The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testament, are the verbally inspired Word of God and the revelation of God to humanity. It is infallible, inerrant, authoritative and all sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do. (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:21)
We believe in one God that eternally exists as one essence and in three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, co-equal and coeternal, having precisely the same nature and attributes, and worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22; John 1:14; 2 Cor. 13:14).
We believe in God the Father, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, eternally begotten from God but not made by God, who in history took on the nature of man, thus being considered both fully God and fully man (John 1:14, Heb 1:3). We believe in the Holy Spirit who eternally proceeds from and is sent from the Father and the Son to give new life (John 15:26-27).The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, eternally begotten of God but not created by God. The Son is fully God and fully man. The Scriptures declare:
a. His virgin birth (Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:31,35)
b. His sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:26; 1 Pet. 2:22)
c. His miracles (Acts 2:22)
d. His substitutionary work on the cross (1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21)
e. His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matt. 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Cor. 15:4)
f. His exaltation to the right hand of God (Ps. 110:1; Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 1:3)
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune Godhead. He eternally proceeds from and is sent by the Father and the Son (John 15:26-27). We believe the role of the Holy Spirit is:
a. For the regeneration of the believer to bring about new life (John 3:3, 5, Titus 3:5-6);
b. Unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith (Eph. 1:13-14);
c. Empowers the believer to walk in obedience to God (Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:16-26);
d. Brings conviction to the world of sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:7-8); and,
e. Reveals God’s truth to those whom He has chosen (1 Cor 2:10-13).
We believe that there is biblical evidence for the ongoing infilling of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of empowerment of the believer (Acts 1:8; Acts 8:14-17; Eph. 5:18). This infilling for the purpose of empowerment may happen at the moment of salvation or be a separate event(s) after salvation (Acts 8:14-17; 10:44-48). At the moment of salvation a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit for regeneration and baptised into the body of Christ, the Church (Titus 3:5-6; 1 Cor. 12:13). The empowerment of the Holy Spirit endows the believer with power for life and service and the bestowment of spiritual gifts and their uses for the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:1-11).
The gifts of the Holy Spirit that we see on display in the New Testament are still active within the life of the church. These gifts did not end with the close of the New Testament or the death of the last apostle (1 Cor. 12:1-11).
God created humanity in His own image (Gen. 1:27-30). He created them male and female, of equal value, as the crowning work of His creation. Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union in the covenant of marriage that establishes the only Godordained pattern of sexual relations for men and women (Gen. 2:18-24). As God’s imagebearers every human being possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Humanity was created good and upright. However, through the temptation of Satan, humanity voluntarily and wilfully transgressed the command of God and fell from their original holiness and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12-19). Now, the entire human race inherits a corrupt nature that is opposed to God and His law (Rom. 3:9-20; 5:12-19).
Humanity’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God (Hebrews 9:22).
a. Conditions to Salvation
Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7)
b. The Evidence of Salvation
The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8:16). The outward evidence to all people is the genuine confession of faith and a life of righteousness and true holiness (Rom. 10:10; Eph 4:24; Titus 2:12).
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil and of dedication unto God (Gal. 2:20; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Tim. 2:21; Heb. 13:12). By the presence and power of the Holy Spirit indwelling the believer, the believer is able to progress toward spiritual maturity and holiness in obedience to Christ (2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:13-15). Sanctification involves every faculty of the believer - mind, will and body - being brought into submission to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:12-13; 12:1-2).
The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Holy Spirit and the fellowship of believers (1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 2:20-22). Each believer, born of the Spirit and whose name is written in heaven, is an integral part of the general assembly of those called by God to salvation and faith in His Son and has been baptised by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 2:22; Heb. 12:23).
The ultimate mission of the church is to bring glory to God by making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). The Church is called to make disciples through worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances, fellowship, the exercise of our gifts and talents, and the proclamation of the gospel both in our community and throughout the world.
The ministry of the church on earth is:
a. To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world (Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15- 16)
b. To be a corporate body in which people may worship God (1 Cor. 12:13)
c. To be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Cor 12:12-31).
a. Baptism in Water
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded in Scriptures (Matt. 3:16; Acts 8:38- 39). All who repent and believe in Christ as Saviour and Lord are to be baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Water baptism is in obedience to God’s command, the public profession of one’s faith, and identification and symbolic demonstration of the believer’s union with Christ’s death and resurrection. In baptism, the believer declares to God, the Church, oneself, and to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of Life (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47- 48; Rom. 6:3-4; Col 2:12).
b. Holy Communion
The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements - the bread and the fruit of the vine - is the symbol expressing the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf. Its ongoing observance signifies our continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death; a memorial and proclamation of His suffering and death; and the unity we share as members of one body (1 Cor. 11:17-34).
According to the promise of God in His Word, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead shall be raised; and, Christ will judge all humanity. The unrighteous, whose names are not written in the Book of Life, and the devil with his angels will be consigned to everlasting punishment (Rev. 20:7-15). The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will live and reign with Christ forever (Matt. 25:46). The Lord will make a new heavens and a new earth, and thus, redeem all of creation (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1-8).
Our beliefs.
The fundamental teachings of the Church are reflected in the following statements of faith.