What We Believe - About God

We teach the existence of God (Heb. 11:6). Ultimately the belief in God must be a faith issue, not a reason or logic issue, though we teach that this is not an irrational faith (1 Cor. 1-2). We teach that God is one (Dt. 6:4; Is. 44:6; John 17:3), yet eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; Matt. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14).

God the Father

We teach that the Father is Father of all creation in general (Eph. 4:6) but that He is a special Father to believers (Rom. 8:14-15). We teach that God is personal in that He relates with His creation, especially mankind. As such, He has attributes of purity, integrity, and love.

• Attributes of Purity
  • Holiness (Lev. 11:44; 1 Sam 2:2; Ps. 5:4; Is. 6:3; 1 Pet. 1:15-16)
  • Righteousness (Ezek. 9:15; Ps. 119:137, 142)
  • Justice (Ps. 45:6; Is. 61:8)
  • Anger (Deut. 9:18-20; 1 Kings 11:9-11; Rev. 6:16-17)

• Attributes of Integrity
  • Genuine (Jer. 10; Jn. 17:3; 1 Thes. 1:9; 1 Jn. 5:20)
  • Truth (1 Sam. 15:29; Jer. 10:10; Jn. 14:6)
  • Faithful (2 Sam. 7:28; 1 Kings 8:56; Ps. 33:4; 2 Tim. 2:13)

• Attributes of Love (Deut. 7:7-8; Ps. 63:3; Jer. 31:3; Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8)
  • Goodness (Ps. 34:8; 84:11; 106:1; 107:1)
  • Grace (Neh. 9:31; 2 Cor. 12:9; Titus 2:11-13; Is. 30:18)
  • Mercy (Ps. 78:38; Lam. 3:22; Luke 6:36)
  • Patience (Num. 14:18; Ps. 78:38)
  • Initiative (Eph. 1:17)

We teach that God is much greater than men and nations and that nothing compares to Him. As such, He has attributes of majesty and greatness. (Ps. 103; Ps. 139; Is. 40).

• Attributes of Majesty and Greatness
  • He is a Spirit (Jn. 4:24; Acts 7:48-50; 2 Cor. 3:17)
  • He is Infinite or Unlimited
    • In time (eternal) (Ps. 45:6; Is. 40:28; Dan. 4:34; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 1:8)
    • In space (omnipresent) (Ps. 46:1; Ps. 139:7-10; Matt. 28:20)
    • In wisdom (omniscient) (2 Chr. 16:9; Ps. 139; 147:4; Prov. 15:3; Is. 44)
    • In ability (omnipotent) (Gen. 18:14; Matt. 19:26; Jer. 32:27)
  • He is Unchangeable (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 102:26; Mal. 3:6)
  • He is Sovereign (Dan. 4:35-36; Ps. 95:3-5; 24:1
    
    

We teach that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe (Gen. 1:1, John 1:1-3, Col. 1:16-17, Heb. 11:3) – creation involving all three persons of the Trinity (1 Cor. 8:6; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30). We teach the literal interpretation of Genesis 1 and therefore a six day creation and a young earth (Ex. 20:11). We reject Theistic Evolution (Gen.2:7; Rom. 5:12).

We teach that God is actively involved in the preservation of His creation (Ps. 36:6; 63:8; 145; Acts 17:28; Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:17).  We teach that God has intervened in the course of history. He is not a passive observer. We reject Deism (belief in the existence of God on purely rational grounds and denial of His continuing control, influence, and involvement in His creation). We teach God’s miraculous intervention in the history of man (Ex. 4:1-9, 31; John 20:30-31), including the miraculous inspiration of His Word, the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:18-23) and His miraculous resurrection (1 Cor. 15). We teach that God is still miraculously and providentially involved in the affairs of mankind and acts of nature (Dan. 4:34-37; Ps. 104; Prov. 16:33; Phil. 4:19).

We teach that, though God is not responsible for sin and its consequences, He is not defeated by evil (Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28; Job).

We teach that salvation is, beginning to end, the work of God (Eph. 1:4-6; Rom. 8:15; John 1:12; Gal. 4:5; Heb. 12:5-9).

God the Son

We teach that Jesus Christ is God the Son (John 20:31; Phil. 2:6-8). More specifically, we teach that Jesus Christ is Jehovah! We teach the Holy Spirit conception and Virgin birth of Jesus Christ (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:22-23).

• Jesus is called God (John 1:1; 1:18; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 1 Jn. 5:20).
• Jesus is worshipped as God (Jn. 5:23; Phil. 2:10-11; Heb. 1:6).
• Jesus is identified as Jehovah (Matt. 3:3 – Is. 40:3; Heb. 1:6 – Psalm 97:7).
• Christ is distinct from the Father and Spirit (Ps. 2:7; Matt. 27:46; Gal. 4:4; John 5:32, 27).

• Jesus Christ became fully human at the incarnation (Lk. 2:52; Rom. 5; 1 Tim. 2:5; 3:16; Jn. 1:14; 1 John 4:2-3; Gal. 4:4). Therefore, we teach that Christ is at the same time fully God and fully man (Jn. 1:14; Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 3:16).
  We teach that Jesus Christ became the sinless substitute who paid the price for the sin of mankind by the shedding of His blood and His death on the cross of Calvary (Is. 53:4-6; John 3:16; Rom. 3:23-24; 5:8; 1 Cor. 5:19-21; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). We teach that the gospel message is that Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4). We teach that following His resurrection Christ’s body was glorified and He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:11). We further teach that Christ is currently living and making intercession for believers (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1).

We teach that Jesus Christ is the only perfect prophet (Mt. 13:57; 21:4, 11; Jn. 14:26; 16:13), priest (Jn. 17; Heb. 5:5-6; 7:25; 9:24), and king (Is. 9:7; Mt. 13:41; 28:18-20).

God the Holy Spirit

We teach that the Holy Spirit is God and is distinct from the Father and Son. In that He is eternal (Heb. 9:14), non-derived, and possesses intellect (1 Cor. 2:10-13), emotions (Eph. 4:30), and will (1 Cor. 12:11), we teach that the Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity and not just a "power."

We teach that His works include creation (Gen. 1:2), glorifying the Son, convicting the world of sin (John 16:7-14), testifying of Christ (John 15:26), interceding for believers (Rom 8:26), and inspiring Scripture (John 14:26).

We teach that believers are indwelled by the Spirit of God the moment of conversion (Rom. 8:9) and that the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). Believers are to continually be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 5:18) by yielding to Him (Rom. 6:13) and by submission to the Word of God (Col. 3:12-17). The Holy Spirit transforms believers into the image of Christ (John 16:7-9; Rom. 8:29), empowers believers for ministry (John 14:12; 16:7; Acts 1:4-5) and gives spiritual gifts to every believer for the edifying of the Body of Christ (1 Pet. 4:11; Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11).

We teach that the Spirit of God is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints and that speaking in tongues and the working of verification miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, and were not intended to be characteristic of the life of every believer (1 Cor. 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:1-4). The authenticity of a messenger, today, is determined by His faithfulness to the truth of the completed Scriptures (2 Tim. 2:15). We recognize that miraculous phenomena can be counterfeited in order to lead people astray (Matt. 24:24)