What Does Encounter.Church Believe?

Did Jesus claim to be God? He most certainly did and was crucified for it. Exodus 3 records an Old Testament interaction between Moses and God, where God reveals Himself to Moses, saying, “I am has sent me to you.” The title “I AM” referred to the timeless nature of God Himself. Since we know “I AM” is a title for God, it’s clear Jesus was claiming to be God when He declared, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!” (John 8:58). Later, in John 10, the people in the temple wanted to stone Jesus, saying, “You, a mere man, claim to be God.” There’s no doubt Jesus claimed to be God, and He is God. Anyone who insists on the sensationalist idea that Jesus never claimed to be God is either unaware of what Scripture records, is intentionally avoiding the obvious truth, or is working hard to force the Scriptures to fit their agenda.

Jesus was always God. Jesus always knew He was God. Before the world began, He was God. When He was a baby in the womb, He was God. When He died on the cross, He was God. When He resurrected and ascended, He was God. From beginning to end, He was and is God. And there is no other way.

"Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6, NLT)

We believe in Christ’s sinless perfection, meaning Jesus lived a completely holy life, never once sinning though He was tempted.

"He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth." (1 Peter 2:22, ESV)

"You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin." (1 John 3:5, ESV)

Because of His perfection, Christ was a perfect sacrifice for our sins. He took upon Himself the wrath of God, atoning for our transgressions and reconciling us to God.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, ESV)

We receive salvation by grace through faith alone.

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NLT)

This does not mean we have a license to sin. Simply put, we don’t do good works to be saved; we do good works because we are saved.

Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us because we believe in Him.

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)

"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12, NLT)

After being crucified, Christ rose again from the dead literally, in bodily form, on the third day. This was not a spiritual symbol or metaphor—Christ literally died and was literally raised. His resurrection from the dead was an actual historical event. On the resurrection of Jesus, our entire faith rests:

"But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied." (1 Corinthians 15:12-19, NIV)

After His resurrection, Jesus ascended to Heaven and sat at the Father’s right hand, where He now sits today.

"After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!'" (Acts 1:9-11, NLT)

"Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority." (1 Peter 3:22, NLT)

While it’s not popular to say so, it remains true that both Heaven and Hell exist. Christ alone gives eternal life, and a soul without Christ is justly punished for sin.

"And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life." (Matthew 25:46, NLT)

God is holy. He Himself is the standard of morality and righteousness. Though culture might attempt to excuse or redefine sin, we believe sin is sin.

"Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-12, NLT)

Jesus is God. The Father is God. The Holy Spirit is God. And these three are distinct persons.

"After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.'" (Matthew 3:16-17, NLT)

God is one, existing as three persons. By this, I don’t mean that He has three traits, three different roles, or just three different titles; rather, God exists in three distinct, literal persons. These three are one.

The Spiritual gifts are still in operation today.

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” (1 Corinthians 12:7, NLT)

Additionally, the power of the Holy Spirit sometimes manifests in strange ways.

“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2, NLT)

Stated clearly, we are unapologetically charismatic in both our doctrine and method of ministry. While we should exercise reverence for the Holy Spirit and not base our ministry flow on emotion or hype, we also acknowledge that the move of the Holy Spirit is by its nature strange, loud, vibrant, and offensive to the natural mind.

We reject the notion that the Holy Spirit should be in any way stifled or His gifts explained away as optional in response to human discomfort or criticism.