Statement (Tenets) of Faith
To be discipled into oneness with our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (being of the same essence) and into the knowledge, hope and faith of eternal life as characterized by the following:
(Philippians 2:9-11; Acts 5:3-4; Matthew 3:16, 17; John 17: 20-23; Ephesians 4:4-6; Titus 3:4-6)
a) we believe into the one triune God as revealed in the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek canonized Biblical texts and manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5–11) to be our infallible and inerrant guide through a personal relationship with our triune God in matters of conduct, doctrine and thought life (John 14:15-17, John 14:20 – 24; Ephesians 3:16-19; Colossians 1:15–19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13); 2 Peter 1:21);
b) we believe into the virgin birth of Christ, the deity of Christ, the all-sufficiency of Christ, His atoning sacrifice for sin, His physical and miraculous resurrection, the necessity of salvation by faith alone based on the work of Christ alone, the imminent return of Jesus where the dead in Christ and we which are alive in Christ shall be caught up together in the clouds with the Lord in the air (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), the physical bodily return of Christ to earth, the eternal conscious heavenly joy of those who are in Christ and the eternal conscious judgement and torment of those who are not in Christ (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 22:20; Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Hebrews 8:8; Hebrews 9:27; John 11:25; Matthew 12:40; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 2 Peter 2:4-9; Revelation 20:11-15);
c) we believe into repentance, justification by faith and water Baptism into the name of our Lord Jesus by full immersion. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38, 19:5; Romans 6:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27). We recognize that justification or the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law in Jesus Christ with the Law and the prophets bearing witness to it (Rom 3:21-22; Romans 4) referring to God’s own unshakable faithfulness. We recognize that repentance means a change from being Separated, Independent and Nowhere with relationship to our triune God into oneness with Father, Son and Holy Spirit through surrendering to the lordship of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sin (Separated, Independent and Nowhere) (Matthew 3:8, 11; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3, Luke 3:8; Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31; Acts 11:18; Acts 19:4; Acts 20:21; Acts 26:20; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; 2 Timothy 2:25);
d) we believe into the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12-13). We recognize that the Holy Spirit is not a power at our disposal but a place of surrendering to – nor is the Holy Spirit an independent power acting apart from the Heavenly Father the creator and sustainer of all things and the Son of God our Saviour and Redeemer. The Holy Spirit is the real living presence and power of the Father and the Son working in us to transform us into His likeness and through us for the Glory of our triune God (John 3:8; Acts 2:17,18; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 2 Timothy 4:22; 1 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 1:3; Titus 3:4-11);
e) we believe faith into our triune God is a conflation of promise, testing and fulfillment which includes obedience and fidelity into the knowledge of the inspired Word of God with experiencing the Lordship of the person of Jesus Christ leading into the transformational grace of being born from above – the movement from being Separated, Independent and Nowhere into oneness with Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 12-15; Genesis 18:12; Genesis 21; Genesis 22; 1 Samuel 16; 1 Samuel 17; Exodus 19:5; Amos 3:2; Isaiah 7:9; Jeremiah 15:10-18; Deuteronomy 30:1-2; Jeremiah 29:10-14; Psalm 103:17-18; Exodus 13:3-4; Deuteronomy 4:9-10; Mark 1:15; Mark 11:22-24; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Acts 20:21; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 1:23; Galatians 2:16; John 14:15; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13);
f) we acknowledge that the essence of idolatry is to attempt to make God manageable (Isaiah 42:8; 1 John 5:21) through the deceit and deception connected with idolatry (Isaiah 57:4 ff.; Jeremiah 3:23; Jeremiah 13:25; Acts 5:1-11). We believe to be born from above of the Spirit of God means that we must let go before we lay hold, and in the first stages it is the relinquishing of all pretense that God is made in our image but, to understand through Holy Scripture and the Holy Spirit we are being made into God’s Image (Romans 8:29; Galatians 2:19, Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10);
g) we believe into sanctification – the going on unto perfection into holiness. (Romans 6:19; Hebrews 6:1) This process recognizes that God loves the world and everyone in it, but those who are of the world and those who love the world do not love Him. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life will all pass away but obedience to God into the Spiritual life in Jesus Christ will never pass away (John 3:16; 1 John 2:15-17; Colossians 3:1-17; John 14:15);
h) we believe into the laying on of hands accompanied by prophecy (Acts 13:2-3; 1 Timothy 4:14). In this we acknowledge God’s omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience, which the fulness there of is beyond human grasp, but our understanding is in experiencing a Theo/Christo/Pnuemocentric world view. We recognize that approaching our triune God through prayer, fasting and worship must not be a matter of coercion but in the eschatological joy of the dawning Kingdom opening our hearts to God to be obedient (Matthew 28:20; John 14:15; Colossians 2:20-23; 1 Timothy 4:7-8). We recognize wherever the New Testament speaks of requests made to God, it emphasizes with certainty that such requests are heard, encouraging men and women to keep their prayer life alive and not to let such certainty weaken or become diminished through doubt, where the prayer dies. The main thing about our intimacy with God, is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain, and the atmosphere produced by that relationship – God’s deep, restful assurance (inspiration of the indwelling Holy Spirit) fills us when we wait quietly before Him (Matthew 6:8; Matthew 7:7–11; Matthew 18:19; Matthew 21:22; John 14:13f.; John 15:7-16; John 16:23f., John 26; 1 John 3:22; 1 John 5:14f.; James 1:5). We believe therefore, to cultivate the habit of waiting on God, not only for what we think we need or in praying for others, but through the faith, knowledge and obedience all His grace and power are ready to do for us.
