Articles Of Faith

Article One. The Word of God

The Bible, composed of the Canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s revelation, and, as originally given, is the fully and verbally inspired Word of God. It is without error in all that it affirms, and constitutes the ultimate authority for faith and practice.

Since the Scriptures are the ultimate and decisive standard of faith, all creeds, theological teachings and traditions are subordinate to them.

Article Two. Concerning God

A. The One True God. There is only one true and living God, eternal, almighty, unchangeable, holy, faithful, and gracious. He is perfect in his character and in all his ways. As a self-communicating being, he has revealed himself as the sovereign Creator upholder and provider of all things, but above all, as the saving God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

B. The Triune God. The one true God is revealed in the Scriptures as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the three distinctions within the Godhead. These three persons share one divine nature: hence, they are not three gods, but one: co-eternal, co-substantial and co-equal.

Article Three. Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ, who became man, was born of the Virgin Mary. Existing with God the Father, and having become man, he has two natures – the divine and the human, which are inseparably united in one person. Thus, Jesus Christ is true God and also true man.

He suffered and died under Pontius Pilate as a substitutionary sacrifice to provide salvation for mankind. He rose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven where he is now seated at God’s right hand of power, ruling over all things and interceding for us as advocate and High Priest, until He comes again to establish his kingdom upon the earth.

Article Four. The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a divine person, the executive of the Godhead, the Comforter who indwells, guides and empowers the believer for victorious living and effective service.

He calls and keeps the Church in faith and holiness and convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Article Five. Man, Sin and Guilt

By his direct act, God created man in his image and likeness. Created in God’s image, man possesses infinite worth and dignity.

Man is a free moral being, capable of obeying or disobeying God. In the exercise of his freedom, man chose his own selfish way. Thus, he fell into sin and incurred physical and spiritual death, which is a separation from God.

Through the disobedience of the first man, Adam, sin and guilt were transmitted to all his descendants. Thus, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and separated from the life of God.

Nevertheless, after man’s disobedience, God’s image remains in him, though in its distorted form. By virtue of this, man still reflects some degree of truth, beauty and goodness in his art, culture and religion.

Article Six. Salvation

Salvation cannot be obtained by means of good works, religious ceremony, or human merit, but only by God’s grace through the redemption of Jesus Christ. It is received by faith in Christ, the only Savior and mediator between sinful man and the holy God.

Upon repentance from sin and the exercise of faith in Christ, the believer is justified in God’s sight, adopted into God’s household, is born again, and united to Christ, through whose merit alone he is accepted before God.

Article Seven. The Church

The Church is the community of believers from all cultures, tribes, and languages. The universal church transcends all historical, national, cultural, and personal distinctions. The concrete expression of the universal church is a local body of believers through whom, by proclamation and by good deeds, the boundaries of the universal church are extended.

The Church is called to belong to Jesus Christ, to confess and proclaim his lordship among all peoples. Thus, it is commissioned to:

1. Make disciples of all nations and to integrate the same into local congregations;
2. Proclaim the uniqueness and finality of Christ as mediator between God and man;
3. Manifest God’s sovereign rule through Gospel proclamation and acts of justice, righteousness, mercy and peace.

The Sacraments. The two sacraments commanded to be observed are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They are the outward signs of God’s invisible grace of forgiveness, new life and grace. Baptism symbolizes the believers’ identification with Christ in his death and resurrection and expresses his resolve to die to sin, and the world and be loyal to Christ his Lord.

The Lord’s Supper is to be observed continually in this age to proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes, keep alive the remembrance of Jesus, and renew the believers’ life through the benefits from the broken body and shed blood of Christ. The one loaf of bread which is broken into pieces is a picture of the unity and diversity within the body of Christ.

Article Eight. The Ministry

The whole church is commissioned to continue and fulfill the mission of the risen Christ. All believers are called to witness to the saving grace in Christ and to serve the body of believers through the exercise of spiritual gifts. Believers serve God within the church and in the world through their earthly occupations and stations in life.

Within the ministry of the whole people of God, Christ has called those who are set apart to preach the Gospel, shepherd the flock of believers, and to administer the Sacraments. In this special ministry are those who are set apart through ordination to perform a variety of ministerial functions in the church.

Article Nine. Sanctification and the Power for Service

The experience of sanctification is the highest point in the believers search for a holy and useful life for God, and is wrought after the experience of conversion as the believers consecrates his fully to God’s will. However, he must constantly walk in God’s light, obeying him explicitly so that he may continually experience the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.

Article Ten. Divine Healing and Health

In his mercy, power and sovereign will, God can heal the sick for his glory and for the spiritual benefit of the healed person. There is a close connection between physical, emotional and spiritual health and full obedience to the will of God.

There is also a close relation between forgiveness of sin and the healing of the body. Thus, based on the atoning death of Jesus Christ, the believer can trust God for the healing of his body. The anointing with oil and praying for the sick by the elders of the church, as set forth in the fifth chapter of James, is to be practiced.

Article Eleven. Christian Hope and the Life to Come

The Christian hope is founded on the anticipation that God our Father will accomplish his eternal purpose in history and brings all things to their consummation in Christ. In the end, 
Christ will come personally and visibly to establish God’s rule over all things. He will ultimately overcome evil, death, sorrow and pain.

At his coming, Christ will call believers to eternal life that they may enjoy his presence and reign with him forever. On the other hand, unbelievers will be judged for their sins and suffer everlasting punishment.

This hope, sealed by the Holy Spirit in our hearts, is a holy motive for consecrated living and faithful stewardship of earthly possessions.