Benchmark Gospel Essentials
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Benchmark—Gospel Essentials
Daniel Resendez
College of Theology, Grand Canyon University
CWV-101: Christian Worldview
Dr. Rogers
03/10/2023
Benchmark—Gospel Essentials
There are many ways in which the Christian worldview has been perceived by others. Since there are many denominations, such as Pentecostal, Baptists, Methodists, and many more, and other religions that claim to be Christian centered, such as Catholicism, Orthodox churches, etc., the protoevangelium has been taught in many different ways. With this, the history of Jesus Christ has been taught to many in either a correct manner or in an erroneous way. It is important to know and understand the true gospel in an efficient manner in order to not have that confusion
of who God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are and what humanities purpose is
in this world. This paper will discuss the nature of God, nature of humanity, nature of Jesus, and restoration, and analyze the Christian worldview in order to understand and interpret the Christian faith correctly. Gospel Essential Beliefs
Nature of God
When discussing the Nature of God, many, being Christian or not, perceive Him in many ways. God has many characteristics, one of them being that He is a triune God. Being triune means to be three in one. When one reviews the Bible, God has manifested Himself to this world
as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. According to Gunton (1986), the trinity has played specific roles in the world. God the Father’s purpose was and is to be the creator of all things living, God the Son was to come to earth, restore what was broken in society, and die for one’s sins, and God the Spirit’s purpose is to guide humanity and lead them to an eternity with God (Gunton, 1986). Even though God has shown Himself to this world in those ways does not signify that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each other; the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are one in God. Incommunicable characteristics, such as 2
transcendence, eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, immutable, incomprehensible, unique, and holy, are traits that God carries. It states, “God’s incommunicable attributes are mentioned to prove that God… is not human – He is powerful, controls the world, He is the Father of all who strengthens people, gives them blessings, gifts, wisdom, peace and saves and redeems them.” (Cornelius, 2021, p. 9). Having incommunicable attributes strays God from being the same as a human showing that His status is above that of humanities. Through His creation, God creating living things/beings that He called “good” and were made to worship Him. God’s love and mercy is reflected through His creation and through everyone that has or does not have a relationship with Him. Nature of Humanity
Humanity was created by God with a purpose and every human individually has a unique
purpose in the ministry of God. Overall, God has put every human on earth to worship Him, live a holy life, and have a truthful relationship with Him, this is what human nature is built on. In The Beginning of Wisdom
it states, “He created humanity in his image and gave them royal rule, or dominion, over everything. He created them to have a relationship with him.” (Diffy & Holland, 2022, p. 89). Human purpose since the beginning was to have a relationship with God and know how to manage the earth given to them. Imago Dei means to be created in Gods image and having similar aspects, such as being constructed with a body, spirit, and soul. God does not force humanity to follow His path, but when humanity doesn’t follow God His image is constantly harmed due to their poor decisions to manage their life. Sin has harmed humanity since the beginning in the Garden of Eden. With the decision Adam and Eve took to not follow Gods order to not eat of the tree of science and wisdom, sin has caused harm to humanity and the
world. Diffy and Holland (2022) state, “The one man is Adam… Adam's sin in Genesis 3 3
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brought death into the world.” (p. 85). Death, destruction, and human problems was and continues to be the cause of sin and will continue to be until the day that Jesus comes back to take those that have followed His path. Nature of Jesus
The Holy Bible reveals who Jesus was and who He still is. Within the New Testament, acts of healing, redemption, and forgiveness is shown and helps one understand who Jesus is and
what His purpose was on earth. Jesus is shown to be God in flesh. Even though Jesus came to earth and was incarnated fully into a man, He was still fully God. With coming to earth, Jesus began His mission in redeeming those that believe in Him, being Jews or gentiles. With Jesus’s kingdom purpose, Jesus proved that He is the Messiah and the only way of salvation. In His purpose and actions in this world, Jesus completed the prophecy made in the book of Daniel. It states, “Eventually to be seated at the right hand of God, Jesus goes to war against Satan's kingdom and simultaneously begins the liberation of Israel.” (Evans, 2003, p. 163). Evans describes one of the prophecies given by the prophet Daniel that discusses Jesus liberating Israel from evil. With His sacrifice, Jesus accomplished that prophecy by liberating everyone from sin and restoring that relationship that was broken between God and humans after the fall of humanity. According to McComiskey (2008), it states, “
Forgiveness of the personal sins that contributed to the corporate exile is available in Jesus, through whom one exits exile and enters the kingdom.” (para. 40). Since Jesus’s sacrifice, that created a pillar and form of significance for
the Christian worldview. With the certainty that Jesus was born, did miracles, died, was resurrected on the third day, and promised to come back, Christians have that confidence that Jesus is a source and foundation of salvation they can rely on. Restoration
4
Within the Christian worldview, it is shown that through Jesus we are saved, redeemed, and free of an eternity in hell. Jesus states in John 14:6, “
I am
the way
and the truth
and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Bible gateway, New International Version,
n.d.). God the Son was and still is the only one that can forgive and redeem a sinner and grant them access to heaven. With His sacrifice on the cross, grace, an underserving gift, has been given to humanity as an opportunity to repent of their sins get close to God. Repentance is the act
of asking for forgiveness and changing ones form of behaving. Faith is the act of putting all trust in someone, in this case on God. When seeking salvation, faith and repentance are key components when beginning the process of surrendering to God and being transformed entirely. Salvation is incomprehensible. No one can fully understand why God gives sinners His forgiveness, redeems them, and calls them His children. Since God gives humanity His grace, one as a sinner is able to believe/have faith in Him and repent. In Ephesians 2:8 it states, “For it is by grace
