There is one God in whom there are three eternal, simultaneous persons — the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit . All three are the one God, yet there is only one God, not three, and not one person who took three modes, or forms.
God the Father:
God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. He is the Creator of all things. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is the only Supreme Being with no gods created before or after Him in all of existence, in all places, at all times.
God the Son:
Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, is the Word (God) who became a man. He added human nature to His divine nature. He is presently both human and divine, and, therefore, has two natures. Yet, He is one person, not two. He is not part God and part man. He is presently a man, one person, with two natures where one is wholly God and the other wholly man. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God. He accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross and His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory,and redemptive. Our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and He is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He now mediates as our Advocate and High Priest.
God the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Scriptures:
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and
therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
Man:
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. As a result, man is unable to come close to God through his own efforts, nor can he win salvation by his attempt at good works, nor once saved does he maintain his salvation by his works, nor can he understand the spiritual things of God on his own.
Salvation:
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. There is no salvation apart from personal
faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
Regeneration – A work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Justification – We are saved from damnation by the undeserved and unearned mercy and kindness of God, not because of our good works but because of the imputed righteousness of Christ to the one who has faith in Christ alone. This justification is received by faith alone and only upon trusting the true and living Lord Jesus.
Sanctification – Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire and increases our ability to repent from sin — by God’s grace. This process continues all of the Christian’s life and is a the result of salvation, not a cause of it.
Security – All the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. It is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word,
which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for sinful living and carnality.
The Church:
The Lord Jesus is the Head of the Church, which is composed of all His true disciples, and in Him is invested supremely all power for its government. According to His commandment, Christians are to associate themselves into particular societies or churches; and to each of these churches He has given needful authority for administering the order, discipline and worship which He has appointed. The regular officers of a church are Bishops (or Elders) and Deacons.
Baptism:
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is an outward manifestation of an inward reality. Baptism does not save anyone. We are made right before God by faith, not by faith and baptism.
Lord’s Supper:
The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with bread and wine, and to be observed by His churches till the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is designed to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith of Christians, and to be a bond, pledge, and renewal of their communion with Him, and of their church fellowship.
Second Coming:
Jesus Christ will bodily and visibly return from heaven with great glory and majesty. Then all human creatures will appear in person before Him to be judged — men, women, and children, who have lived from the beginning until the end of the world. The evil ones will receive everlasting torment. The faithful ones will receive everlasting life on a new world. So we look forward to that great day with longing in order to enjoy fully the promises of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
