I am sure that every Catholic and every Protestant, as well as every child of God, would say “amen” to the following statement from the pen of the Prophet Isaiah: “O Lord, you are the Father; we are the clay.  You are the Potter and we all are the work of Your hand” (64:8).  For seekers of ultimate Truth, this brings up the ultimate question: WHY DID GOD CREATE MAN?  The answer to that query tells us what we should and should not do, think and say, where we should and should not go, with whom we should and should not associate, what we should and not wear, read, watch, listen to, etc.  In summary: EVERYTHING CONCERNING OUR LIVES SHOULD BE DICTATED BY THE ANSWER TO THE “WHY” QUESTION.  ONLY THOSE WHO LEARN THE ANSWER AND APPLY IT TO THEIR LIVES WILL SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD AND HIS SON IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD CHRIST WILL ESTABLISH UPON HIS RETURN TO EARTH.

In Genesis 1:1 we find these Words: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”  The English Word “God” in Hebrew–the language of the Old Testament–is “Elohim,” which is plural–Gods–meaning God and the Word.  The Word (Jn. 1:1-4,14) would later come to earth as Jesus of Nazareth.  Read Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or God-man?  Key word–God-man.

In Genesis 1:26 we learn that God and the Word planned how They would make man and determined what would be man’s status relative to the REcreated earth and universe which They (Elohim) had brought into existence over the previous five days.  In keeping with the Biblical account, words such as God, the Lord, the Almighty, He, etc. will be used henceforth in reference to the Godhead (Elohim) unless notified otherwise.  At times it is necessary to distinguish between God and the Word.  Notice that God said nothing about any part of His creation ever changing, ever evolving or ever morphing into something else or into a different version of what had been created.  God created everything perfect.  He intended for everything to remain exactly as He created it.  Perfection does not need to be changed, corrected, etc.

Recall that there was nothing living on earth at the time referred to in Genesis 1:2.  Notice also that the earth was covered with water.   Relative to chapter 1, we do not know how much time had elapsed between verses 1 and 2–between the first creation and the REcreation written about in verse 2.  Thousands, possibly millions of years could have transpired between the events mentioned in verses 1 and 2.  We also do not know what beings and creatures God created and placed on the original surface of the earth.  These entities would have died during the war which destroyed everything on the earth, leaving it “without form” and “void” (vs 2).

From Isaiah 45:18 we learn that the Lord did not create the earth “without form” (tohu–waste) and “void” (bohu–empty) and in total darkness as it was at the time referred to in Genesis 1:2.  Beginning with verse 3 we find the story of how God RESTORED the earth and populated it with what is called “nature”–plants, animals, birds, fish, etc.  During creation week He also created the sun, moon and other heavenly bodies that make up the present universe (verses 3-25).

In order to determine why God created mankind, we must understand that each created thing had within itself the ability to reproduce itself.  Every living thing, we are told in verse 24, was designed to reproduce “after its kind.”  Animals would reproduce after their kind, trees after their kind, birds, fish, etc. after their specific kind.  Each of the different kinds of animals, plants, birds, fish, etc. was programmed to reproduce its own kind and only its own kind.  “And God saw that “it was GOOD” (1:12,18,21,25,).  Again, bear this in mind when we examine His creation of man, for it explains what I wrote in the first paragraph in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS.

God does nothing without a purpose.  For what purpose was the earth created?  Why was everything created in perfect as well as specific form?  Note that each generation of living things was programmed to reproduce replicas of the original, with each generation reproducing duplicates of itself.  Following the creation of Adam and Eve God looked upon the totality of His creation and declared everything to be, not merely good, but “VERY GOOD” –exactly as He had designed it (1:31).  No change would ever need to take place in anything He had created.  Keep this in mind as we study the creation of man (Heb.–Adam).

In Genesis 1:26 we find God saying to His fellow God (the Word), “Let US make man (Adam) in OUR (PHYSICAL) IMAGE  and in OUR (SPIRITUAL) LIKENESS ….”  God created man in His (God’s) bodily shape and gave him the OPPORTUNITY to become like Him spiritually simply by obeying Him.  Man’s physical characteristics were dictated by God.  His spiritual characteristics, however, were to be determined by man himself according to his personal choice.  “So God created man in His image, in the image of God created He him, male and female He created them” (vs 27).

Earlier, God had created the angels, perhaps billions of them, and had placed one-third of them on earth to care for it under the leadership of Lucifer, perhaps the most spectacular angel ever to exist.  Having created those spiritual beings, He then gave them the power of choice–free moral agency.  The angels could obey God and be like Him in terms of character, or they could obey Lucifer and take on his character.  One-third of them chose the latter and became like their new god who, because of his rebellion against the true God, came to be known as Satan the devil–the enemy of God.  The choice made by the angels who followed Satan automatically turned them into God’s enemies.  According to Scripture, the same is true of man (Rom. 5:10/ Phil. 3:18).  Whether churched or unchurched, those who sin are “without Christ and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).  According to the Apostle John, anyone who sins “is the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8) regardless of his/her religious standing.  Sin, Isaiah tells us, separates us from God (29:2).  We cannot be one WITH Him and be separate FROM Him.  The CHOICE is ours.  According to Jesus, only a few make the right choice (Mat. 7:13,14).

Like the angels, Adam and Eve were awarded free moral agency.  They could individually choose to follow and obey the God Who created them, or Satan–the “god of this earth” (2 Cor. 4:4)–who wanted to destroy them.  Though God had created them for a specific purpose, He gave them the right to choose or reject His purpose.  They could obey Him and thereby allow Him to form them into the spiritual mold He had created for them, or they could obey Satan and allow him to form them into his mold.  They chose the latter, as have the vast majority of their descendants.

In the next posting we will learn why God created man.  Be prepared to be surprised, even shocked.  As is the case with most everything taught by the church, God’s reason for creating man is the exact opposite of what we have been told from pulpit and podium, from television, radio, the internet, from street preachers and leaflet dispensers, from the denominations, cults, sects and faiths.  The “angel of light’s” “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13-15) have been extremely busy spreading his perverted, have-it-your-way gospel.  The Apostle Paul warned the churches of his day about the false prophets who had risen up in the church and were turning people away from God’s pure Gospel (Gal. 1:6-9).  Through the writings of the prophets and apostles, God continues to warn salvation seekers today.  Just before His death, Jesus warned those who seek salvation to: “Take heed that no man deceive you, for many will come in My name, declaring that I (Jesus of Nazareth) am the Christ, and will deceive many” (Mat. 24:4,3).  The religious masses have not heeded His warning.  Indeed, “Satan has deceived the whole world” into allowing him to mold them in his spiritual image (Rev. 12:9).  L.J.