davidbowerkingwood

What was God’s Original Plan for Mankind?

Much has been written on the subject of the purpose of mankind being on earth. Posing that question on a search engine quickly produces over 40,000,000 results; it would appear to be a question which has aroused a great deal of interest.

In pursuit of basic truth, I turn to the Bible for answers! We are given some clarification in the first pages of Genesis, where, in Genesis 1:26-28 it is written:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

To summarize, mankind was to have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth, to be fruitful and multiply, and to fill the earth and subdue it. Sadly, that had to all be set aside when Adam disobeyed a direct command from God and became instead, a tenant farmer who would scrape his living out of a cursed ground.

Now, with a fallen sin nature, mankind was to be feared by the living things he was meant to rule; mankind’s fallen nature could not be trusted to love and care for God’s creation in the manner God had intended!

God’s Plan B

God already had a fully developed Plan B, but it would take thousands of years to come to maturity. The Bible is the record of God’s patient development of Plan B, a plan that would eventually result in a vastly improved version of the original plan.

The first major step in the implementation of Plan B occurred at the time of the First Advent; Jesus Christ, the Son of God, would take on human form and die on the cross as payment for Adam’s transgression. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, would take away the sins of the world, and open the door to a new form of life; it would, in effect, partially undo the serious mistake made by the first Adam.

After the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, the following Pentecost, on May 25, AD33, saw the creation of a completely new type of human being; God, the Holy Spirit indwelt human beings for the first time and a new kind of human came into existence; a human permanently indwelt by God.

Two Distinct Types of Humans

There were now two distinct types of humanity living on the earth; those born again by the power of God, the Holy Spirit and those not born again who have mortal life, but live with dead spirits. It pleased God that no physical change would appear in those who were born-again.

It is vitally important to recognize the two types of human beings have absolutely nothing to do with race, we are all one race descended from one man, Adam. Members of all nations and ethnic groups can be found in both types of humans, the spiritually alive and the spiritually dead; the only distinction is the new birth by the power of God, the Holy Spirit! I have written more on this in “Racism, Satanic Deception in Action.”

The new birth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are non-reversible, once born-again nothing can ever change that condition. The new condition is maintained by the power of God and is eternal.

New Responsibilities

The new creation was given new responsibilities, they were to be royal priests who would serve as God’s representatives on earth. Whereas Adam was created in the image of God, the new creation would be indwelt by God; the significance of this change is immense!

I must admit my deep disappointment as I see the collective indifference to the reality of two distinct types of humans. The very fact that God, the Holy Spirit, is indwelling those who are born-again should be rocking the world!

Undoubtedly this is a fact which Satan would much prefer never became a reality in mankind’s thinking; it is much more disruptive to try and focus the world’s attention on a lie based on race, a deception which has been alarmingly successful!

The world’s determination to ignore the indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes it easier to understand how those born in the Millennium will be able to ignore the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As God’s representatives, Christians face daily challenges both within and without. God has chosen a life of faith for all his children, we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight.” A life of faith requires we live our lives in the same manner we were transformed, by faith in the revealed word of God!

Christians have been commissioned with specific tasks; in Matthew 28:19-20, these are summarized:

“¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Next time, “A New Identity!”