In the Garden of Eden - Steps to Life

The Second Angel’s Message

March 29 – April 4, 2026

Key Text

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12

Study Help: Education, 20–27; The Great Controversy, 531–550

Introduction

“In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave.” The Great Controversy, 544

Sunday

1 THE CREATION OF MAN

1.a. Why was man created? Isaiah 43:7. What place of honor was assigned to man when he came forth from the hands of his Creator? Psalms 100:3; 8:4–6

Note: “God created man for His own glory, that after test and trial the human family might become one with the heavenly family.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, 1082

“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.” Ibid.

1.b. What reveals that man is mortal, having no innate immortality? Genesis 2:17, last part; Job 4:17

Note: “The warning given to our first parents—‘In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die’ (Genesis 2:17)—did not imply that they were to die on the very day when they partook of the forbidden fruit. But on that day the irrevocable sentence would be pronounced. Immortality was promised them on condition of obedience; by transgression they would forfeit eternal life. That very day they would be doomed to death.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 60

Monday

2 “IN HIS OWN IMAGE”

2.a. What do we understand by the declaration that “God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27)? Ecclesiastes 7:29

Note: “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.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 45

2.b. On what condition only could our first parents have remained in Paradise forever? 1 John 2:17, last part

Note: “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.

“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.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 49

Tuesday

3 TEMPTATION AND FALL

3.a. After having revealed His will to Adam and Eve, what simple means did God choose to test their obedience? Genesis 2:16, 17

Note: “The tree of knowledge had been made a test of their obedience and their love to God. The Lord had seen fit to lay upon them but one prohibition as to the use of all that was in the garden; but if they should disregard His will in this particular, they would incur the guilt of transgression. Satan was not to follow them with continual temptations; he could have access to them only at the forbidden tree. Should they attempt to investigate its nature, they would be exposed to his wiles. They were admonished to give careful heed to the warning which God had sent them and to be content with the instruction which He had seen fit to impart.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 53

3.b. What warnings should we heed from the way Satan was able to entice our first parents into sin? Genesis 3:1–6

Note: “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. Notwithstanding the sophistry of Satan to the contrary, it is always disastrous to disobey God. We must set our hearts to know what is truth. All the lessons which God has caused to be placed on record in His word are for our warning and instruction. They are given to save us from deception. Their neglect will result in ruin to ourselves. Whatever contradicts God’s word, we may be sure proceeds from Satan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 55

Wednesday

4 BARRED FROM THE TREE OF LIFE

4.a. What was special about the tree of life, and why was it made inaccessible to man after the Fall? Genesis 2:9; 3:22–24

Note: “In order to possess an endless existence, man must continue to partake of the tree of life. Deprived of this, his vitality would gradually diminish until life should become extinct. It was Satan’s plan that Adam and Eve should by disobedience incur God’s displeasure; and then, if they failed to obtain forgiveness, he hoped that they would eat of the tree of life, and thus perpetuate an existence of sin and misery.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 60

“Had man after his fall been allowed free access to the tree of life, he would have lived forever, and thus sin would have been immortalized. But cherubim and a flaming sword kept ‘the way of the tree of life’ (Genesis 3:24), and not one of the family of Adam has been permitted to pass that barrier and partake of the life-giving fruit. Therefore, there is not an immortal sinner.” The Great Controversy, 533, 534

4.b. Who only has immortality, and why is this important for us to always bear in mind? 1 Timothy 6:14–16; Genesis 3:4

Note: “Had Adam remained obedient to God, he would have continued to enjoy free access to this tree and would have lived forever. But when he sinned he was cut off from partaking of the tree of life, and he became subject to death. …

“The only one who promised Adam life in disobedience was the great deceiver. And the declaration of the serpent to Eve in Eden—‘Ye shall not surely die’—was the first sermon ever preached upon the immortality of the soul. Yet this declaration, resting solely upon the authority of Satan, is echoed from the pulpits of Christendom and is received by the majority of mankind as readily as it was received by our first parents. The divine sentence, ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die’ (Ezekiel 18:20), is made to mean: The soul that sinneth, it shall not die, but live eternally. We cannot but wonder at the strange infatuation which renders men so credulous concerning the words of Satan and so unbelieving in regard to the words of God.” The Great Controversy, 532, 533

Thursday

5 SUBJECT TO GOD’S WILL

5.a. What must we do to be recognized as members of the family of heaven? John 15:14

Note: “ ‘Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you’ (John 15:14). This is the condition imposed; this is the test that proves men’s characters. Feelings are often deceiving, emotions are no sure safeguard; for they are variable and subject to external circumstances. Many are deluded by relying on sensational impressions. The test is: What are you doing for Christ? What sacrifices are you making? What victories are you gaining? A selfish spirit overcome, a temptation to neglect duty resisted, passion subdued, and willing, cheerful obedience rendered to the will of Christ are far greater evidences that you are a child of God than spasmodic piety and emotional religion.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, 188 [Author’s italics.]

5.b. How only can peace and harmony exist in our hearts, in society, and in the whole universe? Isaiah 48:18; 32:17

Note: “The harmony of creation depends upon the perfect conformity of all beings, of everything, animate and inanimate, to the law of the Creator. God has ordained laws for the government, not only of living beings, but of all the operations of nature. Everything is under fixed laws, which cannot be disregarded. But while everything in nature is governed by natural laws, man alone, of all that inhabits the earth, is amenable to moral law. To man, the crowning work of creation, God has given power to understand His requirements, to comprehend the justice and beneficence of His law, and its sacred claims upon him; and of man unswerving obedience is required.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 52

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

Why has God given us life?
Why are we permitted to be exposed to temptation?
What caused Eve to fall prey to the tempter?
What must we understand about the question of immortality?
What gives evidence that one has become a child of God?