But then, God needed to create the world as a road?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
In the Coptic Orthodox perspective, when we say God "needed" to create the world as a road, we do not mean that God was under any external necessity or lacked anything in Himself. God is perfect, self-sufficient, and lacks nothing. Rather, the "necessity" was one of Divine Love (Agape).
Here is why the world was structured as a "road" or a process of growth:
1. The Distinction Between Creator and Creature
God is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. Man is created, finite, and had a beginning. Because there is an infinite gap between the nature of the Creator and the creature, man cannot naturally "possess" God instantly. We must be "brought" into His life. The world acts as the medium—the road—through which we learn to use our senses and our reason to eventually reach the contemplation of God.
2. Deification (Theosis) Is a Journey
Our purpose is not merely to exist, but to become like God through grace—a process we call Theosis. As the Church Fathers teach, God became man so that man might become god (by grace). This transformation requires our cooperation (synergy).
- If God had created us already "at the destination" (fully united to Him without any effort), we would be like objects or tools, not persons.
- By making the world a "road," God gives us the opportunity to acquire holiness as our own choice, rather than it being forced upon us.
3. The Exercise of the Soul
St. Athanasius the Apostolic and the Desert Fathers emphasize that the soul must be exercised. If there were no road to travel—no struggle, no choice, and no progression—the human soul would remain stagnant. The road exists so that, through the "works of His wisdom" (as mentioned in the Orthodox Study Bible), we can see the invisible things of God through the visible things of the world.
4. Avoiding the "Rueful Shipwreck"
As St. John Chrysostom warns, when humans try to find God through their own "darkness of reasoning" or by looking for Him only in "shapes and bodies" without following the path He set, they undergo a "rueful shipwreck." The "road" consists of the Law, the Prophets, and ultimately the Incarnation of the Word.
God created the world as a road because He wanted to share His glory with us in a way that respects our dignity as free beings. He did not just want to surround Himself with "things," but to bring "many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10). The road, with all its options and challenges, is the only way for a finite creature to freely and lovingly enter into the eternal rest of the Infinite God.