The first chapter of the Bible sets the stage: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).1 God employs His immense power and wisdom to create the world in which He intends to work out His purposes. Hints of this purpose emerge in the verses that follow.
From this opening scene, we can rightly conclude that such a God is well able to fulfill His purposes. God Himself assures us of this elsewhere: Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (Isa. 46:9b–10). Several other Scriptures say the same thing and are meant to assure and comfort us.
But God is more than simply a purposeful, all-powerful Creator; God is good! After demonstrating more of His sovereign purposes and power by calling Abraham, establishing his descendants as the people of Israel, and later delivering them from Egypt, God revealed Himself in a deeper way to Moses on Mount Sinai: The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exod. 34:6) The psalmists and others would later affirm this, saying, The Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations (Ps. 100:5). God demonstrates His goodness and love most clearly in the gift of His Son to be Savior of the world.
What is the big plan that this good, loving, and all-powerful God is working out? Those who are reasonably familiar with the Bible will know the answer, but a brief reminder might be helpful. It begins with creation: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Gen. 1:27–28) In this pre-fall world, in which there was no sin, suffering, or death, human beings were invited to live with God and to rule over His creation as benevolent stewards.
The biblical story ends with the consummation, Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself (Eph. 1:9), and once all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:28).
The picture is glorious: And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev. 21:1–4)
In this new world, as Jonathan Edwards describes it—divine love shall . . . be brought to its most glorious perfection in every individual member of the ransomed church above. Then, in every heart, that love which now seems but a spark, shall be kindled to a bright and glowing flame, and every ransomed soul shall be as it were in a blaze of divine and holy love, and shall remain and grow in this glorious perfection and blessedness throughout all eternity!
This is God’s ultimate purpose — to recreate this fallen world and to bring about a new heaven and new earth. He is redeeming a people for Himself, with whom He will dwell and with whom He will share His own glory.
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