EGW WritingsGenesis 1
Ellen G. White
Read Genesis 1 in the BibleGenesis 1:1-27
Education
Chapter 14—Science and the Bible
Ed 129.1
Such a conclusion is wholly uncalled for. The Bible record is in harmony with itself and with the teaching of nature. Of the first day employed in the work of creation is given the record, “The evening and the morning were the first day.” Genesis 1:5. And the same in substance is said of each of the first six days of creation week. Each of these periods Inspiration declares to have been a day consisting of evening and morning, like every other day since that time. In regard to the work of creation itself the divine testimony is, “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:9. With Him who could thus call into existence unnumbered worlds, how long a time would be required for the evolution of the earth from chaos? In order to account for His works, must we do violence to His word?Ed 130.2
When consideration is given to man’s opportunities for research; how brief his life; how limited his sphere of action; how restricted his vision; how frequent and how great the errors in his conclusions, especially as concerns the events thought to antedate Bible history; how often the supposed deductions of science are revised or cast aside; with what readiness the assumed period of the earth’s development is from time to time increased or diminished by millions of years; and how the theories advanced by different scientists conflict with one another,—considering all this, shall we, for the privilege of tracing our descent from germs and mollusks and apes, consent to cast away that statement of Holy Writ, so grand in its simplicity, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him”? Genesis 1:27. Shall we reject that genealogical record,—prouder than any treasured in the courts of kings,—“which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God”? Luke 3:38.Ed 134.2
“In the beginning God.” Genesis 1:1. Here alone can the mind in its eager questioning, fleeing as the dove to the ark, find rest. Above, beneath, beyond, abides Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish “the good pleasure of His goodness.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11.Genesis 1:1-31
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
Ms 28, 1900
15LtMs, Ms 28, 1900, par. 21
“In the beginning” the Word states, “God created the heavens and the earth.” “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his works which God created and made.” [Genesis 1:1, 31; 2:1-3.] God has set us an example of what He wants us to do. He rested on the seventh day, sanctifying it and setting it apart as holy time.Daughters of God
Eve, Mother of All
DG 21.1
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6, 9. He “laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.” Psalm 104:5.As the earth came forth from the hand of its Maker, it was exceedingly beautiful.... The angelic host viewed the scene with delight, and rejoiced at the wonderful works of God.DG 21.2
After the earth with its teeming animal and vegetable life had been called into existence, man, the crowning work of the Creator, and the one for whom the beautiful earth had been fitted up, was brought upon the stage of action. To him was given dominion over all that his eye could behold; for “God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over ... all the earth.... So God created man in his own image, ... male and female created he them.” Here is clearly set forth the origin of the human race; and the divine record is so plainly stated that there is no occasion for erroneous conclusions. God created man in His own image. Here is no mystery. There is no ground for the supposition that man was evolved by slow degrees of development from the lower forms of animal or vegetable life. Such teaching lowers the great work of the Creator to the level of man’s narrow, earthly conceptions. Men are so intent upon excluding God from the sovereignty of the universe that they degrade man and defraud him of the dignity of his origin. He who set the starry worlds on high and tinted with delicate skill the flowers of the field, who filled the earth and the heavens with the wonders of His power, when He came to crown His glorious work, to place one in the midst to stand as ruler of the fair earth, did not fail to create a being worthy of the hand that gave him life. The genealogy of our race, as given by inspiration, traces back its origin, not to a line of developing germs, mollusks, and quadrupeds, but to the great Creator. Though formed from the dust, Adam was “the son of God”....DG 22.1
Man was to bear God’s image, both in outward resemblance and in character.... He was holy and happy in bearing the image of God and in perfect obedience to His will.DG 22.2
As man came forth from the hand of his Creator, he was of lofty stature and perfect symmetry. His countenance bore the ruddy tint of health and glowed with the light of life and joy. Adam’s height was much greater than that of men who now inhabit the earth. Eve was somewhat less in stature; yet her form was noble, and full of beauty. The sinless pair wore no artificial garments; they were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear. So long as they lived in obedience to God, this robe of light continued to enshroud them....DG 22.3
God Himself gave Adam a companion. He provided “an help meet for him”—a helper corresponding to him—one who was fitted to be his companion, and who could be one with him in love and sympathy. Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be loved and protected by him. A part of man, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, she was his second self, showing the close union and the affectionate attachment that should exist in this relation. “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it.” Ephesians 5:29. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one”....DG 23.1
The creation was now complete. “The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Eden bloomed on earth. Adam and Eve had free access to the tree of life. No taint of sin or shadow of death marred the fair creation. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7.DG 23.2
Our first parents, though created innocent and holy, were not placed beyond the possibility of wrongdoing. God made them free moral agents, capable of appreciating the wisdom and benevolence of His character and the justice of His requirements, and with full liberty to yield or to withhold obedience. They were to enjoy communion with God and with holy angels; but before they could be rendered eternally secure, their loyalty must be tested....DG 23.3
While they remained true to God, Adam and his companion were to bear rule over the earth. Unlimited control was given them over every living thing. The lion and the lamb sported peacefully around them or lay down together at their feet. The happy birds flitted about them without fear; and as their glad songs ascended to the praise of their Creator, Adam and Eve united with them in thanksgiving to the Father and the Son....DG 23.4
The angels had cautioned Eve to beware of separating herself from her husband while occupied in their daily labor in the garden; with him she would be in less danger from temptation than if she were alone. But absorbed in her pleasing task, she unconsciously wandered from his side.... She soon found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the forbidden tree. The fruit was very beautiful, and she questioned with herself why God had withheld it from them. Now was the tempter’s opportunity. As if he were able to discern the workings of her mind, he addressed her: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”....DG 24.1
The tempter intimated that the divine warning was not to be actually fulfilled; it was designed merely to intimidate them....DG 24.2
Eve really believed the words of Satan, but her belief did not save her from the penalty of sin. She disbelieved the words of God, and this was what led to her fall. In the judgment men will not be condemned because they conscientiously believed a lie, but because they did not believe the truth, because they neglected the opportunity of learning what is truth....DG 24.3
When she [Eve] “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.” It was grateful to the taste, and as she ate, she seemed to feel a vivifying power, and imagined herself entering upon a higher state of existence. Without a fear she plucked and ate. And now, having herself transgressed, she became the agent of Satan in working the ruin of her husband. In a state of strange, unnatural excitement, with her hands filled with the forbidden fruit, she sought his presence, and related all that had occurred.DG 24.4
An expression of sadness came over the face of Adam. He appeared astonished and alarmed. To the words of Eve he replied that this must be the foe against whom they had been warned; and by the divine sentence she must die. In answer she urged him to eat, repeating the words of the serpent, that they should not surely die. She reasoned that this must be true, for she felt no evidence of God’s displeasure, but on the contrary realized a delicious, exhilarating influence, thrilling every faculty with new life, such, she imagined, as inspired the heavenly messengers.DG 24.5
Adam understood that his companion had transgressed the command of God, disregarded the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love. There was a terrible struggle in his mind. He mourned that he had permitted Eve to wander from his side. But now the deed was done; he must be separated from her whose society had been his joy. How could he have it thus? ...DG 25.1
He resolved to share her fate; if she must die, he would die with her. After all, he reasoned, might not the words of the wise serpent be true? Eve was before him, as beautiful and apparently as innocent as before this act of disobedience. She expressed greater love for him than before. No sign of death appeared in her, and he decided to brave the consequences. He seized the fruit and quickly ate.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 44-57 (1890).DG 25.2
Had Adam and Eve never disobeyed their Creator, had they remained in the path of perfect rectitude, they could have known and understood God. But when they listened to the voice of the tempter, and sinned against God, the light of the garments of heavenly innocence departed from them; and in parting with the garments of innocence, they drew about them the dark robes of ignorance of God. The clear and perfect light that had hitherto surrounded them had lightened everything they approached; but deprived of that heavenly light, the posterity of Adam could no longer trace the character of God in His created works.—The Review and Herald, November 8, 1898.Patriarchs and Prophets
Chapter 2—The Creation
PP 44.1
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” “For He spake, and it was;” “He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6, 9. He “laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever.” Psalm 104:5.PP 44.2
As the earth came forth from the hand of its Maker, it was exceedingly beautiful. Its surface was diversified with mountains, hills, and plains, interspersed with noble rivers and lovely lakes; but the hills and mountains were not abrupt and rugged, abounding in terrific steeps and frightful chasms, as they now do; the sharp, ragged edges of earth’s rocky framework were buried beneath the fruitful soil, which everywhere produced a luxuriant growth of verdure. There were no loathsome swamps or barren deserts. Graceful shrubs and delicate flowers greeted the eye at every turn. The heights were crowned with trees more majestic than any that now exist. The air, untainted by foul miasma, was clear and healthful. The entire landscape outvied in beauty the decorated grounds of the proudest palace. The angelic host viewed the scene with delight, and rejoiced at the wonderful works of God.PP 44.3
