The opening question brings us at once to the subject of true religion – what it requires and what it gives. God has made us for a purpose just as everything made by man is made for a purpose. Only as we fulfil the purpose for which God made us can we be happy. Now God made us to glorify him. Of course we cannot add to God’s glory because he is entirely perfect, but we can show his glory by doing everything in life as service to him. This means that God must be first in our lives; only as we know and love him can we truly please him. That is why, since sin entered the human race, we can only be brought back into God’s family through Jesus Christ. Then we can have real joy in our lives, and look forward to knowing joy that never ends after this life. Looking for happiness apart from your Maker – ‘doing your own thing’ – is a dead end.

God has given us definite instructions in writing. As God’s book, the Bible is the best book, and we should study it more often than any other. God promises his Holy Spirit to help us understand it. We must never presume to add to it. The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew (in the Old Testament) and Greek, but common English translations give us the meaning in a form that we can understand.

We must never forget that right belief and right behaviour go together, and that right behaviour arises from right belief. God is pleased with our conduct only when it arises from trust in him and his word.

The Catechism does not try to prove God is, but takes it for granted as the Bible does. This answer tells us that God does not have a physical body such as limits us. He cannot be seen by the physical eye or touched by our hands. When the Bible speaks of God as having human qualities (eyes, ears and so on), this language is to help us understand about him and does not mean that God has a body. Next, we learn that God is not limited by space or time or anything else, nor does he change, for he is perfect.

Finally, seven important qualities of God’s character are stated, all of which are in harmony with each other (for example, his power is used with wisdom), and all of which are qualified by the three adjectives (for example, God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his wisdom as well as in his being. His goodness includes his mercy, grace, compassion and love. His truth means he is utterly reliable and can be trusted to keep his word. So God is very different from us, but we can k

God is called the living God because he has life in himself and is able to give life and help to others. He is the true God because he really is, whereas other gods exist only in the minds of those who worship them. In Deuteronomy 6:4 God is described by a Hebrew word which means a united one not an only one, and so is perfectly consistent with the truth of personal distinctions within the Divine nature (see Q. 6)

This answer states briefly what is called the doctrine of the Trinity. ‘Trinity’ is not a word found in the Bible, but it is a kind of shorthand in order to describe what the Bible teaches about the Divine nature. There is only one God, but God exists in three persons who live in intimate relationship one to the other. We use the word persons, not because it is adequate, but because the Bible speaks of the relationship of the three in a manner similar to that which we know between human persons.

The Trinity means that God is not lonely, but has a fullness of life and fellowship in himself. When Jesus said, ‘The Father is greater than I’ (John 14:28), he was referring to his position as the Servant of the Lord who had come into this world for our salvation, and not to his own essential equality with the Father (as in John 10:30). The subject of the Trinity is a great mystery, as we would expect, and there is no adequate illustration of it. God is unique!

Three errors could be mentioned. The first (Modalism) teaches that God is but one person, who has played different roles at different times, calling himself successively, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But the Three persons are shown as together at the same time, Matthew 3:16-17. The second error (Arianism), found especially in sects such as ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’, also teaches God is but one person and that Jesus is a created being, and the Holy Spirit merely a name for the power of God. A third error is polytheism (belief in many gods), which is a perversion of the truth of the richness of God’s life. It is found in forms ranging from Mormonism to Hinduism.

What happens in the world is not a matter of mere chance or luck, nor is it a matter of blind fate – ‘what will be will be’. The living God is the God who governs and rules. He has a perfect plan, and he makes everything fit together to fulfil this plan. God has decided everything which will happen, including the means to be used to reach particular ends. For example, to maintain life we need food; to be saved we must believe on the Lord Jesus.

God’s plan and decision does not mean that we are puppets, for God’s plan includes human freedom to act as we desire. Of course some things we do not desire left to ourselves. If such a lack of desire or ability is our own fault we are still responsible. So we are responsible to love and serve God even though through sin we cannot do so until renewed by God’s Holy Spirit.

Many people only think of God when something goes wrong, and blame him for it. The catechism reminds us that God is not the author of sin, although he is so great that he can even bring good out of it (for example, the crucifixion was both a wicked act of men and the predetermined purpose of God, Acts 2:23).

