The Meaning and Purpose of Life

• What are the three purposes?

  1. To glorify God and have a personal relationship with him

  2. To prepare for judgement

  3. To bring about God's kingdom on earth
• To glorify God and have a personal relationship with him


  - Humans reflect God's image and are equipped to spread God's quality

  - Offer worship to God

  - Build a relationship with God
• Humans reflect God's image and are equipped to spread God's quality


  - 'Let us make humans in our image'

  - 'God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good'

  - humans represent God's qualities to everything else that God has made, and to one another. By reproducing and filling the earth they are supposed to spread the qualities of God that they represent over the whole earth
• Offer worship to God


  - purpose of their existence is to represent and spread God's glory and glorify God. They complete this through telling others and offering their worship

  - 'raise up holy hands and bless the Lord' Psalm 134

  - 'worship God in spirit and in truth' John 4 v 23

  - Glorify God through hymns and songs of praise. Community comes together to comfort, encourage and support each other.
• Building a relationship with God


  - Genesis 2:7-8 - shows care and affection for Adam. Close relationship between Adam and Eve / creation leads to a belief that the other purpose of human existence is to share a personal relationship with God. As well as glorifying God they need to nurture their own relationship with God. Relationship between Jesus and God is the model for every human relationship

  - build a close relationship by communicating through prayer, studying the bible, follow Jesus' teachings and model their lives on the life of Jesus
• Prepare for judgement


  - reconcile

  - parable of sheep and goats

  - hick
• Reconcile


  - close relationship between humans and God was destroyed by Adam and Eve.

  - however the original purpose of creation was to allow humans to spend eternity in God's presence so Jesus was sent to pay for sin.
• Parable of the Sheep and Goats


  Story about judgement. When Jesus comes in his glory he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Sheep on his right hand, goats on the left. Sheep help those in need, they will go to heaven. Goats do not so will go to hell. Righteous have eternal life, those that are not go to eternal punishment. Leads to a view that the purpose of life is to prepare for judgement. Some liberals reject this because they say it is not factually accurate.
• Hick


  - god created humans as incomplete beings with the potential to achieve a likeness with God. Existence of evil allows humans to grow. God made humans free to choose good or evil so true virtues are gained through freely overcoming temptations and trials. Existence of evil is necessary to develop moral perfection

  - Christians that respond to those evils with compassion and generosity become better people

  - Hick believes the process of overcoming evil continues until everybody reaches God's kingdom so there is no possibility of God sending anybody to hell
• To bring about God's kingdom on earth


  - the purpose of everything in creation is to bring in completion God's works by bringing about God's kingdom on earth.

  - At the time of Jesus, the Jews were expecting a messiah who would free them from the oppression of the roman rule.

  - 'your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven'

  - for some, the hope is an eschatological one. One day, Jesus will return to earth in glory.

  - others see their existence as a responsibility to work towards creating perfection on earth. Build up own relationship with God and develop virtues. Bring the conditions of a perfect heaven in their own community

  - Jesus started his ministry with 'the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel'

  - peace, justice and freedom and the key features of God's kingdom on earth.