Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
God made humanity upright at the beginning, physically perfect and beautiful, mentally balanced and strong, and morally pure, holy and happy in His image without any inward tendency to evil. He made them free moral agents on probation in Eden, with every inducement to remain loyal, guarded by His law and by self-control, with perfect obedience as the condition of continued life and happiness. But they turned from His design to their own way, seeking out many inventions, meaning the devices, schemes and useless ways of doing evil that people devise when left to their own choices. By that disobedience they lost God's favor, perverted their powers so that selfishness replaced love, and brought physical, mental and moral decline with disease, suffering and death passing from generation to generation. Putting another day in place of the seventh-day Sabbath God blessed and commanded is one of those human inventions that departs from what He established, and continual transgression of the physical laws of the body is continual transgression of His law. Fallen humanity could not atone for itself, so only Christ, sinless and divine and greater in value than perfect humanity, offered Himself to restore people to their first condition, enabling all who cooperate with Him to resist temptation, escape Satan's power and have His moral image renewed in them.
Original Upright Creation
Lo, this only have I found speaks of humanity's beginning, when God made people upright, physically perfect, well formed and beautiful in form, not feeble and short-lived, before humanity deteriorated afterward. Present feebleness, suffering and premature death are not the appointed lot of humanity and not the work of Providence, but the work of man brought about by wrong habits and by violating the laws God made to govern existence. A continual transgression of nature's physical laws is a continual transgression of the law of God.
That uprightness included a perfectly balanced mind with distinct faculties working together, every organ fully and harmoniously developed in size and strength, and high intellectual powers above other earthly creatures. The first human was created perfect, with harmonious faculties and a fully developed body, and his emotions, words and actions conformed to his Maker's will. In Eden appetite was one of the strongest temptations to meet, and through seduction God's prohibition was disregarded, so the laws of nature wrought out their full penalty.
God made humanity morally upright: perfect, pure, noble, holy and happy, in God's image with a nature allied to the angels, holy aims and pure thoughts, open hearts, honesty, humility, meekness and simplicity, and an inheritance of eternal life. That noble character had no bias toward evil and no corrupt principles or inward tendency to evil, and it was not God's purpose that man should be sinful. Through disobedience those powers were perverted, selfishness took the place of love, thoughts became impure and aims unholy, and human nature was so weakened by transgression that fallen man cannot in his own strength resist evil. Fallen man became captive to Satan and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed, while Satan aims to thwart God's plan in creating man, fill the earth with woe and desolation, and point to that evil as the result of God's work. Yet through Christ people can resist temptation, escape Satan's power, and cooperate with God in restoring His moral image in them, and their worth rests on the infinite price paid for redemption, so reverence for God leads to self-respect and avoidance of conduct that dishonors body and soul.
God made Adam as a free moral agent, not a mere machine, and placed him in Eden on probation to form character for God's glory and human happiness, with every inducement to remain loyal and obedient and the law placed around him as a safeguard. He gave high intellectual powers and strong reasons to remain loyal, and perfect continual obedience was the condition of eternal happiness and access to the tree of life. God provided for every human need and tested loyalty, and failure to obey brought the fall. The first moral lesson there was self-control, with appetite meant to serve under moral and intellectual powers and not to rule, shown by God's provision for every need yet restriction of one tree.
Upright includes erect physical bearing, which reflects the intended form. An erect bearing supports physical, mental and moral benefit, including grace, dignity, self-possession, courage and self-reliance.
Meaning of Inventions
"Inventions" denotes the devices, schemes and ways of doing evil that human beings devise when left to their own choices, having turned away from the upright condition in which God made them. That turning was away from a design marked by open hearts, honesty, humility, meekness and simplicity, to each person's own way and self-interest. It shows itself in devising many ways to employ God-given abilities for what is useless and does no good, producing nothing of lasting benefit. Applied to students, this means spending God-given faculties on excessive games and amusements rather than useful work and merciful actions, leaving no record of good deeds in heaven to carry into the future life, so that those thus weighed are found wanting.
In Noah's day this turning meant that people became wise to do evil, with thoughts continually evil. That corruption grew until God swept them from the earth. Eve in Eden illustrates the same departure, for Adam was created perfect with a balanced mind whose distinct faculties worked together, yet Eve trusted the serpent's claim and her own pleasant experience instead of God's command, and Adam followed her, showing how human choices and reasoning lead away from given uprightness.
