53. Why was the world created?

The world was created for the glory of God who wished to show forth and communicate his goodness, truth and beauty. The ultimate end of creation is that God, in Christ, might be “all in all” (1Corinthians15:28) for his glory and for our happiness.

“The glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man’s life is the vision of God.”(Saint Irenaeus)


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293. Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: "The world was made for the glory of God." St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things "not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it", for God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness: "Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand." The First Vatican Council explains:

This one, true God, of his own goodness and "almighty power", not for increasing his own beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection, but in order to manifest this perfection through the benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel "and from the beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal. . ."

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294. The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created. God made us "to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace", for "the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man's life is the vision of God: if God's revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word's manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God." The ultimate purpose of creation is that God "who is the creator of all things may at last become "all in all", thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude."

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319. God created the world to show forth and communicate his glory. That his creatures should share in his truth, goodness and beauty - this is the glory for which God created them.


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What does Malachi 2:1-2 mean about the danger of falling away from God?

What is the importance of persevering in the faith, according to 2 John 1:8?

What is the role of God’s people in promoting social justice, according to Amos 5:24?

What is the example of Sodom and Gomorrah and what are the consequences of immorality and perversion according to the Bible?

How to deal with conflicts and disagreements between brothers: the example of Joseph’s children (Joshua 17-19)?

What does it mean to submit to God’s discipline, according to Hebrews 12:5-11?

How to deal with opposition to the truth of the Gospel?