We believers in Christ have been saved and called by God with a holy calling according to God’s purpose; God’s purpose is the meaning of our life and the meaning of the universe, and His purpose needs to become our purpose, for we’re here not living a meaningless life but a life for God’s purpose. Amen!
This week we come to the topic of, God Calling Us according to His Own Purpose.
God does everything according to His purpose, and He created the entire universe and man for His purpose.
Man is not here in an aimless way, living a human life and then going away forever; man was created by God in His image and according to His likeness so that man would live a life for God’s purpose.
But how can man live for God’s purpose if man does not know God’s purpose?
Even more, how can we as believers in Christ live for God’s purpose if we do not know what is God’s purpose?
This week we want to explore the Bible in a prayerful way to find out first what is God’s purpose and how God called us according to His own purpose; then, we want to live what it means for us to live a life for God’s purpose.
We human beings have a purpose, but we are not God; our purpose many times is not the best purpose, and most times we cannot live a life for the fulfilment of our own purpose. Oh, Lord.
All things were created and exist because of God’s will (Rev. 4:11); we are here for God’s will, for God’s eternal purpose.
God has an eternal intention, a heart’s desire, according to which He does all things.
Nothing in this universe is aimless, without a purpose, and at random.
God has a purpose, and He made a council in His Divine Trinity to carry out what is in His heart.
According to His council, there was a counsel for Him to do particular things in order to carry out what is in His heart.
This is His economy, the way to carry out what is in God’s heart.
God’s economy is to dispense all that He is in His Divine Trinity into us so that we may be filled with God, saturated with God, and constituted with God for us to become the same as God in life and nature but not in the Godhead for Him to obtain a corporate expression on the earth and in the universe. Hallelujah!
God’s purpose, however, has been hidden throughout the ages; it is revealed in the word of God but still, so many believers in Christ do not see it.
May we come to God’s word day by day with a prayerful spirit to be unveiled and see what is in His heart for us.
We want not only God’s permissive will, what He allows us to do because we really want to do it, but His perfect will, the will that is according to His heart’s desire for the fulfilment of His purpose.
God Called us and Separated us for His Purpose to make us One with Him so that we may be His Testimony
In 2 Tim. 1:9 we are told that God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose.
We are saved not only to be spared of eternal perdition and judgment and to live forever with the Lord; we are saved and called for God’s purpose.
In saving us, God called us according to His own purpose; from the time we were saved, our daily life as believers in Christ is to live a normal human life in an outward way and a life that contributes to the fulfilment of God’s will inwardly. Amen!
God has not only saved us to enjoy His blessing but also called us with a holy calling, a calling for a particular cause, for us to fulfil His purpose.
The purpose of God is His plan according to His will to place us into Christ, making us one with Him to share His life and position so that we may be His testimony.
Yes, God wants us to enjoy His blessings and He desires for us to have joy; He wants us to be the recipients of God’s blessing and live under His blessing.
Even more, we cannot do anything without His blessing, for everything we have and are needs to be under the Lord’s blessing.
As we are under God’s blessing, we realize that we are called with a holy calling; we are called for a particular purpose: to fulfil God’s purpose.
To be called by God is to be separated unto His purpose (Eph. 1:11; 3:11; 2 Tim. 1:9; 3:10).
We have been separated unto God for His purpose.
We still have to work, take care of so many things at home, be involved in the practical matters in the church life, and do so many things outwardly, but at the same time, we inwardly realize we’re separated unto God’s purpose.
We live a life for God’s purpose. We don’t live for our own purpose, neither are we here to build a career or obtain a higher office in the church life or anything like that.
We may have quite a responsible job which we need to fulfil; inwardly, however, we realize that we’re separated from what this world considers precious.
We are here for God’s purpose; we’re separated unto the purpose of God.
The job we have, the kind of family life we live, and the activities we’re involved in all have to do with God’s purpose.
In eternity past, before anything was created, God chose us to be sons of God.
It may be hard to believe this at first, but there is a plan for each one of us – where we were born, what family we’re born in, what kind of human nature we have, all these are in God’s plan and according to His purpose.
Because there’s a plan and an arrangement for each one of us, God placed us into Christ.
God’s purpose as seen in 2 Tim. 1:9 is God’s plan according to His will to place us into Christ, making us one with Him to share His life and position so that we may be His testimony.
