Chapter 32—Adam and Eve—Rulers in Eden
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
.
Adam was crowned king in Eden. To him was given dominion over every
living thing that God had created. The Lord blessed Adam and Eve with
intelligence such as He had not given to any other creature. He made Adam
the rightful sovereign over all the works of His hands.
Created to be “the image and glory of God,” Adam and Eve had received
endowments not unworthy of their high destiny.... Every faculty of mind and
soul reflected the Creator’s glory. Endowed with high mental and spiritual
gifts, Adam and Eve were made but “little lower than the angels.”
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
first parents... 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....
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 ... Together at
their feet. The happy birds flitted about them without fear; and as their glad
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