Quote:
Mr. Piper is a bit more provocative in his rewriting of part of an old creed:
"The chief end of man is to glorify God
By
Enjoying Him forever."
Page 18, Desiring God (2003 edition) John Piper.
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I realize that this is not exactly what the old catechism/confession says (maybe the Westminster??) but it sort of is what it says.
And I have asked on more than one occasion whether there is anything substantial that makes "by enjoying Him forever" more than a really nice sounding statement. Is there more than inference from a verse or two, or is this something that can be founded in a substantial manner? I will be honest to say that I do not have the inclination to say that it is right or wrong, or to do the research to establish it one way or the other. Instead, I think that anyone who wants to say that it is simply true needs to establish that it really is true through more than declaring it to be so.
I have no problem with the idea of enjoyment — even experience. But when it is declared without qualifier or explanation that "the chief purpose of man is . . ." I really want more than "it's there in the Westminster Confession," or "Augustine
[or whoever] said it." Neither of those are the source of truth, just repeaters of it when they are understanding truth rightly.
And the reason that I ask this question is because I wonder whether we (all of us in the majority of Evangelical Christianity, if not others as well) have focused too much of our attention on activities in this life that are not really the primary focus just because we have bought "the chief purpose of man . . ." or some other human oversimplification. Have we missed the real purpose because of it?
Surely the Children of Israel enjoyed the benefits of God's actions. But they also were left to live out the commands without a lot of intervention. And I don't think it was just for the purpose of proving that we couldn't do it. I think God expected obedience. And at some level they began to obey more once they got really battered by the period of captivity. But it was true that the kind of obedience that was truly called for generally requires more than a strong will. It also requires that something of the pre-fall existence be restored. Therefore salvation. But the purpose of that is not "to enjoy Him" but to reflect Him. I find that one in the Bible. Not sure about the other.