3. Understanding God
Understanding the fundamental nature of God is essential because many people have false opinions of God. Christianity teaches that God desires to have a personal relationship with mankind. While God desires to have a personal relationship with everyone, our sins spiritually and physically separate us from God. Because God deeply loves everyone, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. If we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and completely turn from our sinful behaviors, we can be saved.
God Deeply Loves Everyone
The foundation of Christianity is that God has unconditional love for everyone. Further, God is the greatest source of true love. The concept that God is the source of love is the focus of the Bible. God’s love is not obtained by good deeds, but God’s love is freely given to everyone (1 John 4:16, 1 John 4:19).
Additionally, one of the most important questions is understanding why God wanted to create us. The Bible teaches that God is completely self-sufficient within His own essence (Acts 17:24-25). God did not create mankind to satisfy an emotional void (Isaiah 43:6-7, Revelation 4:11). Rather, God created us because God desired to have a loving relationship with everyone. God is defined by unconditional love, and God wanted everyone to have a loving relationship with Him (John 3:16).
God is defined by perfect love (1 John 4:8, 16). This means that love is not simply something God performs, but the fundamental nature of God. Further, the original New Testament was written in Greek, and the word for “perfect” was teleios. The Greek word “teleios” meant mature, complete, and accomplishing the intended objective, not simply being faultlessness of emotion. So, God’s love is perfect because it is permanent and unconditional, and God’s love completely removes the fear of punishment.¹
God created mankind in His image so that we could have a unique, loving, and deep relation with Him. God created us in His likeness so that humans could love, think, and establish emotional connections (Genesis 1:26-27). Further, God original intent was to have a deep fellowship with us. This is illustrated in Genesis 3:8 where God walks with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden during the evening, which symbolizes having a personal relationship with them.
The Original Sin
God created Adam and Eve, and they personally observed that God had created the universe. Further, Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world, and there was no violence, war, theft, or crime. Obviously, Adam and Eve lived in a world that was radically different then the world in which we live. So, why did Adam and Eve choose to sin against God? Theologians have debated this question for hundreds of years. Free will, desiring to be like God, and pride are the primary concepts.
God created Adam and Eve with free will. Fundamentally, free will necessities the genuine capacity to choose to follow God or to disobey God. Without the ability to choose to follow God, love would be forced, not voluntary. In order to have a true loving relationship with God, Adam and Eve required the ability to refuse that relationship. In the Bible, God clearly tells Adam that he has the choice to disobey God, and God tells Adam what the consequences would be (Genesis 2:16-17).²
Additionally, the foundation of the Original Sin is mankind’s yearning to become “like God” by obtaining complete autonomy. When the serpent tempted Adam and Eve, they desired the knowledge of good and evil so they could define their own morality using their own standards. Adam and Eve did not want to follow God’s benevolence and authority. Adam and Eve wanted to have equality with God using their own terms. They wanted to have power, control, and the capability to dictate morality.³
Finally, pride was also a root of Adam and Eve’s sin against God. Adam and Eve desired to be “like God” (Genesis 3:5), which entailed raising themselves above God. Adam and Eve wanted to follow their own desires, not God’s commands. Fundamentally, their pride caused them to believe that their knowledge was superior to God’s, and they desired to define their own morality. They put themselves before God, and they made an idol of themselves.⁴
God Regretted Creating the World
By careful studying Genesis, we can understand the deep, loving relationship that God desires to have with everything. First, Adam and Eve were the first people who choose to sin against God. At this point, Adam and Eve could have decided to confess their sins and take responsivity for their sins. However, their pride prevented them from taking accountability for their sins. For example, Adam blamed Eve for his choices, and Eve blamed the serpent. Rather than learning from Adam and Eve’s choices and the consequences, Adam and Eve’s descendants continued to refuse to follow God.
