What we believe
CCW Statement of Faith
The statement of faith can be downloaded as a PDF using the button below.
As Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden, we are, on the one hand, a local church here in Wiesbaden, and on the other, joined in Jesus Christ to his universal church worldwide.
As part of the universal church of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hold to what all born-again Christians have always and everywhere believed. It is the historic Christian faith in Jesus Christ, proclaimed throughout the world by his apostles according to his commission. This faith is expressed in full in the Bible and is summarized briefly and clearly in the historic creeds of the Christian church, such as the Apostles’ Creed.
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God,
the Father, the Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ,
his only-begotten Son, our Lord,
conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
crucified, died, and buried,
descended into the realm of the dead,
on the third day rose again from the dead,
ascended into heaven;
he is seated at the right hand of God, the almighty Father;
from there he will come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy, Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead,
and the life everlasting.
Amen
Through this confession, we express our unity with Christians from every place and every age who belong, together with us, to the kingdom of God. It is on the basis of this faith that we baptize at Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden.
As Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden, we hold further, foundational biblical convictions that shape our identity as a local church. We have summarized these in the following Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden Statement of Faith.
As a local church
Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden Statement of Faith
The Bible
We believe that Holy Scripture — the Word of God — is inspired by God and infallible. The Bible is God’s objective truth for humanity. It is the highest court of appeal and authority in all matters of Christian faith and life, for the individual Christian as well as for the whole church. Scripture is therefore to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
(2 Pet 1:20-21, 2 Tim 3:15-17; Ps 19:8-11; 1 Cor 2:11-14)
God
We believe that there is only one true God, who is one in essence and exists eternally in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three persons of God exist in mutual, perfect love and perfect glory and holiness.
(Deut 6:4; Isa 45:5-7; 1 Cor 8:4; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:13; 1 Cor 12:4-6; Mark 1:10-11)
The Father
We believe in God the Father, the Almighty, who directs all things according to the good pleasure of his will. The plan of salvation proceeds from the Father. He showed the world his love by giving his only Son for it, so that everyone who believes in him would have eternal life and not perish. From before the beginning, he determined that we would become his children through Jesus Christ.
(John 3:16; Eph 1:5; 11-12)
The Son
We believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ, who already existed as the Son of God before all beginning. He became flesh — that is, he took on human nature and was fully human and fully God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. He died on the cross in our place and for our guilt. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he sits today at the right hand of God.
(John 1:1-4; 10:30; 14:9; Heb 1:3a; Matt 1:20; Luke 1:26-35; Matt 1:23-25, Isa 7:14; Phil 2:5-8; Col 1:15-17; 2:9,17; Gal 3:16; Acts 3:24-25)
The Holy Spirit
We believe in God the Holy Spirit. He is equal in rank and equally eternal with the Father and the Son. He is a person, not a force. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and of our need for God’s grace and forgiveness. We receive the Holy Spirit from the Father through the Son at our new birth, and are thereby made temples of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us. In him we are sealed for the day of redemption. He leads believers into their sanctification and produces spiritual fruit. We believe that God still gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit named in the New Testament today, but we reject any unbiblical over-emphasis on individual gifts. The Holy Spirit does not put himself at the center and does nothing of himself, but points to the Son, Jesus Christ.
(John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:7-14; 3:3-7; Titus 3:5; Rom 8:9; Ezek 36:26; 2 Cor 3:6; 1 Cor 6:19-20; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 1 Pet 4:10-11; Gal 5:22-23)
Humanity
We believe that God created humanity in his image, for his glory and for life in fellowship with him. Humanity was created in two sexes, as man and woman, equal in dignity and worth. From this God-given likeness, dignity, and worth follows the inviolability of human life, including the unborn child in the womb. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone, and so he created woman as a counterpart and complement to man. In this way God instituted marriage as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. In keeping with God’s purpose in creation, men and women have different, complementary roles in marriage, family, and the church.
(Gen 1:18; 1:26-27; 2:7; 2:15-25; 9:5-6; Jas 3:9; Isa 43:7; Col 1:16; Rev 4:11; Ps 139:13-14; Luke 1:15; 1:42-44; Eph 5:22-33; 1 Tim 2:11-14)
We believe that all people, except for Christ, are born in sin. That is, they are spiritually dead in sin and do not give God, through their lives, the honor due him. They are disobedient to him, disregard his commands, and so stand in enmity with God. This condition of sin entered the world through the disobedience of the first human beings, Adam and Eve. Since then, all people are totally depraved and utterly unable to accomplish their own salvation. Sin rightly deserves the judgment of God. The penalty for sin is spiritual and physical death.
(Rom 1:18-25; 3:23, 5:12-19, 6:23, Eph 2:1-3; Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-19; John 3:36; 1 John 1:8; 1 Cor 2:14)
Salvation
We believe that a person is saved by God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ, not by human works or effort. Everyone who acknowledges their own sinfulness before God, turns from it, and lays hold of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, receives forgiveness of guilt and spiritual rebirth.
(John 1:12; 5:24; 10:15; Eph 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 1:18-19; 2:24; Rom 3:24-25; 5:8-10; 8:1)
The Church
The church is not a building, an organization, or a human institution. It is the fellowship of the children of God, the body of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the head of his church, and everyone who is in him is part of it. The worldwide church of Jesus Christ is expressed in local congregations. These do not exist for their own sake, or primarily to serve personal needs, but 1. for the glory of God, 2. for the spread of the gospel, and 3. for discipleship — so that we grow together in faith, love, and hope. Christ sends his church into the world to be salt and light and to make disciples. For this reason, we do not want to conform to the world or withdraw from it, but to be faithful to our calling: to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in grace and truth, with joy and courage, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that the office of elder/pastor, and the teaching responsibilities that come with it, are to be carried out exclusively by called and biblically qualified men.
(Eph 1:22-23; 2:20; 4:1-6; 1 Cor 12:12-27; Col 1:18; Acts 2:42; 20:28; Matt 5:13-16; 28:18-20; 1 Tim 2:11-14; 3:1-7)
The Last Things
We believe that the human soul lives on after death. We believe there will be a resurrection of all people — the saved to eternal life with Christ in glory, and the lost to judgment and eternal condemnation. We expect Jesus Christ to return personally, visibly, in power and glory, to bring his kingdom to completion. We look forward, expectantly and with living hope, to the day when Christ will receive his bride, the church, in glory; to the wedding supper of the Lamb, when all sin and all its wretched consequences will be finally wiped away. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells and God reigns forever.
(Rev 6:9-11; 19:11-16; 20:11-15; 21:1-4; 22:1-5; John 5:29; 6:39; 14:1-3; Rom 8:10-11; 8:19-23; Dan 12:2; Matt 25:41; Titus 2:13; 1 Cor 15:51-53; 1 Thess 4:15-5:11; Luke 1:31-33)