After the earth with its teeming animal and vegetable life had been called into existence, man, the crowning work of the Creator, and the one for whom the beautiful earth had been fitted up, was brought upon the stage of action. To him was given dominion over all that his eye could behold; for “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over ...all the earth.... So God created man in His own image; ...male and female created He them.” Here is clearly set forth the origin of the human race; and the divine record is so plainly stated that there is no occasion for erroneous conclusions. God created man in His own image. Here is no mystery. There is no ground for the supposition that man was evolved by slow degrees of development from the lower forms of animal or vegetable life. Such teaching lowers the great work of the Creator to the level of man’s narrow, earthly conceptions. Men are so intent upon excluding God from the sovereignty of the universe that they degrade man and defraud him of the dignity of his origin. He who set the starry worlds on high and tinted with delicate skill the flowers of the field, who filled the earth and the heavens with the wonders of His power, when He came to crown His glorious work, to place one in the midst to stand as ruler of the fair earth, did not fail to create a being worthy of the hand that gave him life. The genealogy of our race, as given by inspiration, traces back its origin, not to a line of developing germs, mollusks, and quadrupeds, but to the great Creator. Though formed from the dust, Adam was “the son of God.”PP 45.1
He was placed, as God’s representative, over the lower orders of being. They cannot understand or acknowledge the sovereignty of God, yet they were made capable of loving and serving man. The psalmist says, “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: ... the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, ... and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” Psalm 8:6-8.PP 45.2
Man was to bear God’s image, both in outward resemblance and in character. Christ alone is “the express image” (Hebrews 1:3) of the Father; but man was formed in the likeness of God. His nature was in harmony with the will of God. His mind was capable of comprehending divine things. His affections were pure; his appetites and passions were under the control of reason. He was holy and happy in bearing the image of God and in perfect obedience to His will.PP 45.3
As man came forth from the hand of his Creator, he was of lofty stature and perfect symmetry. His countenance bore the ruddy tint of health and glowed with the light of life and joy. Adam’s height was much greater than that of men who now inhabit the earth. Eve was somewhat less in stature; yet her form was noble, and full of beauty. The sinless pair wore no artificial garments; they were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear. So long as they lived in obedience to God, this robe of light continued to enshroud them.PP 46.1
After the creation of Adam every living creature was brought before him to receive its name; he saw that to each had been given a companion, but among them “there was not found an help meet for him.” Among all the creatures that God had made on the earth, there was not one equal to man. And God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” Man was not made to dwell in solitude; he was to be a social being. Without companionship the beautiful scenes and delightful employments of Eden would have failed to yield perfect happiness. Even communion with angels could not have satisfied his desire for sympathy and companionship. There was none of the same nature to love and to be loved.PP 46.2
God Himself gave Adam a companion. He provided “an help meet for him”—a helper corresponding to him—one who was fitted to be his companion, and who could be one with him in love and sympathy. Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be loved and protected by him. A part of man, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh, she was his second self, showing the close union and the affectionate attachment that should exist in this relation. “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it.” Ephesians 5:29. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one.”PP 46.3
God celebrated the first marriage. Thus the institution has for its originator the Creator of the universe. “Marriage is honorable” (Hebrews 13:4); it was one of the first gifts of God to man, and it is one of the two institutions that, after the Fall, Adam brought with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles are recognized and obeyed in this relation, marriage is a blessing; it guards the purity and happiness of the race, it provides for man’s social needs, it elevates the physical, the intellectual, and the moral nature.PP 46.4
“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.” Everything that God had made was the perfection of beauty, and nothing seemed wanting that could contribute to the happiness of the holy pair; yet the Creator gave them still another token of His love, by preparing a garden especially for their home. In this garden were trees of every variety, many of them laden with fragrant and delicious fruit. There were lovely vines, growing upright, yet presenting a most graceful appearance, with their branches drooping under their load of tempting fruit of the richest and most varied hues. It was the work of Adam and Eve to train the branches of the vine to form bowers, thus making for themselves a dwelling from living trees covered with foliage and fruit. There were fragrant flowers of every hue in rich profusion. In the midst of the garden stood the tree of life, surpassing in glory all other trees. Its fruit appeared like apples of gold and silver, and had the power to perpetuate life.PP 47.1
The creation was now complete. “The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Eden bloomed on earth. Adam and Eve had free access to the tree of life. No taint of sin or shadow of death marred the fair creation. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7.PP 47.2
The great Jehovah had laid the foundations of the earth; He had dressed the whole world in the garb of beauty and had filled it with things useful to man; He had created all the wonders of the land and of the sea. In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author, and He rested, not as one weary, but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness and the manifestations of His glory.PP 47.3
After resting upon the seventh day, God sanctified it, or set it apart, as a day of rest for man. Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should look upon the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon God’s great work of creation; and that as he should behold the evidences of God’s wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his Maker.PP 48.1
In Eden, God set up the memorial of His work of creation, in placing His blessing upon the seventh day. The Sabbath was committed to Adam, the father and representative of the whole human family. Its observance was to be an act of grateful acknowledgment, on the part of all who should dwell upon the earth, that God was their Creator and their rightful Sovereign; that they were the work of His hands and the subjects of His authority. Thus the institution was wholly commemorative, and given to all mankind. There was nothing in it shadowy or of restricted application to any people.PP 48.2
God saw that a Sabbath was essential for man, even in Paradise. He needed to lay aside his own interests and pursuits for one day of the seven, that he might more fully contemplate the works of God and meditate upon His power and goodness. He needed a Sabbath to remind him more vividly of God and to awaken gratitude because all that he enjoyed and possessed came from the beneficent hand of the Creator.PP 48.3
God designs that the Sabbath shall direct the minds of men to the contemplation of His created works. Nature speaks to their senses, declaring that there is a living God, the Creator, the Supreme Ruler of all. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.” Psalm 19:1, 2. The beauty that clothes the earth is a token of God’s love. We may behold it in the everlasting hills, in the lofty trees, in the opening buds and the delicate flowers. All speak to us of God. The Sabbath, ever pointing to Him who made them all, bids men open the great book of nature and trace therein the wisdom, the power, and the love of the Creator.PP 48.4
Our first parents, though created innocent and holy, were not placed beyond the possibility of wrongdoing. God made them free moral agents, capable of appreciating the wisdom and benevolence of His character and the justice of His requirements, and with full liberty to yield or to withhold obedience. They were to enjoy communion with God and with holy angels; but before they could be rendered eternally secure, their loyalty must be tested. At the very beginning of man’s existence a check was placed upon the desire for self-indulgence, the fatal passion that lay at the foundation of Satan’s fall. The tree of knowledge, which stood near the tree of life in the midst of the garden, was to be a test of the obedience, faith, and love of our parents. While permitted to eat freely of every other tree, they were forbidden to taste of this, on pain of death. They were also to be exposed to the temptations of Satan; but if they endured the trial, they would finally be placed beyond his power, to enjoy perpetual favor with God.PP 49.1
God placed man under law, as an indispensable condition of his very existence. He was a subject of the divine government, and there can be no government without law. God might have created man without the power to transgress His law; He might have withheld the hand of Adam from touching the forbidden fruit; but in that case man would have been, not a free moral agent, but a mere automaton. Without freedom of choice, his obedience would not have been voluntary, but forced. There could have been no development of character. Such a course would have been contrary to God’s plan in dealing with the inhabitants of other worlds. It would have been unworthy of man as an intelligent being, and would have sustained Satan’s charge of God’s arbitrary rule.PP 49.2
God made man upright; He gave him noble traits of character, with no bias toward evil. He endowed him with high intellectual powers, and presented before him the strongest possible inducements to be true to his allegiance. Obedience, perfect and perpetual, was the condition of eternal happiness. On this condition he was to have access to the tree of life.PP 49.3
The home of our first parents was to be a pattern for other homes as their children should go forth to occupy the earth. That home, beautified by the hand of God Himself, was not a gorgeous palace. Men, in their pride, delight in magnificent and costly edifices and glory in the works of their own hands; but God placed Adam in a garden. This was his dwelling. The blue heavens were its dome; the earth, with its delicate flowers and carpet of living green, was its floor; and the leafy branches of the goodly trees were its canopy. Its walls were hung with the most magnificent adornings—the handiwork of the great Master Artist. In the surroundings of the holy pair was a lesson for all time—that true happiness is found, not in the indulgence of pride and luxury, but in communion with God through His created works. If men would give less attention to the artificial, and would cultivate greater simplicity, they would come far nearer to answering the purpose of God in their creation. Pride and ambition are never satisfied, but those who are truly wise will find substantial and elevating pleasure in the sources of enjoyment that God has placed within the reach of all.PP 50.1
To the dwellers in Eden was committed the care of the garden, “to dress it and to keep it.” Their occupation was not wearisome, but pleasant and invigorating. God appointed labor as a blessing to man, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. In mental and physical activity Adam found one of the highest pleasures of his holy existence. And when, as a result of his disobedience, he was driven from his beautiful home, and forced to struggle with a stubborn soil to gain his daily bread, that very labor, although widely different from his pleasant occupation in the garden, was a safeguard against temptation and a source of happiness. Those who regard work as a curse, attended though it be with weariness and pain, are cherishing an error. The rich often look down with contempt upon the working classes, but this is wholly at variance with God’s purpose in creating man. What are the possessions of even the most wealthy in comparison with the heritage given to the lordly Adam? Yet Adam was not to be idle. Our Creator, who understands what is for man’s happiness, appointed Adam his work. The true joy of life is found only by the working men and women. The angels are diligent workers; they are the ministers of God to the children of men. The Creator has prepared no place for the stagnating practice of indolence.PP 50.2
