God always has and always will exist as a single, unlimited, perfect and holy being, in three distinct and equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 6:3, Matthew 28:19).
Everything else in the universe was created by God, for the purpose of glorifying His name and demonstrating His goodness (Genesis 1:1). This includes both the spiritual world and the natural world (Colossians 1:16). Satan (formerly Lucifer) and his demons were originally created as good angelic beings, but later made the choice to oppose God and His plan (Ezekiel 28:11-‐17). They continue to exist today as real, personal beings who oppose God and His people (1 Peter 5:8), and will one day be judged by God forever (Revelation 20:10).
People, too, were created good and without sin, in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-‐28). As a reflection of His image, God created male and female and designed them for perfect sexual union with each other within the marriage relationship (Genesis 1:27, 2:18). They chose to sin and became separated from God, condemned to die (Genesis 3, Romans 5:12). As a result of this sin, human relationships became strained and corrupted, leading to consequences never intended by God, such as domestic violence (Genesis 3:16), divorce (Matthew 19:4-‐9), and homosexuality (Romans 1:26-‐27).
Though people failed, God continued to reach out to them, and revealed Himself through His Word, the Bible. Every single word in the Bible was inspired by God and written down by human beings (Matthew 5:18, 2 Peter 1:19-‐21, 1 Timothy 3:16). The original writings contained no mistakes, and so the Bible provides the final authority in all of life (Proverbs 30:5).
To overcome sin once and for all, God sent His son Jesus, who is both fully God (John 1:1) and fully human (Luke 2:52), perfectly united in one person. Jesus was born to a virgin (Matthew 1:18-‐23), lived a perfect and sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), and then died on a cross as our substitute, taking the punishment for the sins of humanity (Isaiah 53:6). He then rose from the dead and ascended to heaven where He reigns today (Acts 1:9-‐11).
People can be saved from sin and death only by trusting in this work that Jesus has accomplished—it is a free gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-‐9). Nothing else we can do can remove our guilt before God (Isaiah 64:6).
At the moment a person trusts in Jesus, God the Holy Spirit instantly and permanently indwells the believer (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit is God Himself, a person, not a “thing” or a “force” (John 16:7-‐15). The Holy Spirit gives the believer eternal life (Titus 3:5), as well as power to resist sin, live a godly life, and serve Him (Acts 1:8, Galatians 5:22-‐23). Though believers can still choose to sin and resist the day-‐to-‐day work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:17-‐21), the Holy Spirit will convict and convince them of sin in their lives (John 16:8, 1 John 1:9).
The baptism of the Holy Spirit unites all believers everywhere into a worldwide entity called “the Church” or the “Body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:13). Jesus is the Church’s leader (Ephesians 5:30), and He established it for the sole purpose of sharing the gospel and making disciples throughout the whole world in preparation for His return (Matthew 28:18-‐20, Acts 1:8).
When He does return, Jesus will judge the entire world (Revelation 20:11-‐12). Unbelievers will be sentenced to eternal separation from God and thrown into Hell for all eternity (Revelation 20:14-‐15). Believers’ bodies will be resurrected and transformed to live with God forever in a perfectly renewed creation, free from all sin and suffering (1 Corinthians 15, Revelation 21:3-‐4).