God – Foundations of a Worldview

God
Foundations of a Worldview

Deuteronomy 6.4

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”

In his essay, “Christian World Views and Some Lessons of History,” Mark A. Noll wrote, “To construct Christian world views and to act for Christ in daily existence on the basis of those world views is a high calling. History shows two things about such a calling: that by God’s grace it can be done, but also that it is never an easy task.”

Constructing a Christian worldview begins in the Law of God, the books of Moses. The worldview that begins to emerge in God’s Law—spiritual, covenantal, redemptive, comprehensive, religious, and attainable—can be constructed within a framework of three facets. We may imagine this worldview as contained within the borders of an equilateral triangle, in which all the facets are connected to one another and all are necessary for the integrity of the whole.

The first facet of this worldview triangle directs us to the spiritual vision that gives meaning, vitality, direction, and shape to all other aspects of the worldview of God’s Law.

It is important to emphasize that the worldview of God’s Law is first of all a spiritual worldview. It makes no sense and has no lasting power apart from continuous awareness of, focus on, and engagement with the unseen world within which everything exists. Without a clear and compelling spiritual vision as the first “leg” of our worldview triangle, nothing else claiming to represent a Biblical worldview will be able to realize the full power of that glorious economy.

At the center, the fulcrum and focal point of the spiritual vision we begin to discover in God’s Law is God Himself. The worldview of God’s Law begins in God and is defined, sustained, and fulfilled by God. We cannot understand the worldview of God’s Law, much less expect to gain any real benefit from it, unless we focus on God as the defining feature and presence of that worldview and submit ourselves, soul and body, to what we know of Him.

This is what Solomon means in Ecclesiastes by living “under the heavens” rather than “under the sun.”

When we focus on God in this way we observe, first of all, that God is One.

There is only one God, the God of Scripture. No other gods exist; thus, it is futile and dangerous to “have” any other gods besides this God, or to divert our ultimate affection and obedience to any other being or creature, spiritual or material, real or imaginary, living or dead.

God is One, and within Himself He is one in purpose, will, power, being, and attributes. There is no division or disruption in God; He does not change, does not deceive, and cannot die.

The God Who is One promulgates and sustains a worldview expressive of His character and will. Thus we should expect that worldview to be, like God Himself, knowable, reliable, durable, and characterized by integrity throughout. The more we improve our focus on and relationship with the one God—the better we know Him (John 17:3)—the better we will understand, the more we will appreciate, and the more eagerly we will live according to the worldview first outlined in His Law.

The first requirement of the worldview outlined in God’s Law is, therefore, that we should seek the Lord, to fear, obey, love, and serve Him in all things, and to keep His Law with all our soul and strength, so that all the goodness God has promised in His Covenant may come to us in His way and time (Deut. 10:12, 13).

God is One, and He has promulgated one worldview and one way to know Him and to enjoy all the fullness of blessing He intends. The beginnings of that worldview are to be found in the Law of God.

Act: Paul insists, Romans 1:18-21, that all people know God, at least, at some level. What evidence do you see that this is true? Talk with a Christian friend about this question.

The book of Ecclesiastes is a crucial resource for understanding the Biblical worldview against the backdrop of our secular age. Follow T. M.’s studies in Ecclesiastes by downloading the free, weekly studies available in our Scriptorium Resources page at The Fellowship of Ailbe. Click here to see the weekly studies available thus far.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).