01
The Doctrine of God
The identity of the Creator
We believe in one only God, who is the Creator, Sustainer, and Governor of all that exists. By His eternal decrees, He established the universe and governs it according to His sovereign will. There exists no being greater than He, and no being has the power to affect, modify, or diminish His sovereignty over His creation.
The Creator and His creatures
God communicates His presence and His power to all His creatures, but in particular to the human race, which He created in His image, both male and female. There is a basic equality between men and women, but with differences, such that the callings given to men and women are not interchangeable but complementary. Although there is no distinction of gender in God, He reveals Himself to us in masculine terms, and His Son was incarnate as a man.
The self-revelation of the Creator to all human beings
God is a personal being and reveals Himself in personal terms. In ancient times, He spoke to many people in many different ways. His words were accompanied, and His promises were fulfilled, by actions that were signs of His power. In speaking with men, God revealed both Himself and His purposes for them, in the expectation that they would respond by obeying what He had commanded them.
The natural order bears witness to the existence, power, and majesty of its divine Creator, so that no one possesses any excuse for not believing in Him. General revelation is the expression used to describe those means by which God reveals Himself to all human beings, without exception, in nature, in history, and in conscience. General revelation is sufficient to make us conscious of the existence and power of God, and even of our responsibilities toward Him, but it is not sufficient to bring us to salvation. Special revelation is required because, as fallen creatures, we are spiritually blind and dead. We obtain the true knowledge of God when we are enabled by God to see and to understand the truth of His self-revelation.
The nature of human knowledge
Because man was created in the image of the personal God, both God and human beings are personal beings. They think and communicate with one another in ways that can be expressed in human language. Human knowledge is essentially personal and extends from an ability to acquire and catalogue factual details to the capacity to analyze them so as to arrive at an understanding of their deeper meaning and purpose. Human knowledge is limited objectively by the finitude of the creature and subjectively by the rejection of God, which has led to a state of radical sinfulness.
The self-revelation of the Creator to His covenant people
God becomes more fully and completely known to His covenant people, with whom He has established a special relationship. God reveals Himself to them by His Spirit, through His Word, which is spoken (preaching), written (Holy Scripture), and living (in Jesus Christ). God spoke in a special way to Abraham, to whom He made the promise that he would become the father of a great nation. Through the descendants of Jacob, Israel became a special people whose historical destiny was to receive and transmit the Word of God to the world and to prepare the coming of a divine Savior. The Church, therefore, has the obligation to share the message of Jesus as Messiah, Savior, and Lord, with the Jewish people and with any other people and nation.
The Covenants of God
Covenant of Works: established by God with Adam in Eden. The terms were simple: to obey is to live, to disobey is to die. Adam disobeys, dies in sin, and is deprived of the glory of God.
Covenant of Grace: established immediately after the fall, when God slays the lamb and clothes man. From that point onward no one is saved by his own works, for the covenant of works was broken. This saving covenant progresses and is revealed in the course of the ages: Eden (the One born of the woman shall crush the head of the serpent), Noah (there shall be no new destruction by water), Abraham (the promised descendant would come from Abraham), Israel (the Messiah prefigured in the sacrifices), David (the Messiah would come from the line of David).
The Unity of the People of God
God has always had an elect people. In the Old Testament this elect people was in its great majority within Israel. In the New Testament, in its great majority it is among the Gentile peoples scattered throughout the world and also in Israel. There is no ethnic distinction: "There is neither Jew nor Greek... for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28).
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — the Trinity
In Jesus Christ, God reveals Himself as a Trinity of persons, making Christianity singular among the monotheistic religions of the world. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are completely and equally God in themselves. They share a common divine nature, and it is inadequate to affirm that one knows one of the persons without knowing all three. It is out of love for the Son that the Father gave Him all authority in heaven and on earth. It is out of love for the Father that the Son gave Himself voluntarily in sacrifice for us. It is out of love for both the Father and the Son that the Holy Spirit comes into the world, not primarily to speak of Himself, but to bear witness to Them and to bring us into their common life.
In the Old Testament, God speaks in the person of the Father
In the Old Testament, God speaks as a single person, whom the New Testament identifies with the Father of Jesus Christ. The Father is the One whose will Jesus (as Son) came to fulfill and obey; He is also the person of the Godhead who remains permanently invisible and transcendent. The Son and the Holy Spirit are eternally present in God and participate fully in all His acts, especially in the great work of creation, there being many references to the person and work of the promised Messiah, as well as to the work of the Spirit of God among the people of Israel.
God revealed Himself fully and finally in Jesus Christ
God spoke fully and finally in Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the covenant made with all the elect of God. He is both the prophet and the Word, both the priest and the sacrifice, both the king and the kingdom. No additional revelation of God is necessary because Jesus is Himself God in human flesh. In Jesus Christ, God revealed Himself as the Son, who identified the first person as His Father and promised that, after His departure, He would send the third person, the "other Comforter," whom the Scriptures call the Holy Spirit.
God reveals Himself in language we can understand
Since God condescended to use human language and the person of the Son became a man, it is possible for us to speak about Him in human terms. The New Testament gives us no encouragement to make portraits or statues of Jesus as aids to worship. No figure or dramatic portrait of Jesus possesses any authority in itself, and such things must never become objects of veneration or worship, though they may be useful in other ways.