The universe and what occurs in it is the outworking of God's plan.

When God made the worlds he did not make them from himself (as religions like Hinduism teach), nor did he make them from already existing materials (for there were none), but he made them from nothing simply by willing they should be. Genesis 1:1 states the fundamental fact of creation; the following verses concentrate on God’s work in making this world a fit home for man. We should remember that the bringing into existence of something and the modification of something which already exists are two quite different things. How long does it take to turn water into wine? Given creative power it can be done instantly (John 2:7-9).

God used a pattern when he created man, and that pattern was himself, his own image! Man was made to be like God on the creaturely level. Man as created knew God, thought and acted righteously, and was pure in heart and full of love for his Maker. Man is the special creation of God.

Man is made as a race – a creature reproducing itself through successive generations. It is our descent from Adam and Eve that gives us kinship by blood with all other human beings on earth (Acts 17:26).

God not only made the worlds but continues to maintain them, otherwise they could not continue to exist. It is in God that all things live, and move, and have their being (Acts 17:28). God governs everything, and because he is all-powerful his plan is fulfilled. Not even a sparrow can die without his will. Yet in everything he is holy and wise. The actions of men are under his control but the sinfulness of the sinful acts of men belongs entirely to themselves.

A covenant is a solemn agreement. We call the agreement God made with Adam a covenant of life because if it had been kept by man a higher form of life from which he could never fall would have resulted. The threat of death was conditional and implied the promise of ‘life’ if he did not disobey, not just continued existence but immortal glory. The other special tree in the garden, the tree of life, was a symbol of this. By the law of nature written on his heart at creation, man was bound to give perfect obedience to God. This special covenant would show if man was willing to take the word of his Maker or to please himself.

The word ‘covenant’ is not mentioned in Scripture in connection with Adam (unless Hosea 6:7 is an exception) but the elements of a covenant (parties, promise, condition, penalty) are present and an original creation covenant is implied in Genesis 6:18. The parallel with the covenant of grace and Christ’s position of headship as ‘the last Adam’ (1 Cor 15:45 cf. Rom 5:12 ff) requires the covenant arrangement with Adam.

There are things we omit to do and things we do that we should not. But all must be measured by God’s standard not by our feelings. Sin is not just a matter of actions but extends to our thoughts and desires as well.

What made eating the fruit sinful was the fact that God had forbidden it, not that there was anything in the fruit itself that was necessarily evil.

Adam was the natural head and parent of the race, and it was fitting that in the test God set he should act as a representative person, and not as a mere individual. He was like a mountain climber to whom we’re roped so as best to reach the top. But when he fell we fell too. The words sinned in him, and fell with him do not mean that we personally committed Adam’s sin, but rather that his sin is reckoned to us according to the representative principle, so that we are justly charged with its penalty and are involved in its consequences. Jesus, as true man, is descended from Adam as we are, but not in the ordinary manner (see Q. 22).

Sinfulness consists of two parts – the sin of our natures and the sins of our lives. When we do wrong there is something wrong behind it. Our nature is wrong, and so we think, say, and do wrong things. A bad tree bears bad fruit.

Doing wrong can break fellowship with our parents or friends, but how much more with God! This is really what death is about. Love for God has ended and we cannot stay with him any more. We don’t even want to. Physical death follows, and judgement after that.

Here we see the origin and foundation of the remedy God has provided for human sin and need. God has chosen some, indeed, a great number, to be saved. He has his reasons for his choice, but these reasons are in him not in us. We are not chosen because of anything in us or because we have some claim on God. It is solely of his love and mercy, and we do not deserve, nor can we earn, his favour. God’s choice was made in his own mind before creation, and a covenant made with Christ on behalf of elect sinners. Christ undertook the part of a Redeemer, that is, he agreed to place himself in the position of those the Father had given him, and to meet their obligations. In this way he would redeem them, that is, buy them back from bondage.

We cannot get salvation on our own terms but on God's terms. Christ is the only Redeemer. The Son of God voluntarily came into this world and without ceasing to be what he always was (the second person of the Trinity) he became also what he was not (a true man). We call this the incarnation, Jesus is not someone halfway between God and man, but he is both God and man. And in our nature, Christ is now in heaven as our ever-living Saviour.

