1.1God is one, self-existent, and sovereign over all

There is one God, self-existent and eternal, infinitely perfect in wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things, working all things according to the counsel of His own will. Nothing exists or occurs outside His sovereign ordination, and from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.

“Thou hast made us for thyself, and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee.”

1. Deuteronomy 6:4
2. Isaiah 45:18
3. Isaiah 46:9–10
4. Psalm 103:19
5. Romans 11:36
6. 1 Corinthians 8:4
7. Colossians 1:16–17
8. Revelation 4:11

1.2The Godhead is Triune

The Godhead is Triune: one God in three Persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are each fully God, their glory equal and their majesty coeternal. They are distinct in Person yet one in essence, and the unity of the Godhead is not divided by the distinction of Persons.

“No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the Splendour of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish Them than I am carried back to the One.”

1. Genesis 1:1–2
2. Matthew 3:16–17
3. Matthew 28:19
4. John 1:1–3
5. 2 Corinthians 13:14

1.3God's eternal decree and providence

God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass according to the counsel of His will, for His own glory. He upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and all events, from the greatest to the least, by His wise and holy providence. His decree does not make Him the author of sin, nor does it destroy the will of the creature; rather, His sovereign will is accomplished through secondary causes, including the responsible choices of human beings. In all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Was this decree before or after the Fall of Adam? Frankly speaking, I have no idea.

“The providence we mean is not one by which the Deity, sitting idly in heaven, looks on at what is taking place in the world, but one by which he, as it were, holds the helms and overrules all events.”

1. Isaiah 46:9–10
2. Ephesians 1:11
3. Romans 8:28
4. Proverbs 16:33
5. Daniel 4:35
6. Acts 2:23

1.4God created all things for His glory

For His own glory and by His own decree, the triune God created heaven and earth, time, and all things visible and invisible, living and nonliving, material and nonmaterial. All creation declares His majesty and depends upon Him for its continued existence.

“On each of his works his glory is engraven in characters so bright, so distinct, and so illustrious, that none, however dull and illiterate, can plead ignorance as their excuse.”

1. Genesis 1:1–2:3
2. Exodus 20:11
3. Nehemiah 9:6
4. Colossians 1:16
5. Revelation 4:11
6. Revelation 22:13

1.5The Person of the Son

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the uncreated Creator and only begotten of the Father. In the incarnation He took on human flesh, becoming fully man without ever ceasing to be fully God. He possesses two natures—divine and human—in one Person, without confusion, change, division, or separation. He is the Word made flesh, the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.

“There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible — even Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1. John 1:1–3
2. John 1:14
3. John 1:18
4. Colossians 2:9
5. Philippians 2:5–8
6. Hebrews 1:1–3

1.6The virgin birth and the role of Mary

Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary, who was truly a virgin at the time of His conception. Mary was highly favoured by God as the chosen vessel to bear the incarnate Son. She was not sinless, for she herself rejoiced in God her Saviour, confessing her need of His mercy. She was not perpetually virgin, as Scripture testifies that after Christ's birth she bore other children through her marriage to Joseph.

“He was truly of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the will and power of God; that He was truly born of a virgin.”

1. Isaiah 7:14
2. Matthew 1:16–23
3. Luke 1:30–35
4. Luke 1:46–47
5. Matthew 13:55–56
6. Mark 6:3
7. Romans 3:23

1.7The sinless life of Christ

Jesus Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father, without sin in thought, word, or deed. He was tempted in every respect as we are, yet was without sin, and He fulfilled all righteousness on behalf of His people.

“He was tempted in all respects like as we are, and yet was without sin.”

1. John 8:29
2. John 8:46
3. 2 Corinthians 5:21
4. Hebrews 4:15
5. 1 Peter 2:21–22
6. 1 John 3:5

1.8The atoning death of Christ

Jesus Christ died on the cross, making a full and satisfactory atonement for sin. He bore the penalty of divine wrath, propitiating God's justice and reconciling sinners to God through His shed blood. His sacrificial death is the sole ground of redemption, sufficient for all and effectual for those whom the Father gave Him.

