About God | About the Bible | About Jesus Christ | About the Holy Spirit
About Salvation | About Baptism | About Eternity
About Eternal Security | About Human Beings

Common Terms and Phrases | Answers to Common Questions about Christianity
Compare Spiritual Paths | FCF Church Values

God is the creator and ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three personalities: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

Genesis 1:1*
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

1 Peter 1:2
...Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

2 Corinthians 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The Bible is God's Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.

2 Timothy 3:16*
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

2 Peter 1:20-21
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. [21] For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 1:13
What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:160
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless, human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate his power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven's glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Matthew 1:22-23*
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of men. [5] The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

John 14:10-30
Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. [11] Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. [12] I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. [13] And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. [14] You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. [15] "If you love me, you will obey what I command. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. [18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [19] Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. [20] On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. [21] Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." [22] Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" [23] Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. [24] He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. [25] "All this I have spoken while still with you. [26] But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. [27] Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. [28] "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. [29] I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. [30] I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Romans 1:3-4
Regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, [4] and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

Acts 1:9-11
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. [10] They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. [11] "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

1 Timothy 6:14-15
...To keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Titus 2:13
... While we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. As Christians we seek to live under His control daily.

2 Corinthians 3:17*
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

John 16:7-13
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. [8] When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; [10] in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; [11] and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. [12] "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—[17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

1 Corinthians 2:12
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

1 Corinthians 3:16
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness, can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

Romans 6:23*
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—[9] not by works, so that no one can boast.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Titus 3:5
H e saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:26
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot "lose" it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.

John 10:27-29*
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

2 Timothy 1:12
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

Hebrews 7:25
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Hebrews 10:10
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:14
...Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

1 Peter 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, [5] who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.

John 3:16*
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 2:25
He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

John 5:11-13
But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" [12] So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?" [13] The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelations 20:15
If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelations 21:1-5
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. [2] I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. [4] He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." [5] He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Matthew 25:41-46
Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me." [44] They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?" [45] He will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." [46] Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like him in character. People are the supreme object of God's creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin". This attitude separates people from God and causes many problems in life.

Genesis 1:27*
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Psalm 8:3-6
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, [4] what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? [5] You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.

Isaiah 53:6a
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Isaiah 59:1-2
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. [2] But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

FCF understands Scripture to teach that only those who have made a decision to trust in Christ and become His follower qualify for Baptism.  Scripture teaching on Baptism may be summarized as follows:

• Baptism is an act of obedience to the command of Christ, fulfilled by individuals who have become followers of Christ.
• Baptism symbolizes the spiritual cleansing through divine forgiveness, and the newness of life experienced by believers by virtue of their identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
• Baptism provides an opportunity for believers to make a formal declaration of faith before the church.
• As a biblical rite of initiation into the body of Christ, Baptism of believers may be considered a prerequisite for joining the membership of the church.

Although the old covenant practice of infant circumcision is sometimes given as a rationale for infant Baptism, the biblical definition of the functions of circumcision and Baptism shows that those two institutions fulfilled different purposes in their respective covenants.  The equation is never made in the Bible between the circumcision of male infants in the old covenant and the Baptism of born-again believers–much less infants–in the new covenant.  However, FCF encourages Christian parents to present their children for the ceremony of dedication, whereby God’s blessing is formally invoked upon children, and the parents publicly commit themselves to raise their children according to the teachings of Scripture.

Because the symbolism of Baptism requires a more adult level of cognitive and developmental readiness, FCF requires that children be mature enough to understand the meaning of this ceremony.  Proverbs 20:25 issues a significant caution against the danger of making a vow before adequate knowledge, forethought, and reflection have been given.