There is one God, existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the eternal creator of all, and sovereign over all creation.
Scriptures:
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4. “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was…Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for you loved Me before the foundation of the world.” Jesus, in (John 17:5, 24)
“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:3)
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm 90:1-2)
“The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.” (Psalm 135:6)
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original documents and the final authority in all matters of doctrine and practice.
Scriptures:
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
God created human beings as male and female in His own image, for His glory, and gave marriage as a sacred relationship between one man and one woman. Each member of the human race is fallen, sinful, and lost. As a result, we are subject to death and in need of salvation.
Scriptures:
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. ” (Genesis 1:27, 2:24)
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, born of a virgin, sinlessly perfect. His sacrificial death on the cross is the substitutionary payment for our sins. He rose bodily from the dead and ascended to His Father’s right hand in heaven, where He now ministers as our great High Priest.
Scriptures:
“Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.’ (Luke 1:34-35)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,14)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14)
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” (Hebrews 4:14)
In order to be saved a person must repent and believe in Jesus. Redemption is wholly by the blood of Christ, and salvation is by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who believe will be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer, who is sealed until the day of redemption and is empowered to live a godly life.
Scriptures:
“…I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:20-21)
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7)
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit…” (Titus 3:5)
There will be a bodily resurrection of the saved and of the lost; of the saved, to eternal life, and of the lost, to eternal separation from God.
Scriptures:
“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29)
The Church began with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and is composed of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. These believers are united in Him, and to one another, by the indwelling Holy Spirit. This means that the Church, as a whole, is not an organization, but a living organism, known as the Body of Christ.
Scriptures:
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
The Church’s ultimate calling, hope, and destiny are heavenly, and its chief functions are to glorify God and to witness for Christ. The local church is composed of believers in a locality who gather in Christ’s Name for the Lord’s supper, prayer, Bible teaching, fellowship, and testimony. Church government and discipline are divinely outlined in the Bible as the responsibility of the local church.
Scriptures:
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons…” (Philippians 1:2)
“And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:19-25)
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I command you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Christ, our risen Head, is the giver of gifts such as evangelists, pastors, and teachers; and these people are responsible to Him for their service. Gifts are given “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).
Scriptures:
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
There are two Christian ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Water baptism by immersion signifies that the believer, having died with Christ, is buried with Him, and is also risen with Him to walk in newness of life. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial feast, instituted by the Lord Himself exclusively for His own. In the observance of this supper, believers remember Him; they proclaim His death until He comes.
Scriptures:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19)
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4)
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Every true child of God possesses eternal life and is secure for eternity. However, a Christian may, through sin, lose his fellowship, joy, power, testimony, and reward, and incur the Father’s chastisement. Our relationship with the Lord is eternal, being established by new birth; fellowship, however, is dependent upon obedience.
Scriptures:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27-28)
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6-7)
The personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to rapture His Church is imminent, an event which concludes this present age of grace. This will be followed by the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth, known as the Great Tribulation. After this, Christ will return to reign on earth and establish His millennial kingdom, and the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. Believers will reign with Him forever. At the conclusion of His millennial reign, Christ will deliver up the Kingdom to God, the Father, that the triune God may be all in all.
Scriptures:
“Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 3:10)
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
“For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
“And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5)
“But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, ‘All things are put in subjection,’ it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:23-28)