CWV-101-301-RS-T5BenchmarkGospelEssentials

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1 Benchmark—Gospel Essentials John Burciaga Kellermann College of Theology, Grand Canyon University CWV-101: Christian Worldview Professor Cota March 23, 2023

Benchmark—Gospel Essentials After the fall of humanity, the world became a place of uncertainty and pain. Society as a whole began to question if there even was a God who looked out for them during their hardships. However, the Gospel was a sign of future fruitfulness and a promise that goodness, such as the coming of the Kingdom of God, was well on its way. The nature of humanity, the nature of restoration, the nature of Jesus, and finally the nature of God was all included in The Gospel Essentials. What was included in the Gospel Essentials is crucial to the Christian worldview because it allows believers to learn who God is and what he stands for. The Gospel essentials help tie together what it means to live in God’s image. Working to attempt to understand The Creator allows for one’s faith to reach a new deeper level. The Gospel Essentials also detail why God allowed humanity to redeem itself and reach restoration. All aspects of the Gospel and the implications that the Christian worldview has will be addressed and explored within this paper. Gospel Essential Beliefs Nature of God The true nature of God is something that has plagued the mind of many throughout history. The nature of God is something that can be deciphered through personal belief and the word of the Bible. The first attribute to God’s nature is that he is sovereign. “ He does whatever he pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the ocean depths” (Psalm, 135:6). The reason as to why this is important is that every single sovereign King or Queen has passed, due to illness or ill fate. However, the most sovereign leader, God himself, has never fallen victim to any of those fates seeing as he is the one true ruler in the Bible. God has the right to rule on the 2

premise of his creatorship. The next attribute to the nature of God is that he is Holy. Holy is a biblical term that means “set apart” (Hughes, 1995). The very attributes that contribute to the nature of God is what sets him apart from everyone else and reaffirms his Holiness. God is completely pure in every aspect of His being. God’s third attribute is his omnipotence. Omnipotence essentially means that God is in control of himself and of his creations (Hughes, 1995). Based on the writings within the Bible, it is easy to infer that there is nothing God cannot do, however that inference would be incorrect. God is unable to lie according to Titus 1:2. Simply put, God cannot do anything evil. But that does not take away from him omnipotence. God has absolute control over every single one of his creations, down to the smallest detail. Lastly, God is not just himself, but he is also the Holy Trinity, the father, the son, and the spirit are all included in that. Nature of Humanity The nature of humanity is a very complicated subject for not just Christians, but also for other religious and non-religious people. Human nature can be broken down into many topics: Human purpose, why humans are alive, human suffering, and amongst all of this, finding a place for God in humanity. From the Christian worldview perspective, “Humanity is created in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26-27). Some non-religious people (atheists specifically) believe that’s humans purely exist because they are born. They may also hold a scientism point of view on humanity and human purpose, meaning that they believe humans only have drive to survive and serve no other purpose. People that follow other religions perspective will vary depending on the structure of their religions. Focusing on the Christian perspective, to be in God’s image is to follow the path that God has paved for us. Every human has the opportunity to serve God and 3

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fulfil human purpose. God created humans as the imperfect version of himself, but when humans choose to follow God’s path then humanity is “Ordered and Good” (Diffey and Holland, 2022). Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26). When it comes to Human purpose, Humans are also supposed to fulfil God’s Image. Humans are supposed to do what God has done; humans have a role to build relationships with each other and serve each other by upholding morals, they are supposed to love humans as God does, and they are supposed to create human life as God has. In essence, humans are, “Created to know God and have dominion over the Earth” (Diffey and Holland, 2022). Because of this, when we fall out of God’s image, we discover the root of human problems and suffering. Falling out of God’s Image leads to sin and the misuse and mistreatment of other humans, animals, and the earth we were gifted. Nature of Jesus The second piece of the Holy Trinity, Jesus, was sent to Earth by God. Jesus’s purpose in going to Earth was to redeem mankind and fulfill the prophecy. “And she shall bring forth a son, thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). While Jesus roamed the Earth, he did his duty and more by granting miracles to those who needed them. Jesus also taught his disciples the word of the one true God. Jesus is significant in and of himself, but he is also significant to the Christian worldview. If it had not been for Jesus, humanity would still be bathing in their sins. Instead, he died on the cross and 4

