GCFC STATEMENT OF FAITH

1. The 66 books of the Holy Bible, as written by men inspired by God, and which contain the Old Testament and the New Testament, is the word of God.  It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths (Matthew 4:4; Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21.

2. The Godhead is triune: one God, three persons...God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are in relationship to each other, co-equal and co-eternal, having all the power (omnipotent), all knowledge (omniscient) and being all present (omnipresent). The Lord is transcendent, and He is the Creator of all things seen and unseen. His relationship to man is the focal point of His creation of the earth and subsequently, the entire universe (Genesis 1-2; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 3:16-1; 28:18-20; Luke 1:35).

3. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary, sharing our humanity. He lived a perfectly sinless life. He died a perfectly sacrificial death for our sins. He arose gloriously from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty(Matthew 1:18-25; John 20:19-20; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:24).

4. The Holy Spirit is fully God, who convicts and converts the spiritually lost, and who indwells, empowers, teaches, guides, and comforts the born of God saved. His fullness will be the normative experience of every believer who lives in an attitude of obedience and faith by the grace of God (John 16:7-15; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:16, 22-23).

5. The Lord created Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, perfectly in His image. Their subsequent fall into sin is the scriptual basis for the necessity of salvation for all mankind. Death, both physical and spiritual, and bloodshed entered into this world subsequent to and as a direct consequence of man's sin. Therefore, all mankind are sinners, inherently from Adam and individually by choice, and are subject to God's wrath and condemnation by virtue of their sinful acts (Genesis 1:27, 3:1-24; John 3:36; Romans 5:6, 12-21; Ephesians 2:11-12).

6. The Lord has intervened to offer salvation from the curse of sin and death because of the fall of Adam. This salvation has been made available to all people through the virgin birth, the perfect life, the sacrificial death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This salvation provision from God has come and has been initiated entirely by His grace. Salvation is God's gift freely received by faith alone in Christ alone and is expressed in the believer's repentance and acceptance of the risen Christ as Savior, Lord and God, and in recognition of the death of Jesus Christ by the shedding of His blood that becomes the full payment for one's forgiveness of all sins (Acts 20:21; Romans 3:21-31; Ephesians 2:8-9).

7. The humble faith that brings one salvation cleanses the believer from sin through the blood of Jesus Christ, and delivers him from sin's formerly dominating power. Thus, the believer is made a new creature in Christ, and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, enabling him to live a new, spiritual life. After this initial conversion, spiritual growth through earnest prayer, Bible study, corporate worship and Christian service should become the fruit of following Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior (2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 2:2-3; 2 Peter 1:1-11).

8. The invisible church, defined as the body of Jesus Christ, is composed of all true believers in Him. The local church is the visible manifestation of the invisible church as it meets in local assemblies. The organization, government, and practices of the local church must be consistent with the teachings of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 1:22-23).

9. The spiritual blessings of water baptism (where the believer expresses his new life in Jesus Christ) and the Lord's supper (holy communion) have been given to the church by God, and they are to be encouraged for spiritual faith participation among the body of Christ. Water baptism is offered after the believer has received the Lord Jesus Christ, and has become washed by the blood of the Lamb and cleansed from sin. The Lord's supper is a precious time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and the cup are taken in faith by those who believe. These elements express in a profound spiritual way the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in remembrance and with humble thanksgiving for His sacrifice on the cross (Matthew 26:26-28, 28:19; Acts 2:38, 8:12; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11-23-26).

10. The covenant of marriage comes from the revelation of God in the holy scriture of the Bible. The only legitimate marriage sanctioned by the Lord is the joining of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in the scriptures. God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other, and He has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of sexual immorality such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual conduct, incest, pornography, or any attempt to change one's gender, or disagreement with one's biological gender, is a violation and a perversion of one's intended sexual identity according to the will and purpose of God. Sexual abuse or abuse of any kind against any person of any age is a terrible sin subject to judgment of the Lord (Genesis 1:26-27, 19:1-27; Leviticus 18; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4).

11. The word of the Lord has revealved that all human life is sacred and that life begins at conception (the moment of fertilization). The unborn child is a living human being, created in the image of God, and must be respected and protected both before and after birth. The abortion of an unborn child is an intentional act of sin against the Lord and His sacred purposes for which a human life is intended to love Him and to give Him glory (Genesis 1:26-27, 9:5-6; Psalm 139).

12. The Bible states that Satan and his demonic hosts (fallen angels)are wicked spirit personalites and the powerful enemies of God and all believers. Jesus Christ defeated their stronghold against human beings through His death and resurrection. Satan and his demons still cause havoc and trouble and suffering for believers, and they strive to keep the unsaved blinded to their desperate need to be saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Every Christian must put on God's spiritual armor to thwart the spiritual attacks of these evil beings against their Christian lives (Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Revelations 12:11,17, and 20:10).

13. The Lord Jesus Christ will return personally, visibly, and bodily in awesome power and glory to pass final judgment upon this present age, and at this same time usher in the fullness of His eternal kingdom which will endure forever and ever (Matthew 24:29-51, 25:1-46; Acts 1:9-11).

14. The Bible reveals that there will be a bodily resurrection of believers and unbelievers. Believers will experience forever eternal life with the Lord in His literal heaven, and unbelievers will experience everlasting punishment in the Lord's place of judgment in a literal hel (Mark 9:43-48; John 14:2-3; Revelation 20).