I recently received a good question.
My initial answer was brief. I said, "Because it gives him pleasure. "for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Rev 4:11) He created the world to enjoy what He created, and for His creation to enjoy him." This, as often is the case, didn't quite get at the heart of what this reader asked. They responded with this follow up question:
QUESTION: So, it gives Him pleasure to know that some of His creation will end up in Hell?? I mean, He knew that Adam and Eve would sin and this world and its people would be the mess that they are and so many would end up in Hell..... yet He created it and it makes Him happy?? I'm really not trying to be difficult or a smart aleck. This is truly the one thing I have difficulty with.
No, I don't believe that when people choose to remain separated from God, that makes him happy. You asked why He created. He created because it gave Him pleasure to do so. What's more, those who believe in Him and come into an eternal relationship with Him through Jesus will bring Him joy eternally. It seems to me that the cost is entirely outweighed by the benefit.
DYNAMITE!
Here is an example of what I mean. The world is better because of dynamite. It's been used to do some amazing things. We've reshaped the world, built incredible structures, and made the world a better place. It's also been used to destroy life. Many people have been killed in wars as a result of explosives.
If you could go back in time and decide whether or not dynamite should ever be invented/discovered it would be a difficult choice. It's made the world such a better place to be able to reshape the earth with that amazing stuff. It also has killed a lot of people. Not everyone would choose the same way I would, but if it were me, I'd choose to have dynamite in the world. Even though there is a cost to pay, the benefit seems to outweigh the consequence.
I wonder if this might be how God looks at it. (I don't know if it is, but it makes sense to me). Maybe... He could see the terrible cost of giving sentient beings free will, many would choose to refuse Him. However, in that, it seems that maybe He saw something that was demonstrably more valuable to Him. Eternal sentient beings who choose to be with Him forever in an amazing relationship, that a prize worth creating for.
HIS PRIZED POSSESSION
God highly values those whom He's saved. In fact, there is something so valuable about the redeemed people that He was willing to go through with creation as we know it. James tells us this:
James 1:18 says, "He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession."
This seems to be at the center of what you're asking. God wanted us (believers). He wanted us so bad He was willing to take a cosmic risk. He prizes those who He's redeemed so highly that He was willing to allow this tremendous cost. It sounds like a harsh reality, but it seems to be the case.
If we could go back in time before the moment of creation and decide whether it was all worth it. If we were given the choice to call off the creation or let it go forward what would we choose? It might be a hard decision for some to make considering how many people would ultimately reject God. However, if it were me, I wouldn't stop it. I'd make the choice to go forward with creation, even though there would be a cost to pay.
Some will respond with, "Well, couldn't He have created the world a different way?" Obviously, He could but He could not create it a different way and get the same outcome. It's kind of like saying, "Couldn't we just use a different formula for dynamite so that no one could ever die from it?" Obviously, we could but we can't change the formula for dynamite and get the same outcome. Dynamite is both awesome and awful precisely for the same reason, it blows up. What if Creation is so amazing and gut-wrenching for the same reason because the stakes are so high?
The way I see it, God put together a formula in creation that would allow Him to get the outcome He wanted. Clearly, He knew that there would be a cost involved, but changing the formula would eliminate certain aspects of the outcome that He apparently wanted. I'm convinced that outcome which He was willing to gamble for is a massive number of sentient free-willed people who have chosen to be with Him forever in an intimate relationship. It makes me wonder, what price is too high to pay for that?
The OP stated "He wanted us so bad He was willing to take a cosmic risk." The key word is RISK. For God there is no such thing as risk. God know it all so where is the risk. Risk happens when there is uncertainty like in gambling. So is the OP's reasoning flawed?
So God knowing all, would it had been be less violent just to create those who he knew would truly love Him (after all He does know that; there is no need for tests)? The triplets "analogy" isn't a valid one since God unlike man can do as He pleases. Create the good triplet and don't create the other two. Would this have been less violent (understand violence as suffering, anguish, crime, murdering, diseases and very long etc)?
The dynamite and triplets analogy aren't appropriate (or any of such kind) since there is a huge gap between God and what man can do/know.
Toni—two things.
First, saying God is “selfish” because He creates for what He wants imports creature categories onto the Creator. God is not a needy being grabbing for fulfillment. Scripture presents Him as already full, good, and giving: “God is love” (1 John 4:8), “He gives to all life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25), and the cross is the loudest possible contradiction of “selfish”—Christ gave Himself for sinners (Rom 5:8; Mark 10:45; Phil 2:6–8). God seeking His own glory is not vanity; it’s reality: He is the highest good, and His glory is the revelation of that good.
Second, your “better answer” (God didn’t know what would happen) directly collides with how the Bible talks about God’s knowledge and prophecy. God “declares the end from the beginning” (Isa 46:9–10). He knows words before we speak them (Ps 139:4) and His knowledge of our days is not guesswork (Ps 139:16). Jesus foretold Peter’s denial in detail (Luke 22:34) and spoke of Judas’ betrayal ahead of time (John 13:18–19) precisely so people would know He wasn’t reacting blindly. If God’s future knowledge “nullifies” freedom, then biblical prophecy collapses—and Scripture doesn’t go there.
What Scripture does say is cleaner: humans really choose and are accountable (Deut 30:19; Josh 24:15), God is not the author of sin (Jas 1:13–17), and yet God’s purpose is not threatened by human evil—He can even overrule it for good (Gen 50:20; Acts 2:23; Acts 4:27–28). That’s the Bible’s frame: real human responsibility + real divine foreknowledge/purpose, without making God morally blameworthy.
So no—God didn’t create because He enjoys damnation. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and calls people to turn (Ezek 33:11). He created for His glory and for a redeemed people who freely come into eternal life through His Son (John 3:16; John 6:47). And the fact that He paid the highest cost Himself is the opposite of “selfish.”
That explanation makes God the selfish one who does whatever is needed to get what he wants.
Better answer: God gave man the capacity of free choice. If that means the outcome of creating was truly open. And that means God didn't know what would happen, since that knowledge would nullify the openness of the outcome afforded by being able to freely choose.