Introduction
The existence of humankind is a controversial topic within the scientific community. Christians have found answers to this question and they believe that man was created under God’s instructions. Therefore, questions on who is God and where did he come from might arise even amongst the staunch Christian believers. The Bible answers these questions by telling the nature of God and His purpose for humankind. This paper examines God’s nature based on His creation and the fulfillment of His promises to humanity through Jesus Christ. In addition, it focuses on the general Christian values of faith and forgiveness.
The character of God
Studying the bible and understanding it gives human beings the insight on God’s divine character. It is important for humanity to know God’s nature and character. The bible warns the believers not to believe everything that gets down their way. They need to recognize God’s presence in their daily endeavors. In a bid to determine God’s manifestation, people need to understand the following main traits of God’s character.
Goodness
God is good all the time and His goodness never diminishes (Lake & Copeland, 2013). In Psalms 34: 8 (NIV-study bible) David says, “Taste and see the Lord is good, blessed is the man who seeks refuge in him”. When the believers face trouble and everything seems to be falling apart, God still finds way out for those who do not lose hope in Him.
Justice
God always makes right all that seems wrong to His people. If believers put their trust in God, nothing will be taken from them and no mistreatment will make them worry because God loves justice. God works in mighty ways to restore all that was taken for His people. According to Yancey (2002), God’s grace is always sufficient and lasting. The unmerited and free favor, joy, and love from God to humanity describes His amazing grace to the believers.
He is righteous, loving, kind, and forgiving. In John 4: 10, the bible records, “here is love, not that we loved God, but he loved us, and sent his Son to be propitiation for our sins”. In addition, He is a comforter, light, omnipresent, and mighty above all powers.
On the creation, Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth.” This verse underscores that the world was vague, formless, and nothing existed before God’s creation. God started to speak of creation day by day as follows:
During the first day, God created light and separated light from darkness before naming the light day, and the darkness night. On the second day, God created a vault between the waters to separate them from the sky. On the third day, God created the dry grounds and collected the waters together. Later one, He named the dry ground land and the gathered waters sea. He also filled the land with vegetation, viz. plants. On the fourth day, God created the sun, moon, and the stars to provide light to the earth to separate the day and the night.
The presence of sun, moon, and stars served as signs to mark seasons, days, and years. On the fifth day, God made every living creature of the seas and every winged bird and blessed them to multiply and fill the waters and the skies with life. On the sixth day, God created man and woman (Adam and Eve) in his own image. He blessed them and gave them power to rule over and take care of every creature and to cultivate the land. On the seven day, God had accomplished His work of creation and so He rested. He blessed and made this day holy (Hamilton, 1991, p.26).
After the works of creation, God observed and regarded the creation of man highly as He had made him in His own image and likeness. This aspect should make people to feel special and honored (Peterson, 2005).
The nation of Israel traces its roots to Abraham. Jacob, the son of Abraham, was given the name Israel (Genesis 32: 29). God used the nation of Israel to manifest himself to humanity by delivering the Abraham’s offspring from Egypt. The choice of the nation of Israel was not coincidental, but intentional as God wanted to prepare the nation for the first coming of Lord Jesus to free them from their sins. Unfortunately, according to Jeremiah (32:23), “they did not obey anything that Jehovah commanded them.” However, due to the Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, God has raised a spiritual Israel to replace the physical one.
The New Testament setting
Christians view the New Testament as a complement of the Old Testament. It interprets the new agreement, as manifested in the life and death of Jesus. The New Testament is a collection of twenty-seven spiritually inspired books. The books are divided into three categories, viz. the Gospels, the Epistles, and the book of Revelation. The gospels tell about Jesus as the Son of God and the messiah to humankind. The Epistles include letters written by the church leaders to the world. The revelation to John marks the last book in the New Testament.
The character of humanity
In the Old Testament, Abraham stands out as the key person in the history of believers. The people of Israel and their religion descended from him. God covenanted with Abraham that He would raise a nation through his posterity. Abraham showed unparalleled faith and trusted God by worshiping and obeying Him. Even during times of trials, Abraham did not relent to praise God even at the time when He commanded him to sacrifice his own son.
Moses is the other prominent person as God used him to save Israelites from bondage in Egypt and deliver them to the Promised Land. Moses linked God to His people by changing them from an oppressed generation to a chosen and redeemed nation. Job, the other key figure in the Old Testament, expressed high levels of faith and hope on God. Satan inflicted Job with all forms of sicknesses to the extent that his friend and family gave up on him, but instead of cursing God, Job expressed patience and respect towards his Jehovah.
The New Testament’s main character is Jesus Christ. Others include Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John as they teach about the messiah. Jesus came to the earth so that man could be saved by dying on the cross to reverse the curse of the Adam’s sin. Joseph and Mary were the parents of Jesus and they were highly favored to bring messiah to the people. John the Baptist was prepared by God to baptize Jesus at river Jordan and set example to the people.
The purpose of psalms in Christian’s life is elaborated in the New Testament as means or expression of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The epistles bring the message of teaching and edification (I Corinthians 14:26). Psalms highlights the obstinate rebellion of people of the earth against their creator by noting that they even collude at times to frustrate God’s plan. In addition, Psalms prognosticated the occurrences surrounding the birth, mission, and the death of Christ on the cross.
