Antioch Statement of Beliefs
THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, living, eternally-reliable Word of God. We believe it is without error in its original manuscript, absolutely infallible and our source of supreme revelation from God, superior to conscience and reason, though not contrary to reason. It is therefore our infallible rule of faith and practice and necessary to our daily lives. [II Timothy 3:16-17; I Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12]
THE GODHEAD
We believe in one God who has revealed Himself in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. [Romans 1:20]
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all co-eternal and all stand equally superior to time, free from the temporal distinctions of past and future.
FATHER – [Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; Psalm 102:27; I Timothy 1:17]
SON – [John 1:1-2; John 8:58; Hebrews 1:8; I John 1:2; Revelation 1:8]
HOLY SPIRIT – [Hebrews 9:14]
We believe in God the Father, Creator of all things visible and invisible. [Colossians 1:15-16]
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who came into the world to reveal the Father, and was the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. Jesus Christ was the Creator of everything, for by Him all things were made. We further believe that in Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form and that He was very-God and very-Man. [John. 1:1-2 & 14; I Timothy 3:16; Acts 7:37-38]
We believe in Jesus Christ’s pre-existence, incarnation, virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, substitutionary and atoning death, bodily resurrection, bodily ascension into heaven, exaltation, present rule at the right hand of God, coming, personal return in power and great glory and in His everlasting Kingdom and dominion. [Acts 1:11; 3:19-21; Daniel 7:14; Revelation 20:4]
We acknowledge His Lordship—that Jesus Christ is Lord over all things in heaven, on earth and under the earth. [Philippians 2:9-10]
We believe in the Holy Spirit, His present ministry, His indwelling, His empowering, His impartation of gifts for today and His transforming power in the lives of all believers. [I Corinthians 12:4-11, Galatians 5:22-23]
MAN AND SALVATION
We believe man was created by a direct and immediate act of God. [Genesis 1:26-27; 2:4]
We believe man, by transgression, fell from the state of righteousness and holiness in which he was first created into total spiritual depravity, a state of death in trespasses and sins in which he is held as a slave of sin and an enemy of God. As such, he is unable to attain divine righteousness by his own efforts but must be redeemed and delivered by the power of the Gospel. [Romans 5:12-21; I Corinthians 15:1-4]
We believe repentance and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are an integral part of God’s work of justification of the believer. Through faith in the shed blood of Christ, the believer is justified and made a partaker in the death of Christ. [Romans 5:1, 9]
We believe, It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9]
We further believe the emphasis for a continuous walk in grace should be on demonstrating righteousness and purity of heart, believing in the keeping power of God, walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh, and living a lifestyle that demonstrates the character, standards and convictions of Jesus Christ and not being conformed to the world. [Jude 24; Romans 8:25; Galatians 5:16-25; Romans 4:1-5; 12:1-2]
We believe repentance is dependent upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit in the lives of sinners and believers and their response. The conviction of the Holy Spirit, which often accompanies the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will result in the revelation of the sinfulness of self, which should lead to godly sorrow. Remorse, or worldly sorrow, is a feeling of deep regret, hopelessness or even despair. It does not lead to constructive change. On the other hand, godly sorrow produces repentance, which causes us to turn away from sin and selfishness and to receive faith for change. Repentance is evidenced by an earnest desire to change. Repentance changes the way we feel and act about sin, self and God. Repentance is a total change of mind, will and emotions. [II Corinthians 7:10; Psalm 51; Acts 11:18; II Timothy 2:25; Romans 1:18-32; Matthew 9:12-13]
We believe that in the final judgment, which will accompany the return of Christ, every person will give an account to God of every aspect of this earthly life. The Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema Seat) is the judgment of believers in reference to rewards or lack thereof. The Great White Throne Judgment is the judgment of unbelievers who will be eternally separated from God and in torment. [I Corinthians 3:10-15; II Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15]
THE LORD’S COMMANDS
We believe in the Lord’s Supper and Believer’s Baptism as acts of our obedience and a testimony of our faith. [Matthew 3:6; Mark. 16:16; I Corinthians 11:23-29]
We believe water baptism is necessary in obedient response to the command of Jesus. Baptism is to be performed only upon repentant believers in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Matthew 28:18-20]
We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We hold that the real evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is one’s response to the Word of God, a Christ-like life, showing forth Christ’s character, and experiencing and manifesting the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. [Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6; John 16:13, 15:26, 16:14; Galatians 5:22-23; I Corinthians 12:4-11]
THE FAMILY
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect and lead his family. 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. She, being in the image of God, as is her husband, and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his companion in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and gift from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. [Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:20-25; Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 5:24; Genesis 2:20-21; Titus 2:4-5; Psalm 139:13-15]
THE CHURCH
The Church is God’s instrument for revealing His purpose on the Earth. We believe the Church, the people of God, is God’s instrument to distribute His glory on the Earth. The Church is defined as a gathering of believers, meeting and experiencing God together in order to display His goodness wherever they go. [Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Peter 2:4-5; Acts 9:4-6; Ephesians 3:14-19; Ephesians 5:25-31]