Why did God create man? Do we know why we are here? What is God’s purpose for us all? Is it the end of everything for us when we die or there is a final place of destination? Many people, including those who say they believe in Jesus Christ, do not know the answer or somehow having a hard time understanding the answers to these questions? They were not able to know and understand God’s plan for all of us.

We can surely understand it if we search the Words of God with humility, with open heart and mind and most especially with prayers. All we have to do is to accept the truth in the Scriptures and reject false teachings of men. We then take a look on what the Bible say about the purpose of our lives and the reason why God give us life and what will be the consequences if we will achieve that purpose or not.

This time, we have to go back from the very beginning. To understand the present, we must go back to the past, and from there we can learn the purpose of our existence.

The Bible says, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth(Genesis 1:1), God also created the day and the night and as well as all living creatures like plants, trees and animals. The last of God’s creation is the man. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth(Genesis 1:26).

The Hebrew word of God is Elohim, which is plural in form, but it doesn’t mean that there are many Gods. There is only ONE TRUE GOD, who created everything and if we are going to look in the Bible, from the beginning to the end, there is only one true God. This name was commonly used in Judaism and considered plural in form and in meaning like angels, gods, rulers. The word Eloah is singular in form but only came recently in the poetry and in the late Biblical Hebrew, according to its Aramaic usage. In the Torah, the name Elohim is commonly use as singular in meaning, which depicts the single God of Israel, but in other cases, it is usually used in plural to describe the polytheistic notion of multiple gods.

When God introduced Himself to Moses in Exodus 3: 13-15, God said, “I AM THAT I AM,” denoting singleness. David says He is the only God who created everything. (Psalm 86:10)

God created man in His own image and likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27) And in Genesis 2:7, God gave him the breath of life and the man became a living soul. Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

This life has limitation. It has ending and not immortal like God. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4) The Hebrew word for soul is nephesh and according to Strong’s Concordance #5315, it is usually used to denote animals, which is translated as creatures like in Genesis 1:20, 21 and 24.

If Adam is created in the image of God, why is he not immortal like God? He was created in the image of God because Adam was given the mind capable of reasoning, creating and thinking, which can not be found in all other creatures like animals. But the ability of humans are limited compared to God. Isa 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God created man from the dust, a primary element of earth and considered as inorganic or without life. This is the reason why there is a need for God to give him the breath of life. God put Adam and Eve in the garden prepared for them. Inside the garden are the two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)

And the Bible said, Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

If they only eat the fruit of the tree of life, they could have live forever. But they chose the other tree, which becomes the origin of corruption like Apostle Paul mentioned in Romans 8: 21, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. The corruption mentioned here is the physical decay when a man dies.

Genesis 3 explains how Adam and Eve chose this. The serpent showed to Eve and asked her if they are allowed to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. The woman tells the truth when she said they will die if they eat it.

The devil give doubt to the words of God, Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Gen 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. The devil showed that there is something that God is hiding from them and this gave way for their transgression of the commandment of God. They were both deceived.

When they eat the fruit, they felt different and saw that they were both naked and hide themselves from God. They have come to know good and evil and like what God had told them, they were punished and soon died. Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Because of their unbelief and transgression, Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden and both were forced to live in the punishment prepared for them by God. This is how mankind begin to walk in the path of destruction. It did not become difficult for them to create things from metals and stones. They made buildings and created society for themselves, but later became wicked in the sight of God. Their sins committed cause God to destroy mankind through the flood that erase almost everything except Noah, his family and everything inside the ark he made.

The flood that destroyed everything was not enough to stop men from their sins and evil works. In the next generation, we can see how men build their armies to conquer other people. They discovered that they can get anything they want through war rather than producing things by working on their own selves. Sadly, the effects on the environment are detrimental, and we can see it on the nature itself, how it is being destroyed by people because of their greed and laziness. This gives proof, that if men were given more power and knowledge, then they can do more damage in this earth.

From the years that passed, people have lived a life full of fear. This fear is from the crimes and violence that people do against their fellow men, family and love ones. Among the things we fear today are the nuclear arms that can possibly harm or erase a part of this planet or even the planet as a whole.

God allowed men to freely choose everything they want and desire in their lives. From this situation, many people believe that God doesn’t exist at all. Questions arouse such as, “If there is God, why did He allow wars, diseases and sickness? If God is truly powerful, then why doesn’t He stop the devil and wickedness of this world? And why God hid Himself amidst everything that’s happening in the world today?”

Many religions teach that we were separated from God because of the fall of man. They teach that we were created perfect but the devil destroyed us, the reason why we fall from the grace of God.

We know that God’s creation was perfect, and God desires happiness and abundance for mankind, but the deceit of the devil caused the first beings to sin against God, thus sin entered also in this world. They choose to obey the devil rather than God, and this made them expelled from the beautiful Garden of Eden and from then, they suffered from the punishment and experienced physical death.

Job said, “If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.” (Job 14:14- 15)

What is the meaning of these verses? What does it mean when he said, thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands? All people were created by God, just like a clay to the Potter. “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

Each of us is moulded according to His purpose and the physical creation doesn’t end there. Man’s purpose is not yet completed. The completion will come until the resurrection, the great change that links the mortal life to immortal life. From here, God’s work for us will be completed.

