Consider why God formed us in the first place. As the self-sufficient God of the universe, he certainly had no unmet need in himself, so why did he create us? The last thing I want to do is to presume to know exhaustively the mind and motives of God. Nor do I want to oversimplify his ways. But it seems that God tells us why he made us. There is a twofold purpose evident from the beginning of history.
On one hand, we were created by God to enjoy his grace. Apart from everything else God created, we were made in his image.1 We alone have the capacity to enjoy God in intimate relationship with him. The first word the Bible uses to describe that relationship is blessing. God blessed the human race, not because of any merit or inherent worth in us, but simply out of pure, unadulterated grace. God created humankind to enjoy his grace.
But that was not the end of the story, because on the other hand, God immediately followed his blessing with a command. “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.’”2 God gave his people his image for a reason—so that they might multiply his image throughout the world. He created human beings, not only to enjoy his grace in a relationship with him, but also to extend his glory to the ends of the earth.
Simple enough. Enjoy his grace and extend his glory. This is the twofold purpose behind the creation of the human race in Genesis 1, and it sets the stage for an entire Book that revolves around the same purpose. In every genre of biblical literature and every stage of biblical history, God is seen pouring out his grace on his people for the sake of his glory among all peoples.
In Genesis 12, God forms his people by saying to Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Then God connects his promise to Abraham with a deeper purpose: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”3 God blesses Abraham abundantly but not ultimately for Abraham’s sake. He blesses Abraham so that Abraham might be the conduit of God’s blessing to all the peoples of the earth. God tells Abraham to enjoy his grace as Abraham extends God’s glory.
Consider the self-exalting purpose of God in the redemption of his people from slavery in Egypt. Immediately following the Exodus, God led them to the shore of the Red Sea, with the Egyptians on their heels and nowhere else to turn. Listen to the motive of God as he says, “I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”4 He miraculously parted the waters, led his people through the middle on dry land, and then caused the waves to swallow up the Egyptians in the Israelites’ rearview mirrors for one primary reason: to gain glory for himself. The Egyptians and all the nations after them knew that he is the Lord and he saves his people. God blessed his people in a miraculous way so that his salvation would be made known among all peoples.
Consider another Old Testament story, that of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Why would a God of love let these three Hebrew men be thrown into a fiery furnace? Is this how God treats those who risk everything for him? How does this make you feel about the next time you are faced with taking a stand for God? We read the story and are fascinated by it, but we rarely get to the end to see the point.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”5
The very king who declared that everybody should bow down to him was now declaring that anybody who spoke against God should be cut into pieces! The reason God let these guys be thrown into a fiery furnace was so that they would come out on the other side without a drop of sweat on their brows and so that this pagan king would declare that the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is worthy of praise in all nations and languages. God really is in the business of blessing his people in unusual ways so his goodness and his greatness will be declared among all peoples.
Verses that reiterate this truth abound throughout the Old Testament. Psalms, for example, speaks of God guiding his people for his name’s sake and blessing his people so that his ways would be made known in all nations. The prophets beautifully depict the mercy of God toward his people so that they would witness to the nations that he is Lord.6
Ezekiel 36 contains some of the most startling words from the mouth of God as he recounts his work among his people. God is addressing how the people of Israel had sinned against him, and he describes the reason for what he did among them.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.7
What a statement! God goes so far as to say that when he acts among his people, he doesn’t show his grace, mercy, and justice for their sake but for the sake of his own holy name among the nations.
The global purpose of God evident in the history, writings, and prophets of the Old Testament carries over into the New Testament. In the Gospels we see how Jesus ended his time on earth by commanding his followers to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.8 The letters are filled with the same emphasis as Paul, Peter, James, and John led the church through persecution and suffering to spread the glory of God to the nations.
In light of all we have seen, it is no surprise to get to the last book of the Bible and see the culmination of God’s purpose. Imagine this scene described by John:
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”9
In the beginning of earthly history, God’s purpose was to bless his people so that all peoples would glorify him for his salvation. Now, at the end, God’s purpose is fulfilled. Individuals from every nation, tribe, people, and language are bowing down around the throne of God and singing praises to the one who has blessed them with salvation. This is the final, ultimate, all-consuming, glorious, guaranteed, overwhelmingly global purpose of God in Scripture. It is the great why of God.
God blesses his people with extravagant grace so they might extend his extravagant glory to all peoples on the earth. This basic, fundamental truth permeates Scripture from beginning to end. Yet I wonder if we unknowingly ignore the great why of God.