Yahweh our God is a unitary being—the heavenly Father alone (Deut. 6:4). Yahweh is God’s personal name (Exod. 3:15; 5:1; 6:3). He has many attributes, but among the most important are that he is: loving, kind, good, just, holy, righteous, merciful, forgiving, and faithful (Exod. 34:6; 1 John 4:8). Yahweh our Father alone is the Creator of the heavens and earth and is all-powerful, sustaining all of creation by his strength and might (Gen. 2:4; 1 Chron. 29:11; Rev. 19:6). Yahweh is not multi-person, modal, or simply one “god” among many others (1 Cor. 8:4-6). He is the Sovereign Lord who acts according to his own plans and purposes for creation (Isa. 1:24; 48:3-5; 1 Tim. 6:15).

The Bible is not a human invention, nor did it originate in human thought or desire (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 1 Cor. 2:12-13). It comes from God’s desire to communicate to humankind through human writers who were inspired by him to write what he wanted (2 Pet. 3:15-16; Jer. 30:1-2; 36:28-32). The Bible contains the information that God desired to have communicated and, in its original autographs, does not contain intentional and explicit errors, contradictions, or inaccuracies that undermine the perfection of the divine author (John 17:17; Psa. 12:6; Deut. 18:22). The Bible must be understood properly in its ancient contexts and in connection with the specific audience to whom it was written (2 Tim. 2:15), and it contains the truth of God’s plans and purposes for the ages.

The title “Holy Spirit” refers to God our heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit is not a separate person from the Father but is simply another designation for the one God of Jesus (Mark 3:29; Acts 5:3-4; 13:2). But Scriptures also uses “holy spirit” to describe the power and presence of God (Num. 11:25-26; 1 Cor. 6:19; Rom. 5:5; Eph. 1:13). Furthermore, the phrase the “spirit of God” is used at times in place of the “holy spirit” (Exod. 31:3; 1 Sam. 10:10; Phil. 3:3), and the phrase the “Spirit of God” is used in place of the “Holy Spirit” (Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4). In the new covenant, the promised holy spirit is God’s divine nature that dwells in all believers as His children, bringing them into a spiritual union the Lord Jesus Christ and all other believers (Ezek. 36:26-27; Rom. 8:9). The holy spirit in believers is powerful, and according to the will of God, that power can be demonstrated in many different ways as God inspires and energizes the spirit in the believer (Exod. 31:3; 1 Cor. 12:4-7; Rom. 12:6-8).

The message of the good news (i.e., gospel) is about the kingdom of God (Matt. 4:23) and how God is showing his reign and rule by bringing salvation to the world through Jesus the Messiah (Rom. 1:16). Through the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross, God has defeated the power of sin and death (Heb. 2:14; 2 Tim. 1:10). Every person who puts their trust in Jesus is redeemed and receives forgiveness of sin and is rescued from the punishment of God’s wrath at the Judgement (Eph. 1:7; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9). Jesus will return to establish God’s kingdom on the earth, believers will be raised from the dead, and all of God’s enemies will be conquered and ultimately destroyed, thus bringing peace forever (Acts 3:19-21; John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 15:24-28).

Salvation is completely unmerited and based solely on God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:24). No human works can be attributed to salvation (Rom. 4:5). The condition for receiving salvation is personal trust in Jesus as the Lord and that God raised him from the dead (Rom. 3:22; 10:9-10, 17). The trust that saves a person is not mere mental assent but is a repentant and changed heart where a person relies on Jesus’ sacrifice as their atonement for sin and chooses to follow him as their Lord and Savior (Jam. 2:14, 26; Mark 1:15). The person who has genuine trust will demonstrate it through good works (Jam. 2:26; Matt. 7:16-17). Salvation is a reality that has past, present, and future dimensions (Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor. 1:18; Rom. 5:9), and it will ultimately be fully realized only in the age to come (Acts 3:21; 1 Cor. 15:50-57).

In the future, deceased believers will be resurrected and living believers will be transformed so that they all have new physical bodies that are immortal and incorruptible just like Jesus’ resurrected body (1 Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-57). Jesus will return to the earth and establish his kingdom and subdue all wickedness and vanquish all of God’s enemies (Isa. 11:4; Dan. 2:2; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:24-26). The present heaven and earth will be destroyed and remade into a new heaven and earth where righteousness dwells and there is no sickness, death, or sorrow (Isa. 35:10; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1-4). All believers will then dwell on a perfect earth with Almighty God, their Creator, and Jesus, their Lord, forever and ever without end (Matt. 5:5; Rev. 22:3-5).

