Now let us reason a moment upon this point. All these gifts were given for the perfecting of the saints in unity, knowledge, and spirit. Under their influence the primitive church for a time enjoyed that unity: “The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.” And it seems a natural consequence of this state of unity, that “with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: And great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:31-33 . How desirable such a state of things now! But apostasy with its dividing and blighting influence marred the beauty of the fair church and clothed her in sackcloth. Division and disorder have been the result. Never was there so great a diversity of faith in Christendom as at the present day. If the gifts were necessary to preserve the unity of the primitive church, how much more so to restore unity now! And that it is the purpose of God to restore the unity of the church in the last days, is abundantly evident fro…
"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all."
Ellen White directly references Acts 4:31-33 in this passage.
"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common."
EGW uses Acts 4:32 to illustrate the unity of the early church, which she contrasts with the disunity of her time, arguing for the continued need for spiritual gifts.
From considerations like these, it is evident that the perfect state of the church here predicted is still in the future; consequently these gifts have not yet accomplished their purpose. This letter to the Ephesians was written in A.D. 64, about two years before Paul told Timothy that he was ready to be offered, and the time of his departure was at hand. The seeds of the apostasy were now germinating in the church, for Paul had said ten years before, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, “The mystery of iniquity doth already work.” Grievous wolves were now about to enter in, not sparing the flock. The church was not then rising and advancing to that perfection in unity contemplated in the text, but was about to be torn by factions and distracted by divisions. The apostle knew this; consequently he must have looked beyond the great apostasy, to the period of the gathering of the remnant of God's people, when he said, “Till we all come into [margin] the unity of the faith.” Ephesia…
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"
Ellen White directly references Ephesians 4:13 in this passage.
"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."
EGW directly quotes 2 Thessalonians 2:7 to support her argument about the apostasy already at work in Paul's time.