What is our purpose?

Throughout my life, I have often thought, “Why was I made? Why do I exist?” As I became a believer, these questions evolved. I learned that, at a base level, my purpose is to find God, trust in Him and worship Him. But over time and through spiritual growth, the questions became more specific. What is the Body of Christ? Why does the Body of Christ have a heavenly calling? What is that calling? What does it mean that we are told that we will judge angels? And why did God keep the mystery of the Body of Christ hidden until He revealed it through Paul?

I believe these questions are all connected and are a natural part of the believer’s path.

One of the first things God did according to Genesis was create Heaven. Genesis does not describe the creation of the angels directly, but other Scripture gives us that context. Job 38:4-7 places the sons of God at the laying of the foundations of the Earth, when “all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Colossians 1:16 tells us that Christ created the visible and invisible things in Heaven and Earth, including thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers.

Taken together, Scripture shows that God created Heaven and filled it with angels to form an ordered government. When Satan and a third of the angels rebelled, they corrupted that government and abandoned the positions God had given them. Those angels cannot be redeemed and are awaiting judgment. The mystery revealed through Paul is that God will use the redeemed Body of Christ to restore the heavenly government under Jesus Christ.

The Bible does not state that entire conclusion in a single verse. It gives us the pieces across Scripture and we are tasked with finding, understanding, and connecting them. When those pieces are put together, they show that salvation is just the first step in what God has planned for us. God is preparing us for a purpose in the new heavens.

That future purpose should shape the entire purpose of our lives now. Our works will be evaluated at the judgment seat of Christ, and our reward will determine the place and responsibility we receive in Heaven. Understanding what God is preparing us for changes how we should use the body, time, and opportunities He has given us.

God Created an Ordered Heaven

God does not create imperfect things. Genesis 1:31 says:

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

The angels were not created as an unorganized group without responsibilities. Heaven was not just “thrown together” or made a big empty space. Colossians 1:16 describes an ordered heavenly government:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.

Thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers describe positions of authority and a governmental structure. Hebrews 1:14 also calls the angels “ministering spirits” who are sent forth to minister. God created them to serve Him, and that service included specific positions and responsibilities within His heavenly government.

Ezekiel 28 begins as a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, but the description reaches beyond an ordinary earthly king. It describes someone who was full of wisdom, perfect in beauty, present in Eden, and upon the holy mountain of God. Ezekiel 28:12-15 identifies him as “the anointed cherub” and describes his condition before his fall:

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

He was not created sinful. He was created perfect, but iniquity was eventually found in him. Isaiah 14 describes his pride and ambition. Rather than remaining faithful in the position God had given him, he said, “I will ascend into heaven” and “I will be like the most High.”

The problem was not with God’s creation. The problem was that a created being chose to rebel against his Creator. Sin did not exist only in the Garden of Eden. Iniquity was also found in Satan.

A Third of the Angels Followed Satan

Revelation 12:4 says this about the dragon:

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.

Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon and the angels who followed him:

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan did not rebel alone. A third of the angels chose to follow him. In doing so, they abandoned the roles for which God created them. Jude 6 says:

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

They did not keep their first estate. They left the place and position God assigned to them, and they are now reserved for judgment.

Fallen Angels Cannot Be Redeemed

Man can be redeemed because Jesus Christ became a man, shed His blood for our sins, died, and rose again. Romans 6:3-4 says that those of us who were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death and buried with Him by baptism into death. Our old man is crucified with Him even before our physical body dies. At the catching up, the dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible and the living members of His Body will be changed in a moment. Whether we die physically before that day or remain alive until it comes, this corruptible body must be replaced with an incorruptible one.

Christ did not take on the nature of angels. Hebrews 2:16 says:

For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

Second Peter 2:4 says that God did not spare the angels that sinned. Instead, He delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. Matthew 25:41 says that everlasting fire was prepared for “the devil and his angels.”

The Bible never gives fallen angels an offer of redemption. It only describes their coming judgment.

Angels also do not die as men die. In Luke 20:36, Jesus says that resurrected people cannot die anymore because they are equal unto the angels. Fallen angels therefore cannot die, be freed from their present condition, and then be raised in a new and redeemed body. They remain in rebellion until their final judgment. Their choice to follow Satan sealed their judgment.

Is Heaven a Sinless Place?

This raises an important question. If Heaven is a sinless place, how can there be rebellion or spiritual wickedness there?

The answer is that we have to distinguish between the present heavens and the new heavens.

Scripture shows that rebellion still affects the present heavenly realm. Job 1:6 describes Satan appearing before the Lord. Revelation 12:7 describes war in Heaven, and Revelation 12:10 calls Satan the accuser who accused the brethren before God day and night.

God Himself has never been corrupted by sin, but rebellion presently exists within His created heavenly order. Satan and his angels still have temporary access and activity while they await judgment.

