Our Faith | Christians of Austra

Our Faith

Who God Is

The Scripture throughout both the Old & New Testament declares that our God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29).
God has revealed His name to His people in the Old Testament as YHWH or "I AM" (Exodus 3:14-15, Isaiah 42:5-9).
God is Spirit in nature (John 4:24).
God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:9, Colossians 2:9, 2 Corinthians 4:6)
The name of God revealed to us in the New Testament is "Jesus", which means "YHWH Saviour" (John 17:11,12,26, Matthew 28:19). Thus we recognise Jesus as The Lord and The God as he has been filled with the fullness (John 20:28, Colossians 2:9, Revelation 1:8)
God has given His glory, His dominion and His name to His Son Jesus; now, the church recognises our God and Father within Jesus Christ (Daniel 7:13-14, John 17:4, John 20:28, Revelation 1:8)

All man has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Sin has separated man from God for all of eternity (Isaiah 59:2).
All mankind was spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3),
Salvation from eternal death comes by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:4-9).
Salvation is in the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ upon the cross (Romans 5:8-11).
There is salvation in no other name but the name of Jesus (Acts 4:11-12).
One must put their faith in the work and person of Jesus Christ to receive salvation as a gift
(Romans 3:24-26).
One must repent (change their mind) and start to walk with God and be baptised in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:37-39, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 8:37-38, Acts 10:48, Acts 22:16)
You must be born again (John 3:3-5, 1 Peter 1:3, 23)

Baptism is from the Greek word baptizó, which means 'to immerse' or 'to submerge'. We believe in the full body immersion of baptism as practised by Jesus and the apostles for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 3:16, Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21)
We believe Baptism is to be applied in the name of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:16, Acts 22:16)
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate and distinct experience from salvation. It is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit within the believers life to cause them to walk in God's ways and bear witness to the work of His grace (Acts 1:8, Ephesians 3:14-19, Colossians 1:11, Acts 4:31, Ezekiel 36:27)
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is evidenced by speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44-48, Acts 19:1-6)
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the empowerment to bring fruits and the character of Christ, as well as the flow of gifts to operate and build up the church (Galatians 4:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

The ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been entrusted to man (1 Thessalonians 2:4, 1 Timothy 1:11)
Jesus established the church to be led first - by apostles, second - prophets and thirdly pastor/teachers (1 Corinthians 12:28)
There are five main offices within the ministry: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-12)
The church is also led by elders and overseers (1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:5, James 5:14, 1 Peter 5:1, 1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:7)
The whole church / body of Christ is to function to some capacity in the ministry of the gospel and there is none more significant than the other (Ephesians 4:12, 1 Corinthians 4:4-14, 1 Corinthians 12:20-25)
Spiritual gifts and all five offices of authority are necessary for the church to come to the fullness of Christ and fulfil His will (Ephesians 4:9-16)

The Word of God consists of both Old and New Testaments (all 66 books of the Bible) and is the final authority (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 10:1-11, Jude 3, Luke 24:44, Matthew 7:24)
One main goal of the ministry is to make the Word of God fully known (Colossians 1:25-26, Ephesians 4:12-14, Colossians 1:5-6, Acts 20:27)
The Word of God is inspired by God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
In order for the Lord to fulfil His plan in His church, we must come to the 'epignosis' (full knowledge) of God & His Word (Ephesians 4:13)