Bible Verses About Purpose
Introduction
Purpose in the biblical sense is not the self-discovered passion project of the person who has spent sufficient time in the introspection but the specific calling of the God who knew the person before they were formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5) and who has prepared the specific works in advance for them to do (Ephesians 2:10). The human search for the purpose is the honest search of the person who has been made for more than the accumulation and the consumption of the ordinary life, but the biblical answer to the search is not primarily the discovery of the self's deepest desire but the receiving of the specific calling of the God who made the person for the specific purpose.
The theological grounding of the purpose is the specific character of the God who creates with intention: the Genesis 1's God created and saw that it was good is the specific statement of the purposeful creation. The human being who is made in the image of the God who creates with intention is the human being who is made for the specific purpose of the imaging of God in the creation. The Genesis 1:28's be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it is the specific commission: the purpose of the human being is the specific participation in the creative and the ordering work of the God in whose image the human being is made.
The New Testament's most concentrated statement of the individual purpose is the Ephesians 2:10's for we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do: the poiema, the poem or the masterpiece, is the specific image of the person whose purpose has been prepared by the God who made them with the intention of the artist rather than the accident of the random process. The good works that God prepared in advance are not the works that the person discovers by the sufficient introspection but the works that the person receives in the relationship with the God who prepared them.
These verses speak to anyone who is in the season of the searching for the purpose that the ordinary life has not yet clarified, anyone who needs the specific biblical grounding for the purpose as the received calling rather than the discovered passion, and anyone who needs the specific promises of the God who has a plan and a future and a hope for the person who seeks him.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About Purpose
The Hebrew word chephets describes the purpose or the delight or the pleasure: the specific intention of the God who purposes with the intention of the artist. The Hebrew word machashavah describes the thoughts or the plans: the specific purposeful thinking of the God whose plans for the person are plans for welfare and not for harm. The Greek word poiema describes the handiwork or the masterpiece: the specific image of the Ephesians 2:10 for the person whose purpose has been prepared by the God who made them with the intention of the artist. The Greek word prooriz describes the predestining or the determining in advance: the specific act of the God who determined the purpose before the person existed.
Bible Verses About God's Purpose for Each Person
Jeremiah 29:11 — ("'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'")
The I know the plans I have for you plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future is the specific promise of the divine purpose for the specific person: the plans are the specific plans of the LORD who knows them rather than the general optimism of the God who wishes the person well. The to prosper you and not to harm you establishes the character: the plans are the plans of the welfare and the shalom rather than the plans of the harm. The hope and a future establishes the specific content: the purpose of the God is the purpose toward the hope and the future rather than the purposelessness of the ordinary accumulation.
Ephesians 2:10 — ("For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.")
The we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance is the specific statement of the individual purpose: the poiema, the masterpiece, is the image of the person whose purpose has been prepared by the God who made them with the intention of the artist. The prepared in advance establishes the prior character: the good works are the works that God prepared before the person was in the position to do them. The in Christ Jesus establishes the specific context: the purpose is the purpose of the person who is in Christ rather than the person who has discovered the sufficient passion independently.
Psalm 138:8 — ("The LORD will vindicate me; your love, LORD, endures forever — do not abandon the works of your hands.")
The do not abandon the works of your hands is the specific prayer of the person who knows themselves as the work of the LORD's hands: the prayer is the specific appeal to the God who made the person with the intention of the artist to complete the purpose that the making began. The the LORD will vindicate me establishes the specific confidence: the completion of the purpose is the work of the God who will vindicate and complete rather than the work of the person who has sufficient willpower to see the purpose through.
Bible Verses About Purpose in the Larger Story
Romans 8:28-30 — ("And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.")
The in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose establishes the comprehensive character of the purpose: the all things is the scope and the called according to his purpose is the specific ground. The predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son establishes the specific content of the purpose: the purpose of the person who is in Christ is the specific conformation to the image of the Son. The chain of the foreknew and predestined and called and justified and glorified establishes the comprehensive scope: the purpose is the comprehensive work of the God who has determined the destination and is working every step of the path toward it.
Isaiah 43:7 — ("Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.")
The whom I created for my glory establishes the comprehensive purpose of the human being: the glory of God is the specific end for which the human being was created. The created and formed and made establish the comprehensive character of the divine intentionality: the person is the specific product of the creating and the forming and the making of the God who does everything with the intention of the purpose. The called by my name establishes the relational character: the purpose is the purpose of the person who is in the relationship of the calling.
Bible Verses About Discovering and Living the Purpose
Proverbs 19:21 — ("Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.")
