THEME- UNDERSTANDING LIFE PURPOSE
TOPIC- UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OF GOD IN US
TEXT- GENESIS 1:26-28
A. THE GLORY IN MAN- GENESIS 1:26-28, GENESIS 2:7
There is no greater purpose in life than to expose your personal glory. It is a fact of creation that every living thing possesses its own glory and exists for the purpose of manifesting that glory. If the greatest tragedy in life is not death but life without a purpose, then the greatest shame in life is not revealing your true glory- MATTHEW 5:16. The issue of glory is the most important aspect of creation and that it holds the key to fulfillment and personal satisfaction. The word glory in its fundamental meaning connotes such concepts as “full weight,” “true nature,” “full essence” or “true reality.”Therefore, the glory of a thing is its true essence and nature. The Creator designed all things with their glory, or true essence, buried within. Therefore glory is the hidden truth of all created things. The purpose of life is to manifest that glory. The breath of God into man is the uniqueness of man.
Let us consider the following:
i) Glory of God- In the New Testament, the basic Greek word for “glory,” as in 1 Corinthians 15:40-41 and John 1:14, is doxa. It also means kabod. The “glory” (doxa) of God refers to the characteristic qualities of His nature, which are best seen through the person of Jesus Christ and the lives of believers. Isaiah 6:3, Psalm 19:1
ii) His Image and Likeness: First, man was created in the image of God Himself. God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness.”The Hebrew word tselem (image) also means “likeness,” “resemblance,” or “representation”. In other words, God created us to be like Him in nature, character, and attributes. He built into us the attributes, the character, and the drive to subdue and rule the natural order. If the glory of a bird is to fly and the glory of a fish is to swim, then the glory of man is to be like God and to rule like God in fellowship and harmony with God.
iii) God is pleased when glory is seen. Throughout the first chapter of Genesis we find God looking on His creation with pleasure, and expressing this pleasure in the words, “and saw that it was good.” After creating light, “God saw that the light was good…” (Gen. 1:4). Each successive phase of creation—land and sea, vegetation, heavenly bodies, sea creatures and birds, and land animals—is followed by the statement, “And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:10b,12b,18b,21b,25b). Finally, after completing creation with His crowning achievement—man—“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1:31a). God is pleased when His creations manifest their glory—and His—by becoming everything He created them to be.
Finally, God created man as the ultimate exposure of glory.
B) THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT HELPS – PSALM 1:1-3, Genesis 2:7-9;15-17
Like the bird and the fish, mankind was also created to function in a prescribed environment: the presence of God. We thrive best in the environment for which we were designed. Our glory is to be like God and to rule like God in fellowship and harmony with God. The bible called it garden in Eden for Adam and Eve. We are talking about the presence of God, in His presence there is discovery and fulfillment of purpose. God’s will can only be discovered in His presence. The following must be considered: i) Association- 1 cor. 15:33, Proverbs 13:20 (ii) Holy Fellowship – Philippians 1:5-6; 2:1. 1 John 1:3, 6.
Without purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless.”