The entire universe was created by God according to His purpose; everything in the universe – the heavens, the earth with all things on it, and all the stars and heavenly bodies were all created by God for His purpose.
Even more, we as human beings were created by God for His purpose, and we believers in Christ were placed into Christ for us to be one with Him to share His life and position so that we may be His testimony.
This is what God is after today: He wants to gain a group of people who are one with Him, even the same as Christ in every possible way, for God to gain a corporate expression on the earth.
We need to thank and praise the Lord for creating us according to His purpose, ask Him to reveal to us the eternal purpose of God, and live a life for God’s purpose today!
Thank You, Lord, for creating us for Your purpose so that we may live a life for the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose! Hallelujah, God has saved us and called us with a holy calling – not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace. Amen, Lord, unveil us to see God’s purpose. May we realize that we have been designated as an inheritance in Christ, having been predestinated according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of His will! Wow, Lord, we have been predestinated to be one with Christ, even to become the same as Christ, so that we may be the corporate testimony of God! Amen, God’s plan according to His will is to place us into Christ, making us one with Him to share His life and position so that we may be His testimony. What a holy calling! Thank You, Lord, for separating us unto Your purpose. Thank You not only for Your blessing but even more, for Your holy calling according to Your purpose!
God’s Purpose should Become our Purpose: we do not live a Meaningless Life but a Life for God’s Purpose
God saved us and called us according to His own purpose, and now His purpose should become our purpose (Rom. 8:28; 2 Tim. 1:9; 3:10).
God’s will should not only be His will; God’s will needs to become our will. God’s purpose needs to become our purpose.
This shouldn’t just be something in our mind that we’re thinking; it should be at the core of our being.
The meaning of our existence, our purpose for being here, is the purpose of God.
Paul was so one with God’s purpose that His purpose became Paul’s purpose.
We need to be able to honestly say that God’s purpose has become our purpose.
When others speak to us, we need to be able to testify that we are here for God’s purpose, His will and arrangement, and God’s purpose is our purpose.
Daily, we need to be those seeking the Lord’s grace and life supply to diligently contribute to whatever is measured out to us to fulfil the purpose of God.
We don’t have a purpose other than God’s purpose.
We need to speak this in faith, and we need to pray for the Lord to make this our reality.
We are here living to fulfil God’s purpose; we are seeking daily to fulfil our portion of God’s purpose.
We need to view salvation from God’s perspective; the purpose of God’s salvation is for His created and redeemed ones to have the sonship, that is, for them to have the life of the Son of God and be conformed to the image of His Son so that the Son would be the Firstborn among many brothers (1 John 5:11-12; Rom. 8:29).
All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to God’s purpose.
If we stop at, All things work together for good, we will arrive at a different conclusion from what the Bible says.
The conditions for all things to work together for good is that we need to love God and be called according to His purpose.
The sovereign God will allow many things to happen in our life because of His purpose, because we love God and are called according to His purpose.
He wants to do everything necessary for our good, which is for us to be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God, Jesus Christ.
He called us for His purpose, and He will do everything to conform us to Christ’s image.
Salvation involves our being saved from a human life that is meaningless; we are saved from a meaningless human life to living a life for God’s purpose.
The people in the world and many items the leaders in our society live a life that is meaningless.
But we are here living a life full of meaning because we have been called by God according to His purpose.
The gospel saves us from the human life that is without meaning into the meaning of the universe (Rev. 4:11).
God created a man who had great meaning and purpose (Gen. 1:26-28), but man fell, and the meaning of the human life was lost. However, through the redemption of Christ, we have been brought back to God’s original intention.
God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God so that He would make us the same as Christ in life and nature so that we may be part of the corporate expression of Christ.
For His purpose, God created the heavens, the earth, and all animals and plants, and in particular, He created man in His image and according to His likeness.
Astronomers today discover the vastness and continual expansion of the universe; to our human mind, all these are too much to comprehend.
The vastness of the universe cannot be fully comprehended by our limited human mind.
Our God is so great. The things He created and the things He does are too vast and too numerous to count.
But the Bible clearly tells us that the meaning of the universe is related to God’s desire to gain a group of people to be His expression and representation.
With His salvation, God rescues us and brings us back to our original purpose, which is the meaning of the universe.
