Introduction
Christianity is the world’s most widely practiced religion. As of 2020, Christianity had approximately 2.6 billion believers out of a worldwide population of about 7.8 billion people (Zurlo et al., 2021). If one is not a Christian, they probably have Christian family members or friends. Christianity is summarized by John 3: 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
Many people became followers of Christ after Jesus died and was resurrected. His death demonstrated the world’s awe-inspiring power of God, which attracted a huge following to the religion (Ashford & Thomas, 2019). Being a Christian means having faith and hope in God and trusting His grace is sufficient. This paper explores the Christian worldview through the nature of God, humanity, the nature of Jesus, and the concept of restoration.
Nature of God
According to the Bible, only one true God is revealed in three distinct Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The three, however, do not mean there are different Gods because they are all the same God. The being of each of the three is equal to the whole being of God (Ashford & Thomas, 2019).
God the Father is the creator of all, including the heavens and the earth, and as such, is seen as the beginning and the end (The Holy Bible, 2020, Genesis 1:1). God the Son is Jesus Christ, who is God in human form, sent to save humanity. God, the Holy Spirit, is also fully God and omnipresent, which is only a characteristic of God.
God possesses three essential aspects that summarize the many features associated with Him: omniscience, omnipotence, and supreme goodness. In other words, God knows everything (The Holy Bible, 2020, Gen 18:14), has the power to do everything (The Holy Bible, 2020, Psalms 147:5), and is perfectly good (The Holy Bible, 2020, Isaiah 33:5). Christians believe that there is nothing that exists without God and neither can there be anything hidden to Him. The Bible guides Christianity because it contains teachings about God and commandments that control Christian living.
Nature of Humanity
God made humankind, as outlined in the book of Genesis. God created the world in five days, and on the sixth day, He made man. God made man in his image and likeness and gave him dominion over all other creations (The Holy Bible, 2020, Genesis 1:26-28). God noticed that the man was lonely, removed one of his ribs, and created a woman for him. The Bible states that God created humanity purposely to worship Him (Swain, 2017). Initially, humans had a close relationship with God. Adam communicated with God daily concerning the Garden God had put in his care.
However, according to Genesis chapter 3, the serpent brought enmity between God and man. The snake lured Eve to eat the fruit that the lord had forbidden Adam and Eve to eat (Patte, 2019). Their disobedience angered God, marking the beginning of human problems. As a result, God ejected Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, where life was easy (The Holy Bible, 2020; Genesis, 3). God punished man through hard labor, whereas the woman was cursed with the pain of childbirth. Human existence has never been easy since the first sin in the Garden of Eden.
Nature of Jesus
The Bible described Jesus as God the Son, whom God the Father sent to the world to save humanity. According to the scriptures, Jesus came to the world in human form. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary, then born as a normal human being, lived, and grew among the people (The Holy Bible, 2020; Isaiah, 53). He later began his kingdom assignment by teaching the word and performing for people. God wanted Jesus to be born among humans so that it would be easy for people to believe in Him, because they had seen Him grow up among them.
Jesus’ purpose was to die for the sake of humanity; His death ended the error of the Old Testament, while His resurrection opened the chapters of the New Testament. This meant that God bought the human race at the highest price: the blood of Jesus Christ. The New Testament was a pivotal time for Christianity, as it provided people with direct access to God.
People could communicate directly with God through prayer, as opposed to the Old Testament, where prophets served as mediators between people and God (Patte, 2019). Jesus’ life was of great significance to Christianity because it brought salvation to the world. It also demonstrated God’s power through the miracles Jesus performed before his death and after the resurrection.
Restoration
Humanity inherited the sins of the first parents, Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Humankind has suffered since then, for God viewed them as sinners and punished them in many ways, including making life harder and bringing death. However, God showed mercy for his people and sent Jesus to save and reconcile humanity with Him (The Holy Bible, 2020, John 3:16).
Through Jesus, the old things had passed, and everything was made new (The Holy Bible, 2020, 2 Corinthians 5:17). This transition is documented in the Old Testament (before Jesus) and the New Testament (after Jesus). Jesus came so that humanity might be saved and all their suffering might come to an end. He restored the love that existed between man and God after creation.
