Because God is omnipotent, He certainly knew before He created humans that every person would have a sinful nature and that many – perhaps, most – of us would not even acknowledge Him as our Creator. So, what reason(s) did God have for creating humans? [Note: Our article entitled “Is God Really Omnipotent and Omniscient?” discusses God’s omnipotence, as well as His omniscience. To access that article, click on its title.]
The Christianitytoday.com website emphasizes that God created humans because of His love for us, even before He created us to fulfill His eternal plan. According to this website,
First, [God’s creation of humans] wasn’t because he needed us: “The God who made the world and everything in it … is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything” (Acts 17:24-25).
And he didn’t make us because he was lonely. Long before we were here, God already had “company” with his Son and the Holy Spirit, referred to in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our own image.”
And he didn’t make us because he needed his ego fed. It’s not like God made us to satisfy some craving to be worshiped. God is totally secure in who he is—without us.
Second, despite not needing us, God chose to create us anyway, out of his great love: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). Yes, God loved us before he even created us. It’s impossible to get our heads around that idea, but it’s true; that’s what “everlasting” love means.
God is love (1 John 4:8), and because of that love and his wonderful creativity, he made us so we can enjoy all that he is and all that he’s done.
Third, God created us to fulfill his eternal plan.
The following statement on the website Billygraham.org, indicates that, in addition to wanting to show His love for humans, God created us to love Him and to have fellowship with Him: “God made us for one reason: so He could have fellowship with us. It wasn’t that He was lonely or needed us—but He made us in His image so He could shower His love upon us, and we could love Him in return.”
With reference to Genesis 1:26, the website lookingforgod.com likewise mentions that God created humans to have fellowship (i.e., a close relationship) with us. According to this website, “God created us in His likeness because God wanted communion with man, fellowship with man. In other words, God created man first and foremost to have a relationship with Him.”
The website Josh.org explains that the reason God created humans was to have a relationship with us that would glorify Him. According to that website,
Some speculate that God wanted or needed human relationships, so created us to remove his own aloneness. One big problem with this thinking is that it implies something is lacking in God. And yet God is perfect, nothing can be lacking. The other problem with this notion is that God has never been alone. Consisting as he does of three persons, he has existed eternally as [a] relationship within the Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
So why did God create humans if he wasn’t lonely? He did so to give himself glory. God created us to live and enjoy relationship as he did. Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). God in effect is saying, “Become intimate with me, allow my joy to be in you, and through our close relationship you will experience the true joy of living, for you will bear the fruit of my nature—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23). And in doing so you will reflect my presence and give me glory!”
Another website, desiringgod.org, refers to Isaiah 43:6b-7 as support for the belief that God created people for His glory, and indicates that other scriptures also support the position that the entire world was created for His glory.
A question related to the basic question addressed in this article is: Why did God create humans in light of the fact that, before He created us, He created angels with whom He could have a close relationship?
In the following commentary, the website Christiancourier.com indicates that God created the angels and people because of His intrinsic love for both:
God is completely self-sufficient. It is one thing to say that God created mankind because he is a God of love (1 Jn. 4:8), and it is quite another to suggest that he created angels and people because of a need to love. Jehovah’s love is simply intrinsic to his nature; “loving” was not a need that would not have been unfulfilled but for the creation of either angels or humans. The fact is, eternal love prevailed among the members of the sacred Godhead long before either angels or men had their genesis.
God does not need fellowship with either angels or humans, but the love inherent in His nature motivates Him to desire a close relationship with both angels and humans. Perhaps, a couple of analogies involving humans will help to explain why this is so.
Although people do not have an actual need to marry, most people who desire to marry want to marry so they will have the opportunity to enjoy an ongoing close relationship with someone they deeply love. Likewise, even though people do not have a genuine need to have one or more children, most people desire to have children so they will be able to enjoy an ongoing close relationship with each child. Thus, most people not only desire to marry, but also desire to have one or more children, based upon their hope that they will have an ongoing close relationship with both their spouse and each of their children. However, God’s desire for a close relationship with both angels and humans is broader in scope and more complex.
Conclusions
God created humans because of His love for us and His desire to have a close relationship with each of us. He loves us despite the fact that not only are we born with a disposition to sin, but also we continue to sin to some extent, even if we have made a decision to trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Furthermore, God gives every human free choice not only with regard to whether we will seek to have a close relationship with Him, but also with regard to whether or not to trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, as their Savior.
Despite God’s love for all humans, many people do not have a close relationship with Him, either because they are indifferent about having such a relationship with God or because they do not want such a relationship with God. As a result, these people will not experience the love, peace, joy, and sense of purpose that they could have, if they had a close relationship with God.
[Note: One of our articles that is related to this one is “Is God’s Love the Same for Everyone?,” which can be accessed by clicking on its title.]