ThM 500 Study of the Word

Name: Chukwuemeka Tony Ndubuisi

Date: 2nd March, 2023
MTh in Theological Studies

Old Testament

The Pentateuch, their messages to us and the significant of the entire Bible to the

21st Century Church

The Pentateuch, which comprises of the first five books of the Bible, is the door to the

entire books of the Bible, a perfect prologue to the whole scripture and an excellent conclusion of

the mind of God to us. These books tell about the creation of all things, including man, his family

life and fall; it also deals with the issues of nation and civilization. The chosen nation—Israelis not

left out in these books.

The book of Genesis ended with an entry of a great nation into their land of captivity and

the death of a great dreamer and visioner; Joseph. Exodus an integral part of Pentateuch talks about

the activities surrounding the suffering Israel and their exit from the land of captivity. Leviticus

continued the narratives and emphasizes on the holiness of God and how He should be approached

and the different sacrifices and feasts which is a type of the One to come in the New Covenant.

The book of Numbers further shade light to some activities of God’s children in their journey to

the promise land. Some unwanted behaviors like the Moses’ criticism by his siblings and Korah’s

to mention just a few are all written in this book. This wonderful book of law, ended with the book

of Deuteronomy—a repetition of the law to the hearing of the new generation of Israelites born in

the wilderness. According to William (2000),“it contains the last address of Moses given to God’s

people in the Plain of Moab” (p.32).

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The Bible is incomplete without these books. It teaches morals and ethics. Quoting Hindson

(2013), “For both Jews and Christians, these books are the source of theological truth, biblical

morality, and ethical behavior that laid the foundation of Western civilization”.(p. 40).The truth of

the Pentateuch is the truth of the entire Bible.

The Bible as earlier stated opened with the narrative of the creation. The creation story as

written by Moses occurred in literal 24 hours timing. And it was God who created not the process

or scientific belief of evolution. He created and perfected the universe in six days and rested on

the seventh day. Resting on the seventh day does not depict His tiredness, but shows the completion

of what He started. It further gives us an example to follow in keeping with the principle of healthy

living—requires adequate and consistent rest and time off from activities. What exactly did He

create and at what day?

According to Genesis chapter 1 and two verses in chapter 2, He created light, firmament,

dry land, light holders (sun, moon, and stars), fish and birds, animals and human on days one, two,

three, four, five and six respectively and on day seven, He ceased from creation and blessed that

day. The whole activities of creation tell of one great thing—that God exit, He is a true God and

there is none like Him. It counters every human argument of His existence.

Furthermore, the origin of the greatest and the oldest institution is found in Pentateuch. The

family life was started by God when He created man and made for him a helper. Both spouse were

meant to help each other and to leave in perfect harmony and fellowship with their creator (Genesis

2:18, 20). But unfortunately, this was not the case as the enemy in the form of serpent, deceived

the woman who fell to his trick and thereby bringing a total fall of the human race.

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No doubt Satan’s subtlety on Eve created some negative psychological impacts on her.

These included; doubt. The devil successfully planted the seed of doubt in her. God’s Word

became shaky in her mind “… And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said…” the underlined

phrase is a question-like statement which is capable of casting or creating doubt in one’s mind and

that was exactly what Satan succeeded in doing.

Another is that he successfully turns Eve’s mind to believe him totally rather than believe

God (Genesis 3: 4, 5, 6). One could see from the above verses that she acted after engaging in

communication with the devil. The only way believe can be exercised is in doing or action.

Another psychological impact was in her looking and concluding that the fruit would be

good for food. Her emotion has been distorted, she never taught of what God had told them.

Perhaps she was emotionally concerned about the status she would get to after eating the fruit—“

for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God,

knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Satan made her to see the wisdom that comes from the

flesh and not the wisdom from God. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it

is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19). But he failed to expose

the side effects or end result of the worldly wisdom—death (Proverbs 14:12).

A further look at Eve’s action reveals an irresistible attitude. She couldn’t resist the

physical appearance of the fruit “… it was pleasant to the eyes” (Genesis 3: 6). Similar problem is

seen among christians today. They find it difficult to resist the attraction of sin. Especially when

they try to do it by the arm of flesh. An irresistible behaviour to worldly affairs has made it very

easy for the enemy to get hold of the believers. This should however serve as an example to us the

present day christian. We should apply what Joseph did when he was tempted; he flee, what the

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Bible ask us to do—resist the devil (James 4:7), and he will flee. Christians should not venture

intimate communication with imposters; we should not give room for the enemy to get at us.

