Chapter 123—In Eden
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15
.
The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden, when after the
fall, there was given a divine promise that the seed of the woman should
bruise the serpent’s head. To all men this covenant offered pardon, and the
assisting grace of God for future obedience through faith in Christ. It also
promised them eternal life on condition of fidelity to God’s law. Thus the
patriarchs received the hope of salvation.
Adam and Eve, at their creation, had a knowledge of the law of God. It
was printed on their hearts, and they understood its claims upon them.
The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the
condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it. After the fall, the
principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing was taken from the
law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved. And as it has existed
from the beginning, so will it continue to exist throughout the ceaseless ages
of eternity.
After the transgression of Adam the principles of the law were ...
definitely arranged and expressed to meet man in his fallen condition. Christ,
in counsel with His Father, instituted the system of sacrificial offerings; that
death, instead of being immediately visited upon the transgressor, should be
transferred to a victim which should prefigure the great and perfect offering
of the Son of God.... Through the blood of this victim, man looked forward
by faith to the blood of Christ which would atone for the sins of the world.
The mission of Christ on earth was not to destroy the law, but by His
grace to bring man back to obedience to its precepts.... By His own obedience
to the law, Christ testified to its immutable character and proved that through
His grace it could be perfectly obeyed by every son and daughter of Adam.
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