The it is the LORD's purpose that prevails is the specific statement of the priority of the divine purpose over the human plans: the many plans of the human heart are the real plans of the real person, and the LORD's purpose is the specific purpose that prevails through and sometimes despite the many plans. The prevails establishes the specific confidence: the person who is seeking the purpose of the LORD is the person who is seeking the purpose that will prevail rather than the purpose that the human heart generates and that the circumstances can prevent.
Colossians 3:17 — ("And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.")
The whatever you do do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus is the specific statement of the comprehensive purpose that covers the ordinary acts: the purpose is not only the special calling of the extraordinary moment but the specific doing of the whatever in the name of the Lord Jesus. The in the name of the Lord Jesus establishes the motivation and the authority: the doing in his name is the specific act of the person who is living from the relationship with the Lord Jesus rather than the independent pursuit of the self's purpose.
1 Corinthians 10:31 — ("So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.")
The whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do it all for the glory of God is the comprehensive statement of the purpose that covers the most ordinary acts: the eating and the drinking are the specific acts that are within the scope of the do it all for the glory of God. The for the glory of God establishes the comprehensive purpose: the purpose of the person who is living for the glory of God is the purpose that transforms every act from the ordinary to the purposeful.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
Purpose is most honestly prayed from the honest acknowledgment of the specific season of the searching and the specific receiving of the calling of the God who prepared the good works in advance.
Jeremiah 29:11 — ("I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future.") Response: "You know the plans. I do not always know the plans, but you do. Let me receive the knowing rather than being consumed by the not knowing. Let the hope and the future that you have planned be the specific ground of the trust in the season when the purpose is not yet clear."
Ephesians 2:10 — ("We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.") Response: "I am the masterpiece. Not the accident of the random process or the product of the sufficient self-development but the specific handiwork of the God who makes with intention. Let me receive the works that you prepared in advance for me to do. Show me the works. Let me do them."
Romans 8:28 — ("In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.") Response: "The all things. Including the specific thing that is currently the hardest to see as the part of the purpose. You are working in it for the good. I am the called according to your purpose. Let the being called according to your purpose be the specific ground of the trust in the all things."
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about purpose? The Bible presents purpose as the specific calling of the God who made the person with the intention of the artist rather than the self-discovered passion project of the sufficient introspection. Jeremiah 29:11's I know the plans I have for you plans to give you hope and a future establishes the divine intention. Ephesians 2:10's we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance establishes the specific content. Romans 8:28-30's called according to his purpose establishes the comprehensive character. Isaiah 43:7's created for my glory establishes the ultimate end. And 1 Corinthians 10:31's do it all for the glory of God establishes the practical expression.
How do I find my purpose according to the Bible? The Ephesians 2:10's good works which God prepared in advance establishes the specific starting point: the purpose is not discovered by the sufficient introspection but received in the relationship with the God who prepared the works. The Proverbs 3:5-6's trust in the LORD with all your heart and he will make your paths straight establishes the specific practice: the trusting of the LORD rather than the leaning on the own understanding is the specific practice of the person who is seeking the purpose. The Romans 12:1-2's the transformed mind that can discern the good and pleasing and perfect will of God establishes the specific formation: the renewed mind is the mind that can discern the purpose that the unrenewed mind cannot perceive.
What is the main purpose of human life according to the Bible? The Isaiah 43:7's created for my glory and the 1 Corinthians 10:31's do it all for the glory of God establish the comprehensive purpose: the glory of God is the specific end for which the human being was created and toward which every act is directed. The Westminster Shorter Catechism's the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever is the specific summary of the biblical answer. The enjoying of God is the specific companion of the glorifying: the purpose is not the grim performance of the religious duty but the glorifying and the enjoying of the God who is the source and the end of the human person.
Does God have a specific plan for my life? The Jeremiah 29:11's I know the plans I have for you establishes the specific plan: the plans are the specific plans of the LORD who knows them rather than the general will of the God who wishes the person well in general. The Ephesians 2:10's good works which God prepared in advance for us to do establishes the specific prior preparation: the works are the specific works that God prepared before the person was in the position to do them. And the Psalm 139:16's all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be establishes the comprehensive character: the plan encompasses the days themselves rather than only the general direction.
What does the Bible say about living with purpose? The Colossians 3:17's whatever you do do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus establishes the comprehensive practice: the purposeful living is the living of the whatever in the name of the Lord Jesus rather than only the special acts of the special calling. The Philippians 3:13-14's forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal establishes the specific posture: the purposeful person is the person who is pressing toward the specific goal of the upward calling rather than being defined by the past. And the 2 Timothy 4:7's I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith establishes the specific destination: the purposeful life is the life that arrives at the end having fought and finished and kept.