Thank the Lord, we today are brought back to God’s original intention for us to be conformed to the image of Christ so that He may be the Firstborn among many brothers.
How we thank and praise the Lord for His grand purpose, for unveiling us to see His purpose, and for His purpose becomes our purpose!
Thank You, Lord, for saving us and calling us according to Your own purpose! Amen, Lord, Your purpose is now our purpose. We are here on earth for Your purpose, not for our purpose or what we want to do. Amen, Lord, thank You for saving us to bring us back to Your original intention, to the purpose of Your creation. Thank You for revealing to us the meaning of the universe. Hallelujah, we have been created and redeemed by God for us to have the sonship! Praise the Lord, we have the life of the Son of God and we’re in the process of being conformed to the image of Christ so that He would be the Firstborn among many brothers! Amen, Lord, we want to live a life for the fulfilment of God’s purpose. Thank You for bringing us back to our original purpose, which is the meaning of the universe! Praise the Lord, we love God and are called according to His purpose, and all things work together for good so that we may be conformed to the image of Christ, the firstborn Son of God! Hallelujah!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1971, vol. 1, “The Meaning of Human Life and a Proper Consecration,” pp. 137-139, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Being a Vessel unto Honor, a Fully Equipped Man of God, by being Empowered in the Grace which is in Christ Jesus to Fully Accomplish our Ministry in the Unique Ministry of God’s Economy (2024 April ITERO), week 2, God Calling Us according to His Own Purpose.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– How God arranges everything, a portion from, New Believers Series: Discipline of the Holy Spirit, The #20, Chapter 1, by Watchman Nee.
– Preserving Human Life, via, Shepherding Words.
– The Consummation of God’s Eternal Purpose, via, New Jerusalem blog.
– God’s purpose: that we would not be for ourselves, a portion from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 1) Vol. 11: The Present Testimony (4), Chapter 5, by Watchman Nee.
– The Purpose of God’s Calling – To Bring God’s Chosen People into the Good Land, via, Living to Him.
– Life’s Purpose—to Build the House of God, via, Precious from the Worthless.
– Our Consecration for God’s Eternal Purpose, via, New Jerusalem blog.
– How Should Christians Respond to the World Situation? More via, Bibles for America blog.
– God’s eternal purpose – God mingling Himself with man, a portion from, The Crucified Christ, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee. - Hymns on this topic:
– God eternal has a purpose, / Formed in His eternal past, / Spreading to eternal future; / ’Twixt these ends all time is cast. / For with time there is the process, / Time for His accomplishment; / And in time we’re merely travelers— / For eternity we’re meant. (Hymns #1325 stanza 1)
– In eternal ages purposed / That His wisdom be made known, / Was the Church, His hidden myst’ry, / Where the Son could make His home; / That the saints may all in spirit / Apprehend His boundlessness, / Know His love which passes knowledge, / All God’s fulness to possess. (Hymns #823 stanza 5)
– Man without Christ will perceive / That all things are vanity. / Human life is meaningless / Without hope or purpose. / But when man takes Christ as life, / He’s in spirit born anew. / When he daily lives by Christ, / Vanity is turned to song. / Therefore, man can God express / That the whole world he would bless. / Living water flowing out / People’s thirst to satisfy. (Hymns #1404 stanzas 4-6)
About aGodMan
Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1971, vol. 1, “The Meaning of Human Life and a Proper Consecration,” pp. 137-139
New Believers Series: Discipline of the Holy Spirit, The #20, Chapter 1, by Watchman Nee
God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose.
We have been called by God for His purpose, and this purpose of God is the meaning of the universe and the meaning of our human life.
God’s purpose is to dispense Himself into us so that we may be His corporate expression.
Amen, His purpose must become our purpose!
Amen dear Lord thank you for your salvation!
Dear brother, we need to view salvation from God’s perspective;
We all need to see that when man fell, he lost the meaning of his existence.
We can never cease to thank & praise the Lord for saving us out of this wretched situation.
His gospel saves us out of a human life without meaning into the meaning of the universe. How marvelous and how awesome!
The meaning of the universe is related to God’s desire to gain a group of people to be His expression & representation.
Amen! God’s own purpose saves us from a meaningless existence into the meaning of the universe, when man fell, the meaning of life was lost!
