Who WE ARE

The Bible is the inspired Word of God, a revelation from God to mankind, the infallible rule of faith and conduct and is superior to conscience and reason, but not contrary to reason ( 2 Timothy 3:15-16; 1 Peter 2:2).

The authority, truth, and relevancy of the Word of God is witnessed in our belief that scripture is:

• Inerrant (without error)
• Infallible (trustworthy)
• Immutable (cannot be added to or taken away from).

The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent, self-revealed “I AM” and has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association, i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; Isaiah 43:10, 11; Matthew 28:19)

a. Terms Defined
The terms “Trinity” and “persons” as related to the Godhead, while not found in the Scriptures, are words in harmony with Scripture, whereby we may convey to others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished from “gods many and lords many.” We therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God who is One Lord, as a trinity or as one Being of three persons, and still be absolutely scriptural.

• Matthew 28:19 
• 2 Corinthians 13:14 
• John 14:16-17 

b. Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead
Christ taught a distinction of Persons in the Godhead which He expressed in specific terms of relationship, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but that this distinction and relationship, as to its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible, because unexplained.

• Luke 1:35 
• 1 Corinthians 1:24 
• Matthew 11:25-27 
• Matthew 28:19 
• 2 Corinthians 13:14 
• 1 John 1:3-4 

c. Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Father which constitutes him the Father and not the Son; there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Spirit which constitutes Him the Holy Spirit and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty and His name one.

• John 1:18 
• John 15:26 
• John 17:11 
• John 17:21 
• Zechariah 14:9 

d. Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical as to Person; nor confused as to relation; nor divided in respect to the Godhead; nor opposed as to cooperation. The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son as to relationship. The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship. The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to authority. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation and authority. Hence, neither Person in the Godhead either exists or works separately or independently of the others.

• John 5:17-30 
• John 5:32 
• John 5:37 
• John 8:17,18 

e. Equal Honor to the Father and to the Son
Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Spirit to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of Deity, and to give Him all honor and the glory contained in all the names and titles of the Godhead except those which express relationship (see Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead, Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit , and Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead) and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father.

• John 5:22,23 
• 1 Peter 1:8 
• Revelation 5:6-14 
• Philippians 2:8,9 
• Revelation 7:9-10 
• Revelation 4:8-11 

a. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31; Luke 1:35), His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22), His miracles (Acts 2:22; Acts 10:38), His substitutionary work on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21), His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4), His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9; Acts 1:11; Acts 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3).

b. The Title, Lord Jesus Christ
The appellation, “Lord Jesus Christ,” is a proper name. It is never applied in the New Testament, either to the Father or to the Holy Spirit. It therefore belongs exclusively to the Son of God.

• Romans 1:1-3,7 
• 2 John 3 

c.  The Lord Jesus Christ, God with Us
The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is the proper and only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, He is the proper Son of Man. He is therefore, acknowledged to be both God and man; who because He is God and man is “Immanuel,” God with us.

•  Matthew 1:23 
• 1 John 4:2 
• 1 John 4:10 
• 1 John 4:14 
• Revelation 1:13 
• Revelation 1:17 

d. The Title, Son of God
Since the name “Immanuel” embraces both God and man in the one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title, Son of God, describes His proper deity, and the title, Son of Man, His proper humanity. Therefore, the title Son of God, belongs to the order of eternity, and the title, Son of Man, to the order of time.

• Matthew 1:21-23 
• 2 John 1:3 
• 1 John 3:8 
• Hebrews 7:3 
• Hebrews 1:1-13 

e.  Transgression of the Doctrine of Christ
Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of Christ to say that Jesus Christ derived the title, Son of God, solely from the fact of the incarnation, or because of His relation to the economy of redemption. Therefore, to deny that the Father is a real and eternal Father, and that the Son is a real and eternal Son, is a denial of the distinction and relationship in the Being of God; a denial of the Father, and the Son; and a displacement of the truth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.

