The Bible
We believe the Bible, both Old and New Testaments to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17). This Word is true in all that it affirms. It is a necessary and sacred guide (Rom 10:13-17; Deut 8:3; 1 Pet 1:23-25) and the only sufficient and authoritative rule for faith and practice. The Bible is a clear revelation of God (Psalm 19:7) that can be generally understood (2 Tim 2:15), and particularly understood by the illumination of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). The Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary for salvation. While the Scriptures must be accurately interpreted and applied, whatever the Scriptures teach is to be believed. Whatever the Scriptures command is to be obeyed; and whatever the Scriptures condemn is to be renounced. Therefore, whatever is not read therein, nor may be proven thereby, is not to be required as essential to Christian faith.
The Trinity
The Scriptures reveal that there is one God (Deut 6:4, 7:9; 1 Tim 2:5; Eph 4:6), who exists eternally, relationally and communally as three distinct persons, or as Father, Son, and Spirit. All exist in perfect communion, sharing the same substance, completely united, yet not identical, but equal in every way. The Trinity presents an example for harmonious community relations. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit deeply love one another, work together to accomplish the renewal of all things, and when needed, submit their individual wills to other members of the Godhead, as did Jesus to the Father (e.g., Matt 26:39). Since we are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), the revelation of the Trinity provides us a model to inform harmonious human relations.
God the Father
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. God does not change in God’s eternal being, attributes, will, purposes, and ethical norms (Heb 13:8; James 1:17; Num 23:19; Ps. 33:11). However, God can and does change relationally, especially in response to human choices such as disobedience, repentance, obedience, and prayer (e.g., Ex 32-34; Jer 26:18-19; Jonah 3:10, Amos 7:3,6). God is absolutely moved through intercession and the fervent effectual prayers of his people (Gen 19:1-29; James 5:16-18). God is all powerful yet makes room for human free will (Josh 24:15). God knows all – past, present, and future, exhaustively and potentially. However, God’s foreknowledge does not necessitate God’s foreordination. That is, just because God knows a possible outcome, does not mean that said outcome is foreordained, or predetermined (1 Sam 23:1-13).
God the Son
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages. He is the chosen agent by whom God decided to intervene as God with us (Matt 1:23). In the ministry of Christ, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15, Psa. 2, Acts 10:38, 1 Sam 16:13). His baptism and sermon in Nazareth (Luke 4) demonstrated that He operated under the power of the Spirit (Acts 10:38) as fulfillment of the prophetic power announced by the prophet Isaiah (61:1-2). Furthermore, at His ascension, Christ delegated kingdom power and authority to the church (Luke 9, 10; Mark 6:15-20). He is the Son of God, the second person in the triune Godhead (Matt 28:19-20). He is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, being from the beginning (John 1:1). Historically, He took on human flesh as a suffering servant (John 1:14; Phil 2:6-8). He is fully God and fully man (Col 1:15-20). He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and performed miracles. Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified as humanities’ substitutive and atoning sacrifice, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose by the power of the Father for our justification (Rom 4:25) and sanctification (1 Thess. 5:23). He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, where He is now the only mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim 2:5). This same Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead (Acts 17:31) as the blessed hope of the church. His kingdom will never end.
God the Holy Spirit
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life who indwells, empowers, and equips believers for service. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and of the judgement to come (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets and now indwells believers as temples of praise, as they are being transformed into the image of God’s Son (2 Cor 3:18). In the life of the believer, the Spirit takes up residence (Ezek 36:27; Jn. 14:27; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19); sanctifies (Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2); empowers for witnessing (Ac 1:8); inspires praise (Eph 5:18, 19); assists in prayer (Rom 8:26, 27; 1 Cor 14:14, 15; Eph 6:18); equips for victorious living (Rom 8:13; Gal 5:16; 1 Jn 4:4); leads and guides (Rom 8:14; Jn 16:13); reveals the truth (Jn 16:13-15; 1 Cor 2:9-12); teaches (Jn. 14:26; 1 Jn 2:20, 27); and comforts (Jn 14:26; 15:26; Ac 9:31) the people of God.
