"“For my part, I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no farther than the instruments of their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; ... and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented; for though they were burning and shining lights in their time, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but were they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light as that which they first received.”—D. Neal, History of the Puritans 1:269 . GC 292.1"
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."
Both passages address the idea that understanding and revelation are progressive. The EGW passage (a quote from D. Neal) laments the reformed churches' unwillingness to move beyond the initial insights of their founders, while John 16:12 indicates that Jesus had more to teach his disciples but they were not yet ready to receive it. The connection is thematic and relevant.
"“Remember your church covenant, in which you have agreed to walk in all the ways of the Lord, made or to be made known unto you. Remember your promise and covenant with God and with one another, to receive whatever light and truth shall be made known to you from His written word; but withal, take heed, I beseech you, what you receive for truth, and compare it and weigh it with other scriptures of truth before you accept it; for it is not possible the Christian world should come so lately out of such thick antichristian darkness, and that full perfection of knowledge should break forth at once.”—Martyn, vol. 5, pp. 70, 71. GC 292.2"
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
The EGW passage, quoting Martyn, emphasizes the need to carefully evaluate new truth claims against existing scripture, which aligns with the principle of testing or proving all things in 1 Thessalonians 5:21.
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."
Both passages deal with receiving truth. John 16:13 speaks of the Holy Spirit guiding into all truth, while the EGW passage speaks of receiving light and truth from God's written word. The parallel lies in the idea of progressive revelation and the source of truth.
secure for themselves, they were not equally ready to grant to others. “Very few, even of the foremost thinkers and moralists of the seventeenth century, had any just conception of that grand principle, the outgrowth of the New Testament, which acknowledges God as the sole judge of human faith.”— Ibid. 5:297 . The doctrine that God has committed to the church the right to control the conscience, and to define and punish heresy, is one of the most deeply rooted of papal errors. While the Reformers rejected the creed of Rome, they were not entirely free from her spirit of intolerance. The dense darkness in which, through the long ages of her rule, popery had enveloped all Christendom, had not even yet been wholly dissipated. Said one of the leading ministers in the colony of Massachusetts Bay: “It was toleration that made the world antichristian; and the church never took harm by the punishment of heretics.”— Ibid., vol. 5, p. 335. The regulation was adopted by the colonists that only ch…
"Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand."
The EGW passage discusses the intolerance of the Reformers and the papal error of controlling conscience. Romans 14:4 directly addresses the principle of not judging another's servant, which aligns with the idea of not controlling another's conscience.
"But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren."
The EGW passage discusses the dangers of controlling conscience and defining heresy. Matthew 23:8 warns against taking titles of authority, emphasizing that Christ is the only Master. Both passages touch on the theme of avoiding hierarchical control and respecting individual conscience.