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The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the Bible is the written and inspired Word of God, authoritative and without error in the original manuscripts. We further believe that the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments are designed for our practical instruction in faith and conduct. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21)
The Godhead
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that these three are one God. (Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-3,14:9-12,26).
Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but because of man's sin and disobedience, mankind was alienated from God. We further believe that the entire human race now shares in man's lost and depraved nature, and that only through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord can this alienation be removed. (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23-24, 5:18-19; Ephesians 2:3-5)
The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who came into the world that He might manifest God to men, fulfill prophecy, and become the Redeemer of a lost world. To this end, He was born of the Virgin Mary, received a human body and a sinless human nature without ceasing to be God. (Luke 1:30- 35; John 1:1, 14, 18;Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 4:15)
We believe that, in infinite love for the lost, He voluntarily accepted His Father's will and became the divinely provided sacrificial Lamb and took away the sins of the world. (Romans 3:23-31; I Corinthians 15:1-3; II Corinthians 5:14-19; Hebrews 10:5-18)
We believe that He arose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died, and that His resurrected body is the pattern of the body which ultimately will be given to all believers. (John 20:19-20; Philippians 3:20-21)
We believe that He ascended into Heaven and was accepted by His Father, and that the Father's acceptance is a final assurance to us that Christ's redeeming work was perfectly accomplished.(Mark 16:19; Ephesians 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:3-4)
We believe that He became Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, and in this ministry He does not cease to intercede and to be an advocate for the saved. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Philippians 2:6-11; I Timothy 2:3-6; I John 2:1- 2)
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who is eternal and coequal with the Father and the Son.
We believe in the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Birth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all believers immediately after they place their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. (John 3:5 -8; Romans 8:16).
We believe also in the work of the Holy Spirit that God desires to perform in the life of every believer subsequent or following the new - birth experience, and this work is called the infilling of the Holy Spirit or the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus talked about it in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
We believe the proclamation of the Gospel includes both the eternal power of Calvary and the potential power of Pentecost; the baptizing power of Jesus Christ for salvation because of Calvary, and the filling of the Holy Spirit for service and holy victorious living because of Pentecost. We believe that being filled with the Holy Spirit equips believers for service in the kingdom of God and empowers believers to live a victorious Christian life that glorifies God. We believe that all believers are entitled to, should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance. (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6). This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian church. With it comes the endowment of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4; I Corinthians 12:1-31). With the baptism in the Holy Spirit comes such experiences as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:42-43), and a more active love for Christ, for His Word, and for the lost (Mark 16:20).
We believe that the Holy Spirit: convicts of sin (John 16: 8-11); glorifies Jesus Christ (John 15:26); regenerates the unsaved (John 3:5-8); indwells the believer (John 14:16-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20); comforts the afflicted (John 14: 16; 26); equips the saints with gifts (Romans 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12); sanctifies (Romans 15:16); unifies the body (Ephesians 4:3); assures us of our salvation (1 John 3:24); and teaches us the Word of God (John 14:17,26).
Baptism in Water
We believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is commanded in the Scriptures. All who repent and believe in Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4).
Spiritual Gifts
We believe that Jesus Christ is the sovereign giver of spiritual gifts, which He distributes to all believers through the Holy Spirit in order to help them to function as a member of the church, which is the body of Christ. We further believe that these gifts are given for the perfecting of the saints in the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7-12; Galatians 3:26-28)
We believe in the perpetuity and continuing ecclesiastical value of all spiritual gifts until the end of this church age, which is consummated by the glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that the exercise or use of any spiritual gift must be done in accordance with Scriptural principles and under the oversight of the local church. (Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:11-12)
Salvation
We believe that no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless born again spiritually, and that the new birth of the believer comes only through confession and repentance of sin and profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We believe, also, that our redemption has been accomplished by the blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ and that this redemption is by the grace of God, an unmerited gift, given in love by God and not the result of any human works. (John 3:7, 18; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13-14; Ephesians 2:4-9; Romans 4:4-5, 6:23, 10:9-10, 13).
We believe that upon receiving the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, the believer passes immediately out of spiritual death into spiritual life and into fellowship with God. (John 1:12, 5:24; I Corinthians 1:9).
Sanctification
a) Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1-2; I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12).
b) Sanctification is obtainable as a second definite work of grace, received by faith in the blood of Christ. C) Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-11,13; 8:1-2,13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12-13; I Peter 1:5).
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Eternal Security
We believe that once salvation is accomplished, we and all true believers everywhere shall be kept saved forever. True believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit and are secure in Christ. This security is not found in a place called Heaven, for a third of the angels fell from Heaven. Instead, this security comes only through true faith in the person of Jesus Christ, who declared ''No one can snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28-29; Romans 3:21-24, 8:35-39; Galatians 2:15-16; Ephesians 1:13-14, 2:4- 5,8-9; II Timothy 2:11-13)
We further believe that the Bible does not teach unconditional security. The condition to our security is that we must truly be saved. Someone who claims to be saved, yet lives a life of continual, habitual sin is like the person Paul warned Jude about in Jude 1:4 "They are godless men, who change the grace of God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." The person who lives like that is not saved and is living with a sense of false security. (Romans 6:1-2; Hebrews 6:4-8; 1 John 3:6).
