I have done a great deal of questioning and thinking regarding just what is the primary purpose for humanity. I came back to a passage in Ephesians that I think could serve as an answer, but before I read it, let’s consider how some long-standing Christian traditions have answered that question.
First consider the widely held Westminster Shorter Catechism. It teaches that the supreme purpose of man is to “glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the primary purpose of humanity is to know, love, and serve God, and to thereby attain eternal happiness with Him” (CCC 1721, 1723).
From a Lutheran perspective, “the primary purpose of humanity is to live out one's vocation in faith and service, trusting in God's grace and working for the well-being of others and the advancement of God's kingdom in the world.” (ChatGPT)
In Anglican theology we find that “the primary purpose of humanity is to love and worship God, grow in holiness and sanctification, serve others with compassion and justice, and participate in God's mission of reconciliation and redemption in the world.” (ChatGPT)
In Eastern Orthodox theology we find that “the primary purpose of humanity is union with God and participation in His divine nature through theosis” that is, “the process of sanctification, whereby humans are transformed by grace into the likeness of Christ.” (ChatGPT)
Now here’s what I read in Ephesians 3:19 that I think could serve as an answer:
What is the supreme purpose of humanity?
To “be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Now let’s ask, What gets us to that end? And the answer appears in the preceding verses:
The Apostle Paul writes, “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)
