1. We believe in One God, revealed as Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. Deut. 6:4, II Cor. 13:14, John 1:1-14, Mark 12:29, John 14:26, 15:26, 20:17,21,22, Acts 2:33, Eph. 1:2-14, 4:4-7, James 2:19, I Peter 1:2-3, 3:18, Rev. 1:4-6, Isa. 43:10-11, I Tim. 2:5, II Cor. 4:4-6, Col. 1:14-19, 2:8-9.
2. We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the only begotten of The Father, and is fully God and fully man. He IS Salvation. He was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died a vicarious and atoning death for the sins of the world, resurrected bodily for our justification, and now reigns in glory until all things be put under His feet. I Tim. 3:16, Psalms 8, Gen. 3:15, Matt. 1:18, Isa. 7:14, 9:6, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Gal. 3:13-14, Heb. 4:14-16.
3. We believe man was created in the image of God, however, through disobedience, he sinned and fell. By reason of man's fall, the entire human race shares in this lost and depraved nature. Apart from God's grace, he has no ability to attain to the high calling of God, he is in a state of total spiritual degeneracy, unable to be righteous by his own wisdom, strength, or goodness. Gen. 1-3, Rom. 3:22-23, 5:12-19, 6:23, Eph. 2:1-5,8,9.
4. We believe in the absolute authority of the Holy scriptures in their original autographs given by God as He moved upon Holy men of old. Furthermore, we believe that the church has no authority to establish doctrine or practices contrary to these same scriptures which were accepted as Holy Writ by the early Christian church. II Tim. 3:16, Psalms 45:1, Ezek. 1:3, Matt. 24:35, Luke 24:27, Rom. 15:4, I Cor. 10:11, I Thess. 2:13, I Peter 1:18-21.
5. We believe that everyone must be born again to see and enter The Kingdom of God. This salvation is by grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Calvary, the perfect, all-sufficient, finished work of Jesus Christ--we confess it with our mouths, and believe it in our hearts. This justification is by faith alone in the blood of Jesus, The Lamb of God. John 3:1-8, Acts 10:43, 13:38-39, Rom. 3:21-25, 5:1-2, 10:9-10, Eph. 2:8-9.
6. We believe that subsequent to conversion, every believer should be baptized (immersed) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and the circumcision of the heart. The old man has been put to death, is buried, and arises to walk in newness of life. Acts 2:38, Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:16, Rom. 6:1-14, Col. 2:11-12, II Peter 3:9, Acts 8:12-16, 36,37, Acts 10: 42-43, 47, 48, Acts 19:5, Acts 3:19-20.
7. We believe that the baptism of The Holy Spirit is for all believers, a gift of God, an endowment of power, to anoint the believer for sanctification and evangelism. We believe the occurrence of the Holy Ghost baptism is to be the historical and experiential distinctive of speaking with other tongues as The Spirit gives utterance. However, speaking with tongues is not evidence of a Spirit-filled life. The abiding evidence of the Holy Ghost is the fruit of the Spirit made manifest in the believer, showing forth the divine nature and character of Jesus Christ. No man can come to God except the Spirit draw him. Regeneration begins with the work of the Spirit. Even our desire to respond to the Gospel is the gifting of God. So, anyone who is a believer must have the same Spirit, since And one can say that Jesus is Lord, except by The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is involved in the entire conversion process. We receive our Adoption as sons by the Spirit. We have a witness from the Spirit that we have become God's children. It is the Spirit that reveals truth, comforts us, and teaches us. Acts 1:4-8, 2:1-4, 10:45-46, 19:6, Rom. 8:14-16, John 14:17,25, 26, 15:2, 16:13, Gal. 3:14-15, 4:5-6,16, 5:22-25, Col. 1:25-27, II Peter 1:3-4, I John 3:1-3.
8. We believe that the gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit are the supernatural ministry of The Lord Jesus Christ, and that every member of the body of Christ should flow in several of them. The development of these charismatic gifts ought to be encouraged under the guidance of local church authority. New Testament ministry is the outflowing of the indwelling Christ. The church is called to a spiritual ministry of speaking, knowing, doing, and being. I Cor. 12:4-12, 14:1-40, Heb. 2:3-4, I Peter 4:10-11, Acts 1:8, 4:7-10, 29-31, 5:12, 10:38.
9. We believe that those who are called by the name of Christ should depart from iniquity. Sanctification is once and for all, yet, progressive in nature; first, from the time of conversion, the believer is set apart by the blood of Jesus; then, the believer separates himself unto a Holy God by washing daily with the Word. The believer is filled and directed by the Holy Spirit, lives in and among the world, yet is detached from it. Rejects unbelief and iniquity, is moderate in all things, and lives life to glorify Christ; in so doing, the believer perfects holiness in the fear of God, while connected to a local Body of Believers. II Tim. 2:19, I Cor. 1:29-31, II Cor. 6:14-7:1, Eph. 5:25-27, Col. 3:8-14, Heb. 9:12, 12:14, I Peter 1:15, I John 2:15-17.
10. We believe that all authority centers in Jesus Christ and that He has delegated His jurisdiction into the home, the local church, and civil government. We believe in a Theocratic (God-ruled) local church government and church order (elders, deacons, saints). Divine order in the New Testament maintains a plurality of leadership, and there is a set man at any given time with a distinctive anointing to father the flock of God. Matt. 28:18, Rom. 13:1-7, Eph. 1:20-23, Phil. 1:1-11, 2:5-11, I Tim. 3:1-13.
