Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Romans 5:12.

When our first parents were placed in the beautiful garden of Eden, they were tested in regard to their loyalty to God. They were free to choose the service of God, or by disobedience to ally themselves with the enemy of God and man…. If they disregard God’s commands, and listened to the voice of Satan, as he spoke through the serpent, they would not only forfeit their claim to Eden, but to life itself.^{15Bible Echo, July 24, 1899 (The Signs of the Times, May 12, 1890).}

The first great moral lesson given Adam was that of self-denial. The reins of self-government were placed in his hands. Judgment, reason, and conscience were to bear sway….

Adam and Eve were permitted to partake of every tree in the Garden save one. There was only a single prohibition. The forbidden tree was as attractive and lovely as any of the trees in the Garden. It was called the tree of knowledge, because in partaking of that tree, of which God had said, “Thou shalt not eat of it,” (Genesis 2:17) they would have a knowledge of sin, an experience in disobedience.^{16The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874.}

With what intense interest the whole universe watched the conflict that was to decide the position of Adam and Eve. How attentively the angels listened to the words of Satan, the originator of sin, as he … sought to make of none effect the law of God through his deceptive reasoning! How anxiously they waited to see if the holy pair would be deluded by the tempter, and yield to his arts! They asked themselves, Will the holy pair transfer their faith and love from the Father and Son to Satan? Will they accept his falsehoods as truth? ^{17S.D.A. Bible Commentary 1:1083.}

Adam and Eve persuaded themselves that in so small a matter as eating of the forbidden fruit, there could not result such terrible consequences as God had declared. But this small matter was sin, the transgression of God’s immutable and holy law, and it opened the floodgates of death and untold woe upon our world…. Let us not esteem sin as a trivial thing.^{18The Review and Herald, March 27, 1888.}

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And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26, 27.

After the earth was created, and the beasts upon it, the Father and Son carried out their purpose, which was designed before the fall of Satan, to make man in their own image. They had wrought together in the creation of the earth and every living thing upon it. And now God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image.” ^{13The Story of Redemption, 20, 21.}

Adam and Eve came forth from the hand of their Creator in the perfection of every physical, mental, and spiritual endowment. God planted for them a garden and surrounded them with everything lovely and attractive to the eye, and that which their physical necessities required….

The holy pair looked upon nature as a picture of unsurpassed loveliness. The brown earth was clothed with a carpet of living green, diversified with an endless variety of self-propagating, self-perpetuating flowers. Shrubs, flowers, and trailing vines regaled the senses with their beauty and fragrance. The many varieties of lofty trees were laden with fruit of every kind and of delicious flavor….

Adam and Eve could trace the skill and glory of God in every spire of grass and in every shrub and flower. The natural loveliness which surrounded them, like a mirror reflected the wisdom, excellence, and love of their heavenly Father. And their songs of affection and praise rose sweetly and reverentially to heaven, harmonizing with the songs of the exalted angels, and with the happy birds who were caroling forth their music without a care. There was no disease, decay, nor death anywhere. Life, life was in everything the eye rested upon. The atmosphere was impregnated with life….

Adam could reflect that he was created in the image of God, to be like Him in righteousness and holiness. His mind was capable of continual cultivation, expansion, refinement and noble elevation, for God was his teacher, and angels were his companions.^{14The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874.}

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Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58.

I AM means an eternal presence; the past, present, and future are alike with God. He sees the most remote events of past history and the far distant future with as clear a vision as we do those things which are transpiring daily. We know not what is before us, and if we did, it would not contribute to our eternal welfare. God gives us an opportunity to exercise faith and trust in the great I AM…. Our Saviour says, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). Fifteen hundred years before Christ laid off His royal robe, His kingly crown, and left His position of honor in the heavenly courts, assumed humanity, and walked a man among the children of men, Abraham saw His day, and was glad. “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (verses 57, 58)….

Christ was using the great name of God that was given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence. [See Exodus 3:14.] Isaiah also saw Christ, and his prophetic words are full of significance. He says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Speaking through him, the Lord says, “I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour…. Fear not: for I am with thee…. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour…. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he…. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King” (Isaiah 43:3-15)…. When Jesus came to our world, He proclaimed Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6)….

The Lord must be believed and served as the great “I AM,” and we must trust implicitly in Him.^{12Letter 119, 1895.}

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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3.

Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,—one in nature, in character, in purpose,—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” His “goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting…. When he appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by him, as one brought up with him” (Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; Proverbs 8:22-30).

The Father wrought by His Son in the creation of all heavenly beings. “By him were all things created, … whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1:16). Angels are God’s ministers, radiant with the light ever flowing from His presence, and speeding on rapid wing to execute His will. But the Son, the anointed of God, the “express image of his person,” “the brightness of his glory,” “upholding all things by the word of his power,” holds supremacy over them all (Hebrews 1:3).^{10Patriarchs and Prophets, 34.}

Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense…. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right….

There are light and glory in the truth that Christ was one with the Father before the foundation of the world was laid. This is the light shining in a dark place, making it resplendent with divine, original glory.^{11Selected Messages 1:247.}

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To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27.

There are many mysteries in the Word of God that we do not comprehend, and many of us are content to stop our investigation when we have just begun to receive a little knowledge concerning Christ. When there begins to be a little unfolding of the divine purposes to the mind, and we begin to obtain a slight knowledge of the character of God, we become satisfied and think that we have received about all the light that there is for us in the Word of God. But the truth of God is infinite. With painstaking effort we should work in the mines of truth, discovering the precious jewels that have been hidden…. Jesus meant just what He said when He directed His disciples to “search the Scriptures” (John 5:39). Searching means to compare scripture with scripture, and spiritual things with spiritual. We should not be satisfied with a superficial knowledge.^{7The Review and Herald, June 4, 1889.}

We do not half realize what the Lord is willing to do for His people…. Our petitions, mingled with faith and contrition, should go up to God for an understanding of the mysteries that God would make known to His saints…. An angel’s pen could not portray all the glory of the revealed plan of redemption. The Bible tells how Christ bore our sins and carried our sorrows. Here is revealed how mercy and truth have met together at the cross of Calvary, how righteousness and peace have kissed each other, how the righteousness of Christ may be imparted to fallen man. There infinite wisdom, infinite justice, infinite mercy, and infinite love were displayed. Depths, heights, lengths, and breadths of love and wisdom, all passing knowledge, are made known in the plan of salvation.^8Ibid.

He who desires the truth in his heart, who longs for the working of its powers upon the life and character, will be sure to have it. Says the Saviour, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).^9Ibid.

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