Ambassador of Christ (30)

     Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the phrase . . .

            A M B A S S A D O R    O F    C H R I S T          (  3  RELAted  PHRASES )     

     The  phrase  'Ambassador of Christ'  appears  30  times in the writings of EGW       See page on Original site            Related Phrases:     Christ's Ambassador ( 64 )   - -   Ambassador for Christ  ( 16 )  

   "The true ambassador of Christ is in perfect union with Him whom he represents, and his engrossing object is the salvation of souls. The wealth of earth dwindles into insignificance when compared with the worth of a single soul for whom our Lord and Master died. He who weigheth the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance, regards a human soul as of infinite value."  Gospel Workers, page 71.2 (1892)  also  4T, 261.2

 

 
  "The faithful ambassador of Christ is not ashamed of the banner of truth. He does not cease from proclaiming the truth, however unpopular it may be. In all places, in season, out of season, he heralds the glad tidings of salvation. Missionaries for God are called to face dangers, endure privations, and suffer reproach for the truth's sake, yet amid dangers, hardships, and reproach they are still to hold the banner aloft."   Reflecting Christ, page 347.2  { 20MR 43.6 } 
 
  "No sooner are erratic ideas started in his mind than Brother D begins to lose faith and to question the work of the Spirit which has been manifested among us for so many years. He is not a man who will entertain what he believes to be special light without imparting it to others; therefore it is not safe to give him influence that will enable him to unsettle other minds. It is opening a door through which Satan will rush in many errors to divert the mind from the importance of the truth for this time. Brethren, as an ambassador of Christ I warn you to beware of these side issues, whose tendency is to divert the mind from the truth. Error is never harmless. It never sanctifies, but always brings confusion and dissension. It is always dangerous. The enemy has great power over minds that are not thoroughly fortified by prayer and established in Bible truth."   {5T 292.2}  { CW 46.2}

 

 
  Elder Daniels, I am your friend because I tell you the truth. You are engaged in a solemn work, and as an ambassador of Christ, I desire that you should make no failure, but give full proof of your ministry. Pray much, my brother; talk less. Pray that you may be endowed with wisdom and courage necessary to accomplish the work, whatever it may be. Say before God, “I will do my duty with an eye single to Thy glory.”— Letter 10, 1888. { DG 206.4} 
 
  It is our privilege to pray with the sick, to help them to grasp the cord of faith. Angels of God are very near to those who thus minister to suffering humanity. The consecrated ambassador of Christ who, when appealed to by the sick, seeks to fasten their attention upon divine realities, is accomplishing a work that will endure throughout eternity. And as he approaches the sick with the comfort of a hope gained through faith in Christ and acceptance of the divine promises, his own experience becomes richer and still richer in spiritual strength. { GW 213.2} 
 
  He who is engaged in the work of the gospel ministry must be faithful in his family life. It is as essential that as a father he should improve the talents God has given him for the purpose of making the home a symbol of the heavenly family, as that in the work of the ministry, he should make use of his God-given powers to win souls for the church. As the priest in the home, and as the ambassador of Christ in the church, he should exemplify in his life the character of Christ. He must be faithful in watching for souls as one that must give an account. In his service there must be seen no carelessness and inattentive work. God will not serve with the sins of men who have not a clear sense of the sacred responsibility involved in accepting a position as pastor of a church. He who fails to be a faithful, discerning shepherd in the home, will surely fail of being a faithful shepherd of the flock of God in the church.— Manuscript Releases 6:49. { PaM 88.3} 
  He who is engaged in the work of the gospel ministry must be faithful in his family life. It is as essential that as a father he should improve the talents God has given him for the purpose of making the home a symbol of the heavenly family, as that in the work of the ministry he should make use of his God-given powers to win souls for the church. As the priest in the home, and as the ambassador of Christ in the church, he should exemplify in his life the character of Christ. He must be faithful in watching for souls as one that must give an account. { RC 179.3} 
 
  I have no ill will toward those who are seeking to make of none effect the message which God has given to reprove, warn, and encourage His people. But as the ambassador of Christ, I must stand in defense of the truth. Who are those that so zealously array themselves against me? Are they the pure and holy children of faith? Have they been born again? Are they partakers of the divine nature? Do they love Jesus, and manifest His spirit of meekness and humility? “By their fruits ye shall know them” ( Matthew 7:20). Do they resemble the early disciples, or those cunning scribes and Pharisees who were constantly watching to entrap Christ in His words? Notice the sharp practice of those ancient opposers of the faith — how lawyers, priests, scribes, and rulers combined to find something against Him who was the light of the world. { 1SM 71.3} 

       

  "The work in which we have a common interest is great; and efficient, willing, burden-bearing laborers are few indeed. God will give you strength, my brother, if you will move forward and wait upon Him. He will give my husband and myself strength in our united labor, if we do all to His glory, according to our ability and strength to labor. You should be located where you would have a more favorable opportunity to exercise your gift according to the ability that God has given you. You should lean your whole weight upon God and give Him an opportunity to teach, lead, and impress you. You feel a deep interest in the work and cause of God, and you should look to Him for light and guidance. He will give you light. But, as an ambassador of Christ. you are required to be faithful, to correct wrong in meekness and love, and your efforts will not prove unavailing."  {3T 16.1}
 