02
Evil and Sin
The origin of evil
God made the whole universe very good. And even with the presence of evil in this universe, His holiness is not compromised by its existence. Evil originated with the rebellion of Satan and of certain angels — pride was at the root of their fall. The fallen angels are called demons and are led by Satan. They oppose the work of God and attempt to frustrate the divine purposes. Despite this, God remains sovereign over the powers of evil. If evil still operates, it is by the permission of God, and He has already determined the end of Satan and the demons.
Evil and humanity
Evil intruded into human life through the sin of the first human beings in the Garden of Eden. Adam is the ancestor of the whole human race, and therefore every human being suffers the consequences of his sin, which include the disordered world and physical death. By using that which is good for wrong reasons, chaos, tension, and suffering arose in the midst of human society.
The effects of sin in human life
Human beings join forces with supernatural agents that have produced evils as terrible as genocide, the abuse of power, world wars, various kinds of terrorism, psychopathic murder, human trafficking, drug abuse, and violence of every kind. These outrageous forms of evil are spread and orchestrated by demonic forces. Evil aims not only at the destruction of creation and of the image of God in the descendants of Adam and Eve, but also at the suppression of the church and of the truth of God. Although the demons neither multiply nor can be destroyed by humans, we are called to resist evil, injustice, and violence while we await and pray for the return of Jesus Christ.
The universality of sin and its consequences
In Adam all died, and death spread to all because all sinned. The entire human race is implicated in the fall and its consequences: sin, alienation, violence, war, diseases, suffering, and death. Spiritually speaking, all human beings are dead in trespasses and in sin because they are in rebellion against God and separated from His blessings. Unless Christ quickens the human being, he cannot believe, have faith, or respond to the call of God, for he is dead in sin. Unless God graciously intervenes, spiritual death will be converted into eternal death.
03
The Person and Work of Christ
The glory of Christ
At the center of Christianity stands the person of Jesus Christ. His glory and majesty are of such an order that to worship and exalt Him is the duty and the desire of every believer.
The incarnate Son of God has one divine person and two natures
The divine person of the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, assumed complete human nature in the womb of the virgin Mary and was born as the man Jesus of Nazareth. He now has two natures, one divine and the other human, which remain whole and distinct in themselves, yet are at the same time united in His divine person and through it. Since His divine nature can neither suffer nor die, the Son acquired human nature in order to be able to pay the price of human sin and to reconcile us with God.
The incarnate Son of God is a true human being
As the incarnate Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God became a true human being. He possessed a human mind and will and a normal psychological constitution, while at the same time preserving His divine nature. He was tempted in the same way as any other human being, but did not fall into sin.
The incarnate Son was perfectly able to reconcile us with His Father
The man Jesus Christ was able to take our place on the cross and pay the price of our sin not because of any natural superiority, but because He was perfectly obedient to His Father and, therefore, wholly without sin. By being made sin for us, He was able to cancel our debt toward God. The redemptive work of Christ secured the salvation of all who were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
The nature of the resurrection and ascension of the body of Christ
After two days in the tomb, Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead with His human nature transformed, but still recognizable. His resurrected body was capable of transcending the natural laws of physics, but still preserved its physical properties. At His ascension, this body was further transformed into the celestial state that it still possesses and was raised up to God.
Crucial point: Human beings will be resurrected not as Jesus was on the first Easter morning, but as He is now, in His state of ascension — a glorified, immortal, and perfect body.
04
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit as a person of the Trinity
The Holy Spirit is involved in the work of creation and of redemption together with the Father and the Son. In a particular manner, the incarnate Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and invested with power by the Holy Spirit to fulfill His public ministry on earth.
The work of the Holy Spirit in redemption
The Holy Spirit applies the work of redemption of the Son to individual believers and unites them to Christ, their head, and to one another. He is the agent of the adoption of believers into the family of God and grants them the inner assurance that they were chosen by the sovereign power of God. He aids, teaches, guides, and leads believers in conformity with the revealed will and character of God. He sanctifies believers by producing in them His fruit and intercedes constantly for them in prayer to the Father.
The sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was the beginning of a new work of God in the life of believers, which led to the founding of the Christian church. The extraordinary revelatory gifts granted at that time were singular signs of the beginning of a messianic age and cannot be automatically claimed nor demanded as decisive proof of the power of God in action today. The continuation and the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be sought with humility, in conformity with His will and to glorify God in service for the common good of the church.
The Holy Spirit and spiritual revival
The power of the Holy Spirit continues to manifest itself in special ways in times of spiritual revival, which occur periodically in the life of the church. These periods of spiritual awakening and renewal promote the expansion of the kingdom of God by making people more conscious of their sinfulness, causing them to turn to God in a new and deeper manner. Spiritual revival is especially effective in bringing the people of God back to Him, through the reformation of the church, which is constantly in danger of going astray. Despite this, the work of the Holy Spirit is always present in the church, and believers ought to pray fervently for His fruit and His gifts in every age.
The Holy Spirit and spiritual warfare
The Holy Spirit actively combats Satan and his demons and protects believers from their attacks. The Holy Spirit delivers men and women from demonic oppression and possession and equips them with the spiritual weapons they need to resist the power of evil. The Bible forbids believers from becoming involved with the powers of darkness and their works.
