Seventh-day Adventist® Church

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. Patriarchs and Prophets, 370.

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. SDA Bible Commentary 1:1104.

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. Selected Messages 1:220.

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. Selected Messages 1:230.

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. Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 48, 49.

Devotional taken from God's Amazing Grace, May 3. Ellen G. White

Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Proverbs 4:5, NKJV.

There is no time now to fill the mind with false ideas of what is called higher education. There can be no higher education than that which comes from the Author of truth. The Word of God is to be our study. We are to educate our children in the truths found therein. It is an inexhaustible treasure; but men and women fail to find this treasure because they do not search until it is within their possession. In this Word is found wisdom, unquestionable and inexhaustible wisdom, that did not originate in the finite mind, but in the infinite mind.

When men and women are willing to be instructed as little children, when they submit wholly to God, they will find in the Scriptures the science of education. When teachers and students enter Christ's school, to learn from Him, they will talk intelligently of higher education, because they will understand that it is that knowledge which enables people to understand the essence of science.

Those who would seek successfully for the hidden treasure must rise to higher pursuits than the things of this world. Their affections and all their capabilities must be consecrated to this search. Men and women of piety and talent catch views of eternal realities, but often they fail to understand, because the things that are seen eclipse the glory of the unseen. By many human wisdom is thought to be higher than the wisdom of the divine Teacher, and God's lesson book is looked upon as old-fashioned, so much so indeed as to be thought tame and stale. But by those who have been vivified by the Holy Spirit it is not so regarded. They see the priceless treasure, and would sell all to buy the field that contains it.... 

Those who make the Word of God their study, who dig for the treasures of truth, will appreciate the weighty principles taught, and will digest them. As a result, they will be imbued with the Spirit of Christ; and by beholding, they will become changed into His likeness. They will teach like disciples who have been sitting at the feet of Jesus, who have accustomed themselves to learn of Him, that they might know Him whom to know aright is life eternal.—The Review and Herald, July 3, 1900. 

(devotional from To Be Like Jesus, April 26; Ellen G. White)