Fall and Its Consequences
God made humanity perfectly holy and happy, but Adam by disobeying God's law lost divine favor and destroyed his own happiness, plunging the human race into misery and despair and bringing corruption upon humanity and the world. In the beginning man stood upright with a perfectly balanced mind and with every organ fully and harmoniously developed in size and strength. Appetite was one of the strongest temptations he had to meet, and through the seduction of the wily foe God's prohibition was disregarded, so that the laws of nature wrought out their full penalty.
Through disobedience his powers were perverted, selfishness took the place of love, thoughts became impure and aims unholy, and human nature was so weakened by transgression that fallen man cannot in his own strength resist the power of evil. Fallen man became captive to Satan and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed, while Satan aims to thwart God's plan in creating man, fill the earth with woe and desolation, and point to that evil as the result of God's work in creating man. Human passions, if properly controlled and rightly directed, contribute to physical and moral health and secure happiness, but there can be no true enjoyment for the transgressor of God's law, for God restricts, directs, commands and positively forbids because He knows disobedience destroys happiness while submission to His authority secures it.
By giving way to appetite and passion and breaking God's law, men brought harm upon themselves and fell from the perfect and holy state in which they were created into physical, mental and moral decline, disease and suffering. Since the fall disease, suffering and death have increased, and the effects of departure from God's design have been passed from generation to generation. God still loves humanity and gives light so that people can live in harmony with the natural laws governing body and mind and use their powers for His glory.
God created humanity upright and well formed, perfect in organization and beautiful in form, not feeble and short-lived. Man's present feeble condition, suffering and premature death are not the appointed lot of humanity and not the work of Providence, but the work of man. They have been brought about by wrong habits and by violating and continually disregarding the laws God made to govern man's existence and life, and such continual transgression of nature's physical laws is continual transgression of God's law.
Atonement and Restoration
It was never the divine purpose for human beings to be sinful, for God made Adam pure and noble with no tendency to evil, as a free moral agent and not a mere machine, placed in Eden with every inducement to remain loyal and obedient and with the law set around him as a safeguard. Ecclesiastes 7:29 shows that God created humanity perfect and upright, yet after transgression people became fallen and imperfect, and therefore no fallen person could offer an acceptable atoning sacrifice for another. A sinful person is an imperfect offering, worth less than Adam before his fall and of less value than humanity in its original perfection and innocence, so such a sacrifice could not atone. All shared in the sin that came through Adam, which is why no human being could atone for the race.
The offering required had to be of greater value than perfect humanity in its innocent state. Only Christ, sinless and divine, could make atonement for sin, and He offered Himself to restore humanity to its first condition. God had created humanity upright, with Adam made in the divine image, his body fully developed and his faculties harmonious, his emotions, words and actions conformed to his Maker's will, with provision for every human need and a test of loyalty whose disobedience brought the fall, and Christ gave Himself for humanity in that need.
Adam was pure, in God's image, without corrupt principles or inward tendency to evil, and his fall did not come from indwelling sin but when Satan assailed him. Christ met Satan's temptations and overcame, thereby placing humanity on vantage ground. Those who partake of the divine nature can now resist the enemy's temptations.
Through Christ people can resist temptation, escape Satan's power, and cooperate with God in restoring His moral image in them, for they were created upright with God-given abilities, a nature allied to the angels, and an inheritance of eternal life. The Lord who made people perfect in the beginning helps them cultivate their physical and mental powers and become fit to bear responsibilities in His work. Their worth rests on the infinite price paid for their redemption, so reverence for God leads them to respect themselves and to avoid conduct that dishonors body and soul. Although humanity fell from a perfect and holy state by transgressing God's law, and disease, suffering and death have increased since the fall, God still loves humanity and gives light and knowledge so that people can live in harmony with the natural laws governing body and mind and use their powers for His glory.
Sabbath and God's Law
God remains unchanged and the same forever, while humanity has devised many ways to depart from what He established upright. Putting another day in place of the Sabbath that God distinguished and commanded as holy is one of those human inventions. People may change the day they observe, yet they cannot remove the blessing God placed on the seventh day. Nor can they by such changing alter God Himself.
