"With us as parents and as Christians it rests to give our children right direction. They are to be carefully, wisely, tenderly guided into paths of Christlike ministry. We are under sacred covenant with God to rear our children for His service. To surround them with such influences as shall lead them to choose a life of service, and to give them the training needed, is our first duty. MH 396.3"
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6 is a well-known verse about training children, and EGW's statement directly echoes this principle, emphasizing the importance of guiding children in the right way from a young age.
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Both passages emphasize the responsibility of parents to teach and guide their children in spiritual matters. Deuteronomy 6:7 provides the command to teach diligently, while EGW elaborates on the direction and purpose of that teaching.
"“God so loved, ... that He gave,” “gave His only-begotten Son,” that we should not perish, but have everlasting life. “Christ ... hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us.” If we love we shall give. “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister” is the great lesson which we are to learn and to teach. John 3:16 ; Ephesians 5:2 ; Matthew 20:28 . MH 396.4"
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Ellen White directly references John 3:16 in this passage.
"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."
Ellen White directly references Ephesians 5:2 in this passage.
"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Ellen White directly references Matthew 20:28 in this passage.
"Let the youth be impressed with the thought that they are not their own. They belong to Christ. They are the purchase of His blood, the claim of His love. They live because He keeps them by His power. Their time, their strength, their capabilities are His, to be developed, to be trained, to be used for Him. MH 396.5"
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."
EGW's statement directly alludes to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, particularly the phrases 'you are not your own' and 'bought with a price.' The concept of belonging to Christ and being purchased by His blood is central to both passages.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Both passages discuss dedicating oneself to God. Romans 12:1 calls for presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, while EGW emphasizes that our time, strength, and capabilities belong to Christ. The theme of offering oneself to God is present in both.