05
The Work of Salvation Accomplished by God
The saving grace of God
God is gracious and merciful. He does not treat us as we deserve because of our sin, but offers us salvation as a free gift. Salvation is wholly by the grace of God and does not depend on any human merit or effort. It is a gift that we receive by faith in Jesus Christ.
The common grace of God
God manifests common grace to all humanity, as well as special grace, by which people enter into salvation. By this common grace, sin is restrained, sinful human beings receive blessings from God and are enabled to practice good things. This common grace provides the foundation for human society and makes possible the work in the arts and sciences. It is the Holy Spirit who makes this work possible, so that cultural progress and human civilization are good gifts of God, made possible in spite of the fall of humanity into sin.
The sovereign election of God
Before the foundation of the world, God chose in Christ a people for Himself. This choice was not based on any foreknowledge of future merit or faith, but solely on the sovereign will of God. The elect are called, justified, and glorified by God only because He loved them first.
The vicarious atonement of Christ
Jesus Christ, in dying on the cross, bore the wrath of God and paid the price for the sins of all who would believe in Him. His death was substitutionary: He took the place of sinners and received the punishment that was due to them. The work of Christ on the cross is sufficient to save all those for whom He died.
Regeneration by the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit accomplishes the work of regeneration in the heart of the elect. This work is supernatural and transformative, granting new spiritual life to those who were dead in their trespasses and sins. Without this work of the Spirit, no one can see or enter the kingdom of God.
Faith as the instrument of salvation
Faith is the means by which sinners receive the gift of salvation. It is not a meritorious work, but a total trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Faith is produced in the heart of the believer by the Holy Spirit, who uses the preaching of the Word to generate this response of trust in Christ.
Justification by faith
Justification is a judicial act of God by which He declares righteous the sinner who believes in Jesus Christ. This occurs not because of any righteousness of the sinner's own, but solely by the imputation of the perfect righteousness of Christ. The sinner is justified by faith alone, without the works of the law. There is no conflict between the teaching of Paul and that of James concerning justification: Paul refers to justification as pardon and acceptance before God; James insists that, if this justification is real, it will be manifested in a life of obedience.
Adoption as sons of God
Upon being justified, believers are adopted by God as His children. The position of the Lord Jesus Christ as the eternal, uncreated Son of God is of a unique nature. Despite this, He is not ashamed to call those whom He has saved His brothers and sisters. These adopted children of God are heirs of the inheritance that Christ secured for them — the full measure of the blessings of redemption.
As children of God, believers share in all the blessings supplied by God for His family and, by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, recognize and address God as Father. The children of God also have the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ and in His subsequent glorification, and they receive the fatherly chastisement of God — a confirmation of adoption, not a punishment: "God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" (Heb. 12:7). The full blessings of adoption will only be enjoyed at the glorious return of Christ.
Progressive sanctification
Believers, after conversion, are continually transformed into the image of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. This sanctification is progressive and involves the cooperation of the believer with God, although it depends entirely upon divine grace. During the present life no believer is entirely free from sin. The discipline of God upon His beloved children also serves to sanctify them. The work of sanctification will be completed by the power and grace of God.
The perseverance of the saints
Those who have been truly saved by God will persevere in the faith to the end. Although they face temptations and trials, God preserves them by His grace and power, guaranteeing that they reach celestial glory. None of the elect will be lost.
The final glorification
In the consummation of all things, believers will be completely glorified, free from all sin and suffering. Their bodies will rise to eternal life, and they will live forever in the presence of God. This glorification is the culmination of the redemptive work of God, which began with election and was accomplished in the death and resurrection of Christ. The spirit is fully sanctified at death, being gathered "to the spirits of just men made perfect." At the resurrection, the body of the believer will share in this perfection, being made like the glorious body of Christ.
06
The Christian Life
Authentic spirituality
Christian spirituality is a lifelong process of profound reverence and love for God that translates into a right relationship with one's neighbor. Christian spirituality is practical godliness, which leads to transformation into the likeness of Christ. It is not directed toward one's own person, nor toward the pursuit of an impersonal force, nor toward the attainment of altered states of consciousness. It is growth in covenant union with the Triune God and in ever-increasing communion with the people of God in the world.
Therefore, anyone who calls himself spiritual or elect of God and has no fruit or actions that prove this regenerating and saving work of Christ lies and is not in fact the light of the world and the salt of the earth — at most he is illumined, but not light.
The means of godliness
The Holy Spirit produces godliness in us by the application of the Word of God to our heart and mind, teaching us obedience, uniting us in the corporate fellowship of all believers, in the true worship of God, in our witness to the world, in trials and sufferings, and in the confrontation of evil.
The results of godliness
The results of godliness include a transformed mind, heart, words, and actions, consecration, and a life that progresses continually into the likeness of the image of Christ. Godliness produces throughout life a growth in self-denial, a daily "taking up of our cross" and following Christ through the practice of love, forgiveness, meekness, compassion, and kindness toward all, especially those of the Christian family. It involves the continual surrender of ourselves in total devotion to God, experiencing unspeakable joy, filial fear, selfless reverence, ardent love, compassion, and boldness with self-control, balanced with humility, respect, fear, contentment, childlike trust, obedience, undying hope, and the peace of God in the face of trials, affliction, and pain.
Spiritual experiences
A God-centered spiritual life receives spiritual experiences as a gift of the Holy Spirit. To the extent that we seek to draw near to the Triune God, we are reminded that we always live in His presence, wherever we may be. Thus, we are motivated to fulfill our calling to be instruments of His transforming grace in whatever place His providence has placed us. The delight in our covenant union with God in this life is only the foretaste of the glory of communion with God in the age to come.
