What We Believe 

1. THE BIBLE

We believe that all 66 Books of the Bible are God-breathed₁₀₇₂.  They were inspired by God through the Holy Ghost to the prophets and Apostles who composed them₁₀₇₃.  The Bible is complete, infallible and inerrant truth. It has the highest authority. No-one is allowed to distort it in any way₁₀₇₄.  The Bible clearly states God’s purpose of salvation and redemption of mankind_1075.  The Bible is the highest standard of our Christian life and ministry. Since we are under the new covenant (testament), we believe that the understanding and teachings of the New Testament are the primary example of how we are to live in this present world. We are against any denials of the Bible; we are against any teaching or theories that regard the Bible as out of date, or as erroneous; we are also against the practice of believing only in selected sections of the Scripture₁₀₇₆.  We want to emphasize that the Scriptures must be interpreted in light of their historical context and within the overall context of scriptural teachings. While interpreting the Bible, one must seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the principle of interpreting the Scripture by the Scripture₁₀₇₇.  The interpretation should be coherent and consistent, but not based on isolated verses. Though we believe the Bible to be infallible, Biblical interpretation should take into account the orthodox faith that has been taken as the heritage of the Church down through history. We are against interpretation of the Scripture merely according to one’s own will, or by subjective spiritualization₁₀₇₈.

1072 – 2 Timothy 3:16
1073 – Hebrews 1:1, 1 Peter 1:10
1074 – Romans 3:4, Revelation 22:18-19
1075 – John 3:16, 2 Peter 3:9
1076 – Psalm 19:7–9, Acts 20:27
1077 – 1 John 2:27, 1 Corinthians 2:13

2. THE GODHEAD

We believe in the only ONE true God,₁₀₇₉ the eternally self-existing God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost₁₀₈₀. We believe the nature of God is triune.  While sharing the same nature, the same honor and the same glory, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct persons who have different functional roles in the work of redemption. The Father planned salvation; the Son fulfilled salvation; while the Holy Spirit applies the salvation₁₀₈₁.  However, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not separate and independent of each other. They are one in unity. The Son reveals the Father;₁₀₈₂ the Holy Spirit reveals the Son;₁₀₈₃ the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are together worshipped and praised. We pray to the Father through the Holy Spirit in the Name of the Son₁₀₈₄.  We believe that God created the universe and all things, and He created man in His own image₁₀₈₅. God has all things in His own control and sustains all things₁₀₈₆.  He is the Lord of human history. The Almighty God is a righteous, holy, faithful and loving God. He is omniscient,₁₀₈₇ omnipresent₁₀₈₈ and omnipotent₁₀₈₉. He manifests His sovereignty throughout human history₁₀₉₀. The Son and the Holy Spirit are eternal: the Son has the relationship of Son to the Father, but is not created;₁₀₉₁ the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son. God is spirit. He has no visible form or shape. Christians should worship Him in spirit and in truth₁₀₉₂. Christians have no other object of worship apart from this triune God. We reject wrong explanations of the trinity, such as: one body with three forms (like water, ice and vapor), or one body with three identities (like the sun, light and heat; or the son, the father and the husband).

1078 – 2 Peter 1:20
1079 – John 17:3, Ephesians 4:5
1080 – Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 John 5:7
1081 – Ephesians 1:5
1082 – Luke 10:22
1083 – 1 Corinthians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 12:3
1084 – 1 Corinthians 1:2
1085 – Genesis 1:27
1086 – Hebrews 1:3
1087 – Psalms 147:5, Hebrews 4:13, Psalms 139:4
1088 – Acts 17:24, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Psalms 139:7-12
1089 – Matthew 19:26, Jeremiah 32:27, Psalms 147:5
1090 – Revelation 4:11, Proverbs 16:4

