Why did God create man: the love of God and the sinfulness of people

Bible Questions and Answers

Published 04/04/2013

If God already had angels living with Him in heaven before the creation of man, why did God create man? Why does God need people? Until this moment, I thought that God created people for relationships, to show His love to someone. But if He already had angels, why did He need to create someone else to share His love with? Or were there not enough angels? Could you please help me?

Answer:

Why did God create man?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you're wrong. You believe that angels are higher in level than man, and man, in turn, is on a lower spiritual level than angels. If this were true, then your question regarding the creation of humans would be a reasonable one to ask of God. I believe the Bible does not support this assumption.

It appears that you believe that angels existed before God created man. I'd rather agree with you, but it's hard to prove. It appears that Satan was some kind of angel who sinned against God and lost his place with God. Based on Genesis 2-3, I believe that Satan was around before the first humans existed.

I can't give you ironclad evidence for my position, but I believe that human beings are God's greatest creations, I believe the Bible says so. First of all, there is a passage that says that men will judge angels:

Don't you know that we will judge the angels? All the more can you judge the affairs of life. (1 Corinthians 6:3)

This passage shows that people will be higher than angels because... inferiors cannot judge superiors. We also find confirmation in Hebrews 1 and 2 that human beings are superior to angels in God's eyes. Hebrews 1:14 describes angels as ministering spirits—sent to serve us who will inherit salvation. Who are the people they serve? We! Angels serve greater ones, that is, us! Through the eyes of God we are above the angels!

Hebrews 2 talks about man being higher than the angels:

And God did not give the power of the world to come, which we spoke about, to angels. Someone said: “Why do you care about people? Why do you care about the Son of Man? You made Him lower than the angels for a time. You crowned Him with a crown of glory and honor and put everything under His authority.” And if God subjected everything to Him, He left nothing outside His power. We do not yet see that everything is subordinate to Him. (Hebrews 2:5-8)

Man has been given power on earth. We are placed below the angels for a time, that we may then inherit glory (Hebrews 2:10). Being in a limited body as we are now, we are limited in power compared to the angels, but this will change after our resurrection from the dead. Jesus calls us brothers (Hebrews 2:11-12), nothing similar is said about angels.

The one who makes people saints and those who become saints are of the same origin. This is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. Jesus says, “I will declare Your name to My brothers and sisters and will praise You before those gathered.” (Hebrews 2:11,12)

From the Bible I got the impression that God has placed man above the angels. Like you, I cannot fully understand why God needs us so much. He can exist without us. But God is love. And he loved us when we were still sinners, with unrequited love.

As for me, the existence of angels only increases for me the importance of man in our relationship with God. This in no way diminishes our role or importance as creatures.

John Ochs

Creation of the world

The story of the creation of man, as set out in the Bible, reveals to us God's plan for this world and everything in it.

Angels were created first.
Then the Lord created the Universe, the heavenly bodies, the earth with its seas, flora and fauna.
In the end, as a result of everything, man was created, or rather, a married couple - Adam and Eve. The first people were pure, sinless and absolutely happy. Initially, there was not even a molecule of evil in their nature, due to which there were no obstacles to communication with God, harmony reigned in everything.

God created man in his own image and likeness

Among other virtues, God endowed his creation with free will. The angels were the first to stumble over this stumbling block. Some of them chose a different path than the one that was destined for them in eternity. The fallen angels rebelled against the Creator, lost their Divine nature and ceased to perform their intended functions. Moreover, the main and only meaning of their existence was the struggle with God and His creation.

Subsequently, the fallen Dennitsa, by cunning and deception, persuaded Eve, and through her Adam, to also disobey God and try the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The inexperienced ancestors easily fell for Satan’s trick. After all, until now they did not know any deception, lies, they were pure and naive like children. They lived carefree in paradise, without any worries or worries, because God, as a loving Father, always took care of them.

Important! Disobedience to the Creator deeply damaged human nature and violated pristine purity and sinlessness. People suddenly felt their own nakedness, inferiority, and stopped seeking communication with God.

In such a state, eternal life for people would become torment and misfortune. Therefore, God expelled Adam and Eve from paradise, dressed them in leather clothes and blessed them to be fruitful, multiply, and earn food for themselves through their own labor. And he made a promise that in time the Messiah would come, who would redeem the descendants of Adam and Eve and return them to the heavenly abodes.