While they remained true to God, Adam and his companion were to bear rule over the earth. Unlimited control was given them over every living thing. The lion and the lamb sported peacefully around them or lay down together at their feet. The happy birds flitted about them without fear; and as their glad songs ascended to the praise of their Creator, Adam and Eve united with them in thanksgiving to the Father and the Son.PP 50.3
The holy pair were not only children under the fatherly care of God but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator. They were visited by angels, and were granted communion with their Maker, with no obscuring veil between. They were full of the vigor imparted by the tree of life, and their intellectual power was but little less than that of the angels. The mysteries of the visible universe—“the wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge” (Job 37:16)—afforded them an exhaustless source of instruction and delight. The laws and operations of nature, which have engaged men’s study for six thousand years, were opened to their minds by the infinite Framer and Upholder of all. They held converse with leaf and flower and tree, gathering from each the secrets of its life. With every living creature, from the mighty leviathan that playeth among the waters to the insect mote that floats in the sunbeam, Adam was familiar. He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and habits of all. God’s glory in the heavens, the innumerable worlds in their orderly revolutions, “the balancings of the clouds,” the mysteries of light and sound, of day and night—all were open to the study of our first parents. On every leaf of the forest or stone of the mountains, in every shining star, in earth and air and sky, God’s name was written. The order and harmony of creation spoke to them of infinite wisdom and power. They were ever discovering some attraction that filled their hearts with deeper love and called forth fresh expressions of gratitude.PP 51.1
So long as they remained loyal to the divine law, their capacity to know, to enjoy, and to love would continually increase. They would be constantly gaining new treasures of knowledge, discovering fresh springs of happiness, and obtaining clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the immeasurable, unfailing love of God.The Story of Redemption
Chapter 2—The Creation
SR 20.1
The Father and the Son engaged in the mighty, wondrous work they had contemplated—of creating the world. The earth came forth from the hand of the Creator exceedingly beautiful. There were mountains and hills and plains; and interspersed among them were rivers and bodies of water. The earth was not one extensive plain, but the monotony of the scenery was broken by hills and mountains, not high and ragged as they now are, but regular and beautiful in shape. The bare, high rocks were never seen upon them, but lay beneath the surface, answering as bones to the earth. The waters were regularly dispersed. The hills, mountains, and very beautiful plains were adorned with plants and flowers and tall, majestic trees of every description, which were many times larger and much more beautiful than trees now are. The air was pure and healthful, and the earth seemed like a noble palace. Angels beheld and rejoiced at the wonderful and beautiful works of God.SR 20.2
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.” As Adam came forth from the hand of his Creator he was of noble height and of beautiful symmetry. He was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned. His features were perfect and beautiful. His complexion was neither white nor sallow, but ruddy, glowing with the rich tint of health. Eve was not quite as tall as Adam. Her head reached a little above his shoulders. She, too, was noble, perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful.SR 21.1
This sinless pair wore no artificial garments. They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear. While they lived in obedience to God, this circle of light enshrouded them. Although everything God had made was in the perfection of beauty, and there seemed nothing wanting upon the earth which God had created to make Adam and Eve happy, yet He manifested His great love to them by planting a garden especially for them. A portion of their time was to be occupied in the happy employment of dressing the garden, and a portion in receiving the visits of angels, listening to their instruction, and in happy meditation. Their labor was not wearisome but pleasant and invigorating. This beautiful garden was to be their home.SR 21.2
In this garden the Lord placed trees of every variety for usefulness and beauty. There were trees laden with luxuriant fruit, of rich fragrance, beautiful to the eye, and pleasant to the taste, designed of God to be food for the holy pair. There were the lovely vines which grew upright, laden with their burden of fruit, unlike anything man has seen since the fall. The fruit was very large and of different colors; some nearly black, some purple, red, pink, and light green. This beautiful and luxuriant growth of fruit upon the branches of the vine was called grapes. They did not trail upon the ground, although not supported by trellises, but the weight of the fruit bowed them down. It was the happy labor of Adam and Eve to form beautiful bowers from the branches of the vine and train them, forming dwellings of nature’s beautiful, living trees and foliage, laden with fragrant fruit.SR 22.1
The earth was clothed with beautiful verdure, while myriads of fragrant flowers of every variety and hue sprang up in rich profusion around them. Everything was tastefully and gloriously arranged. In the midst of the garden stood the tree of life, the glory of which surpassed all other trees. Its fruit looked like apples of gold and silver, and was to perpetuate immortality. The leaves contained healing properties.SR 22.2
Very happy were the holy pair in Eden. Unlimited control was given them over every living thing. The lion and the lamb sported peacefully and harmlessly around them, or slumbered at their feet. Birds of every variety of color and plumage flitted among the trees and flowers and about Adam and Eve, while their mellow-toned music echoed among the trees in sweet accord to the praises of their Creator.SR 22.3
Adam and Eve were charmed with the beauties of their Eden home. They were delighted with the little songsters around them, wearing their bright yet graceful plumage, and warbling forth their happy, cheerful music. The holy pair united with them and raised their voices in harmonious songs of love, praise, and adoration to the Father and His dear Son for the tokens of love which surrounded them. They recognized the order and harmony of creation, which spoke of wisdom and knowledge that were infinite. Some new beauty and additional glory of their Eden home they were continually discovering, which filled their hearts with deeper love and brought from their lips expressions of gratitude and reverence to their Creator.Loma Linda Messages
Perils to Spirituality
LLM 518.4
But I have thought of the wonderful difference between the present time and that time,—how, with great leaps and bounds, infidelity has advanced since that. Our social departments in our great State universities, and our religious universities, are a great deal worse today than the medical schools were then. It is going to such an extent,—the progress that is made in infidelity is so great,—as to surprise even the very liberal journals, like the New York Independent. It told us last year that just as soon as the first chapter of Genesis was givenup, all the rest was bound to follow, until at last we have come to the same criticism regarding Christ, His birth, His miracles, His resurrection, as we have over the first chapters of Genesis; and now, since that time, other of the so-called orthodox papers in the United States have yielded in regard to these very questions.Ellen G. White: The Progressive Years: 1862-1876 (vol. 2)
A Pamphlet on Raising and Canning Small Fruits
2BIO 299.2
Fruit is the most natural and healthful food for man. It was God’s plan that he should subsist largely upon fruit. See Genesis 1.From Eternity Past
Chapter 2—Creation: God’s Answer to Evolution
EP 16.1
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth... . For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6, 9.EP 16.2
As the earth came forth from the hand of its Maker, it was exceedingly beautiful. The fruitful soil everywhere produced a luxuriant growth of verdure. There were no loathsome swamps nor barren deserts. Graceful shrubs and delicate flowers greeted the eye at every turn. The air was clear and healthful. The entire landscape outvied in beauty the decorated grounds of the proudest palace.EP 16.3
After the earth with its teeming animal and vegetable life had been called into existence, man, the crowning work of the Creator was brought upon the stage of action. “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over ... all the earth.” “So God created man in His own image: ... male and female created He them.”EP 16.4
Here is clearly set forth the origin of the human race. God created man in His own image. There is no ground for the supposition that man evolved by slow degrees from lower forms of animal or vegetable life. Inspiration traces the origin of our race, not to a line of developing germs, mollusks, and quadrupeds, but to the great Creator. Though formed from the dust, Adam was “the son of God.” Luke 3:38.EP 16.5
The lower orders of being cannot understand the sovereignty of God, yet they were made capable of loving and serving man. “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet, ... the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air.” Psalm 8:6-8.EP 17.1
Christ alone is “the express image” (Hebrews 1:3) of the Father, but man was formed in the likeness of God. His nature was in harmony with the will of God, his mind capable of comprehending divine things. His affections were pure; his appetites and passions were under the control of reason. He was holy and happy in bearing the image of God, and in perfect obedience to His will.EP 17.2
As man came forth from the hand of his Creator, his countenance glowed with the light of life and joy. Adam’s height was much greater than that of men now living. Eve was somewhat less in stature, yet her form was noble and full of beauty. The sinless pair wore no artificial garments: they were clothed with a covering of glory such as the angels wear.EP 18.1
“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.” In this garden were trees of every variety, many of them laden with delicious fruit. There were lovely vines, growing upright, their branches drooping under their load of tempting fruit. It was the work of Adam and Eve to train the branches of the vine to form bowers, thus making for themselves a dwelling from living trees covered with foliage and fruit. In the midst of the garden stood the tree of life, surpassing in glory all other trees. Its fruit had the power to perpetuate life.EP 18.3
In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author; and He rested, not as one weary, but as well pleased with the fruits of His wisdom and goodness.EP 18.4
After resting on the seventh day, God set it apart as a day of rest. Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day that he might reflect upon God’s work of creation, that his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his Maker.EP 18.5
The Sabbath was committed to the whole human family, its observance to be a grateful acknowledgment that God was their creator and rightful sovereign. They were the work of His hands, the subjects of His authority.EP 19.1
God saw that a Sabbath was essential for man, even in Paradise. He needed to lay aside his own interests for one day of the seven. He needed a Sabbath to remind him of God and to awaken gratitude because all that he enjoyed came from the hand of the Creator.EP 19.2