Based on the genealogies in Genesis 5, Noah was born 1,056 years after Adam. When Noah lived, human behavior was completely sinful and evil. Only Noah’s family followed God; everyone else on earth was overcome by horrible wickedness (Genesis 6:5-8). One of the most famous verses in the Bible is Genesis 6:6-7 because God regretted creating humanity, and humanity’s wickedness broke God’s heart.
The concept that humanity’s evil depravity broke God’s heart provides tremendous insights into the nature of God. Some religions teach that God is merely an abstract architect, but the Bible clearly describes God’s love for everyone. Further, God desires to be our loving Father, and God desires to have a deep, personal relationship with everyone (1 John 3:1, James 3:8, John 15:15). Only by choosing to follow God can we find true meaning and purpose in our lives.
God Desired to Rescue Humanity from Their Sin
Immediately after Adam and Eve committed the original sin, God began an extensive plan to redeem humanity from their sins. God’s ultimately objective was to restore humanity’s personal relationship with Him. God’s comprehensive plan unfolds over thousands of years. The fact that God had a massive plan to reconcile humanity with Him shows that God deeply loves everyone.
In the Bible, Genesis 3:15 is called the first gospel because it describes the first prophecy in the Bible of our Savior. In the verse, God describes how there will be victory over evil through the Messiah. The verse reads: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Theologians have understood that this verse prophesizes that Jesus Christ will eventually have victory over Satan through His life, death, and resurrection.
What is essential to understand is that God was under no obligation to save humanity from sin. Adam and Eve’s original sin was a violation against our holy God, and God would have been justified to withhold grace. So, God’s desire to save humanity stems entirely from God’s infinitely love. Theologians believe that the complete lack of obligation to save humanity from our sin shows that salvation is an amazing expression of God’s overwhelming love. God deeply loves everyone, and God chose to redeem humanity from our sin.⁵
Humanity Was Made In God’s Image
God created humanity in His image so that we could demonstrate His character and have community with Him. By created humanity in His image, God established the capability to have a personal relationship with everyone (Genesis 1:26-27). This capacity gives humanity the ability to think about moral concepts, have free will, pray to God, love, and answer God’s divine will.
God created humanity in His image and likeness. Without a loving relationship with God, humanity is in a state of spiritual separation. Without God, life feels hopeless and empty, and there is no substitute for a loving relationship with God (Ecclesiastes 1:14, Mark 8:36).
Humanity’s sins against God create this spiritual separation from God. However, Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection serve as a sacrifice for our spiritual separation from God. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection pays the penalty for humanity’s sin, which allows us to be reconciled with God (1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:10).
After a person chooses to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and repents of their sins, they are made spiritually complete in Jesus Christ. When a person chooses to accept Jesus Christ as their savior, they no longer feel a sense of emptiness or lack of meaning, which frequently predate a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Further, many verses in the Bible describe being spiritually complete in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:10, John 7:37-38, Ephesians 3:19, Psalm 107:9).
God Desires to be Our Loving Father
Many religions teach that God is merely a distant creator that is not involved in our lives. However, the Bible describes God as a deeply loving Father who chooses to adopt everyone into His personal family. God desires that everyone would know Him as deeply loving and caring Father. The concept that God wants to be our deeply loving Father is one of core concepts in the Bible (2 Corinthians 6:18, Romans 8:15, 1 John 3:1).
Humanity’s sins create a barrier which separates everyone from God. However, Jesus Christ died on the cross in order to pay for everyone’s sins, which removes the barrier that had separated everyone from God. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, believers are forgiven of their sins, and God adopts them into His family. After believers choose to follow Jesus Christ, they are God’s loved children, not merely slaves to sin (Galatians 4:4-7, Romans 8:15-17).
Believers are adopted into God’s family, but this new relationship is incredibly intimate and loving. God wants a loving relationship with believers, not an abstract relationship with rituals. For example, the Bible says that believers can choose to call God “Abba.” The word “Abba” is a Hebrew word which translates to “Papa” or “Daddy” in English. In the New Testament, Jesus and the early church used the word “Abba” to describe the closeness, deeply personal, and trusting relationship that God desires to have with everyone (Romans 8:15-17).
