The Faithfulness of God - Research Paper in Religion

Faithful

The Bible talks about God being faithful, a characteristic that some men have, an aspect some men lack, and as a gift of the Holy Spirit. (King James Version, Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1: 2). This is evident in both the new and old testament as an attribute of God and man. Gods natural feature is being faithful, and He is firm and constant in His relationship with servants, as well as His people. The fact that God is unchangeable regarding His promises and abounding mercy and grace, which make him faithful at all times need to be understood as per the given coverage.

Gods Faithfulness in the Old Testament

This attribute is evident in the Old Testament where God is referred to as Yahweh, meaning unchangeable and self-existence, and as explained, God puts immutability as one of His eternal characteristic in connection to His promises as noted in King James Version, Exodus 3:13-15. This same Bible refers to God as the rock, which cannot be shaken, and where Christians can hide as a secure place of religious trust.

Regarding King James Version, Exodus 3:6, 15-16, this similar attribute is revealed of God where He shows Himself as the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thereby signifying a bond and a relationship that has been maintained through generations (Stibbs 2). This idea shows not only the relationship between God and the past generation but that He would continue to be their God even to the coming generations. He is faithful to fulfill His promise not only to the ancestors but also to Moses and the whole of Israel. This was the primary idea concerning God being faithful in the Old Testament.

Consequently, this characteristic can be seen in the Hebrew as words used to describe the quality of God. Neeman used to mean faithful, Emeth, and Emunah meaning faithfulness. Besides, there is the verb Aman, which means a firm foundation, like a wall holding a nail firmly, or a kingdom, which is firmly established (King James Version, 2 Samuel 7:16). Besides, it also means being true in the case of a verbal agreement in men. In this case, these words signify a God who keeps His promises and is bound to a covenant, which He makes with his people. He is, therefore, firm and faithful regarding his covenant and promises and is bound to fulfill them (Faithfulness of God Par 1). As noted above, Emeth is used to signify faithfulness. Likewise, it means truth or action concerning ones word and an agreement between people. Psalms 36:5 notes that the faithfulness of God is excellent such that it reaches the clouds.

This faithful character forms the basis of salvation of God and that when people pray, He hears their cries. It is a guarantee from God to His religious flock and a source of help in times of need. As claimed in the Bible, the salvation people hope for is not based on their good deeds (since they are like filthy rags before God), but on him having mercy, grace, and being faithful. Throughout history, it has known that people are unfaithful, their minds are desperately wicked, and their actions always represent evil. Nonetheless, God continues to show His faithful act even in the many spiritual battles He fought for Israelites and all the providence in the wilderness. In King James Version, Exodus 34:6 signifies the faithfulness of God even in a perverse generation, and people who have remained unfaithful through time. The basis of that attribute of God in the Old Testament in connection to Yahweh is based on the grace of God and not on peoples merits. If the faithfulness of God were based on the actions of individual persons, then the grace of God would be taken for granted. Nonetheless, by the fact that Christians depend solely on God being faithful, then it is a solid assurance that this faithfulness, which was seen in the olden days, is poised to continue even in the future. Many are the times when God's people departed from Him, but Him being faithful was displayed the more, and Him standing out as being faithful to a faithless generation.

Gods Faithfulness in the New Testament

The New Testament portrays God as being faithful to the covenant He made with the past generations. The words aletheia and alethes are seen as denoting being faithful and upright while Paul depicts Gods faithfulness to His promise by using the phrase pistis (King James Version, Romans 3:3).

In this verse, Paul states that people being unfaithful cannot turn a faithful God to be like his people (Paul and the Faithfulness of God 20). Paul stated that Jews and Gentiles were depicted as receiving Gods faithfulness. However, the Jews were better placed since God had made a covenant with the Jews in the past. Paul uses the word alethes, meaning that let God be faithful, and every man becomes a liar, thereby fulfillment of Gods faithfulness to an untrustworthy generation. As God shows His glory, Him being faithful is manifested and being unchangeable and fidelity to His promises with the people. In the King James Version, 1st Corinthians 10:13, by God being faithful, then it means that He can see people through temptations for them to emerge as winners. John in the Bible consequently states that the fact that Jesus shed his blood on the cross means that He is faithful enough to ensure forgiveness to every repentant soul. Peter shows a different perspective of faithfulness in that those people who suffer should look up unto a faithful God.

Faithful Servants of God

In a world that was perverse, God still had His faithful servants. In the King James Version, Hebrews 11 outlines many people who ever lived and remained faithful to God. Moses was a man who had his failures but majorly kept the word of God and acted in line with His word as stated by Krahmalkov (2017). He was not an eloquent man, yet he led the Israelites from the land of slavery and in the wilderness for 40 years.

After Moses, there was Joshua who waited patiently for his time to lead the Israelites, proving to be faithful to the God of Moses until it was time for him to enter the Promised Land. Besides, a man named Job was tempted and tried by Satan. All his possessions were taken away from him and even his children. His friends even accused him of cursing God, and that is why his body was affected with abscesses. On the contrary, job remained faithful and trusted in God even in the midst of trials and temptations.

Conclusion

The Bible explains a lot about being faithful, which is being reliable, steadfast and unwavering in believing. It shows that God is the ultimate portrayal of faithfulness regarding His people. He has always been there to look out for and guide them even in their state of unfaithfulness. Though humans are weak faithfuls, some people in the bible tried walking in line with Gods command even though they at times fell out of his will.

Works Cited

"Paul and the Faithfulness of God." Publishers Weekly, vol. 260, no. 40, 07 Oct. 2013, p. 20.

Faithfulness of God. AllAboutGOD.com, www.allaboutgod.com/faithfulness-of-god.htm.

Krahmalkov, Charles. "The Chief of Miners Mashe/Moshe, the Historical Moses." The Bible and Interpretation, 2017, pp 1-31.

Stibbs, Alan. "God's church: a study in the biblical doctrine of the people of God." Moore Theological College Library, 2017, pp 1-10.

The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.