Faith Without Answers • Apr 27, 2026
The Church's True Purpose • Dec 31st 1989
Present at the Birth (Part 1): • God’s Eternal Purpose: Why Christianity Is Not About You
What is the true purpose of God—and is Christianity really about us?
In this profound and challenging message, Gene Edwards confronts one of the most deeply rooted assumptions in modern Christianity: that the gospel is primarily about meeting our needs. Instead, he presents a radically different vision—one centered entirely on God’s eternal purpose.
Drawing from Scripture and decades of spiritual insight, this teaching calls believers to shift from a self-focused faith to a God-centered life. Salvation, while essential, is revealed as only a small part of a much greater divine intention—one that began before creation itself.
This message explores what it means to live “unto God,” not merely to receive from Him. It challenges common Christian perspectives on salvation, spiritual growth, and even church life. Rather than seeking personal fulfillment, blessing, or community as the goal, believers are invited into something far deeper: participation in God’s own purpose, passion, and eternal plan.
Gene Edwards also introduces the concept of progressing through different dimensions of spiritual fellowship—from the fellowship of the gospel to the fellowship of the Spirit, to knowing Christ, and even to sharing in His sufferings. Ultimately, all of this leads toward what Scripture calls “the fellowship of the mystery”—God’s hidden intention from before the foundation of the world.
This is not a comfortable message. It is not about self-improvement or spiritual success. It is about reorientation—turning away from self as the center and toward God as the center of everything.
If you’ve ever sensed that there is more to the Christian life than what is commonly taught, this message will challenge, deepen, and potentially transform your understanding of why you were created.
They will never know how important they are or were. They didn’t lead anybody to the Lord; they didn’t do any great things. They were not big numbers. They only had one thing in their favor: they existed. Nothing else. Simple; not organized. Took care of one another. Loved one another and knew why they existed. They existed for Him, and unto Him there were several holiest, most devout, dearest people I ever met. I took the torch from those people for my country. America.
They went under a division a few years later. It’s what killed Beta Shirek. That was her home. She was the one who came home from China. If I had never seen that little group of people, I would have never understood so much of what it simply means to be; to exist, against all hell, to just be for Him.
I will not preach to you in this town some great, glorious gospel, or promise you all sorts of wonderful things if you follow him and live unto him and live wholly for his purpose. I promise you nothing for yourself. But maybe when you’re old, old people, and folks are wondering why in the world you’re still meeting here, and you’ve never done a blooming thing, maybe some young 32-year-old kid will come by and take the torch, and take it to Afghanistan, or Africa, or South America, or Canada, or Romania, or somewhere…or America. It’s going to need all the help it can get.
I have a question. Last night, I asked you if you brothers were willing to live here and never become a leader or an elder, or a deacon. I’m asking you if you’re willing to come here and never be anything other than a testimony. Now I’m not saying that’s what I want to come; I’d love to see the place have a thousand folks; I’d like to see you turn upside down and land upside down. But I know where the heart of God is. The heart of God wills for something that you can give Him if you’re only 15 in number. It ain’t the size, saints. It’s what you are, and I don’t mean what you are by good living or how nice you are. But I mean in what you live unto. To live unto Him. To live unto Him. To your God. To God the Father. To grasp something of what went on in eternity past in the Trinity. And for that to be extended here on this earth, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, come back tomorrow night.
To enter into the fellowship of the mystery and simply bullheadedly and narrow-mindedly and stubbornly sit here on this earth and stand for His purpose against all hell and the will and anything else that can be thrown at you. This satisfies the heart of God: to be part of his eternal purpose. That’s why I’m in this town, and you should not be here for any other reason. I call you by name. Jeff. Old, gray-headed, bald, and fat. What did y’all do here, Jeff? Not much. How many were you when you started? Fifteen. How many are you now? Sixteen. What have you been doing? Brother, we existed. We were on this earth for Him and for nothing else. We touched Him. We knew Him. We grasped Him. We fellowshipped, and we entered into His prayer, into His intent, into His purpose. We lived it out as best we could by the life He gave us to live it by.
I don’t ask you to consider anything else but this, and I ask you to not be here unless it’s for the rest of your life. That God may call you into another city, but it ought to be out of this church. Do you understand? Out of this fellowship, not because you left and got mad. But when you live and when you die, it should be unto Him, unto His purpose, and nothing else. Brothers and sisters, give this some very serious consideration, and please don’t come this way if you’ve got anything else in your heart.
Amen. Praise the Lord. Don’t just sit there.
More from the archives
The Mystery of God • Apr 21, 2026
Jesus’ First 12 Years
Return to the Beginning • Apr 13, 2026