GOD THE FATHER
God the Father is the eternal God and Creator of all things. By His word He both created the world out of nothing and daily sustains all that He has made. He is faithful to all that He has promised, works all things together for good to those who love Him, and hears and answers prayer. In His desire for us to live in fellowship with Him, He graciously gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation. (Gen 1:1; Matt 23:9; John 3:16; Rom 1:20; 1 Tim 2:5-6; Rom 8:28; Lam 3:22-23)
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, was always with God and is eternally God. Through Him and for Him all things were created. He is before all things and He holds all things together by the word of His power. Being supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, He is fully God and fully man and the image of the invisible God. He lived a perfect sinless life, performed many miracles, and taught with authority. By dying on the cross in our place, He removed our guilt and reconciled us to God. On the third day, He physically rose from the dead and was later seen by over 500 witnesses. Soon afterwards He ascended into heaven where He sits at the Father’s right hand as Head over the Church. He rules over all, intercedes for His people, and will one day visibly return to earth. (Matt 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; 20:28; Rom 9:5; 8:46; 2 Cor 5:21; I Pet 2:21-23; John 20:30, 31; Matt 20:28; Eph 1:4; Acts 1:11; Rom 5:6-8; 6:9,10; Heb 7:25; 9:28; 1 Tim 3:16)
HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is eternally God and should be respected and worshipped as God. The Holy Spirit was actively involved in creation. In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals in manifest power for certain periods of time, but later departed (withdrew His manifest power from the individual). The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus after His return to heaven to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. He leads us to repentance and unites us to Christ in faith through the new birth. He dwells within believers to comfort, counsel, empower, and lead them and gives them gifts to help them serve God and one another in the church. We believe that all the gifts of the Spirit continue today and are to be used for the building up of the body and the evangelism of the nations. (Gen 1:2; Job 33:4; 1 Sam 16:13-14; Ps. 51:11; John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26, 27; John 16:9-14; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Gal 5:22-26; Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:4-11, 28-31; 1 Pet 4:10-11)
3. Regeneration
God made humanity - male and female - in His own image. Tempted by Satan, humanity disobeyed God (sinned) and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death, which is separation from God. As a consequence, all human beings are sinners by nature and therefore under condemnation. Those who, by God’s grace and through faith, repent and trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are regenerated (born again) by the Holy Spirit and become new creations in Christ. Being delivered from sin’s condemnation and dominion, they are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to live godly lives and inherit eternal life. (Gen 1:26; 5:2; Gen 3; Gen 2:17; 3:19; Eccl. 2:11; John 3:14; 5:24; John 5:30; 7:13; 8:12; 10:26; Rom 9:22; 2 Thes 1:9; Rev 19:3, 20; 20:10, 14,15; 21:18; Ps 51:7; Jer 17:9; Jas 1:14; Rom 3:19, 5:19; Prov 28:13; 1 John 1:9; John 3:16; John 1:13; 2 Cor 5:17; Rom 8:1; 1 Pet 1:23; Eph 4:24)
4. The Church
The universal church is the living spiritual body of which Jesus is the head and all believers are members. The church is likened to a building, with Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, and the members living stones, being joined together growing into a holy temple, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. We believe that members of the universal church are to be committed members of a local church. In the context of a local church, believers receive pastoral care, leadership, and the opportunity to use the spiritual gifts that God has given them for His service. Through the ministries found in Ephesians 4 (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) the local church is equipped for service and members are encouraged and enabled to mature and grow in their faith. The central aim of the church is to glorify God through worship, being filled with God’s Spirit, making disciples, and communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. (Eph 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Eph 5:19-21, Eph 4: 11-16; Acts 2:42-27; Heb 10:23-25; Matt 28:18-20)