"“They which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 . In the warfare in which we are engaged, all may win who will discipline themselves by obedience to right principles. The practice of these principles in the details of life is too often looked upon as unimportant—a matter too trivial to demand attention. But in view of the issues at stake, nothing with which we have to do is small. Every act casts its weight into the scale that determines life's victory or defeat. The scripture bids us, “So run, that ye may obtain.” Verse 24 . MH 129.1"
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain."
Ellen White directly references 1 Corinthians 9:24 in this passage.
"With our first parents, intemperate desire resulted in the loss of Eden. Temperance in all things has more to do with our restoration to Eden than men realize. MH 129.2"
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
The EGW passage directly connects the intemperate desire of Adam and Eve (as described in Genesis 3:6) to the loss of Eden and contrasts it with the importance of temperance for restoration. This is a clear thematic parallel.
"The progress of reform depends upon a clear recognition of fundamental truth. While, on the one hand, danger lurks in a narrow philosophy and a hard, cold orthodoxy, on the other hand there is great danger in a careless liberalism. The foundation of all enduring reform is the law of God. We are to present in clear, distinct lines the need of obeying this law. Its principles must be kept before the people. They are as everlasting and inexorable as God Himself. MH 129.4"
"Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth."
Both passages emphasize the enduring nature of God's law. EGW connects it to reform, while the Psalm speaks of its everlasting righteousness. The connection is thematic and supports the idea of the law's permanence.
"Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."
The EGW passage emphasizes the enduring nature of God's law as the foundation for reform, which aligns with the sentiment in Psalm 119:160 about the everlasting truth and judgments of God's word. The connection is a direct principle.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
EGW's statement about the law being the foundation of reform aligns with Jesus' declaration in Matthew 5:17 that he did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. Both emphasize the importance and continuation of the law.
"One of the most deplorable effects of the original apostasy was the loss of man's power of self-control. Only as this power is regained can there be real progress. MH 129.5"
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
The EGW passage directly addresses the loss of self-control as a consequence of the original sin described in Genesis 3:6, where Eve's choice demonstrates a lack of self-control. The passage amplifies the concept of the loss of self-control stemming from the original sin.