The Church

1. The Church in General

    1.1 The universal Church (the “Body of Christ,” the “Bride of Christ”) began on the day of
          Pentecost and is made up of all born-again believers in Christ from Pentecost to the
          Rapture.
             (Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:4–8; 2:1–4, 46–47; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17)

    1.2 The Church does not replace national Israel in God’s program; nor is it “spiritual Israel;” nor
          does it receive the promises specifically made to national Israel in the Old Testament.
             (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Psalms 89:28–37; Jeremiah 33:25–26; Romans 11:1–32)

    1.3 Christians are not under the Mosaic Law, although they are responsible to follow the moral
          principles that form the basis of the Law as confirmed in the New Testament.
             (Romans 3:20; 4:3; 6:1–4; Ephesians 2:8–9)

    1.4 The Church is represented by local churches made up of born-again believers who regularly
          gather for fellowship, mutual edification, instruction, prayer and worship.
             (Acts 2:46–47; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Philemon 1–2, Hebrews 10:25)

2. The roles of men and women in the Church

    2.1 Men are exclusively responsible to fulfill the roles of leadership and teaching in the church,
          particularly in matters of Bible exposition, theology or other matters that would include
          exercising spiritual authority over other men.
              (1 Timothy 2:11–15; 3:1–15)

    2.2 Women have a vital and privileged role in ministry to their families, to younger women, and to
          children.
             (1 Timothy 2:15, 5:14)

3. The Lord’s Table

    3.1 The Lord’s Table is a symbolic memorial to the death of Christ for our sins, that also looks
          forward to His return, but it does not have a spiritual effect or confer grace in any sense.
             (Matthew 26:26–29; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26)

    3.2 The only condition for participation in the Lord’s Table is that a person be a born-again
          believer who is walking in fellowship with both God and man.
              (1 Corinthians 11:27–24)

4. Baptism

    4.1 Water baptism by immersion is a step of obedience to the Lord, expected of all believers
          subsequent to salvation. It is not a condition for salvation, nor does it have a spiritual effect.
          Neither does it confer grace in any sense.
             (Acts 2:36–38; 16:14–15; 16:31–32; 19:1–5)

    4.2 Water baptism identifies the believer with Christ, symbolizes Christ’s death, burial and
          resurrection, and pictures the baptism of the believer by the Holy Spirit into the body of
          Christ.
             (Romans 6:3–4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27)

5. The next prophetic event in God’s program is the resurrection of New Testament saints and the
    Rapture of the Church, meaning that these events are imminent, with no other prophecies that
    must be fulfilled.
      (Daniel 9:24–27; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18)

6. At the moment of death, believers in Christ directly go into the Lord’s presence, consciously
    experiencing joy, awaiting the resurrection bodies they will receive at the Rapture.
      (2 Corinthians 5:6–9; Philippians 1:21–24)

7. After the Rapture, all believers in Christ will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, to receive
    or be denied rewards on the basis of their works as believers.
      (1 Corinthians 3:10–17; 2 Corinthians 5:10–13)