“When He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself, Christ was no longer an innocent person... In short, Christ was charged with the sins of all men, that He should pay for them with His own blood.”

1. John 19:30
2. Romans 5:8–10
3. Hebrews 9:11–12
4. Hebrews 10:12–14
5. 1 Peter 1:17–19
6. 1 John 2:2

1.9The resurrection, ascension, present reign, and intercession of Christ

Jesus Christ rose from the dead physically, literally, and bodily on the third day. His resurrection is the firstfruits and guarantee of the future bodily resurrection of all people, especially the glorification of those who belong to Him. He ascended bodily into heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of the Father, reigning as Lord over all. He ever lives to make intercession for His people as their great High Priest.

“He was also truly raised from the dead, His Father quickening Him, even as after the same manner His Father will so raise up us who believe in Him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not possess the true life.”

1. Luke 24:39
2. Acts 1:9–11
3. Romans 8:34
4. 1 Corinthians 15:20–23
5. Ephesians 1:20–23
6. Hebrews 7:25
7. Hebrews 9:24

1.10The Person of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and is equally God with them. He is the Lord and Giver of life, who inspired the Scriptures, glorifies Christ, and convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He indwells every believer, sealing them for the day of redemption and producing in them the fruit of holiness.

“The Holy Spirit is the bond by which Christ effectually binds us to himself.”

1. John 15:26
2. John 16:8–11
3. John 16:14
4. Acts 5:3–4
5. 1 Corinthians 3:16
6. Ephesians 1:13–14
7. Galatians 5:22–23
8. 2 Peter 1:21

1.11God has revealed Himself in masculine terms

The Triune God has revealed Himself in Scripture using masculine pronouns and masculine titles such as Father, Son, God, King, Priest, and Prophet. This self-revelation is purposeful and authoritative, reflecting the order and nature God has established.

“God would thereby tenderly urge us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father.”

1. Psalm 5:2
2. Matthew 28:19
3. John 14:26

2.1The Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God

The 66 books of the Bible are the unique, written Word of God. The Bible is divinely inspired, inerrant in the original autographs, infallible, supremely authoritative, and sufficient in everything it teaches. Its authority extends to all matters it addresses, including history, science, and all aspects of faith and conduct.

“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason... I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”

1. Deuteronomy 4:2
2. Proverbs 30:5
3. 2 Timothy 3:16–17
4. 2 Peter 1:19–21
5. Revelation 22:18–19

2.2Scripture interprets Scripture

The final guide to the interpretation of Scripture is Scripture itself. Clearer passages illuminate those that are more difficult, and no private interpretation may contradict the unified testimony of the whole counsel of God.

“Scripture, carrying its own evidence along with it, deigns not to submit to proofs and arguments, but owes the full conviction with which we ought to receive it to the testimony of the Spirit.”

1. Proverbs 8:8–9
2. Matthew 12:3–5
3. 2 Corinthians 4:2
4. 2 Timothy 3:16–17
5. 2 Peter 1:20–21

2.3Scripture is sufficient for salvation

All things necessary for salvation, for knowing God, and for living in a manner pleasing to Him are expressly and clearly taught in Scripture. The Scriptures make the man of God complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

“The holy and inspired Scriptures are fully sufficient for the proclamation of the truth.”

1. Psalm 19:7–9
2. John 20:30–31
3. Romans 10:9–17
4. 2 Timothy 3:15–17

2.4There is no secular versus sacred divide

The notion that knowledge or truth may be divided into secular and religious realms, frequently used to evade the implications or authority of biblical teaching, is itself unbiblical and should be rejected. All of life is lived under the lordship of Christ, and every thought must be taken captive to obey Him.

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

1. 1 Corinthians 10:31
2. Colossians 3:17
3. 2 Corinthians 10:5

3.1Two genders, made in God's image

Mankind, consisting of two genders—male and female—is created in the image of God. Each of these two distinct, complementary genders reflects the image of God, and together they fulfill the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply.

