God

There is only one God. This God exists eternally in three Persons-- Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father, Son, and Spirit are not merely three manifestations or modes of one Person, but are three eternally-coexistent and eternally-distinct Persons. Yet each Person shares the same nature, essence, or being; in other words, each is God. Among God’s attributes are complete power, complete knowledge of all things-- including knowledge of all future occurrences, and the ability to immediately affect His will at any place.

God the Father

The Father created and reigns over all that is seen and unseen. He is God. He is spirit. He is the Father of all who have faith in Jesus Christ.

God the Son

Jesus Christ is the only and eternal Son of God through whom all things were created. He is God. He is eternally-begotten of the Father. He is not created, but is coeternal with the Father and the Spirit. He was born of the virgin Mary, thereby becoming fully human in both body and soul/spirit, while remaining fully God-- giving up none of his divine attributes. Thus, He has both a sinless and complete human nature and a complete divine nature, and yet He is one Person. Untainted by the sin of Adam, He lived a life without sin. His death on the cross was as a substitution and a payment for the sins of the world. He was buried, and on the third day after His death, He was resurrected in a physical, yet glorified body. He ascended into Heaven and will return again to judge the living and the dead.

God the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the eternal Spirit of God. He is God. He is not created, but is coeternal with the Father and the Son. He indwells all who have faith in Jesus Christ. In addition to drawing believers to the faith, He cultivates Christian character in their lives and indwells the Church, bestowing spiritual gifts to believers for the Church’s growth.

The Scriptures

The Bible is the word of God. It is inspired by God, and written down by men. It is the self-revelation of God to humankind. It is without error in all that it affirms in its original manuscripts. It is only read correctly in both the Old and New Testaments when it points to Jesus Christ.

Humanity

Humanity is the highest creation of God, the object of His love. God made humans in His own image, and gave them dominion over creation. Humans were created by God without sin, yet fell into sin because of Adam’s rebellion. As a result of Adam’s sin, humans inherit a nature that is (1) guilty of original sin (2) unable and unwilling to come to God, and (3) guilty of personal sins, which are the fruit of this depraved nature. Thus all of fallen humanity is guilty before God. A person’s fallen condition is remedied only by the Holy Spirit drawing that person to faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have faith in Jesus Christ are forgiven and adopted as children of God, and will spend eternity with Him.

Salvation

Salvation is God’s redemption of a person from sin. It is offered to humankind through Jesus Christ. Salvation is the free gift of God. It is through faith in Jesus Christ, which is a genuine turning from sin and trusting in Christ’s completed work on the cross as the only sufficient payment for sin. Salvation includes (1) the work of the Holy Spirit to draw a person to Jesus Christ, (2) one’s being forgiven and given the positive righteousness of Christ, (3) the lifelong process by which the Holy Spirit transforms one’s character to be more like Christ’s, and (4) glorification, which will be brought about when believers are bodily-resurrected to inhabit the new heaven and new earth forever with God.

The Church

The New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant to commit themselves to membership in God’s kingdom and His church, maturity in their walk with Christ, ministry to others and to be on mission for God to the ends of the earth. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.