A Christian is a follower of Christ, which entails living a new life that is different from a person’s old way of life before they put their trust in Jesus as the Lord (Matt. 10:38-39; Eph. 4:22-24). A born-again believer is a disciple of Jesus, who is to follow and obey his teachings and the teachings of his apostles (Matt. 4:19; Jam. 1:23-24; John 10:27). Discipleship is a process where a believer aligns their life with the example of Jesus and allows themselves to be transformed in their heart so that their mind is renewed, and they seek the things of God, not the things of the world, and produce the fruit of the spirit (Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:1; Gal. 5:22-24).

Spiritual gifts (including speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, prophecy, gifts of healing, working of miracles, and others) are in operation in the Church today according to God’s will (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 14:1, 5, 31). God energizes His spirit in believers, activating various spiritual gifts as He directs, for the purpose of edifying and strengthening His people in their faith, and as a sign to unbelievers of the presence of God’s spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-11; 14:22).

The Church’s mission is to make disciples from people of every nation throughout the whole world (Matt. 28:19), instructing them to surrender their will in obedience to God and to imitate the example of Jesus the Messiah as a faithful servant (Matt. 16:24; 28:20; 1 Pet. 2:21). To accomplish this mission, believers are to be witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8), sharing the good news with others and meeting together regularly as a spiritual family (Heb. 10:25), and seeking to strengthen each other so that believers can grow into mature followers of Christ (Heb. 5:14; Col. 1:28). God works in each believer according to the gifts He has given them through Christ so that each member of God’s family can fulfill what he is calling them to do (Rom. 12:6; Eph. 4:11-16).

The devil is a powerful spiritual being who existed before God created humankind (Gen. 3:1; 1 John 3:8). The devil tried to destroy God’s good creation and thus became God’s archenemy (Gen. 3:4-5). He deceived Adam and Eve so that they fell into sin, and as a result, Adam’s dominion of the world was transferred to him (Gen. 3:4-5; Luke 4:6; Eph. 2:2). Because of this the whole world of the present evil age is under his dominion and power (John 12:31; 14:30; 1 John 5:19). The devil—who has many names and descriptions in Scripture—along with other evil spirits (demons, who are fallen angels; cf. Matt. 25:41) work to overthrow the plans and purposes of God and nullify the power of God’s kingdom in the world through deception, wickedness, suffering, and destruction (Acts 10:38; Eph. 6:11-12; 1 Pet. 5:8).

The human soul is what animates a person’s physical body (Gen. 2:7; 2 Sam. 1:9; Acts 20:10). The soul is not a distinct entity of a person inside a physical body that remains functional and alive after death (Psa. 49:15). When a person dies, their soul ceases to be alive just as their body ceases to be alive (Psa. 146:4). The two are intrinsically connected together. Thus, there is no conscious activity after someone dies—their life ceases altogether. And so, the dead are currently not alive in heaven or hell or any other place (Eccl. 9:10; Psa. 115:17; Job 7:21).

The purpose of humankind is to glorify God through surrendering to his will and being in a loving relationship with him (1 Cor. 10:31; Phil. 4:20). God desires for everyone to be in this relationship with him, but many people refuse and rebel against God according to their own freewill decision (2 Pet. 3:9; Jam. 4:8; Luke 7:30). Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, everyone has suffered under the power and influence of sin, leading them to disobey God and pursue their own selfish desires (Rom. 3:9-18; 5:12; 6:17-19). Everyone must be saved from the guilt and punishment for their sin, which is death (Rom. 6:23). Only by personally choosing to trust in Jesus the Messiah and responding to God’s call to be in a restored relationship with him can a person overcome the power of sin in their life and live to glorify God (2 Cor. 5:17-20; Rom. 8:13). God does not force anyone to accept him and does not individually predestinate who will or will not choose him (Acts 7:51; 2 Pet. 3:9; Deut. 30:19). Every person is a free agent and can trust in God and his Son Jesus, embrace God’s love, and receive his grace; or they can reject it to their own peril and destruction (Mark 8:34; John 3:16; Acts 16:31).

The destiny of believers is to live forever in God’s eternal kingdom with new physical bodies that are immortal and incorruptible (1 Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-57). God’s eternal kingdom is a restored heaven and earth where humans will live with God and the Lord Jesus in their midst for eternity (Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21:1; 22:3-5; 2 Pet. 3:13). The rest of humankind (i.e., unbelievers) will be destroyed permanently in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15; 2 Thess. 1:9). Unbelievers do not suffer eternal conscious torment in Gehenna (i.e., hell) but are annihilated—they experience final and permanent death and cease to exist forever (Psa. 92:7; Matt. 3:12; Mal. 4:1).

Right and wrong behavior is not arbitrary or subjective but is objectively grounded in Scripture (Deut. 12:8; Isa. 5:20). God created humankind male and female, thus establishing his design of familial relationships for marriage and procreation (Gen. 5:2; Rom. 1:24-27). Furthermore, proper moral behavior is established by God according to his standards for what is good and righteous and through which humankind can flourish and accomplish the purposes God desires (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 2:10; Col. 3:5-10; Ps. 19:7-9).