The Divine person took to himself a true human nature. Jesus’ humanity was a true humanity because he was born of a true, human mother. It was a perfect humanity, not because Mary was different from other women, but because it was made for him by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was a real man. He was born a helpless baby, and grew up like other children. The only difference was that he never did wrong.

The name Christ is the Greek from of the Hebrew word Messiah, meaning Anointed One. Old Testament prophets, priests and kings were anointed with oil when they entered on their work. This points to the way Jesus was specially helped by the Holy Spirit from the beginning of his public ministry.

A prophet is a person who speaks for God, not only about the future but about the present too. He makes plain what God requires. We need a prophet because we are ignorant of God’s way. Though Christ is now in heaven, he teaches us by his written word (the Bible), and has promised the Holy Spirit to remove the darkness of our minds.

A priest is a person appointed by God from among men to represent them before God. He offers sacrifice and speaks to God (intercedes) for them. We need a priest because we are guilty. Christ gave himself for us. His was a perfect sacrifice, and fully adequate to satisfy God's wrath, so it occurred once only and cannot be repeated. Now, in the virtue of his sacrifice, he appears in heaven for us. It is not necessary to suppose an audible pleading – his presence is enough.

A king is the chief authority over a people and a country, and in earlier times was no mere figurehead. We need a king because we are in bondage to sin. To truly receive Christ, we take him not only as our Teacher and our Saviour, but as our King as well. We accept his word, and we keep his commandments out of gratitude and love. Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He is able to win us to himself, care for us in our weakness, and bring us at last, by his grace, into our eternal home.

Humiliation means being brought low down. As God’s Son, Christ came to this earth from heaven, and by taking our nature he made himself nothing. ‘He accepted a dramatic reduction in status, undergoing a demotion and degradation so complete that at last his identity was totally obscured and all that could be seen was a man disgraced and damned, his death throes intensified by his terrible sense of alienation from God.’ (Prof Donad Macleod). Notice [in the answer] the past tense – consisted.

Exaltation means being raised up from a low position to a high one, and this Christ received as a reward for his obedience in our place. It is the state in which our Saviour is now hence the present tense, consists. The ascension meant the end of Christ's personal presence until he returns at the last day. The right hand of the Father means the position or authority. This has been given to Christ by the Father.

Christ has purchased redemption for us, but it is the Holy Spirit who actually puts us in possession of it.

Faith in Christ means trust in Christ, and brings about union with him. The faith by which we commit ourselves to Christ, is the result of the work of God’s Spirit in our hearts.

God calls or invites men to be saved by the outward call of his word and providence, but because of our evil hearts this call is not heeded without the inward call of the Holy Spirit. He makes us feel our sin, makes the way of salvation plain, and makes us turn from our sin to willingly trust in Christ.

Justification is a term from the law courts. It means pronouncing a person righteous or not guilty; it is the opposite of condemnation or the sentence of ‘guilty’. It is an act, and thus occurs once. We do not deserve this treatment. The cause is Christ, whose righteousness is credited to us through faith. Faith has no merit in it to gain a right standing with God, but is the means by which we take to ourselves God’s free gift. Works flowing from faith are fruits of a right relationship, not means of establishing it.

The believer is not only declared righteous; he is also brought into God’s family, and once so brought by God’s grace he is there for ever.

Sanctification means making a person holy. It is called a work because, although the believer has made a definite break with his old life, his being made actually holy is carried on by degrees. It is a renewal because it restores us so as to be like God made us in the beginning.

At the resurrection the believer's soul will be reunited with his body which will be fitted to be with God in the new heavens and new earth where righteousness has its home (2 Pet 3:13).

This answer shows us that the motive for keeping God's commandments is gratitude and love springing from faith and trust in God as our Saviour.

In their sinful rebellion against their Maker some people deny that God exists. A far larger number of people do not deny God exists, but they act as if he did not since their lives are taken up with themselves. But God is, and we are to get to know him through the Bible; we are to confess him openly as the true God, and trust in him. We are to love and serve him in thought, word, and deed, so that he is honoured in everything.

