by Robert Folkenberg
Originally appearing in From the G.C. President Jan 22, 1996 through May 13, 1996 under the title Off the Back Burner.
In our last segment we touched lightly on how the lens through which one looks at the Bible determines what one sees. If one does not have the correct lens (paradigm, world view, etc.) one's theological conclusions will be limited or often fatally flawed. Ellen White is clear that the lens which will best reveal the purpose of God for this earth is the Great Controversy theme. At the center of the controversy is the character of God and Satan's attempts to misrepresent it.
Ellen White never ceases to challenge us in our efforts to get this picture right. Note the "why's" in the following paragraph. "In order to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, it is essential that you meditate much upon the great themes of redemption. You should ask yourself why Christ has taken humanity upon Himself, why He suffered upon the cross, why He bore the sins of men, why He was made sin and righteousness for us. You should study to know why He ascended in the nature of man, and what is His work for us today. . . . We think that we are familiar with the character of Christ, and we do not realize how much is to be gained by the study of our glorious Pattern. We take it for granted that we know all about Him, and yet we do not comprehend His character or mission" (ST:Dec. 1, 1890 emphasis supplied). We can answer these "why's" when we begin to understand and let the Great Controversy theme organize our thinking.
Ellen White's understanding of the central, organizing principle of the Great Controversy theme, helps us answer these "why's" by her constant appeal to focus on the character of God: "God desires from all His creatures the service of love homage that springs from an intelligent appreciation of His character" (GC:493). When we begin to understand correctly the character of God, the atonement, the incarnation, the nature of sin, and other serious theological issues will find a quiet, seamless order and beauty.
In our next segment we will suggest that the uniqueness of Adventist theology lies in the unfolding of the Great Controversy theme.
The Great Controversy theme, focus of Ellen White's writing, is the organizing principle of what has come to be known as the distinctive message of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It provides the glue of coherency to all of its teachings --theology, health (prevention and cure of disease), education, missiology, ecclisiology, social relations, stewardship, etc.
Thought leaders generally agree that various theologies, past and present, owe their distinctiveness to a prevailing philosophical theme, paradigm or world view. Their theological systems are logical developments of the particular world view they espouse. In fact, the way they use the Bible is determined by their world view. For example: note what happens when thinkers look at the Bible through naturalistic presuppositions (no supernatural interventions possible). Or compare Calvin and Wesley's use of the same biblical words with vastly different meanings.
The uniqueness of Adventism is not some particular element of its theology; rather, it lies in the overall understanding of the central message of the Bible. This distinctive totality of the Bible's message finds its unity and coherence in the seminal, governing principle we call the Great Controversy theme. Its focus is on Jesus Christ, tracing His role as God's Mediator between both angels and humans, from before sin appeared until sin is removed from the universe. This focus opens to the student a vast field to contemplate. From one point of view, understanding its implications determines everyone's destiny. "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3, NKJV).
The heart of the Great Controversy theme lies in the answer to this question: Whose plan is best for the universe God's or Satan's? God's, with His wisdom, often referred to as His Law, or Satan's, with his theory of self-determination and individual supremacy so evident today in entertainment, pop-psychology -- and in many pulpits? The essence of this controversy focuses on integrity and motivation. Satan has charged that God is unfair, unforgiving, arbitrary and supremely selfish (Ed:154; SC:10-11, 116; PP:69; PK:311). God's defense has been both passive and active. It has been passive in that He has allowed time to proceed so that the effect of Satan's principles could be seen for all their suicidal destructiveness (DA:759; PP:39-42). But God did more than wait. He has actively revealed His character and trustworthiness in many ways (Heb.1:1,2) so that all inhabitants of the universe can make up their minds as to who has been right in the awful controversy (ST:Dec. 30, 1889, Jan. 20, 1889) and so the universe can be restored to its original, perfect union with God. The responsibility of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to make known God's side of the controversy. This story, in its fullest extent, is the "everlasting gospel" that the angels of Revelation 14 have been endeavoring to proclaim since 1844.
In #17 we will focus on Satan's strategy and primary target in the Great Controversy.
In our last segment we stated that the uniqueness of Adventist theology is not primarily found in some particular aspect of its theology. Rather, it lies in its overall understanding of the Bible's central message, which Adventists call The Great Controversy theme. This theme became the integrating principle that Ellen White called "the perfect chain of truth in the angels' messages" (Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, pp. 165, 166). At the core of those messages was the sanctuary doctrine which became the microcosm of the plan of salvation that opened "to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious." (The Great Controversy, p. 423). In an 1890 Review article, she wrote that we are "not left in uncertainty" because Adventists had developed "a complete system of faith" (July 22, 1890). By 1894, Ellen White could write: "The truth for this time is broad in its outlines, far reaching, embracing many doctrines; but these doctrines are not detached items, which mean little; they are united by golden threads, forming a complete whole, with Christ as the living center." (Selected Messages, book 2, p. 87).
I am profoundly awed with these thoughts. They help explain why Adventists are not embarrassed by what some mistakenly describe as contradictions in their whole range of biblical doctrine. In segments to come, we will examine (ever so briefly) each of these links in that "perfect chain of truth." Each link helps us to understand better the right picture of God and why Jesus came to this earth. We will find again that Adventist doctrine, rightly understood, transcends the historical tensions that too often separate honest, sincere church members. For example we will see how The Great Controversy theme brings together those who may have emphasized justification more than sanctification and vice versa. Of all people on earth, we should be the clearest exponents of the joy of salvation that all believers may claim through the righteousness of Jesus without diminishing for a moment God's claim on us to be (and act like) His sons and daughters.
In segment #18, we will look at some examples of how The Great Controversy supplies an Adventist texture to basic biblical doctrines.