Having learned that man was created by God for His glory, that is the
purpose of God is for man to serve Him with gladness
and worship Him in spirit and truth.
Does it mean that God will accept the service and
worship of all people - sinner or saint?
08E.1
In
what condition did God created man?
When God created man, He purposely
created man in His own image,
as written in Genesis 1:27:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he
him; male and female created he them. (KJV)
God created man in His own image, but
surely
not as the image of God in nature because God is a Spirit (Jn 4:24) and
man is flesh (Gen.6:3; Luke 24:39).
08E.2 If God is a spirit and man is flesh. In what, then, is man the image
of God?
In I Peter 1:16, this is written:
because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy.''
(NKJV)
Man was purposely created
as the image of God in
holiness. Because God who created him is holy, therefore man must also be holy.
08E.3 How, then, can
a man be holy or sanctified?
Man can be holy by being holy in all
his deeds. In I Peter 1:15, this is stated:
But just as He who called you is holy, so
be holy in all you do. (NIV)
Just as God who called you is holy, man should be holy in all his
behavior, his conduct, in all he is doing.
08E.4
To be able to serve and worship God, man must be holy in His sight.
In the eyes of God, what is the status of all men?
In Romans 3:23, this is written:
For all have
sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. (NLT)
Man failed in holiness. Man
did not pass God's glorious standard. All men have sinned.
Thus, man the sinner is unfit to serve
and worship God. Man must first be made holy or sanctified—freed from
sin, before he can serve God.
____________
When God created man,
He purposely created man in His own image—as the image of God in holiness, because it is was indeed the plan of God
even before the foundation of the world. In spite of man's
sinful nature, God's made a plan to make man Holy or sanctified — freed
from sin so that he can serve and worship the living God. (Topic 10F)