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We believe... in the Trinity
The Trinity is the seemingly paradoxical belief that
there is one God, yet he exists as three persons - the Father, Son
(Jesus) and Holy Spirit - and each person is fully God.
ALTHOUGH the word ‘Trinity' is not found in the Bible,
what it means most definitely is. It is the distinctive and
all-comprehensive doctrine of the Christian faith. Although this is a
mystery, it is significant because it shapes the way we think about God
and how we respond to him.
The working out of what the Church believes about the
Trinity took place in the early Church's defence of Christ as God. When
Jesus was on earth, he did things that previously were only attributed
to God. For example, he forgave people their sins, he accepted people's
worship, and he said that, like God, he existed before Abraham, the
ancestor of the Jews, was even born.
So if Jesus is God, and the Father is God, then there
are at least two persons who are the one God, But it doesn't stop there.
Jesus' teaching clearly indicated that there is a third person in God,
the Holy Spirit.
Experienced
Jesus taught his disciples that he had been sent by the
Father and that he would send the Spirit to be with them once he had
left them. When the disciples experienced the arrival of the Spirit in
their lives, they knew that what Jesus said had come true.
So the early Christians had to come to terms with a God
who was beyond their, and our, natural understanding. The biblical
record is clear: there is only one God, but he exists as three persons,
each of whom is God, and each of whom works together in unity - even
though they differ from each other.
The central message of the Bible is that the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit are intrinsically intertwined and together are committed
to helping us find God and get to know him for ourselves.
Many illustrations of the Trinity have been suggested
- for example, that water exists as ice, a liquid and as steam - but all
are still water. But no analogy fully explains the Trinity. Ultimately,
we have to accept that we can only know as much about him as he has
chosen to reveal to us in the Bible.
As created beings, we will never be able to fully
understand the Creator in this life. But he has promised that all
Christians will understand far more when we meet him face-to-face in
heaven!
By Dr Neil Hudson of Regents Theological College.
We believe... in one Church
Different groups or 'denominations' of Christians have emerged over the
centuries - like the Church of England, the Baptist Church, the
Methodist Church, etc. Elim is one of the latest.
EACH OF THESE groups have their different emphases, but
all share the same basic faith. Elim's own emphasis is on the work of
the Holy Spirit in the Church and in the life of every believer.
Elim is part of the universal Christian Church across
the globe. People who call themselves Christian number about two
billion, in a world population of just over six billion - almost one
third of the world!
Growing churches
The media often reports that, nationally, church
attendance has declined. But they don't often cover the fact that
Bible-believing churches like Elim are expanding. God is moving in power
to restore faith to this nation. Elim across the UK, continues to grow.
Elim is a member of the UK's Evangelical Alliance (EA),
which links Bible-believing Christians from many denominations -from
Anglicans to 'house churches', and from Methodists to black Pentecostal
churches. Many of Elim's churches, ministers and church members have
also joined the Alliance on an individual basis. It’s overseas missions
workers are in many parts of the world and active in Christian ministry
and relief operations, working with our own relief projects and
‘Tearfund’
And at a local level, Elim churches work with other
churches, both in social action and to spread the good news about Jesus.
Because we all have this in common - we love the One who laid down his
life for us.
Edited from an article by Andrew Halloway
We Believe... in Baptism by immersion
The act of baptism in water is a thrilling moment in the
life of a believer, and the baptismal service is always a special
feature in the life of a local church.
BUT WHY DO we baptise, and why do we totally immerse
people, rather than just 'sprinkling' water on their heads?
Baptism was a major part of becoming a Christian in the
Bible, which seems to have happened immediately after someone had
'repented1 - renounced their previous way of living without Christ. The
Apostles, Jesus' first followers, taught that we should 'repent and be
baptised'.
In today's services baptism still holds a major place as
a sign of repentance and as a declaration to the world that someone's
new life with Christ has begun.
Jesus was baptised
We continue to baptise because we believe in following
Bible teaching in all that we do. Even Jesus was baptised, because, as
he said to John the Baptist, "we must do all that God wants us to do."
The original words used in the Bible for baptism mean to dip or to dye -
both of which involve going under the water. In the Bible, only people
old enough to make their own decision to become a Christian were
baptised - not babies or young children
Edited from an article by Geoff Feasey, National
Leadership Team
We believe... in the gifts & fruit
of the Holy Spirit
Jesus promised that all those who believed in him and
followed him would experience his presence and power in a special way.
This experience is called 'being baptised in the Holy Spirit' and is the
source of the life, joy, power and vitality in the Christian Church.
WITHOUT THIS divine help we would be utterly powerless to do the things
that God has asked us to do.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit was first experienced by
Christians on the Day of Pentecost, as described in Acts 2:1 -4 in the
Bible. When the Spirit entered these disciples they were filled with his
glorious presence and began to speak with new languages: 'All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as
the Spirit enabled them." This 'filling of the Spirit' is intended for
every believer and it brings us into a new realm of living - life in the
Spirit. The Holy Spirit is 'God's empowering presence' in the lives of
his people and God wants us all to be continually filled with his
presence and power.
The baptism in the Spirit brings us into the dimension
of supernatural living. That is why God gives his Spirit to those who
believe him and ask for this gift, just as Jesus describes in Luke
11:13: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him!"