With His salvation, God rescues us and brings us back to our original purpose to be His testimony!!
Dear brother, we need to see that we were saved and called according to God’s will and purpose.
From the beginning God intended that man would express and represent God.
However, man fell and as a result his life became vain and meaningless.
But in being predestinated unto sonship, being redeemed we are brought back to God’s original intention to be conformed to the image of the Son that God may gain a corporate expression through those who have been predestinated, saved and called according to His purpose!
Praise the Lord for such a holy calling!
Yes, the purposeful God made us purposeful people. His so-called people are people with a purpose.
Our purpose is to express Him fully and boldly.
Praise the Lord for the meaningful life He gave us.
Praise the Lord! 🙌😃🙋🏼
The meaning of the universe is related to God’s desire to gain a group of people to be His expression and representation.
HWMR – W2D1
The purpose here is God’s plan according to His will to place us into Christ, making us one with Him to share His life and position so that we may be His testimony.
Romans 8: 29-30 says, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among His many brothers; and those whom He predestinated, these also He called; and those whom He called, these also He justified, and those whom He justified, these also He glorified.”
Called, Chosen, and Predestinated for a particular cause, TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSE! 💚
07/29/24 God Calling Us according to His Own Purpose (Week 2, Day 1)
Second Timothy 1:9 says, “(God) Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the times of the ages” Before the times of the ages refers to the times before the world began. The grace given to us in Christ was bestowed on us before the world began.
In eternity past, before the world began, God already purposed in His heart, according to His good pleasure, to make man the meaning of the universe. God desired that He would have a corporate expression. Therefore, He created the heavens for the earth and the earth for man to be able to live (Zech 12:1). Then, He created man with a spirit in order to impart Himself as the Spirit of life into man.
Although man fell into sin because of the temptation of God’s enemy, Satan, to usurp God’s plan for man, God did not give up His plan for man. He eventually accomplished redemption for man by paying for the penalty of man’s sin through His death on the cross.
According to 2 Timothy 1:9, God, not only saved us to enjoy His blessing, but also called us with a holy calling to fulfill His purpose by imparting Christ as the Life-giving Spirit into our human spirit, thus, placing us into Christ and become one with Him so that we may share His life and position in order for us to become His corporate testimony or expression.
There are verses in the Scriptures showing us that God had made man the meaning of the universe:
a.) Genesis 1:26 ~ “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
Genesis1:27 ~ “And God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:28 ~ “And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
b.) Ephesians 1:4 ~ “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,
Ephesians 1:4-5 ~ Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,”
c.) Roman 8:29 ~ “Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;”
Romans 8:30 ~ “And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
Because of the fall of man, man has lost his position to be the meaning of the universe. His human life was then void of meaning, that is, his human living was without meaning. By His grace, God is now bringing us, the believers in Christ, back to our original purpose. When man fell, he lost the meaning of his existence, but now that we are saved by God, we have been brought back to our purpose, which is the meaning of the universe.
By being regenerated in our spirit, we have received the divine life and nature of God in our spirit. As the divine life and nature continue to saturate our mind, emotion, and will, we shall gradually be transformed in our soul, resulting also into the glorification of our body. By these processes, we shall finally fulfill God’s purpose for us ~ to be the meaning of the universe by becoming the corporate and enlarged expression of God in the entire universe.
[Excerpt from HWMR-Wk. 2 Day 1]
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Ameeen.
Praise and thank You Lord!!!
God created a man who had great meaning and purpose. Regrettably, man fell, and the meaning of his life was lost.
but now that we are saved by God,we have been brought back to our purpose, which is the meaning of the universe.
The purpose is God’s plan according to His will to place us into Christ,making us one with Him to share His life and position so that we may be His testimony.
Amen, Lord Jesus save us from living life without purpose.
Amazing. Just amazing. I am convinced. Amen. We were created as God’s purpose for His purpose. This is a stunning revelation.
Man’s life, without God, without His Spirit, is meaningless. Without His presence and direction in our works, even our “good” works, they are just empty, vain, and temporary. Only what is done through Him and with Him, shall remain.
Every situation, every happenstance, is carefully planned by God for the furthering of this goal: to be God’s purpose and testimony, to become His glory with His son.
May our understanding of this truth continue to root itself into our being that we, together, and with Him, express His glorious purpose. Amen.