5 Essential Doctrines of The Faith

1. The Nature of the Triune God

Doctrine: There is one true and living God who eternally exists as three co-equal and distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are not three gods, nor are they one person acting in three different modes or manifestations, often known as modalism.

• The Bible offers progressive revelation of the doctrine of the Trinity from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The One eternal being of God is shared by three co-equal and co-eternal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

• Each person in the Trinity or Godhead is fully God; yet there is only one God. Can we say this is a mystery, sure, yet this doesn't mean we can not comprehend what Scripture has revealed about the nature of God. That we can not fully comprehend in our finite minds the all-powerful and eternal God is expected, and most of our analogies will fall short. Yet God's word is clear and sufficient in revealing and explaining the nature of the one true God

• It is important to understand the Triune God because the Gospel is Triune, and the Bible reveals God as triune. We want to get the Gospel right. The Father sent the Son, the Son died, and the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit.

• Christian followers of Christ are monotheists (believing in only one God) according to Deuteronomy 6:4, yet Christians recognize that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are identified as God in Scripture, do what only God can do, and have attributes only God can have. Thus, we recognize these three share in the one nature of God but are distinct in their person; we can see this clearly during the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:9-11).

  
  

Key Scriptures:

• Deuteronomy 6:4 –“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

• Psalm 45:6-7 – "Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than your companions. (Compare this with Hebrews 1:8, the writer applies it to Christ)

  • Hebrews 1:8 "but to the Son: Your throne, God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice."

• Matthew 3:16-17 – When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”

• Matthew 28:19 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

• John 1:1-3 – 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.c He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created

• John 17:5 – Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.

• 2 Corinthians 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

• Ephesians 4:4-6 – There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope at your calling —  5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

  
  

2. The Deity of Jesus Christ

Doctrine: Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. As to his existence, He is the eternal Son of God, without beginning, creator of all things; as to his incarnation (the taking on of humanity), He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

• Scriptures affirm that the Son of God has always existed and that he is the creator of all things. John 1:1-3 & 14, John 17:5, Hebrews 1:1-10, Colossians 1:15-17, Isaiah 6:1-10 in conjunction with John 12:41. These things alone declare and identify the divinity of the Son of God.

• Scriptures also prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would come in the flesh, as seen in Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 53:3-7, and many more, all of which were fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

• While the New Testament declares that the Son of God did come in the flesh John 1:14 and Philippians 2:7-8), his humanity doesn't diminish or make null and void his divinity. Jesus is fully God and fully man, and the Apostles and writers of the New Testament declared him as such.

• Philippians 2:5-11 makes clear that the son of God was equal to the Father, existing before his incarnation, but for redemption's sake took on the form of a human humbled servant and became obedient to the death of the cross. Yet, Scripture affirms that every knee should bow and every tongue will confess to Jesus and that he has the name that is above every name. For this to be said of Jesus can mean no other thing than he is God, for this type of worship and exaltation of a mere creature would be idolatry.

• Below you will find more Scriptures that speak rather clearly of the deity of Christ.

  
  

Key Scripture:

• John 1:1-3, 14 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

• John 20:28 – "Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God! ”

• Philippians 2:5-7 – "Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity...."

• Colossians 2:9 – “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.”

• Colossians 1:15-17 – "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

  For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him.

  He is before all things, and by him all things hold together."

• Titus 2:13 – "while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

• Hebrews 1:3 – “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”

• Revelation 22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

  
  

3. Salvation by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone

Doctrine: Salvation is a free gift from God, not earned by works, but received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

• In Acts 15, there was a question of law vs. grace as it pertains to circumcision and salvation brought before the Apostles at the Jerusalem Council. Certain Jews disputed that the Gentiles (Non-Jews) had to be circumcised, as the Law of Moses commanded in Leviticus 12:1-3. However, the answer from the Apostles, including Peter and James, the Lord's brother, is that both the Jew and Gentile were saved by "grace" and not by the Law of Moses or any adherence to customs and rituals.

• Humanity can not save itself or pay our penalty for sin, and the blood of bulls and goats couldn't satisfy the debt of sin, according to Hebrews 10:1-3. God's word makes it clear that the one who believes in the Son has everlasting life (John 3:36).

• Jesus' own words state that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). Luke tells us in Acts 4:12 that no other name than that of Jesus offers us salvation.

• Indeed, as James says, our faith is dead without works, but this is a far cry from saying that works bring forth salvation; rather, works are a result of our faith in Jesus. Grace from God through Christ and his finished work is what brings forgiveness and salvation through those who put their faith in Jesus. Of course, this doesn't mean we use grace for an opportunity to sin (Romans 6:1).