At this point, her thought system had graduated to the point where she now thinks that the

fruit was capable of making one wise, she then took of it ate and even gave to her husband. So

Satan worked seriously on her psychological emotion to be able to get her do what he wanted. All

of these actions brought the fall of man. God, however in His mercy did not left man to his fate,

He gave man opportunity to repent but in his stubbornness, blamed each other rather than accept

their sin and repent. In all of these, God killed an innocent lamb, a type of Christ and with its skin;

He covered their nakedness and shame.

Despite God’s intervention to stop man from fallen into sin, man still continued to sin. At

some point it regretted God that He made man. When the wickedness of God’s creature became

much and unbearable, God had to destroy man and every other things He had made. But like

Abraham’s question “… Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” (Genesis 18:23),

God choose not to destroy a man and his family; not because his righteousness was enough but

because God showed him mercy. He had a heart for God, he loved God, this man is Noah (Genesis

6:6-8).

He saved Noah and his family because of their faith in Him, this faith brought the favour

and hand of God upon their lives. It was this faith in God that made him to act on God’s instructions

of building the ark even without seeing any water. He would have behaved like others in his

generation, who mocked and made jest but he did not. God showed him favour or in another word

grace, but what exactly is grace or favour? Richards (1987), defines grace “as God’s total

commitment to be faithful to those He has chosen”, in this definition, he was referring to the

Israelites. He further analyzed that grace reveals both God and man, he said that “grace shows
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human being as helpless, trapped in sin, and that it shows God willing and able to meet our deepest

needs”. This was exactly the situation Noah and his family found themselves—in a world of

wickedness which has been condemned to die in the flood, but Noah by faith was singled out.

From the family of Shem one of the sons of Noah came Terah who became the father to

Abraham. Because of the wickedness of man’s heart, God scattered them by confusing their

language and certainly from here, nations have started. This is how Abraham’s family found

themselves in Ur of Chaldeans. From Abraham came the great and God’s chosen Nation- Israel.

This nation actually started by a promise made to Abraham by God. The promise came to pass

through Isaac and not Ishmael, Hagar’s son. Isaac gave birth to Esau and Jacob, unfortunately the

first became the last and the last the first. God established His covenant nation through Isaac who

later got the name Israel after wrestling with an angel of the Lord (Genesis 32:22-28). This is a

good message for all Christians. We are to persist and be faithful in the place of prayer. It is the

only way through which we can make our request known to Him and get our needs met.

From Jacob, came the twelve (12) tribes of Israel. The names of these tribes are Reuben,

Simeon, Ephraim, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh and Benjamin.

These were the people that found themselves in the land of Egypt (Manasseh and Ephraim were

born there). They were under the suffering of their slave master the Egyptians for over 400 years.

But the Lord through Moses delivered them and through Joshua, they conquered nations and got

to their promised land.

Like the children of Israel, Christians are on a journey to heaven. Our walk with God is

faced with a lot of trial and temptations but God has promised to be with us as He was with Moses

and the children of Israel. All He needs from us is our trust or faith in Him. The Israelites were in

Egypt, a type of sin and the Lord through Moses a type of Christ, delivered. When we believe and
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put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will save us from the bondage and slavery of sin and

through his power, we shall get to the land of promise.

All these messages that is, the creation message, the fall of man, man’s temporal

restoration, his fall again, his captivity in a strange land and his deliverance into the promise land

tell but one great message—the work of Christ to save humanity from eternal death which is

awaiting those who will refuse His already completed work on Calvary (Hebrew 2:3). This is the

message of the entire Bible—Jesus and this is the message for the present 21st Century Christian

Church.

In conclusion, the Bible is a veritable tool in the hand and of course in the minds of the

present day church. It is a light to light up our part, it is the library of wisdom to make us wise, in

it contains Words that will help us prosper in all aspects of life, the Word of God is the 21st century

Christians’ weapon of war in dealing with the kingdom of darkness. It will help us to live and

make a smooth journey to heaven (Psalm 119:11). Without the Bible, the Christian church will not

have bases or meaning to life, they will live in the dark and die in it. The Bible is the Word of God

to us and the Word of God is Jesus and Jesus is the only one we need to survive.