“God created them male and female... that Eve also, being alike created of God, alike with Adam became thereby a partaker of the divine image and similitude.”

1. Genesis 1:26–27
2. Genesis 5:2
3. Genesis 9:6
4. Matthew 19:4–6
5. Mark 10:6

3.2The unique, supernatural creation of Adam and Eve

The creation of Adam from dust and Eve from Adam's rib was supernatural and immediate. Adam and Eve were historical persons, the first man and woman, and did not originate from any pre-existing lifeforms.

“God takes that lump of earth into his hand and forms out of it a most beautiful creature, a partaker of immortality.”

“But here the female herself is created from the male; and that too with a no less wonderful creation than that by which Adam himself was made a living soul, from the dust of the ground.”

1. Genesis 2:7
2. Genesis 2:21–23
3. Genesis 3:19
4. 1 Corinthians 11:8–12
5. 1 Corinthians 15:47–49

3.3One human race

There is only one race of mankind: the human race, or Adam's race. Adam and Eve were the first two humans, and all people alive today are their descendants and subsequently the descendants of Noah.

“Man therefore having been thus created, male and female, from their blood under the divine blessing is generated the whole human race.”

1. Genesis 1:26–27
2. Genesis 3:20
3. Genesis 10:1
4. Genesis 10:32
5. Acts 17:26

3.4Equal dignity for all people

Since all humans are made in the image of God, all humans have equal dignity and value regardless of age (including the preborn), intelligence, gender, physical ability, shade of skin tone, religion, ethnicity, or any other characteristic.

“There is much disparity among men in the world, but there is no such disparity before God.”

1. Genesis 1:26–27
2. Genesis 3:20
3. Acts 17:26–28
4. James 3:9–10

3.5The sanctity of human life from conception

All human life is sacred and begins at conception (defined as the moment of fertilisation). Each preborn child is a unique, living human being, created in the image of God, and must be respected and protected both before and after birth. The abortion of a preborn child or the active, intentional taking of human life through euthanasia or assisted suicide constitutes a violation of the sanctity of human life and is a sin against God and man.

“In our case, murder being once for all forbidden, we may not destroy even the foetus in the womb... To hinder a birth is merely a speedier man-killing; nor does it matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. That is a man which is going to be one; you have the fruit already in its seed.”

“If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, (...) it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a foetus in the womb before it has come to light.

1. Genesis 9:6
2. Exodus 20:13
3. Exodus 21:22–25
4. Psalm 51:5
5. Psalm 139:13–16
6. Jeremiah 1:5

3.6Marriage and sexual ethics

The only legitimate marriage, based on the creation ordinance in Genesis 1 and 2 and sanctioned by God, is the joining of one naturally born man and one naturally born woman in a single, exclusive union as delineated in Scripture. God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. Any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, prostitution, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, abuse, or any attempt to change one's gender, or disagreement with one's biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.

“He has instituted it before all others, and therefore created man and woman separately (as is evident), not for lewdness, but that they should live together, be fruitful, beget children, and nourish and train them to the honor of God.”

1. Genesis 1:27–28
2. Genesis 2:24
3. Matthew 5:27–30
4. Matthew 19:4–5
5. Mark 10:2–9
6. 1 Corinthians 6:9–11
7. 1 Thessalonians 4:3–7
8. Hebrews 13:4

3.7Gender, biological sex, and identity

Gender and biological sex are equivalent and cannot be separated. A person's sex is determined at conception (fertilisation), coded in the DNA, and cannot be changed by drugs, hormones, or surgery. Rejection of one's biological sex or identifying oneself as the opposite sex is a sinful rejection of the way God made that person. These truths must be communicated with compassion, love, kindness, and respect, pointing everyone to the truth that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

“They themselves are monsters and children of monsters, who calumniate and ridicule such a creature of God, in whom God himself had delight, as in the noblest of his works, and who as we saw was created by a special counsel of God.”

