The Purposes of God
At this point we need to take off our shoes because we are treading on holy ground. While we can be fairly certain that God does have His purposes, they belong to Him. While He knows what they are, we can only speculate. There is no attempt to be dogmatic about these issues, but it is quite possible that the ideas expressed on this page are essentially correct. We must wait patiently until the day of judgment to find out the whole and perfect truth. What follows is just my personal view of what God’s purposes may well be.
One of the basic assumptions of this website is that all things were created by God. It was not that God was lonely (see ‘Why the Holy Trinity?’), but for His own glory He created the angels to populate the spiritual world He inhabits, the world which we call Heaven. As their creator, the angels owe Him their worship and their complete obedience to His will. It seems that Satan was originally an angel, and still has the ability to transform himself into an ‘angel of light’ in order to appear before God. Nothing reeking of evil, nor even having the slightest whiff of evil about it, is allowed into God’s presence. Ultimately, Satan will lose that power, and be banished to eternal torment along with all his followers.
It seems likely that the Devil’s sin was to try to challenge God’s authority and to consider himself God’s equal, for which his punishment was to be cast out of Heaven. It is likely that all demons and evil spirits were also created as angels, but they, too, rebelled. Any creature that dares to oppose God finally suffers the same fate. Anything outside of God’s revealed will for his creatures is reckoned as sin, and there is only one sentence passed on those who sin – death! If you are wondering why God permitted Satan’s insurrection, see the page entitled ‘Why the Devil?’
Apart from God Himself from Whom all things originate, the creation of the inhabitants of the spiritual realm, the rebellion of the Devil and his cohorts, and the preparation of Hell for all God’s enemies occurred before the natural world was brought into being.
Following on from God’s creation of the universe, the Earth, and His special creation made in His own image, Satan appears to spend most of his time ‘going to and fro in the Earth’ amongst us, no doubt causing all manner of harm. It is important to note that while the Devil has immense power, it is limited to what God will allow. God is still the supreme omnipotence in both the spiritual world and the universe. Not only does He have power over the good angels, but also over the evil spirits who have to obey His every command as well. They may do the work of the Devil, but they are still subject to Almighty God when He wishes to use them.
Coming now to God’s special creation – mankind. What are God’s purposes for the human race? It must be remembered that God created all things for His own pleasure and glory. This is perfectly natural. We, who are made in His likeness, often create and make things with exactly the same motivation. I suspect that for reasons similar to those underlying the creation of the Devil, God wishes to show the depth of His love for obedient mankind by allowing a contrast to exist. All beings, both temporal and heavenly, will see and understand this by and by.
I hope this doesn’t come as too much of a shock to you, but the Bible clearly teaches that not only does God love, but that He also hates. He loves obedience, worship and faith. He hates sin, unbelief and all that is evil. All of mankind, those born of man and woman, are guilty of sin, no matter how well they compare to others around them. We are taught that God loves the repentant sinner who turns to Him in penitence, but hates those who go their own way and die unrepentant. Thus, in order to make His love fully known and appreciated, He also demonstrates His power over all that is wrong by its banishment and punishment.
Mankind divides into two camps, and only two. No one dies sitting on the fence. Anyone who thinks they are so doing will find themselves sharing Satan’s fate, not having turned from their own paths and experienced repentance and faith. The destiny of both camps is to God’s glory. For one is to the glory of God’s love and mercy, the other to the glory of His power over all that is not holy.
Within God’s purposes, the life of each one of us here on Earth is a time of trial. Will we go our own way, deceived by the Devil, or will we hear the call of God, turn and serve Him? The Gospel is to be preached to all mankind. Some will listen and obey, others will ignore or reject. The issue will be decided by the time life departs from our mortal bodies. Life is all too brief and uncertain, but upon it depends our eternal destinies. (Thoughts concerning those who do not have the opportunity to hear the Gospel appear elsewhere on this website.)
If you are seeking the truth about God, please realise the vital importance of your quest. God is faithful to His promises, and He has promised to hear all who humble themselves, pray, seek His face and repent. You can be sure God’s purposes will be carried out in each one of us. In this life, like it or not, we have to make the choice between eternal life and eternal torment. God urges us to choose life. If we fail to respond, the default option is death. Unless Christ returns in our lifetimes, we shall all suffer the first death, the death of our natural bodies. Only the negligent and the hostile will suffer the second death, and that hardly bears thinking about.
You have been created for God’s glory. Will it be to the glory of His love and mercy, or to the glory of His power over evil? The Bible advises us all to seek the Lord while He may be found and to call upon Him while He is near. There can be no kinder or better advice given to the person who is seeking the truth.