God created Adam, this is the physical creation. But the birth through water and spirit, which is the Baptism, is thespiritual creation. The resurrection, typifies the completion of God’s purpose for all of His created beings. 1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

How will the great change happen? 1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The change will happen when Jesus Christ returns again. On His return, in just a blink of an eye, comes the change. The physical body will be changed to a spiritual body. From a body that dies to a body that will never die.

The salvation that God will give us aims not to repair the damage due to the sinfulness of men. The salvation aims to complete all what God had planned for us from the very start, that is, to give us the chance to be with Him in heaven. The salvation is not to repair but to complete and this is the truth written in the Bible. Did we see the difference?

Men has the ability to pro-create by reproduction, and from this, God continuously create billions and billions of people designed for His purpose. That purpose will be completed soon.

We have to understand that Genesis 1 and 2 explains only the physical creation of God. God did not create us as spirit, but from the dust of the earth. The creation was merely flesh and blood. Somehow, the creation is incomplete because it lacked something important. What is lacking?  One important thing lacking is the Holy Spirit from God. This spirit can be received by Baptism. (Acts 2: 38, 41, 47)

Each of us is created for purpose of doing good things. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.(Ephesians 2:10) We are here to walk on these good things, and good things can be done only by doing what is required of the law, that is obeying the law of God. Rom 7:12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

Many preachers made people believe that there is no need for works. They say that it is enough to accept Jesus as their personal saviour. This is not what the Bible teaches.

Paul said, Titus 2:14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Christ have given Himself for the church, so that everyone who will become part of it will be forgiven of their sins. Notice that these people were enthusiastic in good works and not by acceptance only.

And because of their good works, this will be their witness to all unbelievers on the day of His return. 1Pe 2:12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

This is God’s plan for salvation and it will come in His return. On that day, all believers who have died because of faith will be resurrected. 1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

In His return, He will come to give the price to those who will be triumphant, and this price will be according to what we have done. Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

But what are the things that must motivate to everyone to do good works and be faithful until the end? Before baptism, we need to repent. For many people, baptism is simply saying sorry for the mistake done. The Bible explains more than this.

John prepared the way for Jesus Christ and preached about baptism and repentance. (Matthew 3:8-11) And even Jesus Christ Himself, preached repentance. Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Apostle Peter also preached the importance of baptism as well as repentance to receive the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins. Act 2:38 Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit.

One of the important steps to salvation is the change of mind, the acceptance that we are doing things not according to the will of God, and that we are mislead and separated because of our sins. Paul acknowledged that he is indeed a sinner, and not ordinary sinner. (1 Tim. 1:16)

He confessed, 1Ti 1:12  I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for my work. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him, 1Ti 1:13  even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith and so did not know what I was doing. 1Ti 1:15  This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them,

Even if he became worst of all sinners, God still accepted him. This is what desires to us, to know the truth and be saved.1Ti 2:4  who wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth. God is ready to accept every repentant sinner, ready to do His will and obey His commandments.

After the repentance and baptism, the Holy Spirit directs a person’s thoughts for the needed change in his mind. The person will now think spiritually and will change from being worldly to being godly. Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. The Holy Spirit gives strength to change and the person will become a new creation.

As a new creation, we now live according to the truth and ways of God, that is, through His Words and Commandments, and not according to this world. 2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

As a Christian, we live according to what we have heard, learned and stand for, that is the Words of the Scripture that will lead us to salvation. 2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. The words of God will give us instructions, to live a new way of life. But, we have to permit the spirit of God to dwell in us so that we can do His will and obey His commandments.

In God’s view, spiritual growth can be obtained by practice of love, patience, mercy, faith, kindness, meekness and discipline. Read the whole chapter of Romans 12 and we will find out how a true Christian can behave according to His will.

As a Christian grows spiritually, knowledge and wisdom are also added to him. God did not create us like robots, but gave us mind and thinking capable of doing things on how to find His ways. God desires every one to find His ways and He will help us in many ways to overcome them. Through the knowledge and wisdom, which He will give, we can do everything He wanted us to do. Jas 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

We have to understand that God allows sufferings and travails to happen in this world. A Christian doesn’t live separately from this life; therefore, he has to live a life along with the unbelievers of this world and needs the strength to overcome many temptations.  Almost all sufferings and fear we experience are from the transgression of the law of God, and a true servant of God rejects all deceits from the devil like greed and all wickedness.

As a Christian and a child of God, it is necessary to learn things beyond our thinking. Christ set us an example on how to be obedient in spite of many sufferings we experience. Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Learning to be obedient can not happen overnight. It needs continuation every day until we become what God wants us to become.

In the example of Jesus Christ, He wants us to learn fear. Fear that leads us to come near and call to the Father as one son needs his parent. Fear that will push us to do His will and commandments. Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

This is the character and purpose of God to us all human beings and His sons and daughters. We need to follow the examples of Christ to us all, and this will not be easy for us to do, but God’s help will always be there for us.

Sometimes, we commit mistakes as humans are prone to do, and God corrects us in such ways to learn from our mistakes and helps us to find our way back to Him. These corrections are sometimes in the form of punishments and its purpose is to mould our spiritual characters. Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. God loves His children so much, and He wants to build a strong and loving relationship on them.

One of the important characters that God wants us to learn is discipline and self-control. There are many temptations and if we lack self-control, we can be attracted to it, especially if we are weak in faith. We need to grow and be strong so that we can control these things. Col 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: Col 3:6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

To achieve salvation, we need to show God that as a Christian, we can be obedient in all ways of our lives and services. Through these things, we can prove that we already know the purpose of our lives and happily doing it.

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