07
The Holy Scriptures
The Scriptures are inspired by God
The Scriptures are the Word of God and are absolutely trustworthy. As they were originally given, they contain no error in all that they affirm — a doctrine termed biblical inerrancy. God superintended the writing of them so that they are precisely what He intended them to be. In choosing to use human beings, God neither neutralized their humanity nor dictated the Scriptures to them. They express the personal history and literary style of each author and the characteristics of the period in which they were written, while at the same time they continue to be in every respect the Word of God Himself.
The Scriptures are recognized through the work of the Spirit
The Scriptures present themselves to us with many excellent and praiseworthy qualities, but ultimately our full persuasion and assurance of their infallible truth proceed from the Holy Spirit who, by the Word and with the Word, bears witness in our heart. The authority of the Scriptures does not depend upon the church nor upon any other source, but upon God Himself.
The Scriptures are understood through the operation of God
The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures have a fundamental clarity, but only the Christian believer can receive and understand their spiritual sense and meaning, by having access to the mind of Christ. The spiritual blindness into which human beings have fallen has made it impossible for them to understand the things of God without the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Scriptures are applied by the Holy Spirit
God brings men and women to Himself by the preaching of His Word. The Holy Spirit uses the preaching, the teaching, and the study of the Scriptures to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Whether preached or read, the Scriptures are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.
The clarity of the Scriptures
The necessity of the scholarly study of the Bible in its original languages does not undermine the clarity of the divine authority nor the reliability of the Scripture. The truths necessary for salvation are expressed with such clarity that readers, both learned and unlearned, can and must understand them. The message of the Scripture must be set forth in the light of the philosophies and opinions that challenge and oppose its presuppositions.
The presuppositions that govern the interpretation of the Scripture
The Holy Scripture is the Word of God and, therefore, cannot contradict itself. Our reading, interpretation, understanding, and application of it are influenced in various degrees and levels by our prior convictions or presuppositions concerning God and the Bible. In order to understand it correctly, it is necessary to be conscious of our presuppositions and to examine them in the light of the biblical text, so that we may reform them and bring them into closer agreement with the meaning of the text itself. Since the Scriptures claim divine origin and inspiration, only the methods of interpretation that take such a claim seriously can arrive at their true meaning.
The appropriate methods of interpretation
The Bible is the Word of God and must be read in humble submission and in prayer for the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Since it was written in human languages within cultural, social, and temporal contexts, its meaning must be sought by the use of general rules of interpretation and by the aid of related fields, such as archaeology, history, textual criticism, and the study of the original languages. All these methods must take into account its divine origin, infallibility, and human character.
The biblical text may have many practical applications and different significations, but its primary meaning is normally determined by the judicious use of historical, grammatical, and redemptive-historical principles. Allegorical, spiritual, and figurative interpretations have no authority unless they are specifically approved by the text itself.
The universality of truth and its applications
The truth of God revealed in the Scripture is universal, eternal, and relevant to all cultures, ages, and peoples. Nevertheless, there may be various and different applications of this truth. In contextualizing the Word of God, the church must distinguish between the biblical principles — eternal and universal manifestations of the truth of God — and the practical implications of these principles, which may vary in different contexts.
The normative post-biblical standard
Since the canon of the New Testament is finalized, the normative standard has been God speaking to us in, and through, the Holy Scriptures with the illumination of the Holy Spirit. No Christian teacher or church has the right to insist on beliefs that are not contained in the Scripture, nor may they interpret any of them in a manner that contradicts what God has revealed of Himself elsewhere in the Scripture.
08
The Church
Its nature
The church is both the invisible company of all Christians (known only to God) and the visible church upon the earth and its many communities. The church is the spiritual and supernatural Body of Christ, the Head of the church. Each Christian is united to Christ and bound to all other Christians through God, thus constituting the church. In the life of the one holy, apostolic church, the worship of God, communion with God and with the saints, the Holy Scriptures, the doctrines, and the mission are central.
The ministries of the Church
The Scripture makes reference to certain ministerial gifts that God granted to the church in different ages: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Today, in each local Aviva Church there must be the following ministerial offices: Workers, Deacons, Missionaries, and Pastors.
Workers: readily disposed to the service necessary to care for the house of the Lord — this office is bound to the service and practical work of the church.
Deacons: care for the poor and needy and provide for the practical and structural needs of the church.
Missionaries: bound to the ministration and teaching of the Word, closely assisting the pastors. They are equivalent to the evangelists (retaining this nomenclature to facilitate the feminine use of the term).
Pastors: called by God to lead the flock of the Lord, never ceasing to meditate on the Word and always in prayer — this is a spiritual office that requires spiritual qualities.
The worship of God
The primary responsibility of the church is the worship of God. The nature and content of this worship are determined by God Himself, as revealed in the Scripture. Worship must include the singing of praise to God, the reading and the preaching of the Scripture, and prayer.
In our gatherings we normally begin with two hymns of jubilation, followed by the reading of an opening word and a brief exposition (5 min), concluding with prayer. Then come two hymns of adoration, the presentation of visitors, the offering and the return of the tithes (without emotional appeal); the children under 10 years of age are invited to Kids; then comes the ministration of the Word (40–60 min) — the message must be scriptural, with purpose, and revealed by God (avoiding empty self-help messages); at the end, an appeal for unbelievers and for Christians seeking greater intimacy. The announcements of the week conclude the Aviva Experience.
