Our Doctrine
Discovering the Heart of Immanuel Church
1. The Inspiration of Scripture
We believe in the verbal inspiration of the Bible as originally given by the Holy Spirit in both the Old and New Testaments. They are the final authority for our faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12)
2. God
We believe in one God revealed in three co-equal, distinct persons, God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16,17; 28: 19, 20; Ephesians 2:18)
3. Man
We believe man in his natural state is a sinner and is lost, undone, without hope and without God in this world (Ephesians 2: 1-2; Romans 3:23)
4. The Divinity and Humanity of Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who by His incarnation and virgin birth, took upon himself the form of a man and became the God–Man. In the one person of Christ, there are two natures; human and divine; each in its completeness and integrity. They are distinguishable but indivisible, so that He is fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life and became the only sacrifice for the sins of the world. (Ephesians 1:3-5; Romans 5:1-11; Acts 12-4)
5. Bodily Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:38-43; John 20:24-29)
6. Salvation
We believe that the necessary terms of salvation are repentance toward God from sin and a personal heartfelt faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which results in regeneration. This salvation is entirely by grace, and not by works. (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 5:1; Acts 3:19,20)
7. The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the visible, bodily return of Jesus Christ to this earth, to judge the world and to claim His Bride, the Church. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation1:7)
8. The Church
We believe the Church is Christ’s spiritual body on earth today. It consists of born-again believers and has both universal and local expressions. (/Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28)
9. Heaven & Hell
We believe in the doctrines of eternal punishment for the lost and eternal bliss and service for the saved; hell for the unsaved and heaven for the saved. (John 14:1-3; Revelation 20:11-15)
10. Satan
We believe that Satan is a fallen, created being who is called the god of this world. He and his company of demons are opposed to the Kingdom of God, and are at work to defeat and destroy the believer and the Church. While his activity is real, Satan and his demons were once and for all defeated and overthrown by Christ’s victory at the cross on Calvary (Colossians 2:13-15; Ephesians 6:10-18)
11. The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit to be the third Person of the Godhead, and we believe He is active in the world today. The Holy Spirit indwells and seals the believer at new birth. We believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a subsequent experience and is available to all Christians to empower us to be witnesses. We believe in and encourage the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16,17; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4)
12. The Ordinances of the Church
We believe that water baptism for the believer and the Lord’s Supper (communion) are ordinances of the Church and should be practiced regularly. (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-10; 1 Corinthians 10: 16-21)