The End for Which God Created

On Wednesdays we “walk in the Word” through study & application of Biblical doctrine. Rightly understanding Biblical doctrine fuels doxology, delight in Jesus, & gospel centered discipleship. Today we continue a short series on knowing God through General revelation, focusing specifically on teleological reasoning for an eternal God. 
General Revelation & Eternity
Cosmological Reasoning for an Eternal God

In research for my doctoral work, I read Jonathan Edward’s influential book, “The End for which God Created the World.” Edwards wrote the book during his years of ministry with the Delaware Indians (I used this season of Edward’s life as the basis for the first post in our Wednesday in the Word series). One of Edward’s main goals of the book is to demonstrate God’s ultimate goal in creating the world is NOT based on something He lacks. God lacks nothing, yet He created the world from nothing. For what end? Edwards writes,

“God is both the first and the last, both the beginning and the end. This implies that just as God is the first efficient cause of all things, he is also the final object for which they are made. God is the fountain of all being-everything that exists originates and springs forth from him. Likewise, all things are moving toward God as their ultimate goal.”
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​In other words, God’s goal in creating the world is God Himself. This line of reasoning launched John Piper’s world changing ministry, Desiring God, and it can transform you and your world, too.
 
God’s goal in creating you is for you to know Him, enjoy Him, and glorify Him forever. This is your highest and best good. Your heart will find fullness and your soul satisfaction with you embrace His eternal purpose: His intimate presence with you, a people He bought for Himself.
 
But what about people who do not know and believe in God? And how does God’s end for His creation evidence itself in creation? How can we know that all things are “From Him, through Him, and for Him”? (Romans 11:36)

​             Design Demands a Designer
The fabric of creation demands there is a Creator. A few examples should be noted:
A-The fine tuning of the universe
God established the heavens by understanding (Proverbs 3:19), and without Him nothing was made (John 1:3) and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).
 
The fine-tuning of the universe is the scientific observation that the laws, constants, and conditions of creation are precisely ordered so that life can exist. If there was even a small variation it would make the cosmos uninhabitable. Scripture affirms that such order reveals God’s wisdom and eternal power (Psalm 19:1; Isaiah 40:26; Romans 1:20), leading us to see fine-tuning not as chance, but as evidence of the Creator’s design.

For instance, if the earth’s orbit moved 1-2% closer to the sun the temperature would rise enough for all water to boil and evaporate and we would be like Venus. If we moved 1-2% further away in our orbit, temperatures would plumet and we would freeze like Mars. The orbit of our planet is tuned to perfection, so that creatures can have physical life.
 
B- DNA is what Francis Collins called “The Language of Life” in his book detailing his conversion from atheist scientist to Christian. Collins was the chief geneticist who led the Human Genome Project studying DNA, a molecular code that stores the instructions for building and maintaining all living organisms. A single human cell contains about 3 billion base pairs of DNA. If written out, it would fill hundreds of volumes of books. This level of detail in our design proves many things, not least of which is this verse:“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).
 
C- The human eye has over 2 million working parts, including parts you learned in Biology 101- the cornea, lens, retina, and optic nerve. The retina contains over 100 million photoreceptor cells, capable of distinguishing millions of colors. The eye automatically adjusts for light, focus, and depth, integrating with the brain to produce sight in real time. Even Charles Darwin admitted: “To suppose that the eye… could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree” (Origin of Species, Ch. 6).For you to read this blog, or turn away to see a distraction, is only possible because you have a Creator.
“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12)

The teleological argument hinges on the order and purpose of creation by observing the operation of the natural world according to discernible laws and in a distinguishable direction. This regularity is manifest in everything from physical constants to biological systems, eliminating randomness as an option and elevating rational intentionality. Another resource I have been engaging in my doctoral work is Thomas Aquinas, and his “fifth way” to prove the existence of God is worth quoting extensively:

"The fifth way is taken from the governance of the world. We see that things which lack intelligence, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence, it is plain that they achieve their end, not fortuitously, but designedly. Now whatever lacks intelligence cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the arrow is shot to its mark by the archer. Therefore, some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God."

Only an eternal God who knows the end from the beginning is almighty and omnipotent to establish order and harmony for a specific purpose. “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Isaiah 44:6). God is both the first and the last, both the beginning and the end. This implies that just as God is the first efficient cause of all things, he is also the final object for which they are made. God is the headwaters for all of life, and everything that exists originates and springs forth from Him, through Him, and is created for Him.

In short, the cosmological argument points to God as the eternal Cause, while the teleological argument reveals Him as the eternal Designer. And the One who designed the world has designed you to know Him, enjoy Him, and glorify Him forever. This is where general revelation necessitates special revelation, God’s word used by God’s Spirit to give faith in God’s work through Jesus Christ. Creator became creation according to the Father’s redemptive design, that He might die for us to live. Through Jesus Christ we are able to discover the fullness of knowing, enjoying, and glorifying God. The trinitarian reality Edward’s eventually highlights is the Spirit indwelling a people redeemed by Jesus so that in our thoughts, emotions, experiences, and in all of life we might know the Father and His love in order to enjoy Him and glorify Him- forever.

Richly Dwelling

• Do you subscribe to the simplicity of the end for which you are created, namely to know God, enjoy God, and glorify God forever?  Why or why not?
• What distracts you from this simple truth, competing realities claiming priority for the end of which you are created?
• What stands out to you from the teleological argument for an eternal God through general revelation?