Perfect! I found the exact statement you referenced. Ellen White wrote:
"In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. 'He that hath the Son hath life.' 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life." (
DA 530.3)
This profound statement appears in *The Desire of Ages* in the context of Jesus's conversation with Martha before raising Lazarus from the dead. Ellen White uses this declaration to emphasize Christ's divine nature and His authority over life and death.
The full context shows that Jesus was explaining to Martha that He is "the resurrection, and the life," and Ellen White elaborates that this life in Christ is:
- **Original** - not derived from another source
- **Unborrowed** - not obtained from elsewhere
- **Underived** - inherent to His divine nature
She connects this to the promise that "He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die" (
DA 530.3), showing that Christ's inherent, divine life is the foundation of our hope for eternal life.
This statement is one of Ellen White's clearest affirmations of Christ's full divinity - that life exists in Him by His very nature, not as something granted or received, but as an essential attribute of His divine being.