The autonomy and unity of the congregation
Each congregation of believers has a certain degree of autonomy under the governance of the pastors, but there is also a broader unity with all the other congregations. This connection has been expressed in different ways, in different ages, and in different parts of the church. The visible unity of the body of Christ must be cultivated and preserved without compromising fundamental theological principles.
09
Tradition
The existence and validity of apostolic traditions
Every Christian church lives according to the rule of faith inherited from the apostolic age. The Holy Scriptures are the only authentic and normative form of this rule, by which all other beliefs and practices must be measured. It is beyond doubt that the apostolic churches had customs that are not recorded in the Scripture; nevertheless, these traditions are not binding upon later generations of Christians.
The authority of creeds and confessions
In the course of its history, the church has adopted creeds and confessions of faith for the purpose of clarifying the teaching of the Scripture. These documents enjoy the authority possessed by those who adopted them and ought to be respected by later generations. Nevertheless, they are not infallible, and where it can be proven that they are in disagreement with the teaching of the Scripture, the church has the liberty to alter them.
This Confession in itself does not have doctrinal authority equal to the Holy Bible, which is inerrant and the Word of God. The function of this Confession is to elucidate theological themes and to assist in the understanding of points of the Scriptures.
The reaction of the reformers to the inherited traditions
The reformers of the sixteenth century undertook a thorough evaluation of the traditions of the church and abandoned those beliefs and practices clearly contrary to spiritual teaching. One example is the commemoration of Christmas on December 25, which has no specific biblical foundation but testifies to the New Testament doctrine concerning the incarnation of Christ. Traditions of this kind may be preserved, modified, or discarded at the discretion of the local church, provided that they do not compromise any biblical doctrine.
Models of worship and traditions in different cultures
Each church has developed patterns of worship and of government that over time became local traditions. Insofar as these practices are not contrary to the teaching of the Scripture and continue to fulfill the task for which they were conceived, there is no reason for them not to be preserved. The churches that arose from foreign missionary activity have the responsibility to examine the biblical foundation of the transplanted customs and ought to be motivated to modify them, if this change can render the witness of the gospel more effective.
The appropriate preservation of certain traditions
Some traditions have become so deeply rooted and universal in the Christian world that to alter them could lead to unnecessary divisions within the church. One example is the custom of worshiping God on Sunday which, although clearly practiced in the early church, is not specifically ordained in the New Testament as doctrine. No church should abandon Sunday worship merely because it is not specifically required by the Scripture. The visible unity of the Christian world must be maintained, if by so doing no theological principle is compromised.
10
Mission and Evangelism
Our calling to be witnesses of God
Our mission in the world flows from our passion for the glory of God, from our desire for a real revival that can impact lives and different generations, and from our certainty of the coming of His kingdom at every prayer and gathering. The church, as the community of Christ, is the instrument of God for evangelism, which is the preaching and the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, through words and works, according to which Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures.
In obedience to the commission of our God, we must offer two hands to all people: (1) the hand that calls them to repentance, faith, and eternal reconciliation with God through Christ (the preaching of the Word), and (2) the hand that manifests acts of mercy and compassion (the department of social action present in each local Aviva Church).
The principal means of evangelism of the Aviva churches
The principal means of evangelism are the Aviva Cells — weekly gatherings in homes with praise, the ministration of the Word, and a moment of fellowship (60–90 min). Another strategy is the Revived Home — a swifter cell (40–50 min) lasting 6 weeks, used for non-Christian families that would not initially accept a fixed cell. In the seventh week the family is invited to the church to receive the Revived Home Certificate.
The broadening of the call to mission
Our proclamation of the gospel has social consequences, since we call people to love and to repentance in all areas of life. Likewise, our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ.
The compassion of Christians for the world
We reiterate the great necessity for Christians to clothe themselves with compassion in the name of Christ, in the midst of poverty, sickness, injustices, and all the forms of human misery. A church that feels empathy for people and that feels the pain of each one, doing all it can to help, is a remarkable church, for we show that our priority is not numbers or sums of money, but rather souls to be transformed by Christ.
The transformation of the human community
We understand the transformation of the human community to be the complete reversal, in the totality of life and of the Earth, of the effects of sin. God's intention is that all His children be full bearers of His image. Such a task begins in this life, but will only be completed when Christ returns in glory at the end of the ages.
11
Law and Ethics
Natural law
The law of God is the expression of His love and reveals His demands of justice for the human race. It was written on the heart of human beings at creation and, despite the fall into sin, human beings, through their own conscience, still have a certain knowledge of its demands. In Eden, God also revealed His will to human beings in a verbal manner in the command that they not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The law of Moses
The Mosaic law contained ceremonial elements that prefigured the person and work of Christ and the life of His church, which are now fully fulfilled. The law also contained juridical elements that shaped the civil life of Israel. The moral elements of the law continue to furnish the model of a godly life. The law of God shows sinners their sin and points them to Christ as the only Savior.
Christ as the fulfillment of the law
Christ fulfilled the demands of the law, being made a curse on behalf of His chosen people. Those who have been brought to faith in Christ express their love for the Lord in obedience to His commandments according to the enabling of the Holy Spirit.
