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hl section 8
What Was God’s Original Purpose for Man?

How Can You Have a Happy Life?

hl section 8

SECTION 8

What Was God’s Original Purpose for Man?

“Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.”—GENESIS 1:28.

GOD created Adam and Eve to live a happy life on earth and to take care of their beautiful home. (Genesis 2:15) He endowed them with a measure of his own qualities. The first man and woman could explore the entire planet and enjoy everything on it. Their offspring would be born into perfect conditions.

Adam and Eve in the Paradise in Eden

What opportunity did God give the first human couple?

God gave our first parents the opportunity to live forever in Paradise, where they could spend an eternity getting to know him and his works better. (Psalm 115:16; Ecclesiastes 3:10, 11) Adam and Eve could pass on the same opportunity to their offspring.

What guidelines did God give to Adam and Eve?

Adam and Eve were free to enjoy life as part of God’s universal family, as long as they respected their Creator’s standards of good and bad. He told them how best to use their freedom and warned them of the consequences of disobeying: If they lived according to God’s instructions, they would enjoy perfect life forever; if they chose their own way, they would suffer and lose their lives. Whenever we have freedom of choice, we bear responsibility for our decisions and actions.—Genesis 2:16, 17.

What went wrong?

First, Satan rebelled against God. Then, Adam and Eve decided to follow Satan. As a result, they sinned against God, lost their perfection, and began to die.—Genesis 5:5.

How did Adam and Eve’s actions affect us?

After Adam and Eve sinned, they could no longer pass on perfection and the prospect of everlasting life to their offspring. Thus, they brought sin and death into the world. Contrary to God’s original purpose, we all die because of sin. But what is sin?

Who Is Satan?

Before God created the earth and man, he created angels. (Job 38:4, 7) One of those angels became “Satan”—meaning “Resister”—when he tried to take over the rulership of mankind. He did not challenge God’s power but, rather, God’s right to rule.

What is Satan’s aim?

Satan wants to bring all people under his own rule. He accused God of lying, and he told Eve that she and Adam would be better off deciding for themselves what was good and what was bad.—Genesis 3:4, 5.

What has Satan achieved?

By listening to Satan, Adam and Eve put themselves under Satan’s rule and severed their relationship with God. Were they better off afterward? Since then, has mankind benefited from trying to live independent of God? Does mankind today enjoy perfect life in Paradise, as God originally purposed?