What God Says
What does God say about purpose?
God tells people He knew them and set them apart before they were born, and that He has plans for them, "plans to give you a future and a hope." He says He created His people for His glory, and sends them out: Jesus calls His followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world, chooses them to bear lasting fruit, and sends them to make disciples of all nations.
Here are those passages in His own words, each with its chapter and verse, from the Berean Standard Bible.
On purpose
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 “Everyone called by My name and created for My glory, whom I have indeed formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:7 He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
Isaiah 49:6 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:8 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13–16 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18–20 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
John 15:16 “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Mark 1:17 ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
Acts 26:16–18 As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.
John 17:18 “I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.”
Isaiah 42:6–7 “Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”
Isaiah 1:17
These are 14 of the 1,730 passages where God speaks in What God Says: Every Word God Speaks in the Bible, Genesis to Revelation, from Biblee Publishing. Every one is printed in the book exactly as it appears here.