The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan, the devil, is the prince of demons and is the declared adversary of God and man. However, when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, He limited the power of the devil and guaranteed the ultimate triumph of God. (Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 2:13-15; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10)
We believe in the authority of the believer, through our Lord Jesus Christ, over the enemy, Satan, and the victory to be gained by the exercise of that authority where Satan and sin seeks to oppress believers. (Acts 10:38; Ephesians 1:18-21; 6:10-18; 1 John 2:16).
The Church and Its Mission
1. We believe that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit into one, united spiritual body, which is the Church, and that the head of this body is the risen Jesus Christ. So the Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointment for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23). 2. Since God's purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, and to build a body of believers in the image of His Son, the priority reason-for-being of the Life Givers Christian Center is:
a) To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16), so the task of this body of believers (the Church) is to make disciples in all the nations by winning the lost to Christ and equipping them for ministry.
b) To be a corporate body in which man may worship God (I Corinthians 12:13).
c) To be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11-16; I Corinthians 12:28; 14:12). We believe that all the local churches under Life Givers Christian Center gather together for praise and worship of God, for practical instruction in the Scriptures, for fellowship with other believers, for corporate witness to the unsaved world, and for ministry to one another and to the unsaved. The common spiritual goal of all believers is to grow
toward the likeness of Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 4:16; Acts 1:8, 2:42-47; Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; II Corinthians 5:11-21; Ephesians 4:13-16; Hebrews 10:25)
3. Life Givers Christian Center exists expressly to give continuing emphasis to this reason-for-being in the New Testament apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.
This experience: a) Enables them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural signs (Mark 16:15-20; Acts 4:29-31; Hebrews 2:3-4).
b) Adds a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with God (I Corinthians 2:10-16; 12; 13; and 14).
c) Enables them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of fruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the edifying of the body of Christ (Galatians 5:22-26; I Corinthians 12:28; 14:12; Ephesians 4:11-12; Colossians 1:29).
4. We believe in the autonomy of the local church as an independent entity with regard to matters of government, polity, operation, and discipline. We further believe that the local church is to be governed by a plurality of godly leaders called Pastors (Elders), and that the qualifications for them are found in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. We also believe that it is the responsibility of every believer to obey the Pastors (Elders), submitting to them in love, and that the Pastors (Elders) will have the responsibility of preaching and teaching in the local church.
Praise and Worship
We believe in the formal and intentional praise and worship of Almighty God as a proper spirit-led corporate and individual acknowledgement and response to His person and work. We further believe that God inhabits the praise of His people and that we are commanded to praise the Lord and worship Him. We also believe that worship is the pouring out of all that we are, in adoration to Him for all that He is. (Psalm 22:3; Psalm 46-50; Psalm 150; John 4:23-24)
We believe that our praise and worship of God may express itself in many forms: clapping and shouting (Psalm 47:1); singing (Psalm 95:1-2); bowing and kneeling (Psalm 95:6); lifting hands (Psalm 63:4); dancing (Psalm 149:3); and playing musical instruments (Psalm 150:3-5). We further believe that a true worship experience involves direct communion and fellowship with God, and that every individual should feel free to engage in any and all of these forms of worship, without being disruptive to other believers.
The Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ will return to earth, just as He promised, to gather His church, which will include all those who have died in Christ along with all those who are in Christ and alive at the time of his return. We further believe that this Second Coming will occur at a time when no one expects it, and that Jesus will appear in the clouds with great power and glory, just as when He ascended unto the Father.
We also believe that the Rapture and Second Coming of Christ will be followed by a period of great tribulation for those who are not in Christ, which will culminate in the establishment of a heavenly kingdom here on earth, with Jesus as Lord and Ruler over all. (Zechariah 14:4-11; John 14:1-3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-13; II Peter 3:10; Revelation 3:10)
Eternal State
We believe that at death the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body when Christ comes for his own, whereupon the soul and glorified body shall be reunited and associated with Him forever in glory. All those who rejected Jesus Christ will be eternally separated from God to endure His wrath forever. (II Corinthians 5:6-8; Revelation 20:11-15, 21: 1-27) .
The Responsibility of Believers
We believe that all believers should seek to walk by the Spirit, separating themselves from worldly practices and witnessing in their lifestyle through words and deeds to the truths of the Holy Scriptures. We further believe that all believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be rewarded based on their faithful obedience to Him in this life. (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 3:10-17; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Galatians 5:16-25)
We believe that all believers are instructed in Scripture to hold each other accountable, and that sin and immorality are to be dealt with lovingly and precisely. We further believe that believers are to follow the steps Jesus gave in Matthew 18:15-17 whenever a fellow believer is guilty of sin. We also believe that all church discipline should be redemptive and restorative in nature, and that those guilty of sin should be obedient and submissive to the spiritual leaders God has placed in the church. (1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 12; Galatians 6:1-2; Hebrews 13:17)
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