father. Christians are branches, and only branches,
in the living Vine. One branch is not to borrow its sustenance from another. Our life must come from the parent vine. It is only
by personal union with Christ, by communion with Him daily, hourly, that we can bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit.”

COL 67.1 “The object of the husbandman in the sowing of the seed and the culture of the growing plant is the production of
grain. He desires bread for the hungry, and seed for future harvests. So the divine Husbandman looks for a harvest as the
reward of His labor and sacrifice. Christ is seeking to reproduce Himself in the hearts of men; and He does this through those
who believe in Him. The object of the Christian life is fruit bearing—the reproduction of Christ’s character in the believer, that it
may be reproduced in others.”

DA 677.1 “Herein is My Father glorified,” said Jesus, “that ye bear much fruit.” God desires to manifest through you the
holiness, the benevolence, the compassion, of His own character. Yet the Saviour does not bid the disciples labor to bear
fruit. He tells them to abide in Him. “If ye abide in Me,” He says, “and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.” It is through the word that Christ abides in His followers. This is the same vital union that is
represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The words of Christ are spirit and life. Receiving them, you receive the
life of the Vine. You live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. The life of Christ in you
produces the same fruits as in Him. Living in Christ, adhering to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing nourishment from Christ,
you bear fruit after the similitude of Christ.”

DA 664.4 “The Saviour was deeply anxious for His disciples to understand for what purpose His divinity was united to
humanity. He came to the world to display the glory of God, that man might be uplifted by its restoring power. God was
manifested in Him that He might be manifested in them. Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may
not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to
God as He was.”

MB 20.3 “To Jesus, who emptied Himself for the salvation of lost humanity, the Holy Spirit was given without measure. So it will
be given to every follower of Christ when the whole heart is surrendered for His indwelling. Our Lord Himself has given the
command, “Be filled with the Spirit” ( Ephesians 5:18), and this command is also a promise of its fulfillment. It was the good
pleasure of the Father that in Christ should “all the fullness dwell,” and “in Him ye are made full.” Colossians 1:19 , R.V.; 2:10,
R.V.”

17MR 337.2-338.1 “In Christ dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. This is why, although tempted in all points like as we are,
He stood before the world, from His first entrance into it, untainted by corruption, though surrounded with it. Are we not also
to become partakers of that fullness, and is it not this, and this only, that we can overcome as Christ overcame?
 “Why are we so dull of comprehension? Why do we not cling to Jesus, and draw from Him by faith the strength and
perfection of His character as the vine-branch draws the sap from the living vine? We are to look to Jesus, and climb up step
by step in the work of overcoming, as the temptations close us about. Abiding in Christ, we become one with Him. Then we
are safe, entirely safe, against all the assaults of Satan. Christ living in the soul is revealed in the character. Man is nothing
without Christ. But if Christ lives in us, we shall work the works of God. We shall represent Christ in our life. We shall talk of
Christ because we meditate upon Him. We shall grow up into Christ to the full stature of men and women in spiritual
understanding.
“The love and justice of God, and also the immutability of His law, are made manifest by the Saviour’s life no less than
by His death. He assumed human nature, with its infirmities, its liabilities, its temptations. “Himself took our infirmities and bore
our sicknesses” [Matthew 8:17]. “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren” [Hebrews 2:17]. He was “in
all points tempted like as we are” [Hebrews 2:14]. He exercised in His own behalf no power which man cannot exercise. As
man he met temptation, and overcame in the strength given Him of God. He gives us an example of perfect obedience. He
has provided that we may become partakers of the divine nature, and assures us that we may overcome as He overcame.
His life testified that by the aid of the same divine power which Christ received, it is possible for man to obey God’s law.
“In Christ were united the divine and the human—the Creator and the creature. The nature of God, whose law had
been transgressed, and the nature of Adam, the transgressor, meet in Jesus—the Son of God and the Son of man. And
having with His own blood paid the price of redemption, having passed through man’s experience, having in man’s behalf met
and conquered temptation, having, though Himself sinless, borne the shame and guilt and burden of sin, He becomes man’s
Advocate and Intercessor. What an assurance to the witnessing universe, that Christ will be “a merciful and faithful High
Priest” [Hebrews 2:17].”