God made man upright, perfect in organization and beautiful in form, not feeble and short-lived, while present feebleness, suffering and premature death have come through wrong habits and violating the laws God made to govern human existence. Such suffering and early death are not humanity's appointed lot and not the work of Providence, but the work of man through continual disregard of those laws. A continual transgression of nature's physical laws is a continual transgression of the law of God, for the body's laws are part of God's law. This departure includes intemperance and manufactured appetites that God did not create, and abusing the body in this way brings harm and dishonors its Maker. Human passions, if properly controlled and rightly directed, contribute to physical and moral health and secure happiness, but there can be no true enjoyment for the transgressor of God's law. God restricts, directs, commands and positively forbids because He knows disobedience destroys happiness, while submission to His authority secures it.
Practical Life Applications
God made human beings upright, and that uprightness is to be seen in erect physical bearing. Standing erect reflects the form God intended and actively promotes physical, mental, and moral benefit. It fosters grace, dignity, self-possession, courage, and self-reliance.
God made people upright, but they have devised many ways to use their abilities for what is useless and does no good. This is seen when students devote their God-given faculties to excessive games and amusements instead of useful work and merciful actions. Such pursuits produce no good deeds or acts of mercy, leave no record of good in heaven to carry into the future life, and when weighed are found wanting.
The many inventions include false, fashionable practices that displace useful work and lead people away from God's ways. Needless fashions such as extra puffings, tucks, trimmings, and tight-lacing waste time and money. They can harm health and shorten life.
People have turned from God and devised ways of seeking selfish, sensual pleasure. In doing so they abandon the pure joys and noble aspirations God provides for indulgences that damage body and mind and lead toward disease and premature death. This departure includes intemperance and manufactured appetites that God did not create. The body's laws are part of God's law, so abusing the body brings harm and dishonors its Maker.
God did not make youth corrupt. Their corruption comes through parents' perverted appetites and passions and failure to train them according to God's pattern.
People have pursued many inventions, a description that applies both to modern progress and to the inventions of the world before the Flood. Human advances such as railways, telegraphs, and cables connecting nations have not brought the fallen world closer to heaven. The reason is that people have not kept God's commandments.
God made humanity upright, but people have devised many ideas of their own and presumed to be wiser than God. These human inventions can distort, misuse, and mix revealed truth with deception. Instead of pursuing what God has not revealed, people are to treasure and study the light He has given.
God made humanity upright at the beginning, physically perfect and beautiful, mentally balanced and strong, and morally pure, holy and happy in His image without any inward tendency to evil. He made them free moral agents on probation in Eden, with every inducement to remain loyal, guarded by His law and by self-control, with perfect obedience as the condition of continued life and happiness. But they turned from His design to their own way, seeking out many inventions, meaning the devices, schemes and useless ways of doing evil that people devise when left to their own choices. By that disobedience they lost God's favor, perverted their powers so that selfishness replaced love, and brought physical, mental and moral decline with disease, suffering and death passing from generation to generation. Putting another day in place of the seventh-day Sabbath God blessed and commanded is one of those human inventions that departs from what He established, and continual transgression of the physical laws of the body is continual transgression of His law. Fallen humanity could not atone for itself, so only Christ, sinless and divine and greater in value than perfect humanity, offered Himself to restore people to their first condition, enabling all who cooperate with Him to resist temptation, escape Satan's power and have His moral image renewed in them.
Original Upright Creation
Lo, this only have I found speaks of humanity's beginning, when God made people upright, physically perfect, well formed and beautiful in form, not feeble and short-lived, before humanity deteriorated afterward. Present feebleness, suffering and premature death are not the appointed lot of humanity and not the work of Providence, but the work of man brought about by wrong habits and by violating the laws God made to govern existence. A continual transgression of nature's physical laws is a continual transgression of the law of God.
That uprightness included a perfectly balanced mind with distinct faculties working together, every organ fully and harmoniously developed in size and strength, and high intellectual powers above other earthly creatures. The first human was created perfect, with harmonious faculties and a fully developed body, and his emotions, words and actions conformed to his Maker's will. In Eden appetite was one of the strongest temptations to meet, and through seduction God's prohibition was disregarded, so the laws of nature wrought out their full penalty.