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The Life of Jesus and Sin

1. Why do you think the gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be destroyed? What

makes this gospel so unique? What are the penalties for corrupting the

gospel?

Before giving an answer or answers to these questions, it will do us well to first understand

the meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to Stuart (2022), defining the gospel of Jesus

Christ is very difficult because of inadequate materials that are capable of containing this. She

further asserts that the entire Bible is all about Jesus Christ. In explaining the gospel of Jesus Christ,

Stuart describes that it tells us the meaning of true love for one another and toward God. She also

added that this gospel reveals Jesus as the only true God. To add to these definitions, I will say

that the gospel of Jesus Christ is all that the world needs to make a head way here and to make it

to eternal joy in God’s home. It is the hope that we need to enjoy the glorious hope awaiting us in

eternity.

According to Thomas (2021), the gospel cannot die because God is still using it to save

sinners. This point is made clear by Romans 1:16 -- “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:

for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also

to the Greek.” The gospel of Jesus Christ is all out to save the sinners and to make them see the

need of remaining in Christ.

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This gospel cannot be destroyed because it is the only true gospel which can stand the test

of man and time. Every other gospel is false teaching and does not come from God and He prohibits

the preaching and teaching of such. Paul in his message to the Galatia churches made this clear

and even warned against the danger of engaging in preaching other gospels other than the true

gospel of Christ. He said “Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would

pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto

you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I

now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be

accursed.” Galatians 1:7-9.

In addition, this gospel is settled in heaven, so trying to destroy it is like kicking ones leg

against the stone. David understood this when he proclaimed this in Psalm 119:89 that God’s Word

is settled in heaven. So anyone who tries to destroy it by distorting its message will only end up

wasting time. What is written cannot be changed by any man, according to Malachi 3:6 God cannot

change and so is His Word.

Furthermore, this gospel is not flesh and blood but spirit and life and therefore cannot be

destroyed by any man or thing. John 6:63 said “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth

nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” We can see from this

Bible passage that the gospel though written by human writing is purely divine. It is not a product

of human knowledge and wisdom but of the Spirit. And for this reason, no human power or

instrument can destroy it.

One unique thing about this gospel is seen in the way the master presented its message to the

people. According to Stuart (2022), the Gospel of Jesus Christ was presented in love, compassion

and it came with simplicity, hope and life.

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Another unique thing about the gospel of Christ is that it is the gospel of peace and not of

war.

2. Beginning from the prophets, the miracle of the Virgin birth, His

ministry, death, burial and resurrection, how would you explain the

gospel of Jesus Christ to an atheist or apostate who believes some of the

teachings, or someone who does not believe anything about Jesus to be

real?

In our world today, there are a lot of people who doubt the existence of Jesus Christ, some

out rightly snub the teachings; these people are called the atheists. It is very difficult at times to

preach the gospel to this set of people and to bring them to the knowledge of Christ. They require

prayer and regular and accurate Bible teachings to help them understand the reality of the gospel

of Christ. Quoting the Bible to them is not enough, but helping them to understand. To help this

kind of people believe I will do the followings. I will take them on what I call “the train” teaching

of the Bible. From a train station where passengers get into the train and are all seated, the train

gets started, the passengers enjoy their journey as they finally get to their final destination.

I have prepared the train Bible teaching having the question’s requirements in mind—the

prophecy of Christ, His virgin birth, ministry, death, burial and resurrection. It is a method of

taking the atheist through a journey originating from a point of his own doubt and ending in my

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own point of believe. His point of doubt is a point of helping him to see the reality from the non-

existence. They believe in “show me and I will believe”.

First, at the train station, every necessary document is checked and we are moved into the

train. At this stage, I should help the atheist to understand or know that there is material evidence

that tells one about the existence of something or someone. And here it the Bible and other

historical facts or none biblical records kept by even unbelievers. Furthermore, I will explain to

him that this material especially the Bible which is God’s Word to us was written by men chosen

by God. He preserved it and most of these writings were discovered in caves by archeologist and

scholars some of whom at some points doubted the existence of God but the discovery of this

Word, changed their belief system. According to Wharton (1997), “There is not a single

contradiction between an archeological discovery and

a biblical statement.” I will further explain to them that among the writers of the Bible were men

referred to as prophets. And that these men spoke the mind of God as he has instructed them to do.