1. Genesis 1:26–28
2. Genesis 5:1–2
3. Psalm 139:13–16
4. Jeremiah 1:5
5. Matthew 19:4–6
6. Mark 10:6
7. Acts 3:19–21
8. 1 Corinthians 6:9–11

3.8Parents' responsibility to raise their children in the Lord

Parents are responsible to instruct their children in Christian faith and conduct, to set before them godly and consistent examples, and in every way to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

“Let every one know therefore, that it is his duty, on peril of losing the divine favor, to bring up his children above all things in the fear and knowledge of God.”

1. Deuteronomy 6:6–9
2. Proverbs 22:6
3. Ephesians 6:4

4.1The fall of Adam and Eve

The special creation of Adam (the first man) and Eve (the first woman) and their subsequent fall into sin is the basis for the necessity of salvation for mankind. Through Adam's disobedience, sin entered the world, and through sin came death to all humanity.

“By them so great a sin was committed, that by it the human nature was altered for the worse, and was transmitted also to their posterity, liable to sin and subject to death.”

1. Genesis 2:7
2. Genesis 2:17
3. Genesis 3:6–20
4. Romans 5:12
5. 1 Corinthians 15:21–22

4.2Original sin and inherited corruption

By Adam's fall, all mankind became corrupt in nature. Original sin is transmitted to every descendant of Adam by ordinary generation, so that all are conceived in sin, brought forth in iniquity, and possess a nature wholly inclined toward evil. This inherited corruption renders every person spiritually dead from the very beginning of life.

“Original sin, then, may be defined a hereditary corruption and depravity of our nature, extending to all the parts of the soul, which first makes us obnoxious to the wrath of God, and then produces in us works which in Scripture are termed works of the flesh.”

1. Psalm 51:5
2. Romans 5:12–19
3. Ephesians 2:1–3
4. Job 14:4
5. Job 15:14

4.3Universal guilt and total inability

All mankind are sinners, guilty before God both by imputation of Adam's sin and by their own actual transgressions. Every person is subject to God's righteous wrath and condemnation. Fallen man is spiritually dead, unable to understand the things of God, to please God, or to come to Christ apart from the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him.

“Thus the human will is, as it were, a beast between the two. If God sit thereon, it wills and goes where God will... If Satan sit thereon, it wills and goes as Satan will. Nor is it in the power of its own will to choose, to which rider it will run, nor which it will seek; but the riders themselves contend, which shall have and hold it.”

1. Romans 3:10–12
2. Romans 3:23
3. Romans 5:12–14
4. 1 Corinthians 2:14
5. Romans 8:7–8
6. John 6:44
7. Jeremiah 13:23

4.4Death is the wages of sin

The wages of sin is death. Human death—both physical and spiritual—along with all disease, suffering, bloodshed, extinction, and all natural evils (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis) entered this world subsequent to and as a direct consequence of man's sin. Creation itself was subjected to futility and groans under the curse, awaiting the redemption that will come at the revealing of the children of God.

“We are subject to the death of the body, not by the law of nature, by which God ordained no death for man, but by His righteous infliction on account of sin.”

1. Genesis 2:16–17
2. Genesis 3:17–19
3. Romans 5:12
4. Romans 6:23
5. Romans 8:20–22
6. 1 Corinthians 15:21–22

4.5All stand equally condemned and equally in need of grace

Since all of mankind is made in God's image and also fallen, all humans are equally sinful, equally deserving of eternal punishment, and equally dependent upon the grace of God for salvation. There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

“The deserved penalty of sin would have hurled all headlong even into the second death, of which there is no end, had not the undeserved grace of God saved some therefrom.”

1. Isaiah 53:6
2. Romans 3:22–24
3. Romans 5:12
4. Galatians 3:22

5.1Man's total inability

Fallen man is spiritually dead, wholly unable to understand the things of God, to please God, or to come to Christ apart from the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. All human effort, good works, and religious striving are powerless to reconcile man to God or to prepare the heart for grace. Salvation does not depend on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.

