CWV-101 T5 Benchmark Gospel Essentials

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1 Benchmark—Gospel Essentials Twan Jennings Grand Canyon University CWV-101: Christian Worldview Nancy Kreitzer October 31, 2021

Benchmark—Gospel Essentials What is worldview? This was a question I asked at the beginning of class. I learned there are three major worldview families, atheism, pantheism, and theism (Hiles & Smith, 2020). I grew up a Christian, which is in the theism family. Although I identify as a Christian, I never gave much thought to what that actually means when it comes to my worldview. I know that I believe in God and the Holy Trinity. I was baptized when I accepted Jesus as my personal savior. I know He died on the cross and rose three days later to ascend to heaven at the right hand of God after spending 40 days with His disciples. What I didn’t understand was, all of my beliefs shaped how I viewed the world and what guides me to make certain decisions in my life. To get a better understanding of what having a Christian worldview means, I’m going to explore some gospel essential beliefs that cover the nature of God, the nature of humanity, the nature of Jesus, and restoration. These gospel essential beliefs are the building blocks for the Christian foundation that will allow the analysis of the Christian worldview. First let’s jump into the gospel essential beliefs. Gospel Essential Beliefs Nature of God The first gospel essential belief is the nature of God. Diffey (2020) writes in chapter three that Christians believe in one God; however He exists as a Triune being. God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are known as the Holy Trinity and is a very important belief of the Christian worldview. The character and nature of God is at the center of the Christian worldview. It is also important to note that God is loving, kind, faithful, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. “As with all of God’s attributes, they are not separate, isolated traits but interconnected parts of his perfect whole being. So his faithfulness cannot be understood apart 2

from his immutability, the fact that he never changes. So when we read that God remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself, we see these his attributes working together” (Bible Study Tools & Crosswalk Staff, 2019). God is also a sovereign Creator of all things. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and all things within them. He created the fish in the sea, birds in the sky, livestock, and all the wild animals. God also created mankin, His greatest creation, in His image. (Genesis 1:1-27). Nature of Humanity During the six days God took to create this world and everything in it, He took special care when He created mankind. Of all the creatures, man was the only one He made in His image; the only one he actually breathed air into to bring to life. Diffey (2020) reminds us, that since God created humanity in His own image, there is a special relationship between God and humans. Even though God is the ruler over all things, He did create humans to rule over His creation and have dominion (Genesis 1:26-27). When God created humankind He wanted us to not only have dominion, He also wanted us to worship God, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and live in right relationship as God intend. With being made in His image God also gave us free will. In the beginning when God put Adam in the Garden of Eden, He gave him free will to eat from any tree except the tree of knowledge of good and evil or he will die (Gen 2:15-17). In the Garden, the serpent convinced Eve that she would not die and she would be more like God if she ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So she ate from the tree and also talked Adam into eating from the tree as well. This was the start of the fall of humankind and the root of the problems to come. This angered God and he cursed the serpent, Eve, and Adam and plunged all of humanity into sin and death (Diffey, 2020). However, all is not lost because God would send a savior, Jesus Christ. 3

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Nature of Jesus Who is Jesus Christ and what is His true identity? Jesus is the Son of God, the center of the Holy Trinity, the Son of Man, the Savior, Lord, and God are a few names He’s known by. “The name Jesus means ‘God saves,’ which gives a glimpse into his saving mission. John 3:17 says that Jesus came in order that the world might be saved through him” (Greever, 2020). Jesus is compassion, mercy, faithful, and without sin. Jesus was sent from heaven by God to heal this land from sin and death. Jesus lived a simple life and around the age of 30 started His church and had a huge following. He would teach of God’s grace and heal people from sickness, demons, sin, and death. Jesus’ teachings and work was important to the Christian worldview because it showed His authority as God and the Savior for all that believed and desired to make it to God’s Kingdom. God’s Kingdom would be paradise like the Garden of Eden that shall never be destroyed. It’s a place where death would be replaced with life; sorrow and sadness would be replaced by joy; and there would be no fear. A world without sin and death and God’s relationship with humanity would be restored. Jesus ministry promised this kingdom and He is king and we have to go through Him to enter. Restoration According to the Christian worldview, Jesus is the solution to human problems. “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not 4

sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:5-10). Repentance and faith are both needed for salvation. Repentance turns away from sin, and faith turns toward God (Greever, 2020). When we repent our sins, and have full faith in Christ, we begin to be transformed. The old us die and we are born new in Christ. One way the Christian worldview symbolizes the new birth is through baptism as John the Baptist baptized Jesus (John 3:13-17). Christian Foundations The gospel essential beliefs of the nature of God, the nature of humanity, the nature of Jesus, and restoration are the building blocks for the Christian foundations. The triune God is the center of the Christian worldview. Believing with the whole heart that God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are all one in the same and the one true God is nature of God and what sets the stage for the Christian worldview. Humankind being created in His image and falling from grace into a life of sin and death opened the door for Jesus Christ to play His part as our Savior. Having faith that God loved His creation so much that after the fall of humanity He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins that we have eternal life in His Kingdom (John 3:16). All is not lost because the fourth act in the Bible is restoration. Through Christ we can be restored to favor with God. “As Christians, we’re not orphans abandoned by the Father or the Son. By the Spirit, both the Father and the Son have come to swell in us. The Spirit lives within us, changing our hearts, giving us faith and transforming our lives” (Nicholls, 2020). Analysis of the Implications of the Christian Worldview The Christian worldview places value on human dignity and value because we were created in God’s image. He created us to worship Him and have dominion over His other creations. Since we are created in His image everyone deserves love and respect. We are all worthy in God’s eye and should treat each other as such. No man is greater than the next because 5

we are all sinners and have to repent and have faith in order to reach salvation. According to the Christian worldview this salvation is reached through Jesus Christ, however Hinduism sees salvation a little different. “Hinduism, the idea of salvation or the way to salvation is by elimination evil in your life, until you are pure enough to merge with Brahma. In Hinduism, God does not have an individual personality, it is a force” (Mazzalongo, 2017). Knowing that Jesus is the way to salvation and the Kingdom of God, having a Christian worldview can influence a person’s thinking and behavior. As we get closer to God, we begin to transform and try to be more like Jesus. Jesus lived a life without sin and spread love and joy to all. During our walk on this earth we strive to live as Jesus did. Even though we as Christians know that there is only one God, sometimes we have a hard time understanding how the triune God works. Nicholls (2020) points us to John 14 to get a better understanding. He reminds us that without faith in Christ, including a belief in His full divinity, people will be eternally lost. Conclusion I have really gained a lot of understating of my worldview and how it affects how I live my life. Through this class and writing this paper I fell closer to God and have notice a bit of a transformation in myself. I’ve always believed in the Holy Trinity and know the through Christ I have salvation. In my heart I know that my faith and repentance work together for my salvation. I have been reminded that through my essential beliefs of the nature of God, the nature of humanity, the nature of Jesus, and redemption, the foundation of the Christian worldview. Through this worldview, I am closer to the Kingdom of God. 6

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References Bible Study Tools & Crosswalk Staff. (2019). 15 amazing attributes of God: what they mean and why they matter. Retrieved from https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical- studies/15-amazing-attributes-of-god-what-they-mean-and-why-they-matter.html Diffey, D. (2020). Wisdom in the beginning. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life (3rd ed.). https://lc.gcumedia.com/cwv101/the-beginning-of-wisdom-an-introduction-to-christian- thought-and-life/v3.1/#/chapter/3 Diffey, D. (2020). Departure from wisdom. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life (3rd ed.). https://lc.gcumedia.com/cwv101/the-beginning-of-wisdom-an-introduction-to-christian- thought-and-life/v3.1/#/chapter/4 Greever, J. (2020). The wisdom and mercy of God. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life (3rd ed.). https://lc.gcumedia.com/cwv101/the-beginning-of-wisdom-an-introduction-to-christian- thought-and-life/v3.1/#/chapter/5 Greever, J. (2020). The wisdom and the power of God. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life (3rd ed.). https://lc.gcumedia.com/cwv101/the-beginning-of-wisdom-an-introduction-to-christian- thought-and-life/v3.1/#/chapter/6 Hiles, J & Smith, A. F. (2020). Evaluation Wisely. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life (3rd ed.). 7

https://lc.gcumedia.com/cwv101/the-beginning-of-wisdom-an-introduction-to-christian- thought-and-life/v3.1/#/chapter/2 Mazzalongo, M. (2017). What other religions teach about salvation. Bibletalk.tv. https://bibletalk.tv/what-other-religions-teach-about-salvation Nicholls, T. (2020). Believing in the triune god. Our Daily Bread. https://ourdailybread.org/believing-in-the-triune-god/ The Holy Bible, New International Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist (Original work published 2011) 8

CWV-101 T5 Benchmark Gospel Essentials

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