It is like a commander in the army who instructs his men on what to do and they do exactly that.

These men existed on earth, history carried it. These men spoke about the coming messiah

who is Jesus Christ. In this stage, I am trying to build a foundation of the gospel of Jesus in him; I

am trying to help him see Jesus from his point of unbelief, I am trying to bring to his understanding

that before the physical building there would have existed plan, a picture of the anticipated house.

I will take the atheist through a scriptural journey of the Old Testament prophets and their

prophecies about the coming of Christ.

One perfect example is the prophecy given by prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 7. Looking

at this chapter, you will notice that the writer spoke about factual people, not fictional human

beings. For instance, in verse one of this chapter, he started by saying “And it came to pass in the
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days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah…”, you will quite agree with

me that Judah is a tribe in Israel even to this day. Looking further to verse 13, there is a declarative

statement by Isaiah “Hear ye now, o house of David; …”, from all of these, we can conclude that

Isaiah was talking to people who had existed at some point in history and that he was telling or

giving them instructions of what will certainly happen, so “Therefore the Lord himself shall give

you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

This prophecy talks about the birth of Jesus Christ.

Going back and forth, one could see that Judah exist, likewise David and tracing the lineage

from David down, one will arrive at Joseph and Mary, the virgin spoken of in this verse (Isaiah

8:8). Other references regarding this prophecy include Isaiah 9:6, Genesis 3:15.

As we are seated in the train, enjoying our discussion, I shall introduce to the atheist the

next stage—talking about the manifestation of the gospel of Jesus Christ through his miraculous

virgin birth, ministry, death and burial. I will start by helping him understand that every human

being came into this world through the birth process except the first man and woman that were

created by God and not by a sudden appearance. Jesus birth took similar shape. He came through

a real woman who exited at some point in history. If the earthly mother of Jesus existed, what stops

Jesus from existing? He had an earthly parent whose family tree is traceable even to date. Matthew,

in Matthew 1:23 affirm to the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. This truth is also seen in Luke 1. I quite

agree with you that the birth process requires the fusion of both male and female gametes to form

a new being in the woman’s womb. But in the case of Jesus Christ it wasn’t so. Mary was only in

this process humanly speaking but spiritually or divinely, the Holy Spirt took over the place of

Joseph because the person that was to come needed to be holy to redeem the sinful man and He

needed to be fully man hence coming through Mary. This is a mystery we cannot understand.

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If God could create man out of the dust and make the sun, moon, animals and other things

through the words of His mouth, then this mystery should not be difficult for you to believe. Please

take note that I am note saying that God or the Holy Spirit came down and had sexual intercourse

with Mary. I am simply asserting that this virgin birth was a supernatural process. Taking a critical

look at Luke 1:26-38, you will notice that Mary asked the angel similar question- verse 34, and

the answer was clear in verse 35—“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the

Most High will would overshadow you...”(NIV). We can see the virgin birth of Christ in all these

and hence the reality of the gospel of Christ

Moving further to the ministry of Christ on earth, the Bible recorded series of work that he

did; He healed the sick, preached the good news to both the rich and the poor, He also provided

for the needy. All these activities cannot be done by a ghost or one who never existed. The Bible

which is an authentic and the inspired Word of truth have record of all these so are the some

scholarly books. Starting from Matthew down to John, the deeds of Christ are printed in black and

white. How can some not exist and yet most of the places that were associated with him and his

work exist?

The Bible talks about Jesus walking on the water of Galilee, it talks about greet multitude

(Mark 3:7-8) from Jerusalem, Idumaea, and Jordan to mention a few following Jesus. Can

documentary evidence be incorrect to the extent of having the same thing or errors repeated or

written by many author? Is it possible to talk about Martin Luter’s great speech of “I have a dream”

if such statement has not been said by somebody like Martin Luter who existed? Can we ever think

of reciting the Lord’s Prayer “our which at in heaven …” if somebody who made the statement

never existed?

