BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

ACCORDING TO THE UCCP STATEMENT OF FAITH

United Metropolis Conference l Lay Formation Program l 25 September 2021
Prepared by: Ptr. Melvin R. Jacinto

THE UCCP STATEMENT OF FAITH

Revised by the Faith and Order Committee in 1992
Approved by the General Assembly of 2006
WE BELIEVE
In One God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, who provides order, purpose, meaning,
and fulfillment to all creation. That in Jesus Christ, who was born of Mary, God became human
and is Sovereign Lord of life and history. That in the Holy Spirit God is present in the world,
empowering and guiding believers to understand and live out their faith in Jesus Christ.

WE BELIEVE
That persons are created in the image of God and destined to live in community with
God, with other persons and with all creation. That, by disobedience, they have become sinful,
but, by grace through faith, they are redeemed in Jesus Christ. That being entrusted with God's
creation, they are called to participate in the establishment of a just and compassionate social
order.

WE BELIEVE
That the Church is the one body of Christ, the whole community of persons reconciled to
God through Jesus Christ and entrusted with God's ministry.

WE BELIEVE
That the Holy Bible is a faithful and inspired witness to God's self-revelation in Jesus
Christ and in history to illumine, guide, correct, and edify believers in their faith and witness.

WE BELIEVE
That God is at work, to make each person a new being in Christ and the whole world,
God's Kingdom in which love, justice, and peace prevail. The Kingdom of God is present where
faith in Jesus Christ is shared, where healing is given to the sick, where food is given to the
hungry, where light is given to the blind, and where liberty is given to the captive and oppressed.

WE BELIEVE
That the resurrection of Jesus Christ has overcome the power of death and gives
assurance of life after death. And we look forward to His coming again in all fullness and glory
to make all creation new and to gather all the faithful under God's Kingdom. Amen.

I. PRELIMINARIES
a. What is a Statement of Faith?
A statement of faith is a formal confession or declaration of what we believe in. It is also
known as “creed” or “confession of faith,” a statement of the shared beliefs of a community
(religious/spiritual) in a form structured by subjects summarizing its core tenets.
Examples of creeds/faith confession within Christian Faith:
 Creeds of the Early Church
o Didache (50–100 C.E.)
o Creed of Aristides of Athens (130 C.E.)

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 o Old Roman Symbol or Old Roman Creed (215 C.E.)
o Creed of Cyprian of Carthage (250 C.E.)
o Deir Balyzeh Papyrus (200–350 C.E.)
o Creeds of Arius and Euzoius (320/327)
o Creed of Alexander of Alexandria (321–324)
o First Synod of Antioch (325)
o Second Dedication of Antioch (341)
o Baptismal Creed of Jerusalem (350)
o Apostolic Constitutions (350–380)

 Ecumenical or Catholic Creeds

o Apostle’s Creed (120–250 C.E.)
o Nicene Creed (325 C.E.)
o Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (381 C.E.)
o Chalcedonian Creed or Definition of Faith (451 C.E.)
o Athanasian Creed (5th–6th Century)

 Interdenominational Creeds
o Barmen Declaration of Faith, Confessing Church (1934)
o World Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith (1951)
o National Association of Evangelicals Statement of Faith (1943)
o Anglican-Lutheran Pullach Report (1972)
o Brief Statement of Faith (1983)
o Common Christological Declarations Between the Catholic Church and the
Assyrian Church of the East (1994)

 Denominational Creeds
o Adventist: Pillars of Adventism (1848); Adventist Baptismal Vow (1941); 28
Fundamental Beliefs (1980)
o Anabaptist/Mennonite: Hans Denck's Confession Before the Council of
Nuremberg (1525); The Schleitheim Confession (1527); The Mennonite Concept
of Cologne (1591); The Dordrecht Confession (1632)
o Anglican: The Anglican Catechism (1549/1662); Thirty-Nine Articles (1563);
Lambeth Articles (1595); Affirmation of St. Louis (1977)
o Arminian: Five Articles of Remonstrance (1610); The Opinions of the
Remonstrants (1618); Remonstrant Confession (1621)
o Baptist: Baptist Confession of Faith (1644); Baptist Confession of Faith
(1677/1689); The Orthodox Creed of the General Baptists (1678); The
Philadelphia Confession (1688); New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833); The
Free-will Baptist Confession (1868); Abstract Principles for Southern Baptist
Seminary (1858); The Doctrinal Basis of the New Zealand Baptist Union (1882);
Doctrinal Basis of the Baptist Union of Victoria, Australia (1888); The Statement
of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland (1888); The Statement of Faith
of the American Baptist Association (1905); Johann Kargel's Confession (1913);
Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1925); The Doctrinal
Statement of the North American Baptist Association (1950); Baptist Faith and
Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1964); Baptist Affirmation of Faith, Strict
Baptist Assembly (1966); Romanian Baptist Confession (1974); The Statement of