God made humanity morally upright: perfect, pure, noble, holy and happy, in God's image with a nature allied to the angels, holy aims and pure thoughts, open hearts, honesty, humility, meekness and simplicity, and an inheritance of eternal life. That noble character had no bias toward evil and no corrupt principles or inward tendency to evil, and it was not God's purpose that man should be sinful. Through disobedience those powers were perverted, selfishness took the place of love, thoughts became impure and aims unholy, and human nature was so weakened by transgression that fallen man cannot in his own strength resist evil. Fallen man became captive to Satan and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed, while Satan aims to thwart God's plan in creating man, fill the earth with woe and desolation, and point to that evil as the result of God's work. Yet through Christ people can resist temptation, escape Satan's power, and cooperate with God in restoring His moral image in them, and their worth rests on the infinite price paid for redemption, so reverence for God leads to self-respect and avoidance of conduct that dishonors body and soul.
God made Adam as a free moral agent, not a mere machine, and placed him in Eden on probation to form character for God's glory and human happiness, with every inducement to remain loyal and obedient and the law placed around him as a safeguard. He gave high intellectual powers and strong reasons to remain loyal, and perfect continual obedience was the condition of eternal happiness and access to the tree of life. God provided for every human need and tested loyalty, and failure to obey brought the fall. The first moral lesson there was self-control, with appetite meant to serve under moral and intellectual powers and not to rule, shown by God's provision for every need yet restriction of one tree.
Upright includes erect physical bearing, which reflects the intended form. An erect bearing supports physical, mental and moral benefit, including grace, dignity, self-possession, courage and self-reliance.
Meaning of Inventions
"Inventions" denotes the devices, schemes and ways of doing evil that human beings devise when left to their own choices, having turned away from the upright condition in which God made them.
That turning was away from a design marked by open hearts, honesty, humility, meekness and simplicity, to each person's own way and self-interest.
It shows itself in devising many ways to employ God-given abilities for what is useless and does no good, producing nothing of lasting benefit.
Applied to students, this means spending God-given faculties on excessive games and amusements rather than useful work and merciful actions, leaving no record of good deeds in heaven to carry into the future life, so that those thus weighed are found wanting.
In Noah's day this turning meant that people became wise to do evil, with thoughts continually evil.
That corruption grew until God swept them from the earth.
Eve in Eden illustrates the same departure, for Adam was created perfect with a balanced mind whose distinct faculties worked together, yet Eve trusted the serpent's claim and her own pleasant experience instead of God's command, and Adam followed her, showing how human choices and reasoning lead away from given uprightness.
Fall and Its Consequences
God made humanity perfectly holy and happy, but Adam by disobeying God's law lost divine favor and destroyed his own happiness, plunging the human race into misery and despair and bringing corruption upon humanity and the world. In the beginning man stood upright with a perfectly balanced mind and with every organ fully and harmoniously developed in size and strength. Appetite was one of the strongest temptations he had to meet, and through the seduction of the wily foe God's prohibition was disregarded, so that the laws of nature wrought out their full penalty.
Through disobedience his powers were perverted, selfishness took the place of love, thoughts became impure and aims unholy, and human nature was so weakened by transgression that fallen man cannot in his own strength resist the power of evil. Fallen man became captive to Satan and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed, while Satan aims to thwart God's plan in creating man, fill the earth with woe and desolation, and point to that evil as the result of God's work in creating man. Human passions, if properly controlled and rightly directed, contribute to physical and moral health and secure happiness, but there can be no true enjoyment for the transgressor of God's law, for God restricts, directs, commands and positively forbids because He knows disobedience destroys happiness while submission to His authority secures it.
By giving way to appetite and passion and breaking God's law, men brought harm upon themselves and fell from the perfect and holy state in which they were created into physical, mental and moral decline, disease and suffering. Since the fall disease, suffering and death have increased, and the effects of departure from God's design have been passed from generation to generation. God still loves humanity and gives light so that people can live in harmony with the natural laws governing body and mind and use their powers for His glory.
God created humanity upright and well formed, perfect in organization and beautiful in form, not feeble and short-lived. Man's present feeble condition, suffering and premature death are not the appointed lot of humanity and not the work of Providence, but the work of man. They have been brought about by wrong habits and by violating and continually disregarding the laws God made to govern man's existence and life, and such continual transgression of nature's physical laws is continual transgression of God's law.
Atonement and Restoration
It was never the divine purpose for human beings to be sinful, for God made Adam pure and noble with no tendency to evil, as a free moral agent and not a mere machine, placed in Eden with every inducement to remain loyal and obedient and with the law set around him as a safeguard. Ecclesiastes 7:29 shows that God created humanity perfect and upright, yet after transgression people became fallen and imperfect, and therefore no fallen person could offer an acceptable atoning sacrifice for another. A sinful person is an imperfect offering, worth less than Adam before his fall and of less value than humanity in its original perfection and innocence, so such a sacrifice could not atone. All shared in the sin that came through Adam, which is why no human being could atone for the race.