Is it true that God created man to sin?

God's creation of man confuses me, and this is connected with the idea of love. I understand that God is related to us and He created us this way. However, I am confused as to why He allowed us to endure so much pain. It seems that God created us imperfect on purpose so that we would have free will and choose to do something else. He gave us a “thorn in our flesh” so that we would rely on Him and there would be some kind of emptiness in us that would be filled by Him.

But He also made a law that says what sin is. Moreover, He gave us the desire to sin. The Law seems to deny the desires He has given us, and then He punishes us for failing. I know the Bible says that everything He created was good, but everything He created also had the potential to be bad and almost wanted to be bad.

It seems strange that as Christians we praise God for our blessings and thank Him, but He created man imperfect and made him want what He called sin. We praise Him for saving us when there was no other choice since He created us. He is obligated to save us because if He created someone imperfect and even gave them the opportunity to choose Him, their “desires” will become “sins” and require salvation.

So what do we praise God for? We praise Him because He was willing to sacrifice the One He loved for those He loved, and it required sacrifice because He created them that way?

Answer:

Thank you for having the courage to talk about God’s creation of man. I have to agree that truth as I see it and as God describes it in the Bible is a little difficult to understand and seems to defy logic to some extent. As the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, “The doctrine of the cross is foolishness to those who are lost, but to those who are saved it is the power of God.” The Greeks seek logic, but the message of the cross defies human logic. 1 Corinthians 1:25 The “foolishness” of God is greater than the wisdom of men, and the “weakness” of God is stronger than the strength of man.” Verse 20 “Where is the wise man? Where is the scientist? Where is the thinker of this time? Has not the Lord made worldly wisdom foolish?”

Freedom for Pinocchio!

“If God is omnipotent, can He create such a heavy stone that He himself cannot lift it?” - before the revolution, mischievous seminarians baffled uncouth beginners with this tricky riddle. If he cannot create, then he is not omnipotent; if he creates, but does not raise, he is still not omnipotent. For all its apparent frivolity, this puzzle contains a very serious philosophical problem: can a creation, in principle, be beyond the control of the Creator? Is it possible for an omnipotent God to create something over which he does not have absolute power? Is He capable of limiting His own omnipotence?

The questions are very serious, but in the Orthodox faith there is a completely clear answer to them. Saint Philaret of Moscow said about the riddle about the stone: “God not only can create such a stone, but has already created it. This stone is a man.” The Church teaches that God created man for his participation in the bliss of existence. The whole world was arranged in such a way that the existence of people in this world filled their lives with joy and fun, and the main joy of existence for a person was God’s love for him. But only those who are free in their choice can respond to love.

And God gave man this amazing opportunity - to love or not to love his Creator. So, in the huge world He created, which was completely subordinate to its Creator, a territory suddenly appeared over which He had no power. This was the heart of a person, which only he himself could fill with love for God. But he could just as freely refuse this love.

It is on this territory, beyond the control of God, that evil is born as a result of freedom misused by man. Evil has no essence because it was not created by God. Darkness is just the absence of light, and cold is the absence of heat. Likewise, evil is not a separate category of being opposed to good, but simply the absence of good where man did not allow God to enter. Therefore, it is impossible to destroy evil by force, just as it is impossible to erase a shadow from the earth. Evil is the darkness that lives in the hearts of people who do not want to let the light of God's love into themselves. But if God forcibly expelled this darkness from the human soul, then people would cease to be people and would turn into zombies, into automata, rigidly programmed to be good and obedient to God. And then there could be no talk of any love, because robots cannot love. Saint Gregory the Theologian says: “Salvation is for those who wish, and not for those who are raped.” And here are the words of Simeon the New Theologian on the same occasion: “No one has ever become good under duress.”

In this sense, the problem of human freedom is very well illuminated by the well-known fairy tale about the wooden man Pinocchio. He did not listen to Papa Carlo, ignored the instructions of the wise cricket, squandered the jacket and alphabet in the theater that his father bought for him with his last money, and got involved with petty criminals. As a result, he got into a lot of trouble, suffered a lot, and did not die in the swamp only because he was absolutely made of wood. Why did Pinocchio suffer? Because he “went into the shadows”, disdainfully rejecting the love of everyone to whom he was dear. But was Papa Carlo to blame for his suffering? Let's figure it out.

