Reverend Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church, Kenya Assemblies of God
The Ultimate Goal: God Dwelling with Man
And this brings us to the most important discovery of the entire story.
The ultimate goal is not merely to arrive at a beautiful place, receive eternal life, possess great things, or occupy positions of authority. The ultimate goal is God Himself—His presence, His fellowship, and communion with Him forever.
God's purpose was never simply to bring people to a destination. It was to bring His redeemed people into everlasting fellowship with Himself.
The Big Picture in One Sentence
We were created for fellowship with God, separated from Him by sin, redeemed through Jesus Christ, and destined to dwell with Him forever in the new creation.
This is the great story that unites the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
And once we see this picture, our understanding of Scripture begins to change. We no longer approach every chapter, commandment, prophecy, or doctrine as an isolated piece of information. We begin to ask how each fits into the greater purpose God is unfolding.
We move from merely accumulating biblical knowledge to understanding God's purpose. We move from understanding His purpose to discovering our own purpose within it. And we move from discovering our purpose to recognising what is needful for us to do now.
That is the power of seeing the big picture. It gives us perspective that leads to purpose. And when we understand where God's story is going, we begin to understand how we ought to live today.
A Question That Naturally Follows
If this is the great story of the Bible, then we must ask: What does this story mean for us today?
Why has God allowed us to understand His purpose? What are we supposed to do with the life He has given us? And how should the certainty of the coming new creation influence our choices, our faithfulness, our service, and the way we live?
These questions lead us from understanding the Bible's story to understanding our place within it. Because the big picture is not merely something we are meant to understand. It is something that should transform the way we live.
The Ultimate Purpose: God Dwelling with Man
What is the big deal?
Finally, God and man dwell in fellowship and communion forever.
God's desire for fellowship with humanity and humanity's need for God's presence are both fulfilled forever in the New Jerusalem.
The Bible begins with God and man in the Garden of Eden, and it ends with God dwelling with man in the New Jerusalem. What was interrupted by sin in Genesis is finally and eternally fulfilled in Revelation.
This is the big picture of the Bible. The Bible contains many books, chapters, prophecies, commandments, teachings, and doctrines. Yet beneath all this diversity runs one unified story: the story of God's purpose for humanity and His determination to bring that purpose to completion.
God created man in His own image and likeness. He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7). He gave humanity dominion over His creation and made man for fellowship and communion with Himself.
Humanity was not merely another part of creation. Man was created in God's image, with a unique relationship to his Creator. His life came from God, and his ultimate fulfilment was to be found in God.
But sin interrupted this divine purpose. Fellowship was broken, humanity was separated from God, and the world entered into the tragedy of the Fall.
Yet God did not abandon His purpose. He began the work of redemption, ultimately giving His only begotten Son to die for humanity. Through Christ's sacrifice, the way back to God was opened. The Father sent the Son to accomplish redemption, and He gave the Holy Spirit to dwell within those who believe.
But the story does not end with our salvation in this present age. God's purpose reaches its ultimate fulfilment when He makes all things new and comes to dwell with His redeemed people forever.
John describes this glorious conclusion:
Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."
Here, the purpose that began in the garden reaches its ultimate accomplishment. God dwells with humanity. Fellowship is restored. Communion is no longer interrupted by sin, and death, sorrow, and pain are no more. God's people see His face, serve Him, and live in His presence forever (Revelation 21:4; 22:3-4).
What began in the garden finds its everlasting fulfilment in the New Jerusalem.
Two Desires, One Eternal Fulfilment
There are two sides to this glorious conclusion.
First, there is God's desire to dwell with humanity.
Consider the extent of what God has done. He created humanity in His image, gave man life through His breath, entrusted him with dominion over creation, sacrificed His Son to redeem him, gave His Spirit, and prepared a new heaven and a new earth. All this points us towards the fulfilment of God's purpose: that His redeemed people should dwell with Him forever.
God's purpose is not merely to rescue humanity from destruction. It is to bring humanity into the fullness of the relationship for which He created us. Salvation brings us back to God. Eternity brings that restored relationship to its everlasting fulfilment.
Second, there is humanity's need to dwell in God's presence.
Man was created in God's image and received life from God. Consequently, nothing in creation can ultimately take God's place in fulfilling the deepest longing of the human heart.
We seek happiness in possessions, achievements, relationships, experiences, and earthly successes. These things may bring genuine pleasure, but none can provide the everlasting fullness of joy for which we were created. Our hearts were made for more than the temporary pleasures of this present world.
David understood something of this when he declared:
Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
The ultimate fulfilment of the human heart is not simply receiving everything we desire. It is knowing the One for whom we were created and dwelling in His presence without end.
This is why the promise of the New Jerusalem is so extraordinary. God does not merely give His people a beautiful place to inhabit. He gives them Himself. The ultimate thing is not about a place, position, or power, but presence.
The End of the Story Is the Fulfilment of the Beginning
When we understand this, the Bible becomes one magnificent, unified story.
Creation: God creates humanity in His image and gives man life.
Fellowship: Humanity is made for communion with God.
The Fall: Sin interrupts that fellowship.
Redemption: Through Jesus Christ, God opens the way for humanity to be reconciled to Himself.
Presence: God brings His redeemed people into His everlasting dwelling.
Fullness of Joy: Humanity finds its ultimate fulfilment in the unhindered presence of God forever.
This is the progression from Genesis to Revelation. The Garden of Eden was the beginning, but the New Jerusalem is the glorious consummation. What sin interrupted, God brings to completion through redemption. And what begins with fellowship in the garden culminates in everlasting communion in the presence of God.
The final chapters of Revelation therefore do more than describe our eternal home. They reveal the accomplishment of God's purpose for humanity. God's desire to dwell with man and man's deepest longing to dwell with God meet in one eternal reality.
God will dwell with His people, and His people will dwell with Him, forever and ever.
The story does not end with humanity merely escaping the world. It ends with God's redeemed creation brought into the fullness of His purpose. And there, in His presence, the deepest longing of the human heart will finally be satisfied.
There will be no more separation, no more interruption of fellowship, and no more searching for what can never be found apart from Him. There will be only the everlasting joy of knowing God, seeing His face, serving Him, and dwelling with Him.
We were created for God's presence, redeemed for God's presence, and ultimately restored to God's presence—where the deepest desire of the heart is fulfilled in the fullness of joy.
And this is the big picture. From the garden to the New Jerusalem. From creation to redemption. From interrupted fellowship to everlasting communion. From the beginning of God's purpose to its eternal fulfilment.
The ultimate purpose of the story is not merely that man should live forever, but that God and His redeemed people should dwell together forever. And it will be forever and ever.
The Big Picture: Brings together the unified story of Scripture, God's purpose in creating humanity, redemption through Christ, the presence of God, and the fullness of joy.
Perspective Leads to Purpose: When believers see where the story is going, they can better understand why they are here, what matters now, and how to live in light of eternity.
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