The Triune God and God the Father
Epistemology and Revelation
Jones ' book "Practicing Christian Doctrine" explains that Christians believe epistemology comes from four main sources that make up the four sides of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Jones 16). The first of these sources is the source of scripture which Christians believe the Holy Spirit influenced and gives direct insight into the character of God and the gospel. Along with scripture, Christians derive many beliefs from church tradition as the church passes along many rituals and practices of discipline. Rational thought and philosophy can also dictate who God is. Christians use reason to contemplate the meaning behind their existence and interpret scripture and tradition. Lastly experience, can help guide an individual. Since Christians believe God sovereign rules over many of the events of life, experiences can portray some of God 's character.
God reveals himself in two main ways: through general revelation and through special revelation. Theologians consider general revelation to embody all of God 's character revealed through means accessible to all. The first source of general revelation comes from nature that shows the character of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God...night after night they display knowledge" (ESV, Psalms 19:1-2). Additionally, all people can know God 's character through moral law that all people can access through reason (ESV, Romans 1:20).
Christians call the second type of revelation special revelation which, unlike general revation, is not provided to everyone in the same universal way. Special revelation takes place in the Bible in many instances through theophany or the direct revealing of God (Jones 34). Examples of this includ...
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...taining it and reigning over it. While creation itself portrays God 's almighty nature, God 's providence portray His mercy. Romans to make this providential care clear when it says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (ESV, Romans 8:28) Paul writes that the people of God are influenced by God 's concurrence: His work using what He has made (Jones 91). All things, while sometimes seemingly irrelevant or malevolent, work for the overall good. Paul later goes on to say "and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified" (ESV, Romans 8:30) God works in His people (who are His creation) to glorify Himself as Paul writes in Philippians "...for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (ESV, Philippians 2:13).
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis1:1.) God’s perfect wisdom created everything. In Genesis 1 and 2 we can see that God has loving and gentile nature when He created the earth and heavens. God created man in his image and we are the only creation that God breathed in the breath of life for human beings (Genesis 2:7). God did not do this for any of other creations but only for humans. The Bible has many scriptures that tell us how creative God is. Genesis 1;26 states “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.” God created all of this for us to have fellowship with him.
General revelation is different than special revelation. General revelation is available to everyone, anywhere in the world and can be seen as God revealing himself in the world around us. In contrast, special revelation includes miracles, prophets, and special messages received from God. Special revelation show God’s revelation of himself through the Bible and Jesus Christ. The true and accurate record of special revelation is found in the Bible. The greatest special revelation is found in Jesus Christ as God who took on flesh and came to earth and ultimately suffered and died for us.
The foundation of a Christian worldview is the belief in a personal God, creator and ruler of the universe. The Christian worldview views the world through God’s word, providing the framework for humanity to live by giving meaning and purpose to life. It defines who Jesus is, human nature, and how salvation is achieved. In essence it is the basis of which Christians behave, interact, interpret life and comprehend reality. A Christian worldview imparts confidence, answers to life’s problems, and hope for the future. In this paper I will discuss the essentials of a Christian worldview and an analysis of the influences, benefits, and difficulties sustaining the Christian faith.
While discussing revelation and inspiration in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul stated that the world could not know God by this type of wisdom. (I Cor. 1:21) He continued by mentioning some things that man had not known; however, he said, “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit…” (I Cor. 2:9-10)
Brooks and A.J Gordon (Balmer 34). Dispensationalism has been gaining followers for many years and its popularity can be seen in many places, such as in the Left Behind series which has captured the minds of many people around the world (Pagels 1). Now with historical context in mind, it is time to see what Dispensationalism teaches. Dispensationalism has three distinct characteristics: Rapture of Christians, Millennium Rule of Christ, and the Unfulfilled Prophecies of the Bible. For the purpose of this paper they will all be examined separately. The Rapture is the belief that Christians will be brought up and not have to endure the Tribulation (Robinson). The term “rapture” does not occur in the Bible but instead comes from a Latinized version of the word arpadzo which comes from “caught up” (Witherington 94). The belief in the Rapture for Dispensationalists is based on 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 which they claim describes an event where living Christians return to heaven with Christ (Robinson). Secondly, the Millennium Rule is the belief that Jesus Christ will literally rule over earth for 1,000 years after the Tribulation (Robinson). The key here is that (as opposed to the Post-Millennial views) the believers have no part in setting up his reign
Benchmark Assignment: Gospel Essentials There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets and denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview. God In the Christian worldview, God is the one and only God. He is the sovereign creator of everything.
he brings his creation to life. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has created, however,
There are many aspects of the Christian worldview that determines one’s faith. It all begins with God and what he did and why he so great. Then how humanity was shape with its issues and main purpose. The way we see Jesus and what has he done to be apart of are faith and what as humans have found for a restoration. Through analysis the Christian faith and how each of these tie in together. While reflecting on my faith and if lives to the standards of a Christian worldview. Through explaining my understanding of the four aspects of a Christian worldview I will analysis and compare it to my faith.
Three equals one. Out of all of the statements made by the Christian faith, perhaps none is more confusing. The Doctrine of the Trinity has been questioned for decades and many Christians do not even understand it. Colin E. Gunton argues that this does not have to be so. Instead, he calls the Western Church to learn from Eastern Orthodoxy and allow Trinitarian thinking to permeate every aspect of the church. It is when the Western Church embarrasses “The Forgotten Trinity” (the name of the chapter) in thinking and in worship, that we not only learn the nature of God, but how we should live in light of it.
Within it sit many concepts, such as heaven and hell, divine judgment, the second coming, the defeat of evil and the new creation, among other things. As such, it encapsulates any discussion about the ‘end times’. This is certainly an apt title for much of the Book of Revelation then, with so much discussion of divine judgment on the first earth, the second coming of Christ and the coming of the New Creation. Within the pages of this text, however, a more complex eschatology is portrayed. While in the grander literary scheme of the text, we see the ultimate destruction of death and hades and their throwing into the lake of fire, the text also portrays a more nuanced view of eschatology.
This is evident in The Gospel of Matthew as well as The Book of Genesis. In The Gospel of Matthew, God shows his presence through Jesus and the storm by stopping a windy storm when the disciples were in trouble. Also, he shows his presence through Jesus by enabling him to walk on water. In addition, God shows himself through Jesus when Jesus fed five thousand people with a small amount of food. Finally, God shows his presence in The Gospel of Matthew through Jesus by resurrecting him so he can live reality again and help out people in need. God also shows his company through The Book of Genesis because God is seen through all of his creations throughout nature. Also, God is seen through Humans and the reality they live. Humans were created to do good for the world as God does good for
No part of the Bible and its interpretation is more controversial than the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the last profound book in the New Testament. It conveys the significant purpose of Christianity by describing God’s plan for the world and his final judgment of the people by reinforcing the importance of faith and the concept of Christianity as a whole. This book was written by John in 95 or 96 AD. What is, what has been, and what is to come is the central focus of the content in Revelation.
Christians have a certain set of beliefs, and these beliefs are essential to their faith.
The book of Revelation literary genre are apocalyptic, prophetic and epistle. The author of this book is John of Patmos. Its was written circa A.D. 95-96 (Hindson & Towns, 2013). There are many key themes in Revelation. The most important themes are the message to seven ecclesians, three and a half years of tribulation ruled by the beast, Jesus’ second coming, the final battle between Jesus and Satan, the millennium, and beyond the millennium. The purpose of the book of Revelation was to inform people about the events before and after Second coming of Jesus Christ. Revelations denotes the past, present and future of what is yet to come during Earth’s end of days. Major events that Revelations denotes will occur when Jesus returns include: National
No other book of the Bible and its interpretation is more controversial than the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation, written by John, is the last book in the New Testament and perhaps the most important book of the Bible. Revelation enforces the importance of faith and obedience to the concept of Christianity by describing God’s plan for the world and his final judgment of the people. Revelation answers the question of what the future holds for this planet and its inhabitants. While it is a sobering reality for those who have fallen astray, it can be a great comfort for believers. The book of Revelation is somewhat troubling to read because it is a forecast of God’s wrath upon humanity, and it is filled with warnings to the church to remain loyal and obedient so that they may avoid eternal damnation. Most other books in the Bible are concerned with teaching the church how to live in such a way that we will be at home in the New Jerusalem. The book of Revelation, however, tells the church why it is important to live according to God’s will in hopes that the church will be on the favorable side of God’s judgment.