MANHOOD - IN THE BEGINNING
““In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (2) Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (3) And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.””
It cannot be overemphasized that in the beginning, no one else was present but God. The word, beginning, is defined as “the point at which something begins or starts.” It also denotes the origin or source of something. When it comes to manhood, it is just as important to establish God as the source than it is to talk about what He is the source of. Generally, we talk about all that God has created. However, it must be understood that the word “created” literally refers to “something made out of nothing.” Put another way, that which is made was not made from anything visible. One can deduce that if God is the source of everything created, He also is the originator of the created thing’s purpose.
The Bible reveals that God created man—interpreted as mankind. This is a fact because it is recorded in Gen. 1:26 “Then God said, Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Everything created came out of God. For example, the first thing that God created, or called into existence, was light. There was no light in the beginning. Nothing that existed, in the beginning, represented the Creator. 1 John 1:5 declares: “God is light, in Him is no darkness.” The presence of light also denoted the first presence in creation that represented God. The man was the ultimate creation to represent the Father. This is evident because the man was the only thing created by God in His image and God.
God created mankind in His image and likeness. He also created mankind as male and female. Be reminded that the created thing owes its identity and purpose to the one who created it. The Creator is also responsible for sustaining all that He has created. Man owes his life to God. In the beginning, God gave the man He created breath, and the breath the man received resulted in him becoming a living being. Without God’s breath, the man would cease to be alive. Every human being is subject to God as the source of his or her life. No human being can sustain his or her own existence. The rationale for this is simple: no human is the source of his or her existence. The point is that God, as Creator, is the only One qualified to create something from nothing. When one talks about something made it denotes something made from something already existing.
God, as Source, created everything with seed in it. As a result, the created thing would be able to reproduce after its kind. (Gen. 1:11, 12) This represented the purpose that was in the Creator’s heart when He created everything. God was more specific when it involved the man and the woman. “God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue ot…” This command to the man and the woman was foundational to one’s understanding of manhood. In other words, you cannot separate manhood from the man. One of the major purposes for the man is represented by the fact that seed is in the man. The seed is necessary for reproduction. It is also important that God’s plan for accomplishing this involved the man and the woman, both of which were created in His image and His likeness. The woman was the only person presented to the man. She was also the only person made from the man.
This fact validates that God had a purpose for the man which involved a plan for manhood!