Another year in the cycle of man is coming to an end in a matter of days and the Lord has impressed it on my spirit to talk about this subject: Understanding the Whole Essence of Man. One of the things that we were made to understand in the last Leadership Fellowship is that man must be fully aware of his full identity and nature if indeed that man wants to walk in perpetual dominion and victory. It is quite unfortunate that many would go into the new year with little or no knowledge of who they are. Man, in this context, isn’t referring to the male gender alone. It is both the male and the female man.

 

Let us go to the Scriptures and see the first mention of the word ‘man’ and in what context it was being used. Genesis 1:26-27, the Bible says:

 

“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.”

 

So, from here, we discover that man existed in the image of God. The question is: What is the image of God? Genesis never showed us a picture frame that revealed His image to us. What does God look like? Because when we know what God looks like, then we will be able to know what man looks like.

 

We haven’t seen God before but the Bible describes Him to us. Ephesians 4:23-24 says: “and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” So, here we see that man was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. From here we can deduce that God is righteous, God is Holy. Hebrews 12:9 says: “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” John 4:24 says: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

So, what happened here in Genesis 1 is that man was made exactly in the image of God; SPIRIT! It is because of this that we believe that man essentially, is a spirit being. It is because of this that we also believe that man has the capacity to relate with God. Without a man’s spirit, He cannot transact with God at all.

 

When a man dies spiritually, what it means is that such a man has lost the capacity to relate with God in the place of fellowship even though he or she is alive physically. We say such a person is “soulish” which means he or she dwells within the realm of the soul. The soul of man comprises his will, his mind and his emotions! The will of man is where choices or decisions are made. Joshua said to the people of Israel in Joshua 24:15 “choose you this day whom you will serve whether the gods that your fathers served that was on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites whose land you dwell. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” The reason why that is possible is because man has a will and has the capacity to make choices. Man has the capacity to choose between life and death, between light and darkness and between good and evil.

 

John 3:19-20 says: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

 

The mind is man’s analytical or thinking faculty. The mind is where every thought is processed! Paul said to the Philippians in chapter 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” The mind is where the thinking takes place. It is with the mind that we meditate. And if there is any part of our makeup that should be guarded with utmost care, it is the mind because the mind is the gateway into our life.

 

With the mind, our will and emotions can be controlled and not the other way round. Our mind influences our choices, our mind influences our emotions. Our emotion is where we emote from, it is where we give expressions to the things that are happening within us. That means the mind is superior to the will and emotions. IT IS ONLY ERRATIC PEOPLE THAT THEIR WILL AND EMOTIONS CONTROLS THEIR MINDS.

 

Why Did God make Man?

 

The purpose of God for man is inherent in the answer that this question would supply. And if you read Genesis 2:4-8 and 15, man was so important in the agenda of God that God couldn’t do certain things until man began to find expression. “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; ⁶ but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. ⁷ And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

 

1. God created us in His likeness because God wanted communion with man, fellowship with man. Prior to God creating man God had existed as Father, Son and Spirit in an eternal, perfect, loving relationship, enjoying each other's company and conversation. God created us out of an overflow of that relationship. Genesis 3:8 says: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” In other words, God created man first and foremost to have a relationship with Him.

 

2. To do God’s will on the earth! Our primary reason for existing today, whether we like to hear it or not, is to do God’s will. Hebrews 10:5-7 says:

 

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’”

 

You know, the world has helped humanity crafts the periods of one’s life in such a way that the will and agenda of God was not even included in it. They said the first 25 years of one’s life is to pursue education, given to reading and studying. They said the next 25 years is to work and make all the money that needs to be made, and the last 25 years is to relax and start enjoying one’s life. You would notice that in this timetable, there is no serving of God’s will in there. But our primary goal is to serve and do the will.

Acts 13:36 says: ““For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers…”

 

Ephesians 2:10 says: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

 

How to Walk in The Fullness of God’s Purpose for Our Lives

 

1. WALK CLOSELY WITH GOD. God said to Abraham, “walk before me and be perfect.” You cannot know your purpose outside of the one who created you. God’s plan was to birth a nation through Abraham and there was no way this would have been possible if Abraham was walking apart from God. A lot of people today wants to know their purpose in life but they don’t want to have a relationship with God.

 

2. BE A BLESSING TO YOUR WORLD. Walking in the fullness of your purpose makes you a blessing to your world. Your life’s purpose is to contribute meaningfully to God’s agenda on earth. Genesis 12:1-3 says:

 

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

 

3. DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE REVEALED. Romans 8:19 says “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” The purpose of God will reveal you to your world.

 

I believe you have been blessed!

Thanks for the gift of your time, We are Obayomi Abiola Benjamin and Gboyega ADEDEJI!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!