Our God is a God of purpose. He is the great God with a great purpose. We need to see what this purpose is. In the sixty-six books of the Bible we can find only one unique purpose of God. It is true that God has done many things. First, God created the heavens and the earth with millions of items, but His purpose was not creation. In the Old Testament the first thing we see is God’s creation. Then in the New Testament the first thing we see is God’s redemption. God has gone on from His creation to His redemption, but neither creation nor redemption is God’s purpose. Creation is wonderful, and redemption is even more wonderful, but neither of these two wonderful things is God’s goal. Therefore, from redemption God is still going on. The goal in the Bible, as revealed at the end, is a city. The consummation of all the sixty-six books of the Bible is the holy city, the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21—22). This city is a building. Thus, God’s purpose, His goal, is a building.
In the first two chapters of the Bible we see creation. In the last two chapters of the Bible we see a building. Creation is at the beginning, and the building is at the end. Between creation and building is redemption. Without creation there is no beginning, without the building there is no end, and without redemption there is nothing to bridge the long gap between creation and building. Redemption is a long bridge between the two ends of the Bible. Today we are on the bridge of redemption. We came from God’s creation, we were redeemed, and now we are going on under His redemption toward the goal of building.
Creation, redemption, and building are three great matters in the Bible. Genesis 1:1a says, “In the beginning God created.” Creation initiated everything. Every one of us began in Genesis 1:1. God’s creation included all of us. Regardless of our age, we were all created in Genesis 1 when Adam was created. We began to have our being not from our father and mother but from Adam. When Adam breathed, we all breathed. We all appreciate redemption, but we may think that creation was something related only to Adam, not to us. If we think that our source is our father, we must then ask where our father came from. Then we must ask from what source our grandfather came. If we continue in this way, we will eventually trace our source back to Adam. We all began from God’s creation. After creation we became fallen and lost, but then we were saved. We have been redeemed. Thank God for His redemption! In the Old Testament and even more in the New Testament we can see this precious, great matter of God’s redemption. However, the Bible does not end with creation, and neither does it end with redemption. Rather, the Bible ends with another great matter—building.
In the first book of the New Testament, one day the Lord Jesus suddenly revealed the matter of building to His disciples. Peter first saw that Jesus was the Christ of God and the Son of God. Peter must have been excited to receive this revelation. The Lord Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). The disciples told Him, “Some, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (v. 14). Then the Lord Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). Peter had the boldness to answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church” (vv. 17-18a). It seems that the Lord was saying, “Peter, you received the revelation concerning Christ, but you also need to see that Christ is for something. You have seen Christ, but I also tell you that I will build My church. Moreover, I will build My church upon this rock. You have seen that I am the Christ of God, but you must also see that I am for My church. Just as you have seen the Christ, you surely need to know My church.” Christ and the church are the great mystery (Eph. 5:32). In this way the Lord Jesus revealed the matter of building to Peter and the other disciples.
The three great apostles—Peter, Paul, and John—all saw the matter of building. In Peter’s first Epistle he tells us, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (2:5). In Ephesians Paul tells us, “You also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit” (2:22). In Revelation John shows us God’s ultimate building, the New Jerusalem (3:12; 21:2, 10). Thus, it is clear that God’s goal is His building. Today He is on the way, which began from His creation, passes through His redemption, and eventually will reach His building. We came from creation, we are in redemption, and we are going on to building. This is truly wonderful.