The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 8

and not of human composition. But the Bible, with its God-given truths
expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the divine and the
human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the Son of
God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the Bible, as it was of Christ,
that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1:14.
Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and
occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the
Bible present a wide contrast in style, as well as a diversity in the nature
of the subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are employed by
different writers; often the same truth is more strikingly presented by one
than by another. And as several writers present a subject under varied
aspects and relations, there may appear, to the superficial, careless,
or prejudiced reader, to be discrepancy or contradiction, where the
thoughtful, reverent student, with clearer insight, discerns the underlying
harmony.
As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out in
its varied aspects. One writer is more strongly impressed with one phase
of the subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his experience
or with his power of perception and appreciation; another seizes upon a
different phase; and each, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presents
what is most forcibly impressed upon his own mind—a different aspect
of the truth in each, but a perfect harmony through all. And the truths
thus revealed unite to form a perfect whole, adapted to meet the wants
of men in all the circumstances and experiences of life.
God has been pleased to communicate His truth to the world by
human agencies, and He Himself, by His Holy Spirit, qualified men and
enabled them to do this work. He guided the mind in the selection of
what to speak and what to write. The treasure was entrusted to earthen
vessels, yet it is, nonetheless, from Heaven. The testimony is