| What We Teach |
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Kirkpatrick Church of Christ is an independent, nondenominational fellowship of believers who seek to follow Christ and wear only His name. Although we are an independent, nondenominational fellowship, we do participate with other churches that lift up the Lord Jesus and spread the Gospel. We do not believe we are the only Christians, but we are Christians only. We are committed to unity in the essentials, freedom in matters of opinion, and love in all things.
THE BIBLE
Our only creed is the Bible, which is
God-inspired, without error, and our final authority on all matters of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
GOD
We teach that there is but one true and living God (Deuteronomy 4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4), perfect in all His attributes, one in essence and eternally existing in three persons - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14) - each possessing all the attributes of deity and deserving of our full worship and obedience.
In the beginning God created out of nothing the universe and all things, thus putting on display the glory of His power, wisdom and goodness. By His sovereign power, He continues to sustain His creation. By His providence and mercy, He is operating in the history man to accomplish His plan of redemption.
JESUS CHRIST
We teach that Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Trinity - though being equal with God (John 10:30; Philippians 2:5-8), surrendered His prerogatives of deity and became flesh and dwelt among us, to pay the debt for man's soul. Having been born of the virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23-25), Jesus lived a totally sinless life, and is therefore the only one qualified to pay for our sins by dying on the cross as our substitute (John 10:15; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24). He literally and physically rose from the dead and ascended to right hand of the Father where He now our mediator as our Advocate and High Priest (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Romans 4:25; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1).
We teach that Jesus will return to earth personally and visibly (as He left) to consummate history and judge all mankind according to the eternal plan of God (John 5:22-23; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Corinthians 5:10).
HOLY SPIRIT
We teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine person coequal with God the Father and God the Son in all the divine attributes (Matthew. 28:19; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14). He enlightens the minds of sinners convicting them of sin, awakening in them their need for a Savior and regenerates them at baptism. At the point of salvation, He permanently indwells every believer and equips them for growth and service to the church (John 16:7-9; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3:13; Ephesians 2:22). The indwelling of the Spirit is a divine guarantee sealing the believer unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14).
Christians are given spiritual gifts through the sovereign act of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are intended to strengthen the Church and glorify Christ (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
MAN'S GREATEST NEED
The central purpose of God's revelation in
Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with Himself. God originally
created humans to have fellowship with Him and to glorify Himself (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16), but man sinned against God willfully choosing to go their own way. As a result, man has suffered alienation from God and the corruption of his nature, bring about death both spiritually and physically. (Psalms 51:5; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-4).
The salvation of mankind, is a work of God's grace and mercy, not the result of human works or goodness, lest he should boast. The salvation is a free gift, made available through faith in Jesus Christ and Him only (John 1:12; John 10:18-27; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
THE CHURCH
We teach that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ and are obedient to God's Word for salvation, are immediately added to the spiritual body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2), of which Christ is the head (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18).
The Scripture commands believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the Lord's Supper, fellowship, service to the body and outreach to the world (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38-42; Ephesians 4:12).
Wherever God's people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church (Acts 20:17; Galatians 1:2; Hebrews 10:25). Under the protection and oversight of elders (Acts 20:28), its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 3:21).
ORDINANCES.
We teach that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Because baptism is commanded by our Lord and His apostles (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38), we teach that all must be baptized. We teach that baptism should occur immediately upon confession of faith in Christ, for the forgiveness or sins and the gift of Holy Spirit as modeled for us in Acts (Acts 2:38-41; Acts 8:35-39; Acts 16:31-33).
The mode of baptism by immersion is taught in Scripture. Baptism portrays the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the entrance into the fellowship of the church (Acts 2:47), it is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the Church, which is the visible body of Christ (Acts 2:41-42).
We teach that the Lord's Supper is a memorial, proclaming the death of Jesus until He comes again, and should always be preceded by self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:28-32). We also teach that the elements of communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, the Lord's Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who is present in a unique way, fellowshiping with His people (1 Corinthians 10:16). In the pattern of the early church (Acst 2:42; Acts 20:7), thus we offer the Lord's Supper weekly.
HUMAN DESTINY. Death seals the eternal destiny of every person. For all mankind, there will be a resurrection of the body into the spiritual world, and a judging that will determine the fate of each individual. The saved will be raised to eternal life and will be rewarded for works done in this life (John 6:39; Romans 8:10-l1, 19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:14), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29).
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