God’s Plan For Us Is Not Hidden
Shared on March 6, 2024
Have you ever wondered, what is God’s plan? The Lord has not hidden His plans from us. In this week’s study, we pour over scripture to see why God created us. When we understand God’s purpose for creating mankind, we can better understand God’s plan. Join Pastor McCrary in the first study in the series “Journey to the Cross”.
Introduction
This week’s study is going to kick off the last series of studies for this season. I hope that you have enjoyed and learned from the studies that we have had. As Resurrection Sunday (Easter) draws near, I am gearing this series towards the cross. What we will cover in this series of studies are pivotal moments in scripture that lead to the cross.
To get us started this week, we are going to look at scripture from Genesis 1:26-30, 3:7-8, 14-15. The first pivotal moment leading to the cross happened in the garden of Eden. This is a moment that will raise a familiar question: why did God create us? So, join me as we will take a look at why God created mankind. After seeing why God created us, we will be able to better understand God’s plans towards us.
God’s Plan For us
So, why did God created us? What was God’s plan for us? Does God have a plan for us? He does have a plan. You see, God didn’t create mankind just for the sake of doing it. Do you have any thoughts as to what God’s plan for us is?
Misunderstanding God’s intent
Some may say that God created mankind to worship Him. Some may say that God created mankind to be His servants. Some say that God created mankind because He needed love. What if I told you that God didn’t create mankind for either of those reasons? Would you believe me?
You see those thoughts come from those who are ignorant of the Lord. Though we are the Lord’s servants today, God did not create us for that purpose. We worship the Lord today, but again, some worship the Lord from a place of ignorance. Many choose to love the Lord today but God did not create mankind because He needed love.
You see, God doesn’t need our love because He is love. During His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, those that loved Jesus shouted out praises. The religious leaders asked Jesus to stop His followers from praising Him. Jesus responded to them, “if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out (Luke 19:40).”
As far as being created to serve God, the angels already serve Him. In Aramaic, the word angel is translated irin “watchers”. Angel translates to angelus in Latin, meaning messenger. In Greek, angel translates to angelos, also meaning messenger. Angels were created to carry out the will of God. Throughout scripture, we see the angels fulfilling their intended purpose.
So, when God created mankind, He didn’t need to create us to fill any needs. Frankly, God didn’t need to create mankind for anything. To say that God needed to create mankind devalues the Lord and makes it seems like we can help God. What does our creator need for us to help Him with? What can you help God do?
God created mankind because He wanted to create us. God loves us not because He needs to or has to love us but because He wants to love us. So, let us not be so prideful that we elevate ourselves to levels we don’t belong. Now, why did God create us? Let’s turn to what scripture tells us rather than guessing.
Be Fruitful and Multiply
In Genesis 1:26-30, the reason God created mankind is made clear. God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”
Now, some will read this scripture and get hung up on whether or not we literally look like God. However, I like to point to the deeper meaning of being created in the image and likeness of God. You see, it’s not just that we look like the Lord, but that we are like Him. You and I are essentially like a replica of God in many ways.
God created mankind to have dominion over the fish, the birds, the cattle, the creeping things. God created mankind to have dominion over the earth. Think about it, God is sovereign over all things. God created mankind to be like Him!
Now, to dive even further into the thought of being in the image and likeness of the Lord, let’s take a look at His creation. When God created the piece of His creation that we would have dominion, He created it in such a loving manner.
In Genesis 1:29, God said, “See, I have given [mankind] every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields see; to you it shall be for food.”
God filled this world with fruits, vegetables, plant life, to nourish mankind. God put mankind in a world where man did not have to want for anything. In a sense, God created a heaven, a paradise, for man to have dominion over. Let nobody ever tell you that the Lord despised mankind!
So, since we have His image and likeness, how do you think mankind was supposed to live? God is love, we were created by His love and so, we should move by love. The Lord said to mankind, “Be fruitful and multiply.” God created mankind to live peacefully in His abundance.
Pivotal Moment for Mankind
To live in His abundance, God gave Adam and Eve one rule to follow. The giving of this one rule was a pivotal moment. Why so? Because with their free will, man is given a pivotal choice – obey or disobey God. As we know, this is a choice that one chooses between everyday.
Fall in the garden
God permitted Adam and Eve to be able to eat from any tree in the garden except for one true. God commanded them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). So, the choice is available: obey or disobey God.
