God – God exists eternally, He is the creator and sustainer of the world. He is pure and holy in every way. The Bible consistently refers to God in the masculine, though on one occasion God is described as being like a mother hen shielding her chicks; it is not that God has a gender as we understand it, but that is best understood in terms of the perfect father, a perfect husband, etc. God has a full personality but the overarching aspect is best described in 1 John 4v16: God is love.

​

Jesus – is the Son of God. He was born to a virgin, Mary, and lived a sinless life. As being part of the Godhead, He was fully instrumental in the creation of the world and in the planning of our salvation. He allowed Himself to be crucified in order to pay the penalty of our sins and to offer us a way back to God. Romans 5v8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. After Jesus died He spent three days in a tomb before being resurrected from the dead and then returning to heaven to rule at God’s right hand. He will suddenly come back to earth one day to judge the living and the dead and to take His people to be with Him in Heaven.

​

Holy Spirit – the third aspect of God, who is three-in-one. He was present at creation, the co-creator with the Father and the Son. It is He who speaks to the hearts of people; convicting us of sin, consoling us in times of grief and guiding us into all truth. He enters the heart of the Christian upon conversion. He gives many different types of gifts to the church, in order to build up the church.

​

John 16v13: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will  guide you into all truth.
​
Man – God’s design and making of people was the pinnacle of creation. We were made perfect but, in Adam, chose to disobey God and to go our own way. The consequence of that decision was the introduction of death and sin into the world. All people are born as sinners by nature and are therefore eternally separated from God as He is pure and holy. Romans 3v 23: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Salvation – There is nothing we can do to cross the chasm that sin has put between us and God. Our best will never be good enough as it will never deal with our sinful nature. Jesus offered himself as a sin offering in our place, taking upon Himself the punishment that was due us and thus opening a way to God through the cross. Ephesians 2v8: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. When somebody believes that Jesus did this as an act of unmerited grace then the Holy Spirit works in the heart which Jesus referred to as being “born again”.
​
Christian Life – Jesus promised us an abundant life full of love, joy and peace. However, the spiritual aspect of being human is not the same as the physical and the reality of the Gospel is found in these differences God makes in the heart of the believer even when we pass through the trials of life. From the moment of conversion the Christian is engaged in a struggle against the sinful nature and on a journey of seeking to be more Christ-like. This can only occur because of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Philippians 1v6: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.