We Believe
that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, possesses all the
divine excellencies, and in these He is coequal, consubstantial, and
coeternal with the Father (John 10:30; 14:9).
We Believe
that in the incarnation (God becoming man) Christ surrendered only the
prerogatives of deity but nothing of the divine essence, either in
degree or kind. In His incarnation, the eternally existing second person
of the Trinity accepted all the essential characteristics of humanity
and so became the God-man (Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 2:9). Thus, We Believe that
Jesus Christ represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness (Mic.
5:2; John 5:23; 14:9, 10; Col. 2:9).
We Believe
that our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23,
25; Luke 1:26-35); that He was God incarnate (John 1:1, 14); and that
the purpose of the incarnation was to reveal God, redeem men, and rule
over God's kingdom (Ps. 2:7-9; Is. 9:6; John 1:29; Phil. 2:9-11; Heb.
7:25, 26; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19).
We Believe
that, in the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity [God the
Son] laid aside His right to the full prerogatives of coexistence with
God, assumed the place of a Son, and took on an existence appropriate to
a servant while never divesting Himself of His divine attributes (Phil.
2:5-8).
We Believe
that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the
shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross and that His
death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory, and
redemptive (John 10:15; Rom. 3:24, 25; 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:24).
We Believe
that on the basis of the efficacy of the death of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the believing sinner is freed from the punishment, the penalty,
the power, and one day the very presence of sin; and that he is declared
righteous, given eternal life, and adopted into the family of God (Rom.
3:25; 5:8, 9; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18).
We Believe
that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical
resurrection from the dead and that He is now ascended to the right hand
of the Father, where He now mediates as our Advocate and High-Priest
(Matt. 28:6; Luke 24:38, 39; Acts 2:30, 31; Rom. 4:25; 8:34; Heb. 7:25;
9:24; 1 John 2:1).
We Believe
that in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, God confirmed
the deity of His Son and gave proof that God has accepted the atoning
work of Christ on the cross. Jesus' bodily resurrection is also the
guarantee of a future resurrection life for all believers (John 5:26-29;
14:19; Rom. 4:25; 6:5-10; 1 Cor. 15:20, 23).
We Believe
that Jesus Christ will return to receive the Church, which is His body,
unto Himself at the Rapture and, returning with His church in glory,
will establish His millennial kingdom on earth (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess.
4:13-18; Rev. 20).
We Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the One through whom God will judge all mankind (John 5:22, 23).