There is only one God. God exists and has always existed as three
Persons-Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father, Son, and Spirit are not
merely three manifestations or roles of one Person, but are three
eternally-coexistent and eternally-distinct Persons. Yet each Person
shares the same nature, essence, or being; in other words, each is God.
Among God's attributes are complete power, complete knowledge of all
things (including knowledge of all future occurrences), and the ability
to immediately affect His will at any place.
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27, 3:22; Psalms 90:2; Matthew 28:19; I Peter 1:2;
II Corinthians 13:14; Luke 3:21,22; John 1:1-5, Isaiah 46:9,10
God the Father
The Father created and reigns over all that is seen and unseen. He
is God. He is spirit, not physical, and therefore does not have a body.
He is the Father of all who have faith in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27, 3:22; John 4, Col 1:3-14; Galatians 4:6; John
14:1-17
God the Son
Jesus Christ is the only and eternal Son of God. All things were
created through Him. He is God. He is eternally-begotten of the Father.
He is not created, but is co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit. He
was born of the Virgin Mary, thereby becoming fully human in both body
and soul, while remaining fully God-giving up none of His divine
attributes. Thus, He has both a sinless and complete human nature and a
complete divine nature, and yet He is one person. Untainted by the sin
of Adam, He lived a life without sin. His death on the cross was as a
substitution and a payment
for the sins of the world. He was buried, and on the third day after
His death, He was resurrected in a physical, yet glorified body. He
ascended into Heaven and will return again to judge the living and the
dead.
Matthew 1:22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14,
15; I Corinthians 15:3, 4; Romans 1:3, 4; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 6:14,
15; Titus 2:13
God the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the eternal Spirit of God. He is God. He is not
created, but is co-eternal with the Father and the Son. He indwells all
who have faith in Jesus Christ. In addition to drawing believers to the
faith, He cultivates Christian character in their lives and indwells
the Church, bestowing spiritual gifts to believers for the Church's
growth.
II Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16, 17; Acts 1:8; I
Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13, 5:18; Galatians 5:25
The Bible is the self-revelation of God to humankind and is thus the
word of God. It was written by human authors under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian
beliefs and living. Both the Old and New Testament point to Jesus
Christ and are true without any mixture of error. The canon of
protestant scripture is accepted to be the completed Bible.
II Timothy 1:13, 3:16; II Peter 1:20, 21; 3:16; Psalms 119:105,
160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5; Luke 24:25-27
Humanity is the highest creation of God, the object of His love. God
made humanity in His own image, and gave them dominion over creation.
Humans were created by God without sin, yet fell into sin because of
Adam's rebellion. As a result of Adam's sin, humans inherit a nature
that is (1) guilty of Adam's original sin (2) unable and unwilling to
come to God, and (3) guilty of personal sins, which are the fruit of
this depraved nature. Thus all of fallen humanity is guilty before God.
A person's fallen condition is remedied only by the Holy Spirit's
drawing that person to faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have faith in
Jesus Christ are forgiven and adopted as children of God, and will
spend eternity with Him.
Genesis 1:27; Psalms 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; 59:1, 2; Romans 3:23;
5:12-21
Salvation is God's redemption of a person from sin. It is offered to
humankind through Jesus Christ. Salvation is the free gift of God. It
is through faith in Jesus Christ (which is a genuine turning from sin
and trusting in Christ's completed work on the cross as the only
sufficient payment for sin). Salvation includes (1) the work of the
Holy Spirit to draw a person to Jesus Christ, (2) one's being forgiven
and given the positive righteousness of Christ, (3) the lifelong
process by which the Holy Spirit transforms one's character to be like
Christ's, and (4) glorification, which will be brought about when
believers are bodily-resurrected to be forever with God. Those who do
not receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ will be eternally
separated from God in Hell. Because God gives us eternal life through
Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in his/her salvation for eternity.
Salvation cannot be lost. It is maintained by the grace and power of
God, not man.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8, 9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5;
Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1; John 10:29; II Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25,
10:10, 14; I Peter 1:3-5; John 3:16, 2:25, 5:11-13; Romans 6:23;
Revelation 20:15; 1 Corinthians 15:35-55; Daniel 12:2