Some of the servants of God have given up their lives to spend and be spent for the cause of God, until their constitutions are broken down, and they are almost worn out with mental labor, incessant care, toil, and privations. Others have not had and would not take the burden upon them. Yet just such ones think they have a hard time, because they have never experienced hardships. They never have been baptized into the suffering part, and never will be as long as they manifest so much weakness and so little fortitude, and love their ease so well. From what God has shown me, there needs to be a scourging among the ministers, that the slothful, dilatory, and self-caring ones may be scourged out, and there remain a pure, faithful, and self-sacrificing company who will not study their ease, but will minister faithfully in word and doctrine, willing to suffer and endure all things for Christ's sake, and to save those for whom He died. Let these servants feel the woe upon them if they preach …
"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved."
The phrase 'spend and be spent' is a direct allusion to 2 Corinthians 12:15. EGW uses this phrase in the context of ministers sacrificing themselves for the cause of God, mirroring Paul's sentiment in the verse.
"For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;"
Both passages connect belief in Christ with the willingness to suffer for His sake. The EGW passage speaks of ministers who are 'willing to suffer and endure all things for Christ's sake,' while Philippians 1:29 states that it is given to believers not only to believe but also to suffer for Christ. The connection is thematic, highlighting the cost of discipleship.
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
The EGW passage directly echoes the call to self-denial and sacrifice found in Matthew 16:24, applying it specifically to ministers. The concept of 'taking up the cross' is reflected in the willingness to 'suffer and endure all things for Christ's sake.'