God Is Approachable and Gentle
Throughout the Bible, God’s desire to have a personal relationship with humanity is portrayed (Isaiah 40:11, Matthew 11:28-30, Hebrews 4:16). One of the strongest verses is Revelation 3:20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” First, this verse shows that God patiently waits for a person to invite God into their life; God never forces a person to accept Him. Second, during the ancient Middle East, having a meal together showed close trust and friendship. Also, this verse clearly says: “If anyone hears my voice,” which means that God desires to have a deeply personal relationship with everyone.
God desires to have a relationship with everyone that is personal and intimate. In John 15:15, Jesus says: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” This verse is very significant because it shows that God does not simply want humanity to blindly follow God’s rules without having a relationship with God. Rather, God desires to have an intimate communion with all believers.
Further, God has unlimited power, but God chooses to use His power with grace and loving patience. Throughout the Bible, God chooses to provide humanity with grace rather than immediately judging everyone (Exodus 34:6, Psalm 103:8-10, 2 Peter 3:9). Jesus Christ provides the strongest Biblical example of God’s gentleness. For example, Jesus had incredible power, but Jesus chose to have compassion on humanity because everyone was helpless and unguided (Matthew 9:35-36). Also, Jesus was very humble and altruistic because He chose to help everyone instead of seeking more power (Mark 10:45, John 13:14-15). Finally, Jesus had unlimited power, but Jesus used unbelievable restraint when He tolerated suffering (Matthew 26:53-54, 1 Peter 2:23).
God Desires that Everyone Would Choose to Follow Him
God clearly desires that everyone would follow Him, and God implores mankind to choose Him. For example, Deuteronomy 30:19 says: “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life.” Also, Ezekiel 33:11 says: "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” The Bible clearly shows that God deeply desires that everyone would be saved and follow Him (1 Timothy 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9).
The Bible accentuates that God’s deepest desire is that everyone would choose to follow Him and accept the Gospel of Jesus (Ezekiel 33:11, John 3:16). Both the Old and Testaments describe God’s desire to save mankind from their sins. In the Old Testament, God is the supreme Deliverer who rescues everyone from physical and spiritual bondage (Exodus 6:6, Psalm 68:20, Psalm 34:17). In the New Testament, physical and spiritual salvation are established by Jesus Christ who saves everyone from the captivity of their sins (Colossians 1:13, Romans 11:26). Our sins separate us from God, but Jesus died on the cross for our sins, which removes the spiritual barrier between God and mankind (Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:19).
However, God also desires genuine love, intimacy, and relationships. So, God provides mankind with free will so everyone can choose to follow Him. God provides everyone with the opportunity to accept Him or reject Him (Joshua 24:15, Revelation 22:17). Choosing to follow Jesus Christ involves choosing to trust Jesus and following Jesus’ path for our lives, not our own plan (Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 19:21, Isaiah 55:8-9). Unfortunately, many people reject Jesus Christ because they want to control their life; they refuse to surrender control to Jesus (John 3:19).
What Happens When a Person Becomes a Believer
Sin spiritually and physically separates humanity from God (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 6:23). However, Jesus Christ choose to die to the cross for mankind’s sins, which reconciles everyone to God and provides salvation. When a person trusts that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for their sins, believes that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, and repent of their sins, they become a new Christian (Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 3:19, John 1:12). As a new Christian, their personal relationship with God is completely transformed (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Also, new Christians become a holy temple of God, and Holy Spirit lives inside new Christians (1 Corinthians 3:16). Becoming a new Christians also provides a believer with a strong sense of tranquility and peace (Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 15:13, John 14:27, Isaiah 26:3). While this profound feeling of peace and tranquility is challenging to explain to a person who has never experienced it, many people have described this experience.⁶ Becoming a new Christian completely changes a person (Ezekiel 36:26, Ephesians 4:22-24).
