God's nature
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Christian beliefs about God’s nature, the questions these beliefs raise, and their importance and influence for Christians today.
Key learning points
- The nature of God refers to God’s qualities and characteristics.
- Christians believe in one God who is just, (omni)benevolent and omnipotent.
- For Christians, beliefs about the nature of God come from the Bible.
- Many Christians view suffering as either a test, the result of free will or an opportunity to become a better person.
Keywords
Evil - the opposite of good; a cause of suffering and against the will of God
Influence - the ability to shape or change someone's thoughts, beliefs, or actions
Just - fair or equal treatment, a state of justice. Belief about the nature of God as treating all people justly
(omni)benevolent - the state of being all-loving and infinitely good; a characteristic often attributed to God
Omnipotent - the all-powerful, almighty, and unlimited nature of God
Common misconception
Each quality or characteristic of God is distinct and separate from the others.
God's qualities and characteristics complement each other. For example, many Christians believe that God exerts his omnipotence with love for humanity, which links to God as (omni)benevolent.
Teacher tip
You may wish to remind students of the context of Christianity prior to this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.__________ is considered the founder of Christianity.
Q2.The __________ is the holy book used in Christianity.
Q3.Christians celebrate __________ on Easter.
Q4.Jesus was born in ...
Q5.The Prayer begins: 'Our Father, who art in heaven ...'
Q6.Most Christians attend church services on a ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does the word 'just' mean when describing God?
Q2.Which Christian belief about the nature of God is shown in the story where Moses parts the Red Sea?
Q3.Which Christian belief about the nature of God explains why God sacrificed his only son for humanity?
Q4.The Christian parable about how God separates people is called the Parable of the Sheep and the ...
Q5.Christians use the to understand God’s qualities and nature.
Q6.The word describes God as 'all-powerful'.
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: God's nature, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: God's nature, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Christianity: Beliefs and teachings unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.