That will not be true of the new heavens. Second Peter 3:13 says:

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Revelation 21:27 says that nothing which defiles will enter the New Jerusalem. By this point, Satan and the fallen angels have been permanently judged. Sin will have no position, authority, access, or habitation in the new heavens.

The new heavens will be completely righteous because the rebellion that corrupted the old heavenly order will be removed forever.

Heaven Must Be Reconciled

Colossians 1:20 is one of the clearest passages showing that Christ’s work concerns both Earth and Heaven:

And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Things in Heaven require reconciliation. This does not mean that the fallen angels will be forgiven or saved. Other passages plainly say that they are reserved for judgment. It means that the heavenly order damaged by their rebellion must be restored and brought completely under Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:10 describes the final result:

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.

God’s purpose is not limited to restoring the Earth. He will gather together all things in Christ, in Heaven and on Earth. Jesus Christ will be the undisputed Head of both realms.

The Mystery Reveals God’s Plan for Heaven

God did not reveal every part of this plan in prophecy. He kept the purpose of the Body of Christ hidden until He revealed it through Paul.

Ephesians 3:9 describes it as:

The mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

The following verse connects the Church directly to the heavenly government:

To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.

The Church is demonstrating the wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. That is not incidental. It is part of the reason the mystery was revealed.

Ephesians 2:6 tells us where the Body of Christ is positionally seated:

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Our calling is heavenly because our future work is heavenly. Philippians 3:20 says, “For our conversation is in heaven.” We are not merely waiting to escape the Earth. We are being prepared to serve and reign with Christ in the realm where God has already seated us in Him.

We Will Receive Bodies Fit for Heaven

Our current bodies of flesh and corruption cannot inherit that heavenly position. First Corinthians 15:50 says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

That does not mean every believer must physically die first. Paul explains:

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

The dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible, and the living members of His Body will be changed. First Corinthians 15:53 says:

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

God will give every member of the Body of Christ a body suited for our heavenly inheritance. Sin and corruption will no longer dwell in us. We will be able to serve Christ in the new heavens without introducing another rebellion into them.

We Will Judge Angels and Reign With Christ

First Corinthians 6:3 asks a remarkable question:

Know ye not that we shall judge angels?

Paul does not present this as a new or strange idea. He asks why believers who will one day judge angels are unable to judge the ordinary matters of this life. Our future authority is the basis of his argument about how we should live now.

Second Timothy 2:12 says, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” The Body of Christ will not spend eternity without responsibility. We will reign with Christ, and our responsibilities will be determined by our faithfulness to Him now.

First Corinthians 3:11-15 describes the evaluation of a believer’s work.

11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Some work (gold, silver, precious stones) will endure and receive a reward. Other work (wood, hay, stubble) will be burned, although the believer himself will still be saved. Our salvation itself is not earned by our works. It is a free gift received by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. But our work after salvation still matters because God is preparing us for future service.

Ephesians 2:10 says:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We are not saved by good works, but once we are saved, God has work prepared for us to do. That work matters both now and in the position and responsibility we receive in Heaven.

Second Corinthians 5:10 says that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive according to what we have done in the body.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Everything we do with the body, life, and time we are given will be brought into judgment.

Will We “Replace” the Fallen Angels?

The Bible does not contain one single verse that says, word for word, “The Body of Christ will replace the fallen angels.” That sentence is a summary of what I believe the passages together reveal.

God created heavenly thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers. A third of the angels rebelled, failed to keep their first estate, and are reserved for judgment. Those angels cannot be redeemed. Heaven must be reconciled through the blood of Christ. The mystery places the Body of Christ in heavenly places. We will receive incorruptible bodies, judge angels, and reign with Christ.

Taken together, the purpose becomes clear. The Body of Christ is God’s answer to the rebellion in Heaven. When the fallen angels are permanently removed, redeemed people will serve Christ in the restored heavenly government. We will fill the positions of responsibility left by those who abandoned their first estate, and all things in Heaven will be gathered together under Jesus Christ.

First Corinthians 2:7-8 explains why this wisdom had to remain hidden:

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

This mystery was hid in God because it had to be. Satan drew one third of the angels into his rebellion and corrupted the heavenly government God created, but his rebellion did not surprise God. God had already purposed a plan that Satan could not see and his rebellion could not defeat. We are that plan.

This gives our present lives a much larger purpose. The trials we endure, the work we do for God, and the faithfulness we show in small things are preparing us for eternal responsibilities. God is not only saving us from something. He is preparing us for something.

We are being prepared to participate in the restoration of the new heavens, where righteousness will dwell and rebellion will never enter again.

God has a specific design and place for us in what He is doing. This life is our opportunity to prepare for that place. Our relationship with God, our service to Him, and the way we use everything He has entrusted to us should be shaped by the knowledge that we will one day answer to Christ and receive our reward. We should live our lives accordingly.