The Kingdom of God
In Mark 1:15, Jesus announces that the kingdom of God has come. This kingdom is the reign and rule of God inaugurated in and through Jesus Christ as God’s divine agent (Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20–21). A long-awaited reality, the kingdom was realized in Christ’s ministry through his exorcisms, preaching and restorative acts. The kingdom appears to overthrow oppressive individual and socio-political structures, whether visible or invisible, human or demonic – transforming the totality of the human condition through the favor of God. Those who trust Jesus for salvation have been transferred into the kingdom of the Son (Col 1:13). The values of the kingdom are to be lived out in the here and now (Luke 14; Luke 1:51-53). By the power of the Holy Spirit, the manifestation of the kingdom through proclamation, healing the sick and casting out devils by the disciples, implies the handing down of the kingdom commission to the church (Luke 9, 10). Like the disciples, we seek to fulfill this same commission by preaching the gospel and setting the captives free (Luke 4, 24, Acts 1).
The Church
The church is the assembly of people called out from the world to show forth the glory of God (1 Peter 2:9; 2 Cor. 6:14-18). It is not a physical institution, but a spiritual enterprise – the vehicle through which God is renewing all things through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The church is responsible for proclaiming and preserving the truth of the gospel in both word and action (1 Tim 3:14-15). Comprised of those who are called to be “saints” or “the holy ones” (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1), this community of people is knitted together through the bond of the Spirit as God’s family, brothers and sisters in Christ. Compared to the unity of the human body, as the “the body of Christ” (1 Cor 12:27; Rom 12:5; Eph 1:22, 23; 4:12), who is the “head,” each believer is an integral member of Christ’s body (Eph 4:15; Col 1:18; Rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor 12:12–27). As God’s temple, the church is the dwelling place of God’s Spirit (1 Cor 3:16, 17), the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim 3:15), and God’s option for transforming a broken, hurting, and chaotic world (Matt 6:18).
Spirit-Filled Living
Salvation. Salvation is the work of the triune God (Titus 3:4-6) rooted in the love of God (John 3:16), made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus (Rom 4:25), and made effective by the Holy Spirit to create a new people dedicated to God (1 Cor 6:9-11). Through repentance towards God and faith in the precious blood of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21; Rom 3:25; Eph 1:7), the sinner is pardoned, forgiven and accepted on the merits of Christ’s righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). As a result, the sinner is restored to divine favor and fellowship with God (Rom 5:1-5). Yet, this pardon is not just a legal declaration, but includes cleansing from sin in making the sinner both positionally and actually righteous, as God rightwises the sinner by first washing away all the guilt and pollution out of the heart to declare the sinner righteous on the merits of Christ (1 Cor. 6:11). While the sinner is justified or declared righteous by faith in Christ, saving faith works itself out in love for God and neighbor (Gal 5:6). As a child of God, the believer is indwelt by the very Spirit of God (Gal 4:6; Rom 8:9) and becomes a temple of praise (1 Cor. 6:19) to the glory of God.
