March 30, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Ted Wilson (TW): Hello, friends! Today we continue our journey through the wonderful book, The Great Controversy, by Ellen G. White. If you are just joining us, I encourage you to download this marvelous book at thegreatcontroversyproject.org [Insert: thegreatcontroversyproject.org] where it is available free and in multiple languages.
Today we will be look at the early part of the life of Ulric Zwingli, as highlighted in chapter 9, titled “The Swiss Reformer.”
Nancy Wilson (NW): Just a few weeks after Martin Luther was born in a miner’s cabin in Germany, Ulric Zwingli was born in a herdsman’s cottage in the beautiful Swiss alps. Growing up among the breathtaking scenery of the lofty mountains and stunning beauty of the alpine meadows, Zwingli’s young mind was impressed with a sense of the greatness, power, and majesty of God. Along with these magnificent scenes, the young boy was blessed to have a devoted grandmother who shared with him inspiring Bible stories that she had carefully gleaned over the years. These stories made a big impression on Ulric.
TW: It was clear early on that Zwingli had a keen mind, and at the age of 13 he was sent to study in the city of Bern where the most distinguished school in Switzerland was located. The young teen soon distinguished himself with his natural ability as a speaker and writer, and his genius for music and poetry. This attracted the attention of the Dominican and Franciscan friars who tried luring Zwingli to join their monasteries and become a monk. Fortunately, Zwingli’s father received word of the friars’ intentions and directed his son to return home immediately.
NW: Zwingli obeyed his father and came home at once. After a time, however, he continued his studies, this time in the city of Basel. And it was here that Zwingli first heard about God’s marvelous grace.
TW: One of his teachers, named Wittembach, who taught ancient languages, had been led to the Holy Scriptures while studying Greek and Hebrew. Through his own study, he discovered for himself the truth of the gospel. He shared this divine light with his students, declaring that “there was a truth more ancient, and of infinitely greater worth, than the theories taught by schoolmen and philosophers. This ancient truth,” he told his students, “was that the death of Christ is the sinner’s only ransom” (The Great Controversy, p. 173).
NW: The young scholar’s heart thrilled with this good news, and he carried these thoughts with him as he completed his studies. Although ordained as a priest, Zwingli continued searching for divine truth. We read in The Great Controversy that “He submitted himself to the Bible as the word of God, the only sufficient, infallible rule. He saw that it must be its own interpreter” (The Great Controversy, p. 173).
TW: Continuing on, we read: “He dared not attempt to explain Scripture to sustain a pre-conceived theory or doctrine, but held it his duty to learn what is its direct and obvious teaching. He . . . invoked the aid of the Holy Spirit, which would, he declared, reveal it to all who sought it in sincerity and with prayer” (The Great Controversy, p. 173).
You see, friends, Zwingli was faced with a dilemma that many still are confronted with today; that is, believing the sophistry offered by the world or relying on the pure word of God.
In the time of Luther and Zwingli, it was commonly taught that only the highly educated, and the Roman Church itself, was able to interpret the Bible for the common people. And today, some assert that it is only the highly educated who can truly understand and interpret the Bible, and that it is just simple-minded folk who accept the Bible as it reads. And yet, the entire Reformation was built upon the plain reading of God’s Word.
NW: Describing his own experience, Zwingli wrote: “When . . . I began to give myself wholly up to the Holy Scriptures, philosophy and theology would always keep suggesting quarrels to me. At last I came to this, and I thought, ‘Thou must let all that lie, and learn the meaning of God purely out of His own simple word.’ Then I began to ask God for His light, and the Scriptures began to be much easier to me” (The Great Controversy, p. 174).
TW: Friends, as Seventh-day Adventists, we, along with the many great Reformers such as Martin Luther, Ulric Zwingli, and more, accept the Bible as it reads, asking for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, comparing Scripture with Scripture, and allowing it to interpret itself. We see it as a light shining in the darkness. As we read in Psalm 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
NW: The Bible is the foundation of all our beliefs. In fact, our first Fundamental Belief states: “The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration. The inspired authors spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to humanity the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the supreme, authoritative, and the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the definitive revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God’s acts in history.”
TW: My brothers and sisters, now is the time, more than ever, to lean upon God’s Word. Now is the time to prayerfully study it, meditate upon it, and follow it, just as the early Reformers did. God is calling us today to be grounded in His Word, and to boldly share His truth with a world that is in desperate need of His light.
I invite you to pray with us just now.
Father in Heaven, Thank you for bestowing upon us down through the centuries is the inspired Word of God. These 66 books of incredible instruction, reproof, correction, admonition and hope are the foundation upon which we base our understanding of you. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who helps us to understand the Bible. We thank you for the time proven method of verse upon verse, line upon line, precept upon precept, allowing the Bible to interpret itself. We thank you that we can read the Bible and accept it as we read it. Your promises are sure your prophecies are absolutely rock solid, and your counsel to us is infallible. Thank you, Lord, for the Word of God. Help us to read it, to promote it, to share it, and to believe in Jesus name, we ask it. Amen.