Of course we know that Adam and Eve disobeyed. From this moment sin (disobedience of God) was born in the hearts of all (Rom. 5:12). Mankind fell from grace! The fall from grace is not something we should simply gloss over. The fall from grace was major as it is why the cross is needed in the first place.
Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve lost their glory. Not only did they lose their glory, they were also kicked out of the garden (Gen. 3:24). Their sin lived on through Cain who murdered his brother out of spite (Gen. 4:8). Their sin lived on, through the wickedness of Noah’s day when God almost destroyed the world (Gen. 6:7).
Loss of fellowship
We often overlook the loss of fellowship in the garden between God and mankind. Prior to sin, God and mankind were living in harmony. For example, when the Lord saw that Adam was alone, He gave Eve to Adam without Adam even asking for her (Gen. 2:18). The Lord even sat back and watched as Adam was naming creatures in the garden (Gen. 2:19).
I want you to notice the instant change in fellowship when Adam and Eve ate from the tree. In Genesis 3:8, my key verse for this study, look at Adam and Eve’s reactions to hearing the sound of God in the garden. When we look at their reaction, we see dred, don’t we? Scripture tells us that they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord.
Why did they hide from God? Because they knew they had disobeyed Him. Now, I want you to consider for a moment that prior to sin, the sound of God never terrified them. God was warmth and life to them but now things were different.
On the side of God, scripture tells us that the Lord called to Adam. God called out, “Where are you (Gen. 3:9)?” Could God not find Adam in the garden? Of course He could have! The point here is that God had to call Adam because Adam was hiding when he had never hid from God before.
There was once harmony between God and man where man did not feel they needed to hide from God. How many people try to run and hide from God today? How many of us try to hide all the wrong we do from the Lord today? God desires to be in fellowship with you! God doesn’t desire to play hide and seek- that’s boring to Him!
God’s purpose for mankind was to enjoy His abundance, but we simply could and still cannot obey Him. Honestly, that is such a sad thing to type out. I wish I could be more obedient to the Lord but the contrary nature within often causes me to stumble.
Understanding the consequences of the moment
I feel like so many people take for granted how sour and bitter the relationship with God is due to sin. As I noted earlier, there was a point when God gave Adam a helper in Eve without Adam asking for help. If you think about it, it is likely Adam didn’t realize he needed a helper.
Why do I say that Adam may have not realized he needed a helper? Well, it wasn’t until after man’s fall in the garden that man had to do any strenuous labor (Gen. 3:23). Before the fall in the garden, Adam was simply enjoying the abundance of life as God desired. God gave Adam a helper to help him enjoy life— be fruitful and multiply.
We often joke that Eve was given to Adam to help Adam tend the garden, but Adam and Eve weren’t gardeners at first. No, Adam and Eve lived in the garden that God tended. As I have said, all they had to do was enjoy God’s abundance. Sin ruined so much for mankind.
Before sin, Adam didn’t have to pray for anything! The Lord gave Adam help when Adam didn’t realize he even needed help. While the Lord knows our needs (Matt. 6:8), man had to start praying after the fall (Gen. 4:26). After sin, mankind had to go out and labor and struggle to fill needs.
Before sin, there was no such thing as aches, pains, struggles, hardship, nor the ticking clock on life. However, after sin, things started to die. Having become naked of our glory, the physical body began to decay. The body could be bruised, scared, and even killed. Again, the sad part about this is that this was not God’s plan for us. We live a life today that we were never intended to live.
Restoring Harmony
Due to sin, there was now a barrier between God and Adam that he had to hope God would slip blessings through. As it is said in Isaiah 59:1-2, God’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save. God’s ear is not heavy that it cannot hear. However, mankind’s iniquity separates him from the Lord. Mankind’s sin hides His face from him so that He will not hear.
Now, some may say that God experienced a setback in His plan and had to shift to plan B. Is this true? Absolutely not. In fact, I would tell you that God had neither a “plan A” or a “plan B”. The Lord had a desire— His will. To say that God had a “plan A” or a “plan B” would speak to God needing to have a backup plan in case He fails. God is infallible.
In Jeremiah 29:11, God said the thoughts He has towards mankind are thoughts of peace, not of evil. God’s thoughts towards mankind are the same as when He created us, thoughts of a future and a hope. This much is shown in Genesis 3:14-15 when the Lord cursed the serpent and then made a promise to the devil.
God said to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman.” God then said, “[her Seed] shall bruise your head (Gen. 3:15).”God’s desire was still to dwell with mankind and Christ would be the fulfillment of that desire.