Yes—God created mankind knowing they would sin because He wanted creatures to love and to freely return His love.
Les Feldick says God wanted a creature He could love and who would return that love. Because love cannot be forced, God gave humans a will, which meant the possibility of rejecting Him. Even knowing man would rebel, God chose to create mankind for this loving relationship.
Genesis 1:27 — This verse records God creating man in His own image as male and female, showing that mankind was made for relationship from the very beginning.
Ephesians 5:25 — Les Feldick uses this command for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church to illustrate the loving relationship God intended in creation.
1 Corinthians 2:9 — This verse shows that God has prepared great things for those who love Him, explaining the loving purpose behind creation.
God's Word shows that mankind was made in His image and for relationship. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." The New Testament connects this created relationship to love. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." And 1 Corinthians 2:9 speaks of the things "which God hath prepared for them that love him." The Bible reveals that love lies at the core of God's creative purpose.
Les Feldick directly addresses why God would create mankind when He knew they would rebel. He says the question comes down to the fundamental questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? The answer is that mankind was made to be objects of God's love. As Les puts it, God wanted a creature He could love and who would return His love. Angels, he notes, could not respond, so God made the human race with an indwelling will—a will that could either respond to His love or reject it. To make that free choice possible, God brought Satan on the scene, because otherwise there would be no exercise of the will. Even knowing the world would end up in a mess through human rebellion, God created anyway, because His whole purpose was a people who would fellowship with Him and return His love of their own free will. Les uses the marriage relationship to illustrate this: God commands the husband to love his wife, and God created the wife to respond to that love. In the same way, God extends His love to all humanity, and He expects love and obedience in return.
Les Feldick poses the question people ask: "If God knew the world was going to end up in such a mess, if God knew the men were going to rebel, why did he ever make them in the first place?" He then answers that God made the human race to be objects of His love. Therefore God certainly knew the future, but His love for mankind was the reason creation happened.
Love cannot be forced. Les explains that God created humans with an inner will so they could respond to His love or reject it. To exercise that will, a choice had to be possible. That is why Satan was permitted to come on the scene—otherwise there would be no real exercise of the will.
Les points to the marriage relationship as a direct parallel to God's reason for creating man. A husband extends love to his wife, and God has created within the woman the capacity to respond to that love. In the same way, God extends His love to the human race and waits for a loving response. "This," Les says, "is the reason that man was put here in the first place."
According to Les, God gives us the very best He can give, and all He asks for in return is obedience. That obedience is closely tied to responding to His love. Because God made man to be an object of His love, a loving and obedient response is the whole point of our existence.
Les reminds his listeners that God—the holy, sinless, righteous Creator—became flesh, walked the streets of Palestine, endured its filth and foul language, and died on a Roman cross. Why? Because He loved mankind. The cross is the ultimate evidence that God's creation of man was an act of love, and it prepared for those who love Him blessings beyond what we can imagine, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:9.
How Can You Know You're Saved? The Plan of Salvation in Scripture
what I'm always saying? Paul writes to the believer. He isn't writing to a lost person here. He's writing to you and I as believers, and he says, "...in whom you also believed, after..." Now watch this. I've had more than one couple from various denominations, after I read this verse, just literally have their eyes bugged open. They say, we never saw this before.
God's Purpose in Creation
Les teaches that the human race was created to be the object of God's love, and that God gave humans a will so they could respond to or reject that love. He also says God brought Satan on the scene to make the choice possible.
Marriage Mirrors Creation's Purpose
Les says the primary reason man was created is that God wanted a creature to love who would return that love, and he uses the husband-wife relationship in Ephesians to illustrate this parallel.
Freely Responding to God's Love
Les explains that the whole program of the human race was to create people who would fellowship with God and return His love of their own free will; those who respond are prepared for unimaginable blessing.
God's Love and His Wrath
Les points out that God has done everything possible to keep every person from condemnation, showing that His love and His wrath are both consistent with His righteous purpose.
Love Demonstrated on the Cross
Les says the Creator became flesh and died on a Roman cross simply because He loved mankind, revealing the depth of His love for the creature He made.
God's Expectation of Obedience
Les teaches that God gives His very best and expects obedience in return, which is directly connected to the loving relationship He established in creation.
Creation and Marriage Parallel
Les repeats that God wanted a creature to receive His love and return it, just as the wife is created to respond to her husband's love.
Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
This verse shows that mankind was created in God's image as male and female, establishing a relational creature from the very beginning.
Ephesians 5:25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Paul uses the husband-wife relationship as a picture of Christ's sacrificial love for the church, which Les applies to God's loving purpose in creation.
1 Corinthians 2:9: But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
This verse reveals that God has prepared wonderful things for those who love Him, showing that love is central to His plan for humanity.
Yes. Les Feldick asks the very question: "If God knew the world was going to end up in such a mess, if God knew men were going to rebel, why did he ever make them?" He then explains that God's purpose was love—He wanted objects for His love. So God's foreknowledge did not prevent creation; it was the risk love takes.
Les teaches that God brought Satan on the scene so that humans could exercise the indwelling will God gave them. Without the option to choose between responding to God's love or rejecting it, there would be no real will exercise. Freedom to reject is the necessary counterpart to the capacity to love.
According to Les, God created mankind primarily so He could have a creature to love and who would return that love. Angels could not respond, so God made the human race with a will to respond or reject. The whole program of humanity has been about free will and fellowship with Him.
Watch the Teaching: How Can You Know You're Saved? The Plan of Salvation in Scripture