It has taken me a lifetime to make that discovery, and then to recognize how to go abou
t pursuing that purpose in my daily life. But our loving, sovereign, Heavenly Father has each of us right on schedule, He is still at work in our lives as long as we still draw breath. I am finding that every day holds new, exciting discoveries of the height, length, breadth and depth of this priceless treasure I have stumbled onto in the field of life.
This is the fifth and final theological concept, or pillar, we are discussing in these posts—knowing why I am here—that I believe supports the basic truth of the Christian faith, as revealed in the Bible, the source of all truth.
The idea of a “theological concept,” in the mind of the average Christian, conjures up visions of dry, boring scholars sitting in ivory towers, parsing the Greek biblical text and searching for obscure, arms-length truth that affects our personal lives not one whit. How much better, we reason, rather than reading theology, to read of someone else’s experience with God, which will hopefully give me a similar one.
But, as we have seen, having a biblical, theological view of God, and how He relates to us, is the path to our own, original, experience with God ourselves, not someone else’s second-hand, borrowed one.
So, as we experience the theology we have discussed in our four pillars of truth, we will begin to find ourselves unable to keep quiet about this wonderful treasure upon which we have stumbled. That is when we are, naturally, spontaneously and unconsciously, joining with our Father in His family business of ruling over the earth. We are doing so, totally unaware of that fact! That is mature, biblical Christianity. “Who, me?”
To reiterate what I have said many times in these postings, the Bible lays out for us, in a way that could not be clearer, exactly why He created us. He placed us here on the earth for three purposes. In the following passage in Genesis, all three of these purpose are clearly presented: “Then God said, (1) ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (2) And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, (3) ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’“
There you have it. Could it be clearer? At the creation of man, God clearly reveals why He created him; To Reflect God’s image, to Rule for God on the earth as His vice-regent, and to Reproduce more humans to fill the whole earth and continue this three-pronged eternal purpose! That is why we are here.
Jesus, as God’s “second man,” is our human example of God’s post-resurrection life for us. He came to earth to show us, perfectly, how this new creation lives. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all (God’s new) creation” (Colossians 1:15). He reflected God’s image, just as we do, not because He was the second person of the Trinity, but because He was a man who lived for 33 years on the earth as the Son of Man, showing us exactly how we are to live in this new creation. We are created to be doing, teaching and speaking only His Father’s will (John 5;19, 30; 6:38; 7:16; 12:49, 50; 14:10, 24; 17:7). Jesus was the least original man who ever lived!
Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and we are but created beings, so ”How can He be an example for us,” you may ask. But He laid aside the prerogative to act from His divine nature when He came to earth as a babe in Bethlehem (Philippians 2:6-8). He was indwelt by the Holy Spirit at His baptism, just as we are when we are born again, so we have all the resources available that He had. That’s why He could say, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (and send the Holy Spirit to indwell you, as well as each individual member of the whole church, down through the ages, and do all the work in you just, as He does in Me).
However, the church’s rule, although “greater” in volume than was His (which was confined to a single person), will not be perfect as was His. His virgin birth meant He was not Adam’s descendant with an inherited sin nature as do we.
Jesus ruled, wherever He went, as a man, who was our example. The Kingdom of God always followed Him. He reflected God’s image and brought God’s rule by loving, serving and laying down His life for all He met. We too are men and women, sent here to earth, just as Jesus was, to live the same way, reflecting God’s image as we rule, just as Jesus did, because we are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit He was! We bring an odor of life to all we meet, as we too rule by loving, serving and laying down our lives, while we always stand for our Father’s revealed will.
Wherever we go, whomever we meet, whatever we do, we will “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,” while we live as Jesus did, fulfilling the purpose for which we were created!
As the church begins to get this picture, can you see what will happen? Imagine the church, spreading over the earth, as every Christian, every day, goes into the world and naturally touches people—in retail stores, business offices, schools, doctor’s offices, athletic fields, Wall Street, court rooms, etc.—with a message they can’t contain.
Imagine every Christian just living his regular, daily life, unconsciously, naturally and spontaneously, not realizing he is an atomic bomb, exploding everywhere with the unspoken message, “Wake-up! Jesus has died for you and given you new life. Wake up, and discover this life and why you are placed here to live it!”
As we leave our homes every morning, we are 1.) Reflecting God’s image, 2.) Ruling for Him in all we do, and 3.) Reproducing others, both physically and spiritually, who will respond and do likewise. We are living the life for which we were created. May God give us the faith that substantiates and makes real that hope in our lives (Hebrews 11:1).
