The Identity & Nature of Jesus

We believe in the Man, Jesus of Nazareth. Not only is He a historic fact, recorded as a living Man, but we believe His mother Mary conceived Him, by God, as a virgin. This occurred not in an intimate sexual manner, but in a holy encounter with the Holy Spirit as He (the Holy Spirit) overshadowed her and Jesus was given to her as a seed in her womb. We believe this makes Jesus the Son of God. From the womb, He was and is “Emmanuel”.

We believe Jesus is the Word of God, and that He was in the beginning with God and was/is God. We believe Jesus, according to the Scriptures, took off/set aside His divinity while here on Earth. He took on real flesh and blood, was actually and legitimately tempted at all points, yet with no sin. He was fully Man, and yet He was fully God, though He did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped. In other words, He didn't use the rights of God; He used and submitted himself, in humility, to the rights of a man, empowered by the Holy Spirit. He is the Last Adam. Just as Adam in the beginning was God's son and also a living man with freewill and humanity, we believe Jesus was in a similar manner. But instead of being dropped into this earth like the first Adam, Jesus identifies with us in a greater and more humble way by going through the womb of a woman: sitting in her womb for 9 months and being a baby, child, teen, young adult, etc., fully identifying with us as a man. 

God the Father Revealed Through Jesus

We believe Jesus fully and accurately revealed God the Father’s true nature. What once seemed to be a schizophrenic, happy-one-day and angry-the-next God, we see isn’t like that in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the will of God revealed. Therefore, if He physically healed people, we believe it is God's will to heal people. If He raised the dead, if he delivered tormented souls, we believe this is God's will. We aren't guessing and debating God's will anymore. We believe it is absolutely God's will for these things to take place as we see this perfect revelation through the life of Jesus (NOT our life experience).

We believe Jesus was God's lamb sent to the earth to be the sacrifice for mankind's sin. We believe he was beaten at the whipping post, providing healing for our bodies and fulfilling punishment for our peace. He was unrecognizable on the cross as He received the wrath of deceived men and the wrath of a righteous God. He took the very nature and punishment of sin and sin’s fruits: sin, sickness, disease, anxiety, death. He died, not by men, but by offering up His life. He descended into Hades and was found blameless and holy. Therefore, God raised Him from the dead once He preached the gospel to those bound to Hades' death. He raised to life as a Man, bringing many who believed with Him.

After the Resurrection

We believe Jesus stayed for 40 days on Earth after rising from death. He appeared, showing himself to over 500 people who were witnesses of this. We believe that during this time, the disciples received salvation when Jesus breathed into them, saying “Receive the Holy Spirit” (see John 20:21)—similarly to when God breathed into Adam and he became a living being. 

Following his resurrection, as He was gathered with His disciples and apostles in Galilee on the Mount of Olives on the 40th day, Jesus was lifted up into the sky. He ascended to the Father God, and sat down at the right hand of God in heaven, making Him Lord, Christ and God! Jesus Christ will return in the same way He ascended. His second return will not be to deal with sin, but for the fullness of salvation.

The Nature of the Believer & the Holy Spirit

We believe being born again frees us from sin and its punishment. Sin no longer has dominion over us and we can in fact dominate and overcome sin. The old sin nature was taken and we were given a new righteous nature, that of Jesus Christ. 

We believe 10 days after he ascended, God solidified that Jesus had sat on the throne in heaven by sending the Holy Spirit. He did so exactly according to what Jesus told His disciples well beforehand: that when He got to the Father, He would send the Holy Spirit to them. 

We believe in the experience separate from salvation called the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or receiving the Promise of the Father. As we see, the apostles and those who followed believed. 

We believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the empowerment to truly be a witness of Christ, personally and to the world. 

We believe power is the proof of receiving the promised Holy Spirit. We believe tongues and prophecy are signs of receiving the Holy Spirit. 

The Church & Its Role

We believe the Church was birthed from Jesus Christ. The Church was activated when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and those present, and the increase of God's kingdom started on the Earth. 

We believe every single thing Jesus, His apostles, and disciples did in the Bible are for today and can be walked in by a common believer. Nothing passed away except our old man and his deeds. Since then, the Church is forever increasing and expanding over the Earth, making a people ready for the return of Christ. 

We believe in apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The apostolic is very alive and well today. We do NOT believe any apostles, aside from God's original chosen apostles, have the authority to write scripture. The apostolic authority that framed scripture has indeed been finished and closed. This does not negate the work of an apostle in the present day.

Judgement for the Believer & the Unbeliever

We believe in an eternal judgment. Those who do not receive the Love of God through the sacrifice of Jesus and His testimony will experience judgment based off of their rejection of the Son. They will then be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity, which is the second death. The Lake of Fire was only made for Satan and his demons, but people would rather follow Satan to the pit than follow Christ to everlasting goodness. God doesn't send people to hell; people choose hell by not choosing Him. Therefore, God being just, gives them what they desire. No one accidentally goes to the Lake of Fire. Everyone will be held accountable for what they know. 

We believe that those who believe in the Lord Jesus and have been washed by His blood will also enter into judgement. We will be judged by what was done in the body for His name’s sake. We will either receive rewards for what was done, or suffer loss from what was done for our name’s sake (or what was done with wood, hay, and stubble). Then we will enter into the everlasting kingdom of His Son.

Jesus provided eternal salvation for every man by taking the sin of men. So on Judgement Day, we will not face our “sins” or be judged according to sins. We will be judged based on believing or rejecting Christ. Believers will either receive a reward for what we have done for His kingdom or we will receive nothing; both enter into His kingdom. Unbelievers will enter eternal damnation similarly, but they will be punished and receive the penalty for rejecting Christ as well as being thrown into the Lake of Fire. 

God’s Will for Salvation

We believe it is God's will for every man to be saved, because every man was made for His image and likeness. We believe this wonderful gift of salvation is received by simple faith in Jesus Christ.