For anyone who wants to understand why God created the world, how He has spoken to humanity, how Jesus completes that story, and what the Bible says about the end of all things.
God created the world by His word, for the Word, and entrusted all things to Jesus—the Word—who holds complete dominion over heaven, earth, and what is under the earth (Gen 1:1–3; Ps 33:6, 9; John 1:1–3; Col 1:16–17; Heb 1:2–3; Matt 28:18; Phil 2:9–11; Rev 5:12–13). When you read this in the Scriptures, you see that creation is not random or accidental, but purposeful, ordered, and rooted in the power and intention of God. God the Father, as Jesus calls Him, created man and fashioned woman from man’s bone, forming her from his rib as a reflection of unity and love (Matt 11:25–27; John 17:1; Gen 2:21–23). From the beginning, God had direct fellowship and clear communication with the first humans, walking with them and speaking to them openly (Gen 3:8–10). Yet as people began choosing their own path, they shifted away from the Creator and turned aside from His commands, creating distance and disobedience that Scripture itself reveals again and again (Gen 3:1–6; Isa 53:6; Rom 1:21–25).
Even with this drift, God repeatedly reached out and communicated with humans in many forms and at many times, showing His desire to be known by the people He created (Heb 1:1–2; Num 12:6–8; Exod 3:2–6; Gen 15:1; Dan 2:19). He led Israel with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, guiding them through wilderness, danger, and darkness so they would know they were not alone (Exod 13:21–22; Neh 9:12). There came a moment when the people, overwhelmed by God’s holy voice, begged Moses to speak with God on their behalf because they feared hearing God directly (Exod 20:18–19; Deut 5:23–27). This fear did not push God away, but instead showed the need for a mediator, a pattern that God already knew He would ultimately fulfill in Jesus.
As communication with a sinful people became strained, God appointed prophets from among men to receive and relay His words so the people would not be left without direction (Deut 18:18–19; 2 Chr 36:15–16; Amos 3:7). God always desired to be Israel’s true King and Shepherd-Leader, and Scripture paints this picture again and again in the Psalms and throughout Israel’s story (Ps 95:6–7; Ps 100:3; Ps 23:1). Yet the people demanded a human king, and God told Samuel that the request was not a rejection of a prophet, but a rejection of God Himself as their king (1 Sam 8:6–8; 1 Sam 10:19; 1 Sam 12:12). This shows you something important: God is deeply invested in His creation. He is not detached. He is personal, relational, and committed to the world He made. He is jealous for His glory as Creator and rightly claims the honor due His name (Ps 24:1; Isa 42:8; Isa 48:11; Rev 4:11). He commands humans to worship and obey Him alone because He alone is God, and there is no life outside of Him (Exod 20:3–5; Deut 6:13–15; Matt 4:10). Because His glory is not to be shared with idols or false gods, He does not accept any form of praise that pulls people away from Him (Exod 34:14; Isa 42:8; Rom 1:25).
Throughout the centuries, prophets and kings rose and fell, some faithful, some rebellious, and God continued speaking, correcting, guiding, and warning His people even when they hardened their hearts (2 Sam 23:1–2; 1 Kgs 3:5–10; 2 Kgs 17:20–22; 2 Chr 36:14–16). In the fullness of time, God sent His own Son, taking true human flesh, entering the world not as a distant deity but as a living human being—Jesus the Messiah (Gal 4:4–5; John 1:14; Phil 2:6–8). Jesus was conceived in the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling God’s promise of Emmanuel—God with us (Luke 1:34–35; Matt 1:18–25).
When Jesus came, He spoke with clarity, kindness, authority, and compassion in ways everyone could understand, revealing the Father’s heart and character through teaching, healing, mercy, and truth (Matt 4:23; Luke 4:18–21; John 14:9–10). He showed how much the Father loves His children and how deeply God longs for humans to return to Him (John 3:16–17; Luke 15:1–7, 11–24). Yet even with all this love, many did not grasp His identity or His message about the coming Messiah (John 1:10–11; Luke 24:25–27; 1 Cor 2:14). They rejected Him, crucified Him, nailed Him to the cross, and watched Him die (Mark 15:24–37; Acts 2:23–24). But Jesus rose on the third day, appeared to many witnesses, and continued teaching them so they would understand the Scriptures and His mission (Luke 24:1–7, 36–45; Acts 1:3; 1 Cor 15:3–8). Even with this testimony, people later divided into different ideas and teachings, some abandoning the truth and others causing confusion (1 Tim 4:1; 2 Pet 2:1–2; 1 Cor 1:10–13; Jude 17–19).
