August 6, 2019
Bible Study Notes
What is Mankind’s Purpose?
When people ask the question, “What is God’s will?” or “How do I know God’s will?” they most likely mean, “What is God’s will for my life, specifically?”
* Now, we will get to that question, but we will start from the very general and move to the specific. We will eventually get to how you can discern things for yourself, specifically.
* There are general truths, commands, and expectations that apply to all of us. So, we will start there and move to the more personal by the time we conclude this four-week study.
Why did God create us? What is the general purpose for humanity? What is the universal reason for life?
* The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks this question as their first in a list of several and answer it by saying, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” With this general statement, I agree.
* While we are not Presbyterians or Calvinists, we can affirm when someone has stated the truth. I find this statement to be true and enlightening. Of course, it is still a very general statement, but it is a good place to begin the discussion.
* Let us look at the Scriptures that are provided for each of these two points.
(1)Your Purpose is to Glorify God
Ps 86:9; Isa 60:21; Rom 11:36; 1 Cor 6:20; 10:31; Rev 4:11
* For God to be glorified is for Him to be made known, to be praised and honored, to be thanked; it is for His worth to be declared and appreciated.
* Now, that can take on a lot of different forms. We can all glorify God in many of the same ways, but there are also specific ways that we can glorify God. We’re not all going to be preachers, or missionaries, or school teachers, or caregivers, or fill in the blank. Generally and specifically, your purpose in life is to glorify God.
(2)Your Purpose is to Enjoy God Forever
Ps 16:5-11; 144:15; Isa 12:2; Luke 2:10; Phil 4:4; Rev 21:3-4
* How amazing it is to know God and to enjoy a relationship with Him! How wonderful it is that God be glorified while at the same time that we can be satisfied. John Piper has famously summarized this idea in the phrase, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” God’s glory and your satisfaction are now mutually exclusive. They actually go hand-in-hand. Thanks be to God!
* God does not get much glory out of grumpy, gloomy, boring Christians. He is glorified when we are joyous in Him. There is great joy and peace in believing (Rom 15:13).
* God does not get much glory out of grumpy, gloomy, boring Christians. He is glorified when we are joyous in Him. There is great joy and peace in believing (Rom 15:13).
* Our joy is not in created things but the Creator. Now, He uses created things as tools for our joy and satisfaction—there is great joy in watching a sunset, driving up a mountain, visiting the beach, raising children, or serving others. Yet, fullness of joy is found when these things are properly understood as created by God, given by God, undergirded and surrounded by the Creator, and when we give our thanks to God for all of these things. Fullness of joy is in knowing God and receiving all things with gratefulness to Him.
What are we to do, generallyspeaking?
* Gen 1:22 “Be fruitful and increase” which I might liken to the Great Commission in Matt 28:18-20.
* Gen 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
* John 6:29 “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
* 1 Cor 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”