The Most Expensive Robe

Nice clothing too often defines the rich by worldly standards. Some people say, “I dress this way to express who I am.” But in heaven, everything other than our relationships will fade away (Matt. 6:19–21, NKJV). Our personal identity should be wrapped up in Jesus and His perfect robe of righteousness.

Jesus called the man without a robe “friend,” and despite his lack of response, they must have had a relationship. The man must have known about the robe but had chosen not to wear it. Jesus’ character is perfect and spotless, and He offers it to us that His church “should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white” (Rev. 19:8), “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Eph. 5:27).

The white linen “is the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character, that through faith is imparted to all who receive Him as their personal Saviour.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 310.

Adam and Eve wore a white robe of soft light before they sinned; after they sinned, they realized they were naked (Gen. 3:7) and made clothing of fig leaves. Then God replaced their fig leaves with clothing made of animal skins. There was a sacrifice that produced their garment. In a similar way, we accept Jesus’ sacrifice by accepting His robe of righteousness. “Naked and ashamed, they tried to supply the place of the heavenly garments by sewing together fig leaves for covering. . . . Nothing can man devise to supply the place of his lost robe of innocence. No fig-leaf garment, no worldly citizen dress, can be worn by those who sit down with Christ and angels at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Only the covering which Christ Himself has provided can make us meet to appear in God’s presence. This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 311.

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Additional Reading: Selected Quotes from Ellen G. White

When a man turns away from human imperfections and beholds Jesus, a divine transformation takes place in his character. He fixes his eye upon Christ as on a mirror which reflects the glory of God, and by beholding he becomes changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. . . .
Turn your eyes from the imperfections of others and fix them steadfastly on Christ. With a contrite heart, study His life and character. You need not only to be more enlightened, but quickened, that you may see the banquet that is before you, and eat and drink the flesh and blood of the Son of God, which is His Word. By tasting the good Word of Life, by feeding on the Bread of Life, you may see the power of a world to come, and be created anew in Christ Jesus. If you receive His gifts you will be renewed unto holiness, and His grace will bring forth in you fruit unto the glory of God.
The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to the mind, and faith takes hold of Him. If you accept Christ as your personal Saviour, you will know by experience the value of the great sacrifice made in your behalf upon the cross of Calvary. The Spirit of Christ working upon the heart conforms it to His image, for Christ is the model upon which the Spirit works. By the ministry of His Word, by His providences, by His inward working, God stamps the likeness of Christ upon the soul.
To possess Christ is your first work, and to reveal Him as One who is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him is your next work. To serve the Lord with full purpose of heart is to honor and glorify His name by dwelling upon holy things, by having a mind filled with the vital truths revealed in His Holy Word. . . .
Goodness, meekness, gentleness, patience, and love are the attributes of Christ’s character. If you have the spirit of Christ, your character will be molded after His character.—That I May Know Him, p. 94.

True sanctification unites believers to Christ and to one another in the bonds of tender sympathy. This union causes to flow continually into the heart rich currents of Christlike love, which flows forth again in love for one another.
The qualities which it is essential for all to possess are those which marked the completeness of Christ’s character—His love, His patience, His unselfishness, and His goodness. . . .
It is the greatest and most fatal deception to suppose that a man can have faith unto life eternal, without possessing Christlike love for his brethren. He who loves God and his neighbor is filled with light and love. God is in him and all around him. Christians love those around them as precious souls for whom Christ has died. There is no such thing as a loveless Christian, for “God is love.”—This Day With God, p. 272.