We believe the Church is the holy group and assembly of people called out of darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus Christ through salvation (1 Pet. 2:9).
The Church can be best represented through the illustrations of being the Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:22-33), the Family of God (Eph. 2:19-21; Gal. 6:10), the Body of Jesus (1 Cor. 12:12-26), the Temple of Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:19-21), and the Embassy of Heaven (2 Cor. 5:20). Because the spiritual reality of the Church is made manifest in physical form, there is both a spiritual and physical nature of the Church of Jesus Christ. This spiritual essence is made clear through the organization of the assembled congregation and by the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
We believe God’s Church can be best organized through Elder-Led Congregationalism, which provides large financial and general directions to be brought before the whole Congregation of Eden, while allowing for spiritual items and the spiritual direction of the Church to be decided and determined by the leading group of elders who oversee the Church’s spiritual health (Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:2-4).
All Christians have a duty to lead others both spiritually and through servanthood. However, each Christian will often prioritize one or the other. Within these two camps, certain Christians may feel compelled to take a leadership role as a spiritual or servant leader. These two roles are defined in Scripture as Elders and Deacons. The Elders focus their attention on the spiritual matters of the local Church. They work to determine the spiritual direction of the local church through reading and meditating upon Scripture, discussing it with other elders or spiritual leaders, and praying to God for Holy Spirit’s guidance on how to understand and clearly apply it to the local Church (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). Deacons focus their attention on identifying and tending to the physical, tangible, and practical matters of the Church while maintaining the unity of the Family, so that the Elders can continue their work of preaching, teaching, and praying (Acts 6:1-4; 1 Tim. 3:8-13).
CLICK TO LEARN ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF OUR SPIRITUAL LEADERS
We believe there are two ordinances of the Church, and we do not hold these ordinances to be sacramental in nature, meaning participation in them does not bring further means of grace (Titus 3:4-7).
The two ordinances are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
One of the greatest blessings given to man by God is the Holy Scriptures, which is God’s revelation of Himself to man. The Scriptures, while written by man, are inspired by Holy Spirit for the purpose of revealing to man all that God has deemed necessary and sufficient for the salvation of man to the glory of His name. It is to that end that we believe that Scripture is Divinely Inspired, Inerrant, and Infallible.
By Scripture we mean the 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testament*. By inspired, we mean the text of Scripture from start to finish is a product of God’s will and approval while also maintaining the individualistic style and form of the human author. By Inerrant and Infallible we mean Scripture does not and cannot contain any error in what it teaches, both its affirmations and denials.
Therefore, we believe that Scripture “is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). We further believe Scripture alone is the final authority for truth and the ultimate standard for which the follower of Christ relies upon for spiritual growth and for all matters on which it speaks (2 Pet. 1:3).
* The 66 books of the biblical canon consist of the 39 books of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the 27 books of the early Church. These books include:
(Old Testament) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
(New Testament) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation
God has revealed Himself to us through the Holy Scriptures. We believe there is one true and living God who is infinite, self-existent, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, immutable, impassible, eternal, and all-sufficient within Himself. He created from nothing all things, seen and unseen, and sustains them by His sovereign power for the purpose of His glory in accordance with His perfect will (Luke 24:27, 44-45; John 5:39; Col. 1:16; 2 Pet. 1:16-19).
God is perfect. He is most and infinitely: holy, powerful, righteous, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, truthful, patient, and wise (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 18:30; Isa. 46:9-11; 1 John 4:16). God is spirit and exists eternally as one being and three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead is of the same divine essence and therefore there is no division of mind, will, or power among them. They are equally worthy of all worship, honor, praise, and obedience (Isa. 9:6). The Father is God. The Son is God. The Holy Spirit is God. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and Son (John 1:1-18; 3:16; 14:26; 15:26; Heb. 1:1-2).
CLICK TO CONTINUE READING
It pleased God according to His perfect will and purposes to consummate creation by creating a special creature with which He would relate to and love: Man (Pss. 8:5; 139:13, 14). Although Man is one of the many living creatures which fills the Earth, God made Man in His own image and according to His own likeness. Man is uniquely a biological creature with a rational and immortal soul (Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7). Being made in His image, all human life is therefore immeasurably precious with inherent worth derived from God and God alone. He created them male and female (Gen. 1:27), and He blessed them and commanded them to populate the earth and to subdue it (Gen. 1:26,28; 2:15; Psalm 6:6-8). In their initial state Adam and Eve were without sin or corruption, feeling no shame in their nakedness (Gen. 1:31; 2:25), yet they were totally free to follow or disobey the command of the Lord not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Eccl. 7:29, Rom. 2:14-16). According to the sovereign will of God, both Adam and Eve were deceived and ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, sinning against God and His righteous command (Gen. 3: 1-7). Adam and Eve’s sin resulted in Man’s spiritual separation from God (Gen. 3: 7, 8). Thus, Man’s mind has been polluted and his will bent toward sin (Ps. 14:1-3; Rom. 1:21-32; 3:23a), resulting in the just wage of physical death (Gen. 2:17; 3:22; Rom. 5:12; 6:23a). Although Man’s current nature is corrupted and sinful, he still bears God’s image and is capable of rational and moral reasoning and therefore entirely responsible for his good and evil deeds in the sight of a Holy God (Rom. 2:14-16). It is by the Grace of God alone that man can be saved and his nature set right to the Glory of God (Eph. 2).
As the Creator of all things, God has complete authority over his creation. He has given us commands, laws, and His Spirit according to His perfect purpose. Sin is violating God’s standard of holiness as revealed by that law. The Scriptures are clear that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; and that no one does good, and all have turned from God (Rom. 3; 6). This began in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent tempted Eve to eat of the Tree that God commanded them not to eat. She saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise. She ate the fruit of the tree and gave some to Adam who ate as well (Gen. 3). Adam’s disobedience of God’s commands in the Garden resulted in many consequences for all of humanity, including spiritual separation from God, physical death, a polluted mind, dulled senses, and a will bent toward rebellion against God (Rom. 1; 3).
Man’s sin violates God’s holiness; and since He is perfectly holy, righteous, and just, His justice must be satisfied by revealing His wrath against man’s sin (Rom. 1). Therefore, all sin separates us from God and deserves eternal punishment from God. We see different types of sin in Scripture, such as the sins of commission – when an individual actively rebels against God, and sins of omission – knowing the right thing to do and failing to do it (James 4). So, while all sin against God eternally separates a person from God without the redemption of Christ, we understand and believe that Scripture distinguishes between different degrees of sin.
The problem of sin leaves only two options for all people. Eternal damnation and separation from God for all who remain under the wrath of God, or eternal life and fellowship with God for all who confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead (John 3; Rom. 10:9-10).
Man, in his fallen state, is totally corrupted and wholly opposed to God and all subsequent goodness. In his corruption, all of mankind has violated the righteous law of God and stands eternally guilty before Him. As a result, man is justly subject to the wrath of God (Rom. 3:23) and to death (Rom. 6:23) because, God, being perfectly just, cannot allow man’s sin (violation of His righteous law) to go unpunished.
However, God, being rich in mercy, established a covenant with His people to atone for their sin. As sin can only be forgiven through the shedding of blood (Lev. 17:11, Heb. 9:22), this was first accomplished through the Levitical sacrificial system in which the high priest would continually offer both gifts and sacrifices for the sins of themselves and the people. These sacrifices were used as a substitute, and the sin of the people was transferred to the animal. This sacrificial system and the accompanying priesthood were ultimately insufficient as it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. This was, however, a shadow of a better covenant that would be established through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus (Heb. 10:1-4).
