Chapter Three - Man
MAN'S BEGINNING
It is natural that we want to know where we come from. Thoughtful men, called philosophers, have given different theories about man's origin. A theory is what someone thinks may be the reason why something happens, but is has not been proven to be true. The most modern theory about where man came from is the theory of evolution. Those who believe this theory believe that no one made man but that he developed from the lower animals.
But the Bible tells us, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.... God created man" (Genesis 1:1,27).
Why did God create man? God speaks of men as those "whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made" (Isaiah 43:7). So we see that we were created to glorify God.
MAN'S NATURE
If you have ever seen a person die, you know that every man has a physical body and also a soul or spirit. At one moment the person is alive, and the next moment he is gone. His body is still there, but the life has gone. Only the dead body is left. Man is not only a body. He also has a soul and spirit.
The Bible teaches us that man is a three-fold being -- body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is hard for us to know the difference between soul and spirit because we cannot see them as we can see the body, but the Bible shows us that there is a difference.
The soul is what makes the difference between a living being and a dead one. Our feelings and desires come from the soul. Our ability to know and think comes from the spirit. Because we have a spirit, we can have a close relationship with God. Because we have a spirit, we are responsible to God. Our greatest duty is to find what God wants us to do and then do it.
MAN'S FREE WILL
God also created other beings in the universe. These are angels or spirits. They do not have a human body or soul. They are mightier than we are and they were also created to serve God. Like us they have a free will so that they can choose what they want to do. Some of them chose to disobey God and they fell into sin.
God could have made us like machines so that we would have to obey Him, without any choice. Instead of that, He made us so that we could choose to love and serve Him without being forced to do so.
MAN'S SIN
When God created free beings who could do His will or refuse to do it, He must have known that some would choose the wrong way. And that is what happened. There was a great angel called Lucifer, whom we now know as Satan. He decided to set His will against God. God immediately cast him out of heaven, as well as the angels who followed him. From that time Satan has been trying to stop God's plans in every possible way. God created man with a free will, and Satan planned to tempt him to disobey God. God had warned Adam, but Satan was able to make him sin also. We can read the well-known story in Genesis chapter three (1-6; 7-12; 13-18; 19-24).
God, who is holy, is the ruler of the universe. He will not allow in His presence any being who intentionally disobeys His commands. This is why God cast Satan out of heaven when he set his will against God. God did the same thing to man and drove Adam out of the garden and from His presence.
Every member of the human race has received Adam's nature. We are all born with a weakness or tendency to sin. It is easy for us to sin. No one has to teach us. When we are tempted, this nature responds and we yield to the temptation and sin against God.
MAN'S FUTURE
Just as the Bible tells us where we came from, it also faithfully tells us where we are going. The fact that death is so common that we all understand that every man will die. But the Bible adds, "after this come judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). God has created us and has shown His will to us. God will surely hold every one of us responsible for everything we have said or done. In this life we are preparing for the next life.