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| God Holds The World In His Hands |
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The Bible: is the inspired Word of God infallible, authoritative and free from error as originally given.
The Triune Nature of God: We believe that the triune Godhead exists as One God eternally, although God is "Three Eternal Deities" --the Father; the Son; and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19) who works in unity for the salvation of humanity. The Holy Spirit and the Son share the same nature with the Father who is eternal, transcendent, and sovereign, He is Holy, also personal, immanent, loving, just, merciful and faithful.
God the Father is the first person within the Holy Triune (Gen. 1:1; Jn 1:3). For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
God tells us in His Word that by nature we are "...dead in trespasses and sin;" (Ephesians 2:1) and that we are "...alienated from the life of God..." (Ephesians 4:18). "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
We cannot deal with our sin by "cleaning ourselves up" on the outside, when our problem is a heart condition. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin." John 8:34 We are all slaves to our sinful nature, and we can only be cleansed from within by the working of God.
The "new birth" is not a religion, not living up to a creed, not a set of rituals, nor joining a church or denomination. It's a transformation. Our old nature is changed and we receive a new one. Old things pass away and all things become new in Christ. We receive a new heart, new desires, new ideas, and a new direction because of this new nature. A birth is the coming into being of a new life that has the nature of its parents. When you were born the first time, you were made a partaker of the nature of natural man. When you are born again, you become a partaker of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). God can become your heavenly Father.
The greatest attribute of God is that He is a God of love. He loves you and me. He loves all sinners and wants to save every one of us from hell and the terrible results of our sin. His Word tells us, "But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "For He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (II Corinthians 5:21). God hates sin because of what it produces-- war, sickness, poverty, etc., but God loves the sinner.
God sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, so that we might have new, everlasting life. The Bible tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). By His death and resurrection, Jesus paid for our salvation. He broke the power of sin and death, making it possible for us to have everlasting life. The life of God raised Jesus from the dead and He was the first-born Son into the kingdom of God
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