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His death and burial also give us strong evidence that Christ Jesus is real and should be

trusted. According to Torrey (1997), Christ death was mentioned directly more than 175 times in

the New Testament. This is certainly untrue for one who never existed. Luke 9:30-31 said "And

behold there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and

spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." In this Bible scripture we can see

another strong evidence of Christ existence. He was seen here talking with Moses and Elijah in

glory; these were two men who exited in the Old Testament time. They discussed about the death

of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3-4 also stated "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel

which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; For I delivered

unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the

Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day. According to the Bible,"

This is Paul confirming the death of Christ to the people. How foolish it will be for such a man as

highly learned as him and well respected among the Romans before his conversion to feed them

with facts that never happened or he never saw.

By this time, our train would have been making a stop at the final destination, just some

minutes to this time; I would have introduced him to the final step in our discussion, having given

him all the necessary biblical proof of the reality of Jesus Christ. I would now introduce him to the

resurrection of Jesus Christ. I will make him to understand the reason for Christ death, burial and

resurrection. I would tell him that the four gospel recorded similar event of his resurrection but

from the writer’s perspective or the way he witness it. If different authors could give a similar

narrative in different ways doesn’t that tell that such event existed? Is like four different news

reporter given the account of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in US. Each

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reporter will give their report from their angle of witness or how each saw it happened or how their

telecommunication equipment captured the event. The fact that they all reported about an event,

and from different viewpoints, pass a message that such thing happened and not just a fabricated

event. 2 Timothy 2:8 asserts to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, so is 1 Corinthians 15:4

and even Luke 24 from verses 13, talks about how the story of his resurrection were being

discussed in the community. All these are indication of the reality of Christ resurrection and His

existence.

3. What is the meaning of sin and the struggle with this satanic condition?

Where did sin begin? Did God lie when He said that Adam would die if

he sinned? Did Adam really die? What part did Satan play in the fall of

mankind?

Sin cannot be explained in just one word or sentence. As small as this word is—three, it

has caused serious havoc to the entire mankind. As a result of sin, the perfect creation designed by

God was distorted, though it still shows some of the glory of its designer, it has never been the

same. Sin has brought along with it pains and sorrow, suffering and death. Through the sin of one

man, all born into the world (excluding Jesus Christ) were born sinners (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23).

So then what is sin? According to Mahoney (2002), sin is rebellion against God. He further pointed

out that because of man's sin; he has become an enemy of God and separated from him. An

unknown author defined it as going against the very foundation upon which the universe was built,

going against the very nature of God. He summaries it as doing what one feels like doing. In

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addition, Erickson (2001) saw sin as an inward inclination. By this, he meant that sin is man's

nature. On a clearer note, he stated that man sin because he is a sinner and not because he sin.

Since the fall of man in Genesis, man has been struggling with sin and it's effects. It was

sin that brought about the destruction of the earth with flood water. It brought about the

confounding of man's speech and many more effects which man has to struggle with up to date.

This ugly act started from the Garden of Eden where Satan successfully deceived man into

eating the fruit God instructed them not to eat. In simple sentence, man’s disobedience brought

about sin. This story is found in Genesis chapter 3:1 to 6.

Did Adam really die the moment he sinned or did God lied? According to Stuart (2022), “Being

born sinners means we were all spiritually “dead.” According to Romans chapter 5:12, sin entered

the world through one man and death entered the world through sin. Therefore, the moment Adam

sinned, he experienced death this is what may be referred to as spiritual death. Man’s relationship

with God was affected. On the long run, he started experiencing physical death. So God did not

lie when He said that Adam would die if he sinned and Adam actually die the very moment he

disobeyed God. The role of Satan in this sin act was that of deception and making man to doubt

the reliability of God’s Word. This is clearly seen in Genesis chapter 3 when he asked the question

“…hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” And the statement “And the

serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat

thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” So from

all these statement, one can see that Satan succeeded in putting doubt, and thereby deceiving man

to eating the fruit.

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He also used lust to get man to fall. We can see that Eve after the conversation desired the

fruit and finally took it and ate.

4. Why did Jesus come into the world? Does everyone have hope of eternal

life? What is the effect of habitual sin in the life of believers? Explain your

answer.

The major reason Jesus came into the world is to take the place and punishment that

mankind merited (1 John 2:2, Romans 3:25). Man sin against God and was lost in darkness, but

the love of God found man and this made God to give His only beloved son who came into the

world to save us (John 3:16). He came to justify us; this is made clear in Romans 4:25.