God designs that the Sabbath shall direct the minds of men to His created works. The beauty that clothes the earth is a token of God’s love. The everlasting hills, the lofty trees, the opening buds and delicate flowers, all speak to us of God. The Sabbath, pointing to Him who made them all, bids men open the book of nature and trace therein the wisdom, power, and love of the Creator.EP 19.3
Our first parents, though created innocent and holy, were not placed beyond the possibility of wrongdoing. God made them free moral agents with liberty to yield or to withhold obedience. But before they could be eternally secure, their loyalty must be tested. At the beginning of man’s existence a check was placed upon self-indulgence, the fatal passion that lay at the foundation of Satan’s fall. The tree of knowledge was to be a test of the obedience, faith, and love of our first parents. They were forbidden to taste of this, on pain of death. They were to be exposed to the temptations of Satan; but if they endured the trial, they would be placed beyond his power, to enjoy perpetual favor with God.EP 19.4
God placed man under law, a subject of the divine government. God might have created man without the power to transgress; He might have withheld Adam from touching the forbidden fruit; but in that case man would have been a mere automaton. Without freedom of choice, his obedience would have been forced. Such a course would have been contrary to God’s plan, unworthy of man as an intelligent being, and would have sustained Satan’s charge of God’s arbitrary rule.EP 20.1
God made man upright, with no bias toward evil. He presented before him the strongest possible inducements to be true. Obedience was the condition of eternal happiness and access to the tree of life.EP 20.2
The home of our first parents was to be a pattern for other homes as their children should go forth to occupy the earth. Men in their pride delight in magnificent and costly edifices and glory in the works of their own hands, but God placed Adam in a garden. This was a lesson for all time—true happiness is found not in the indulgence of pride and luxury, but in communion with God through His created works. Pride and ambition are never satisfied, but those who are truly wise will find pleasure in the enjoyment God has placed within the reach of all.EP 20.3
To the dwellers in Eden was committed the care of the garden, “to dress it and to keep it.” God appointed labor as a blessing to man, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. In mental and physical activity Adam found one of the highest pleasures of his holy existence. Those who regard work as a curse, attended though it be with weariness and pain, are cherishing an error. The rich often look down upon the working classes, but this is at variance with God’s purpose in creating man. Adam was not to be idle. Our Creator, who understands what is for man’s happiness, appointed Adam his work. The true joy of life is found only by working men and women. The Creator has prepared no place for stagnating indolence.EP 20.4
The holy pair were not only children under the fatherly care of God, but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator. They were visited by angels and were granted communion with their Maker with no obscuring veil between. They were full of vigor imparted by the tree of life, their intellectual power but little less than that of the angels. The laws of nature were opened to their minds by the infinite Framer and Upholder of all. With every living creature, from the mighty leviathan among the waters to the insect mote that floats in the sunbeam, Adam was familiar. He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and habits of all. On every leaf of the forest, in every shining star, in earth and air and sky, God’s name was written. The order and harmony of creation spoke of infinite wisdom and power.EP 21.1
So long as they remained loyal to the divine law they would be constantly gaining new treasures of knowledge, discovering fresh springs of happiness, and obtaining clearer conceptions of the immeasurable unfailing love of God.From Eternity Past
The First Marriage
EP 17.3
After the creation of Adam, “God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” God gave Adam a companion, “an help meet for him,” one who was fitted to be his companion, and who would be one with him in love and sympathy. Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam. She was not to control him as the head, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, loved and protected by him. She was his second self, showing the close union that should exist in this relation. “For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it.” “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one.” Ephesians 5:29; Genesis 2:24.EP 17.4
“Marriage is honorable.” Hebrews 13:4. It is one of the two institutions that, after the fall, Adam brought with him beyond the gates of Paradise. When the divine principles are recognized and obeyed, marriage is a blessing; it guards the purity and happiness of the race and elevates the physical, the intellectual, and the moral nature.EP 18.2
“The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” “And God saw everything He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” No taint of sin or shadow of death marred the fair creation. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)
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The counsels are of God, and His Word was not given in a few days on a high-pressure plan. It took a long space of time to bring out the Bible history. Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, a chapter was written, a psalm was composed, a proverb penned, a vision from God recorded, and so down through the ages the will and purposes of God were brought out. About fifteen hundred years were occupied from the time Moses began to write the book of Genesis down to the completion of the Revelation by the beloved John. God would not have us so excitable, in such a hurry; and yet there are some who need to be taught diligence.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)
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The Lord would not have us be so excitable, in such a hurry. The counsels of God in His Word were not given in a few days, on the high-pressure plan. It took a long period of time to bring out the Bible history. Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, a chapter was written, a psalm composed, a proverb penned, a vision recorded, and so down through the ages the will and purposes of God were brought out. About fifteen hundred years passed from the time Moses began to write the book of Genesis, down to the completion of the Revelation by the beloved John.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 5 (1887-1888)
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Men should let God take care of His own Book, His living Oracles, as He has done for ages. They begin to question some parts of revelation and pick flaws in the apparent inconsistencies of this statement and that statement. Beginning at Genesis, they give up that which they deem questionable, and their minds lead on, for Satan will lead to any length they may follow in their criticism and they see something to doubt in the whole Scriptures. Their faculties of criticism become sharpened by exercise, and they can rest on nothing with a certainty. You try to reason with these men, but your time is lost. They will exercise their power of ridicule even upon the Bible. They even become mockers, and they would be astonished if you put it to them in that light.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 9 (1894)
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From Genesis to Revelation the conditions upon which eternal life is promised are made plain. God requires that those who shall enter heaven shall be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. “Keep My commandments and live” is the requirement of God. [Proverbs 4:4.] But one says, “My conscience does not condemn me in not keeping the commandments of God.” But in the Word of God we read that there are good and bad consciences, and the fact that your conscience does not condemn you in not keeping the law of God does not prove that you are uncondemned in His sight. Take your conscience to the Word of God, and see if your life and character are in accordance with the standard of righteousness which God has revealed in His Word. You can then determine whether or not you have an intelligent faith, and what manner of conscience is yours.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)
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Christ came in the form of humanity to live the law of God. He was the Word of life. He came to be the gospel of salvation to the world, and to fulfill every specification of the law. Jesus is the Word, the guidebook, which must be received and obeyed in every particular. How necessary that this mine of truth be explored, and the precious treasures of truth be discovered and secured as rich jewels. The incarnation of Christ, His divinity, His atonement, His wonderful life in heaven as our Advocate, the office of the Holy Spirit—all those living, vital themes of Christianity are revealed from Genesis to Revelation. The golden links of truth form a chain of evangelical truth, and the first and staple link is found in the great teachings of Christ Jesus. Why, then, should not the Scriptures be ennobled and exalted in every school in our land? How little children are educated to study the Bible as the Word of God, and feed upon its truths, which are the flesh and blood of the Son of God! “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood” (that is, continue to receive the words of Christ, and practice them) “hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.” [John 6:53-56.] “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” [1 John 3:24.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
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Those who accept Christ will follow on to know the Lord. This acceptance means conversion through the Holy Spirit’s power and efficiency. The working of the Holy Spirit upon the human agent brings to him a conviction of sin, makes him susceptible to truth, [and] enables him to discern and make earnest application of it to his own heart. This power preserves him from falling under temptation, and imparts to him wisdom in winning souls to Christ. And every true believer who will follow on to know the Lord will have this power working in him. He will discern in Christ not only the Alpha of Genesis, but the Omega of Revelation. He will learn by personal experience that Christ is the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star, and that it is through His church, His people in their unity, that He is to shine in undimmed luster to the world. He beholds himself as the work of Christ. Having the mind of Christ, he walks in His footsteps, and his good works and love for others testify to the world that He is Christ, that God has sent His Son to impart His Spirit to His people, and that they may represent Christ in their love for one another.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
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After His crucifixion and resurrection, thousands would be led to open the Scriptures with an intense desire to study the prophecies, from Genesis to Revelation. And they would see with anointed eyes the predictions in the prophetic Roll of the advent of a divine Teacher. In Christ crucified they would see the very work done which the prophecies declared He would do to proclaim the gospel, the Word of life to a world that was shadowed and corrupted by transgression and sin. And the words of Christ would be gathered up; the New Testament would declare to them a work which would thrill the world.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