Jesus is the answer to all the problems facing Christians; they have been given the power to pray directly to God through Christ Jesus. The restoration meant that, although Christians might die in the flesh, they would be resurrected when the world ends, just as Christ was resurrected (Patte, 2019). Christians now believe that God’s grace is sufficient to sustain them through any trial or tribulation.
Additionally, Christians understand that Jesus died for their sins, and so repentance cleanses them from all sins and draws them near to God. As the Bible says in John 3:16, those who believe in Christ Jesus will be saved. Christians believe that people and societies are transformed by following the teachings of Jesus and abiding by what is written in the Bible. They believe that all laws originate from the Ten Commandments that guide Christianity.
Christian Foundation
The omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God, who existed even before the world began, the creation of humanity, the coming of Jesus, and the restoration of believers, affirms Christianity (Ashford & Thomas, 2019). Through the gospel essentials, Christians view the world only through God’s eyes. They believe that everything is the way it is because God wants it to be that way.
They also believe in God’s power, which is revealed through the creation of everything that took only six days (The Holy Bible, 2020; Genesis, 1). Additionally, the expression of God’s love for his people to the extent of sending his only son to die for their sins is a great aspect of the Christian faith. Moreover, Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection are significant events in the Christian faith.
Mirroring the life of Jesus gives his followers a picture of God’s nature and mighty powers. The above interpretations make the followers of Christ trust more in God and lean not on their understanding. Christians take salvation seriously because they believe Christ bought them with a very high price: the blood of Jesus (The Holy Bible, 2020, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore, Christianity’s main goal is to live holy lives pleasing to God to acquire eternal life.
The Implications of the Christian Worldview
Christians believe that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. As the Bible states, when one is saved and baptized, they acquire the Holy Spirit who lives in them. Hence, holiness is paramount to Christianity. Even when one sins, the scriptures direct one to denounce their deeds, repent, and reconcile with God. Salvation came when Jesus died and was resurrected on the third day. Christians believe Jesus died purposely for their sins (The Holy Bible, 2020, John 11:25-26).
Jesus paid a high price for Christians to acquire salvation. Christ’s followers believe in God’s supremacy and that their purpose on earth is to worship Him. Comparing Christianity with Buddhism, which focuses on personal spiritual development and does not worship gods or deities, it is evident that Christians value their practices more than other religions.
The belief in the all-mighty God helps Christians to cast all their worries to God through prayer. Additionally, the followers of Christ behave according to the Ten Commandments and other bible teachings; their lives are all about pleasing God. One mystery about Christianity is that God answers all prayers. However, He responds at his appointed time (Zurlo et al., 2021). It becomes an issue for many Christians when God does not answer on time. The above statement has left many Christians hopeless. Further, Christ’s followers also believe that God is good and everything he does is good; however, bad things happen to Christians, making them question God’s intentions.
Conclusion
The gospel essentials have revealed that in the beginning, God created heaven and earth and everything in it, and on the sixth day, he made man in his image and likeness and granted him dominion over everything. The story of creation has revealed that among the things God created, humankind was the most valued, for they were made in the image of God himself. The above is why, even after man fell short of the glory of God, He had mercy on the world and sent Jesus to reconcile the love lost between man and God.
Jesus is the restoration, truth, and life; Christians emulate and follow his example and teachings. Christians value the second chance Christ gave them when he died on the cross, making their main goal on earth to worship and live lives that please God. However, this does not mean Christians do not sin; it means repentance is key in keeping the union between God and man, for the Bible says no one is pure except God.
References
Ashford, B. R., & Thomas, H. A. (2019). The gospel of our King: Bible, worldview, and the mission of every Christian. Baker Academic.
Patte, D. (Ed.). (2019). The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity, Two Volume Set. WIPF and Stock Publishers.
Swain, S. R. (2017). The Bible and the Trinity in recent Thought: Review, analysis, and constructive proposal. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 60(1), 35.
The Holy Bible. (2020). Zondervan.
Zurlo, G. A., Johnson, T. M., & Crossing, P. F. (2021). World Christianity and mission 2021: Questions about the future. International Bulletin of Mission Research, 45(1), 15-25.