What We Believe

What We Believe

God

We believe there is one, and only one, living and true God. His divine essence is an invisible, incorporeal and a personal Spirit. His divine nature is undivided and indivisible. There exists three eternal distinctions in the one divine essence, known respectively as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal, infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, sovereign. (Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; I Peter 1:2; II Corinthians 13:14)

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal, pre-existent Son of God. He became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and was born of the Virgin Mary by miraculous conception and virgin birth. He is fully God and fully man; perfect deity and humanity. He lived a sinless human life and then offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of every person by dying on the cross. He was buried, and on the third day He arose bodily from the dead to demonstrate His power over sin. He later ascended bodily into heaven where, at the right hand of the Father, He now intercedes for those who believe in Him. (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; Titus 2:13)

The holy spirit

Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth. We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person; equal with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit has a prime ministry in salvation as He convicts, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, fills, and seals the believer. The Holy Spirit gifts, controls, teaches, guides, assures and prays for the believer. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to edify and to enhance the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit also gives guidance, peace, and remembrance with the main function of glorifying Jesus Christ. (Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5, 2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6; II Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13, 5:1; Galatians 5:25)

the scriptures

We believe that the Holy Scriptures in their entirety, down to the very words of the original manuscripts, were given by divine inspiration. Inspiration was that work whereby God by his Spirit, through human writers utilizing their distinct personalities and literary styles, gave us His Word. Those sixty-six books, thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament, have their place in the Bible on the basis of their inspiration and were recognized and submitted as inspired and canonical by the Church and stand as our final standard for faith and practice. The Bible is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. It is original writing, it is inspired, infallible, and inerrant. (2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:105, 160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5, Romans 16:25-26)

mankind

We are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. We are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although we have tremendous potential for good, we are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin.” This attitude separates us from God. (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23)

eternity

We are created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence. (John 3:16, 2:25, 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; I John 5:11-12; Matthew 25:31-46)

Salvation

Salvation is a gift from God to all people. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can we be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment we receive Jesus Christ into our life by faith. Salvation is not a result of our good works or of any human efforts. (Romans 5:1, 6:23, 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 2:16, 3:8, 3:26; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22)

Eternal security

Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, we are secure in salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by our self-effort. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security. (John 10:29; II Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14; I Peter 1:3-5)

virgin birth

Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the virgin Mary’s womb; therefore, He is the Son of God. (Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:35, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:27-35) 

redemption

Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21.)

repentance

Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation. (Acts 2:21, 3:19; 1 John 1:9)

sanctification

Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christ Follower is enabled to live a Godly life. (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Romans 8:29, 12:1-2, Hebrews 2:11)

jesus' blood

The Blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death. (1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:9; John 1:29)

jesus christ indwells all believers

Christ Followers are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to Him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. (John 1:12; John 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelation 3:20)

the gifts of the holy spirit

The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible’s lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters. (Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11, 12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6-7; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; 1 Peter 4:10)

the church

The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the Church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23)

resurrection

Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; those that are saved to the resurrection of life and those that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation. 

(Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21)

second coming

Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures. (Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7)

The Sacraments

water baptism

Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48)

the lord's supper

A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25)

marriage

We believe marriage is defined in the Bible as a covenant, a sacred bond between one man and one woman, instituted by and publicly entered into before God. (Matthew 19:4-6 )

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Copyright The Bridge Fellowship 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright The Bridge Fellowship 2021. All Rights Reserved.