Matrimonial and sexual ethics
Marriage as heterosexual monogamy was instituted by God, with the husband and the wife leaving their own families and uniting to one another in a relationship for the whole of life. Sexual desires must be satisfied within this union, and the children born in it must be cared for and nurtured in the Christian knowledge and practice.
By reason of human sinfulness, deviations from this standard occur. The Bible disallows sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage, as well as same-sex unions. The dissolution of marriage by divorce is permitted in the case of adultery or if unbelievers irreversibly abandon their Christian spouses; however, repudiation and a new union in sequence are condemned by the Holy Scriptures.
Man is described in the Scripture as the "head" of the woman, just as Christ is the "head" of man and God the "head" of Christ. Authority in the family and in the church is demonstrated by loving them as Christ loved the church.
Family planning
Family planning is acceptable. However, contraception by means such as the ingestion of a pill after conception or by the abortion of the fetus is truly the destruction of a new life. As for couples who face difficulty in conceiving, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is a possible option, although the use of sperm donors or of surrogate mothers is not, for these practices intrude upon the conjugal relationship. Experiments with human embryos constitute the destruction of human life. Although the cloning of humans is technologically possible, neither reproductive nor therapeutic cloning conforms to the biblical model in which sex and procreation are part of the covenantal relationship of marriage. Life and the capacity to beget children must be seen as gifts of God, which are sovereignly granted.
The prolongation of life
The human body is subject to various diseases, and modern medicine has the capacity to aid it with the appropriate treatments, operations, and remedies. Organ transplants are legitimate extensions of these medical interventions to cure diseases or prolong life.
The termination of life
In the same manner that the creation of a new person is an act of God, so also is it He who determines the end of a person's life. Both the origin and the termination of life are under His sovereign control.
In the context in which we are inserted (Europe), we are aware of grave cases of depression in which some people, in an act of despair, seek euthanasia. We position ourselves against such a practice, for there is no stage of depression or anguish in which Christ cannot intervene.
Although medicines may be used to relieve pain, they must not be used to put an end to human life, nor to cause individual pleasure or to induce extrasensory states. Although modern technology permits someone to be kept alive artificially even without cerebral activity, in that case to switch off such equipment is not necessarily wrong — for to prolong biological existence artificially is not equivalent to preserving life.
12
Eschatology
The eternal plan of God
From the very beginning of time there was a promise of completion at the end of Adam's probationary period, the rest of God's Sabbath, and the promise of eternal life proceeding from the tree of life. All of this anticipated God's intention to perfect that which He had made very good. Paul saw the resurrection (or recreation) of the last Adam as the fulfillment of the creation of the first Adam before the Fall. The history of redemption culminated in the life and death of the Savior, in the obtaining of salvation for the nations, and in the eschatological recreation of heaven and earth. In the present time, those who are united to Christ have already felt the power of the world to come by the Spirit who lives in them.
Our eschatological position
Aviva Church understands to be most coherent with the Scriptures and with the patristic writings the following: Progressive Covenantalism, Posttribulationism, Amillennialism, and the interpretation of Revelation in a Cyclical manner (not chronological), as Victorinus of Pettau, one of the church fathers (3rd century), interpreted it.
The summary of all eschatology, despite various interpretations — though we have our own — is: Live today as if Christ were returning today.
For 18–19 centuries, the church as a whole (including the direct disciples of the apostles, the church fathers, and documents such as the Didache, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Hippolytus of Rome, Ephrem the Syrian) — none of these believed that Jesus would return before the great tribulation. No one until the eighteenth century preached a doctrine of two or three returns of Christ in phases or stages.
The intermediate state — after death
Immediately after death, the souls of human beings return to God, while their bodies are destroyed (Eccl. 12:7). They do not fall into a state of sleep.
The saved: The souls of the saved enter into a state of perfect holiness and joy in the presence of God and reign with Christ while they await the resurrection (2 Cor. 5:8; Luke 16:19–31; Rev. 6:9; Luke 23:43). They have no power to intercede for the living, nor do they become mediators between them and God (1 Tim. 2:5).
The lost: The souls of the lost are not destroyed after death, but enter into a state of suffering and darkness, cast out from the presence of God, while they await the day of judgment. After death, neither the souls of the saved nor those of the lost can return to the land of the living. All the experiences attributed to the action of disembodied souls must be imputed either to the human imagination or to the action of demons.
The second coming of Christ
The resurrection of Christ, followed by the sending of the Holy Spirit, inaugurated a new age — the "last days." One day Christ will return to this world in a visible manner, in the glorious body of His resurrection, in such a way that the whole world will see Him. He will come in power, with the saints and His angels, to bring salvation to His own and to judge all the ungodly.
The resurrection of the dead
The dead who belong to Christ will be raised by His power, with a body similar to His and suited to the eternal state of communion with God and perpetual enjoyment. As for the lost, they too will be resurrected, but unto judgment and eternal punishment.
The final judgment
Christ will return to this world as its judge. He will judge the living and the dead and will show no favoritism or partiality. The elect will be declared justified on account of the death and resurrection of Christ on their behalf. The ungodly will be justly condemned because of their sins and cast out from His presence, together with Satan and the demons.
