I would like to know more about God’s purpose. Please guide me to any discussion on this subject.
God’s Purpose for born-again believers
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few bible verses here:
Romans 8:28-29 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
2Corithians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
id say God's purpose (among other things) is for us to grow to become more like Jesus and His teachings. we are to grow in unity, love, truth and of course the main purpose of the church as well is to spread the gospel into all the nations.
Romans 8:28-29 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
2Corithians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
id say God's purpose (among other things) is for us to grow to become more like Jesus and His teachings. we are to grow in unity, love, truth and of course the main purpose of the church as well is to spread the gospel into all the nations.
Dear brother in Christ,
I have found in JOHN 17, a prayer from Christ to his father, a glimpse of what is to come to those who belong, to Christ, that is to say the believers in Christ . It is quite extraordinary and quite amazing I have underlined the passages that are quite revealing as to an element of God's plan.
The whole plan is not known not all was revealed to us at this time but I expect That some day we will know more, While reading John please keep in mind that GOD created us in his image;
JOHN 15 (NKJV)
17 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.
9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them [e]in the world, I kept them in [f]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify[i] them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who [j]will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Also in psalm 8 (NKJV);
1O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
2Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have https://biblehub.com/nkjv/psalms/8.htm#footnotesordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
3When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit[c] him?
5For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
9O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Blessings brother,
JF
For those saved by grace, God purposed them for a specific purpose. It is up to each believer to seek (through prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit) to determine what purpose God saved them for. This is also why the gifts of the Spirit are important, for God will endow each believer with the gift(s) needed to fulfill the purpose He has for them.
Ephesians, Chapter 2:
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Most everyone can recite the first two verses, but far too many do not include verse 10. However, without verse 10, the first two are without purpose.
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
IF you are a sanctified believer, then pray and listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to what "purpose" God purposed you for.
I believe that when a person receives the life of Christ by the Holy Spirit by faith and the grace of God, he is a new person, the old has gone and he is now a new creation of God. There is a dramatic inward change in his life and God gives him a new inward constitution. The Lord Jesus Christ becomes his all-in-all. He lives to become more like Him in nature and character. He experiences something that cannot be easily explained but the power of which enables him to commit his whole life to the Lord. I could go on …The apostle Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus is a good example.
to share the Gospel of Christ. to be a witness for Christ. to do the Will of the Father which Jesus taught to us throughout the Gospels.
“I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
In the beginning, God desired to make Himself know in time and space. This is called "light" as in "let there be light". The vehicle of this revelation was the creation and man (Adam) & woman (Eve) "made in the image and likeness of God". The first Adam failed and his downfall included Eve. The last Adam succeeded. The Last Adam was Jesus.
The first Adam had is side opened to remove a bone from which his companion was fashioned. This was done to show us the manner in which men would be included in Jesus as the revelation of God. Jesus had His side opened to permit the woman to be "in Him". By this opening, men can enter a "new and living way".
"Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh..."
Jesus died a man but was then raised by God as Christ, a life-giving spirit. All who receive the death of Jesus as propitiation for their own sins, are then regarded, by God, as being "in Christ"; in eternal reality as the man who IS "the image and likeness of God". This is the fulfillment of God's plan to reveal Himself in time and space.
In Christ, then, we become the fulfillment of God's desire to be seen.
We are effectively "...the light of the world."
Walk in the light of God so that He may be seen in the earth.
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
In the beginning, God desired to make Himself know in time and space. This is called "light" as in "let there be light". The vehicle of this revelation was the creation and man (Adam) & woman (Eve) "made in the image and likeness of God". The first Adam failed and his downfall included Eve. The last Adam succeeded. The Last Adam was Jesus.
The first Adam had is side opened to remove a bone from which his companion was fashioned. This was done to show us the manner in which men would be included in Jesus as the revelation of God. Jesus had His side opened to permit the woman to be "in Him". By this opening, men can enter a "new and living way".
"Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh..."
Jesus died a man but was then raised by God as Christ, a life-giving spirit. All who receive the death of Jesus as propitiation for their own sins, are then regarded, by God, as being "in Christ"; in eternal reality as the man who IS "the image and likeness of God". This is the fulfillment of God's plan to reveal Himself in time and space.
In Christ, then, we become the fulfillment of God's desire to be seen.
We are effectively "...the light of the world."
Walk in the light of God so that He may be seen in the earth.
The scriptures are written by the inspiration of God for the purpose of instructing his born again children as to how he wants them to live their lives as they sojourn here on earth.
One of his instructions is for the mature born again children to teach the lost sheep of the household of Jacob/Israel the knowledge of what Jesus has done for them, in that Jesus paid for their sins in full, and not to hold on to the old law, thinking it will save them eternally.
A good example of this is explained in Rom 10.
Good point, I had just been looking at this passage this morning. It says we are not saved by works and then says we’re created for the good works that God ordained.
Clearly there are works that are not required and then there are good works that God requires.
The context says to me that it’s works of the law, or law-keeping, that aren’t required.
John 3:3
3Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:5,6
5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is bornof water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.
Being born again is a requirement to see the kingdom of God. Jesus said the components required to be born again are water and Spirit. Water and Spirit are required to be born of the Spirit and are not a natural live birth from a woman. Water is water baptism and the Spirit is God’s Holy Spirit.
John 1:12,13
12But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
Thank you Bro Iconoclast. This states that Gods purpose is for principalities and powers, the church being Gods instrument. Please correct my understanding. I would like a clearer understanding of Gods PURPOSE FOR THE CHURCH as such.
May I please ask you why you asked this question? Are you looking for purpose, or is it strictly an intellectual curiosity?
I know that my life must be governed by a true understanding of God’s purpose for my life, now as well as in years ahead., if so, then any kind of intellectualism is way off the mark and will not serve my ends.
Yes, Runningman, these are very meaningful Biblical verses, but there is so much more to being born-again. It comes to us by by a revelation of the Spirit of God. I have tried to express this as follows:
I believe that when a person receives the life of Christ by the Holy Spirit by faith and the grace of God, he is a new person, the old has gone and he is now a new creation of God. There is a dramatic inward change in his life and God gives him a new inward constitution. The Lord Jesus Christ becomes his all-in-all. He lives to become more like Him in nature and character. He experiences something that cannot be easily explained but the power of which enables him to commit his whole life to the Lord. I could go on …The apostle Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus is a good example
I believe that when a person receives the life of Christ by the Holy Spirit by faith and the grace of God, he is a new person, the old has gone and he is now a new creation of God. There is a dramatic inward change in his life and God gives him a new inward constitution. The Lord Jesus Christ becomes his all-in-all. He lives to become more like Him in nature and character. He experiences something that cannot be easily explained but the power of which enables him to commit his whole life to the Lord. I could go on …The apostle Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus is a good example
Okay, thanks for that.
The church—or the body of Christ—is made up of many members (1 Corinthians 12:20). It's impossible to tell anyone else what their purpose in the body should be; it's up to the Lord. But we can come to understand His will for us by studying God's word and prayer. As for the church as a whole, our purpose seems clear to me; it's to plant seeds of the gospel so that the Kingdom can advance. This can be done in many ways and each person has to figure out for himself/herself how to best accomplish this.
Receive His love and share His Good News with others.
Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
John 4:35
“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”