We can know that God created us for Himself, that Christ came to redeem us, and that there is an age to come, yet still think about God's work mainly in terms of our individual salvation. We were lost, Christ saved us, and one day He will take us to be with Him. All of these things are true, but Scripture presents a purpose much larger than this.
God's work did not begin with our need, and it will not end with our rescue.
Before the world was formed, God had a purpose. Through the ages, He has been revealing that purpose. In Christ, what had been hidden has been made known. Through the Church, aspects of that purpose are already being displayed. And Scripture points toward a fullness in which what God has purposed in Christ will be fully manifested.
Paul speaks of this when he says that God has made known to us “the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself”, and that this purpose is “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:9–10).
That is a remarkable statement.
God is bringing all things toward something.
The purpose is not simply that individual people will be saved. It is that all things will ultimately be gathered together in Christ.
To understand what this means, we need to step back and look at the whole movement of Scripture.
THE END HELPS US UNDERSTAND THE BEGINNING
The Bible begins with God creating the heavens and the earth.
It does not begin with man's sin.
It begins with God's purpose.
God created man in His image and gave him a place within His creation. Man was made to know God, to live under His rule, and to exercise dominion within the order God had established.
Then sin entered.
The relationship between man and God was broken. Death entered human experience. Creation came under corruption. The dominion entrusted to man was affected by his fall.
But the fall did not cause God to abandon His purpose.
What happened after the fall was not God beginning an entirely different plan. Scripture gradually reveals a purpose that had already existed in God.
God called Abraham.
He formed Israel.
He gave the law.
He established the priesthood.
He spoke through the prophets.
He promised a coming King.
He spoke of a coming salvation.
Then, in the fullness of time, the Son came.
When we look at the end of the biblical story, we begin to see where the whole story was going.
God's purpose moves toward the restoration of what sin disrupted, the fulfilment of what was promised, the exaltation of Christ, the glorification of His people, the renewal of creation, and the full manifestation of God's rule.
The end does not replace the beginning.
It reveals what God was moving toward from the beginning.
THE FULNESS OF TIMES
Paul uses an expression that deserves our attention: “the fulness of times.”
There is a fullness appointed by God.
Scripture speaks of different ages and periods within God's dealings, but these ages are not random divisions of history. They belong to the unfolding of His purpose.
Christ came “when the fulness of the time was come” (Galatians 4:4).
He did not come accidentally.
His coming was not God's response to an unexpected development in human history.
The Son came at the appointed time.
The same God who appointed the time of Christ's coming is bringing history toward the fullness of all things.
This gives us a different way to look at history.
We often think of history as a sequence of events produced by human decisions. Scripture does not deny those decisions, but it shows us something deeper. God is working through history according to His purpose.
Human beings see individual events.
God sees the whole.
We live within a particular generation.
God sees the ages.
We see what has happened.
God sees what He is bringing it toward.
That is why our understanding of God's purpose cannot be limited to the present age.
THE MYSTERY WAS HIDDEN BEFORE IT WAS REVEALED
Paul repeatedly uses the word mystery when describing God's eternal purpose.
A biblical mystery is not something that can never be known. It is something that was previously hidden and has now been revealed by God.
Paul says that the mystery of Christ “in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Ephesians 3:5).
This means that God's purpose did not suddenly come into existence when Christ appeared.
It was already there.
The prophets saw portions of it.
The promises carried it.
The sacrifices pointed toward it.
The history of Israel contained patterns of it.
But the fullness of what God was doing could not be understood until Christ came.
Peter says that the prophets searched and inquired into the things concerning the salvation that was to come, and that they were shown that they were serving a future generation (1 Peter 1:10–12).
This should teach us something about how we read Scripture.
We should not isolate one period from the whole purpose of God.
The Old Testament was not a failed beginning that Christianity replaced. It was part of a developing revelation.
The promises were moving toward Christ.
The shadows were moving toward the reality.
The mystery was moving toward revelation.
And what has now been revealed in Christ gives us the key to understanding what God is doing across the ages.
CHRIST IS THE CENTRE OF EVERYTHING
If we miss Christ, we miss the purpose.
Paul says that God's purpose is “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).
God is not bringing all things together around humanity.
He is not bringing all things together around the Church.
He is bringing all things together in Christ.
Everything we have considered leads us back to Him.
When we ask about man's destiny, we must look at Christ.
When we ask about the age to come, we must look at Christ.
When we ask about the Kingdom, we must look at Christ.
When we ask about the Church, we must look at Christ.
When we ask where creation is going, we must look at Christ.