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When the students of prophecy shall set their hearts to know the truths of Revelation, they will realize what an importance is attached to this search. Christ Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the Genesis of the Old Testament, and the Revelation of the New. Both meet together in Christ. Adam and God are reconciled by the obedience of the second Adam, who accomplished the work of overcoming the temptations of Satan and redeeming Adam’s disgraceful failure and fall. The two Adams will meet in Paradise and embrace each other, while the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, and all who have refused the opportunities and privileges given to them at such an infinite cost, and have not returned to their loyalty, will be shut out of Paradise.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
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Here we have the Alpha of Genesis and the Omega of Revelation. The blessing is promised to all those who keep the commandments of God, and who co-operate with Him in the proclamation of the third angel’s message. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star.” [Revelation 22:16.] That which Christ has spoken in the Old Testament is for all the world. What He has said in reference is His commandments is not Yea and Nay, but Yea and Amen.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
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Our youth must have well-conducted schools, where they can gain an all-round education. From Genesis to Revelation the gospel shines forth with no uncertain light. From the time when God talked with Adam and Eve in Eden, giving them heavenly instruction, the light has continued to shine down through the ages. Christ appeared to His servant John, and gave him a revelation of the closing events of this earth’s history.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 12 (1897)
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All who join the ranks of Sabbathkeepers should become diligent Bible students, that they may know the pillars and ground work of the truth. They should study prophetic history, which has brought us down point by point to where we are at the present time. This is God’s plan for our school. Young men should attend who desire to become educated for any line of work, who have capabilities and see the necessity of learning more and still more where we stand today in prophetic history, uniting link after link in the prophetic chain, even from Genesis to Revelation. Christ is the Alpha, the first link, and the Omega, the last link, of the gospel chain, which is welded in Revelation. These young men will not have fixed habits of wrong, or defects in disposition and character that will make them inflexible.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
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Perfection of character is required by God, and this is kept before us in His Word from Genesis to Revelation. “When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” [Genesis 17:1.] To Israel God said, “I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy for I am holy. ... For I am the Lord your God that bringeth you out of the land of Egypt, to by your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” “And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.” [Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:1-3.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
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The uneducated heathen then learns his lessons through nature, and through his own necessities; and, dissatisfied with darkness, he is reaching out for light, searching for God in the first great cause. There is recorded in Genesis various ways in which God speaks to the heathen. But the contrast between the revelation of God in Genesis and the ideas of the heathen is striking. Pagan philosophers, many of them, had a knowledge of God which was pure, but degeneracy, the worship of created things, began to obscure this knowledge. The handiwork of God in the natural world, the sun, the moon, the stars, were worshipped.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
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The Word of God is to be the great lesson book in all our schools. From Genesis to Revelation it is full of instruction in practical godliness.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
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The history of the world from the beginning is contained in Genesis. There it is revealed that all nations who forget God and discard His way and His sign of obedience, which distinguishes between the just and the unjust, the righteous and the wicked, the saved and the unsaved, will be destroyed. The first books of the Bible, which trace down the history of nations, including the destruction of the old world, show the overruling providence of God, which from generation to generation has provided for the education of a chosen people. The plainly written Word in regard to the just and the unjust is a living testimony in regard to those whom the Lord will sanctify. None who live in disobedience can receive His blessing. Only those who are obedient can receive this.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
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We cannot know God and Jesus Christ until we search the Scriptures, beginning with Genesis. In this Word we find out why it was necessary for Christ to leave His high command in heaven, to separate Himself from the angelic family, laying off His royal robe and kingly crown, and clothe His divinity with humanity. For our sake He became poor, that by His poverty He might make many rich, securing for them eternal riches. That He might work in our behalf, He came to live among fallen humanity, in a world marred by sin and misery.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
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The whole gospel from Genesis to Revelation is the means appointed and specified of God through which to reveal His will to the people, and it is to be appreciated, respected, and heeded.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
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While they were talking thus of their crucified and buried Lord, “Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?” [Luke 24:15-17.] “Have ye not heard,” they answered, “that the prophet mighty in deed and word has been taken and crucified by cruel hands, and is now buried?” Beginning at Genesis, the Stranger told them what had been prophesied from the first concerning Jesus. While He was comforting their hearts, they came to the house where they lived, and invited their Companion to come in. He acted as though He were going further, but they constrained Him to tarry with them.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
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The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light which streams from the cross of Calvary, and in connection with the wondrous, central truth of the Saviour’s atonement. Those who study the Redeemer’s wonderful sacrifice grow in grace and knowledge.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)
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Another neighbor came in during the evening and in the course of the conversation asked me if I would explain to her about the Sabbath. I began by reading a text in the first of Genesis. Then I read the fourth commandment. When I had read this, they said, “Yes, but Sunday is the seventh day.” I explained to them that Sunday is the first day, and that the day called Saturday by the world is the seventh day. Then I read the last six verses of the thirty-first chapter of Exodus, where the Sabbath is clearly specified as the sign between God and His people.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)
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I have not been able to sleep since 12 o’clock, but I have a message from the Lord to bear to our people. Present to the people everywhere at this time the perpetuity of the law of Jehovah. Present to them that the only foundation for Sunday observance has its origin not in the Word of God, but in the papal authority. Now let all consider that the time has come to reason from cause to effect. We must, as ministers of the Word, delay not to impress the people more decidedly in defining our authority for keeping the original Sabbath of Jehovah. Please read the word in Genesis.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 19 (1904)
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Read Genesis chapter 1. The last crowning work of God was to make man. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion” over the things We have created. “So God created man in his own image.” He gave man a personal form in God’s own image. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female, created he them.” This is plainly defined that God had as verily a personality as the human agencies whom He created. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ... And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” [Genesis 1:26-28, 31; 2:1-3.] [Read] Genesis chapter 2:15-17. This was the test of their obedience.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 22 (1907)
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The message of the gospel, from Genesis to Revelation, is God’s appointed means through which to reveal His will to men. It is to be appreciated, respected, and carefully studied. In a humble, prayerful spirit, Scripture is to be compared with Scripture. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians, the plan of God is so plainly and simply revealed, that all His children may lay hold upon the truth. Here the means which He has appointed to keep unity in His church, that its members may reveal to the world a healthy religious experience, is plainly declared. Those who conform their lives to obedience to the commandments of God, and are united in the faith of the Scriptures; those who are bound together as one in Christ Jesus, their lives hid with Christ in God, will practice the golden rule, doing to others as they would have others do to them. They will bear a living, abiding testimony that the Father loves them even as He loves His Son, and their testimony will have a powerful influence with the unbelieving world. These souls appreciate the great gift of God to our world; their course in life testifies that Christ has not died for them in vain. They make use of the provision made by heaven at infinite cost to draw souls to obedience to the law of God. Co-operating with the great Master Worker, they become laborers together with God. They become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Their consistent Christian lives magnify the law of God and make it honorable before the gainsaying world. Their deportment in courtesy and unwavering fidelity, their justice and mercy demonstrate to the world that the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 23 (1908)
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This equal taxation of the mental and physical powers was part of the Lord’s plan in the beginning. I ask you to read the first and second chapters of Genesis. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He rested from all His work which God created and made.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 25 (1910 - 1915)
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The Old Testament, containing the prophecies of the coming of Christ, is now made of small account. The cry now is, “The Christ, the Christ! The gospel, the gospel!” But the gospel is taught all the way through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. The gospel is revealed in all the prophecies of the first advent of Christ as the Saviour of men. Every act of the old dispensation to turn men away from sin or to bring them forgiveness was done with reference to the Saviour who was to come. He was the steppingstone by which man was to be exalted.Genesis 1:2
Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students
An Encouraging Experience
CT 530.2
Only by the aid of that Spirit who in the beginning “was brooding upon the face of the waters;” of that Word by whom “all things were made;” of that “true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (Genesis 1:2, R.V., margin; John 1:3, 9), can the testimony of science be rightly interpreted. Only by their guidance can its deepest truths be discerned. Only under the direction of the Omniscient One shall we, in the study of His works, be enabled to think His thoughts after Him.Maranatha
Satan Is Bound, October 26
