A Short Study in the Word No.

2 Man: His Purpose

Sanctify them through thy Word: thy Word O God is truth! - John 17:17
We have established in study No.1 that the Word of God is totally trustworthy. This is really the foundation of our entire relationship
with God because His written word is the main channel that He uses to communicate with us! Friends, you must always keep this
point in mind for the rest of your life: Your knowledge of God and His ways will affect your relationship with Him in one way or
the other. On this point, please consider the very strong words of the Lord in Hosea 4:6. God will continue to be whom and what
He is regardless of your knowledge of Him! However, your knowledge of Him directly affects how you relate to Him how you
are led by His Spirit, how strong a connection you have with Him, how you receive from Him etc.
Now, one of the main attributes of God is that He never does anything just for the sake of doing it or just because He has the power
to do things. That is to say, God always has a purpose in doing whatever He does. God doesnt suffer from brainwaves! His great
quality of being purpose-oriented is evident in our world everything which He made was made beautifully and fits perfectly and
purposefully in its place! Consider carefully the awesome majesty and splendour of our Gods creative power as you read Psalm
104. You may then rightly ask, Why did God create man? Many have asked this question throughout the centuries of our existence,
no doubt because of the numerous problems that affect mankind. Friends, whatever the reasons are, we can be sure that God had
great and wonderful intentions for us when He purposed to create us. Indeed, He is the Father of everything that is good and godly
(James 1:17).
Let us attempt to answer the question, Why did God create man? The Bible tells us that God made the heavens and the Earth
(Genesis 1:1, Revelation 10:6). But we are also told very specifically in Isaiah 45:18 that the purpose of the Earth was to provide
a place of living for all kinds of creatures. In Genesis 1:26, God declared that He will make a new creature, man, in His image and
likeness. The words image and likeness means that He patterned man after Himself. What is this pattern? We read in John 4:24
that God is a spirit and from Isaiah 11:1 that His spirit personality has a seven-fold expression. We are reminded in Genesis 2:7, 1
Thessalonians 5:23 and 1 Corinthians 6:17 that we are also spirits that live in a physical body. In Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15,
man was given major responsibilities to procreate and to take care of the Garden of Eden. Having made us in His image and
likeness, God bestowed upon mankind an honour not given to any other created being. By this, He identifies us as His top creation,
created to rule over the Earth. This is confirmed in Genesis 1:26, when God decreed that man was to have dominion over all the
Earth, while in Genesis 1:28, He specifically declared that man was to subdue the Earth. These two words are defined in the
Websters Dictionary as follows:
DOMINION, n. [Latin, dominus, from which we get the English words lord and master]
1. Sovereign or supreme authority; the power of governing and controlling. 2. Power to direct, control, use and dispose of at pleasure;
right of possession and use without being accountable; as the private dominion of individuals.3. Territory under a government;
region; country; district governed, or within the limits of the authority of a prince or state.4. Government; right of governing.
SUBDUE, v.t. [Latin, subducere, meaning to draw from below]
1. To conquer by force or the exertion of superior power, and bring into permanent subjection; to reduce under dominion. Subduing
implies conquest or vanquishing, but it implies also more permanence of subjection to the conquering power, than either of these
words.2. To oppress; to crush; to sink; to overpower so as to disable from further resistance.3. To tame; to break by conquering a
refractory temper or evil passions; to render submissive; as, to subdue a stubborn child.4. To conquer; to reduce to mildness; as, to
subdue the temper or passions.5. To overcome by persuasion or other mild means; as, to subdue opposition by argument or entreaties.
Friends, do you think that this was all God created man for? To make children, eat food and take care of a garden? Certainly NOT!
God desired to express His absolutely wonderful personality through man. This is the very reason why He made man in His image
and likeness. In this way, He was going to accomplish the restoration and transformation of the Earth as man would begin to multiply
according to Genesis 1:28. At the same time, it would bring great pleasure to God to see His creation fulfil His command by
faithfully obeying His word. Among the many things given to us by God are these two: understanding and free will. These allow
man to appreciate everything around Him and reach out in praise to the glory of God, thereby creating beautiful fellowship between
the Creator and His adoring children. So up to this point, we should understand the following key points:

God made man, the heavens and the Earth as well as all of the creatures on the Earth
God specifically made the Earth to be a planet that can sustain the biological life of all creatures and plants
God commanded Adam and his wife Eve to multiply and produce offspring on the Earth
God entrusted the care of the Earth to man (Adam and his wife) by decreeing that man was to have dominion over it
God intended that Adam (and his offspring) would fulfil the roles and responsibilities that He gave to them (of reigning
over the Earth, while transforming and caring for it) by functioning according to spiritual principles, from the understanding
that they were created as spirit beings. He intended that the conditions of Eden would be reproduced all over the earth by
Adam and the human family by declaring that they were to subdue it. This is an especially important fact because it has
much to do with how Adam initially operated, what he lost as a result of the fall in Eden, and what was restored to us by
Jesus Christ.
It is clear that all things were made for the good pleasure and glory of God and man is no exception. We should also
understand that it is only in faithfully serving the Lord that we truly glorify Him. Keep His Word if you truly love Him!