Who hasn’t pondered the question sometime in their lifetime as to the existence of God, this earth, and mankind? This is a centuries old philosophical question.
Why are we here and how did we get here?
What is our purpose on this planet?
Is this life all there is?
Who has the answer?
I believe that the Bible does. The Bible has the answer to all life’s questions. I believe that the Word of God begins with the WHOLE truth on why man was created. We are informed in the first sentence of the first paragraph of the book of Genesis, that:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
We are told right from the onset of the Bible that God is the Creator. The universe didn’t evolve from some microscopic amoeba or spring into existence by a “big bang.” It had a supreme designer. Genesis goes on to say in verse 26 of Chapter 1:
“Then God said, let Us make man in our image, according to our likeness;”
It’s interesting to note that the word “Us” is used instead of the word, “Me.” This is the first inference in the Bible to the Trinity. Since God is a Spirit, the “image” of God is our moral, ethical, and intellectual abilities that we have in common with our Creator. We are, in essence, living symbols of God Himself. So the first reason we are here is to acknowledge who created us and to:
Worship God for who He is!
God the Father is our Creator. God the Son is our Redeemer. God the Holy Spirit is our Helper. Mankind was created by the Triune God in His Image in order to acknowledge this fact and worship God for who He is.
We then read in the same verse in Genesis that not only was man made in the “image” of God, but that man was to:
“Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creepy things that creeps on the earth.” (v. 26)
While everything belongs to God and was created by Him, it is man whom God entrusted to rule as God’s agent over His created earthly animals, birds, and fish. Man was designed to rule over the earth’s creatures, always with God’s guidance and wisdom. The Bible goes on to say in the next verse that:
“In the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
God personifies both male and female. God also set the standard for the sexual relationship as being with one male to one female; not male to male, female to female, or of a “trans” positioned combination of each. God designed male and female in His own image as the primary occupants and foundation to the family structure. Any deviation from this a sin! This was Gods’ intention for the family structure as the Bible says next that He:
“Blessed them.” (v.28)
God blessed the union between a man and a woman. God knew it was good and He delighted in what He had created. We get the second reason why God created man so that we may:
Honor God for what He owns!
God owns everything in heaven and on earth! Psalm 24:1 verifies this statement by saying that “the world and all this is in it belong to the Lord.” God owns the fields and we are His laborers. We are to honor God for what he owns by offering to Him the first fruits of what He so graciously gives to us. This could be money and/or talents. Many people don’t realize that the key to financial blessing and prosperity is to honor God by giving him the first and best of what He blesses us with. If we are blessed with money, give some of that back to the Lord before we do anything else with it. If we are blessed with talents, give some of it back to the Lord. This is stated again in the book of Proverbs:
“Honor the Lord by making Him an offering from the best of all that your land produces. If you do, your barns will be filled with grain, and you will have too much wine to store it all.” (Proverbs 3:9)
Simple, yet profound.
Genesis goes on to say that after God blessed them, He said to them:
“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…” (v.28)
Notice that God first tells man and woman to be “fruitful.” He is telling us that we are to use our God-given talents to the best of our ability for His glory. Then, God said to “multiply and fill the earth” with inhabitants.
God’s pleasure is to have billions of people on earth acknowledge Him for who He is, honor Him for what He owns, and be blessed by Him as a result. God also said to “subdue it.” Subdue means to rule over it. The earth left to itself would not remain good. Instead, God planned that people would need to manage and control it.
We then read in Genesis that God tells them (Adam and Eve) that in order to be fruitful and use their talents to the best of their ability, they need to work. Yes, God intended man to work!
“Then the Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” (Genesis 2: 15)
Even though the Garden of Eden was a perfect place for man to inhabit, it was still necessary for man to tend to it. He needed to make sure the animals were fed and the plants were watered. This was a labor of love that man enjoyed.
