Creed
The statement is a summary of biblical doctrine that is in concord with historic Christianity. The statement includes principal features of historic Christian creeds. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed (ancient Confessions of Faith) are included at the conclusion of this Statement of Faith. The inspired Scripture is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ the Lord who is the focus of divine revelation.
Tap or mouse over scripture references to read verses.
Jude 3 -- "Contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints."
The Kingdom
GOD IS THE ETERNAL KING and his kingdom is everlasting. From His throne, through His Son, His eternal Word, God created, upholds and governs all that exists: the heavenly places, the angelic hosts, the universe, the earth, every living thing, and human beings. Psalm 45:6 Psalm 145:13 1 Corinthians 8:6 Psalm 95:3-5 Psalm 103:19 Colossians 1:16-17 Psalm 22:28
THE KINGDOM OF GOD is the central theological motif that gives definition to all that we believe. Rooted in the vision of the Hebrew prophets, and fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, we understand the kingdom of God as the overarching and integrating theme of the inspired Scriptures. Matthew 4:17 John 3:3-5 Colossians 1:13-14 1 Peter 2:9 Revelation 1:5-6
One True God
THE ONE SOVEREIGN GOD eternally exists in three persons of one substance -- the everlasting Father, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and the Holy Spirit, the giver of life. The One Living and True God is an infinite, unchangeable, sovereign Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power, and love. Psalm 95:3 Psalm 31:19 Isaiah 43:13 Jeremiah 10:10 Matthew 5:48 John 1:18 John 4:24 John 14:9 2 Corinthians 13:14 1 John 4:8
Authority of the Scriptures
GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF AND TRUTH in the created order, in the Scriptures, and supremely in Jesus Christ. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in their entirety are verbally inspired by God and without error in the original writing. The inspired Scriptures are fully trustworthy and of supreme and final authority in all they say and are the only written Word of God. God’s revelation in Scripture and in Christ is unchangeable. The Holy Spirit still speaks today through the Scriptures and Christ. Psalm 19:1-2 Romans 1:19-20 2 Timothy 3:16 John 5:39-40 Hebrews 1:1-2 Hebrews 13:8
Creation
GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH out of nothing by His spoken word, and for His own glory. God created all things very good. Genesis 1:1 Genesis 1:31 Psalm 33:6-9 Psalm 89:11 Psalm 95:3-5 John 1:1-3 Romans 1:20 1 Corinthians 8:6 Colossians 1:15-17 Hebrews 1:1-3
GOD DIRECTLY CREATED ADAM AND EVE, the historical parents of the entire human race. They were created in His own image, distinct from all other living creatures, and in a state of original righteousness. Genesis 1:26-28 Genesis 2:7-8 Genesis 2:15 Genesis 2:21-23 Psalm 8:4-6
The Fall
SATAN, SIN, AND EVIL POWERS EXIST, and all these have been defeated by God in the cross of Christ. Satan, originally a great, good angel, rebelled against God, taking a host of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence and, as a usurper of God’s rule, established a counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth. Genesis 3:1 Isaiah 14:12-15 Ezekiel 28:13-17 John 8:44 Ephesians 2:1-2 Ephesians 6:12 Colossians 1:13-14 1 John 5:19 Revelation 12:7-9
OUR FIRST PARENTS were created good, for God said, "Let us make man in our own image, according to our likeness." However, man and woman sinned by rebelling against God’s revealed will and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death. As a result all human beings are born with a sinful nature that leads them to sin in thought, word, and deed. Genesis 1:26-27 Genesis 2:16-17 Genesis 3:1 Genesis 3:6-7 Psalm 51:5 Romans 5:12-19 Romans 8:20-23 Galatians 1:4
Jesus Christ and His Work
JESUS CHRIST WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, born of the Virgin Mary, was true God and true man, existing in one person and without sin. After his earthly ministry of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, the crucified body of our Lord was raised from the dead. He ascended into heaven and ministers in His present life there as Lord of all, and as High Priest and Advocate for those reconciled to God through him.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, triumphing over all evil. All who believe in Him are justified by His shed blood, forgiven of all their sins, and brought into right standing with God.
ALL WHO RECEIVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit, are given the authority to become children of God, and are qualified and enabled to offer spiritual worship acceptable to God. They are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Beloved Son.
The Holy Spirit
THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLS every believer in Jesus Christ, giving life to believers, enabling them to understand the Scriptures, and empowering them for godly living. He is our abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. We believe in the filling or the empowering of the Holy Spirit, often a conscious experience, for witness and ministry today. We believe in the present ministry of the Spirit and in the exercise of all of the biblical gifts of the Spirit.
People of the Kingdom, the Church
THE ONE, HOLY, UNIVERSAL CHURCH is the body of Christ and is composed of the communities of Christ’s people. The task of Christ’s people in this world is to be God’s redeemed community, embodying His love by worshipping God with confession, prayer, and praise; by proclaiming the gospel of God’s redemptive love through our Lord Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth by word and deed; by caring for all of God’s creation and actively seeking the good of everyone, especially the poor and needy.
Ever-Increasing Kingdom
GOD'S KINGDOM HAS COME in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, that it continues to come in the ministry of the Spirit through the Church, and that it will be consummated in the glorious, visible, and triumphant appearing of Christ – His return to the earth as King.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD is the future reign of God breaking into the present through the life and ministry of Jesus and through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit. We are forward-leaning in faith as we "taste the powers of the Age to Come" in both message and practice. We emphasize the ever-reforming nature of the Holy Spirit's activity in our lives and in the renewed church.
Regeneration of All Things
THE BLESSED HOPE is that Jesus Christ will soon return to this earth, personally, visibly, and unexpectedly. He will come in power and great glory to gather His elect and to bring His Kingdom to fulfillment.
AFTER CHRIST RETURNS TO REIGN, he will bring about the final defeat of Satan and his works, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of the nations, the final judgment and the eternal blessing of the righteous, and eternal conscious punishment of the wicked. Finally, God will be all in all. His kingdom, His rule and reign, will be fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth, recreated by His mighty power, in which righteousness dwells.
Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible published by the Lockman Foundation.
Ancient Confessions of Faith
Apostles' Creed (3rd - 4th Century AD)
I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit*, born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified, dead and buried**; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven; and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic Church*; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
* Holy Spirit - the modern translation Holy Spirit is used instead of the archaic name Holy Ghost.
* dead and buried - the phrase "he descended into hell" is not used because it is not attested in the earliest versions of the Apostles' Creed, and because of the doctrinal difficulties associated with it.
* holy catholic Church - the true Christian church of all times and all places.
The Nicene Creed (AD 325, revised at Constantinople AD 381)
I believe in one God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And one Holy Catholic* and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
* Holy Catholic - the true Christian church of all times and all places.