Van Houte, Samuel

English

Dordt College

Volume 1 Number 4 Article 2 June 1973 God's Purpose for Man Samuel Van Houte Dordt College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege  Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Van Houte, Samuel (1973) "God's Purpose for Man," Pro Rege: Vol. 1: No. 4, 2 - 3. Available at: https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/pro_rege/vol1/iss4/2 This Feature Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Publications at Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pro Rege by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact ingrid.mulder@dordt.edu. GOD'S PURPOSE FOR MANA Brief Lcd< at Man's PurpcseIt is good for us to pause occasionally toconsiderou-:ultimatepurpose in life. We arenot asking now what men may say, but whatthe Bible teaches. God makes it clear thatman exists for the glory of his Creator (Isa. 43:7; Rom. 11:36). That is why Paul tells us thatinall things we must seek to make known thegJory that be longs to God 0 Cor. 1 0: 31). There-fore, too, the Third Commandment requiresthat we use the name of God, which includesa II that revea Is God, in order to make knownGod's glory. For that reason also we pray,"Hallowed by Thy Name," that all of God'srevelation might be used to that end. Andthat is why throughout Scripture there is suchemphasis on glorifying God.perfectly in this life), so that the Christian lovesGod with his whole being and his neighbor ashimself. In restoring His image in His elect,God causes a change in heart and life towardboth God and man.When in Colossians3: 1 0 Paul speaks of therenewal in knowledge of the image of God, hemeans more than just an understanding of rightand wrongandtheability, by God's grace, tochoose between them. The word "knowledge"that he uses here means a thorough and broadknowledge. It is also a discerning and trueknowledge, in distinction from inaccurate oror false knowledge. As we examine Paul's useof this term in Romans 1:28, we see that ac-knowledging God in a11 things is contrastedwith a godless state of mind (cf. vss. 21-27),in which people refuse to acknowledge theCreator. It is also distinguished from a godlessknowledge in which men refuse to see God'srevelation of Himself in the creation, and inwhich, in fact, they refuse to acknowledgeGod as God. It must be our goa I to know Godand His revelation as nearly perfectly as wecan, and thus Pau I speaks of such fu II know-ledge as something to which Christians lookforward in the life to come(1 Cor. 13:12). InEphesians 4: 13 Paul inc ludes in faith and know-ledge all the elements of that state of mindwhich is directed toward Christ. Such know-ledge includes love for God, and the personalexperience of His fellowship. Charles Hodgespeaks of it as "that knowledge of God in whicheternal life essentially consists" (Commentaryon the Epistle to the Ephesians, 1:17). In Ga-lations4:9 it is by this knowledge of God thatthe Christian is distinguished from the non-The Image of God in ManAccordingtothe Scriptures man has beencreated in the image of God. Let us see whatthe Bible means by the image of God in man,in order that we may try to see how this is re-lated to man's purpose of glorifying God.The Bible speaks of the image of God intwo respects: as lost in the Fall and in need ofrestoration, and as sti II present in a II men afterthe Fall. It is the former that I would like toconsider here.In Ephesians4:24 we see that the restora-tion of God's image in man involves his re-creation in true righteousness and holiness. Theredeemed man is made lust toward his neighborand pious toward God. In other words, Godconforms the Christian to His law (though not-2-revelation of God in creation. Therefore, wemust proclaim the Gospel, the good news of theChrist who saves and illumines the reborn man.Jesus, when He prepared to ascend to heaven,made it clear to His disciples that they wereto do this (Mt. 28:19,20; Acts 1:8).The Place of Creation in Man's Pur,poseChristian. This certainly shows that Paul doesnot mean merely intellectual knowledge. InIJohn 4:7,8 we see that without love there isno knowledge of God, and that he who knowsGod at the same time loves Him. The word"knowledge" as Paul uses it in Colossians 3: 1 0may not be too narrowly restricted: it includesnot only intellectual activity, but also lovefor God.When we remember that our whole purposeis to make known God'sglorytomen, we beginto see more clearly what "knowledge" means inColossians 3:10. We are made in such a waythat we have the capacity to receive and re-spondto God's revelation of Himself, both inScripture and in creation. Restoration of God'simage in this respect restores knowledge ofGod according to His revelation and providesfor the proper response to that reve lation: withour whole being-heart, soul, mind, and strength.The image of God is restored in the re-generate man in true knowledge, righteousness,and holiness. This includes the attitude andpurpose of the heart and the direction of life,and involves all our activity and its results.The restored image of God in man inc ludes allthe spiritual change in us that follows regenera-tion. The spiritual knowledge that God re-quiresofus is knowledge of God and His gloryin accordance with His revelation. The re-deemed must express that knowledge in all oflife.The restoration of God's image in man isin keeping with man's purpose. God redeemedman that he might acknowledge God's glory,praising God, and that he might seek to makeknown that glory of God to others, that theya Iso may acknowledge it and praise God.Genesis 1 :28, sometimes referred to as"the cultura I mandate, " also sets forth a com-mand for man. Let us see how this fits in withthe above.We should note, first of all, that the im-mediately preceding verses in Genesis 1 tell usthat God created man in His own image. Thedominion of man over the earth is a result ofhis being created in the image of God. Godmade man so that he could see God's glory andrespond to it in praise, and so God placed manin the world and commanded him to have do-minion over the world. As we look at versd'28, we see that man is to fill the earth withcreatures made in God's image who are capa-ble of seeing and responding to God's glory.We see further that man is to subdue the crea-tion and rule over it. In this, too, man mustmake known the glory of God, which He re-veals. Two aspects of this activity come tomind immediately. Man must rule over thecreation so that he will have a proper settingfor his purpose of seeing and showing forthGod's glory. He needs a suitable arena forhis work. In the second place, since the crea-tion itselfis revelatory of God, man must makeknown that revelation of God as fully andclearly as possible.Although man is placed on earth so thathe may see and respond to the revelation ofGod'sglory, man is not to do this without con-cern for what is good and pl~asant for himself.That man's purpose must be wholly directedtoward God can not be de ni ed, for that is what-the Bib Ie teaches. But the Scriptures a Iso makeit clear that precise Iy that interest and activity,and on Iy that, can give happiness to man. ByGod's grace, man's nature is such that he findstrue joy for himself in glorifying God.T he Place of the Proclamation of theGospel in Man's PurposeWhen we speak of seeing and respondingto the g lory of God, our thoughts turn to theproclamation of the Gospel, which is givenin the Bible. God reveals Himselfand Hisgloryclearly in the Bible; and the regenerate mancan, by God's grace, understand the clearrevelation in the Scriptures, though not per-fectly. Our sin-darkened minds cannot, how-ever, apart from Scripture, understand the S.V.H

God\u27s Purpose for Man

https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2803&amp;context=pro_rege

God\u27s Purpose for Man

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Dordt College