Our purpose is mentioned in Matthew 7:22-23 when it says, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.” Notice that God says he doesn’t know them (“know” being a term that denotes intimacy and relationship). God does not turn people away from heaven because they didn’t glorify Him. He turns them away because they failed to abide in a relationship with Him. The only way we can even begin such a relationship is by repenting of our sin (that originally separated us from Him) and trusting in Christ’s ability to save us by His sacrifice on the cross so that our relationship can be restored with God.
Romans 14:11 says, “For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall give praise to God.’” Philippians 2:9-11 says, “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” So we see that all humans will one day glorify God—they will finally ascribe to Him the worth due to Him. But will all these people have fulfilled their purpose for living? No—a resounding no. Many will perish in eternal hell. Why? Because they refused to abide in Him when they had the chance before He revealed Himself in all His glory. They refused to have faith and trust Him back when it wasn’t so obvious. If it is true, as some maintain, that our purpose is to glorify God, and this passage states that a day will come when all humans will glorify Him, then one would have to believe that all people will fulfill their purpose. That simply is not true. Only those who travel through the narrow gate—those who believe, trust, and abide in the faith until the end (in other words come to know and find intimacy with Him) will have fulfilled the purpose of God’s plan for their lives. And only they will receive the reward of eternal life.
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Mary, after reading your series on glorifying God, I must say that I could not disagree in stronger termms.
Scripture itself tells us that whatever we do, it must be done to the glory of God - 1 Cor. 10:31.
Failure to do this is sin for anyone. In fact, it is idolatry. The best thing God can do at this point is to demonstrate his supreme worth to us (glory) that we may cherish him greater than everything else.
Jesus said, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." - John 4:23
What is the relationship for? To worship God. What does it mean to worship God? To glorify him and magnify his name. So here is an explicit statement by Christ as to what the Father is seeking.
I honestly believe you are confusing the means with the end. One must be united to God by faith (relationship/means) for the ultimate purpose of worship(glory/end).
What about unbelievers you may ask?
The answer is simple and complicated at the same time. It is simple because God's righteousness will be on display for all eternity by the eternal punishment of the wicked. This brings glory to God because he is holy.
The answer is complicated in that you speak of purpose. Regardless of one's view of predestination, you still have God creating people that were never going to be saved - either he knew that or he chose that, but the point is still that not everyone would be saved and God knew this. So although God desires and commands that people repent, they were never going to.
For example:
Romans 9:17
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.
Please note two things here:
1. Pharoah's purpose was that he would be raised and then struck down.
2. The reasoning behind Pharoah's purpose from God's perspective is that his name may be declared in all the earth.
In other words, Pharoah absolutely fulfilled his purpose, which was to glorify God.
Another example is here:
John 17:12
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
This is a reference to Judas Iscariot. The scriptures foretold of the one who would betray Jesus. There was no chance Judas would NOT betray him. Had Judas remained loyal, the scripture would be broken, Christ is a liar, etc. Therefore, his purpose was to betray Christ. He absolutely fulfilled his purpose and it brought glory to God in the event of the cross.
The list can go on. Consider Nebuchadnezzar, Goliath, antichrist, etc.
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