He is not one part of God's eternal purpose.
He is at its centre.
Paul says that all things were created by Him and for Him, and that “by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16–17).
He is also the One through whom God is reconciling all things to Himself (Colossians 1:20).
This means that the future cannot be properly understood apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The purpose of God is not simply about what we will receive.
It is about everything being brought into its proper relationship to the Son.
THE VICTORY OF CHRIST HAS ALREADY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
There is an important distinction we must maintain.
God's purpose is moving toward a future fullness, but that does not mean Christ's victory is still uncertain.
The decisive work has already been accomplished.
Jesus died.
Jesus was raised.
Jesus was exalted.
Jesus has been made Lord and Christ.
Hebrews says that after Christ had offered one sacrifice for sins, “he sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12).
He sat down because the work of sacrifice had been accomplished.
Paul says that Christ was “raised from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion” (Ephesians 1:20–21).
The Son is already exalted.
His authority is already established.
His resurrection is already accomplished.
The Spirit has already been given.
The Church already exists.
The gospel is already being preached among the nations.
So when Scripture speaks about what is still to come, it is not describing an uncertain outcome.
It is describing the future manifestation of what God has already established in Christ.
This is the tension of the present age.
We live between accomplishment and consummation.
The victory has been won, but its fullness has not yet been manifested in every part of creation.
NOT YET ALL THINGS ARE MANIFESTLY UNDER HIM
Hebrews gives us a striking statement about this.
After speaking about man's original calling in Psalm 8, the writer says:
“But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus...” (Hebrews 2:8–9)
The statement contains both a problem and an answer.
We do not yet see all things as they will finally be.
But we see Jesus.
That is important.
The present condition of the world can make God's purpose difficult to see.
Death still exists.
Suffering still exists.
Creation still groans.
Sin still operates.
The people of God still experience weakness.
The fullness has not yet appeared.
But the absence of visible fullness does not mean the purpose has failed.
We see Jesus.
He is the evidence that God's purpose is moving toward its appointed end.
He is the risen Man.
He is the exalted Son.
He is the One crowned with glory and honour.
And He is the One through whom God will bring His purpose to completion.
THE SONS OF GOD WILL BE REVEALED
Paul takes us further in Romans 8.
He says that creation is waiting “for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).
Something is presently hidden.
The children of God already exist, but their final glory has not yet been manifested.
John says:
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.” (1 John 3:2)
There is an important distinction here.
The future does not mean that God will suddenly make us something completely unrelated to what He is doing in us now.
God is already conforming His people to the image of His Son.
Paul says that those whom God foreknew were “predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29).
The work has already begun.
But the fullness of what God is doing has not yet appeared.
Paul says that when Christ appears, “then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).
The hidden work will become visible.
The life that is now being formed in believers will one day be manifested in glory.
CREATION IS WAITING FOR THAT DAY
This is where the purpose of God becomes larger than our individual experience.
Paul says that creation itself is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Why?
Because creation has been subjected to corruption.
The fall affected more than man's inner life. The created order itself now experiences decay.
Paul describes creation as groaning and waiting for liberation from “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21).
This means that the biblical hope is not simply that individual human beings will leave the earth behind.
Creation itself is moving toward something.
Peter speaks of “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).
John sees “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1).
We should be careful not to speculate beyond what these passages reveal, but we should also not reduce their meaning.
God has not abandoned His creation.
The story ends with renewal.
What has been subjected to corruption will not remain under corruption forever.
The purpose of God reaches beyond the rescue of individuals to the restoration of His created order.
THE KINGDOM WILL BE FULLY MANIFESTED
The Kingdom of God also belongs within this larger purpose.
Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom.
His miracles demonstrated the authority of the King.
His teaching revealed the nature of God's rule.
His resurrection established Him as Lord.
But the Kingdom has not yet reached its final manifestation.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray:
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
He also spoke of a future Kingdom in which His disciples would share with Him (Luke 22:29–30).
Paul speaks of those who will inherit the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9–10; 15:50).
The Kingdom is therefore not merely something we talk about in the present, nor is it only a future political order.
It is the reign of God revealed in Christ and moving toward its full manifestation.
The King has come.
The King reigns.
And the day is coming when His rule will be manifested in fullness.
This does not make redeemed humanity equal with God. It means that humanity's calling is fulfilled under the authority of Christ, the King.
God's purpose for man includes restored participation in His rule. Psalm 8 gives the original calling, and the New Testament shows that those who belong to Christ will share in His reign (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 22:5).