After a person chooses to become a Christian, they also become friends with Jesus Christ. Jesus desires a personal relationship with believers, not a distant hierarchy (John 15:15). Jesus Christ is the perfect friend because He provides unconditional love, uninterrupted presence, and supreme loyalty (John 15:13). New believers can deepen their new friendship with Jesus Christ by praying to Him daily and relying on Him for everything (Matthew 6:9-13, John 14:13-14).
Why Doesn't God Forgive Everyone?
For hundreds of years, theologians have debated why God declines to simply forgive everyone from their sins. The Bible explains that God is perfectly holy, and God cannot condone or tolerate sin (Psalm 5:4, Habakkuk 1:13). So, God offers forgiveness to mankind for their sins, but a person must accept the penalty that Jesus Christ paid for their sins and completely turn away from their sins (Acts 3:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Thessalonians 1:9).
While God offers forgiveness to everyone, forgiveness can only be received through genuine repentance. People can only be forgive of their sins by accepting Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and actively choosing to completely turn away from their sin (1 John 1:9, Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:6, Isaiah 55:7, Acts 3:19). Further, each person has free will, and everyone can choose to follow God or reject Him.
The most challenging problem for everyone is repentance. In the original languages of the New Test, the word “repentance” meant to completely change someone’s heart and mind. A person must choose to completely turn away from sin and turn towards Jesus Christ. Further, the Bible accentuates that genuine faith and repentance go together; a person cannot accept Jesus Christ’s payment for their sins while willfully retaining sinful behavior (Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:9).
God Is Both Loving and Just
The very essence of God combines endless love and true justice. God’s love supplies grace, and God’s justice provides accountability for sin and evil. Further, the Bible says that “God is love,” which means that the attribute of love is not merely something that God performs, but the very essence of God’s core (1 John 4:8). Also, God’s justice is faultless, and God’s methods are always correct (Deuteronomy 32:4).
While God loves everyone, God’s holiness cannot endure sin, which creates a spiritual barrier between God and humanity. The Bible clearly describes this situation: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Further, God’s justice necessitates a penalty for humanity’s sin (Romans 6:23).
God is completely righteous, and our sins bring a penalty. However, God did not want anyone to endure the consequences for their sin, but God desired to reconcile humanity with Him. So, God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place. Jesus endured the punishment for our sins when He choose to die on the cross for humanity’s sins (1 Corinthians 15:3, 1 Peter 2:24). Further, everyone must understand that God was not required to rescue humanity from their sins. The Bible says: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Conclusions
Many religions teach that God is an abstract creator, and other religions teach that there are many gods. However, Christianity teaches that there is one God, and God is defined by love. While mankind chose to sin against God, God choose to send His son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place. God sent His to die in our place because He deeply loves everyone. If a person chooses to accept Jesus as their Savior and turns from their evil behaviors, they can be saved from their sins and have everlasting life in heaven.
References
1. Piper, J. (1985, May 26). Perfect Love Casts Out Fear. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/perfect-love-casts-out-fear
2. Turpin, S. (2019, January 5). Learning from the Temptation of Eve. Answers In Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/adam-and-eve/learning-from-temptation-of-eve/
3. Lacey, T. (2025, August 19). The First Sin. Answers In Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/sin/the-first-sin/
4. Phillips, M. (2017, June 27). Pride. Steadfast Lutherans. https://steadfastlutherans.org/blog/2017/06/pride/
5. Hall, A. (2019, May 22). Why Did God Create People if He Knew So Many Would God to Hell? Stand to Reason. https://www.str.org/w/why-did-god-create-people-if-he-knew-so-many-would-go-to-hell-
6. Woolley, J. (2020, November). Conversion—A Life Changing Encounter. Evangelical Magazine. https://www.evangelicalmagazine.com/article/conversion-a-life-changing-encounter/