took humanities sins with him leaving humanity with nothing but a chance to reach salvation. Salvation is a large component of the Christian worldview because it welcomes faith. Salvation and faith would not be possible if not for Jesus and his sacrifice. It is up to everyone to decide whether if they want to hold faith in Jesus and take the gift that he has brought us. Jesus saved us from our sins, but without humans upholding their faith, it would be pointless. Restoration The issue that has forever stood out in humanity is resisting sin and distinguishing what is masked as sin. No one has an immunity to sin, even the most kind and pure humans. Sin is a part of the human journey that God designed for us. “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” ( Hebrews 2:14-18 ) . It takes faith and mental fortitude to understand how to either avoid sin or know when to repent for sinning. Through faith we are able to understand how to resist the path of sin, and through repentance we are allowed to makeup for our sins when we have taken a step down the wrong path. “The ethic of redemption wants to transform the ethic of creation, while the latter wants to resist that transformation,” (Chopp, 2017). Utilizing faith, repentance, and living a life of grace are key in restoring our soul when we can no longer be stored in our physical bodies. When we live a life of faith, we contribute to the transformation of self and society; powered by the will of the holy spirit. We have been assigned a role by Jesus, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26). As long we reach for repentance and remember this role assigned through Jesus, we will reach restoration. 5

Christian Foundations When comparing different worldviews, the Christian Worldview is distinguished by the Essentials of the Gospel. There are many good lessons to be learned and spread within the Bible. In Christianity, humans have a role to serve for God as they are powered through the Holy Spirit. In the Christian Worldview, people see God as the Messiah who gives them strength and an opportunity to be fulfilled with an afterlife of holiness. “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). John 1:3 describes the important of God and Jesus in the Christian Worldview. The Nature of Humans can be reflected in the Nature of God. God is sovereign, and he is pure. God is perfect and cannot sin. The Nature of Jesus is interesting because his nature falls between God’s and human’s. Jesus too is perfect and embodies God within a human body. Although Jesus never sinned, he died for all the sins of man. When it comes to Human Nature, we are designed through God’s image. We are the imperfect design of God himself and we are given the opportunity to have faith to reach Restoration. The Essentials of the Gospel help guide those who follow a Christian Worldview when they are put together. Analysis of the Implications of the Christian Worldview Living life from the Chrisitan Worldview is very rewarding. To me, there is no finite amount of rewards that Christianity and God can bring to humans. God is so good and loving and provides an eternal light for all his children. When someone decides to live under God’s image, they will be loving, they will be kind, they will be enlightened, and they will be 6

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graceful. God provides humans with value. He has given us a role and when we fulfil that role we have dignity. Salvation in Christianity is similar in other religions that believe in an afterlife. Generally, worldviews that consider the potential of an afterlife will follow a list of good morals and a connection to an almighty being. Faith and goodness is so heavily encouraged in Christianity that it is hard to live a life where one doesn’t seek love towards other humans, and grace for all the opportunities and accomplishments that one is given. However, sometimes people find the idea of believing in a higher power confusing or troubling, which can divert people away from Christianity. Conclusion Being a part of Christianity and understanding what God’s Kingdom has to provide for us is a beautiful thing. Understanding the Essentials of the Gospel is what leads to a life of fulfillment. Allowing the Gospel to provide a binding of the Nature of God, the Nature of Humans, the Nature of Jesus, and the power restoration leads us to a life of faith. If we continue to let grace prevail under the Image of God, we have the opportunity to reach salvation. We as humans have a role to fulfil. We were assigned to our roles by God, educated by Jesus, and we are guided through our journey by the Holy Spirit. The Essentials of the Gospel are an important stepping stone for humans to reach salvation as a whole and to transcend society. 7

References Chopp, J. T. (2017). Unearthing Paul’s Ethics: Douglas Campbell on Creation, Redemption, and the Christian Moral Life. Journal of Theological Interpretation, 11(2), 259–276. English standard version (ESV) - version information - biblegateway.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/English-Standard- Version-ESV-Bible/#booklist Diffey, D., & Holland, R. (Eds.). (2022). The beginning of wisdom: An introduction to Christian thought and life (5th ed.). Grand Canyon University. Hughes, G. (1995). The nature of god : An introduction to the philosophy of religion . Taylor & Francis Group. 8