you have been saved,
through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Bible gateway, n.d., NIV). As one realizes that Jesus is the Messiah, repents, and continues to have faith in God, their salvation is for sure. When one or society as a whole believes in God with their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus is God, they will be saved, born again, and a transformed (Bible gateway, New International Version, n.d., Romans 10:9). The Christian belief of transformation in self and in society will only happen through God’s grace, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and if one is willing to let themselves be renewed. Christian Foundations
The gospel essentials are the pillar of the Christian worldview because of how they define
the core beliefs of Christianity. The nature of God, humanity, Jesus, and restoration are the 5
foundation of Christianity and are necessary to understand completely. Even though many may teach these four gospel essentials differently, the same message can be conveyed if the Bible is used correctly and is actually being used. As a Christian, it is necessary to understand who God, Jesus, and the Holy spirit is and what their purpose is with humanity today. Once one accepts God in their heart, a relationship is formed and within that relationship it is that individual’s responsibility to worship God. Human purpose and restoration can only be found through God. Once a sinner believes in Jesus and knows that they were made to worship the Lord and have a relationship with Him, forgiveness and change is brought to their life creating a new creature in Christ. This is essential to understand in the Christian faith and is what one can build their beliefs
in. Analysis of the Implications of the Christian Worldview
When discussing the Christian worldview, one can notice that human value and dignity is
benefitted through it. As an individual begins to find who they are in Jesus Christ their value rises from being sinners to now being a son/daughter of God. The world one see’s today is filled with sin and destruction, and many were known as advocates to that before Christ took ownership of their hearts. Humanity was made in Gods image. Every aspect of God is known to be perfect including His image. Knowing that humans were made in His image and that He is perfect, human value raises in confidence understanding that they were created similar to a divine being. Salvation comes when one accepts God’s forgiveness and begins a relationship with Him. The topic of salvation has been viewed as a controversy by others that contrast with the Christian worldview, such as the atheist perspective. Atheists believe that there is no God. It states, “
Popular atheism today is becoming more and more indistinguishable from scientism and a drive to secure the cognitive, moral and ultimately political authority of the natural sciences.” 6
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(LeDrew, 2012, para. 5). Atheists are only capable, in their state of mind, to believe in “facts” and natural sciences that are able to be seen and measured. In the Christian worldview God is the
one that brings salvation to those who seek it. With the atheistic perspective of only believing what their eyes can see, God to them is just a fable. In this opinion, the God who brings salvation
is a fable and the salvation He gives is nonexistent/unnecessary. Although denied a lot, the Christian worldview is very influential in a person’s behavior and thinking. Since God is a God of order, justice, and law, ethical thinking comes with the Christian worldview. The ten commandments are an example of sustained thinking and behavior. When someone analyzes the law given by God, they feel security and valued because of how it helps them to abstain oneself from sin that can harm and belittle anyone. With being created in Gods image, being saved/redeemed by Jesus’s blood, and given standards that can benefit one, the human value of those that believe constantly increases. Christianity may be confusing to many, and the reason why is because they do not understand how one can have faith on something/someone they have not seen. Many only believe something if they see it with their own eyes. Christianity is centered
in faith and with that faith one can have an encounter with God that can transform them forever. Conclusion
Everyone has different opinions regarding the Christian worldview, but when one gains interest of this concept it is important to understand every aspect that hold it together. Understanding the nature of God, of humanity, Jesus, and the act of restoration is key when learning why the Christian worldview exists. God in His nature is a powerful being who gives His creation the opportunity to get close to Him and have a relationship with Him. With this, humanity’s purpose is to stray away from sin and live a life similar to the life Jesus lived here on earth and get closer to God. Jesus and restoration go hand to hand in which Jesus, through His 7
mercy and grace, gave sinners forgiveness and through this many found salvation. These gospel essentials are what holds Christianity and stabilizes everyone’s faith. Christian worldview raises many questions due to confusion in certain beliefs and will continue to until the day where everyone will confess that Jesus is Lord. Until that day comes God still seeks a relationship with humanity and will never force anyone to love him because He seeks a truthful connection with His creation. 8
References
Bible gateway passage: John 14:6 - New International version.
Bible Gateway. (n.d.). Retrieved from https.//www.biblegateway.com/passage/?
search=John+14%3A6&version=NIV Cornelius, E. M. (2021). Attributes of god in ephesians: Meaning and relevance
. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. DOI:
10.4102/hts.v77i4.6649
Diffey, D., & Holland, R. (Eds.). (2022).
The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life
(5th ed.). Grand Canyon University.
Evans, C. A. (2003). Defeating Satan and Liberating Israel: Jesus and Daniel’s Visions. Journal
for the study of the Historical Jesus,
1(2), 161. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/147686900300100203 Gunton, C. E. (1986). Barth, the trinity, and human freedom. Theology Today
, 43(3), 316-330.
LeDrew, S. (2012). The evolution of atheism: Scientific and humanistic approaches. History of the Human Sciences, 25(3), 70–87. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0952695112441301
McComiskey, D. S. (2008). EXILE AND THE PURPOSE OF JESUS' PARABLES (MARK 4:10-12; MATT 13:10-17; LUKE 8:9-10).
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society,
51
(1), 59-85. https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/exile-
purpose-jesus-parables-mark-4-10-12-matt-13/docview/211197968/se-2
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