The message God continues to communicate is agapē—His self-giving, sacrificial love revealed in Jesus (1 John 4:8–10; Rom 5:8; John 13:34–35). You have a Father in heaven whose purpose is to work for your good and lead you into His will (Matt 6:9; Rom 8:28; Jas 1:17). His plans aim at hope, purpose, and life, grounded in His unchanging covenant faithfulness (Jer 29:11; Eph 1:9–10; Heb 6:17–19). What you must do is believe in Jesus, the one true mediator between God and humanity (John 6:29; Acts 16:31; 1 Tim 2:5–6; John 3:36). When you trust God, He turns what others meant for evil into good and works all things together for your ultimate good in Christ (Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28; Phil 1:6). Your life on earth is temporary, brief, and fragile, but in Christ you have an eternal life and a heavenly home that cannot be taken away (Ps 39:4–5; 2 Cor 4:17–18; Phil 3:20–21; 1 Pet 1:3–5; Heb 13:14; John 14:2–3). Jesus described the kingdom of heaven and eternal life in many ways, inviting you into a hope far greater than anything this world can offer (Matt 5:3–12; Matt 13:24–52; Luke 16:19–31; Luke 23:42–43). Whatever troubles you—illness, trauma, financial struggle, anxiety, fear—God sees it, knows it, and promises His peace, presence, and care (Ps 34:17–19; Isa 53:4–5; Matt 6:25–34; Matt 11:28–30; John 14:27; Phil 4:6–7, 19; 1 Pet 5:7; Jas 5:14–16). Your part is to believe in Jesus and continue in His word so that the truth can free your heart and renew your mind (John 8:31–32; John 11:25–26). And even when some of His parables seem hidden or difficult, the Holy Spirit teaches, illuminates, and guides believers into understanding (Matt 13:10–17; Mark 4:10–12; John 14:26; John 16:13; 1 Cor 2:12–13).
God has also revealed what will happen at the end of human life and what will take place in the world on the day of judgment (Dan 12:2; Matt 24:3–31; Matt 25:31–46; John 5:28–29; 2 Pet 3:7–13; Rev 20:11–15; Rev 21:1–5). He declares the end from the beginning so you can know that history is not drifting toward chaos but toward His sovereign purpose (Isa 46:9–10). Scripture teaches that a final day will come when all people stand before God to give an account of their lives (Rom 14:10–12; Heb 9:27). Jesus Himself promises to return in glory, raise the dead, judge the nations, and separate people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats (Matt 25:31–33). The present world will pass away, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth filled with righteousness, peace, and restored creation (2 Pet 3:10–13; Rev 21:1).
No other reference in the world gives as complete a picture of why the world was created, how God created it, how God loves humanity, and how God plans to bring everything to its conclusion (Gen 1:1–31; Gen 2:1–3; Ps 119:160; John 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16–17). The Bible alone reveals God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1; Isa 45:18), forming the universe by His spoken word (Ps 33:6, 9; Heb 11:3). It reveals humans made in His image with purpose and significance (Gen 1:26–27). It reveals God’s love in sending His Son to save the world (John 3:16–17; Rom 5:8; 1 John 4:9–10). It reveals God’s full and final plan to bring everything under Christ’s authority and to renew creation for eternity (Eph 1:9–10; 1 Cor 15:24–28; Rev 22:12–13). Scripture makes clear that no other source, no other book, and no other belief system gives this full revelation of creation, redemption, judgment, and final renewal (Deut 4:35; Isa 45:21–22; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rev 1:1–3).
This becomes even clearer when you look at the life of the apostle Paul, because his own journey shows how God confirms the message of Jesus through a chosen witness. Paul stood before kings, governors, church leaders, hostile crowds, and skeptical officials, defending the truth of Jesus with boldness. When he stood before the Sanhedrin, he testified to the hope of the resurrection and the coming of the Messiah, showing that his message aligned with the Scriptures (Acts 23:6–10). When he stood before Felix, he spoke about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment—truths directly tied to Jesus’ return (Acts 24:24–25). Before Festus and King Agrippa, Paul declared that Christ suffered, rose from the dead, and would proclaim light to Jews and Gentiles, insisting that everything he proclaimed was foretold by Moses and the prophets (Acts 26:22–23, 27). In his letters to the churches, Paul continually taught the coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment, urging believers to remain steadfast as they waited for Christ’s appearing (1 Thess 4:13–18; 1 Thess 5:1–11; 1 Cor 15:20–28, 50–58; Tit 2:11–13). He warned believers in Corinth against divisions, false teachings, and distortions of the gospel, calling them back to the truth of Christ crucified and risen (1 Cor 1:10–18; 1 Cor 15:1–4). To Timothy, he confidently declared that Christ Jesus would judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, urging Timothy to preach the word faithfully until that day (2 Tim 4:1–8). Paul’s entire life—his defenses in court, his teaching in churches, his letters, his trials, and his endurance—served as a living witness that Jesus the Messiah had come, had risen, and would return.
When you see Paul’s story woven into the larger story of Scripture, you discover that God has never left humanity without witness. He spoke through creation, through prophets, through kings, through Jesus Himself, through the apostles, through Paul’s bold testimony, and through the Scriptures that remain with us today. Everything He revealed fits together into one great message of love, truth, judgment, salvation, and eternal hope.
References
Holy Bible (English Standard Version) 2016, The Holy Bible, ESV, Crossway, Wheaton. [Book]
Carson, D.A. 1991, The Gospel According to John, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester. [Book]
Wright, N.T. 2012, How God Became King: Getting to the Heart of the Gospels, SPCK, London. [Book]
Moo, D.J. 1996, The Epistle to the Romans, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids. [Book]
Longman III, T. & Garland, D.E. (eds.) 2008, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: New Testament, Zondervan, Grand Rapids. [Book]
Kostenberger, A.J., Kellum, L.S. & Quarles, C.L. 2009, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown, B&H Academic, Nashville. [Book]