I. C- What Is God's Purpose for Mankind?
C. What Is God's Purpose for Mankind? (Deuteronomy 6:5) God’s eternal purposes for His creatures are manifold. Since the fall of man, His redemptive purposes are accomplished primarily in those who have been saved. His purpose for man can seen often by biblically commanded duties: 1). Love God. Verse 5 sums up man’s duty to God in words given the highest reverence through the ages in Scripture: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt.22:37). 2). Love one another. Christ endorsed verse 5 as the great commandment of man’s duty to God. He also showed that this first great commandment implied a second: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt.22:39; Lev.19:18). This was not a new purpose in the mind of God for mankind, since He had already given the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone (Deut.5:22). While commandments one through four stood for man’s duties toward God, commandments five throu...