The hope of eternal life has been presented to all, but accepting it according Stuart (2022), is

voluntary and not forceful. It is a matter of choice. By accepting Jesus into our lives, and living

daily for Him, we have the hope of eternal life with Christ, but when a person rejects the

salvation made available he stands condemned and facing the punishment of eternal death in hell

(Mark 16:16). 1 John 5:13 says “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of

the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to

believe in the name of the Son of God” So to enjoy eternal life, a Christian must continue in

Christ.

The effect of habitual sin is first understood from its meaning. Habitual sin in its

simplest meaning is sin done by one on a continuous basis after each prayer of forgiveness, even

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when the Holy Spirit is prompting a Christian against committing such sin. The effect of this

kind of sin include but not limited to loss of cordial intimacy with God, stunted spiritual growth,

lack of interest in the things and Word of God, ineffective/weak prayer life, etc.

5. Describe God’s love, mercy, patience, forgiveness and reconciliation of

fallen mankind

God’s Love

To start with, what is the meaning of love? According to the Oxford Advanced Learners

Dictionary, love is a strong feeling of deep affection for somebody or something. Torrey, in his

book—What the Bible teaches, defined love as “a desire for and delight in the welfare of the one

loved”. God’s love is His nature in the affairs of mankind. It is Him demonstrating himself and

His feeling in what concerns us (Romans 5:8). It is also important to note here that love is His

nature—“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:8). It was this God’s

nature that made Him to offer His only Son to take the place of man in death (John 3:16).

Mercy

Mercy is having compassion on some one. It means to show kindness toward someone or group

of people. God’s mercy is shown towards us through His Son. The mercy of God toward us was

not gained by our works of righteousness (Titus 3:5).

Patience

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This is one of the attribute of a godly person, not just a godly person but a believer (Galatians

5:22). Patience according to Bible Study Tools is “suffering, enduring or waiting, as a

determination of the will and not simply under necessity.” Patience is a character that proves our

faith in God. We are not to be Christians only in good times but also in times when things seems

to go otherwise (Hebrew 12:1). A good example is seen in the life of Abraham, who despite all

odd, believed and patiently waited on the promises of God. The key word should be enduring

through hard times. This attribute does not come over night, we are encouraged to trust and wait

on Him for this (Colossians 1:11).

Forgiveness

“Forgiveness is to let go the wrong done to us by others” (Mokpo, 2009, p. 1). Forgiveness is

another nature of God. He is always ready to forgive us from any wrong doing (Psalm 32:5). God

has been practicing this act from the beginning of the world. He did it for Adam and Eve, Abraham,

Moses, Noah, the Israelites, etc. He wants us to also exemplify this attitude too (Colossians 3:13,

Matthew 18:33). But what about the wicked, those who refuse to accept Jesus? To these ones His

forgiveness is restrained, He is a God of mercy, but doesn’t joke with iniquity. He extends His

forgiveness to those who want His forgiveness, as earlier stated, He does not compel or force one

to believe on Him (Isaiah 22:12-14), to those who reject Christ and adamantly continue in that

state will die without forgiveness ( Matthew 12:31,32).

Reconciliation of fallen mankind

Reconciliation is to make peace or agreement between two or more warring individuals or nations.

In the case of mankind, God is not warring with us but we entered into disagreement with God

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through our act of disobedient. Through our sin, man’s relationship with God was soiled. To

reconcile us back to God, we needed a man who has no sin, and that Jesus came to do on our behalf

(Daniel 9:24, 2 Corinthians 5:18, Colossians 1:20)

Reference

Torrey, R.A. (1997). What The Bible Teaches. Books for the Ages, OR

Mahoney, R. (2002). The Shepherd’s Staff: World Map. CA, USA

Erickson, M.J (2001). Introducing Christian Doctrine. 2 edition: Baker Book Academic MI, USA

Mokpo, D. (2009). Knowing the Power of God through Forgiveness: World Peace Crusade

Outreach. Delta, Nigeria

Richards, L.O (1987). The Teacher’s Commentary: Scripture Press Publication, Illinois

Brain Thomas (July, 30 2021). Why won’t the Gospel Die? Retrieved from

https://www.icr.org/article/why-wont-the-gospel-die

Wharton, E. (1997). Historical Christian Evidences: Sunset International Bible Institute, Texas

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