WHAT WE BELEIVE

We believe God is the one and only self-existent living spirit (Ex 3:14, Jn 4:24). God is the creator of the heavens and the earth and the origin of life (Gn 1, Heb 3:4). Although the fullness of God left His creation and subjected it to the futility of death because of sin (Gn 6:3, Rom 8:20-21), He promised to re-create His kingdom on earth and dwell with His people forever in perfect paradise (Rv 21:3-4).

We believe Jesus is the Son of God through whom we can know God (Mt 11:27). Jesus was born according to prophecy (Mt 1:18-23). He worked and spoke on behalf of God (Jn 5:19, Jn 17:8), died for the sins of humanity, and resurrected on the third day, all according to prophecy (1 Cor 15:3-4). Jesus is both one with the Father (Jn 10:30) and sitting at the right hand of God eternally in authority over all creation (Acts 7:55-56). We believe that it is only through Jesus that we can have salvation and eternal life (Jn 11:25-26, Jn 14:6).

The Bible tells us that there are two kinds of spirits: holy and evil (1 Jn 4:1). Holy spirits belong to God; evil spirits belong to God’s enemy the devil. Humans have spirits as well, and God wants our spirits to resemble His own holy and living Spirit (Mt 5:48). Although God originally made the spirit of man in His own image (Gn 1:26-27), we were deceived by God’s enemy and we sinned (Gn 3:1-6, Gn 6:5), corrupting our spirits. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), but through the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, our debt of sin can be paid (1 Jn 2:2), and by being born again of the imperishable seed of God’s word (1 Pt 1:23), our spirit can be restored to God and life. In addition, God sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of His people on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2). This Holy Spirit united with the newly living spirits of the disciples and gave them the power they needed to testify the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit works within the hearts of believers to teach, convict, sanctify, comfort, strengthen, and encourage (Rom 8:26, 1 Cor 2:10-14, Gal 5:22-23, Eph 3:16); it also gives the power to speak God’s words on God’s behalf (2 Pt 1:21). But the Holy Spirit that came at the Pentecost was only a down payment of what God has promised us (2 Cor 1:22, 2 Cor 5:5, Eph 1:14). The fullness of God’s Holy Spirit will come upon us when we are fully changed (1 Cor 15:51-54), when the kingdom comes, and when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven (Mt 6:10, Rv 21:1-7).

We believe God created humans as His prized possessions (Ex 19:5) to be united with Him in heart and mind. Although God desires His spirit to dwell within the temple of our hearts (1 Cor 3:16), this perfect communion was disrupted when we sinned against God (Gn 3, Is 59:2). Ever since our original sin, God has been working to redeem us (2 Pt 3:9). This loving work of salvation is fully accomplished through the work of Jesus at his first and second comings (Heb 9:28).

We believe it is God’s desire for all of humanity to learn the truth, be saved, and receive eternal life together with Him (1 Tm 2:4, 1 Jn 2:25). This incredible blessing is not something we can earn through our actions; rather, it is something we receive by the grace of God through faith in the blood of Jesus (Eph 2:8-9). Rather than mere intellectual assent, this faith is life changing. True saving faith is living faith in Jesus, his work, and all of his teachings leading to holiness (Jas 2:17-18).