3. CHRIST

We believe that Jesus is God’s unique and only begotten Son, that He is the Word who became flesh and came to this world₁₀₉₃.  In His perfect humanity He was tempted yet never sinned₁₀₉₄.  He gave Himself to the death on the cross, and shed His blood to redeem everyone who has faith in Him from sin and death₁₀₉₅.  He rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, was seated at the right hand of the Father, received Holy Spirit from the Father, and sent the Spirit to those who believe in Him₁₀₉₆.  At the end of the age, Jesus is going to come back to judge the world₁₀₉₇. Christians receive the status of sonship from God, but they remain human; they will never become God or a god₁₀₉₈.  Nobody knows the exact date of Jesus’ return, but we are confident that Jesus will return₁₁₀₀.    We are against any teaching that says Jesus has come the second time in His incarnated form₁₁₀₀.  We are opposed to anyone who claims himself to be Christ₁₁₀₁.  Any teaching, such as “full preterist”, that claims Jesus has already returned is a heresy.

1091 – John 1:1-3, Proverbs 30:4, Hebrews 1:3
1092 – John 4:24
1093 – John 1:14, John 3:16
1094 – Hebrews 4:15
1095 – Matthew 20:28, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24
1096 – Acts 2:33
1097 – 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8
1098 – Romans 8:15
1099 – Matthew 24:36
1100 – 2 Thessalonians 2:3

4. REDEMPTION

We believe if a person has confessed his sin and repented,₁₁₀₂ if he has believed in Jesus as the Son of God who died for our sin on the cross and resurrected from the dead on the third day₁₁₀₃ to pardon our sins,₁₁₀₄ and if he has received the Holy Spirit₁₁₀₅ that God has promised, then he is born again and saved₁₁₀₆.  It is by grace and through faith that we are saved₁₁₀₇.  By faith we are justified; by faith we receive the Holy Spirit, and by faith we become the sons of God. We believe that God can keep His children completely in Jesus Christ,₁₁₀₈ while the believers are obligated to hold on to their faith firmly till the end₁₁₀₉.  We believe that the indwelling of the Holy Ghost is evidence of salvation, and that the Spirit of God testifies with our spirit that we are children of God₁₁₁₀.  We are against the practice of taking any specific phenomenon or personal experiences as common criterions of salvation for all. We are against any doctrine that teaches a saved person is allowed to freely sin under God’s grace₁₁₁₁.  We are against the teaching of multi-salvation (that one can continually lose but then continually gain back his salvation many times).  While standing against any justification for sinning, we are also against any teaching that a born again believer can never sin_1111(a). We are against salvation by keeping the law₁₁₁₂.  We believe that all believers are commanded to be baptized, and to reject baptism is to disobey the clear commands of our Lord Jesus. We do not believe that water baptism washes away sins, as only the blood of Jesus can do this (1 John 1:7).

1101 – Matthew 24:4-5
1102 – Mark 1:14-15, Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38
1103 – 1 Corinthians 15:4
1104 – Ephesians 1:7
1105 – Ephesians 1:13
1106 – John 3:3
1107 – Ephesians 2:8
1108 – Jude 1:24, John 10:28
1109 – Hebrews 3:14
1110 – Romans 8:16
1111 – Romans 6:1-2, Titus 2:12
1111(a) – James 5:19-20, 1 John 2:1
1112 – Galatians 2:21