We acknowledge in the light of living in a Theo/Christo/Pnuemocentric atmosphere; the apostle Paul was no stranger to the phenomena frequently linked to prophetic activity. “Acts tells us that he was the recipient of visions (Acts 9:12; Acts 16:9; Acts 18:9) and trances (Acts 22:17) and that he experienced angelic appearances (Acts 27:23–25). In his letters he claims to have received revelations (2 Cor 12:1, 2 Cor 12:7; Gal 1:12) through the Spirit (1 Cor 2:10). Occasionally he speaks of a “command” (entolē) of the Lord (1 Cor 14:37) or a “word” (logos) of the Lord (1 Thess 4:15), and he views himself as one who had been called to pass on the meaning of what had previously been “hidden” or “mysterious” but which was now to be revealed and declared (1 Cor 4:1; 1 Cor 15:15; Eph 3:3–4; Eph 5:32; Eph 6:19; Col 4:3). Furthermore, Paul claimed to know of a man, in all likelihood himself, who was “caught up into Paradise” (2 Cor 12:4; see Heaven, Heavenlies, Paradise), where he heard unspeakable things. Acts portrays Paul as one “full of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:9) and as “bound in the Spirit” (Acts 20:22), and in 1 Corinthians Paul claims to “have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 7:40) in the sense that he believed his reflections to be totally in line with those of God. In short, the evidence from Acts and the letters is that Paul was clearly at home with a range of prophetic phenomena, and as such his teaching on the subject reflects his own experience (Cecil M. Robeck Jr., “Prophesy, Prophesying” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 757).”
In the Corinthian Christian Gatherings Paul had to deal with abuses of the gifts of the Holy Spirit from within the Household of God as well as from without. In this we understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given through the love of God in His kindness, patience, compassion and for His transformational will in the building up of the Household of God (1 Corinthians 13). On our part, we are not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation; we must remain dedicated to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, sin, and Satan, recognizing the responsibility of being transformed by the renewing of our minds through studying the Word of God to show ourselves approved (2 Corinthians 10:5; 2 Timothy 2:15).
We acknowledge that the ritual of the laying on of hands is a practice found in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures as an act of blessing (Genesis 48:18; Numbers 27; 15ff; Deuteronomy 34:9); in connection with miracles of healing (Matt. 9:18; Mark 5:23; Mark 6:5; Mark 7:32; Mark 8:23; Luke 13:13; Acts 28:8); blessing the children who were brought to Jesus (Matt. 19:13, Matt. 19:15); belonging in the context of Baptism of water and the Spirit (Acts 8:17ff.; Acts 9:17; Acts 19:6); relating to ordination and being sent out (Acts 6:6; Acts 13:3; Hebrews 6:2; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6); as performed by the apostles, prophets and teachers, the elders, and by Paul. We recognize the laying on of hands is closely connected with fasting and intercessory prayer focused on maintaining a personal atmospheric and relational history into our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;
i) we believe into the five ministries and the truths concerning the operations of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4.8-16; 1 Corinthians 12: 1-13);
j) we believe divine healing and deliverance is provided for in the Atonement (1 Corinthians 12:9; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Peter 2.24);
k) we believe into the liberty to praise and worship Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Psalm 149:1- 6a; Psalm 150; John 4:24). In this we recognize our Triune God through the grace of discernment, perception, and purpose He has created in us for His glory. We also recognize the grace of hope, joy and peace we experience from our Heavenly Father through His love reconciling us to Himself by giving ourselves to the sacrifice of His only begotten Son our Lord and Saviour through the waters of baptism and completed by receiving the transformational grace of His Holy Spirit (Psalm 139:1-24; Psalm 51:1-19; John 3:5-21; Romans 5:1-21, Colossians 3:16-17);
l) we believe God is restoring His truth today, the heavens have received Jesus Christ until restoration of all things spoken by the prophets (Jeremiah 15:19; Jeremiah 16:15; Jeremiah 24:6; Jeremiah 50:19 [27:19 LXX]; Ezekiel 16:55; Hosea 11:11) and (Acts 3.19-21);
m) we believe that the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, or Marriage, is a complete and comprehensive union, oriented toward procreation, covenantal and lifelong, between one man born male and one woman born female. We recognize that marriage is a principal image in the Scriptures for describing the binding covenantal relationship between YHWH and Israel (Jeremiah 3; Jeremiah 31:31–33; Isaiah 54:5; 62:5; Ezekiel 16; Hosea 2) and again between Christ and the Body of Christ (Ephesians 5:22–32; Galatians 4:26–28; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7–10; Revelation 21:9–21; 22:17). We recognize the foremost idea conveyed through this image is not sexual union, but complete steadfastness, fidelity, and loyalty and it is based on YHWH’s fidelity to his people that the people of God are to understand the permanent and comprehensive union that is human marriage.