The millennium
The interval between the exaltation of Christ and His second coming — the present time in which the gospel and its blessings are made known to the nations — has been recognized by the majority of the churches as the millennium referred to in the Scriptures. Satan cannot stop the advance of the church and the preaching of the gospel. Christ already reigns; there is no pre-kingdom yet to come.
The new creation
After the return of Christ, God will recreate the physical universe, and His resurrected people, invested with immortality and perfection, will live under the government of Christ in this new heaven and new earth forever.
Humility in eschatological questions
Christians agree concerning the principal events that constitute the last things, but not always concerning their consequence and nature. Eschatological questions must be discussed with humility, remembering that it was almost always only after the prophecies were fulfilled that the people of God understood them fully. Aviva Church maintains its positions with biblical and historical conviction, but recognizes that there is room for respectful dialogue among brethren who love the Scriptures.
13
Theological and Systematic Doctrines
This chapter is exclusive to Aviva Church and has no equivalent in the Maryland Statement. It maps the theological positioning of the church in three categories: doctrines adopted as our own conviction, doctrines accepted in dialogue, and doctrines rejected for incompatibility with the Scriptures.
Position adopted by the Church
Aviva Church follows, by biblical understanding, that the doctrines within which the worldview of the church is set are: the Doctrines of Grace (TULIP), Progressive Covenantalism, Amillennialism, and Posttribulationism.
a) Doctrines of Grace — TULIP
T — Total Depravity: The human being, after the fall, is wholly incapable of seeking God of his own accord. It is not a matter of being the worst possible, but that every human faculty (mind, will, emotions) has been contaminated by sin. Salvation must proceed entirely from God.
U — Unconditional Election: God chose His people before the foundation of the world not on the basis of any merit or foreseen faith in the elect, but solely by His sovereign grace and free will (Eph. 1:4–5; Rom. 9:11).
L — Limited Atonement (Particular / Definite): Christ died in a special and guaranteed manner for the elect — those whom the Father gave Him. This does not diminish the infinite value of the sacrifice of Christ, but affirms the efficacy and the definite purpose of His death (John 10:11, 15; 17:9).
I — Irresistible Grace: When God decides to regenerate a person, His grace is efficacious — the elect does not definitively resist the call of God. The Spirit transforms the heart, making the elect willing to come to Christ (John 6:37, 44; Phil. 1:29).
P — Perseverance of the Saints: Those who are truly saved will persevere in the faith to the end. Not because they are strong, but because God keeps them. No elect one will be lost (John 10:28–29; Rom. 8:38–39).
b) Progressive Covenantalism
A hermeneutical foundation for the interpretation of the Scriptures that reads the Bible as a progressive and unified narrative of covenant. It understands that the Old Testament is fulfilled and reinterpreted by the New Testament — not simply repeated. Israel and the Church share a single redemptive covenant, progressively revealed. The prophecies of the Old Testament find their definitive fulfillment in Christ and in the Church, not in a future ethnic Israel.
c) Amillennialism
A doctrine that understands that the millennium referred to in Revelation 20 is not a literal period of 1,000 years in the future, but describes the spiritual reign of Christ that began with His ascension and continues until His second coming. Christ already reigns now, and the saints who have died already reign with Him in the intermediate state. The "millennium" represents the entire period of the Church — the present age.
d) Posttribulationism
A doctrine that teaches that the Church of Christ will pass through the great tribulation. The second coming of Christ is a single event — there is no prior secret rapture. Christ returns once, in a visible and glorious manner, after the tribulation (Matt. 24:29–31; 2 Thess. 2:1–4). This is the position of the early church fathers and was not contested until the nineteenth century.
Doctrines accepted in dialogue
Aviva Church understands that there exist other doctrines which, although different from our convictions, do not wound the essential biblical values concerning faith, the church, and God. There is room for fellowship with brethren who profess:
Arminian Doctrine — FACTS: Arminianism, in its classical and evangelical form, affirms that God elected those whom He foresaw would believe (Conditional Election), that Christ died for all human beings without exception (Universal Atonement), that the Holy Spirit calls all sinners but can be resisted (Resistible Grace), and that the saved can, in principle, lose salvation (Conditional Security). The acronym FACTS (Foregone, Atonement, Calling, Total depravity, Security) represents its reformulated version. We believe that our evangelical Arminian brethren love Christ and the Scriptures, even though they disagree with our sovereign conclusions.
Pretribulationism: A doctrine that teaches that Christ will return secretly to rapture the Church before the great tribulation, preserving it from the period of judgment. Popularized by John Nelson Darby in the nineteenth century. Although we do not find a solid historical or exegetical basis for this position, we recognize brethren who profess it in good faith with love for the Scriptures.
Historic Premillennialism: A position that believes in a second coming of Christ after the great tribulation, followed by a literal reign of 1,000 years on earth before the final judgment. It is different from Dispensationalism — it does not divide Israel and the Church in a radical manner. Fathers such as Irenaeus of Lyons defended forms of this view. Dialogue is possible on this point.
Classical Covenantalism: A hermeneutical approach that sees a single covenant of grace from Eden onward, with Israel being the people of the Old Testament and the Church the people of the New, without necessarily affirming the structural continuity that Progressive Covenantalism proposes. It is the historic position of Presbyterianism and of Reformed Presbyterianism.
Progressive or Revised Dispensationalism: A moderate form of classical Dispensationalism that brings Israel and the Church closer than the traditional version (Scofield/Chafer), recognizing an already-present spiritual fulfillment of the promises to Israel in Christ. Although it still maintains a distinction, dialogue with this position is more viable than with classical Dispensationalism.
