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We believe that Genesis through Revelation is the heart and mind of the One True God revealed to mankind via the medium that He chose: words. God reveals to us “all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3) so that we can know Him and manifest His qualities to the world. God wants us to be “imitators” of Him, and His chief characteristic is love. We know this from His Word, which is “the truth,” that is, the only source of that which is real.

We believe the following are the crucial teachings of the Bible, crucial because misunderstanding them detracts from the quality of one's life, that is, his ability to know, love, and serve the One True God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Written Word of God

Genesis through Revelation is “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16), perfect in its original writing, without flaw or contradiction, and provides the only sure and steadfast basis for faith. As such, the Word of God cannot contradict itself. It is possible to understand each verse by applying the sound linguistic, and logical, principles of biblical interpretation in conjunction with the spirit of God in us.

God

God, the Creator, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is “the Only True God” (Isa. 45:5; John 17:3) He distinguished Himself from all false gods by giving Himself the name of “Yahweh,” which He first defined for Moses in Exodus 34:6. He has committed Himself to us in writing, telling us what He will and will not do.

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ, the “Last Adam,” is the only-begotten Son of the One True God. He was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, suffered and died as the payment for all men's sin, after which God raised him out from among the dead and exalted him to the position of “Lord” and the “Head” of the Church, the members of which comprise his Body.

The Holy Spirit

The “Holy Spirit” (capitalized) is simply another name for the One True God (the Giver), while “holy spirit” (lower case) is the gift of Yahweh’s divine nature that the Lord Jesus gives a person when he is saved/born again (Acts 2:32-33). It is also called “the spirit of God,” “the spirit of Jesus,” “the spirit of truth,” etc.

The Administrations in Scripture

What part of the Bible is written to whom. There is a scriptural distinction between the Church of the Body of Christ and Israel. The “Church of the Body of Christ,” to which believers today belong, began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and will end with the gathering together (“Rapture”) of all Christians (1 Thess. 4:13–18), followed by a period of tribulation for Israel and then Christ's thousand-year reign on Earth. The “mystery” (better translated, “secret”) revealed in Ephesians is that the Church of the Body of Christ is comprised of both former Jews and former Gentiles. Together, they are joint heirs, joint partakers and members of a joint body—“one new man”—and thus are “neither Jew nor Gentile.” This secret is not revealed in the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, or the book of Revelation. The Lord Jesus progressively made it known to the Apostle Paul as he penned the Church Epistles (Romans through Thessalonians), which form the nucleus of Scripture written to and about the Church.

Salvation

Today, in the “Administration of the Sacred Secret” (Eph. 3:9), salvation is uniquely permanent for those who have once truly confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and believed that God awakened him from among the dead (Rom. 10:9). When one acts on that verse, he is “saved,” “born again of incorruptible seed,” “sealed,” “anointed,” “clothed with power from on high” and “baptized with holy spirit.” This baptism in holy spirit (1 Cor. 12:13) is the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:5.

The One Gift of Holy Spirit

Nine Manifestations of The One Gift of Holy Spirit. All nine “manifestations” (1 Cor. 12:7–10), or evidences, of the gift of God (“holy spirit”) are available, desirable, and profitable to every believer to operate by faith, in conjunction with God's energizing. They are the external evidences of the internal reality of His gift of holy spirit. God desires that every Christian speak in tongues, which is a believer’s only absolute guarantee that he has received everlasting life.

Death and Its Aftermath

If a person dies, the life force he had is gone and he no longer exists anywhere in any form. He stays dead (figuratively, “asleep”) until he is “awakened” from the dead by the Lord Jesus. All dead Christians will be awakened at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to meet the Church in the air and be judged for rewards. Old Testament and Tribulation believers will be awakened at the coming of the Lord to the earth. Everyone else who has ever lived will be awakened after the Millennial Kingdom and judged for either everlasting life or everlasting death. The only hope for all those who have died is their resurrection from the dead by the Lord Jesus Christ, himself the “firstborn from among the dead” (Col. 1:18).

The Problem of Evil

God is love. He is good and righteous. He is in no way responsible for evil, sin, or suffering. When the First Adam made his free-will decision to disobey God, he transferred his God-given dominion over the earth to the Devil (Luke 4:6). Thus Satan is now the “god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4). The world is now under his dominating influence (1 John 5:19) and it is he who now holds the power of death (Heb. 2:14). When the Lord Jesus Christ, the “Last Adam,” comes again, he will rescue us from this “present, evil age” (Gal. 1:4) and eventually destroy the Devil and put an end to all evil and wickedness.

Authority Among Christians

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head over all matters to the Church, His Body. All members of the Body of Christ are spiritually equal in Christ. Church leaders derive their authority to serve only as they walk worthy of their calling to the end that their godly character and their example earn them recognition and respect from those they serve.

Sanctity of Life

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.

Marriage and Human Sexuality

We believe that sexual intimacy belongs only within the marital relationship of a man and a woman. It is God’s revealed will for humankind, as defined by God in Genesis 1 and 2, and affirmed by Jesus Christ in Matthew 19. Marriage is the union of one man and one woman who commit to love one another for a lifetime. Consummating their marriage sexually makes them “one flesh” in the eyes of God. Sexual intercourse outside of a heterosexual marriage is forbidden according to Romans 1:24,27; 1 Corinthians 6:9,11. A wedding performed by a TLTF clergyman is a Christian worship service, and a celebration of the couple's marital commitment that correlates with God’s divine rule.

We believe there is hope for anyone who struggles with same-sex attraction, and that Jesus Christ offers a healing alternative by which the power of sin is broken and the person is freed to experience his or her true identity in Christ and in the fellowship of the Body of Christ. We also believe that those guilty of heterosexual sin can find healing, freedom, and forgiveness as declared in the Word of God. Jesus affirmed the dignity of all human beings and reached out compassionately to persons and families suffering the consequences of sin. He offered caring ministry and words of solace to struggling people, while differentiating his love for sinners from his clear teaching about sinful practices. As his disciples, we in The Living Truth Fellowship endeavor to follow the Lord's example, offering others his Christ-like compassion.