Christ’s Tabernacle Statement of Faith

HOLY BIBLE: The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God.  It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths.  In its original writing it is inspired, infallible and inerrant. (2Timothy 3:16; 2Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26).

TRINITY:  There is one God eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  These three are coequal and co-eternal. (1John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6).

JESUS CHRIST:  Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity.  On earth Jesus was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man.  He is the only man to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind, atoning for our sins through the shedding of his blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory (John 1:1, 14, 20:28; 1Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; 1Timothy 2:5).

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, 25; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23-25; 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; Romans 3:24-25).

REGENERATION:  Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for anyone to know God (John 6:44,65; John 16:7-15; Titus 3:5,6).

SALVATION:  We are saved, spiritually born again, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, His death, burial and resurrection.  Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works (John 3:1-7, 14-17; John 14:6; Acts 16:31; Romans 6:23, 10:8-13; 2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7).

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.  Through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and salvation (Acts 2:21, 3:19; 1John 1:9; 2Corinthians 7:9-10).

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 believer is enabled to live a godly life (1Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; 2Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 2:11).

JESUS’ BLOOD:  The blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary was sinless and is one hundred percent sufficient to cleanse all 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 (1John 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:  Believers 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 their Savior.  They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead, becoming tabernacles in which his Holy Spirit dwells (John 1:12; 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; 1Corinthians 6:19; Revelation 3:20).

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT:  This is an experience subsequent to salvation called being filled with the Holy Spirit or being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said we would receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon us.  It is to be an ongoing pursuit in the believer’s life to be continually filled with the Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 10:44-47, 19:1-6; Ephesians 5:18).

SPIRITUAL GIFTS:  Special gifts are given to the body of Christ as the Spirit wills.  We are instructed to desire spiritual gifts and to strive to excel in them so that the church will be edified (1Corinthians 12:1-31; 14:1-40).

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).

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).

THE LORD’S SUPPER: The communion table is an emblem of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.  When believers receive communion we are putting ourselves in remembrance of the sacrifice of His body and His blood, and we should do so with full understanding of its significance (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20; 1Corinthians 11:23-31).

DIVINE HEALING:  Healing of the sick is illustrated over and over in the life and ministry of Jesus and included in the commission He gave to His disciples.  It is given as a sign which is to follow believers.  It is also a part of Jesus’ work on the cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit (Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; 1Corinthians 12:9, 28; Romans 11:29).

GOD’S WILL FOR PROVISION:  It is the Father’s will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life.  These include spiritual provision (John 3:3-11; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:8-11); mental and emotional provision (2Timothy 1:7, 2:11; Philippians 4:7-8; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 26:3-4); physical provision (Isaiah 53:3-5; Matthew 8:17; 1Peter 2:24; 3John 2); and financial provision (Joshua 1:8; Malachi 3:10-11; Luke 6:37-38; 2Corinthians 9:6-10; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Psalm 34:10, 84:11; Philippians 4:19; 3John 2).

THE TITHE:  Tithing is an eternal principle.  It is one that began some four hundred years before the Law, God continued it under the Law, and it still exists today.  Tithing is not a legalistic requirement for us.  It is an enlargement of the grace of God in our hearts.  Tithing is the grace of giving.  We now bring our tithes, gifts, and offerings not out of law, but out of love (Genesis 14:18-20; Leviticus 27:30-34; Psalms 110:4; Malachi 3:8-11; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:1-10, 21).

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; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation (Luke 24:6; 36-39; John 2:19-21, 5:28-29, 20:26-28; 21:4, 21:14; Acts 24:15; 1Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21).

HEAVEN:  Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 14:2-3, 17:24; 2Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; 1Peter 1:4).

HELL:  After living one life on earth the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to hell where they will be eternally tormented with the devil and the fallen angels (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8).

RAPTURE:  The rapture is a term used to describe the supernatural moment when Jesus Christ will transform the bodies of all living and departed believers into their new spiritual, immortal bodies that will “rise to meet Him in the air” (Matthew 24:36-44; 1Corinthians 15:51-52; 1Thessalonians 4:15-18).

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 (Zechariah 14:4; Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; 2Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7).