The commandment is not opposed to art and sculpture as such, indeed, the tabernacle had such items in it by God’s command. Notice that the Bible does not give us a description of the physical appearance of Jesus who is the exact likeness of God (Heb 1:3), for it is Christ's character we are to think of, not his appearance. 'You will always be wrong in trying to think what God is like, except when you look for him in the thoughts and words and works of Jesus Christ, his Son.' (Rev. P.J. Murdoch).

God is our Sovereign (I, the LORD), our Owner (your God), and zealous for his worship (am a jealous God).

By God's name is meant everything by which he is made known to us. To take God’s name in vain is to dishonour God. Cursing and swearing is not just bad taste, but sin. If we think of God as we should – as the Creator, Judge, and Saviour; if we think of Christ’s love for us, and the Holy Spirit’s gracious influences, we cannot use God’s name lightly or speak of him or his work loosely or irreverently.

The word sabbath means rest, not seventh.

The weekly sabbath for man is an earthly sign of God's heavenly rest following the work of creation. That is not a rest of inactivity but of contemplation and satisfaction. The rest day reminds us of our higher destiny – a never ending fellowship with God. Sin forfeited this destiny, but through Christ this glory is gained for all believers.

We are to worship God each day as individuals and families, but the Lord’s Day provides the opportunity for public worship. God's word directs us not to give up meeting together (Heb 10:25). Parents who love the Saviour should love his Day, and they should strive to ensure it is a day to be looked forward to by the children. Special books and Bible aids can be set aside for use on the Lord’s Day, and time spent together in learning about the things of God.

'Works of mercy and charity are very proper and acceptable to Christ on this day. They especially become the Christian Sabbath, because it is a day kept in commemoration of the greatest work of mercy and love towards us that ever was wrought.' (Jonathan Edwards (1703-1875), famous American theologian)

True obedience means prompt and willing obedience. Children! Your parents are set over you by God; whatever they tell you, you must do quickly and willingly, so long as it is not sinful, just as Jesus obeyed Mary and Joseph. Fathers! Your children will learn much of what God is like through you. Be a wise, firm and loving father and don't exasperate your children. There can only be respect for authority in our society, if there is true respect in the home.

Hatred and anger are murdered. They are the evil seeds from which the actual deeds arise. 'The boy who gives hatred a home in his heart, or who permits anger to flame up in him unchecked; the girl who nurses envy and spite, we can see in them the making of murderers. God says they are murderers already.' (P.J. Murdoch). The Hebrew word translated murder, is not the same as the simple word kill. God has given the animals to us for food (Gen 9:3; 1 Tim 4:3), and reasonable self-defence against an aggressor is not wrong. The taking of the life of the unborn child (abortion) is common in many countries today, and in nearly every case is against God's commandment.

What kind of computer games do you play? What kind of television of video programmes do you watch? What kind of books do you read? What about off-colour stories, or the way you dress? We need to watch very carefully that we do nothing that is impure.

God means for most boys and girls to grow up and marry. Those who break God's rule of purity, by sex before marriage, heavy petting or watching provocative films, 'do unspeakable damage to their future life in this world, not to speak of that which is to come. They rob their own manhood or womanhood of joys God meant for them, and lay up for themselves a store of unhappy memories and deep regrets. And they sin against God.' (P.J. Murdoch)

It is God's plan that we have property – things of our own, so that by using them in the right way we may develop character. Property can be rightly transferred to others in exchange for something else of fair value, or by gift. If we hide the faults in something we exchange or sell, we are really stealing. If we gamble we really steal. If we are 'smart' and cheat on our taxation return, it is still stealing. If we don't pay our debts promptly it is also stealing. For some kinds of theft you may not be punished by men – but what will God think of you? If you have stolen, restore what you have taken and follow Ephesians 4:28.

Sins of the tongue are very common, and very harmful. In Psalm 27:2, David speaks of wicked men who sought to eat his flesh like wild beasts, words which really refer to slander and false accusations. A person's good name can be taken from him by false words. The Bible lists gossiping, deceit, malice, and slander along with murder and depravity (e.g. Romans 1:29 ff), so serious are sins of the tongue. Therefore avoid being careless with words or talkative. Speak more about principles and facts than people and personalities; never tell a lie to cover yourself or hurt someone else; and don’t keep a score of others' wrong doing.

