The Bible
We believe in the Divine inspiration of the Bible. The entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments are God's Word. Chosen men who were verbally inspired and operating under a special influence of the Holy Spirit wrote it. The sixty-six books comprising the Bible are free from human error in the form in which they were originally given to the writers.
We believe in the total sufficiency of the Bible. It is the primary instrument by which God reveals Himself to us and should be held in the highest esteem by those who worship Him. It is an adequate guide for all Christian living, practice, and doctrine.
We believe in the authority of the Bible. Inasmuch as it is inspired by God and reveals itself to us as a sufficient revelation, it thereby establishes its own authority. It is the final authority regarding all matters of faith and practice, and is not superseded by any other source. This means that we do not accept any spiritual experience as having its source in the Holy Sprit that contradicts Scripture, or cannot be verified by it.
We believe in the finality of the Bible. This means that the present sixty-six books comprise one, complete revelation. We entertain the hope of the Holy Spirit giving to the Church greater understanding of what has already been written. However, we reject the idea of any additions to the present Canon of Scripture.
God
We believe that the God revealed in the Bible is the only true God. He alone is an eternal and sovereign Being. He only possesses all power. God only can exist independently of all else in the universe. He is creator of all things, and by Him all things are sustained. This means that He not only initiated every created thing, but that everything is made to be dependent upon Him.
This one and only God is revealed as a triune godhead. In the mystery of the divine oneness, there are three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-existent, co-equal, and co-eternal. This means that all three possess equally all the attributes of God. In addition, the Bible reveals the three persons as relating to each other by a descending order and performing particular roles in the Divine Plan.
God the Father
He is referred to as the One who is always enthroned. He rules over all creation. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted.
God is holy. All moral agents that He has created must ultimately give account to Him as the Supreme Judge of the universe.
God is love. He is not willing that humankind should suffer the consequence of its sin. It was his good pleasure to provide redemption from sin by giving us Jesus Christ as an atonement.
God The Son
Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He is referred to as the eternal Word, the One who was with God from the beginning. It was through Him that all things have come into being and are presently held together. This One, who is the eternal Word, became a man at the right time in history.
The Holy Spirit supernaturally conceived Him. He was born of a Jewish virgin. He came into this world as the God-Man, perfect in nature and in obedience. He lived a sinless life, demonstrating beautifully the image of His Father.
He died on the Cross to fulfill the Divine Plan for redemption. This means that His death was substitutionary, inasmuch as we are the sinners who deserved to receive the punishment. It also means that His death was efficacious, inasmuch as God placed our sins on Christ in order to give us His righteousness.
On the third day after dying for our sins, He bodily arose from the dead. In His glorified body, He fully demonstrated to chosen witnesses His triumph over death.
After forty days, He bodily ascended to heaven in the presence of eyewitnesses. He assumed a position in heaven at the right hand of the Father, where He continually advocates in behalf of God's people. In this ascended posture, He awaits the appointed time when He will return in glory and triumph to finally establish God's Kingdom in the earth.
God The Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the blessed Trinity and is fully God. He is described as One who proceeds from the Throne of God. He was sent to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He assists the Church in its evangelistic mission by helping sinners to respond to the Gospel. He works in those who respond, joining them to Christ by the regenerating work of the new birth. He continues to work in the life of the believer, enabling them through His sanctifying work to live a holy life.
In general, we can say that the Holy Spirit is at work in the earth today to bring to completion all that the Father planned and all that the Son died to provide.
Man
We believe that men and women were made in the image and likeness of the Creator and as such are the crown of creation. This means that we are created with a capacity to respond to God. It also means that He made us for a purpose. This purpose involves our having fellowship with Him. It also means that our lives should bring glory to Him. The entrance of sin into the human race has radically altered this plan and introduced the necessity of a plan of salvation.
We believe that because of sin, mankind is fully and completely depraved. This ruinous condition is radical and pervasive--extending to the mind, will and affections of every man and woman. Apart from salvation in Christ, we live under the dominion of sin. We are at enmity with God and hostile toward Him. We are deserving of His wrath and have no hope apart from the grace that He extends to us in His Son.
The Gospel
The Gospel is the message of God's plan of salvation. In it, God's righteousness is revealed in two ways. First, it exalts God in His rightful place as the Supreme Judge. His righteous indignation and wrath toward sinners is clearly set forth. Second, it reveals His gracious plan to make His righteousness available to those who believe in His Son. Christ's crucifixion is the substitutionary sacrifice for sin that made it possible for God to accomplish this marvelous grace to sinners.
The Gospel extends to all humanity an invitation to receive forgiveness for sin. This is experienced by repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. Both the repentance and the faith should be regarded as God's gifts, and not as meritorious acts initiating in man's determination. These should be understood as two conditions that we experience when we submit to the initiative of God's grace.
