The Essentials

The following are the core beliefs of The Grove Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

There is one sovereign, holy, righteous, just God over the entire universe. God the Father is Maker and Ruler over all. He is slow to anger, rich in mercy, and abounding in steadfast love. The Godhead eternally exists as three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All are one in their essence, yet three in their person, sharing the same nature, yet distinct in their works. This mystery is known as the Trinity, in which God exists in complete and eternal unity within Himself.

Genesis 1, 2; Exodus 20:2-6; Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:36-40, 28:19; John 14:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:15-17,
1 Peter 1:2

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are complete and God speaks primarily through them. Inspiration is God’s superintending of human authors so that, using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error His revelation in the original manuscripts. All of the scriptures are authoritative, without error, and the supreme and final authority on all matters about which they speak. We believe the Scriptures are to be understood using their literary genre, history, grammar, context, and harmony with other Scriptures as guidelines for interpretation. The Holy Spirit guides believers to understand the scriptures.

Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19

The Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became a man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, to reveal God and redeem sinful humanity. He accomplished our salvation and redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice and His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.

Luke 1:35; John 1:1-5, 14, 18; Romans 3:24-26, 4:25, 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 17; Philippians 2:6-11

The Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God the Father, where, as His people’s High Priest, He fulfills the ministries of intercession and advocacy.

Hebrews 1:3, 3:1, 7:23-25, 9:24, 12:2; 1 John 2:1-2

Jesus will physically and gloriously return at a time determined by God the Father, to gather His Church and establish His Kingdom.

Zechariah 14:4-11; Acts 1:6-7; 1Thessalonians 1:9-10, 4:13-18; Revelation 20:6

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is equally God. The Holy Spirit has eternally existed like the Father and Son and lives in all believers as an assurance and seal of our salvation in Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit also intercedes for the saints, illuminates Scripture, helps in our weakness, gives the believer spiritual gifts to minister to the church and empowers His church to be witnesses to the world.

John 3:8, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:7-11; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 13; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18-21

Each person is created in the image and likeness of God regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, or nationality; therefore, human life is sacred, including that of the unborn.

Genesis 1:26-27, 5:2; Exodus 21:22-25; Psalm 22:10, 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Mark 10:6; Luke 1:39-45, 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

While humanity was created without sin, Adam’s sin alienated humanity from God. Thus, humanity inherited a sinful nature and is unable without God’s grace to regain a relationship with God. Despite humanity turning away from God, God continues to reveal Himself through creation, the Scriptures, and the person of Jesus Christ, so everyone is without excuse.

Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 1:18-32, 3:23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:12

God purposefully created people male and female, and our sex is a good and unchangeable gift from Him. Therefore, every person is uniquely designed and gifted by God to fulfill his or her role in God’s plan.

Genesis 1:27-28; Psalm 139:13-14

Marriage is a picture of Christ’s relationship with His Bride – the Church. It is defined from the beginning of Scripture as a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman. God designed sexual intimacy for a marriage relationship and does not endorse or condone it in any other context.
 
Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-5; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 18; Ephesians 5:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

Salvation is a gift of God by grace, not earned by good deeds, and is received through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are forgiven of their sin, credited with Christ’s righteousness, and declared children of God.

Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 1:12-13

Every person will be bodily resurrected.

John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:52

Those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life with God in His glorious Kingdom. They are assured of their eternal life and redemption by the power of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Jesus Christ.
 
John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 29-30, 38-39; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 7:25; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:4-6, 21:1-8

Those who have not put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and thus have rejected God’s revelation of Himself in creation, the Scriptures, and Jesus Christ, will experience judgment and then eternal suffering separated from God.
 
Romans 1:18-32, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 21:27

The Church is the Bride and Body of Christ with Jesus as its Head. The Church comprises all who have put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

1 Corinthians 12:4-27; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23-30; 1 Peter 1:3-9

The local Church is an assembly of professing believers that exist to celebrate the living God, cultivate personal growth in Christ, love one another in Christ, and communicate Christ to the world through words and deeds.

Matthew 16:18-19, 28:18-20; Acts 2:37-47; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:24-25

The model for local Church governance in the New Testament is appointing male leaders to serve as Elders. As a group, our Elders are vested with delegated authority from the Lord for oversight of our congregation and the spiritual health of our Church. As part of this delegated authority, the Elders may occasionally choose to author position papers, thoughtfully and prayerfully seeking to articulate a biblical view on specific cultural or theological topics that are not in the scope of this statement.

Acts 14:23; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 5:17-20; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-4

The Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be observed by all believers in the local Church until His return.  Baptism exists as a public declaration of our faith in Christ.  Out of obedience to His command, we are baptized as a symbol to demonstrate our death to the old way of life, identified with Christ’s death and our new life in Christ.  Likewise, the Lord’s Supper is practiced to remember what the Lord accomplished for us by His death on the Cross, as well as remember the promise of His future return.  Believers should frequently practice the Lord’s Supper as a reminder of the beauty and glory of the gospel.

Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:3-6, 1 Corinthians 11:23-32