11. HUMANITY WILL SHARE IN CHRIST'S REIGN
The inheritance therefore deserves its own careful treatment. Here the important point is simply that God's purpose does not end with individual salvation; those who belong to Christ are being brought into a future prepared within His larger purpose.
These promises are not separate from Christ's purpose. They belong to what God is bringing His people into through the Son. The Spirit is already given as the earnest of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13–14), while the fullness of what has been promised remains ahead.
The Kingdom and the inheritance belong to this larger movement toward God's appointed fullness. Scripture speaks of believers inheriting the Kingdom and receiving an inheritance that is incorruptible (Matthew 25:34; 1 Peter 1:4).
10. THE KINGDOM AND THE INHERITANCE BELONG TO THE FULLNESS
GOD WILL DWELL WITH HUMANITY
There is another thread running through Scripture that reaches its fullness at the end: God dwelling with man.
God walked with Adam in the garden.
He dwelt among Israel in the tabernacle.
His presence was associated with the temple.
Jesus came and dwelt among us.
The Spirit now dwells in God's people.
Then John sees the final picture:
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them.” (Revelation 21:3)
The Bible does not end with humanity finally becoming independent from God.
It ends with God dwelling with humanity.
This is crucial.
The goal of God's purpose is not human greatness apart from God.
It is humanity fully reconciled to God, fully alive in Him, fully under His rule, and fully sharing in what He has purposed in Christ.
The greatest gift of the age to come is not simply the absence of suffering.
It is God Himself.
DEATH WILL NO LONGER HAVE THE FINAL WORD
When God dwells with His people, John says:
“There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” (Revelation 21:4)
This is the final answer to the groaning of creation.
Death, which Paul calls “the last enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:26), will be destroyed.
The resurrection of Christ already demonstrates that death does not have the final authority.
The resurrection of believers will demonstrate it on a larger scale.
And the final destruction of death will reveal the completeness of Christ's victory.
What began with death entering through sin will end with death removed from God's final order.
What began with corruption will end with righteousness dwelling.
What began with separation will end with God dwelling with His people.
What began with humanity falling from its calling will end with redeemed humanity sharing in the glory of Christ.
This is the movement of the story.
ALL THINGS ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN CHRIST
We can now return to Paul's words with greater understanding:
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:10)
This is the great movement toward which Scripture has been pointing.
Christ is the centre.
Humanity's destiny is found in Him.
The Church belongs to Him.
The Kingdom belongs to Him.
The inheritance comes through Him.
Creation will be renewed under His lordship.
Death will be defeated through His victory.
God will dwell with His people.
All of this is moving toward the fullness of God's purpose in Christ.
This is why we must not think of salvation as though it were merely the removal of our guilt.
It is the beginning of our participation in something God purposed in Christ before the foundation of the world.
We were not saved merely so that our sins could be forgiven.
We were saved in order to belong to Christ and to participate in the purpose of God in Him.
The forgiveness of sins is essential.
The new birth is essential.
Our present transformation is essential.
But these things belong to a story that reaches beyond our present experience.
What is visible now is not everything God will yet reveal. The present is a witness; the fullness is still ahead.
Paul says that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God is being made known to the heavenly powers (Ephesians 3:10). The present Church therefore belongs to the same purpose that will one day be manifested in fullness.
The future fullness does not make the present irrelevant. The Church already displays something of God's wisdom through the work God has accomplished in Christ.
15. THE CHURCH IS ALREADY LIVING INSIDE THAT PURPOSE
WE SHOULD NOT GO BEYOND WHAT GOD HAS REVEALED
There is something else these truths should produce in us: restraint.
The more we see of God's eternal purpose, the more we should recognise how much remains beyond our knowledge.
Scripture tells us that there are ages.
It tells us about the age to come and the ages to come.
It tells us about resurrection, glory, inheritance, the Kingdom, the renewal of creation, the destruction of death, and God dwelling with His people.
But Scripture does not answer every question we might ask about these realities.
That matters.
We should not turn glimpses into elaborate systems.
We should not build certainty where Scripture gives only a promise.
We should not use imagination to fill every silence.
Paul himself, after considering the depth of God's purposes, responds:
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33)
There is depth in what God has revealed.
There is also wisdom in knowing where revelation stops.
The proper response to the mystery of God's purpose is not speculation.
It is worship.
This leads naturally to the next question. If an inheritance has been prepared for those who belong to Christ, what does Scripture mean by that inheritance, and what kind of people is God forming to receive it?
The future therefore gives weight to the way we live now. God is not merely taking His people somewhere; He is forming them as He brings them into His purpose.