"Shall we not strive to answer the Saviour’s prayer for unity,—the prescription for the cure of all alienation and strife? Shall we not, without an hour’s delay, begin to fulfil His purpose for us, loving one another as He has loved us? Then will come the glorious result; because we are bound together by the golden chain of love, men will know that we are Christ’s disciples. And the heart of the Saviour will be filled with rejoicing."
These quotations from the pen of Ellen G. White are only a tiny number of quotations of the 160+ pages of quotations I've gathered on the subject. Read, rejoice, apply and look forward to amazing journey with God!
Harmony existing among men of varied dispositions is the strongest evidence that can be borne that God has sent His Son into the world to save sinners. True Christians are distinct in individuality, and they differ in disposition; but they are sanctified by the same spirit, and they are one in the understanding of the things of God. They are different parts of the same great temple. {ST November 26, 1902, par. 4} “A new commandment I give unto you,” Christ said, “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” {ST November 26, 1902, par. 5} Why did Christ call this a new commandment?—Because He was yet to give, in the sacrifice of His life, the crowning evidence of His love. When this offering should have been made, the gift would be complete, and the disciples would understand more fully the meaning of the new commandment. “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” {ST November 26, 1902, par. 6} Should not this love be appreciated? Shall we not strive to answer the Saviour’s prayer for unity,—the prescription for the cure of all alienation and strife? Shall we not, without an hour’s delay, begin to fulfil His purpose for us, loving one another as He has loved us? Then will come the glorious result; because we are bound together by the golden chain of love, men will know that we are Christ’s disciples. And the heart of the Saviour will be filled with rejoicing. {ST November 26, 1902, par. 7} We are sometimes asked, Why does not God work miracles through the church today, as He did in the days of the apostles?—Because the church refuses to be guided and controlled by Him. Christ’s love in the heart, revealing through the life its wondrous power,—this is the greatest miracle that can be performed before a fallen, quarreling world. Let us make it possible for God to work this miracle. Let us put on Christ, and the miracle-working power of His grace will be so plainly revealed, in the transformation of character, that the world will be convinced that God has sent His Son to make men as angels in life and character. {ST November 26, 1902, par. 8}
Harmony and union existing among men of varied dispositions is the strongest witness that can be borne that God has sent His Son into the world to save sinners. It is our privilege to bear this witness. But in order to do this, we must place ourselves under Christ’s command. The tender regard shown by the Saviour for His church calls upon us to keep our souls in His love. Each one has something to do. Let us strive earnestly and untiringly to fulfill God’s purpose for us “till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,” unto perfect men and women, “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” {PUR March 26, 1903, par. 6}
Christian unity is a mighty agency. It tells in a powerful manner that those who possess it are children of God. It has an irresistible influence upon the world, showing that man in his humanity may be a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to be one with our fellow-men and with Christ, and in Christ one with God. Then of us can be spoken the words, “Ye are complete in Him.” – {ST February 7, 1900 Par. 1}
Unity with Christ establishes a bond of unity with one another. This unity is the most convincing proof to the world of the majesty and virtue of Christ and of His power to take away sin. {Ms111-1903.9} Christ in His prayer to His Father says, “All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.” [Verse 10.] {Ms111-1903.10} As Christ beholds His disciples, He can say, “Through the grace I have given them, they are of one mind, speaking the same things. Their love for one another is an evidence to the world of what the truth can do when brought into the life and character. By conforming to My will, they have a knowledge of the truth. I have sanctified Myself in human flesh, that I might set before them a perfect example. {Ms111-1903.11} As they receive and obey My words, they give evidence to the world that I have chosen them. {Ms111-1903.12}
We have been in New Zealand a little more than three months. I have spoken forty-two times and written four hundred pages of letter paper. I have visited Auckland, Kaeo, and Napier. Our camp meeting was excellent because of the manifest workings of the Spirit of God upon human hearts in the conversion of souls and the reclaiming of backsliders, and the precious knowledge that many received. The reproofs given were not rejected, but brought souls to repentance and confession and renouncing of their wrongs. Many things needed to be set in order. Selfishness and unfaithfulness in those connected with various lines of work were discerned and deplored. There are so many in this country who want their own way. They do not see how important it is to preserve unity in plans of action and to work and act after the Pattern, Christ Jesus. {Lt 110, 1893, par. 4} In Africa, in this, and all other countries, every soul must understand that in order to work in Christ’s lines in word, in councils, and in plans, he must keep the prayer of Christ before him: “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. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:21-23. {Lt 110, 1893, par. 5} Oh, let these words be oft repeated, and every soul train his ideas and spirit and action daily that they may fulfill this prayer of Jesus Christ. He does not request impossible things of His Father. He prays for the very things which must be in His disciples in relation to their oneness to each other and their unity, and oneness with God and Jesus Christ. Any thing short of this is not attaining to perfection of Christian character. The golden chain of love, binding the hearts of the believers in unity, in bonds of fellowship and love, and in oneness with Christ and the Father, and makes the connection perfect, and bears to the world a testimony of the power of Christianity that cannot be controverted. {Lt 110, 1893, par. 6} “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34, 35. Satan understands the power of such a testimony as a witness to the world of what grace can do in transforming character. He is not pleased that such a light shall shine forth from those who claim to believe in Jesus Christ, and he will work every conceivable device to break this golden chain which links heart to heart of those who believe the truth, and binds them up in close connection with the Father and the Son. {Lt 110, 1893, par. 7} Then will selfishness be uprooted and unfaithfulness will not exist. There will not be strife and divisions. There will not be stubbornness in any one who is bound up with Christ. Not one will act out stubborn independence of the wayward, impulsive child who drops the hand that is leading him and chooses to stumble on alone, and walk in his own ways, following the imagination of his own heart. {Lt 110, 1893, par. 8}