The offering required had to be of greater value than perfect humanity in its innocent state. Only Christ, sinless and divine, could make atonement for sin, and He offered Himself to restore humanity to its first condition. God had created humanity upright, with Adam made in the divine image, his body fully developed and his faculties harmonious, his emotions, words and actions conformed to his Maker's will, with provision for every human need and a test of loyalty whose disobedience brought the fall, and Christ gave Himself for humanity in that need.
Adam was pure, in God's image, without corrupt principles or inward tendency to evil, and his fall did not come from indwelling sin but when Satan assailed him. Christ met Satan's temptations and overcame, thereby placing humanity on vantage ground. Those who partake of the divine nature can now resist the enemy's temptations.
Through Christ people can resist temptation, escape Satan's power, and cooperate with God in restoring His moral image in them, for they were created upright with God-given abilities, a nature allied to the angels, and an inheritance of eternal life. The Lord who made people perfect in the beginning helps them cultivate their physical and mental powers and become fit to bear responsibilities in His work. Their worth rests on the infinite price paid for their redemption, so reverence for God leads them to respect themselves and to avoid conduct that dishonors body and soul. Although humanity fell from a perfect and holy state by transgressing God's law, and disease, suffering and death have increased since the fall, God still loves humanity and gives light and knowledge so that people can live in harmony with the natural laws governing body and mind and use their powers for His glory.
Sabbath and God's Law
God remains unchanged and the same forever, while humanity has devised many ways to depart from what He established upright. Putting another day in place of the Sabbath that God distinguished and commanded as holy is one of those human inventions. People may change the day they observe, yet they cannot remove the blessing God placed on the seventh day. Nor can they by such changing alter God Himself.
God made man upright, perfect in organization and beautiful in form, not feeble and short-lived, while present feebleness, suffering and premature death have come through wrong habits and violating the laws God made to govern human existence. Such suffering and early death are not humanity's appointed lot and not the work of Providence, but the work of man through continual disregard of those laws. A continual transgression of nature's physical laws is a continual transgression of the law of God, for the body's laws are part of God's law. This departure includes intemperance and manufactured appetites that God did not create, and abusing the body in this way brings harm and dishonors its Maker. Human passions, if properly controlled and rightly directed, contribute to physical and moral health and secure happiness, but there can be no true enjoyment for the transgressor of God's law. God restricts, directs, commands and positively forbids because He knows disobedience destroys happiness, while submission to His authority secures it.
Practical Life Applications
God made human beings upright, and that uprightness is to be seen in erect physical bearing. Standing erect reflects the form God intended and actively promotes physical, mental, and moral benefit. It fosters grace, dignity, self-possession, courage, and self-reliance.
God made people upright, but they have devised many ways to use their abilities for what is useless and does no good. This is seen when students devote their God-given faculties to excessive games and amusements instead of useful work and merciful actions. Such pursuits produce no good deeds or acts of mercy, leave no record of good in heaven to carry into the future life, and when weighed are found wanting.
The many inventions include false, fashionable practices that displace useful work and lead people away from God's ways. Needless fashions such as extra puffings, tucks, trimmings, and tight-lacing waste time and money. They can harm health and shorten life.
People have turned from God and devised ways of seeking selfish, sensual pleasure. In doing so they abandon the pure joys and noble aspirations God provides for indulgences that damage body and mind and lead toward disease and premature death. This departure includes intemperance and manufactured appetites that God did not create. The body's laws are part of God's law, so abusing the body brings harm and dishonors its Maker.
God did not make youth corrupt. Their corruption comes through parents' perverted appetites and passions and failure to train them according to God's pattern.
People have pursued many inventions, a description that applies both to modern progress and to the inventions of the world before the Flood. Human advances such as railways, telegraphs, and cables connecting nations have not brought the fallen world closer to heaven. The reason is that people have not kept God's commandments.
God made humanity upright, but people have devised many ideas of their own and presumed to be wiser than God. These human inventions can distort, misuse, and mix revealed truth with deception. Instead of pursuing what God has not revealed, people are to treasure and study the light He has given.