The Purpose Of God
When we know God, it is evident that we shall desire to know His ways, His purpose and do His will. God wants us to walk in line with His purpose and programmes. When God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness, it was to be built according to the Pattern and plan He revealed to Moses on the mountain. God has definite plan for His people as He said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you … thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11).
God has purpose for our redemption and the Church of God. In the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, there is a definite purpose He came to achieve. The Church and the life of every believer is purpose-driven and it will do us great good to understand God’s purpose and key into it. Everything concerning Jesus Christ has a goal, as he said: “But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matt. 26:56).
The purpose that Jesus Christ came is to preach the Gospel, the Good News of God’s Kingdom and reign and give salvation and eternal life to all who believe in Him (Mark 1:38; Luke 4:18-19). He came to save the lost [Luke 15] as He declared in the house of Zacchaeus: “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:9-10). In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus declared the purpose of His Mission, as he said: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” The ultimate purpose of God in sending His Son is to give His life, to die as a ransom for sinners and to save humanity (Mark 10:45).
Without the death of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His Blood, there is no remission of sins. To die the cruel death was to do the Father’s will and to accomplish His work. Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead in fulfilling this purpose of God. This is the demonstration of His victory over sin, devil and the world.
Likewise, the main purpose of the Church is to proclaim this Jesus Christ faithfully, until He returns in glory and power to judge the world. Jesus has commissioned the Church and commanded the believers in Christ saying, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47). The ultimate purpose in the life of any person called of God will be to seek and pursue the Priority of God.
The Overarching Priority
In Matthew 6:33, Jesus points out two overarching Priority of God, namely His Kingdom and His Righteousness. These should be sought with all our heart and soul. These should take all our time, resources and life. When we make God’s priority our priority, every other thing in life will fall into its proper place. In union with Christ and in relationship in Him, every other thing will have its proper place. As the Scripture says, “Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:15-16).
(Culled from the Presidential Address of the Primate, the Most Rev. Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba to the 13th General Synod of the Church of Nigeria by the Ven. Dr Princewill Ireoba)
TO BE CONTINUED