1) In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit,a for the manifestation of the
glory of his eternal power,b wisdom, and
goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein,
whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all
very good.c
(a John
1:2,3, Hebrews
1:2, Job
26:13; b Romans
1:20; c Colossians 1:16, Genesis 1:31)
2) After God had made all other creatures, he created
man, male and female,d with reasonable and
immortal souls,e rendering them fit unto that
life to God for which they were created; being made after the
image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true
holiness;f having the law of God written in
their hearts,g and power to fulfil it, and yet
under a possibility of transgressing, being left to the liberty
of their own will, which was subject to
change.h
(d Genesis
1:27; e Genesis
2:7; f Ecclesiastes 7:29, Genesis 1:26;
g Romans 2:14,15;
h Genesis 3:6)
3) Besides the law written in their hearts, they
received a command not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good
and evil,i which whilst they kept, they were
happy in their communion with God, and had dominion over the
creatures.j
(i Genesis
2:17; j Genesis
1:26,28)