COL 71.2-3 “Christ’s servants are grieved as they see true and false believers mingled in the church. They long to do something
to cleanse the church. Like the servants of the householder, they are ready to uproot the tares. But Christ says to them, “Nay;
lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.”
“Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church, but He has not
committed to us the work of judging character and motive. He knows our nature too well to entrust this work to us. Should
we try to uproot from the church those whom we suppose to be spurious Christians, we should be sure to make mistakes.
Often we regard as hopeless subjects the very ones whom Christ is drawing to Himself. Were we to deal with these souls
according to our imperfect judgment, it would perhaps extinguish their last hope. Many who think themselves Christians will at
last be found wanting. Many will be in heaven who their neighbors supposed would never enter there. Man judges from
appearance, but God judges the heart.”

COL 74.2 “Not judgment and condemnation of others, but humility and distrust of self, is the teaching of Christ’s parable. Not
all that is sown in the field is good grain. The fact that men are in the church does not prove them Christians.”

COL 72.1-3 “There is in the Saviour’s words another lesson, a lesson of wonderful forbearance and tender love. As the tares
have their roots closely intertwined with those of the good grain, so false brethren in the church may be closely linked with
true disciples. The real character of these pretended believers is not fully manifested. Were they to be separated from the
church, others might be caused to stumble, who but for this would have remained steadfast.
“The teaching of this parable is illustrated in God’s own dealing with men and angels. Satan is a deceiver. When he
sinned in heaven, even the loyal angels did not fully discern his character. This was why God did not at once destroy Satan.
Had He done so, the holy angels would not have perceived the justice and love of God. A doubt of God’s goodness would
have been as evil seed that would yield the bitter fruit of sin and woe. Therefore the author of evil was spared, fully to develop
his character. Through long ages God has borne the anguish of beholding the work of evil, He has given the infinite Gift of
Calvary, rather than leave any to be deceived by the misrepresentations of the wicked one; for the tares could not be plucked
up without danger of uprooting the precious grain. And shall we not be as forbearing toward our fellow men as the Lord of
heaven and earth is toward Satan?
“The world has no right to doubt the truth of Christianity because there are unworthy members in the church, nor
should Christians become disheartened because of these false brethren. How was it with the early church? Ananias and
Sapphira joined themselves to the disciples. Simon Magus was baptized. Demas, who forsook Paul, had been counted a
believer. Judas Iscariot was numbered with the apostles. The Redeemer does not want to lose one soul; His experience with
Judas is recorded to show His long patience with perverse human nature; and He bids us bear with it as He has borne. He
has said that false brethren will be found in the church till the close of time.”

GC 443.1-4 “But what is the “image to the beast”? and how is it to be formed? The image is made by the two-horned beast,
and is an image to the beast. It is also called an image of the beast. Then to learn what the image is like and how it is to be
formed we must study the characteristics of the beast itself—the papacy.
 “When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen rites
and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the
support of the secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the state and employed it to
further her own ends, especially for the punishment of “heresy.” In order for the United States to form an image of the beast,
the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the state will also be employed by the church to
accomplish her own ends.
“Whenever the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her doctrines.
Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome by forming alliance with worldly powers have manifested a
similar desire to restrict liberty of conscience. An example of this is given in the long-continued persecution of dissenters by
the Church of England. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, thousands of nonconformist ministers were forced to
flee from their churches, and many, both of pastors and people, were subjected to fine, imprisonment, torture, and
martyrdom.
“It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civil government, and this prepared the way for the
development of the papacy—the beast. Said Paul: “There” shall “come a falling away, ... and that man of sin be revealed.” 2
Thessalonians 2:3. So apostasy in the church will prepare the way for the image to the beast.”

COL 74.1 “Notwithstanding Christ’s warning, men have sought to uproot the tares. To punish those who were supposed to be
evildoers, the church has had recourse to the civil power. Those who differed from the established doctrines have been
imprisoned, put to torture and to death, at the instigation of men who claimed to be acting under the sanction of Christ. But it
is the spirit of Satan, not the Spirit of Christ, that inspires such acts. This is Satan’s own method of bringing the world under
his dominion. God has been misrepresented through the church by this way of dealing with those supposed to be heretics.”