Question 4 (January 22, 2023)

Q: How and why did God create us?

A: God created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with him and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to his glory.

MEMORY PASSAGE: Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.

Family Teaching Guide

DAY 1:

Recite question and answer then read the memory passage.

The fourth question deals with why we were created. Many people at some point in their lives wonder about why they exist. This question deals with that.

DISCUSS: Many people have different ideas about how we came into being and what our purpose is. Some people say we evolved from animals. Others will contend that life is meaningless. Having an understanding of how we came to exist and why we exist is foundational to purpose and meaning in life. It’s also crucial to understanding who we are as human beings and what will bring about satisfaction in life. We will only be truly satisfied when we first recognize that we are created and second when we understand and pursue what we were created for. The first key thing to understand is we are created. God was involved personally with us coming into existence. We are not a product of evolution. We are not a cosmic accident. God was intimately involved in forming each and every human being as as human beings, each and every one of us bear his image. He put his fingerprint on each of us. Far from our existence being chance, it is part of his wise and purposeful design. From this we learn that God is a personal God who is involved in his creation. We learn that every person has worth, dignity and value because they bear his image, and we learn that each one of us are intentionally created by God. Without understanding this, we would have no sense of meaning or purpose. We as human beings are unique among creation. Humanity is the crowning jewel of God’s creative work because he stamped his image on each of us. In addition, because God created us, we know who to look to in order to define us, give us purpose and show us how to live a fruitful and flourishing life which God intended for us.

Additional reading: Psalm 139:13

DAY 2:

Recite question and answer then read memory passage.

God created us as human beings but part of that is how he created us as human beings. He created us male and female.

ASK: Why do you think God created us male and female?

DISCUSS: In today’s world we are increasingly being told that there is no difference between men and women, between male and female. We are told that it is a matter of how one feels or identifies. This belief and mentality is evil because it fundamentally seeks to undermine one of the most basic elements of God creating us. It seeks to take what God made and defines and make it something that we can define. In short, it is a rejection of God as our creator and his authority over us as well as seeking to erase the beauty and distinctiveness of his created order. God made us either male or female and he made males and females different by design. Our gender is fixed by God and ordained by him. It is a biological reality woven into creation and we are not at liberty to contradict that. He made both of us equal but different and there is a profound beauty to his design. Therefore, we as his creation should rejoice in those differences and embrace the way God made us as part of his good design and sovereign will. At the same time, we must recognize that while different, all human beings, both male and female, are equal in worth, dignity and value and the way God made us is done for our good and flourishing.

ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Cor 11:11-12

DAY 3:

Recite question and answer then read memory passage.

God created us and made us male and female. But why? What is our purpose?

DISCUSS: First, we are made to know God. God made us to be in fellowship and relationship with himself. He didn’t need this. God as we saw last week is self-sufficient but one of the characteristics about God that is eternally true is he is a relational God. He made us as human beings to know him. To be in relationship and harmony with him. The greatest gift that God could ever give us is to know him personally. Second, he made us to love him. God is the greatest, best and most beautiful of all beings. He is perfect and good. Therefore, he is worthy of our affection. In other words, he doesn’t just want us to know about him, but to personally love him because he is inherently lovely. There is no flaw or imperfection in him. As human beings, we were made to love and there is no one more worthy of our love than God. Third, he made us to live with him. That is to be personally with him and enjoy him. In the garden, God was present with human beings. As a result of the fall, that presence was lost and the relationship was destroyed by sin. Jesus came not only to restore the relationship between man and God and heal our broken hearts that hate God and love other things instead of him, but to bring us safely to live with him face to face for eternity. There is no greater joy than to be with God (Psalm 16:11). Finally, he made us to glorify God. The word glory means weight. God’s glory is his goodness and perfections put on display for all to see. We were made put God’s glory on display. Because of Jesus and what he did for us on the cross, we are able to glorify God (show his worth and weight and value) in our lives by how we live (1 Cor 10:31; Matt 5:16). The great aim of our lives is to put his worth on display in our lives for all to see. In this, we don’t add to his glory but we show more of his true worth by orienting our lives to be lived to his praise. In living to his glory, we receive joy. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.