The following is a message preached by Zac Poonen of the same title. In his message, Zac explains the original purpose God had in mind for man.
God had a great purpose when He made man. On the sixth day, God made animals and man on the same day. There was a reason why He did that. There are a lot of similarities between animals and man, but there is one significant difference between animals and human beings. If we don’t recognize that, then man sinks to the level of animals. God breathed into man, and man became a living soul, that is because God gave man His Spirit. An animal does not have a spirit. If man does not give prominence to that part of His being which animals do not have, he very soon sinks to the level of animals. That is the message God was trying to convey to man when he made man on the same day as animals.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ – 1 Thessalonians 5:23
When God created man, He breathed into him, and his purpose was man and woman should rule. God never intended for us to be slaves to the fear of men, sin, etc. God wants us to be an overcomer -- rule, and the only way to do that is to respond to the upward call and ask for His grace to deny the pulldown. Man was supposed to be God's representative on earth and that is where he failed miserably.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. - 2 Corinthians 5:20
An ambassador of Christ is to represent Christ by his conduct and behavior. None of the angels could be His ambassador. They could not represent Him. In all of creation, there was nothing that could represent God.
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: - Genesis 1:26
Finally, it was when God created man, he had a representative. He had a man who could reflect who God is and what He is like. That is why man has the capacity to fellowship with God. That is also why man is restless. There is a part of us that will never be satisfied till it is restored to God’s original design and purpose. The ultimate purpose is that every single day of our lives we are reflecting the nature of God. Under the Old Testament, it wasn't possible. It was only possible after the day of Pentecost. The whole purpose of God restoring us is to fulfill God's original purpose. We wash cups and utensils not just so they will be set on the shelves. They are washed and cleaned so they can be used for a purpose.
When Man fell in the Garden, that part of us that was like God, our spirits, also fell. When a person gives their life to Christ, God seeks to bring him back to that place with the spirit having preeminence before sin came into the equation. When we accept the Holy Spirit, we find a pull calling us to overcome our passions and to live for things that are eternal. No animal ever feels that pull. As born-again people, we experience the upward pull of our conscience to respond to God and the downward pull that is why we need the power of the Holy Spirit if we are to keep responding to the upward pull. The purpose of a light build is to produce light. When it is connected to the source, it effortlessly produces light. It doesn't have to strive to fulfill its purpose. Similarly, when we are connected to our Source -- The Holy Spirit, we effortlessly become the light of the world. We effortlessly become a representation of who God is, and we fulfill our purpose. God is not asking us to overcome our passions by our own strength and willpower. He says, be connected to me, allow my Spirit to fill you, and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to live how God wanted Adam and us to live from the very beginning.
Comments