Doctrines rejected
Aviva Church does not support, does not teach, and does not accept doctrines that wound the biblical foundations of our faith or that have as their norm the distortion of what the gospel teaches. Any person who adheres to these ideologies is invited to abandon them and to convert to the full truth of Christ. The doctrines that follow are listed with an explanation of what they teach, so that they may be recognized and avoided:
1. Prosperity Theology: It teaches that the Christian faith must necessarily produce physical health, financial wealth, and material success. Phrases such as "I declare and decree," "to confess is to possess," and "you are cursed because you no longer tithe" are marks of this theology. It distorts the gospel by reducing God to a servant of human ambitions and transforms faith into a magic formula. Material prosperity may be a blessing from God, but it is never guaranteed as a right of the believer, and suffering is a legitimate and formative part of the Christian life (Phil. 4:11–12; 2 Cor. 11:23–27).
2. Theological Liberalism: A movement that arose in the nineteenth century and seeks to adapt Christianity to the categories of modern scientific and philosophical thought. Typically, it denies or reinterprets supernatural events such as the virginity of Mary, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and the biblical miracles. It treats the Bible as a human document subject to errors and contradictions. The result is a "Christianity" without a historical Christ, without real sin, and without objective redemption — a religion emptied of its essence.
3. Postmillennialism: A doctrine that teaches that the Church, through the preaching of the gospel and social action, will gradually transform the world into a state of peace and justice, after which Christ will return. In other words, the millennium precedes the return of Christ and is built by the efforts of the Church. This view confuses the Kingdom of God with historical progress and disregards the clear warnings of Christ concerning the tribulation and apostasy preceding His return (Matt. 24:12, 21; 2 Thess. 2:3).
4. Preterism: A doctrine that teaches that the principal biblical prophecies — including those of Revelation, Matthew 24, and 2 Thessalonians 2 — have already been entirely fulfilled in the year A.D. 70, in the destruction of Jerusalem. Full Preterism denies a literal future second coming of Christ. Partial Preterism admits a future return but empties the greater part of the eschatological prophecy. This position disrespects significant parts of the biblical canon and denies the literal hope of the second coming of Christ.
5. Arianism and Macedonianism: Arianism, condemned at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), teaches that the Son of God is a creature — the most exalted being created by God, but neither eternal nor consubstantial with the Father. The Arian motto was "there was when He was not." This heresy is present today among the Jehovah's Witnesses and in certain Oneness currents. Macedonianism (4th century) denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, treating Him as a force or creature. Both heresies destroy the doctrine of the Trinity and with it the whole theology of redemption.
6. Novatianism: A movement of the third century led by Novatian in Rome which taught an extreme moral rigorism: Christians who apostatized or denied the faith under persecution could never be restored to the communion of the Church. This position denies the sufficiency of repentance and of the restoring grace of God, creates an elitist ecclesiology, and contradicts the parable of the prodigal son and the very example of Peter restored by Christ after his denial.
7. Manichaeism: A religious philosophy of the third century founded by Mani that proposed a radical cosmic dualism: good (light, spirit) and evil (darkness, matter) would be eternal and equal forces in conflict. In this view, God and Satan fight on equal footing, matter and the physical body are essentially evil, and salvation would be to liberate the spirit from the bodily prison. This view is incompatible with the good creation of God, with the incarnation of Christ, and with the bodily resurrection.
8. Docetism: One of the most ancient heresies, Docetism (from the Greek dokein, "to seem") teaches that Jesus Christ did not have a real physical body — He only seemed to be human. His incarnation, suffering, and death would be appearances, not bodily reality. This heresy, combated by John (1 John 4:2; 2 John 7) and by the apostolic fathers, destroys the foundation of the atonement: Christ needed to have a real human body in order to die in the place of sinners.
9. Pelagianism: The teaching of Pelagius (4th–5th century) which denied original sin as a condition transmitted hereditarily and affirmed that the human being has a full and intact free will to choose the good and attain salvation by his own efforts. The grace of God would be only an external help — not necessary, but convenient. Augustine vigorously combated this teaching. Pelagianism renders the cross unnecessary and glorifies the human will to the detriment of divine grace.
10. Semi-Pelagianism: An intermediate position between Pelagius and Augustine which teaches that the human being, by his own initiative, begins to move toward God, and God then cooperates in completing the work. In other words, the human will takes the first step and divine grace collaborates. Although more subtle than pure Pelagianism, this position still places the initial merit of salvation in the human being, denying total depravity and irresistible grace.
11. Gnosticism: A religious system of the first–second century that combined Christian, Jewish, and Greek elements with philosophical speculations. The Gnostics taught that the true God is wholly transcendent and distant, that the material world was created by an inferior god (the Demiurge, frequently identified with the God of the Old Testament), and that salvation comes through gnosis — secret and spiritual knowledge that elevates the initiate above the rest. Modern Gnosticism resurges in movements of "spiritual awakening," Christian esotericism, and in the teaching that man can "become God" through inner knowledge.
Ecclesial Council of Aviva Church · Version 2.0 · 2024
Statement of Faith based on the Statement of Faith of the World Reformed Fellowship (Maryland, USA, 2011) with expansions proper to the doctrinal identity of Aviva Church.