About Us – The Bible Teaches…

Bible. The Bible (the 39 books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (Luke 24:44) and 27 books of the New Testament) is the holy, inspired, and authoritative revelation of God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).

Therefore it is the only authoritative source of doctrine and practice for Christians, “able to give [believers] the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17).  The Bible teaches what God desires His children to know and  is the guide and final authority for all Church practices (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Kingdom of God.  The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is the central message of the Bible and major teaching of Jesus and his apostles (Matt 4:23; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:1-2; Acts 8:12; 19:8; 28:23, 30-31).  Also, the Kingdom of God is the earthly millennial reign of Jesus Christ as well as the eternal reign of God following the judgment of the ungodly (Luke 1:32-33; 1 Cor. 15:22-28; 2 Peter 3:7; Rev. 11:15; 20:4, 6; 21:1, 3).

Kingdom Hope

God’s Kingdom is the hope of the believer. Similarly, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ will return to the earth to establish the Kingdom and, at that time, the resurrected faithful will reign with him for a thousand years (2 Timothy 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6).  During his reign, Jesus will deliver the earth from the curse, destroy all wickedness including death itself, restore the earth to its original perfection, and rule over the nations of the earth (Acts 3:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:24-28; Ps. 2:7-12).

Finally, after judgment of all mankind and destruction of the wicked, death and the grave, Jesus will hand the Kingdom over to God, his Father, for all eternity so that God may be all in all (Rev 20:7-15; 1 Cor. 15:24-28)

(Which means we are dead until the resurrection!)

When Jesus returns, the believers will be resurrected, caught up to Christ (1 Thess. 4:14-17), “we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52). Then we will dwell in the Kingdom of God and reign on Earth with Christ (Rev. 20:6; 21:3-4).

“Echad”

Hello Dr.,
Is there any validity to the notion that the Hebrew for the word “one” [echad] means “a compound one” or “complex unity/plurality”?

In short, no. “One” in Hebrew means “one” just as it does in any other language. It may be used in a variety of ways, but there is nothing inherent in the word itself that means anything more than “one.”
____________
Joel S. Baden
Professor of Hebrew Bible
Yale Divinity School

Jesus is the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14, Matthew 20:28, 26:2, 45) and the Son of God (John 3:16, Matthew 16:15-17).  He is God’s anointed Messiah (Christ) (Matthew 16:13-17, Acts 4:26-27, 10:38) and mediator between God and mankind (2 Timothy 2:5).

More on Jesus Here

Who is Jesus PDF booklet

Man.  God created man in his image (Gen. 1:27), “formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen 2:7), mortal.  Upon man’s disobedience of God “sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Ro. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22a).

As a result, man must die and at death, he returns to the dust [sleep of the dead] (Gen. 3:19; Ps. 104:29b) to await resurrection and judgment (Daniel 12:2; John 11:23-25; Rev 20:4-6, 11-15).

Likewise, in death, there is no consciousness or thought or ability to act (Ps. 6:5; 146:4; Eccl. 9:5-6, 10).

Baptism, Salvation & Resurrection.  Baptism by immersion is essential upon reception of the Gospel of the Kingdom and the things concerning Jesus (Acts 8:12; Luke 24:27).

Consquently, man’s sin requires atonement to satisfy the holy standard of God to escape the judgment of eternal death. Immortality, “eternal life” (life in the age to come) is a free gift; it cannot be earned (Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:50-54).  God’s grace provides the means for such salvation through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross (Rom. 5:8-15, 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9, 14-16; Col. 1:20-23).

Faith & Baptism

By faith, man acknowledges these truths and surrenders his life to God.  This is demonstrated through repentance and confession of sin (Rom. 3:10, 23; Acts 2:38; 2 Cor.7:10), belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who alone paid your debt of sin with his death, was buried in the tomb for three days and that God raised him to life again (Acts 2:22-24).

Belief in baptism through immersion into Christ by another believer who holds to the tenets of this Statement of Faith.  Such baptism symbolizes putting to death the old person and rising from the water to walk a new way of life in obedience to the will of God (Rom 6:2-12; John 3:23; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:27-29; 1 Pet. 3:21; 1 John 3:6-10).

Receiving Holy Spirit

At baptism, the believer receives holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) as a guarantee of the inheritance of redemption/resurrection to immortality (Eph. 1:13-14).  Also, it guides and strengthens believers to live as a children of God (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:22-23, 25).  Furthermore, it equips believers with spiritual gifts for the functioning of the Church (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12-14).

Resurrection

When Jesus returns, the believers will be resurrected and caught up to Christ (1 Thess. 4:14-17).  Instantly, “We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52) to then dwell in the Kingdom of God and reign with Christ.

Holy Spirit. God’s holy Spirit is His divine power and presence, and is present and operational in His creation and within individual lives (Gen. 1:2; Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:35; John 16:7-11; Acts 16:14; Rom. 8:26-27).  God’s holy Spirit is imparted to believers upon baptism into Christ who then, out of love, strive to live in obedience to him (Acts 2:38, 5:32; 10:44-48; John 14:15-17). 

Also, it is a deposit to guarantee the inheritance of the redeemed (Eph. 1:13-14), to empower believers as witnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8), to equip the church (1 Cor. 12:4-11; 1 Pet. 4:10; Eph. 4:11-16; Rom. 12:4-8), and to aid individual growth to Christ-likeness (Gal. 5:22-23). Holy Spirit is not a person or being.

Satan..Satan is the name of the archenemy of God and His people.  He is a being known as the dragon, “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan” (Rev.12:9), “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), and “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2).  He is a tempter (Matt. 4:3), murderer, liar and father of lies (John 8:44), and leads the whole world astray (Rev. 12:9).

The Believer’s Battle

The Bible teaches that the believer is in a spiritual battle “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forcesof wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Subsequently, the devil will be defeated at the end of Christ’s thousand-year reign, and “thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone” (Rev. 20:10).

The believer lives under the new covenant of faith mediated by Christ which replaces the covenant of circumcision (Rom. 4:9-13) and the Mosaic Law governing animal sacrifice for sin, food laws, and rituals determined by the calendar (Gal. 3:6-9; Heb. 9:15).  Ultimately, “by one offering (sacrifice) [Jesus] has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:10, 14).  “No one is justified by the Law before God” (Gal. 3:11).  Rather, the Law pointed to Christ and justification by faith (Gal 3:23-25; 2:16; Romans 4:13, 16).

Freedom in Christ

Righteousness is credited to those “who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:24).  Therefore, Christ freed believers from bondage to the Law, such as religious festivals, new moon celebrations and the Sabbath which “are a mere shadow of what is to come” (Col. 2:16-17) so that believers might live in the freedom of faith and grace (Romans 5:21; 6:14; Gal. 5:1)..

Love fulfills the Law.

The Bible teaches that Christians should never to take up arms and kill their enemies and fellow believers in other nations.  On the contrary, we are commanded to love our enemies (Matt. 26:52; John 15:19; 18:36; 1 Pet. 2:9-11; 1 Chron. 22:8).  Website  http://christenemylove.com/