The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the Bible is the inerrant, authoritative, verbal, plenary, inspired word of God as represented in the original manuscripts. The Bible consists of 66 books written by men under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit.
God
We believe that there is but one living and true God, Who is Spirit in nature existing eternally in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Creator of the universe, all creation and Supreme Ruler thereof.
God the Father
We believe that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity, is the father of all men by virtue of being their Creator. He is Father of the nation of Israel and the spiritual Father of all who believe in Jesus Christ. His prerogatives among the Godhead include authoring the plan of God, authoring the act of election, sending His son to this world, and disciplining His children. We as believers are to glorify Him both now and in eternity.
Person of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, who is God’s only son, is the second person of the trinity. He is God and is coequal, consubstantial2, and coeternal with the Father. He was virgin born God incarnate who came to reveal God, redeem men and women and rule over God’s kingdom. He was crucified and died for our sins and arose from the dead bodily on the third day. Our salvation is made sure by His resurrection.
The Person of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is God. He is coequal and consubstantial with the Father and with His Son. We recognize His sovereign activity in creation, (1) the incarnation, (2) the written revelation, (3) and the work of salvation. His divine activity includes convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement; glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ and by His continual filling transforming believers into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation; indwelling, sanctifying, instructing, and empowering them for service; and sealing them unto the day of redemption.
Man
We believe that man was directly and immediately created by God in His image and likeness, free from sin with the intent that he should glorify God, enjoy God’s fellowship live in God’s will and by this accomplish God’s purpose for man in the world. Through Adam’s sin, man lost his innocence incurred the penalty of physical and spiritual death became subject to God’s wrath and became corrupt. Man is born into sin and hopelessly apart from salvation which is the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Salvation
We believe that salvation of lost mankind is wholly of God by grace through faith. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, by the merit of His shed blood not the basis of human merit or by works. It is a supernatural work of the Holy spirit by which we receive eternal life and share in the divine nature.
Sanctification
We believe sanctification is a work of God whereby every believer is set apart to God by His Spirit and we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God and are enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness.
The Church
We believe that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are baptized by the Holy Spirit into one united body, the Church of which Jesus Christ is the Head, and which is His bride. We believe the establishment of local churches is clearly taught and that the members of the spiritual body are directed to associate themselves in local assemblies.
We believe the purpose of the church is to glorify God, and to build itself up in faith, by instructions in the word, by fellowship, by biblical community, by the ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and by advancing and communicating the Gospel to the entire world.
Believer’s Baptism
We believe that water baptism is an act of obedience following a person’s salvation. It is the immersion of a believer in water that testifies of their faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and their union with Him in death to sin, and resurrection to a new life.
Angels
We believe that angels are created beings and therefore are not to be worshipped. Although they are a higher order of creation than man, they are created to worship and serve God and to minister to God’s people.
Death
We believe that physical death involves no loss of our spiritual consciousness, that the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Jesus Christ, that there is a separation of soul and body, and that such separation will continue until the resurrection, when our soul will be united with our resurrection body to be glorified forever with the Lord.
We believe that the souls of the non-believing lost people descend at death are kept under punishment until the resurrection.
The World to Come
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever with the Lord in the New Heaven and a New Earth.
The Family
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman (3) in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
NOTE: The full text of the CCC Articles of Faith are available upon request. The full and unabridged articles are a part of the focus of the CCC Membership Course.
(3) We understand this phrase to mean ...”one biological male and one biological female...”