Man's Purpose

Do you know your purpose in life? God does! Often in these posts, the Amplified version of the Bible is used. The Amplified Bible is a Literal Equivalent translation that, by using synonyms and definitions, both explains and expands the meaning of words in the text by placing amplification in parentheses, brackets, and after key words. The use of brackets adds information supported by other Scripture, which helps explain verses that are sometimes misquoted or misunderstood. Ecclesiastes 3:11 is a great example to compare the King James Version (KJV) and the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC):

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11, KJV)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11, AMPC)

 

Theologians have debated this passage for hundreds of years, often persuading their listeners to a particular point of view. At issue is questions surrounding the Hebrew word translated “world” in the KJV and the much larger understanding observed in AMPC. The Pulpit Commentary contains a good discussion regarding some versions translating the Hebrew to “world,” while most agree the best interpretation is “eternity.”

 

In context, this is the time and seasons chapter. Therefore, the understanding of eternity is more accurate and supported by most today. Think for a moment, God “planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds. God created man to live eternally. The added text in brackets from the AMPC provides us a deeper look. ”A divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy.” Only God can satisfy our deepest need, eternity. Our purpose is to work allowing God to consume us. Man will search high and low, deny the existence of God, but in the end, they will be unsatisfied. Nothing can quite the troubled mind or heal our broken body, except God. Our purpose is to know Him, and make Him known (John 17:25-26). Life on earth is just a vapor (James 4:14). Eternity in heaven is our purpose.