• 2 John 9 
• John 1:1
• John 1:2
• John 1:14 
• John 1:18 
• John 1:29 
• John 1:49 
• 1 John 2:22,23 
• 1 John 4:1-5 
• Hebrews 12:2 

f. Exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord
The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; angels and principalities and powers having been made subject unto Him. And having been made both Lord and Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father until the end, when the Son shall become subject to the Father that God may be all in all.

• Hebrews 1:3 
• 1 Peter 3:22 
• Acts 2:32-36 
• Romans 14:11 
• 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune Godhead, that He is ever present and efficiently active in and with the Church of Christ, convincing the world of sin, regenerating those who repent and believe, baptizing and sanctifying believers, and guiding into all truth as it is in Jesus.  (John 7:39; 14:15-18, 26; 16:7-15; Acts 2:1-4,33; 15:8-9; Romans 8:1-27; Galatians 3:1-14; 4:6; Ephesians 3:14-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 3:24; 4:13)

That man was created good and upright, for God said “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” But man, by voluntary transgression, fell, and his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ the Son of God (Genesis 1:26-31: 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21).

Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Penal Substitutionary Atonement

Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. God imputed the guilt of our sins to Christ, and he, in our place, bore the punishment that we deserve. This was a full payment for sins, which satisfied both the wrath and the righteousness of God, so that He could forgive sinners without compromising His own holy standard.

Conditions to Salvation

Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life.

• Luke 24:47 
• John 3:3 
• Romans 10:13-15 
• Ephesians 2:8 
• Titus 2:11 
• Titus 3:5-7 

The Evidence of Salvation

The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit.

• Romans 8:16 

The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.

• Ephesians 4:24 
• Titus 2:12 

The ordinance of baptism by a burial with Christ should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures, by all who have repented and in their hearts have truly believed in Christ as Savior and Lord. In so doing, they have the body washed in pure water as an outward symbol of cleansing, while their heart has already been sprinkled with the blood of Christ as an inner cleansing. Thus, they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4; Acts 20:21; Hebrews 10:22).

All believers are entitled to, and should ardently expect, and earnestly seek, the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian church. With it comes the endowment of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4; 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9).

With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as:

• an overflowing fullness of the Spirit, John 7:37-39, Acts 4:8 
• a deepened reverence for God, Acts 2:43, Hebrews 12:28 
• an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work, Acts 2:42 
• and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost, Mark 16:20 

The Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord”. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Entire sanctification is the will of God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued by walking in obedience to God’s Word (Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 1 John 2:6).

Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.

• Romans 6:1-11 
• Romans 6:13 
• Romans 8:1,2 
• Romans 8:13 
• Galatians 2:20 
• Philippians 2:12,13 
• 1 Peter 1:5 

The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements, bread and the fruit of the vine, is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4), a memorial of His suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26). It is enjoined on all believers “until He comes.”

The church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit with divine appointments for the fulfillment of the great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23).

God’s purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, to build a body of believers in the image of His Son, and to demonstrate His love and compassion for all the world. The reason for being for Wildfire Church and its faithful members is:

1. To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world.
   [Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19,20, Mark 16:15,16]
2. To be a corporate body in which man may worship God.
   [1 Corinthians 12:13 ]
3. To be a channel of God’s purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son.
   [Ephesians 4:11-16 
   1 Corinthians 12:28 
   1 Corinthians 14:12] 
4. To be a people who demonstrate God’s love and compassion for all the world.
   [Psalms 112:9 
   Galatians 2:10; 6:10 
   James 1:27]

The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the church.

• 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17
• Romans 8:23 
• Titus 2:13 
• 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 

There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10-15).

“We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21, 22).

The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years.

Zechariah 14:5 
Matthew 24:27 
Matthew 24:30 
Revelation 1:7 
Revelation 19:11-14 
Revelation 20:1-6 

This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel,

Ezekiel 37:21,22 
Zephaniah 3:19,20 
Romans 11:26,27 
and the establishment of universal peace.

Isaiah 11:6-9 
Psalms 72:3-8 
Micah 4:3,4