The Creation of Man and His Predisposition to Sin

About the law and sin, I'm a little confused here. Let me share my opinion. You imply that the desires God has given us are evil, but I don't agree with that. I believe that all the desires He has given us are good, but it is our choices that turn good into evil. We desire love, but corrupt love is jealousy. Love is good, but jealousy is sinful. We desire intimacy, and God gives us a wonderful way to express intimacy between husband and wife.

However, we have corrupted this good and turned it into evil. God gives us our amazing feelings as a source of pleasure that He wants us to receive, and they are good, but we prefer them to lust. Food tastes good, and thank God for that, but we resort to gluttony and turn what is good into what is harmful to us and sinful. All these desires that God has given us are good. They give us some kind of pleasure that God wants us to have, or in some cases they keep us alive. Sin is not an evil desire given to us by God, but it is a good desire turned to evil by our choice, a desire to rebel against God.

Two ways

But maybe the Lord has given man too much freedom? Maybe some “Pinocchio”, such as Hitler or Chikatilo, should still be nailed to the floor and deprived of the opportunity to realize their freedom in the ways they love? Alas, then each of us would have to be handcuffed at an early age. Because there is not and has not been a person on earth who would not at least once cause pain to other people. But who, besides God, can determine the measure of evil, let’s say, “acceptable” for this or that person? We are outraged by the cruelty of the villains brought to justice. And how many villains have not yet been caught, how many people are around us, seemingly quite normal, but in whose souls the darkness of evil plans smolders... Finally, how much all sorts of abomination is in us ourselves, how many small or large nasty things we have committed, or, what is much worse, we can to commit because we do not love God and our neighbor...

But the Lord is in no hurry to stop a person on his confused everyday roads. He is waiting for our repentance, waiting for each of us to simply be unable to look at the traces of evil in our souls without disgust. In Shakespeare, Hamlet “...turned his eyes with his pupils into his soul, and there, everywhere, there were spots of blackness.” Having seen this sinful blackness in his heart, a person, again, is free to choose his attitude towards what he saw. He may be horrified and say: “Lord, is it really me? What a nightmare! But I don't want to be like that, I want to change. God, come and help me!

God is patiently waiting for this invitation from each of us. An amazing thing: Almighty God humbly asks permission to enter our heart, stained with dirt, so as not to violate our freedom: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). And if this meeting of a person with God has taken place, their joint work begins to restore all the destruction that evil has caused in human nature. This is the path of repentance.

However, freedom of choice also implies another path. Black spots are visible only on a light background, but if the whole soul becomes black, the spots will no longer be noticeable. Therefore, having seen evil in himself, a person can completely submit to it, consoling himself with the thought that it is not evil at all. And then it will turn out that the offended were themselves to blame, the victims deserved their suffering, and entire nations will be recorded as “subhumans”, with whom you can do whatever comes to your mind. You can no longer reach such a blackened heart... But what happens after death to a soul that has been disfigured by evil to such an extent?

Where was the Garden of Eden located?

The creation of man according to the Bible ends with his settlement in the Garden of Eden. Of course, many people who become acquainted with this story become curious about where this place was located.

In the narrative itself, of course, geographical coordinates are not specified. But the description of the area is given very clearly and very detailed, full of details. Researchers of biblical texts claim that they are talking about an area in the Middle East region, located between the great rivers Euphrates and Tigris.

But archaeologists to date have not discovered anything that could be the remains of the Garden of Eden.

Fatal Changeling

The Church says that an unrepentant sinner does not inherit salvation and goes into eternal torment. It is very important to understand here that salvation is not a gift from Santa Claus, not a ticket to a privileged holiday home, or winning the lottery. This is the unity of the human spirit with the Spirit of God, the interpenetration of the Creator and the man he created, the indwelling of God in our hearts as a consequence of mutual love.

But can someone who has hated Him all their life love God after death?