We are to seek to please God in everything we do. Covetousness comes from not being satisfied with what God has given us, and anxiously and eagerly seeking to get more however we can, even though we may stop short of actual theft. Envy and jealousy, sinful wishes, desires, and motives, constant complaining – these are sins which need God’s forgiveness.

One man kept the law – the God-Man, Christ Jesus. In this life no other has or can keep God's law, but in the life to come the saved will. Take the best day you have ever had. Think about your thoughts – were they all pure and good? Your words? Your actions? So we need to pray each day for our Father's forgiveness.

If you are tempted to think that maybe God can overlook sin or that it will not be punished, then look at the death of Christ. God did not give his Son because we were worth saving, but because there was no other way we could be saved except at such a cost. God’s wrath fell on Christ and so does not fall on those who belong to Christ. But those who do not find refuge in Christ will find God’s wrath will come on them. If God did not spare his Son … how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

Suppose a child goes beyond the safety mark when swimming to reach a brightly coloured piece of wood, gets into difficulties, and is about to drown – despite desperately clinging to the wood. About to sink, the child hears its father’s voice, 'Let go [of] that toy, hold tight to me, and I will save you.' The child does so, and is saved. This story can illustrate repentance and faith. We have been put into this world to serve God, but we have gone beyond the limits set for us after other things that are no true help to us. In fact, if we hold on to them we will be lost. We must give up the ways God has forbidden – we call this repentance, and we must truly rely upon Christ to save us – we call this faith. Although explained separately in the catechism, repentance and faith cannot be separated in our experience, for each is involved in the other. Whoever truly repents, believes; and whoever truly believes, repents.

In the story in the preceding comment, the father could have used any number of different ways to gain hold of the sinking child – an oar or a rope, for example. In the same way God uses various methods (outward and ordinary means) to bring the inward graces of repentance and faith to our hearts.

Many people read the Bible but do not gain help from it because they do not put time or effort into it, nor do they seek God’s help to understand and obey its teaching. This is to be like the person who wants to pass an exam without preparing for it. Do not be like that!

The sacraments are not converting but confirming rites. They do not themselves contain the grace they signify, nor are they channels of spiritual blessing where true faith is absent. The sacraments rest on the authority of Christ, and profit those of faith, so they are of value even if the minister is not all he ought to be.

To the observer, the sacraments are visible signs, declaring and bringing to the mind the leading truths which are revealed in Scripture concerning the way of salvation. They are thus seals, confirming the truth of God, just as a seal is affixed to a document so that it may be known to be genuine. To the properly qualified participant (a believer), the sacraments are signs and seals confirming his or her interest in Christ and applying or exhibiting Christ and all his benefits to the soul. Thus the Holy Spirit enables the more vigorous exercise of faith, and enjoyment of the benefits of the Christian life (see Q. 36).

Circumcision was the initiatory rite of the Old Testament church, and the Passover was the often repeated rite that spoke of deliverance from diving wrath through the life of a lamb. Jesus is the true Lamb of God.

Baptism is not a private thing but it is given by Christ to his church. Water speaks of cleansing, and this is what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together do for us. The precise mode of baptism is not described in detail in the New Testament. After all, the water is a symbol of a change beyond the power of water, and so the quantity used is not of much importance. The positive teaching of Scripture is that baptism involves putting water on the person, not putting the person into water, and the parallel with Holy Spirit baptism confirms this (Mat 3:11 compare Acts 2). A simple mode suitable to all kinds of people and situations is implied by the New Testament descriptions. Total immersion lacks Old Testament precedent or clear New Testament justification. Sprinkling/pouring has a very adequate basis in the Bible (see also Eze 36:24-27 with Heb 10:11-18).

God has always administered his covenant promise on the 'family descent' principle: his commitment is 'to you and your children'. God's gracious activity works against sin, not against the family. Covenant children have obligations along with their parents. Though children may be 'cut off' from God's family because of unbelief, the expectation of the parent who seeks to honour the Lord in bringing up the children should be that they will accept the obligations of God's covenant as they are trained in God's ways.

The Roman, Greek, and Lutheran churches teach that Christ is present in a bodily way in the Supper. Rome teaches that the bread and wine become the literal body and blood of Christ though retaining the appearance of bread and wine (this is called transubstantiation). The preacher becomes a priest, the rite become a bloodless repetition of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and the elements are worshipped. All of this is unscriptural.