Mar 307.3
That the expression “bottomless pit” represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth “in the beginning,” the Bible record says that it “was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” Genesis 1:2. Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back, partially at least, to this condition. Looking forward to the great day of God, the prophet Jeremiah declares: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” Jeremiah 4:23-26.The Great Controversy
Chapter 41—Desolation of the Earth
GC 658.3
That the expression “bottomless pit” represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth “in the beginning,” the Bible record says that it “was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” [The Hebrew word here translated “deep” is rendered in the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew Old Testament by the same word rendered “bottomless pit” In Revelation 20:1-3.] Genesis 1:2. Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back, partially at least, to this condition. Looking forward to the great day of God, the prophet Jeremiah declares: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” Jeremiah 4:23-26.The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)
Chapter 41—Desolation of the Earth
GC88 658.2
That the expression, “bottomless pit,” represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness, is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth “in the beginning,” the Bible record says that it “was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” [Genesis 1:2; The word here translated “deep” is the same that in Revelation 20:1-3 is rendered “Bottomless Pit.”] Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back, partially, at least, to this condition. Looking forward to the great day of God, the prophet Jeremiah declares: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” [Jeremiah 4:23-27.]Genesis 1:2-3
Christ’s Object Lessons
Chapter 29—“To Meet the Bridegroom”
COL 415.1
He causes “the light to shine out of darkness.” 2 Corinthians 4:6. When “the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep,” “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.” Genesis 1:2, 3. So in the night of spiritual darkness, God’s word goes forth, “Let there be light.” To His people He says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1.Prophets and Kings
Chapter 59—“The House of Israel”
PK 717.2
He causes “the light to shine out of darkness.” 2 Corinthians 4:6. When “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep,” “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:2, 3. So in the night of spiritual darkness, God’s word goes forth, “Let there be light.” To His people He says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1.Reflecting Christ
The Wise Virgins Let Their Light Shine, July 16
RC 211.5
He causes “the light to shine out of darkness” (2 Corinthians 4:6). When “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep,” “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:2, 3). So in the night of spiritual darkness, God’s Word goes forth, “Let there be light.” To His people He says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee” (Isaiah 60:1).Genesis 1:3
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 8 (1893)
Ms 103, 1893
8LtMs, Ms 103, 1893, par. 33
That voice alone which commanded the light to shine out of darkness, which said, “Let there be light; and there was light,” could speak peace to the troubled world today. [Genesis 1:3.] But God is left out of the councils of men.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 11 (1896)
Ms 72, 1896
11LtMs, Ms 72, 1896, par. 8
With His divinity veiled by humanity, Christ came to this world that He might touch humanity. By becoming one with us He became our example, a Pattern for all humanity, in order that, by following His example, the image of God might be restored in us. In the beginning, when darkness was upon the face of the earth, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” [Genesis 1:3.] And when spiritual darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people, God said again, “Let there be light.” He sent Jesus, “the light of the world,” to bring truth to the world. [John 8:12.] “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” [John 1:14.] The divine instructor came when darkness appeared to be universal and complete. The Lord of truth looked from heaven, but darkness covered the earth like a funeral pall, and His image could not be discerned. He must descend and shine.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Lt 104, 1898
13LtMs, Lt 104, 1898, par. 16
The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Christ speaks to us gently, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man will open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” [Revelation 3:20.] “Let there be light.” [Genesis 1:3.] Yes, when Christ is abiding in the soul, there is light. He reveals Himself in our hearts by the Holy Spirit as the Sun of righteousness, who rises with healing in His wings. We need faith. We must lay ourselves on the altar of God, a living, consuming sacrifice. We have the privilege of rejoicing in a living, risen Saviour. As God’s workers, we must receive that which the Lord wants us to have, the Holy Spirit.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Ms 164, 1898
13LtMs, Ms 164, 1898, par. 13
God says, “Let there be light,” and there is light. [Genesis 1:3.] The soul possesses an abiding Christ, who is the light of life. Christ humbles the proud heart by giving it a view of Himself, His generosity, His great love. He would save us, soul, body, and spirit, by uniting us to Himself. He would have us behold His glory as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Then we can say, “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” [John 1:16.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
Lt 12, 1899
14LtMs, Lt 12, 1899, par. 13
All our ministering brethren are convinced that there is not a better location for our school. We are not a great distance from Queensland, and from the light given me of the Lord, I know that all the places on the way to Brisbane—Newcastle, Maitland, Singleton, Toowoomba, are to be like links in a chain reaching to Cooranbong. And from Cooranbong there are places to be worked all along the line to Sydney. O, it is a great field, just as dark as heathen lands, unless the light of truth shall pass through it as a lamp that burneth. The Lord has looked upon the darkness. “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” [Genesis 1:3.] “I am,” said Christ, “the light of the world.” [John 8:12.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)
Lt 208, 1902
17LtMs, Lt 208, 1902, par. 38
Light will shine upon the workers in Nashville. From this center light will shine forth in the ministry of the Word, in the publication of books large and small. We have as yet merely touched the Southern field with the tips of our fingers. “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” [Habakkuk 2:14.] The same Voice that at the beginning said, “Let there be light,” in these last days declares that a knowledge of God’s Word shall not be confined merely to a few places. [Genesis 1:3.] The laborers who have the missionary spirit will go forth as heralds of the morning. Christ, heaven’s Conqueror, is in the midst of you. From the experiences you are now passing through in the South, all may learn lessons. Truth and righteousness live and will continue to shine amidst the darkness of this degenerate age.Genesis 1:5
Homeward Bound
Science and the Bible, January 27
HB 42.4
Such a conclusion is wholly uncalled for. The Bible record is in harmony with itself and with the teaching of nature. Of the first day employed in the work of creation is given the record, “The evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5.) And the same in substance is said of each of the first six days of creation week. Each of these periods Inspiration declares to have been a day consisting of evening and morning, like every other day since that time. In regard to the work of creation itself the divine testimony is, “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:9.) With Him who could thus call into existence unnumbered worlds, how long a time would be required for the evolution of the earth from chaos? In order to account for His works, must we do violence to His word? . . .Homeward Bound
The Creation Week, June 20
HB 193.1
So the evening and the morning were the first day.—Genesis 1:5.Genesis 1:10
To Be Like Jesus
Happiness to Be Found in Natural Surroundings, August 1
BLJ 227.1
And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:10, NKJV.Genesis 1:11
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 10 (1895)
Lt 47a, 1895
10LtMs, Lt 47a, 1895, par. 13
The spiritual lessons to be learnt are of no mean order. The seeds of truth sown in the soil of the heart will not all be lost, but will spring up, first the blade, then the ear, and then the corn in the ear. God said in the beginning, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit.” [Genesis 1:11.] God created the seed as He did the earth, by the divine word. We are to exercise our reasoning powers in the cultivation of the earth, and to have faith in the Word of God that has created the fruit of the earth for the service of man.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Lt 138, 1898
13LtMs, Lt 138, 1898, par. 31
God’s appointed workers have been given abundance of work. It is God’s design that young men and young women shall be educated and converted so that they may catch the divine rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Whence came the first seed? God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed.” [Genesis 1:11.] And of us the Lord declares, Ye are my husbandry. By His Spirit God moistens and subdues the soil of the heart for the reception of the seeds of truth, and as He imparts to the earth the sunshine and rain, so He causes the Sun of Righteousness to shine into our hearts, and waters the seed sown with dew of His grace.Genesis 1:11-12
Christ’s Object Lessons
Chapter 6—Other Lessons from Seed-Sowing
COL 80.2
God created the seed, as He created the earth, by His word. By His word He gave it power to grow and multiply. He said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so ... and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:11, 12. It is that word which still causes the seed to grow. Every seed that sends up its green blade to the sunlight declares the wonder-working power of that word uttered by Him who “spake, and it was”; who “commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:9.Genesis 1:26
Lift Him Up
Created in God’s Image, February 3
LHU 48.1
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Genesis 1:26.My Life Today
Man Created in God’s Image, May 2
ML 126.1
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Genesis 1:26.The Great Controversy
Chapter 20—A Great Religious Awakening
GC 359.1
“Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah,” he said, “whose hands and feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, who was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, who after the scepter was taken from Judah, and the legislative power from between his feet, came the first time; shall come the second time in the clouds of heaven, and with the trump of the Archangel” (Joseph Wolff, Researches and Missionary Labors, page 62) “and shall stand upon the Mount of Olives; and that dominion, once consigned to Adam over the creation, and forfeited by him (Genesis 1:26; 3:17), shall be given to Jesus. He shall be king over all the earth. The groanings and lamentations of the creation shall cease, but songs of praises and thanksgivings shall be heard. ... When Jesus comes in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels,... the dead believers shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:23. This is what we Christians call the first resurrection. Then the animal kingdom shall change its nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), and be subdued unto Jesus. Psalm 8. Universal peace shall prevail.”—Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, pages 378, 379. “The Lord again shall look down upon the earth, and say, ‘Behold, it is very good.’”—Ibid., page 294.The Great Controversy (1888 ed.)
