The Hill Church at Irvine
1. THE SCRIPTURES
The Bible, consisting of sixty-six books, is inspired in the sense that human authors were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the very words of Scripture. This divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of the writings—historical, poetical, doctrinal, and prophetical—as they appeared in the original manuscript. Therefore, the Bible in the original form is inerrant and infallible in all its forms in guiding people into a life-saving relationship with God (2Tim. 3:16; Mt. 5:17-18; 2Pet. 1:20-21).
2. THE GODHEAD
The Godhead eternally exists in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit— these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfection, and worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence, and obedience (Dt. 6:4-5; 1Tim. 2:5; Col. 1:16; Phil. 2:5-8; 1Cor. 2:10-13; Mt. 28:19-20; Jn. 10:30).
3. THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin—Mary, as the eternal Son of God in the flesh. He is in all ways fully God but now a genuine human being as well, being one person with two natures without separation, without division and without confusion (Jn. 1:1, 14; 1Jn. 5:20; 4:2-3; Phil. 2:6-7; 1Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:3).
4. THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth and died on the cross as the perfect atonement for sin. He was buried, but God raised him from the dead in three days, and after appearing to His disciples, Jesus ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of God, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion (1Cor. 15:3-8; Acts 2:29-36; Phil. 2:8-11; Eph. 1:20-22).
5. MAN, CREATED AND FALLEN
Man was originally created in the image of God, but as a result of the fall, Adam lost his spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and subject to the power of the devil. This spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race, the Man Jesus Christ alone being an exception (Gen. 1:26; 6:5; Psa. 14:1–3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10–19; 8:6–7; Eph. 2:1–3;1Jn. 3:8).
6. SALVATION
Man is justified solely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood. Therefore, salvation can only be achieved through faith in Christ and Christ alone. All who receive Christ in his heart as Savior and Lord become children of God, entering a personal and intimate relationship with God, and becoming co-heirs with Christ to receive the imperishable inheritance in the kingdom of God. Salvation is a process rather than a moment or an event, so fundamentally salvation is a life in Christ to be lived interactively with God (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 4:25-5:1; 10:9-10; Jn. 1:12-13; 3:16; 1Pe 1:4; Rev. 3:21).
7. SANCTIFICATION
A living faith will manifest itself in a change of heart and life - the process of sanctification. Through the working out of our faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, God transforms our lives into Christ-likeness. So this transformation involves both divine grace and our effort. Sanctification is an integrated and unseparated part of salvation, and it is a life-long spiritual journey beginning at the conversion until perfection in eternity (Jn. 17:17; 2Cor. 3:18; 7:1; Eph. 4:21-24; 1Thes. 5:23; Heb. 10:10, 14; 12:10).
8. THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit indwells believers, which occurs at the initial baptism of the Spirit. While there is only one baptism of the Spirit at the time of conversion. there may be many fillings of the Spirit and believers are commanded to be filled continually. The gifts for service are bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon all who are saved. While there is a diversity of gifts, each believer is called to his own divinely appointed service as the Spirit may will. (1Cor. 12:4-8; Eph. 4:11-13; 5:18; 1Cor. 12:7; Rom. 12:4-8)
9. THE CHURCH, A UNITY OF BELIEVERS
All who are united in the resurrected Lord are members of the Church, which is the body and bride of Christ. By the Spirit of God all believers in this age are baptized into one body- the Church, which is under solemn duty to keep the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace, rising above all sectarian differences, and loving one another with a pure heart fervently. The mission of the Church is to carry out the great commission entrusted by Christ (Mt. 16:16–18; Acts 2:42–47; 1Cor. 12:12–27; Eph. 1:20–23; 4:3–10; Col. 3:14–15; Mt 20:18-20).
10. THE SACRAMENTS OF ORDINANCES
Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only sacraments and ordinances of the Church, and they are Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age. Water baptism is an expression of an internal conversion as well as a celebration of this union with Christ and His body—the Church. The Lord’s Supper is the Christ-ordained means by which we remember His death and our salvation, and celebrate our communion with Christ and other believers in the unity of His body (Mt. 28:19; Lk. 22:19–20; Acts 10:47–48; Col. 2:12; 1Cor. 11:26).
11. THE RETURN OF CHRIST
At God’s appointed time, Christ will return to the earth with great power and glory to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God. When Jesus Christ returns, the believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and those who have died in Jesus Christ will resurrect to receive the glorified body. Together all believers will be united with the Lord Jesus living in a perfect love, joy and peace (Eze. 37:21–28; Mt. 24:15–25:46; Acts 15:16–17; 1Thes. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:1–3).
12. THE KINGDOM OF GOD
God’s historical purpose is to rule and establish His kingdom on earth. Through death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, God brought His kingdom on earth. Therefore, the kingdom of God is here and now, available to all who receive Christ as Savior and Lord, and yet to be completely fulfilled in the future. When Jesus returns, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and he will reign in his kingdom with his saints on earth for a millennial year. In the end, Christ will judge the devil, fallen angels and the unbelieving, and he will hand over his kingdom to God the Father. Therefore, God will live with His people, and the whole world will be blessed with the eternal state of peace and prosperity (Gen. 1:28; Isa. 11:6-9; 65:17-25; Mt. 6:10; 19:28-30; Phil. 2:10; Rev. 20:4-6; 22:1-6).
In obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are going to build a church with ……
