Man has always been very special to God that
He had a special plan for him even before the foundation of the
world.
In Christ, God
chose us before the world began. He wanted us to be holy and
spotless before Him in love. (Ephesians 1:4, International
English)
It was
God's will and purpose that man should (1st) - To
serve Him on the basis of love and
(2nd) - To be holy and spotless or blameless
before Him (Eph. 1:4). So God created and chose men to serve Him on
the basis of love but in order for man to serve Him, man must be made holy and
blameless or be sanctified—freed from sin.
08F.1 What
then, is God's dual purpose in creating man?
First Purpose
For God's Glory.
(1st) - To serve God on the basis of love.
To glorify God is to love, worship, and serve
God in truth
with all our heart,
with all our soul and with all our mind.
This is the first and great
commandment.
Second Purpose
For Man's Sanctification
(2nd) - To be holy and spotless or
blameless before God.
Man was created by God to serve Him on
the basis of love, but man—the sinner, cannot serve God for he is unfit
to serve Him because of sin.
For man to serve God, he must first be made holy and
blameless or sanctified—freed from sin.
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Man must fully realize that he can only glorify God
—that is worship and serve Him on the basis of
love—
if he is made holy and blameless or sanctified (freed from
sin)
in accordance with the plan of God in creating him.
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