Beliefs

Beliefs

King's Covenant Church is an emerging congregation of the Christian Reformed Church denomination. To learn more about our beliefs, visit www.crcna.org.

Creeds and Confessions

We affirm three creeds―the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed―as ecumenical expressions of the Christian faith. We also affirm three confessions―the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort―as historic Reformed expressions of the Christian faith, whose doctrines fully agree with the Word of God.

Apostles’ Creed

We believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
   who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
   and born of the virgin Mary.
   He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
   was crucified, died, and was buried;
   he descended to hell.
   The third day he rose again from the dead.
   He ascended to heaven
   and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
   From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
   the holy universal church,
   the communion of saints,
   the forgiveness of sins,
   the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Bible

We believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. It contains all that people in any age need to know for their salvation. We call the Bible God’s Word, believing that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us through this book.

The Bible has two major sections that at first glance seem quite different from each other. The Old Testament records God’s work through centuries of Israelite history until about 400 B.C. The New Testament picks up with God’s work through the life of Jesus, the coming of the Holy Spirit in power, and the subsequent spread of the church over the first century A.D. You could also think of the Bible as a library of sixty-six unique books of various kinds by many authors in different contexts over thousands of years. But it is only one book: the whole of it forms one richly textured story of God’s loving purpose in relation to humans and the whole creation.

Four Chapters

Reformed believers summarize this biblical story in four major chapters:

Creation - In the beginning God created a world where everything was in perfect harmony. Relations between God and humans and the creation were good and whole.

Fall - Through pride, humans were enticed by Satan into rebelling against God. Their disobedient act opened the door for the “sin virus” to enter the world. This virus contaminates everything: no person, no creature, no institution, no relationship or individual action is free from the totality of this contamination. The results of sin are evident in such things as greed, violence, and oppression as well as pollution, sickness, death, and weeds. The most devastating effect of sin is alienation from God. Still, sin cannot obliterate the “image of God” in us that longs for God and for wholeness.

Redemption - But God did not allow sin have the last word in this story. Because of his great love for humans and for the whole creation, God set out to redeem the world from its sinful condition. God called Abraham and Sarah and their descendants, the people of Israel, to be his partners in blessing the whole world. Finally, he sent his only Son, Jesus the Messiah, to live a fully human life and then die, thus paying the price for humanity’s sinful actions. But death could not defeat Jesus. God raised him from the dead to show that he had conquered sin and death. Now God’s kingdom is growing and spreading in this world, and Christians are part of that great work.

New Creation - One day, Jesus is coming back again to extend God’s reign on earth completely. He will do away with any traces of sin and its effects. There will be no more sickness, no more suffering, no more alienation from God, no more death. Evil will be eradicated. God himself will dwell with humans and all creation will be fully restored. Praise God!

God

We believe in one God eternally existing as one essence and three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, each of whom is fully God, yet there is one God.

Revelation

God has made Himself known to the world in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures and creation.

Creation and Providence

We believe that God created the world from nothing and governs all things at all times in all places.

Humanity

We believe that all humanity is created in the image of God and possesses intrinsic dignity and worth.

Sin

We believe that sin has fractured all things, leaving the world in desperate need of salvation.

Salvation

We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Church

We believe that the Church is the body of Christ sent into the world to shine forth the glory of God.

Resurrection and Consummation of the Kingdom of God

We believe that Jesus Christ is returning to the world in the future to judge the living and the dead.