The Lutheran church rejects the sacrifice idea, but affirms a bodily presence of the whole Christ in, with, or under the bread and wine. This is called consubstantiation, but among other objections implies views inconsistent with the spacial limitation of Christ’s humanity. Christ is now in heaven, but he is truly present among his people through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is a spiritual feeding, and faith is the receptive faculty of the soul.

Although baptism marks entry into membership of the church, only those old enough to discern its meaning may participate in the Lord's Supper. Hence arises the distinction between baptised members and members in full communion.

Prayer does not have to be audible to be true prayer. John Calvin (1509-1564), the great church reformer, describes prayer as 'an intimate conversation of the pious with God.' That is not prayer in which the heart is not engaged. We cannot truly call on God if we do not know him. Only in the gospel does his grace and mercy become known so that we may approach him with confidence.

The whole Bible can help us in prayer since it is the revelation of God's will. It also includes many examples of prayer. What is truly the Lord's Prayer is found in John 17. But in what is commonly called the Lord's Prayer we have a pattern to guide us in our prayer. It is not a rigid form or liturgy, and the early church prayed freely (Acts 1:24, 25; Acts 4:24-30). But we may use it as a prayer in its own right, and as a help in framing our own prayers.

Our Father includes others in the family of God. The church of Jesus Christ is a community not a mere collection of individuals. We are members of Christ's Body. While there is a real sense in which all men are children of God their Creator, yet we are rebellious, estranged children until we become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. As children by adoption, Father has a special meaning. God cannot be confined to any place, but heaven is where his glory is specially present where Christ now is.

The name of God stands for his character and everything which [the] mention of his name calls to our minds – his word and works. To hallow God's name means to honour and praise God and his word and works. In praying in this way we are praying for eyes to see and hearts to appreciate his glory – for ourselves and others. In true prayer we are following out the chief purpose for which man is made – to glorify God (cf. Q. 1). David Brainerd (1718-1747), the missionary to the American Indians, put it this way. 'My heaven is to please God, and to glorify him, and give all to him, and to be wholly devoted to his glory: that is the heaven I long for, that is my religion, and that is my happiness … I do not go to heaven to be advanced, but to give honour to God.'

There are only two kingdoms on earth from the spiritual viewpoint: the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col 1:13). All who belong to the Lord Jesus are in the kingdom of grace which will become the kingdom of glory when Christ returns at the end of the age to destroy death (see Q. 38). We cannot pray for God's kingdom to advance without praying for the kingdom of Satan to be overthrown. You can read of the progress and triumph of God's kingdom in many passages such as Daniel 2 and Matthew 13, and its climax in Revelation 21 & 22.

God's will as mentioned is not his secret plan (Deut 29:29), but his will as revealed or made plain in the Bible. The Scriptures tell us all we need to know in order to please God (2 Tim 3:16-17). Most problems of guidance arise because we are not prepared to follow Scripture teaching, or we are not prepared to do a bit of hard thinking and careful reflection as to what is for God's glory.

The angels are created beings without bodies like ours. They serve God without sin. Sometimes they appear in human form among men, but not much is told us in the Bible about them, and we must not try to be wiser than what is revealed.

God cares about our whole life, even the food we need each day. As sinners we have no right to God's gifts but can have them only because of his mercy. Receiving good things from our heavenly Father, we should enjoy them and thank him for them.

Jesus teaches us that sins are like debts – there is an obligation incurred that remains until payment is made. Jesus, by his sacrifice, has made the payment on behalf of his people. If we belong to Christ we will continue to confess our sins and we will learn to forgive others because we ourselves have been freely forgiven a much greater debt by God (see Mat 18:23-25).

God does not directly tempt any person (James 1:13) since he is pure and holy. However, God is in sovereign control of all things and so we can be brought into situations where Satan and our own evil hearts can tempt us (James 1:14). Now we must never think lightly of temptation, and we need to avoid situations where we may fall into sin. Hence this request.

The word amen is from a Hebrew root word meaning stability, and could be translated: So be it!

Let us ensure that we carry through into every area of life the meaning of this conclusion. Let us endeavour to render to God his rights in everything we do. Remember the first catechism: The chief purpose for which man is made is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever.