Discussion: God’s Nature/Activities
- Describe three characteristics of the nature and activities of God as seen in the assigned passages. Support each characteristic with at least one quotation from scripture.
I encountered wide-ranging characteristics defining God’s actual nature and activities, including holiness, worship, work, and warrior. In particular, God went a long way in designing us to worship Him. As a true prophet of Yahweh, Isaiah 26:9 modeled how the believer’s relationship with God should be: “My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit longs for you in the morning. When your judgment comes upon the earth, the world’s people learn righteousness.” This verse stresses God’s holiness because His presence enables the world’s people to shun sin and return to the light. Alternatively, a critical approach to the passage suggests that various idols characterize the world we may worship knowingly or unknowingly. These include but are not limited to money or wealth, a new car, a football club, or a celebrity. For the Best Nursing Writing Help
According to C.S. Lewis (2015), people often worship “the rival conceptions of God” in the conscious or subconscious mind. Because God is righteousness, He encourages His people “to worship in Spirit and Truth” (John 4:24). I agree with Christian scholars who view worship as one of the most sensitive topics in Christianity because most Christians confine the act to going to Church, singing, giving offerings, and dancing. For example, in his recent article, Oxenberg (2018, p.1) contended that “spirit and truth are neither places nor institutions.” His point is that we should prioritize entering an authentic engagement or relationship with the divine.
Apart from worship, God’s other nature and activity is work. He created us to be His stewards on earth. In Genesis 1, He created human beings and directed them to till the lands and look after His creation. In this context, “work” entails many meanings, such as using our hands to cultivate farms and winning souls through evangelism. God directs His people to work physically and in spirit. In the Gospel of Mathew 28:19-20, He assures us of His protection as we spread the Good News: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… And surely I am with you always….” Ours is a working God who requires His children to remain physically and spiritually productive (Layhee, 2015). This phenomenon explains why He brought Jesus Christ, God-Man, to enable us to recognize and appreciate the significance of flourishing as people made in His “image and likeness.”
The final characteristic of God’s nature and activities manifests in humans as His warriors on earth. As the name suggests, a warrior swears an oath to defend their land regardless of the price. In other words, a warrior is ready 24/7 to lose everything, including their lives to protect what they love. God’s warrior-like attributes are captured in Romans 12:1-2, where He directs Apostle Paul to urge us “to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” The passage is important because it encourages believers never to compromise or trade their faith for worldly glory or anything else (Trimm, 2019). As warriors, we must stand alert with our weapon (the Bible) to fight the enemy “for the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).
- What might these descriptions of what God is and what He is like have to do with how God would interact with the people He created?
God’s nature defines how He interacts with us on a personal level. As mentioned, we are more likely to worship things other than God as humans. However, God rejects sin and its dimensions as a righteous supernatural being. He reveals Himself to us through Christ and good works to return to holiness. God achieves this by leading the war against evil and encouraging us to avoid idleness by working because He worked by creating the universe and continues to do so by engaging us in fellowship.
References
Layhee, P. (2015). A biblical view of wealth and riches. https://hbu.edu/center-for-christianity-in-business/2015/05/20/a-biblical-view-of-wealth-and-riches/
Lewis, C.S. (2015). Mere Christianity, revised & enlarged edition. New York, NY: Harper One
Oxenberg, R. (2018). In spirit and truth: toward a theology without walls. Philosophy of Religion and Spirituality, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.22428.39042
Trimm, C. (2019). God’s staff and Moses’ hand(s): The battle against the Amalekites as a turning point in the role of the divine warrior. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 44(1), 196-214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309089218778588