The Essence of Christianity

Every Christian is a child of God

Our Father in heaven

How do we become children of God?

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

This means that we are family. All Christians are brothers and sisters.

As family we are God’s representatives in the world.

hallowed be your name

Christians have a responsibility

Your kingdom come

Our prayers and our actions are directed toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ plan for this world.

Where do we carry out this responsibility?

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

We introduce God’s reign wherever we find ourselves on this earth.

How can we describe the essence of the Kingdom of Jesus?

It is all about the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers and the complete description of Christian Community in the world which we find in Matthew chapters 5 to 7.

Christians have huge resources for carrying out this responsibility

Give us this day our daily bread

We are taught to be directly dependent on God for everything we need. He has never been known to disappoint those who depend on him.

and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors

When God applies his forgiveness to us (1 John 1:7), our enemy, Satan, cannot hold us back from powerfully carrying out God’s will

What is our source of power as children of God?

We have the Holy Spirit, who raised up Jesus from the dead, we have the Word of God which never fails and we have the right to make direct requests to God, an especially powerful resource when Christians join together to pray (Matthew 18:19). We have the power of love.

Jesus demonstrated this power, establishing his rule without the need for the world’s financial resources, military support or political intrigue. When we depend on these factors, we correspondingly relinquish our dependence on God.

We recognize the existence of a powerful enemy, but our Father is always superior in every way.

and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

We have a guarantee of success

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen

Death did not stop Jesus. Empty pockets did not stop Peter and the apostles. In a divided world, the unity of genuine followers of Jesus is one of the greatest attractions that there is. We love one another. We speak well of each other. We help each other through our difficult moments.

The Essence of Christianity is more than a carefully crafted creed. It is the fact that we are one family, the body of Jesus, co-ordinated by our Head, to demonstrate to all the world what he is like and thereby become irresistibly attractive to those observing and as a result, those who are appointed by God will believe (Acts 13:48)