Suffering is the result of the contact of evil with good. But if the soul itself has become evil, any touch of goodness will be painful for it. This monstrous upheaval of the sinner’s nature is the cause of his suffering. After his death, God, of course, does not deprive him of His love. But the whole trouble is that the blackened soul, saturated with evil, perceives the love of God as torment. The Monk Isaac the Syrian speaks about it this way: “I say that those tormented in Gehenna are struck by the scourge of love! And how bitter and cruel is this torment of love! For those who feel that they have sinned against love endure torment greater than any torment that leads to fear; The sadness that strikes the heart for sin against love is more terrible than any possible punishment.”

How can you help someone for whom the source of suffering is the love of God? This is truly an unsolvable mystery. But to contrast the love of God and the eternal torment of sinners is, to say the least, incorrect. A sinner can suffer forever because God will love him forever. And there is no contradiction here. There is another question, more interesting and important. The Church teaches that God allows each person in his life exactly as much suffering as he is able to endure. In other words, suffering is used by God as a bitter, but necessary and strictly dosed medicine. But what happens to those suffering from God’s love after death? St. Isaac the Syrian says: “God is not the avenger of evil, but the corrector of evil. The first is characteristic of evil people, the second is characteristic of the father.”

Why did people violate the Creator's prohibition?

The biblical creation of man and all things raises many questions. But the description of the reasons for the fall of the first people evokes them even more. Even those who have never picked up the Bible know that the tempter Serpent, who seduced Eve with sweet words and persuaded her to taste the forbidden fruit, is to blame for people’s violation of the Creator’s rules.

This biblical story gave the world much more “catchphrases,” proverbs, and sayings than any other part of the book. That is why almost everyone is familiar with this chapter of the story, at least in general terms or by hearsay.

How did the temptation happen?

People with an inquisitive mindset often have questions about why God placed a tree in the garden, the fruits of which could not be touched? After all, if this tree did not exist, there would be no reason for temptation. Another common question is the expression of interest in how the Serpent got into the Garden of Eden, because he practically personifies the image of the original evil. And the most important question, which causes difficulty even among theologians, is how, not knowing sin in principle, not knowing a single ungodly thought or emotion, did Eve succumb to persuasion?

The serpent, according to what is written in the Bible, was more cunning than all other creatures created by the Creator. That is, God also created him, like other birds and animals. It is quite possible that it was the Serpent who was the first to taste the forbidden fruits; this version is supported by many researchers of biblical texts. They justify their theory with the same arguments that the Serpent gives in his conversation with Eve. However, there are no direct phrases talking about this in the book.

There is no explanation in the text as to why the Creator placed the forbidden tree in the garden. Theologians believe that this chapter symbolizes the fact that temptation is always near a person, it is encountered constantly on the path of life. And, if a person succumbs to temptation, then, at first glance, nothing terrible happens to him, he does not get sick, he does not die. But after temptation inevitably comes the fall, due to which a person loses something extremely important.

The description of the temptation itself is quite short. It comes down to a dialogue between the Serpent and Eve. Initially, the woman refuses the offer to taste the fruit, explaining that God forbade it, and if the rule is broken, death will come. The serpent objects, claiming that Eve will not die, but will learn the unknown, will be able to distinguish between good and evil, and will gain an understanding of the nature of the world. The result of this conversation is the eating of the fruit.

How long did it take for the world to emerge? Feature of the description of creation

God created all things in six days. Many theologians see this as the primary reason why Christians should not work, do housework, or otherwise work on the seventh day of the week.

Interestingly, according to the biblical text, the stars, including the Sun, were created only on the fourth day of creation. It is the description of the fourth day that is the main argument of opponents of the biblical history of the origin of the world in disputes with supporters of this version.

Priests and theologians, in principle, do not see any discrepancies between the story from the book of Genesis and scientific theories of the emergence of life. They explain very simply that the stars appeared on the fourth day. The book of Genesis is not a documentary chronicle, but a spiritual work. Of course, the Earth and everything that is on it is given first place in the description, since it is on it that man lives. That is, from a spiritual position, the Earth is much more important than the Sun and other celestial bodies, and that is why in the description their creation is told secondarily.

Indeed, the fourth day, on which God creates the luminaries, divides the history of creation into two parts. Until this day, inanimate matter was created. The planet itself. But after the fourth day, God began to directly create life. If we perceive the book of Genesis as an ordinary literary work, then placing the stage of creating auxiliary elements, in this case the celestial bodies, in the middle of the story is a simple artistic device.