“I should not wish ‘Free-will’ to be granted me, even if it could be so, nor anything else to be left in my own hands, whereby I might endeavour something towards my own salvation... since God has put my salvation out of the way of my will, and has taken it under His own, and has promised to save me, not according to my working or manner of life, but according to His own grace and mercy.”

1. Romans 3:10–12
2. 1 Corinthians 2:14
3. Ephesians 2:1–3
4. John 6:44
5. Romans 8:7–8
6. Romans 9:16

5.2God's eternal purpose

Before the foundation of the world, God chose a people for Himself in Christ, not on the basis of foreseen faith or works, but according to the good pleasure of His will and for the praise of His glorious grace. Those whom the Father has given to the Son shall certainly come to Him, and He will lose none of them. This eternal purpose ensures the salvation of all the elect and is the ground of all assurance.

“We shall never feel persuaded as we ought that our salvation flows from the free mercy of God as its fountain, until we are made acquainted with his eternal election... he does not adopt all promiscuously to the hope of salvation, but gives to some what he denies to others.”

1. Ephesians 1:4–6
2. Romans 9:11–16
3. John 6:37–39
4. 2 Timothy 1:9
5. Romans 8:29–30

5.3Christ's accomplished redemption

By His perfect obedience and sacrificial death, the Lord Jesus Christ fully satisfied divine justice and obtained eternal redemption for all whom the Father gave Him. His atoning work is definite and effectual, actually securing the salvation of His people. On the cross He bore the full penalty for their sins, propitiating the wrath of God, canceling the record of debt, and reconciling them to God. His resurrection is the public declaration that His atoning work is complete and accepted.

“They who seek to avoid this absurdity, have said that Christ suffered sufficiently for the whole world, but efficiently only for the elect.”

1. Hebrews 9:12
2. John 10:11–15
3. Romans 5:8–10
4. Colossians 1:13–14
5. Colossians 2:13–14
6. Hebrews 10:12–14
7. 1 Peter 2:24

5.4Effectual calling

Those whom God predestined He calls by His Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. This call is not merely an outward invitation but an inward, effectual work that irresistibly draws the sinner to Christ. The Spirit illumines the mind, replaces the heart of stone with a heart of flesh, and so unites the elect to Christ that they willingly and freely come to Him in faith.

“The special election which otherwise would remain hidden in God, he at length manifests by his calling... God, however, teaches his elect effectually when he brings them to faith.”

1. Romans 8:30
2. John 6:44–45
3. Ezekiel 36:26–27
4. 2 Timothy 1:9
5. 1 Peter 2:9
6. Acts 16:14

5.5Regeneration

The Holy Spirit sovereignly imparts new spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead. This new birth is a radical, supernatural work of God alone, in which the Spirit gives a new heart and a new nature. Regeneration precedes and produces repentance and faith; it is not the result of human decision but the cause of it. The regenerate person is a new creation in Christ, born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

“By repentance I understand regeneration, the only aim of which is to form in us anew the image of God, which was sullied, and all but effaced by the transgression of Adam.”

1. John 3:3–8
2. Titus 3:5–6
3. Ezekiel 36:26–27
4. 2 Corinthians 5:17
5. James 1:18
6. 1 Peter 1:3
7. John 1:12–13

5.6Repentance and faith

Repentance and faith are the twin responses of the regenerated heart to the gospel. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin to God, accompanied by godly sorrow and a changed mind. Saving faith is a resting upon Christ alone for salvation, receiving and trusting Him as He is offered in the gospel. Both repentance and faith are gifts of God, wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and are the necessary instruments by which the sinner lays hold of Christ and all His benefits.

“Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.”