We believe that responding to the invitation of the gospel is God's only appointed means of salvation from sin. Other than the name of Jesus, there is no other name given today whereby we may be saved. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man.
The Administration Of The Holy Spirit Today
The book of Acts portrays the beginning of the Church in a glorious fashion. Under the leadership of the founding apostles, the Holy Spirit worked miracles to confirm the preaching of the Gospel. However, this glory was not limited to the ministry of apostles only. Ordinary believers experienced God anointing them and assisting them in unusual ways to advance the Kingdom. One of the obvious reasons for this was their submission to the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that the early church apostles preached and practiced three definite steps for every new convert to take. Step one is conversion, which is the regenerating work experienced when a sinner responds to the Gospel. Step two is water baptism, which should immediately accompany the conversion of those who believe. Step three is baptism in the Spirit, which is given to anoint us and empower us in our witness for Christ. However, in the course of time the teaching and practicing of these three steps seemed to change. A large sector of Christianity has omitted step three and only require the first two steps as essential for entrance into its ranks.
We allow that some of the changes that have occurred since the beginning of the Church may be attributed to the plan of God. For example, some aspects of the ministry of the original apostles were appointed for only a limited season in the very beginning of the Church. However, we cannot accept the explanation that God intended for all of the gifts and for some of the Ephesians 4:11 ministries to cease after the first generation. We believe this for two reasons.
First, the Bible never tells us clearly that the gifts of the Spirit are supposed to cease during the church age. We consider it a mistake to regard the demise of the demonstrations of the Holy Spirit as a description of normal Christianity. Rather than accepting the condition of the Church today as normative and interpreting the New Testament in light of our experience, we should do the very opposite. We should consider the practice of Christianity today as subnormal and allow the example of the early church to challenge and inspire us.
Second, although the Church in general throughout history has failed to experience the glory of which we speak, it is not true in every case. In various parts of the world, a glory similar to the early church has been demonstrated. At any time in history God has left us with some evidence that He intends for the gifts of the Spirit to continue to manifest in the Church.
Consequently, we believe that the promised gift of the Holy Spirit is still available today to all who believe in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit desires to continually fill each believer with power to witness. He faithfully works today to impart his supernatural gifts for the edification of the Body and for the work of ministry in the world. The gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in the church of the first century are available today and are to be earnestly desired and practiced. They are essential to the mission of the Church in the world today.
The Church
We believe that those who have experienced salvation in Jesus Christ are spiritually awakened to an awareness of God's collective purpose for His people. This collective purpose is embodied in the meaning of what the Bible refers to as 'church.'
The Church is the Body of Christ. It is not a religious institution or organization, but a living organism made up of His true followers. The Church exists to glorify God and bring pleasure to Him. In particular we have been given a mandate to propagate the Gospel to every creature. Upon conversion, newly redeemed men and women are added to a local church where they should devote themselves to teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayers.
We believe that God has given to the Church five distinct ministries to prepare the people to adequately serve Him. These five ministries --- apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher --- still function today and are necessary for the Church to reach its ultimate goal of fullness. The local church should have input from these five ministries regularly. The result will be that the saints are not only built up in faith, but are thoroughly equipped for their unique work of advancing the kingdom in their God-appointed spheres of service.
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ will return to this planet at a time fixed by God. The nature of His appearing will be unmistakable. He will return literally and physically in His glorified body, accompanied with the glory of the Holy angels and the glory of His Father. This will be perceptible to all creatures regardless of their faith. Besides the glorious nature of His return, there are distinct characteristics and events associated with His Coming.
The Resurrections
We believe that the dead will ultimately be raised to life in their bodies to appear before God. The Bible describes two general resurrections.
The resurrection of the righteous will be the time when believers who have died will be raised up and united with a glorified body like unto that of our Lord Jesus. The believers who are still living at the time of this event will experience this transformation without actually dying.
The resurrection of the wicked follows the resurrection of the righteous.
Eternal Judgment
Each resurrection is associated with a time of standing before God for final judgment. The judgment marks the end of the time of probation for those who are judged. For those who are in Christ, it will be a time of receiving rewards and experiencing the ultimate blessedness of eternal life. For those outside of Christ, it will be for them the beginning of eternal torment.
The Kingdom of God On Earth
Christ is returning to take rule over all nations. He will establish the kingdom of God upon earth according to a precise plan. The final expression of this kingdom will result in the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. When this happens, God will make a final separation between those who are His own and those who resist the rule of His Son. Satan and his hosts and all those outside Christ will be finally separated from the presence of God and banished to everlasting torment. The righteous will live on forever in God's presence, serving and giving him unending praise and glory.