Chapter 20—A Great Religious Awakening
GC88 359.1
“Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah,” he said, “whose hands and feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to the slaughter, who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who after the scepter was taken from Judah, and the legislative power from between his feet, came the first time, shall come the second time in the clouds of heaven, and with the trump of the archangel,” and “shall stand upon the Mount of Olives. And that dominion once consigned to Adam over the creation and forfeited by him (Genesis 1:26; 3:17) shall be given to Jesus. He shall be king over all the earth. The groanings and lamentations of the creation shall cease, but songs of praise and thanksgiving shall be heard.” “When Jesus comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels,” “the dead believers shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 15:23. This is what we Christians call the first resurrection. Then the animal kingdom shall change its nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), and shall be subdued unto Jesus. Psalm 8. Universal peace shall prevail.” “The Lord again shall look down upon the earth, and say, ‘Behold, it is very good.’”To Be Like Jesus
All Nature Entrusted to Adam and Eve, August 2
BLJ 228.1
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26, NKJV.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)
Ms 6a, 1886
4LtMs, Ms 6a, 1886, par. 24
If we are to enter heaven at last, we must bring all of Heaven into this life that we can. The religion of Christ never degrades the receiver; it never brings him down upon a low level. Truth is ever elevating in its influence, lifting them up on the high platform of truth. The religion of Jesus Christ has a refining influence upon men and women. When the truth of God finds access to the heart, it commences its refining process upon the character. Men who are coarse and rough become humble, teachable, learning ever, learning in the school of Christ. The mighty cleaver of truth has taken them out of the world. Then there is the work to be done for them to fit them for God’s temple. They are hewed and squared and chiseled and fitted for the mansions in heaven. Those who are naturally full of self-esteem become meek and lowly, they have a change in character. In the beginning, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” [Genesis 1:26.] But sin has almost obliterated the moral image of God in man. Jesus came down to our world, that He might give man a living example, that he might know how to live and how to keep the way of the Lord. He was the image of the Father. His beautiful and spotless character is before man as an example for him to imitate. We must study the copy and follow Jesus Christ, then we shall bring His loveliness and beauty into our character. In doing this we are standing before God through faith, winning back by conflict with the powers of darkness the power of self-control, the love of God that Adam lost. We are through Jesus Christ living and keeping the laws of God.Genesis 1:26-27
Selected Messages Book 3
Man Created With Sinless Moral Nature
3SM 133.1
In the councils of heaven 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” (Genesis 1:26, 27). The Lord created man’s moral faculties and his physical powers. All was a sinless transcript of Himself. God endowed man with holy attributes, and placed him in a garden made expressly for him. Sin alone could ruin the beings created by the hand of the Almighty.—The Youth’s Instructor, July 20, 1899.That I May Know Him
Co-Workers in Creation, January 7
TMK 13.1
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.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
Ms 29, 1899
14LtMs, Ms 29, 1899, par. 1
In the councils of heaven 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.” [Genesis 1:26, 27.] The Lord created the moral faculties and the physical powers possessed by man. All was a sinless transcript of himself. God endowed man with holy attributes and placed him in the garden made expressly for him. Sin alone could ruin the beings created by the hand of Christ, and deface God’s image in them.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
Lt 164, 1900
15LtMs, Lt 164, 1900, par. 4
Man is the highest and noblest of all God’s creatures. In the beginning man was made in the image of God. 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.] God formed us for His glory, and He desires us in every word and act to acknowledge this.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Ms 183, 1901
16LtMs, Ms 183, 1901, par. 4
Man is the highest and noblest of all God’s creatures. In the beginning man was made in the image of God. 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.” [Genesis 1:26, 27.] He formed us for his glory and he desires us in every word and act to acknowledge this.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 17 (1902)
Ms 236, 1902
17LtMs, Ms 236, 1902, par. 2
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female.” Genesis 1:26, 27. Man was made last, that the human being could make no claim that he acted a part in the creation of the world or anything which hath the breath of life.Genesis 1:26-31
Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)
Ms 43, 1906
21LtMs, Ms 43, 1906, par. 6
“And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” Whom did He address?—The Lord Jesus Christ, who declares Himself to have been with the Father from the beginning. “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. ... And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” [Genesis 1:26, 27, 31; 2:1-3.]Conflict and Courage
In God’s Image, January 5
CC 11.1
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27.CC 11.2
After the earth with its teeming animal and vegetable life had been called into existence, man, the crowning work of the Creator, and the one for whom the beautiful earth had been fitted up, was brought upon the stage of action. To him was given dominion over all that his eye could behold....CC 11.3
God created man in His own image. Here is no mystery. There is no ground for the supposition that man was evolved by slow degrees of development from the lower forms of animal or vegetable life. Such teaching lowers the great work of the Creator to the level of man’s narrow, earthly conceptions. Men are so intent upon excluding God from the sovereignty of the universe that they degrade man and defraud him of the dignity of his origin. He who set the starry worlds on high and tinted with delicate skill the flowers of the field, who filled the earth and the heavens with the wonders of His power, when He came to crown His glorious work, to place one in the midst to stand as ruler of the fair earth, did not fail to create a being worthy of the hand that gave him life. The genealogy of our race, as given by inspiration, traces back its origin, not to a line of developing germs, mollusks, and quadrupeds, but to the great Creator. Though formed from the dust, Adam was “the son of God.” ...CC 11.4
His nature was in harmony with the will of God. His mind was capable of comprehending divine things. His affections were pure; his appetites and passions were under the control of reason. He was holy and happy in bearing the image of God and in perfect obedience to His will.6Patriarchs and Prophets, 44, 45.CC 11.5
He [Adam] was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned. His features were perfect and beautiful.... Eve was not quite as tall as Adam. Her head reached a little above his shoulders. She, too, was noble, perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful.CC 11.6
This sinless pair wore no artificial garments. They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear.7The Story of Redemption, 21.Manuscript Releases, vol. 10 [Nos. 771-850]
MR No. 814—Marriage and the Christian Home
10MR 197.1
Marriage, and Christ’s First Miracle—[John 2:1, 2; 1:1-15: Genesis 1:26-31 quoted.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 14 (1899)
Ms 16, 1899
14LtMs, Ms 16, 1899, par. 3
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of the tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” [Genesis 1:26-31.]Genesis 1:27
Education
Chapter 1—Source and Aim of True Education
Ed 15.1
When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. “God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research. The mysteries of the visible universe—the “wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge” (Job 37:16)—invited man’s study. Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More and more fully would he have fulfilled the object of his creation, more and more fully have reflected the Creator’s glory.God’s Amazing Grace
God’s Glory Seen in His Works, December 1
AG 343.3
When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research. The mysteries of the visible universe—the “wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge” (Job 37:16)—invited man’s study. Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More and more fully would he have fulfilled the object of his creation, more and more fully have reflected the Creator’s glory.2Education, 15, 16.Reflecting Christ
God’s Original Plan of Communication, April 1
RC 105.4
When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research.... Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever.... More and more fully would he have fulfilled the object of his creation, more and more fully have reflected the Creator’s glory.—Education, 14, 15.Sons and Daughters of God
That God Created Man in His Own Image, January 1
SD 7.1
God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27.The Faith I Live By
The Crowning Act of Creation, January 23
FLB 29.1
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him. Genesis 1:27.The Faith I Live By
The Great Object of Life, June 9
FLB 166.2
When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research. The mysteries of the visible universe—the “wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge” (Job 37:16)—invited man’s study. Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More and more fully would he have ... reflected the Creator’s glory.To Be Like Jesus
In Sincere Pursuit of Truth We Commune With God, January 18
BLJ 25.4
When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer human beings lived the more fully they should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All the faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research.... Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever....Genesis 1:27-28
God’s Amazing Grace
Adam and Eve—Rulers in Eden, February 1
AG 40.1
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:27, 28.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Ms 97, 1901
16LtMs, Ms 97, 1901, par. 1
All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the creation of the world and of man. Human beings were a distinct order. They were made “in the image of God,” and it was the Creator’s design that they should populate the earth. [Genesis 1:27, 28.] They were to live in close communion with heaven, receiving and assimilating power from the great Source of power. Upheld by God, they were to live sinless lives.Genesis 1:28
To Be Like Jesus
God’s Wisdom and Love Revealed in Nature, August 3
BLJ 229.1
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28, NKJV.Genesis 1:29
Counsels for the Church
God’s Original Plan for Man’s Diet
CCh 221.4