It’s interesting to note in Genesis 2 what God does next. Here are Adam and Eve in a perfect setting in which they have everything “good” that God has created for them. He then commands them saying:
“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in that day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (v.16)
Earlier in Chapter 2 of Genesis, God provides an overview of the Garden of Eden and of its splendor and beauty. He says that there many trees that were pleasant to the sight and good for food, especially the “tree of Life.” In His abundant grace, God always gives permission before he gives restriction. The permission was broad (of every tree), while the restriction was narrow (tree of the knowledge of good and evil). God’s permission was for man to enjoy what God provided to them. God’s restriction was for man to trust in God for all their needs. This brings us to the third reason why God created man. It was so that we may:
Obey God for what He promises!
God wants man to freely love, trust and obey Him. He could have created robots who were programmed to obey, but mankind, with their free will, has a choice whether to obey God. God told Adam and Eve of the consequences of disobedience, but death (both physical and spiritual) was something foreign to them. Throughout the Bible, God tells man to obey Him and He promises to make known our life’s destiny and His will for us if we do.
“Those who obey the Lord will learn from Him the path they should follow.” (Psalms 25:12)
God gave to Adam and Eve everything that they could ever want and desire. All God wanted in return was obedience. He promises the same thing today to all who obey Him and His Word.
Disobey Him and suffer the consequences.
It is in the third chapter of Genesis that man messes up. Before Adam and Eve could eat of the tree of Life (and live forever), Eve succumbed to the devils temptation and committed the first sin of disobedience. Everything changed for mankind after that. Adam, without putting up any resistance, willfully ate of the fruit that Eve gave to him. Man immediately lost his spiritual life with God and would eventually lose his human life as well. A double whammy.
With this first sin, Adam and Eve actually turned their “legal” authority (to subdue the earth) given to them from God over to Satan. This happened when they decided to obey the serpent’s suggestion to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and willfully disobey God’s command forbidding it. Ever since that time, the world system has belonged to Satan.
Satan thought that he has backed God into a corner that He could not escape from. He counted on God compromising His perfect justice. The accuser felt that a “loving” God would never condemn all mankind to eternal death because of one little sin. This same argument is used by Satan and his legions to this day.
What they all didn’t know was that this event (man’s sin) triggered God’s secret plan of salvation for man.
There is only one way in which God can forgive the sin of man and be perfectly just at the same time. He would come down to earth as a man (Jesus), live without sin and later go to the cross and bear His own wrath for all sin. He would then rise from the dead, conquer death and Satan, and reign forever in heaven with His chosen elect.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
This brings us to the next reason why God created us. We are to:
Love God for what He does!
What God does is give man a second chance. When man sinned, God provided a means in which man can be reconciled back to Him and be forever justified. God didn’t do this to the angels who turned against Him and never received a second chance.
While we deserved death, God gave us life. While we deserved His wrath, God gave us His grace and righteousness. We need to love Him for that!
We need to love Him for that fact we can’t earn our way back into His favor. It’s a free give of His Grace that we receive by faith, alone.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8)
The entire New Testament teaches how Jesus was born to die for the sin of man. He traded His righteousness for our sins. At the moment we make this declaration of faith, the Holy Spirit dwells within us with the righteousness of Christ. When the Father looks down upon us, He no longer sees our sin, but Christ’s righteousness in us. Our names are then written, forever, in His book of Life!
With that knowledge, we can be SURE of our eternal destination. That brings us to the final reason why we were created. We are to:
Enjoy God for what He provides!
We are to enjoy what God entrusted us to subdue here on earth. We are to enjoy all of what He created. We are to enjoy His provisions for us and our families. We are to enjoy the gifts and talents He has graciously given to each of us to use for His glory. We are to enjoy our suffering as it brings us closer to Him. We are to enjoy the free gift of salvation that is given to us as we believe upon Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are to enjoy the righteousness of Christ that is imparted into us in exchange for our sins. And ultimately, we are to enjoy the eternal blessings of heaven.
The WHOLE truth on why we were created was to:
Worship God for who He is!
Honor God for what He owns!
Obey God for what He promises!
Love God for what He does!
Enjoy God for what He provides!
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