Foreword

“Christ declared that after His ascension, He would send to His church, as His crowning gift, the Comforter, who was to take His place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit—the soul of His life, the efficacy of his church, the light and life of the world. With His Spirit Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power that takes away sin.

“In the gift of the Spirit, Jesus gave to man the highest good that heaven could bestow. . . .

“It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon the church.”—The Review and Herald, May 19, 1904.

“It is the life of Jesus Christ in the soul, it is the active principle of love imparted by the Holy Spirit, that alone will make the soul fruitful unto good works.”—Life Sketches, p. 327.

As we study the Sabbath school lessons this quarter, let us cooperate with the Holy Spirit and surrender our hearts completely to His control. As the Spirit works upon our hearts, we will be drawn closer to one another, and we will want to share the blessings we have received. May the Lord help us to wholeheartedly unite with our brethren in asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to go before us in spreading the good news of Jesus’ soon coming.

“The dispensation in which we are now living is to be, to those that ask, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Ask for his blessing. It is time we were more intense in our devotion. To us is committed the arduous, but happy, glorious work of revealing Christ to those who are in darkness. We are called to proclaim the special truths for this time. For all this the outpouring of the Spirit is essential. We should pray for it. The Lord expects us to ask Him. We have not been whole hearted in this work.”—The Review and Herald, March 2, 1897.

“At every meeting we attend our prayers should ascend, that at this very time God will impart warmth and moisture to our souls. As we seek God for the Holy Spirit, it will work in us meekness, humbleness of mind, a conscious dependence upon God for the perfecting latter rain. If we pray for the blessing in faith, we shall receive it as God has promised.”—Testimonies to Ministers, p. 509.

The General Conference Sabbath School Department