We believe the Bible to be the inspired, only, inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God.
We believe in the One True God, the Sovereign, Eternal Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen, material and immaterial, human and divine. God is eternally existent in three distinct Persons {Father, Son, and Holy Spirit}, yet one indivisible essence.
We believe in the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless Life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily Resurrection, in His Ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal Return in power and glory for His Church and with His Church. Jesus is truly Hupostasis: undeniable Deity and sinless Humanity welded as One forevermore.
We believe God created Mankind in His image. We believe men and women bear the image of God as creative beings {"sub-creators," as Tolkien called us}, with a conscience designed to function in harmony with His Word, as deeply relational creatures possessing tremendous capacity emotionally, intellectually, physically, and when "in step with His Spirit," spiritually and eternally.
We believe Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against God and go their own way. As a result, all of Mankind became separated from God; the image of God in man was distorted; Mankind became subject to the power of the devil; and the sinful nature was passed on to all their progeny. Because of original sin, unregenerate human beings are incapable of pleasing or commending themselves to God. The only remedy for Mankind's pitiful predicament is redemption and restoration through faith in Jesus Christ. As many have expressed it before us... by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
We believe when someone exercises saving faith in Jesus Christ {when we choose to trust Him with everything we are} they pass immediately out of spiritual death into spiritual Life and become a New Creation in Him, a new nature imparted and his or her heart circumcised unto God; being justified freely and fully by grace, they are accepted before the Father as Christ Jesus, His Son, is accepted and loved as Christ is loved— having their place, portion, and position linked with Christ and one with Christ— forever.
We believe the full and finished Work of Jesus the Messiah includes His Death in our place, His Resurrection in power, and His Ascension to glory.
We believe in the Resurrection Power of Jesus Christ to conquer and 'overcome' on the Field of Life, and that the Holy Spirit who dwells within our hearts is the Source and Wielder of this power, this strength, of the courage, character and conviction of Christ. It is His "fruit," and we surrender ourselves to Him {submitting ourselves to Abba's will and consecrating ourselves, body-soul-and-spirit, to Christ daily} so He might bear fruit through us to a world waiting desperately to see if there is Life before death to go with the Life after we've promised them.
Jesus came to put a human face on God; our Mission as His Apprentices, His hands and feet and eyes and ears and mouth, is to put a human face on Jesus. We believe this is done primarily through our lives, our actions, through how we treat other people on a moment by moment basis, and only secondarily through our lips. The unbelieving world has heard 2000 years of Christian rhetoric; what it's watching, waiting, longing to see is some Christian reality. As a Saint of old once put it, "Preach the Gospel at all times ...and when necessary, use your lips."
We believe in the Resurrection of both the saved and the lost— they who are saved unto the Resurrection of Life and they who are lost unto the resurrection of condemnation {Jn. 5:21-29}.
We believe in the spiritual Community of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ— one Body with one Head.
The Church as the worldwide Body of Believers is an economically diverse and ethnically encompassing entity which Abba intends to operate in culturally unique ways to spread the boundaries of His Kingdom and the Life of His Son. This means the rich, poor, and everything in between walk and war side by side, that every race from every culture in every country is welcome, and that our Mission is not to make miniature versions of our society all over the world, but to fight for the hearts of Humanity by offering them, through our lives first {action} then through our lips {theology}, the Freedom and Life of the Lord Jesus Christ, King over all Kings.
We believe local churches should reflect this historical reality.
