LET'S suppose you have just won an all-expense-paid trip. Wouldn't you want to know where you are going, how you'll get there, and
as much as possible about the trip itself?
Our present mortal life can be compared to a journey. Yet, how many know – or ever thought about the possibility – that God has something to say about our journey?
God, in fact, reveals through His inspired Word the incredible destination of our journey! He gives us the itinerary for the trip, and tells us the marvelous things we'll do when we get there. But to successfully complete our journey, we must carefully follow the travel plans He has laid out for us.
Exactly what is the exciting destination, or destiny, of mankind – the tremendous future God has planned for you?
King David of ancient Israel mused about God's purpose for man. He observed the starry heavens, and was inspired to write: "O LORD… when I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?” (Ps. 8:1, 3-4.)
From several thousand feet up, men look like tiny insignificant ants! Yes, why should God be concerned about puny man?
The connection between man and the stars began to be revealed to David, for he continues: “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” How did God do this? “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas” (verses 5-8).
David here refers to man's “dominion” or rule as that over which God gave mankind authority when Adam was created. This includes the solid earth, the atmosphere, the sea and all the creatures God created (Gen. 1:26-28). These are, in part or in whole, under man's jurisdiction at the present time.
But in the New Testament scriptures, written much later, a far greater destiny and dominion for man is revealed!
In the book of Hebrews, we read: “For unto the angels hath he [God] not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak” (Heb. 2:5). The theme of the first half of this chapter is “the world to come” – the Millennium and thereafter!
Then, beginning with verse 6, is a quotation from verses 4-6 of the eighth Psalm. Again, the writer of the book of Hebrews shows that God has now placed the solid earth, the earth's atmosphere, the sea and all living things under man. But the writer is inspired to see something infinitely more profound that is to happen to man in the world to come.
This revealed knowledge of God's purpose for mankind – of man's incredible, awesome potential – staggers the imagination! Science knows nothing of it. Higher education is in utter ignorance of it. And certainly no religion of this world knows it.
Continuing in this passage in Hebrews, beginning as it leaves off quoting the eighth Psalm, the awesome human potential is revealed: “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his [man's] feet. For in that he [God] put all in subjection under him [man], he [God] left nothing that is not put under him” (Heb. 2:8).
NOTHING is excluded here!
The Greek word translated “all things” also appears in chapter 1, verses 2 and 3, and is there translated “the universe” in the Moffatt translation. That is the intended meaning in Hebrews 2:8.
In other words, God is revealing to us that the endless universe, with all its galaxies, its countless stars and planets – everything – will eventually be put under man's dominion! “But now we see not yet all things [the universe] put under him [man]" (verse 8). Remember, this is speaking of the “world to come” – not today's world. Man will be put over “all things” after God's plan for man on earth is complete – after the last human has been born of God.
But what do we see today? “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour…" (verse 9). Man, except for Christ, is not yet crowned with glory and honor. But he will be in a new age – yet in the future.
The living Christ already sustains the entire universe by His limitless divine power (Heb. 1:3). The passage in Hebrews 2 continues to show His superiority over the angels as the begotten and born Son of God.
Angels are individually created spirit beings. Invisible to human eyes, they are servants of God, ministering to those who are now on a lower level than angels, but who are heirs of salvation. The Bible reveals that these heirs shall become the Spirit-born Sons of God's ruling Family as Christ now is! (Heb. 1:4-14.)
What a stupendous, magnificent heritage God has in store for His Spirit-begotten children. They are heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ to inherit the universe! (Rom. 8:14-17.)
What God creates He maintains. What He creates He creates for a purpose. He intends it to be put to use – a right use that preserves and improves. This use, maintenance and improvement is controlled by the government of God.
This earth was originally intended to be the training ground for a third of God's angels. The angels, at the creation of the earth, found it so beautiful they shouted spontaneously for joy! (Job 38:4-7.) The earth was to provide a glorious opportunity for them to work it, produce from it, and preserve and increase its beauty.
God's original creation was like the unfinished furniture sold in some stores. This furniture is complete, except for the final sanding, staining and varnishing. Such furniture may be of superb quality – yet lacking the final beautifying touches.
So it is with God's creation. The universe, with its countless galaxies and solar systems containing planets such as our earth, was created perfect, but subject to a beautifying finish, which God intended the angels to accomplish.
The original “unfinished” creation was produced by God. It was perfect and orderly. But God intended the angels to finish this part of His creation by adding the final beautifying touches and utilitarian phases of what was to become the final completed creation! God wanted to share the joy of creative accomplishment with all the angels!
And whether or not it had been revealed to the angels, it was a supreme trial and test to see whether they would continue to obey God's government in accomplishing the task of beautifying and finishing the earth. As they continued to follow God's instructions, they would have been entrusted with the responsibility of finishing the thousands of millions of other planets in the vast, limitless universe!
This was the potential God originally had in mind for His created angelic beings.
Instead of proceeding with God's plan for them, a third of the angels rebelled against administering the government of God. They finally attempted to replace God and take over the control of the universe. The account of this sin is revealed in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.
God then fully realized that He and the Word, who later became Jesus Christ, were the only beings who would never sin. Only members of the God Family have that kind of holy, righteous character. So how could the final beautification and completion of the limitless universe be accomplished? Only by the addition of many more members to the God Family who would also have the same holy, righteous character of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.
So God created mankind for the purpose of reproducing more members of the God Family. They would help to restore the government of God on earth after their training program in the flesh was complete and they were born into His Family. Then they would go on to finish God's creation, carrying God's government to the uttermost parts of the universe!
Adam had the opportunity to obey God but failed. Had he obeyed, his obedience would have qualified him to replace Satan, who was then and still is ruler of the earth. In failing to replace Satan, Adam also failed to maintain and beautify the Garden of Eden into which God had placed him.
God has given this earth to us as a training ground, and this mortal life as the time for our training. As we learned in previous lessons, Adam would have received God's Holy Spirit had he eaten of the fruit of the tree of life. He would have thus begun the process of spiritual character growth, and ultimately would have been born into God's Family. He would have been given the opportunity to finish the creation of the earth and the rest of the universe. But Adam never began his training program.
So Christ, the second Adam (I Cor. 15:45, 47), came to earth about 4,000 years later to qualify to replace Satan and was successful! He qualified to restore God's government on earth, and to be entrusted with the responsibility of being in charge of finishing the creation of the universe.
Christ also became the captain or leader of our salvation (Heb. 2:10). He is now at God's throne in heaven as our High Priest. He is helping Spirit-begotten Christians qualify to become His eternal assistants. With Christ's help through His Spirit, the members of God's Church are growing in godly character through obedience to God's Law during this mortal life, which is their training period.
Our incredible potential is to become holy, sinless, powerful, Spirit-born members in God's divine ruling Family! Our spiritual birth into His Family will make us GOD BEINGS just like the Father and Jesus Christ!
Yes, God created man with a far greater potential than the angels, for no angel can ever become a born Son of God. God is now in the process of reproducing Himself through mankind. He is now producing Sons of God who can be trusted to never sin – who will never rebel against God's government as Lucifer did, but will always obey their spiritual Father.
Let's begin our study of God's Word with this lesson and learn more of the details of God's glorious purpose for mankind.