5. THE HOLY GHOST

We believe the Holy Ghost is the third person in the Godhead. He is the Comforter, the Spirit of God,₁₁₁₃ the Spirit of Christ,₁₁₁₄ the Spirit of truth,₁₁₁₅ and the Spirit of holiness₁₁₁₆. The illumination of the Holy Spirit convicts man of his sins, brings him to the knowledge of truth, leads him to faith in Christ and therefore to being born again and salvation. The Holy Spirit leads believers into the truth, teaches them to understand the truth, and guides them to submission to Christ as well as to the fruitfulness of the abundant life. The Holy Spirit bestows upon believers all kinds of power, and witnesses the powerful deeds of God with signs and wonders₁₁₁₇.  The Holy Spirit searches all things₁₁₁₈. In Christ, God grants a diversity of gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church so as to manifest the glory of Christ₁₁₁₉.  With faith and desire, Christians can experience the pouring down of the Holy Spirit on them and be filled with the Holy Ghost₁₁₂₀.  We deny any doctrine that teaches the cessation of signs and wonders or the termination of the gifts of the Holy Spirit after the age of the Apostles.  We don’t forbid the speaking of tongues,₁₁₂₁ neither do we force people to speak in tongues, or insist that speaking in tongues is the evidence of salvation. We are against the teaching that tongues is the “only” evidence of being filled with the Holy Ghost. We believe that it is heresy to teach that one is not saved unless they have spoken in tongues. We refute the view that the Holy Spirit is merely a kind of inspiration instead of being the third person of the Godhead. We believe that the baptism of the Holy Ghost can occur at or subsequent to salvation and will empower the believer for service and for his/her gift. We believe that being baptized in the Holy Ghost is synonymous with being filled with the Holy Ghost and should occur often in a believers walk. We believe that the evidence of one being baptized with the Holy Ghost is one or more of the following:

1)  Overwhelming presence of God that breaks the yoke of sin, and produces the strongest desire to know God through His word and fellowship with other saints of God.

2)  Instant freedom from all known sin_1121(a).

3)  Empowerment for service. Manifestation and empowerment of a spiritual gift including evangelism.

1113 – John 14:26, 2 Corinthians 3:17
1114 – Romans 8:9
1115 – John 16:13
1116 – Romans 1:4
1117 – Romans 15:19
1118 – 1 Corinthians 2:10
1119 – 1 Corinthians 12:14
1120 – Joel 2:28, Ephesians 5:18
1121 – 1 Corinthians 14:39
1121(a) – 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7

6. THE CHURCH

We believe that the Church is composed of all who are called by God in Jesus Christ₁₁₂₂. Christ is the Head of the Church. The Church is the body of Christ,₁₁₂₃ the house of God, and the pillar and foundation of truth₁₁₂₄. The Church is both regional and universal. It consists of all Churches of sound faith currently existing around the world, as well as the Churches of the saints down through history. The Church should be governed according to Biblical principles. We believe that all elders, pastoral and bishop roles are to be held by men (1 Tim 3, 1 Tim 2). While God loves men and women equally, and while women have a blessed calling in the church, this calling or creation role is not to usurp authority (pastor) over men, nor teach men in a church setting. The church’s spiritual ministry should not be controlled or dominated by secular powers. Brothers and sisters in the Church are members of one body, with each fulfilling its roles₁₁₂₅.  The body builds itself up in love, and grows into Him who is the head. The universal Church should reach unity in the faith and in the Holy Spirit, and be united into one in Christ₁₁₂₆.  The purpose of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to teach and shepherd believers, to build and send missionaries, to denounce heresies and uphold truth, and to defend the Word. As Christians gather together in the Name of the Lord, the number of people meeting together or the location of the meeting should not be limited. Each believer is a priest,₁₁₂₇ and each has the right and obligation to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth₁₁₂₈.  We are against the alliance between the Church and politics, or any politics intermingled into the Church. We are against the Church’s dependence on foreign political powers for its growth. We do believe that the Church should seek to influence the culture in a way that reflects the doctrines of Christ, and that will include speaking up against laws that teach contrary to the doctrines of Christ and to godliness. We strongly believe that those who are born again should seek fellowship with likeminded believers, and not forsake the assembling of yourselves₁₁₂₉. To purposefully and willfully forsake the assembling with other likeminded believers is sin. While women can pray and prophesy in the church, we believe that scripture clearly teaches that women are not to usurp authority nor teach men in the setting of the church₁₁₃₀.

​1122 – 1 Corinthians 1:2
1123 – Colossians 1:18
1124 – 1 Timothy 3:15
1125 – Romans 12:4
1126 – Ephesians 4:13
1127 – 1 Peter 2:9
1128 – Mark 16:15
1129 – Hebrews 10:25
1130 – 1 Corinthians 11:5, 1 Timothy 2:12, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35