FIVE CORE DOCTRINES
That Shape the Teaching, Fellowship, and Worship of CBC

Concerning the Tri-Unity God

 
Our Statement of Confidence
We believe that there is only one, true, and living God who is the infinite, perfect, and Sovereign Spirit who eternally exists in three equal Persons:  The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.  Though each of the Persons have their distinguishable roles and functions (as defined below), each Person is inseparably and essentially linked to form the biblical, Trinitarian God; hence, the term, Tri-Unity God.  Though God transcends all time, space, and matter that He has created, He is a personal Being who upholds all things of this universe by His supreme power, and, significantly, He cares about every detail of existence that relates to man.   He alone is God, and He is worthy of man’s full submission and highest praise.

God the Father:   We believe that the Father is the first Person of the Tri-Unity, and He has purposed and planned all things—visible and invisible—according to the counsel of His own will.   

God the Son:   We believe that the Son is the second Person of the Tri-Unity.  By reason of His incarnation in a literal human body, He became, and is today, both fully God and fully man.  The purpose of His miraculous conception into human form was to implement the Father’s plan of redemption and separate His people from their sin.  His life, death on the Cross, resurrection from the dead, and ascension into Heaven now seated at the right hand of the Father secures for all believers the right to be called sons of God and gives every believer an unshakable hope of his future inheritance as a co-heir of all things with the Son. Upon the Son’s completion of His Cross-Work, He was granted by the Father the rightful place as Head of the Church.  In addition to this, the Father has given His Son the place of Judge over all men in the end times.  As Judge, He will first miraculously remove His church from earth’s domain, and then raise all men from the dead in this order—some to the resurrection of life, and then, others to the resurrection of condemnation.

God the Holy Spirit:  We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of theTri-Unity, who actively works in the world by restraining sin, and convicting the unsaved concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.  For each one who places his faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ as defined by the New Testament Scriptures, He graciously regenerates (gives spiritual life to the spiritually dead), immediately baptizes (judiciously places each new believer into the body of Christ), permanently seals, sovereignly guides, accurately teaches (illuminates the mind to the Word of God), fully empowers, progressively sanctifies (transforms the believer into Christ-likeness), vigilantly intercedes in each believer’s behalf, and ultimately dominates the believer’s body, soul, and mind for the glory of the Godhead.   

The Impact of This Statement on Our Church Experience
By the above definition of the Tri-Unity God, it should be clear that to deny the Trinitarian nature of God is to deny God and His Word.  In truth, then, to say that we love God means that we are fully and equally devoted to, and have singular and balanced affections for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Our congregation mirrors the historic Athanasian Creed (sentence #27), which states, in part, “. . . the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped.” 

To the Father our church yields highest praise and full submission acknowledging Him as directed by His Son in “the Lord’s Prayer:” His name is reverenced above all others, His kingdom is anticipated above all our earthly delights, and His will is our singular and enthusiastic focus in life.

To the Son our church recognizes Him as its true Pastor and Bishop who is not only worthy of our undivided allegiance, but of our exclusive, heart-felt worship.  Through His redemptive work alone we have all received abundant life, we have now become a united fellowship, a true Body of Believers, and we all enjoy the inheritance of a future hope in Heaven.  Since the Father has granted Him the position as Head of the Church, we desire that our church—each member—look like Him in our thought-life, daily actions, personal dress, and family recreational and entertainment activities. We want the outside world to see Jesus Christ in us, and we are committed to fully investing our temporary human existence on this earth for His eternal pleasure.

To the Holy Spirit our church surrenders full authority and control.  As the Builder of the church, He has placed us into the Body (Baptism of the Spirit) as it has pleased Him, and He has the full right to accomplish every purpose of the Word of God in our midst.  We bless Him for His presence and work in us and among us, though we know that His great purpose and delight is to point each of us to the Son of God, and glorify His Name.  Since it is the Holy Spirit’s ministry to magnify the Son and His Word, and since today the Word of the Son is fully inscripturated and finished, the prophetic-revelational ministry of the Spirit is now complete and His concentration in our church is to illuminate each believer’s mind to the beauty, meaning, and significance of the written Word of God. 

Texts We Considered in This Declaration
Genesis 1-2; Deuteronomy 6; Psalm 2, 95; Isaiah 40; 63:7-10; Habakkuk 3:17-19; Matthew 1: 21-23; 6:9-13; 28:18-20; Luke 24:44-49; John 1:1-18; 5:16-30; 14:25-26; 16:7-15; Acts 2; 5:1-11; 16:6-10; Romans 1:1-4;  I Corinthians 12:12-13; 13:1-13; II Corinthians 3; Ephesians 1-6; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2; II Thessalonians 2:1-12; 3:1-2; Hebrews 1-10; I Peter 2:24-25; Revelation 20-22