Who is Jesus Christ?
According to John (14:6), “Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life” and everybody who goes to the father passes through him. Jesus is the ultimate savior and God sent Him to link the people to the heavenly kingdom by dying on the cross for the sins of humanity.
Jesus was the son of Joseph and Mary. At the age of thirty, he started his ministry in Judea after the symbolic baptism. He moved from city to city spreading the gospel and telling people to repent. He performed miracles and healed the sick. He finally completed his mission in Jerusalem during the last supper with the disciples.
In Genesis (3:15), it is clear that right from the beginning, God would have a descendant whose main task would be to atone the effects of Adam’s sin. God had promised his people through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would bring a blessing to the entire nations of the earth. Therefore, Jesus’ purpose was to fulfill God’s promise of salvation to humankind.
God the father made the plan of salvation, the role of Jesus was to implement it, and the Holy Spirit ensured that the people felt the call of the saving grace. Jesus gave teachings of forgiveness, mercy, kindness, and honesty. He performed miracles and used parables for the people understand his teachings. Christian practices emphasize the teaching of Jesus Christ. Through his salvation, humankind received healing and eternal life (Yancey, 2002).
The Bible
The Bible is a combination of the account of God’s actions in the world and His purpose with His creation. The bible is a compendium of sixty-six books written by people who were inspired by God. The bible is divided into two sections, viz. the Old Testament and the New Testament. In addition, the bible is the means by which God communicates to humanity.
The bible captures many interesting issues on life and death. One of the key messages is about the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Through His resurrection, Christ subdued death and every defeat associated with the devil, and thus God wanted people to associate with this victory by following Jesus’ footsteps and teachings. The bible teaches that there is a rebellious power of Satan who deceives and undermines God’s purpose. The evil spirit enslaves humanity, but Christ came to the earth with victory, and thus an everlasting kingdom emerged to fulfil God’s purpose.
The Bible was a written revelation to humankind. Its message was received through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, thus meaning that it underscores what God wanted humanity to hear. According to the bible, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Christians read scriptures because they search for eternal life and the message testifies about God. The bible reveals the humankind’s nature, points out their problems, and directs them to the solutions, which is Jesus Christ.
The bible gives the way to relate with God and live in Jesus. In addition, it refreshes the believers’ faith and trust in God. False prophets claiming to be Jesus would come and deceive many people, and thus it is only through His word that man can identify the real God. Satan lied to Eve about what God had said, and similarly, the devil keeps on deceiving humanity even to date. If people turn their attention to other scriptural sources other than the bible, they stand a chance of being led astray.
The church and Christianity
In Ephesians (1:22-23) the church is referred to as being a body of believers who have been called out of the masses to live as God’s people under the authority of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the church is to gather and experience the spiritual presence together through worshiping God. This assertion means that definitions cannot separate church from Christianity and argue that people are believers even if they do not attend church services.
Different religious groups have diverse views about the bible teachings on church. Christians believe that God exists; He created man in the first place, he is all-knowing, and above all powers. Christians believe in the existence of the Holy Spirit who lives amongst them. Christians believe that God inspired the Bible, thus making it a Holy book. Christians believe that Satan is a fallen angel who keeps competing with God (Jakes, 1994). They also believe that there is life after death.
Jesus taught about faith and forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer. Christians believe that they receive forgiveness from God as they forgive those who offend them. They believe that by repenting their sins, they are forgiven by God. Christians believe that by having faith in God, they were forgiven of their sins through the death of Jesus Christ.
Christians believe that by living in Christ, they are protected from the vagaries of the devil. Humans experience joy, guidance, and good health to continue seeking God’s righteousness. God is love and true love is forgiveness, and thus those who dwell in Christ experience unending love. Living in Christ does not mean Satan will not tempt Christians. However, by keeping faith as Job did, Christians will always be conquers at the end of the battle.
Conclusion
The Bible teaches humankind of the existence of a Supreme Being who is God. God made his creation with a purpose and sent Jesus to live with humanity so that He can fulfill His purpose of creation. The Bible teaches Christians how to engage a lasting relationship with God and live in Jesus who is salvation. The Bible helps Christians to understand that Satan is wandering allover searching for their souls and the only refuge is in God.
By living a righteous life, Christians are promised of eternal life. The Bible teaches ideal Christian values which humankind should embrace in a bid to have good co-existence with other people. God gave man the authority to rule over the entire creation, so it is upon him to conserve the creation with God’s guidance. Every human being has a purpose to fulfill, and thus Christians should pray to God and seek direction to fulfil their purpose on earth.
References
Jakes, T. D. (2011). Can you stand to be blessed: Insights to help you survive the peaks and valleys. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers.
Hamilton, V. (1991). In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World. New York, NY: Harcourt, Inc.
Lake, J., & Copeland, K. (2013). His Life, His Sermons, His Boldness of Faith. Tulsa, OK: Harrison House Publishers.
Peterson, E. (2005). The message: The bible in contemporary language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress Publishing Group.
Yancey, P. (2002). What’s so amazing about grace? Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.