Unit 1—God’s Need for Proper Human Vessels Lesson 1—God's Purpose in Creation ‘SYNOPSIS: In eternity past, God existed alone, and had a desire deep within His heart. Out of this deep desire in God’s heart, God made a purpose. God’s purpose was to have a group of people, a corporate man, created in His own image to express Him, represent Him, and match ‘Him in life and nature. Then God acted to fulfill His purpose. He created the heavens and the earth as the setting with man as the center to fulfill His purpose. Man is created in a special way to fulfill His purpose—in the image and likeness of God, after God’s kind—and man is unique in God’s creation. Since man was created to fulfill God’s purpose, without being in God’s purpose man can never be satisfied. (CENTRAL THOUGHT: God is a purposeful God and we are the object of His purpose. BURDEN TO IMPART: Impress the young people that all creation exists only because of God's purpose and that everything God does is only to carry out this purpose. Inspire them to give themselves for God’s purpose. CHAPTER(S): Genesis 1 (OUTLINE WITH FACTS TO TEACH: Note: Before giving Lesson One, the speaker may want to also review lessons two and three to avoid any + unintentional overlap. Lesson One stresses God's eternal purpose. Lesson Two stresses man created as a vessel for the fulfillment of God's purpose. Then, Lesson Three presents the thought of the divine romance of God with man for God to gain His eternal counterpart. The emphasis in presenting this lesson is that God has a purpose and that everything He has done is for this purpose. 1. _ In eternity past, God existed alone, but He had a heart's desire, a good pleasure— Eph. 135 Il. According to God's heart’s desire, He made an eternal purpose—Eph. 1:9; 3:11 Continue the thought that God had a deep desire, and according to this desire, He made a plan. We call this plan God's eternal purpose because God made it before time began, in eternity past, ‘and He will carry it out into eternity future. God's purpose was to be expressed in man, and for this man to defeat His enemy and exercise God's dontinion in the untverse. The man God desired {for His expression and authority was not an individual man, but a corporate man, a group of people. A. God’s purpose was to have a group of people, a corporate man, created in His ‘own image to express Him—Gen. 1:26-27 The almighty God desired to express Himself throughs humanity! How marvelous that we ‘men were created for this high and lofty purpose.5 Unit One: God's Need for Proper Humars Vessels B. God planned to give this corporate man dominion to defeat God’s enemy and represent Him—Gen. 1:26, 28 ©& God wanted to give man His authority for man to defeat God's enemy and rule for God on the earth, C. God intended for this man to share His life and nature and be just like God to match Him This corporate man with God's life and nature, expressing God and representing God, eventually will become just like God. We can even say this man becomes God, not in His deity or His Godhead, but in life, nature, and expression. Such a God-mam will match God completely. IIL. God acted to carry out His purpose—Rev. 4:11 Emphasize that everything God does, beginning with creation, is to carry out His purpose. Nothing happens by accident. When we were born, who we were born to, where we live, et, are tot by chance, but are for God's purpose. ‘A. He created the heavens and earth as the setting—Gen. 1:1 God's creation is not an end in itself. Time, space, the heavens, the earth, and all of the details of creation are for God to have a place, a setting, to carry out His purpose. B. He formed man as the center and object of His purpose—Psa. 8:3-8 Psalm 8 indicates that man is unique in God's creation. Furthermore, God cares for man in a special way. This is because man is the center and object of God's purpose. Because ‘man is for the fulfillment of God's purpose, man is dear and special to God's heart. Only © rman can fulfill God’s purpose. C. He created man in a particular way for the fulfillment of His purpose— Gen. 1:26; Zech. 12:1 In order for man to fulfill God's purpose, he had to be created in a special way (this is covered in more detail in Lesson Two). Use Gen. 1:26 to show that God's creation of man ‘was special, according to a conference of the Godhead. Contrast this to the simple speaking of God, such as, “Let the earth bring forth....” that God used to bring forth the rest of creation. Furthermore, man has a special place at the center of God's creation (Zech. 12:1) The heavens are forthe earth, and the earth is for man. Man is the center ofthe universe, but man is for God's purpose. 1. Man was created in God's image and likeness to express and represent God—Gen. 1:26-27 Continue the emphasis on God's creation of man in a particular way for the fulfillment of His purpose. A later message will cover image and dominion in more detail. In particular, man was created in God's image and with God's likeness. 2. Man is unique in God’s creation because man is after God's kind— Gen. 1:11-12, 21, 24-29 All the plants and animals were created “after their kind.” However, man was created in God's image and after God's likeness. Man is not “after his kind” as were the plants and animals, but man is after God's kind. Thus, man is different from eLesson 1—God's Purpose in Creation 55 all the animals, Because this point in the Bible isin direct contradiction to what the young people are taught in school, it may take some time to make this point clear. ‘Man has not evolved from the animals, and man is not an animal. Man is not a “Homo Sapiens." Man is not a mammal. Man is unique; man is in the image and likeness of God. 3. Without being in God's purpose, man can never be satisfied This is the practical application of all the above points. Without knowing God's Purpose and being in God's purpose, our life becomes meaningless. JUNIOR HIGH APPLICATION: Help the young people think about a goal they may have (e.g., to buy a new bicycle; use only proper human goals as examples) and, just as God took specific steps to fulfill His purpose, what steps they could take to fulfill their goals. GOSPEL APPLICATION: Lead the unsaved to consider that if God's purpose in creating everything is with man, how a man’s life can only be meaningful if he is a part of God's purpose. God’s purpose should become our purpose (Rom. 8:28; 2 Tim. 3:10), We were created. by God to express Him, not ourselves. To be short of God's expression, of God’s glory, is sin (Rom. 3:23). The only way to be a part of God's purpose is to become part of His expression. ‘Then we will participate in the good pleasure of His will, for which we were created. BACKGROUND READING: The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, Chapter 1, pp. 7-13. REFERENCES: The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, Chapter 1, pp. 7-13; Life study of Genesis, Message 1, pp. 9-10, Message 6, pp. 61-64.