Last week we focused on the first of God's four-"Ps"--His presence. How did you do during the week? Were you able to live victoriously as a result of practicing living in His presence? Were you able to control your tongue to please Him? I hope so. This week, we're going to focus on His Purpose for us, His children, and His Church as a whole
God’s purpose:
What is purpose?
Purpose is the reason something is done, said, or created, or the reason
something exists. If you do something
on purpose, you do it intentionally, not by accident, and you have a
specific outcome in mind. You also have an idea (plan) as to how to arrive at
that outcome.
God’s reason/purpose for coming to earth in the Person of
His Son Jesus was to destroy the works of the devil, defeat death, and to
restore the broken relationship between God and man—to redeem man (see 1 John
3:8). He then purposed for the redeemed (His children):
● To be in His family, and to be individually a part of His
Body-the Church- where He is the Head. He wants the body to depend on Him and
to love and take care of one another (see Ephesians 2:19; Galatians 6:10).
● To be holy, just like He is (see Leviticus 11:45).
● To increase numerically over time (“Go and make disciples
of all nations” (Matthew 28:19 NLT)), because He does not want anyone to
perish: “The Lord …does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to
repent” (2 Peter 3:9 NLT).
● He wants our life experiences to increase our dependence
on Him, and to help us in our growth/transformation into His likeness (see
Romans 8:28).
● He wants His children to be His representatives here on
earth, being salt and light, pointing others to Him (see Matthew 5:13-14).
● He wants us to be mindful of the schemes of the devil, our
adversary, and for that reason, He has revealed him to us, and also designed a
protective armor for us, to assure we remain standing at the end of the
battle—undefeated (see Ephesians 6:10-18).
● His ultimate purpose is to have us spend eternity with Him
in heaven, where there’ll be no sin, pain, sorrow, or death. This purpose is so
important to Jesus that He prayed to the Father about it. He requested,
“Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then
they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the
world began!” (John 17:24 NLT). He is also looking forward to rewarding His
servants in heaven, “Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the
good we do, whether we are slaves or free” (Ephesians 6:8 NLT).
This week, let's focus on God's plans for us; let's love each other deeply, and share the gospel every chance we get. This effort will grow the Church, both numerically and in maturity. Next week, we'll look at the third "P"; don't miss it.
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