What Was The Purpose Of Creating Mankind According To The Bible?

Last updated on: October 15, 2015 at 6:40 pm by Jack Wellman

What Was The Purpose Of Creating Mankind According To The Bible? 2015-10-15T18:40:01-05:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Why did God create mankind? What was His purpose behind it according to the Scriptures?

Created for God’s Glory

Whether you recognize it or not, we were created for God’s glory and to give God glory. Isaiah writes that the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 43:3) says “Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory. I have formed him, yes, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:7) was all for the glory of God. Since we were made to glorify God we should glorify Christ in our bodies since “you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1st Cor 6:20). The creation also glorifies God as the psalmist writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). An astronomer knows just how vast and seemingly endless the universe is. The size is hard to put into a manageable scale. The heavens really do declare or make a declaration to everyone that God is above His creation and His creation glorifies Him. Even “the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice” (Psalm 50:6) and “The heavens praise your wonders” O “LORD” (Psalm 89:5). We were made for God’s glory but the creation glorifies God as well and certainly, “The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory” (Psalm 97:6), whether they suppress this knowledge or not (Rom 1:18). In the end, it really doesn’t matter because they have no excuse (Rom 1:20).

Glory from Redemption

God deserves all glory for saving us because it “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9) so we should “Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel” (Isaiah 44:23) and the redeemed should seek to have God display His glory in them. God tells Zion, “The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow” (Isaiah 62:2). After the Just Judge of the Universe has judged the world in righteousness, they will not look at the redeemed and say who are they? They will look at the redeemed and ask, “Who was their Redeemer?” The redeemed will be given new names and will continue to give the Redeemer all the glory in praise and thanksgiving, forever and ever.

To Have Dominion

When God created mankind, He gave him dominion over the earth. That didn’t mean he could abuse it or rape it though, even though that’s what has happened. Genesis 1:26 says “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” That was God’s original plan and even though mankind fell after sinning in the Garden of Eden, man still dominates the planet more than has dominion over it. God continued by saying telling Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food” (Gen 1:28-30). That dominion covers all the creation but it doesn’t give mankind permission to exploit the creation.

To Glorify God

Paul admonishes the church at Philippi to be “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:11) for only “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever” (Eph 3:21). God has saved us for this purpose; “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (Rom 9:23) and the vessels of mercy are those who have received mercy by repentance and faith. These “vessels of mercy” were “prepared beforehand for glory” from before the foundation of the world (Eph 1) and so “To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:36b). Doesn’t our being declared righteous in God’s sight glorify Christ (2nd Cor 5:21)? Surely our redemption glorifies God because it comes only from the Redeemer.

Conclusion

In time, “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:11) and then “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom 9:21) but only thanks to the Redeemer and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even the gospel is called “the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2nd Cor 4:3) in several places in the New Testament. The conclusion is that the creation declares God’s glory (Psalm 19:1), we were created for God’s glory (Isaiah 43:7), and our redemption gives God glory and more specifically, it glorifies our Redeemer.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Previous Post

October 15, 2015

Top 6 Bible Verses About Negativity

Next Post

October 16, 2015 Who Were Some Of The Greatest Leaders In The Bible?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In Revelation, how long does Satan remain bound in the Abyss?

Select your answer to see how you score.

666 years 144,000 days 7 years 1,000 years