1. Acts 20:21
2. Ephesians 2:8–9
3. 2 Timothy 2:25
4. Acts 11:18
5. Philippians 1:29
6. Mark 1:15
7. Hebrews 12:2

5.7Justification

Justification is the gracious act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous on the basis of the righteousness of Christ imputed to him. It is not a process of moral renewal but a legal declaration, received by faith alone, apart from works. In justification, the sinner's guilt is fully pardoned, Christ's perfect obedience is credited to his account, and he is accepted as righteous in God's sight. This justification is full, final, and irreversible, securing peace with God and freedom from all condemnation.

“The article of justification must be sounded in our ears incessantly because the frailty of our flesh will not permit us to take hold of it perfectly and to believe it with all our heart.”

1. Romans 3:21–26
2. Romans 5:1
3. Romans 4:5
4. Galatians 2:16
5. 2 Corinthians 5:21
6. Philippians 3:9
7. Romans 8:33–34

5.8Sanctification

Sanctification is the ongoing work of God by which those who are united to Christ are progressively conformed to His image. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer, producing the fruit of holiness and empowering the fight against remaining sin. This work, though imperfect in this life, is genuine and necessary, for without holiness no one will see the Lord. Sanctification involves the believer's active effort in dependence upon the Spirit, who works in him both to will and to work for God's good pleasure.

“Give what thou commandest and command what thou wilt.”

1. 1 Thessalonians 4:3–7
2. Philippians 2:12–13
3. Romans 6:11–14
4. Galatians 5:16–25
5. Hebrews 12:14
6. 2 Corinthians 3:18
7. John 17:17

5.9Perseverance

All those whom God has effectually called, regenerated, and justified shall persevere in faith to the end and shall never finally fall away. Their perseverance does not rest upon their own strength but upon the faithfulness of God, who preserves them by His power through the indwelling Spirit and the intercession of Christ. This doctrine does not encourage carelessness, for perseverance is demonstrated through continuance in faith and godliness. Those who appear to abandon the faith reveal that true regeneration never occurred.

“This gift of God, therefore, may be obtained by prayer, but when it has been given, it cannot be lost by contumacy. For when any one has persevered unto the end, he neither can lose this gift, nor others which he could lose before the end.”

1. John 10:27–29
2. Philippians 1:6
3. 1 Peter 1:5
4. Romans 8:35–39
5. Hebrews 7:25
6. 1 John 2:19
7. Jude 24–25

5.10Glorification

At the return of Christ those who are in Him shall be raised in glorified, immortal bodies, fully conformed to His likeness and forever free from death. Their bodies shall be raised imperishable, and they shall be completely freed from all sin and its effects. This glorification is the consummation of salvation, when the redeemed shall see Christ face to face and shall reign with Him forever in the new creation.

“The only true and steadfast Teacher, the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through His transcendent love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself.”

1. Romans 8:30
2. 1 Corinthians 15:42–44
3. Philippians 3:20–21
4. 1 John 3:2
5. Colossians 3:4
6. 1 Corinthians 15:51–57

6.1The church is the body of Christ

The universal church consists of all those whom God has united to Christ through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and saving faith. Christ is the head of the church, and the church is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. This body is manifested locally in assemblies of believers who gather in His name.

“He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.”

1. Ephesians 1:22–23
2. Ephesians 5:23
3. Colossians 1:18
4. 1 Corinthians 12:12–13
5. Acts 20:28

6.2The priority of gathered, local church worship

All Christians are to live in fellowship with a local, Bible-believing church, gathering in person for the preaching of the Word, the administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper, mutual edification, and corporate worship. Fellowship in person is the New Testament pattern and is not to be replaced by remote or virtual meetings, which cannot substitute for the physical gathering of the saints.

“Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith.”

1. Acts 20:7
2. 1 Corinthians 11:17–33
3. 1 Corinthians 16:2
4. Hebrews 10:23–25
5. Hebrews 13:17

6.3Church leadership and discipline

Christ governs His church through qualified elders who shepherd the flock under His authority, exercising oversight not under compulsion but willingly, as examples to the flock. The church is to practice biblical discipline for the restoration of the erring and the preservation of the purity and peace of the body, acting with love, patience, and fidelity to Scripture.

