The baptism in the Holy
Sprit is an endowment of power given by God to anoint the believer for
sanctification and evangelism. The supernatural
gifts of the Holy Spirit
are
active within the body of Christ until the return of the Lord.
Furthermore, the
development of these gifts ought to be encouraged under the guidance of
the local church. (Acts 8:14-17; Acts 19:1-2; I Corinthians
12:4-7)
Those
who are called by the name of Christ should depart from
iniquity. One work of the Holy Spirit is to create in us the character
of
Christ. (II Timothy 2:19) We are to strive to be Christlike every day of
our
lives. Christlikeness is revealed through our lives by the fruit of
the
Spirit. (Galatians 5:22,23)
ABOUT
THE CHURCH
The New
Testament teaches the Priesthood of the believer. That is to say all
people born
of God have equal status before God and direct access to their Lord.
(I
Peter 2:5) The identity of the body of Christ on the earth is primarily
perceived through the local church. The callings of Apostle, Prophet,
Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher are functional within the body of Christ
until
the Lord's return. Furthermore, these ministries are gifts to the church
for the
purpose of equipping Christians for the work of the ministry, that the
body of Christ may be edified. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
ABOUT
THE
KINGDOM
The Bible teaches the literal second coming of our
Lord, 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; Revelation
22:1-7)
SANCTIFICATION:
We are sanctified by
grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. Now no
longer
does the power or the presence of sin have control but the divine nature
of God
is dominate and the sin nature is dormant. We must continue on a daily
basis to
keep the sin nature crucified by walking in the Spirit and trusting in
finished
work of Christ on the cross. We must also experience the cross so we
will die
with Christ and Christ will live through us. Sanctification is not an
attainment
but a continuous process of allowing the Holy Spirit to continue to
transform us
into His image as a living sacrifice. (Dead to the world and flesh but
alive to
God) This process will separate us from the world and consecrate us unto
God for
His service. (Luke 9:23; Romans
6:3-7;
Romans 6:14 ; Romans 12:1-2 ;2 Corinthians 4:10-11; Galatians 2:20;
Galatians
6:14 ; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Titus
2:11-12)
CHRISTIAN
LIFE:
The Christian life is an
ongoing process
of being transformed by God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete
the
development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present
ministry of
the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and God’s grace that the Christian is
able to
live a Godly life. (Romans 8:29; 2
Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; 2 Thessalonians
2:1-3;
Titus 2:12; Hebrews
2:11)