Question 1. What is man's first and highest end?

 

Question 1. What is man's first and highest end?

Answer. Man's first and highest end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him completely forever.

Genesis 2:7 "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 (nephesh hai)." Nephesh hai means living being. It is not eternal life, but limited life. However, the first man was created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:26-27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them. God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'"

God created the first man in His own image, and He created them male and female. Believers must realize that the first man and the man and the woman are different beings. The first man is Christ. In Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” This refers to Christ, and the first man is the first man who was born of all creation. And the man and the woman are the spirits of angels who sinned in the kingdom of God and were imprisoned in the dust. Therefore, they are beings without the image of God.

Therefore, it may be said that the first and highest purpose of the first man is to glorify God and fully enjoy Him forever, but it cannot be the first purpose for sinners who do not have the image of God. It may be said that the first and highest purpose of man and woman (people of the world) is to restore the image of God, to become one with God in Christ, and then to glorify God and fully enjoy Him forever.

If we say that the first and highest purpose of man is to glorify God and to fully enjoy Him forever, without telling why man was created and why humans were created, then each person will have their own purpose because they have different religious views. So, those who are not in Christ will also accept this and make their own gods and worship idols. If those who seek God are not in Christ, they are all idolaters.

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