“See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God.”

1. 1 Timothy 3:1–7
2. Titus 1:5–9
3. 1 Peter 5:1–4
4. Matthew 18:15–17
5. 1 Corinthians 5:4–5
6. Galatians 6:1

8.1The personal, bodily return of Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ will return personally, visibly, and bodily in power and great glory. His return is the blessed hope of the church and will bring the present age to its consummation. He will come as He ascended—in the clouds, with the trumpet of God, and every eye will see Him.

“We preach not one advent only of Christ, but a second also, far more glorious than the former.”

1. Acts 1:9–11
2. Matthew 24:30–31
3. Titus 2:13
4. 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17
5. Revelation 1:7

8.2The intermediate state

Soul sleep? Conscious bliss? I don't know.

“To pry curiously into their intermediate state is neither lawful nor expedient. Many greatly torment themselves with discussing what place they occupy, and whether or not they already enjoy celestial glory. It is foolish and rash to inquire into hidden things, farther than God permits us to know.”

1. 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
2. 2 Corinthians 5:6–8
3. Philippians 1:21–23
4. Luke 23:43
5. Revelation 6:9–11
6. 1 Corinthians 15:20–23

8.3The general resurrection

At Christ's return, all the dead shall be raised bodily. The resurrection of Christ is the firstfruits and guarantee of this general resurrection: as He was raised physically from the tomb with flesh and bone, so all shall be raised. Those who are in Christ shall be raised to eternal life in glorified bodies; those who have rejected Him shall be raised to face judgment and the second death.

“Far be it from us to fear that the omnipotence of the Creator cannot, for the resuscitation and reanimation of our bodies, recall all the portions which have been consumed by beasts or fire, or have been dissolved into dust or ashes, or have decomposed into water, or evaporated into the air.”

1. John 5:28–29
2. 1 Corinthians 15:20–23
3. 1 Corinthians 15:42–44
4. Daniel 12:2
5. Acts 24:15
6. Romans 8:11

8.4The final judgment

All humanity shall stand before Christ the Judge to give an account of deeds done in the body. The redeemed, clothed in the righteousness of Christ and whose names are written in the book of life, shall enter into the fullness of eternal life and inherit the kingdom prepared for them. The unredeemed shall be judged according to their works, found guilty, and consigned to the second death.

“Terrible in good truth is the judgment, and terrible the things announced. The kingdom of heaven is set before us, and everlasting fire is prepared.”

1. Matthew 25:31–46
2. Revelation 20:11–15
3. 2 Corinthians 5:10
4. Romans 14:10–12
5. Acts 17:31

8.5The second death

The final punishment of the unredeemed is the second death—the destruction of body and soul in the lake of fire. This destruction is irreversible and everlasting in its consequence, constituting eternal punishment from which there is no return. Those who suffer the second death are forever excluded from the presence of the Lord and from the life of the age to come. The wages of sin is death, and the second death is the full and final execution of that sentence. Satan and his angels shall likewise be cast into the lake of fire, where they shall face everlasting destruction.

1. Matthew 10:28
2. Matthew 25:41–46
3. Romans 6:23
4. 2 Thessalonians 1:9
5. Malachi 4:1–3
6. Psalm 37:10, 20
7. Revelation 20:10, 14–15
8. Revelation 21:8

8.6The new creation

God shall make all things new. A new heaven and a new earth shall be established, where righteousness dwells and where God shall dwell with His redeemed people forever. In this new creation there shall be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain, for the former things will have passed away. The glory of God shall illuminate it, and the Lamb shall be its light. The redeemed shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads, and they shall reign with Him forever and ever.

“There we shall rest and see, see and love, love and praise. This is what shall be in the end without end. For what other end do we propose to ourselves than to attain to the kingdom of which there is no end?”

1. Revelation 21:1–7
2. Revelation 22:3–5
3. 2 Peter 3:13
4. Isaiah 65:17
5. 1 Corinthians 15:24–28