  You may intelligently believe the truth, but the work is still before you to bring every action of your life and every emotion of your heart into harmony with your faith. The prayer of Christ for His disciples just prior to His crucifixion was: “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.” The influence of the truth should affect not merely the understanding, but the heart and life. Genuine, practical religion will lead its possessor to control his affections. His external conduct should be sanctified through the truth. I assure you before God that you are seriously deficient in practical piety. Ministers should not assume the responsibility of teachers of the people, in imitation of Christ, the great Exemplar, unless they are sanctified to the great work, that they may be ensamples to the flock of God. An unsanctified minister can do incalculable harm. While professing to be the ambassador of Christ, his example will be copied by others; and if he lacks the true characteristics of a Christian, his faults and deficiencies will be reproduced in them. { 4T 371.4} 
 
  "It is the duty of every true follower of Christ to reflect light to the world. God has laid upon us a responsibility for the souls of those who are unsaved. As an ambassador of Christ, I would tell you, brethren, that if you talked more of the merits of Christ, if you engaged more frequently in humble prayer, and said less to your brethren of the weaknesses of others, you would advance in spirituality and be far ahead of where you now are. You must give the precious plant of love some chance to grow. Jesus has said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Jesus told the disciples to tarry at Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from on high. "Without me," he said again, "ye can do nothing." But Paul declares, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."   {RH, July 22, 1890 par. 14} 
 
  The work of the faithful minister is no child’s play: earnest, untiring effort is required to wrench the prey from the hands of the enemy. But God will sustain his servants in the work that he himself has committed to their hands. Whatever the trials and difficulties that the ambassador of Christ may have to meet, it is his privilege to carry them all to God in prayer. He can weep between the porch and the altar, pleading, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.” And by the study of the Scriptures, and earnest, wrestling prayer, he may become “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” { RH April 23, 1908, par. 1 }
           Separate page with phrases about  Christ's ambassadors

 

                               E V E R Y    A M B A S S A D O R    O F    C H R I S T                                                   

 
  The work of every ambassador of Christ is to bear witness to the light. He is not to take Christ’s place, but to reveal Christ to the world, to show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. God has sent his ministers out as his standard-bearers. They are to point to Jesus who taketh away the sin of the world. They are not to awaken the sympathy of the people for themselves, but to carry their sympathies above themselves to the precious object of their praise and reverence, that they may lead the people to love Christ and him crucified. If, through the grace of Christ, you have caught some beams of the light of truth as it is in Jesus, do not place yourself upon the pinnacle; do not think that you have caught all the rays of light, and that there is no increased illumination to come to our world. { RH May 27, 1890, par. 7 }

 

 
  Those who do not walk in all faith and purity, find the thought of coming into the presence of God a thought of terror. They do not love to think or speak of God. They say in heart and by their actions, “Depart from us, O God; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” But through faith in Christ, the true Christian knows the mind and will of God. He understands by a living experience something of the length and depth and breadth and height of the love of God that passeth knowledge. The soul that loves God, loves to draw strength from him by constant communion with him. When it becomes the habit of the soul to converse with God, the power of the evil one is broken; for Satan cannot abide near the soul that draws nigh unto God. If Christ is your companion, you will not cherish vain and impure thoughts; you will not indulge in trifling words that will grieve Him who has come to be the sanctifier of your soul. Let every ambassador of Christ cherish pure thoughts, speak refined words, and manifest a courteous behavior toward all with whom he comes in contact. The truth of God never degrades the receiver. The influence of the truth upon him who accepts it, will tend constantly to his elevation. It will not make him coarse and rough in thought, in word, in dress or deportment. Those who are sanctified through the truth, are living recommendation of its power, and representatives of their risen Lord. The religion of Christ will refine the taste, sanctify the judgment, elevate, purify, and ennoble the soul, making the Christian more and more fit for the society of the heavenly angels. { RH December 3, 1889, par. 4 }
 
  From the beginning of my labor with pen and voice, my greatest fear has been that I should make altogether too feeble efforts in seeking to set forth Christ crucified among you. I have never feared that I should place the subject before you in too strong a light. Every line my pen has traced, has been unsatisfactory because of the feebleness of my language to unfold the wonderful theme of redemption. My expressions have fallen far below the magnitude of the subject. The pen of man, the tongue of an angel, can never adequately describe the love of God as manifested in Christ. We see through a glass darkly; we have but dim and imperfect glimpses of him who is the expression of his Father’s glory. Oh, that every worker in the cause of God might have a practical experience in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Oh, that every ambassador of Christ might raise his hands, as did John, and say to the people, not with lips only, but with heart and soul, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” { ST August 18, 1890, par. 5 }
 
  The work of every ambassador of Christ is to bear witness to the light. He is not to take Christ’s place, but to reveal Christ to the world, to show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. God has sent his ministers out as his standard-bearers. They are to point to Jesus who taketh away the sin of the world. They are not to awaken the sympathy of the people for themselves, but to carry their sympathies above themselves to the precious object of their praise and reverence, that they may lead the people to love Christ and him crucified. If, through the grace of Christ, you have caught some beams of the light of truth as it is in Jesus, do not place yourself upon the pinnacle; do not think that you have caught all the rays of light, and that there is no increased illumination to come to our world.{ 1888 673.7 } 

 

                Return  to  Selected Quotations by EGW  page

Related Information

EGW Quotes-Christ Apart from Christ (68) Christ's (portal page) Come to Christ (314) Contemplation of Christ (26) Jesus (portal page) Second Advent of Christ (40) Suffer for Christ (67) Ambassador for Christ (16) Christ's ambassadors (64)