11. We believe in the full restoration of the five-fold ministries that Jesus Christ sent to equip and mature the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Their mission is to produce a mature (perfect), full-grown, many-membered, new creation man in the earth, the manifestation or unveiling of the nature and ministry of Jesus Christ to us. Rom. 8:19-23, I Cor. 13:8-13, Eph. 2:20-22, 3:1-12, 4:11-16, Col. 1:25-29.
12. We believe that healing for man's spirit, mind, and body was provided for in the New Covenant when our Lord Jesus was wounded, bruised, and striped in His death on the cross and rose again in the power of His resurrection. Divine health is a reality for the believer. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law: sin, sickness, and death. Isa.53:5, Mark 7:26, John 10:10, Acts 4:30, 10:38, Rom. 8:11, I Cor. 12:9, Gal. 3:13-14, James 5:13-16, I Peter 2:24.
13. We believe in observing often the ordinance of the Lord's supper (communion with believers). The table of our Lord Jesus Christ is the ongoing celebration of the New Covenant and re-members or re-attaches His body in Fellowship. It was proclaimed by Jesus to bring the body of Christ together until His return. Matt. 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:17-20, I Cor. 10:16-17, 11:23-30.
14. We believe in Spirit-filled prayer and intercession, and that fasting (abstaining from food and sustenance) intensifies prayer. The Spirit-filled church should partake in ALL prayer--Prayer language (tongues), Individual prayer, Corporate prayer, and Confessional prayer. Spiritual warfare is waged and won on the basis of Jesus' finished work. We are to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. Satan, our adversary, is a reality, and was completely defeated by our Lord's death and resurrection. We are called to enforce Jesus' victory, to occupy until he comes, and to call those things which are not, as though they were. Matt. 4:8-9, 12:25-29, Mark 16:17, Luke 10:17-20, 19:13, Acts 13:6-12, 19:13-20, Rom. 4:17, Cor. 2:11, 11:14, 27, Eph. 6:10-18, James 4:7, I Peter 5:8-9.
15. We believe in the priesthood of the believer. That is to say, all people born of God have equal status before Him, and direct access to The Lord. We believe the identity of the body of Christ on the earth is perceived through the local church. We recognize the need for God-given relationships and voluntary associations, the pursuit of unity through love, and a consensus on matters of doctrine and conduct. However, we strongly confess the local church to be autonomous, with Christ as the Head, and we reject legalism in all forms. I Peter 2:5, Rev. 2,3, Matt. 17:11.
16. We believe in the order of praise and worship given by revelation in the Tabernacle of David and restored to the Church today. The church should offer extemporaneous as well as dramatic and theatrical praise and worship to God. This includes the voice(singing, shouting), the hands (clapping, raising, playing instruments), and the whole body(dancing, standing, bowing, kneeling). II Sam. 6, I Chron. 13, 14, 15, 16, Psalms 150, Acts 15:13-17, Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16.
17. We believe that the kingdom of God is a present reality and will expand until the knowledge of His Lordship covers the earth. The government of God is the very purpose of God. (God's dominion, God's way of ruling). God's Kingdom is the extension of His rule and dominion in the earth and universe. The Kingdom of God is IN you. The Church(Christ's body), universal and local, invisible and visible, spiritual and tangible, is the instrument through which that purpose is to be realized. Gen. 1:26-28, Daniel 2:44-45, 7:27, Hab. 2:14, Mark 1:14-15, Rom. 14:17, Eph. 3:21, Heb. 12:25-29, Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 11:15, Col. 1:12-13.
18. We believe in the literal second coming of our Lord, which will be the consummation of all things. It is the ABlessed Hope of the church, the literal rule of Christ upon the earth, the resurrection of the regenerate to eternal life and the unregenerate to eternal damnation, and the ultimate victory of the eternal Kingdom of God. Acts 1:9-11, Daniel 12:2, Rev. 22:1-7.
19. We believe in Tithing (a tenth). The Covenant of giving was established during the times of Abraham, prior to the law, required under the Law of Moses, and confirmed by Jesus Christ as he came to "fulfill all the law". We are become 'the children of Abraham'. The Apostle Paul declared that Jesus Christ came 'after the order of Melchizedek'. It is an integral principle and replete through the Word of God to sow within Covenant Relationship. Gen. 14:18-23, 28:20-22, Proverbs 3:9-10, Mal. 3:7-11, Matt. 6:19-21, Luke 6:38, Mark 12:41-44, II Cor. 9:6-8.
We believe in the proceeding Word of God! That is, God is speaking NOW to confirm, reveal, and unlock the mysteries that have been hidden. He is a God that will never change His character, but He is constantly moving! The Revelation Of Jesus Christ builds and edifies His body, confirms what He has always said, and yet, continues to speak to His body in new ways. The Pastoral Staff of Abundant Life Ministries is not infallible. We confess that we do not have all knowledge, but we will communicate His Word as it is revealed to us. We will continue seeking, knocking, asking, and walk in His Truth as we know it. We joyfully embrace God's correction and humbly agree to change our views and re-align our positions in favor of the direction of His Word continually.
Cincinnati, OH 45247 ~ (513) 661-7978