When the Spirit comes into our lives he makes it
possible for us to experience his many gifts. Each gift helps Christians
to strengthen each other's faith or to tell other people about eternal
salvation in Christ. The Apostle Paul outlines these supernatural gifts
in I Corinthians 12:7-10 as "the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge,
faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of
spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues,"
The Spirit also helps us to grow more like Jesus. This
is the supernatural lifestyle of the Christian, and the Apostle Paul
calls it growing the 'fruit of the Spirit' in your life. In Galatians
5:22-24 he says the Holy Spirit helps us grow the qualities of "love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control." That is why the Holy Spirit is called our helper - he
helps us in every way to live the Christian life and make us more like
Jesus, day by day.
By Colin Dye, Senior Minister, Kensington Temple
We believe... in Prayer
Prayer is simply talking to our Father God in your own
words - you don't have to know all the right Christian jargon or be
perfect in order to get God's attention, He cares and he is always
listening out for genuine hearts.
Jesus' disciples asked, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke
11:1). They had prayed all their lives, and yet something about the
quality of Jesus' praying caused them to see how little they knew about
prayer, If their praying was to make any difference on the human scene,
there were some things they needed to learn.
When we pray as Jesus taught prayer, we soon learn there
are things we can actually do to make a difference! The Bible teaches us
that we have to pray earnestly and we will see God answer our prayers. –
It’s worth saying that He sometimes answers in ways which we do not
expect, or even want, but He certainly does answer! One of the most
critical aspects in learning to pray for others is to get in contact
with God so that his life and power can flow through us to others.
Edited from an article by Barry Killick, National
Leadership Team
We believe... in Communion
At Jesus' last meal with his disciples before his death,
Jesus blessed the bread and gave it to his disciples saying, "Eat this,
it is my body". He then gave them wine saying, "Drink this - it is my
blood".
AT FACE VALUE, these words seem rather distasteful, but
they were symbolic - Jesus wanted his disciples to use the bread and
wine to remember his death in the future. The meal Jesus and his
followers were eating was a religious ceremony called the Passover.
Jesus was giving that ceremony a new meaning, which has led to our
present-day Holy Communion service or 'Lord's Supper'.
Through Communion, Christians all over the world
remember that Jesus died to take God's punishment for the world's sin.
That opened the way for everyone to receive God's forgiveness, and have
a relationship with God.
Elim churches regularly hold Communion services. You
don't have to be a member of an Elim church to participate - but you do
need to be a committed Christian. The Bible teaches us not to take
Communion without first clearing our conscience with God, asking his
forgiveness for anything we have done wrong. Then we can thank Jesus for
dying for us, and celebrate the new life with God that Jesus'
resurrection has brought us!
We believe... in Heaven & Hell
The Bible tells us that heaven is a place where there
will be no more pain, no more sadness and no more death (Revelation
21:4). Not bad for starters! But much more than this - the Bible tells
us that heaven is a real place. There are over 250 references to heaven
in the Bible.
Jesus himself talked about heaven a lot, encouraging us
to pray to his Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9). The Apostle Paul also
talks about heaven, telling us of the "hope that is stored up for us in
heaven" (Colossians 1:5) and that life in heaven lasts forever (2
Corinthians 5:1).
Through Jesus, the Apostle Paul and the gospel writers,
the Bible teaches that heaven is a reality. But this is only half the
picture, because the Bible also says just as clearly that hell is a real
place. What is hell like?
Jesus tells us it is a place of anguish (Luke 16:23) and
a place to avoid at all costs (Mark 9:43). The only thing that hell has
in common with heaven is that it also lasts for ever (Revelation 20:10).
The Apostle Peter tells us it is a place of absolute darkness (2 Peter
2:17) and the Apostle Paul tells us it is a place where people are shut
out from the presence of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
We choose
How can a loving God send people to hell? The answer is
that he doesn't send anyone there - we choose it ourselves. If, in this
life, we choose to avoid God - then that choice lasts for ever. But if
we choose God in this life, then we choose to be with him for ever.
Edited from an article by Steve Reilly.
We believe... in the return of Jesus as King
We believe in the personal, physical and visible return
of the Lord Jesus Christ to reign in power and glory - because God
promises he will come again.
AFTER JESUS' DEATH and resurrection, his slightly
bemused disciples stood looking up into the sky; their Master had just
disappeared into it. Suddenly two angels appeared and stated, "This same
Jesus will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven"
(Acts 1:11). That simple statement, along with many others in the Bible,
has echoed down through two millennia, maintaining the hope of
Christians across the centuries. In that time the prospect has spurred
on the Church in evangelism, stimulated the courage of persecuted
believers, and stirred up Christians to a godly life.
This Second Coming is going to be personal. Mankind will
see the sign of the Son of Man (Jesus) in heaven, accompanied by angels
and by Christians of bygone generations, but it will be "this same
Jesus" - risen, ascended, glorified.
It will also be physical. Jesus is coming back in his
glorious resurrected body which can live in both spiritual and physical
realms. Christians will be transformed, just like him. So it will be a
visible return: "every eye shall see him" (Revelation 1:7).
Jesus will return as the conquering King to save the
world from self-destruction and Christians from persecution. And at the
end of time, he will judge us all - according to whether we have put our
faith in him or not. Finally, God will create new heavens and a new
earth - restoring the universe to the paradise it once was, before
selfishness and sin entered the world.
With thanks to Bill Crawford, Bangor Elim Pentecostal Church, N Ireland,
who put this text together.
