The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

*The word "catholic" refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Defined in laymen's terms, what we believe is that:

1. The Bible is a 'God breathed' book that can be completely trusted as a completed revelation of God's standard for living, His purpose and plans for His creation and His way of salvation for the world.

2. God has revealed Himself in history as a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three equal and divine persons in one God. It's a mystery.

3. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who existed from before time but entered our world as a man, born of a virgin, fully God but fully human. This also is beyond the finite mind to totally grasp but we believe it as a revealed truth.

4. All humankind have inherited, from birth, a lost and a wilfull, self centred nature. As such they are eternally cut off from God and are helpless to save themselves without the work of the Holy Spirit.

5. Salvation from the penalty and consequences of our independence (sin) can only be found through Jesus Christ whose sinless life, substitutionary death and bodily resurrection enables all who trust in Him to be restored into a vital relationship with God.

6. The Holy Spirit's work is to convict us of our sin, lead us to repentance, create faith in us, and fill the new believer with the power to change and to live a brand new life in fellowship with God.

7. All true believers become part of the Church, the family of God, through whom God is extending His love and grace to a lost and needy world.

8. At the fullness of time Jesus Christ will return to the earth to judge the living and the dead. Those who have put their trust in Him will be gathered into His eternal Kingdom and those who have lived independent of Him will be banished into eternal separation (hell) along with Satan and his angels.