​​​THE TRIUNE GOD

​We believe in one living and true God, eternal and self-sufficient in His existence, who transcends and precedes all creation. In His eternity, the One God exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is not begotten by or from anyone. The Son is begotten by the Father in eternity. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son in eternity. These three Persons are equal in their divinity and one in their essence so that the mind, affection, and will of these three Persons are one. In connection with His plan of salvation, the Son submits Himself to the Father and the Holy Spirit submits Himself to the Father and the Son. This living God is the Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and Judge. God created the universe out of nothing by His powerful Word, which is independent of His creation. He sustains and governs all that He has created and preserves His creation. God’s creation is a historical fact. Therefore, God is sovereign over all His creation, establishes everything from eternity by His power and will, and preserves His eternal decrees. God's decree is not based on what He sees will happen in the future and outside of Himself but solely based on His will. For the sake of expressing His glory, God predestined some people and angels to eternal life and predetermined others to eternal destruction. God is Spirit, unlimited, indivisible, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient, perfect in His decisions, His righteousness, His gentleness, and His mercy. The general revelation of God in creation is enough to reveal who God is.​

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THE BIBLE

​We believe that the fall of man made the Bible the special revelation of God absolutely necessary for man to gain the knowledge of God and His will necessary for his salvation. The Bible consists of 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament and is the perfect revelation of God. Although written by men, all the words of the Bible were breathed into the writers by the Holy Spirit and are therefore true and without error in the original manuscripts in all things taught, including matters concerning history and science. In His providence, God has preserved the purity of His Word from age to age, both in duplication and translation, so that the Bible continues to speak to all mankind throughout the ages. After the canonization of the Bible was complete, God no longer gave new revelation so that God's people are not permitted to add to or take away from what God has already revealed in the Bible. The Bible claims to be the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit God's people are convinced of the truth of the Bible as the Word of God. As the Word of God for His people, the Bible has authority, is absolutely necessary, sufficient, and clear so that it is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training people in righteousness. The Bible has sole and absolute authority for personal faith and life, the church, and also the testimony of God's people in society until Christ returns.

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HUMAN BEING

​We believe that the first human being, Adam, was uniquely created as body and spirit/soul in the image and likeness of God and was created with true holiness, righteousness, and knowledge. The creation of human beings, as male and female, is a historical fact. As a creature in relationship to God, Adam was created to live out the thoughts of God and to obey God. As the representative of humanity, Adam’s obedience was tested through a covenant of works in which eternal life was promised to Adam and his descendants on the basis of perfect and continuing personal obedience. Although created as God’s representative to rule over and subdue all of God’s other creations, humans are not there to exploit nature but are entrusted to work and keep God’s creation for God’s glory. As a faithful covenant keeper, God demands that all aspects of human life be lived under God’s command as an expression of obedience to God’s laws.

 

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​SIN

​We believe that Adam failed in his personal obedience to God by breaking God's command. Adam's fall resulted in the image of God being corrupted, so that all aspects of human life were tainted by sin and humans experienced alienation from God, from themselves, and from the rest of creation. As the representative of humanity, Adam's fall resulted in all humanity falling into sin and death spreading to all people, resulting in the entire creation being cursed and subjected to futility. Spiritually dead and separated from the Triune God, humans received God's just wrath, without hope and without help for salvation, either from themselves or from creation.

 

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COVENANT OF GRACE

​We believe that God in eternity made a covenant for His chosen people, with Jesus Christ as Mediator. As the second and last Adam, Jesus Christ gave His perfect personal obedience to God’s law (active obedience) and His suffering even to death on the cross (passive obedience) and thus fulfilled the covenant of works that Adam failed to fulfill. Because of Christ’s perfect obedience, God no longer demands obedience as the basis of our salvation, but now offers a covenant of grace to those, both old and new covenant people, who believe in the perfect obedience of Christ. Through the power of Christ’s resurrection, God continues to call and gather His people from all ages and nations to be a royal priesthood and a holy nation for His glory.

