Purpose
- Dr. John M. Asquith
- May 22
- 2 min read
And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, 1st Kings 5:5.
The word "purpose" can be either a verb as we see in the opening verse, or it can be a noun. We see it used both ways in Isaiah 14:26; This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth. The Lord made clear what his purpose was for the earth. I have written on this previously, (Click Here). In years past, I often heard the term "the plan of God". That is really an unbiblical phrase.
The word of God speaks of God's intent as was covered in my last post, and it tells us of God's purpose. Through the word of God we can know what God purposes to do, and we can know his intentions for doing so. In your King James Bible a purpose shows a determination. It expresses willful action behind an event or a contemplated event. Intention shows us what the hopeful outcome is. It expresses the motive behind the purpose.
Whereas God's purposes are always holy, the purposes of man tend to be sinful, but not always. Roger Hain, Pastor Emeritus of the Black Creek Baptist Church often refers to Daniel 1:8 as a model for young men who desire to stay clean and to have a good conscience; But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat. His point is that it is not enough to merely will to be clean, a young man must purpose in his heart to do so.
Men's purposes often keep them from salvation.
Job 33:16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Job 33:17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
Job 33:18 He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
Too often we see a person come into church, make professions of faith, and yet they can't seem to let go of their former purposes in life. True repentance towards God will be marked by a man or woman being withdrawn from their purpose. A man's pride will not let him let go of his inward purposes. It is that same pride that stands in between him and God.
I am in my fifth decade of reading and studying a King James Bible. I have observed over time that the more a man sanctifies himself to thinking and speaking in biblical terms while teaching the doctrine of a King James Bible, the more effective he becomes.