Koinonia’s Statement of Faith

We believe in the time-tested Apostles’ Creed. The Apostles’ Creed is at least 1,600 years old and is a brief summary of the apostles’ teaching, explaining the Christian church’s doctrine in beautiful simplicity. Our Statement of Faith builds on these foundational declarations and captures more of our specific identity as a local church.

  • We affirm that the Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, was written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is without error in its original writings. The Bible contains the complete revelation of God's will for salvation and is the ultimate authority on all issues on which it speaks. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Therefore, the Bible is to be believed in all it teaches, obeyed in all it requires and trusted in all it promises.

    2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 12:6; 119:105, 160; Proverbs 30:5

  • There is one true God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God’s omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence are non-transferable attributes that distinguish and set Him apart from all that He has created.

    As the omnipotent one He not only possesses all power but is also the source of power and greater than the sum total of all He created. In His omniscience He possesses all wisdom, knowledge and understanding and is the source of all that can be known. Furthermore, His omnipresence means that He fills all that spatially can be filled and at the same time is greater than all He fills.

    Genesis 1:1,26-27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; 1 Peter 1:2; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:3-14

  • Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things were made. For man’s redemption, He left heaven and was born of the virgin Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Fully man and fully God, He lived a sinless human life, proclaimed the good news of God's Kingdom, and demonstrated its wisdom and power. In obedience to His Father's will and as our representative and substitute, Jesus offered Himself as a perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins by dying on a cross. After three days, He rose from the dead, demonstrating His victory over sin and death and receiving the name above every name and all authority and power. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to the Father and will return again to earth to establish God's Kingdom in all its fullness, reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords.

    Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18-23; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Hebrews 4:14-15; Matthew 1:22-23; Romans 1:3-4; Philippians 2:6-11; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13

  • The Holy Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus in all He does. He convicts of sin and cleanses, regenerates and renews all who repent of their sin and place their faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within every Christian from the moment of salvation. He reveals the truth of the Scriptures, guides in doing what is right and conforms believers to the image of Christ. The baptism in the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is evidenced by the fruit and gifts of the Spirit, including speaking in other tongues.

    Titus 3:3-7; 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 14:16-17; 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 2:38-39; 8:12-17; 19:1-7; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

  • God created mankind, male and female, in His own image and likeness. They are the supreme object of His creation and were given authority by God to be His representatives and govern the earth. All humanity was separated from God when Adam and Eve rebelled against God's rule after being tempted by Satan, God's adversary. As a result of their rebellion and sin, Satan became the spiritual ruler of this world. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, we are all born with a spiritual nature corrupted and enslaved by sinful desires, and we are under a sentence of eternal condemnation. Every human being requires the forgiveness and salvation made available by God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

    Genesis 1:27-31; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2; 64:6; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 4:17-19; John 3:15-18

  • God offers forgiveness to all people and desires to reconcile all people to Himself. This salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must choose to accept it by faith. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement or good works. Each of us can only be made right with God and saved from sin's penalty and power by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ, accomplished through His death and resurrection. We are saved when we turn from our self-ruled lives and give our allegiance to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Through choosing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are delivered from Satan's rule and enter the Kingdom of God as His redeemed sons and daughters.

    2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 5:1; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-13; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 26:17-20; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:13-14; John 1:12; 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26

  • To sanctify or make someone or something holy is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. According to the Bible, God's creation functioned flawlessly until Adam and Eve believed the lie of God's adversary and rebelled against Him. Sanctification begins at salvation and is the life-long process of God's grace, truth, and purposes bringing transformation to our hearts, minds and lives. As we grow in our relationship with God, learning to trust Him and fully submit our lives to His Word and Spirit, we are transformed through His power, becoming what God intended for us to be.

    Romans 6:11-14, 22; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7; 5:23-24

  • Healing and miracles are gifts of the Spirit that did not cease with the Apostles. Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus, and included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. It is included in Jesus' work on the Cross. His words in Luke 4, quoting Isaiah 61, reveal His desire to heal our whole being. Prayer for the sick and gifts of healing are encouraged and practiced.

    Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; I Corinthians 12:9,10,28; Romans 11:29; Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19

  • There is one Church, comprised of all those who have placed their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, receiving Him as Lord and Saviour by grace through faith. Jesus is the head of the Church, and together Christians are the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit and the bride for whom Christ will return. The Church is to glorify God by loving Him and demonstrating His love to the world around us every day. The goal of the Church is to proclaim and live out the gospel of the Kingdom of God, making disciples of all nations until Christ returns.

    1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 4:1-16; 5:22-27; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:2; John 13:34-35; Galatians 5:13-14; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47

  • BAPTISM - Every disciple of Jesus Christ has received the privilege and command to be baptized in water. Baptism is an outward sign of what God has already accomplished in the believer by grace through faith. Through baptism, we identify with Jesus' own life, death and resurrection. When a person is baptized, they are declaring that their old sinful self was crucified and buried with Christ. They are proclaiming that they have been washed from their sins and raised with Christ to live a new life under His lordship, by His grace and for His glory.

    Acts 2:38; 10:47-48; Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:1-11; Galatians 2:20

    COMMUNION - Christians gather for Communion to remember Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. As we celebrate Communion, we remember and proclaim His death, burial and resurrection. We look back to the cross to remember what Christ accomplished for us. We look ahead to when He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords. We look within to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas of our lives that He wants to transform to become more like Jesus.

    Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32

  • We believe marriage was instituted by God, affirmed and endorsed by Jesus, is exclusively between one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy is reserved for the marriage relationship. As such, it is a picture of, and expresses the relationship between Christ and the Church.

    Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 3:9-10; 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7; Romans 13:13

  • All people were created for relationship with God, to live with Him and enjoy His presence forever. On the last day, when Jesus Christ returns, all people will experience a bodily resurrection. All those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will live eternally united with God in His presence. All those who have rejected Jesus as God's provision for their sins will experience condemnation and exist separated from God in a place of eternal punishment prepared for Satan and his fallen angels.

    John 3:16; Romans 6:23; 8:17-25; 1 Corinthians 15:15-52; Philippians 3:20-21; John 5:29; Matthew 25:41-46; Revelation 20:11-15

 

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 
the holy catholic* Church, 
the communion of the saints, 
the forgiveness of sins, 
the resurrection of the body, 
and the life everlasting. Amen.


*The word “catholic” means “relating to the church universal” and was the word used in the original version of the Creed. It does not mean the Roman Catholic Church, but the church, the body of Christ, as a universal fellowship.