人被造的目的之一：彰显神
神复造和进一步创造的主要目的是要得着人，一个团体人，来彰显神。神所创造的人是一个团体人。神并没有创造许多人。神在亚当这一个人里面集体的创造了人类。当亚当被造时，我们都被造了，我们都包含在亚当里。神照着祂自己的形像，按着祂的样式，创造了这样一个团体人，使人能以彰显神自己。形像是指里面的东西─包括我们的心思、情感和意志。而样式是指外面的东西，就是我们身体的形状。照着林后四章四节和歌罗西一章十五节，神的像乃是基督，基督是那不能看见之神的像。因此，人是按着神的形像造的，就是照着基督的形像造的。人的被造是为作神形像的彰显，神这形像就是基督。如同手套是照着手的形像和形状造的。手和手套都有五个手指。手套是照着手的形像造的，为着手能穿进手套里。手充满了手套，手套就彰显手。人是照着基督的形像造的，因为神的心意是要基督进到人里面，借着人得着彰显。因此罗马九章告诉我们，人被造是一个器皿，贵重的器皿，为着盛装神，盛装神的荣耀。
人被造的目的之二：施行神的管治
在神原始的创造中，祂只有一个目的─彰显祂自己。由于撒但的背叛，神现今有另一个目的─对付祂的仇敌。因此，神进一步创造的目的乃是双重的：得着一个团体人来彰显神，并得着一个团体人来施行祂的管治。因着撒但的背叛，今天全地被撒但所霸占。神需要得回祂所创造的地，神渴望祂的国能临到这地上，并且祂的旨意能行在地上。因此，神创造一个团体的人，不只要人在地上彰显祂，同时祂也要这团体人来施行祂的管理。神说，“我们要照着我们的形像…造人…使他们管理…。”管理也可翻作管治，意思是有权柄治理并设立国度，得着一个国度，作为在其中运用权柄的范围。
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The Purpose of Man’s Creation – Gen. 1:28
The First Purpose of Man’s Creation: To Express God
The main goal of God’s restoration and further creation was to obtain man — a corporate man — to express God. The man God created was a collective man. God did not create many separate individuals. Rather, He corporately created mankind in one man — Adam. When Adam was created, we were all created in him; we were all included in Adam. God created such a corporate man in His own image and according to His likeness so that man could express God Himself. “Image” refers to the inward aspects — our mind, emotion and will. “Likeness” refers to the outward appearance — that is, the form of our physical body. According to 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Colossians 1:15, the image of God is Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. Thus, man was created in the image of God — that is, in the image of Christ. Man’s creation was for the expression of the image of God, and this image is Christ. Just like a glove is made in the image and form of a hand, both the hand and the glove have five fingers. The glove is made in the image of the hand for the purpose of the hand entering into it. When the hand fills the glove, the glove expresses the hand. Man was created in the image of Christ because God’s intention is for Christ to enter into man and be expressed through man. Therefore, Romans 9 tells us that man was created as a vessel — a vessel of honor — to contain God and to be filled with the glory of God.
The Second Purpose of Man’s Creation: To Exercise God’s Dominion
In God’s original creation, He had only one purpose — to express Himself. But due to Satan’s rebellion, God now has a second purpose — to deal with His enemy. Therefore, the purpose of God’s further creation is twofold: to gain a corporate man to express God, and to gain a corporate man to exercise His dominion. Because of Satan’s rebellion, the entire earth today is under Satan’s usurpation. God needs to reclaim the earth that He created. God desires His kingdom to come to the earth and His will to be done on earth. Therefore, God created a corporate man not only to express Him on earth but also to exercise His authority. God said, “Let Us make man in Our image… and let them have dominion…” (Gen. 1:26). The word “dominion” can also be translated “to rule,” meaning to have authority to govern, to establish a kingdom and to possess a realm in which God’s authority can be exercised.