Mill Creek Foursquare Church: Our Doctrine

A few initial comments: Being a Christian, and belonging to the Church, involves much more than simply believing a set of claims, or giving assent to a series of propositions. At the same time, however, we acknowledge that how we live as followers of Jesus and as the body of Christ will be influenced and reinforced by the beliefs we hold to. 

The word “doctrine” is a way of speaking about specific teachings or positions on theological topics, held in common by a particular tradition or expression of the Christian faith. As a community of faith we hold to the following beliefs, which are in agreement with the Foursquare movement and consistent with orthodox Christianity, as we seek to live out the implications of these beliefs in worship and discipleship in our particular context. 

1. Holy Scripture
   We believe that the Bible is God’s Word communicated in human words. We believe that the Scriptures are inspired by God (see 2 Timothy 3:16–17), that they come to us through human authors who were “carried along” by the Holy Spirit (see 2 Peter 1:21), and that the Old and New Testament together point to the person and work of Jesus Christ. We affirm that Holy Scripture is trustworthy and authoritative for our understanding of Christian belief and for the outworking of faithful Christian practice.
    

2. The Holy Trinity
   We believe that God is Triune, meaning that God is both one divine being and three divine persons. While the doctrine of the Trinity is not explicitly defined in the Bible, it is the way in which Christians have classically and consistently expressed the fullness of who God is according to biblical revelation. In other words, we affirm the oneness of God because Scripture compels us to do so (see, for example, Deuteronomy 6:4–5), and we affirm fully and equally the divinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because this ‘threeness’ is how the One God has revealed God’s Self in the drama of salvation. 

3. Christology: The Person of Jesus
   We believe that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human, the self-revelation of God and the Messiah (meaning “anointed one” or “Christ”) of Israel. We affirm that in the person of Jesus, the Word of God has become flesh and lived among us (see John 1:1–18), revealing both who God is and also what it means to be truly and fully human. With the classic creeds and the testimony of Scripture, we affirm that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, suffered and was crucified for the salvation of humanity, was raised bodily to new life as the “firstborn from the dead,” and ascended to the right hand of the Father (see Colossians 1:15–20; Revelation 5:1–14). We believe that God has accomplished the salvation of humanity and the redemption of the world in and through Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection (see John 3:16–17). Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of Israel’s hopes, the focus of the Gospel, and the sovereign Lord who ushers in the Kingdom of God. 

4. Pneumatology: The Person of the Spirit
   We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully divine, one with the Father and with Jesus while revealing in distinct ways the presence and power of God. We affirm the Spirit’s role in both creation and new creation, in the ministry of Jesus and within the life of the Church. The Holy Spirit is the gift of Christ to his Church, active in bringing about new birth (see 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Galatians 2:20) and progressive growth in holiness (also known as sanctification; see Hebrews 6:1), filling and baptizing the people of God with power to exercise spiritual gifts and to bear spiritual fruit for the sake of God’s mission in the world (see Acts 2:4). We believe that both the Christian community, and each individual believer within it, are empowered by the same Spirit who animated the life and ministry of Jesus, and that we therefore will experience the power of the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 4:30–32), to manifest the fruits of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22–25), and to exercise the gifts of the Spirit for the building up of one another and for the sake of the vocation of the Church (see 1 Corinthians 12:1–11).

5. Theological Anthropology: the Glory and Brokenness of Humanity
   We believe that humanity is created in the image of God, yet that all humans are under the power of sin and therefore in need of salvation. Being created in God’s image means that all humans, without qualification, have inherent value and worth as well as a God-given purpose, or vocation, within God’s creation (see Genesis 1:26–28). However, all humanity is enslaved by sin, both through our inheritance of Adam and Eve’s disobedience (see Genesis 3), and also through our own voluntary participation in that same posture of rebellion against God (see, for example, Romans 7:15–25). Thus, our identity and purpose as humans remains fundamentally good, yet distorted; every one of us ultimately loved and deeply valued by God, yet estranged from Him through the power of sin (see Romans 3:23–26 and 5:12–21)
   
   

6. Soteriology: The Drama of Salvation
   We believe that salvation is God’s free gift to the world, that it is available in and through faith in Jesus Christ, and that it brings about new birth and abundant life by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel is not merely a means of escape from eternal punishment or individualistic assurance of salvation, but rather the announcement of God’s kingdom arriving in and through Jesus. This announcement carries with it the invitation to turn from trusting and worshiping anything else (i.e. to repent), and place one’s trust fully and solely in Christ (i.e. to believe, or confess faith). Therefore, what it means to be saved is both incredibly significant for each individual and yet also must be understood as participation in the wider drama of God’s corporate and cosmic salvation, as the Kingdom of God arrives, on earth as it is in heaven (see Mark 1:14–15; John 3:16–17; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:8–10). We affirm that our salvation is both now and not yet, accomplished in Christ and yet awaiting its final fulfillment, the work of God on our behalf and yet being “worked out” continually in the context of discipleship, by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
   
   

7. Ecclesiology: The Life and Witness of the Church
   We believe that the Church exists as the Body of Christ on earth, created and sustained by the Holy Spirit, following Jesus for the sake of the Gospel, the Kingdom and the world. The Christian Church is not merely a collection of individuals who happen to believe the same things and live in a similar way; rather, it is the way in which God’s presence is made known in concrete, embodied ways in the world. We believe that we have a responsibility to one another, to meet together regularly in fellowship (see Hebrews 10:24–25), and that we have a responsibility to the world, to bear faithful witness to the Gospel and the Kingdom of God as we follow Jesus together. We confess that the observable witness of our Christian lives, as individuals and as a community, should be characterized by moderation, gentleness and patience, as opposed to extremism, excess, or self-interest (See Philippians 4:5; Colossians 3:12–14), and that we should be honoring of and subject to political authorities in our context, except in situations that overtly suppress or compromise our faithful witness to the Gospel (see Romans 13:1–7; Titus 3:1–2; 1 Peter 2:13–17) such that in both words and actions we might take the whole Gospel to the whole world, making disciples and participating in the Kingdom of God (see Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:18–20).  

8. Eschatology: The Consummation of All Things
   We believe that Jesus Christ not only accomplished salvation and ushered in the Kingdom of God in his life, ministry, death and resurrection, but also will surely return to set all things right in and through final judgment. Just as Jesus Christ came into the world in order to proclaim and embody the arrival of God’s Kingdom, he has promised to return to bring about that Kingdom in all of its fullness and glory (see John 14:1–3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Titus 2:11–14). The redemptive purposes of God will come to their ultimate climax in ways that have cosmic, corporate and individual dimensions. Heaven is eternal communion with God that will be experienced by all who respond to Jesus in faith, while Hell will be the tragic reality for those who reject faith in Christ and experience final judgment apart from him. This final stage, both in the biblical storyline and in human history, will involve the revelation of a new heavens and a new earth, the final judgment of all evil (see Revelation 20:1–15) and the full restoration of God’s righteousness, justice, and shalom (see Revelation 21:1–27).