Spirit Baptism. In the NT, John the Baptist made the connection between his own ministry and that of Jesus by comparing his own baptism “with water” (John 1:31) and Jesus’ baptism “with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). The idea behind this is Ezekiel’s prophecy of the Spirit of God raising God’s people from death in the valley of dry bones to life, which requires cleansing by washing them with clean water (Ezek 36:25-27 with 37:13-14). As water baptism is for natural washing of the body, the ”baptism with the Holy Spirit” purifies and transforms the human spirit through spiritual washing with the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:3-6). This is the pivotal shift from the water baptism of John to the Spirit baptism of Jesus (see, e.g., Matt 3:11 and John 1:32-34, Acts 1:5,8). Jesus himself emphasizes the shift from John’s baptism to Spirit baptism before the day of Pentecost, when he tells his disciples, “John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:5). Every Christian has been baptized in the Spirit (1 Cor 12:13). In fulfilment of OT prophecies (Num 11:29b; Ezek 39;29; Joel 2:28-32a), with the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17-18), the Spirit no longer anoints just a few, as in the OT, but every believer is empowered to be a prophetic witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Matt 5:11). Furthermore, this Spirit baptism is associated with receiving spiritual power for service, as a witness to Jesus as Lord and the presence of the kingdom of God (Luke 11:20; Acts 1:8, 2:4); aids in the defeat of the kingdom of Satan (Lk. 10:18-19; Acts 8:4-12); and enables effective ministry, as depicted in the book of Acts (Acts 3:6-8). This experience releases and unlocks spiritual endowments and enables the exercise of the biblical gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:7-11; Eph 4:11-13; Rom 12:3-8), along with the manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23; Acts 10:46, 19:1-6). To be filled with the Spirit is to be Spirit-empowered and Spirit controlled (Eph 5:18-19).
Sanctification. The plan of sanctification represents God’s design and purpose in election for all believers, who are chosen in Christ to be holy and blameless. Sanctification projects the image of utensils being set apart for God’s purposes. It is the gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit by which the sinner is positionally, practically, and progressively delivered from the pollution of sin, renewed in the image of God and enabled to perform good works (Rom 6:4, 5:6; Col 2:12-13). The believer is radically changed from the old patterns and values of living, as the new Christ life is made effective through the Spirit. Furthermore, weakness or life in the flesh is not the same as life according to the flesh. In other words, physical weakness, shortcomings, frailties, and sufferings in the body, are different than living according to life before and outside of Christ (Rom 8:1-4). However, even in weakness, the Spirit empowers the believer to overcome (2 Cor. 12:9). Kingdom life is lived in the power of the resurrection and the fellowship of Christ’s suffering as a mark of discipleship (Phil 3:9-10). Sanctification is not completed in a single moment; but sin, from whose dominion we have been delivered through the cross and the death of Christ, is weakened more and more. While we are not sinless, we should sin, less and less. The designation of “saint” belongs to all who have been set apart and consecrated by God in Christ through the Spirit (1 Cor 1:2; Col 1:12; Eph 2:19).
Grieving the Spirit. Scripture demonstrates that it is possible to grieve, that is distress or cause the Holy Spirit sorrow through various forms of sinful and rebellious behaviors (Isa 63:10; Eph 4:30; Heb 10:29; 1 Sam 16:14). While God is a loving and forgiving God (1 Cor 5:1-5 & 2 Cor 2:6-11; Gal 6:1; 2 Pet 3:9), given the numerous warnings against apostasy, or falling away from the faith in the New Testament ( Heb. 2:1-4; 3:5-4:11; 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 11:13-16; 12:15-25, etc.), the warnings against grieving the Holy Spirit must be taken seriously.
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the Second Coming of Christ. He shall come from heaven to earth, personally, bodily, and visibly (Acts 1:11; Titus 2:11-13; Matt 16:27; 24:30; 25:30; Luke 21:27; John 1:14, 17; Titus 2:11). Christ will judge all people, both the living and the dead (Matt 25:31-46; John 5:27; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Rom 2:16, 2 Tim 4:1, 8; Jude 14:15; Rev 20:11-15). Believers will receive eternal salvation and unbelievers will receive eternal damnation (Matt 25:31-46; 1 Pet 1:4-5, 7; 5:4; 1 John 3:2; Heb 9:28; 2 Cor 5:10; 2 Thess 1:6-10). Christ will destroy death (1 Cor 15:26, 54-57; Rev 20:14). Satan and Antichrist will be destroyed (2 Thess 2:8; Rev 20:10). The current world will be burned up and the “new heavens and new earth” will be created wherein righteousness dwells (2 Pet 3:10-13; Rev 21:1-4).