In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for man’s diet. He who created man and who understands his needs appointed Adam his food. “Behold,” He said, “I have given you every herb yielding seed, ... and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:29, A.R.V. Upon leaving Eden to gain his livelihood by tilling the earth under the curse of sin, man received permission to eat also “the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18.The Ministry of Healing
Selection of Food
MH 295.3
In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for man’s diet. He who created man and who understands his needs appointed Adam his food. “Behold,” He said, “I have given you every herb yielding seed, ... and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:29, A.R.V. Upon leaving Eden to gain his livelihood by tilling the earth under the curse of sin, man received permission to eat also “the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18.This Day With God
Eat for Strength, July 20
TDG 210.7
God gave Adam charge of the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it, and of the trees and herbs bearing seed, He said, “They shall be for meat” (see Genesis 1:29; 3:18). Afterward the eating of flesh meat was permitted as one of the consequences of the fall. Before the flood, no provision was made for the use of animal food....Life and Health
July 1, 1905
PHJ July 1, 1905, par. 3
In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for man’s diet. He who created us, and who understands our needs, appointed Adam his food. “Behold,” he said, “I have given you every herb yielding seed, ... and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:29, A. R. V.Homeward Bound
Appetite Cannot Be Trusted, July 24
HB 229.4
In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for our diet. He who created us and who understands our needs appointed Adam his food. “Behold,” He said, “I have given you every herb yielding seed, . . . and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.” (Genesis 1:29, A.R.V.) Upon leaving Eden to gain their livelihood by tilling the earth under the curse of sin, mankind received permission to eat also “the herb of the field.” (Genesis 3:18.)Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 13 (1898)
Ms 38, 1898
13LtMs, Ms 38, 1898, par. 9
Every week this manna repeated the lesson that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord our God. On the Sabbath day, no manna fell; for on Friday the Lord gave enough for two days. This standing miracle was a repetition of the Sabbath law given in Eden. Let us go back to the work of Christ in creating our world and man. He gave to Adam, the father of all living, a garden filled with fruits good for food, saying, “To you it shall be for meat.” [Genesis 1:29.] This was the Creator’s original plan. One animal of God’s creation was not to use another animal for food.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 20 (1905)
Lt 208, 1905
20LtMs, Lt 208, 1905, par. 17
God gave Adam charge of the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it; and of the trees and herbs bearing seed, He said, “They shall be for meat.” [Genesis 1:29.]Genesis 1:31
Christ Triumphant
The New Creation, January 2
CTr 8.1
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31.Homeward Bound
The Sabbath Created by Christ, June 15
HB 188.2
The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for humanity, it had its origin when “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” (Job 38:7.) Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven. “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good;” and He rested in the joy of His completed work. (Genesis 1:31.)Radiant Religion
Rejoices in His Works, February 2
RRe 35.3
God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced “very good.” Genesis 1:31. Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7.—Testimonies for the Church 6:349.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
Ms 21, 1900
15LtMs, Ms 21, 1900, par. 2
God manifested His love in the work of creation. When the earth was created, it was holy and beautiful. God pronounced it “very good.” [Genesis 1:31.] Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator. Everything upon which the eye rested was lovely, and filled the mind with thoughts of the love of God. Every sound was music, in perfect harmony with the voice of God.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
Ms 77, 1900
15LtMs, Ms 77, 1900, par. 1
“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work.” [Genesis 1:31; 2:2, 3.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 15 (1900)
Lt 22, 1900
15LtMs, Lt 22, 1900, par. 8
We may choose God’s way, and live; we may choose our own way, and know that sin has entered into the world and death by sin. When the earth was created by the Lord Jesus, it was holy and beautiful. God pronounced it “very good.” [Genesis 1:31.] Every flower, every shrub, every tree, answered the purpose of its Creator. Everything upon which the eye rested was lovely, and filled the mind with thoughts of love for the Creator. Every sound was music, in perfect harmony with the voice of God. But a change has come. The sin of man has brought the sure result—decay, deformity, and death. Today the whole world is tainted, corrupted, stricken with mortal disease. The earth groaneth under the continual transgression of the inhabitants thereof.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)
Lt 51, 1901
16LtMs, Lt 51, 1901, par. 5
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” [Genesis 1:31-2:3.]Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)
Lt 23, 1903
18LtMs, Lt 23, 1903, par. 4
How beautiful the earth was when it came from the Creator’s hand. God presented before the universe a world in which even His all-seeing eye could find no spot or stain, no defect or crookedness. Each part of His creation occupied the place assigned it and answered the purpose for which it was created. Like the parts of some great machine, part fitted to part, and all was in perfect harmony. Peace and holy joy filled the earth. There was no confusion, no clashing. There was no disease to afflict man or beast, and the vegetable kingdom was without taint of corruption. God looked upon the work of His hands wrought out by Christ and pronounced it “very good.” [Genesis 1:31.] He looked upon a perfect world, in which there was no trace of sin, no imperfection.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)
Lt 29, 1903
18LtMs, Lt 29, 1903, par. 4
How beautiful the earth was when it came from the Creator’s hand! God presented before the universe a world in which even His all-seeing eye could find no spot or stain, no defect or crookedness. Each part of His creation occupied the place assigned it and answered the purpose for which it was created—like the parts of some great machine, part fitted to part—and all was in perfect harmony. Peace and holy joy filled the earth. There was no confusion, no clashing. There was no disease to afflict man or beast, and the vegetable kingdom was without taint of corruption. God looked upon the work of His hands, wrought out by Christ, and pronounced it “very good.” [Genesis 1:31.] He looked upon a perfect world, in which there was no trace of sin, no imperfection.Counsels for the Church
Chapter 47—The Observance of God’s Holy Sabbath
CCh 261.1
Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath day shall be to us a day of joy. There was joy at the institution of the Sabbath. God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced “very good.” Genesis 1:31. Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. Though sin has entered the world to mar His perfect work, God still gives to us the Sabbath as a witness that One omnipotent, infinite in goodness and mercy, created all things. Our heavenly Father desires through the observance of the Sabbath to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. He desires that the Sabbath shall direct our minds to Him as the true and living God, and that through knowing Him we may have life and peace.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 21 (1906)
Ms 146, 1906
21LtMs, Ms 146, 1906, par. 2
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” [Genesis 1:31; 2:1-3.]Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6
Chapter 44—The Observance of the Sabbath
6T 349.1
Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath day shall be to us a day of joy. There was joy at the institution of the Sabbath. God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced “very good.” Genesis 1:31. Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. Though sin has entered the world to mar His perfect work, God still gives to us the Sabbath as a witness that One omnipotent, infinite in goodness and mercy, created all things. Our heavenly Father desires through the observance of the Sabbath to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. He desires that the Sabbath shall direct our minds to Him as the true and living God, and that through knowing Him we may have life and peace.That I May Know Him
The Voice of Nature, May 18
TMK 144.1
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31.The Desire of Ages
Chapter 29—The Sabbath
DA 281.1
The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven. “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good;” and He rested in the joy of His completed work. Genesis 1:31.This Day With God
Through Nature to Nature’s God, August 20
TDG 241.1
And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31.Testimony Treasures, vol. 3
The Observance of the Sabbath
3TT 16.1
Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath day shall be to us a day of joy. There was joy at the institution of the Sabbath. God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced “very good.” Genesis 1:31. Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. Though sin has entered the world to mar His perfect work, God still gives to us the Sabbath as a witness that One omnipotent, infinite in goodness and mercy, created all things. Our heavenly Father desires through the observance of the Sabbath to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. He desires that the Sabbath shall direct our minds to Him as the true and living God, and that through knowing Him we may have life and peace.From Heaven With Love
Chapter 29—Jesus Rescues the Sabbath
HLv 185.1
The Sabbath was hallowed at creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. Earth was in harmony with heaven. “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good”; and He rested in the joy of His completed work. Genesis 1:31.From the Heart
The Creation, May 7
FH 139.1
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Genesis 1:31.EGW Writings — Ellen G. White. Ellen G. White Estate · all rights reserved
Genesis 1:1
Lift Him Up
The Creation of the World, February 2
LHU 47.1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1.The Faith I Live By
Origin by Creation, January 18
FLB 24.7
“In the beginning God.” Genesis 1:1. Here alone can the mind in its eager questioning, fleeing as the dove to the ark, find rest. Above, beneath, beyond, abides Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish “the good pleasure of his goodness.” 2 Thessalonians 1:11.76Education, 134.Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 7 (1891-1892)
Ms 24, 1891
7LtMs, Ms 24, 1891, par. 53
“Canst thou by searching find out God?” [Job 11:7.] “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” [Genesis 1:1.] The Lord existed before He purposed to create the world. He is “from everlasting.” “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.” [Psalm 90:2.]