Doctrinal Belief of Antioch Theological Seminary

Our doctrinal belief is based upon the general evangelical doctrine of the Protestant Christianity.

1)      We believe that the scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and the absolute revelations of God to man, the infallible, everlasting, and authoritative principles of faith and conduct (2 Timothy 2:15-16, 2 Peter 1:21)

2)      We believe that the one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM,” the creator of heaven and earth, the sovereign God with divine providence. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Psalm 43:10-11, Matthew 28:19).

3)      We believe that as one being of three persons, as a Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Word of the Father God (John 1:1, 14) and everlasting true God himself (John 10:30, 12:45, 14:9). He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18-25). He is divine and human inseparable. He was crucified (Matthew 17:50), buried as a sacrifice of atonement between God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5, Rome 3:25). He gave Himself as a ransom of all sin, the Original Sin and the sin committed by man. He was resurrected from the dead (Matthew 28:1-7), stayed in this earth for 40 days (Acts 1:3), was ascended to Heaven (Acts 1:9), and will return as the King of kings (Rev. 19:11-16, 22:20).

4)      We believe that as one being of there persons, as a Trinity, the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son in essence and in majesty of power and glory for eternity (Matthew 28:18, John 14:16-17, Rev. 5:6). He carries out the will of Trine God on this earth (John 14:16), sent and convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). God the Holy Spirit guides and empowers to strengthen the believers’ spirit and sanctify the believer and the church (Romans 15:16).

5)      We believe that God created man to be good and upright in His image and let him have fellowship with God Himself through the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 5:23). He let Man rule over all creation (Gen 1:26-27), however, man by his own will, sinned and fell from grace and his only hope of redemption is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

6)      We believe that Man receives salvation through repentance and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, he is justified by grace through faith (Titus 2:11, 3:5-7; Romans 10:8-15).

7)      We believe that the inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Holy Spirit and the outward evidence is a life of holiness through righteousness and truth (Romans 8:16).

8)      We believe that all believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. They need to experience it and receive the power to be witnesses for Christ to the ends of the Earth (Luke 25:49; Acts 1:4, 10:44-46, 12:14-16, 15:7-9: 1 Cor 12:1-41).

9)      We believe that sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1-2, 1 The 5:13, Heb 13:12). The scriptures teach a life of holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. The Lord said, “I am holy, therefore, be holy.” It means that we must participate God’s will in holiness set apart from the world through the power of the Holy Spirit (Heb 12:14, 1 The 5:23-24, Ecclesiastes 1:15-16, 1 John 2:6).

10)  We believe that the baptism is the immersion of a person in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It means dying with Jesus and living with Jesus through rising from water. This is a holy ordinance showing that the person is accepting Jesus as the Lord and Savior in new life and it is a sign of declaration to the world of the person’s true repentance and rebirth to the wholly united with Christ (Matthew 28:19, Heb 10:22, Acts 10:47, 20:21, Romans 6:4).

11)  We believe that the Holy Communion, consisting of the elements –bread and the fruit of the vine—is a holy ordinance, to be participated as a memorial of Christ’s death and it symbolizes the Lord’s suffering and His second coming. All believers should practice it until the Lord comes back again (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

12)  We believe the Church is the body of Christ. As a part of that body, each believer is the temple of the Holy Spirit, called and gathered by the Holy Spirit to be an agency of God to demonstrate God’s great power of salvation (Eph 1:22-23, 2:22, Heb 12:23).