GOD’S PURPOSE & THE EFFECTS OF SIN

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Genesis 1:26-28

This passage tells us what God’s purpose for humanity was when He created Adam and Eve. In addition to reflecting His image in their relationships and activity - which I touched upon last week - God's purpose in creating man was that man would exercise dominion over creation, fill the earth with godly offspring and joyously obey God's commands and live. Each area of God's purpose is affected by sin. Because of sin (1) rather than subduing creation, man becomes subdued by it; (2) rather than joy in filling the earth with godly descendents, doing so becomes difficult and frustrating; and (3) rather than obeying God joyfully and naturally, man is made powerless to obey God's commands and he finds them noxious (Ge 3:7-19).

Regarding subduing the earth: man still works the earth, but the earth only yields its fruit with frustration and much toil. More work, less result. Regarding filling the earth with godly offspring: childbearing and child rearing is now riddled with pain, frustration and difficulty – emotionally, spiritually and physically. First, not only is there the increased pain for the woman when giving birth, but also there is the difficulty, pain and frustration associated with raising children who do not know the Lord and must be brought to Him. Second, in unredeemed marriages the sinful inclination of each partner to dominate the other replaces God's intended model of mutual dependence on Him and mutual respect for each other. And finally, in regard to obedience to God's commands, fallen man does not have the inclination to please God and obey Him. Because of sin, man's first thoughts are always about pleasing himself.

-Chuck-