• By Faith, we are not simply talking about intellectual knowledge and belief about Jesus, but saving faith, where one puts their total trust in Christ, making a personal decision to trust Christ for salvation and repent (turn from sin). This faith leads to true transformation and sanctification. Wayne Grudem states, "...the person who genuinely turns to Christ for salvation must at the same time release the sin to which he or she has been clinging and turn away from that sin in order to turn to Christ." (Systematic Theology, pg. 866).

  
  

Key Scripture:

• Ephesians 2:8–9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

• Titus 3:5 – “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy…”

• Romans 3:24 – “And are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

• Romans 6:23 –"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

• Galatians 2:15-16 – We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified.

  
  

4. The Bible as the Inspired Word of God

Doctrine: The Bible is the God-breathed, authoritative, and infallible Word of God. It is the final rule of faith and practice for the believer.

• The Bible is God's self-revelation of himself. When we speak of inspiration, we mean God-Breathed or breathed out, more simply, the Bible has its origins in God. While God used humans as the instruments to write the Bible, it was the words of God, the ideas of God, and the revelation of God that they wrote as they were moved along by Him.

• The Bible speaks of its authority by declaring it to be the word of God. The Bible is authoritative because it is the word of the Almighty God (Deuteronomy 18:18, Acts 4:25, Hebrews 1:1-2).

• The Bible is an anthology of many different books. Yet, it is unified in its message despite its many different authors, which offers evidence of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

• Many things speak to the faithfulness and trustworthiness of the Bible, be it archeological finds, the wealth of manuscripts that speak to the reliability of the text, or the hundreds of Bible prophecies that have been fulfilled. However, greater than all of these, Jesus affirms the authority and necessity of God's word.

  • Jesus quoted, believed, defended, and stood on the Old Testament Scriptures (Matthew 24:37-39, John 6:31-32, Mark 12:24). In Luke 4:4, Jesus used the word of God amid temptation, and in Luke 24:25-27,, he expresses the necessity to believe all the Scriptures for they speak of him. The New Testament is written to reveal the teachings and work of Jesus so that the readers may believe in him and have eternal life (John 20:30-31).

• The Bible is not only authoritative, it is also our manual and measuring stick. By it, we learn who God is and what God desires of us. We learn about humanity's fall and God's redemptive plan. We learn about the Church and its call in the Kingdom of God. We learn about heresy and that which we shouldn't adhere to. We learn about the end times and the promise of Christ's return, followed by eternal life with him or separation for those who do not place their faith in him.

Key Scripture:

• 2 Timothy 3:16–17 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

• 2 Peter 1:20–21 – “No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

• Psalm 119:9-11 – "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands. I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you."

• Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

• Joshua 23:6 – “Be very strong and continue obeying all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you do not turn from it to the right or left"

• Isaiah 40:8 – "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."

• John 17:17 – "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."

• Hebrews 4:12 – "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

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5. The Holy Spirit Indwells and Seals the Believer

Doctrine: The Holy Spirit is God and is given to every believer at the moment of salvation. He indwells, empowers, and seals the believer for the day of redemption.

• The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or energy but is a distinct person, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is distinct in his personhood from the Father and the Son.

• The Holy Spirit is identified in the Bible by masculine personal pronouns such as "He and Him," and described as having attributes and actions associated with personhood such as emotions, will, intellect, intercession, teaching, guiding, etc.

• The Holy Spirit is at Creation in the beginning with God (Genesis 1:2) and is identified in Scripture as creator (Job 26:13, Psalm 104:30).

• The Bible states in John 6:63 that it is the Spirit that gives life, and in Ephesians 1:13 the Spirit seals us upon placing our faith in Jesus; he is the down payment on our inheritance in Christ.

• Who else can know the thoughts of God but God? 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 says that the Spirit of God searches and knows the thoughts of God.

• Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31-32).

• The Holy Spirit plays a significant role in redemption. John 16:8 lets us know he convicts of sin. The Bible also lets us know he is the agent of regeneration (the new birth), making those new in Christ alive. The Holy Spirit lives in the believer we become the temple of the living God.

Key Scripture:

• Ephesians 1:13–14 – “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance...”

• Romans 8:9 – “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.”

• 1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”

• Acts 5:3-5 – “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land? Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God.”

• Ephesians 4:4-6 – "There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope at your calling —  5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."

• Ephesians 4:30 – "And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption."

• 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 "Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."

  
  

These five essential doctrines form the foundation of historic Christian faith and practice. Each one affirms the central truths of Scripture regarding who God is, what He has done, and how believers are to live in light of that truth.