 

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JESUS CHRIST

​We believe in Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, true God and true man, the only Savior of mankind who fulfilled God the Father's plan of salvation for God's chosen people. Although equal to God the Father, Christ emptied Himself by taking on a human nature in His incarnation. In His incarnation, He is fully God and fully man, both natures unconfused, unchangeable, undivided, and inseparable and both united in one Person. As a man, Christ had a human mind and will. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, became like us, but without sin, was crucified, died and rose from the dead, received a glorified body of flesh and blood, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father in His glorified body, and will come again in His glorified body. He came, died on the cross, and was resurrected for the sake of God's chosen people. His sacrifice was a sacrifice that atones for our sins (atonement), that justifies us before God (expiation), that reconciles us to God (propitiation), and that satisfies God's justice towards us (satisfaction). Through His perfect obedience, our sins were imputed to Him and His righteousness was imputed to us (double imputation). As the only Mediator between God and humans, Christ simultaneously fulfills threefold office that is important for our salvation: Prophet, Priest, and King. As a Prophet, Christ announced God's will and plan to God's people. As Priest, Christ sacrificed Himself for God's people and interceded for us with understanding. As King, Christ rules God's people with His Word and Spirit. He is the Good Shepherd who gives the abundance of His life through His self-sacrifice for His sheep so that we can enjoy that abundance in a sacrificial life like Him. Christ will return in His glorified body, visibly and suddenly, to judge the living and the dead.

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​​THE HOLY SPIRIT

​We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, the Divine Inspirer of the Bible, who comes to apply the salvation accomplished by the Son of God to the elect of God. The Holy Spirit comes not to bear witness to Himself, but to exalt Christ. He convicts human beings of their sin through His Word, regenerates them by giving them faith that unites them to Christ so that they receive justification and sanctification, and abides forever in them to comfort them and grow their faith. He equips believers with power to obey God's laws. He bestows gifts for the service of the saints for the good of the Church of Christ; He intercedes for believers with groanings too deep for words for and until the day of the glorification of the people of God.

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​MORAL RESPONSIBILITY AND GOOD WORKS

​We believe that although God has ordained all things, including the salvation of human, God's decree does not make God the author of sin and eliminate human free will. Moreover, humans are responsible for all their thoughts and deeds. And although salvation is based on God's grace alone received through faith in Christ alone, not because of good works, yet salvation is inseparable from good works, hope, and love. This saving faith will bring forth many good works in the children of God, namely, good works that are in accordance with God's holiness, pleasing to God, commanded by God in His Word, and for the glory of God.

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CHURCH​

​​We believe in one holy and catholic Church, consisting of all God's elect of all times, revealed through the once-for-all event of Pentecost, and part of which is now absorbed in the local church, outside of which there is no possibility of ordinary salvation. The local church must be an expression of the character of this holy and catholic Church by maintaining the purity of doctrine according to the Bible, by reflecting the glory of God through worship, teaching the Word of God, administering baptism and the Lord's Supper, fellowship, exercising discipline in love, service and mission, and by prioritizing unity among the various local churches and denominations based on the truth in the bond of love.

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SACRAMENT

​We acknowledge the two sacraments ordained by God for the Church, holy baptism and holy communion. The sacrament is not the gift, but a seal of the covenant of God's grace to human, a visible sign of the invisible promise. The sacrament of baptism, performed once in a lifetime, is the sign and seal of believers' union with Christ, of the justification and forgiveness of their sins, and of their new birth. Through the sacrament of baptism, believers are incorporated into the local church. The sacrament of Holy Communion, performed repeatedly, in which believers spiritually receive the body and blood of Christ, is a sign and seal of their sanctification and of all the spiritual benefits of Christ's sacrifice that they have received. Through the sacrament of Holy Communion, believers who have been united into the body of Christ are constantly reminded of Christ's sacrifice. The sacrament of Baptism is administered to those who profess to believe and their children. The sacrament of Holy Communion is performed for those who have been able to judge themselves truly. Although the sacrament is not a gift, when accompanied by the preaching of the Word of God and accepted with faith, the sacrament has an absolutely necessary part in the life of a child of God.

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MISSION

​We believe that the Church is in the world to witness the lordship of Christ. Until Christ returns to complete the fulfillment of His Kingdom, the Church carries out the mission of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations by preaching the gospel to all corners of the earth, teaching them, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Church is also called to establish the reign of God's Kingdom over this world and to proclaim God's redemptive shalom to all creation by advocating for God's righteousness and holiness for all people, expressing social and environmental concerns, and through other concrete actions.

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END TIMES

​We believe and look forward to the new heavens and new earth, the holy city of God that will descend from heaven to earth, through the visible second coming of Christ in power and glory. When He comes, He will resurrect and judge all people. Those who believe will be resurrected and given glorified bodies, publicly acknowledged and praised by God, completely and forever freed from all sin and toil, filled with unspeakable joy, joined and communed with the saints and angels, made like Christ, and fully enjoying God in the resurrection body forever and ever. Until Christ comes again, we submit ourselves to the reign of Christ as the Head of the Church and our hope in this world rests on the fact of the presence of the Kingdom of God through the first coming of Christ and the completion of His work so that the world to come has been put under His feet and secured to His people.

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