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 Beliefs of the North American Baptist Conference (1982); Baptist Faith and
Message, Southern Baptist Convention (2000)
o Christian Church (Disciples of Christ): Christian Church Confession/The
Design for the Christian Church (1968)
o Congregational: The Cambridge Platform (1648); Savoy Declaration (1658);
The Declaration of the Congregational Union of England (1833); The Declaration
of the Boston National Council (1865); The Declaration of the Oberlin National
Council (1871); The "Commission" Creed of the Congregational Church
(1883/1913)
o Eastern Orthodox: Doctrine of the African Orthodox Church (1921)
o Huguenot: Guanabara Confession of Faith
o Lutheran: The Ninety-Five Theses (1517); Augsburg Confession (1520);
Augsburg Confession (1530); Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1530
Lutheran Response to Confutatio Augustana); Book of Concord (1580); Smalcald
Articles (1537); Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope; Formula of
Concord (1577); Saxon Visitation Articles (1592); The Reaffirmed Consensus of
the Trinity Lutheran Faith (1655)
o Methodist: Minutes of Some Late Conversations (1744); The Scripture Way of
Salvation (1765); Articles of Religion (1784); Confession of Faith, United
Methodist Church (1968)
o Pentecostal: Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916);
Indian Pentecostal Church of God: Statement of Faith
o Presbyterian: Scots Confession (1560); Westminster Confession of Faith
(1646); The Confession of the Waldenses (1655); The Confession of the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1814/1883); The Confession of the Free
Evangelical Church of Geneva (1848); The Confession of the Free Italian Church
(1870); The Auburn Declaration (1837); Auburn Affirmation (PCUSA) (1924);
Book of Confessions (PCUSA) (1970); The Creed of the Evangelical
Presbyterian Church of Chile (1983); Living Faith: A statement of Christian Belief,
Presbyterian Church in Canada (1984)
o Puritan: Cambridge Platform (1648)
o Quaker: The Confession of the Society of Friends (1675); Richmond Declaration
(1887)
o Reformed: The Sixty-seven Articles of Ulrich Zwingli (1523); The Evangelical
Counsel of Ansbach (1524); Ten Conclusions of Berne (1528); First Helvetic
Confession (1536); The Consensus of Geneva (1552); First Scotch Confession
(1560); Craig's Catechism (1581); Second Helvetic Confession (1586); Gallican
Confession (1559); Belgic Confession (1561); Heidelberg Catechism (1563); The
Hungarian Confession (1570); Second Scotch Confession (1580); Irish Articles
(1615); Canons of Dordt (1618–19); Westminster Confession of Faith (1646);
Savoy Declaration (1658); Helvetic Consensus (1675); Second London
Confession of Faith (1677/1689); Walcheren Articles (1693); Belhar Confession,
Dutch Reformed Mission Church (1986); Cambridge Declaration (1996)
o Catholic: The Edict of Michael Cerularius and of the Synod of Constantinople of
1054; The Dictatus Papae of Pope Gregory VII (1075); Council of Florence;
Confutatio Augustana (1530); Tridentine Creed - Profession of Faith of Pius IV
(1564); Anti-Modernist Oath - Pius X; Maasai Creed, Holy Ghost Fathers (1960);
Vatican II Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964); Credo of the
People of God Profession of Faith of Paul VI (1968); Common Declaration of

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 Pope John Paul II and [Armenian] Catholicos Karekin I (1996); Ad Tuendam
Fidem of Pope John Paul II (1998)
o Salvation Army: Articles of War of The Salvation Army; Soldier's Covenant of
the Salvation Army, a church created by former Methodists
o United Church of Canada: A New Creed (1968)
o United Church of Christ: Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ
(1959/1977)
o Waldensian: Waldensian Confession (1655)

 Ecumenical Creeds
o The Call to Unity, Lausanne (1927)
o The Scheme of Union of the Church of South India (1929/1942)
o The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Edinburgh (1937)
o Affirmation of Union, Edinburgh (1937)
o The Constitution of the Church in South India (1947)
o Message of the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1948)
o The Unity We Have and Seek (1952)
o A Message from the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1954)
o The Unity of the Church, St. Andrews (1960)
o The Church's Unity, World Council of Churches, New Delhi (1961)
o The Holy Spirit and the Catholicity of the Church, Uppsala (1968)
o What Unity Requires, Nairobi (1975)
o Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, Lima (1982)
o Uniatism, Method of Union of the Past, and the Present Search for Full
Communion (1993)
o The Covenant (2015)

 Neo-Evangelical Creeds
o Doctrinal Statement of the Evangelical Theological Society (1949, 1990)
o Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978)
o Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics (1982)
o Danvers Statement (1988)

Examples of creeds/faith confession on other religions:

 Judaism: Sh’ma or Shema; Maimonides' 13 Principles of Jewish Faith
 Islam: Sunni Articles of Belief
 Buddism: Triratna (Three Jewels or Threefold Refuge)
 Jainism: Ratnatraya
 Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith
or a creed", but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious
phenomena of India. There is complete freedom of belief and one can be
monotheist, polytheist, or atheist. It is a syncretic religion, welcoming and
incorporating a variety of outside influences.

b. What are the Significances of Creed in the History of the Church?

In the recent commentary book for our UCCP Statement of Faith entitled “Unless A Seed
Falls and Dies,” Dr. Mariano Apilado enumerated at least 7 significances of creed in relation to
the history of the church:

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1. Identity and Mission – it indicates the identity and mission of God’s people. For
instance, the identity of the Israelites was that they were God’s people and their
mission was to obey and follow God for in following God they would escape from
their bondage in Egypt and would find liberation and then enjoy the blessings of a
land flowing with milk of justice and the honey of love.

2. Location and Direction – it serves as maps indicating the location and pointing to
the direction of life and journey of God’s people. In the oft-quoted question of Jesus
to his disciples on who he was, Peter expressed the location of his faith encounter
when he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matt 16:13). Jesus
not only commended approvingly Peter’s statement of faith but also went on to
indicate the direction in which the statement was leading. “Upon this rock, I will build
my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18). Peter’s
statement of faith signified the state of his faith and Jesus’ approval signified the
direction to which the statement should lead.

3. Confession and Action – it signifies intellectual understanding of one’s life and

describes the behavioral conduct that flows out of the statement. Martin Luther’s
confession of justification by faith as the core foundation of his ministry led him to
question the prevailing practice of indulgence. Also, his choice of the Jewish canon
of the Old Testament formulated by the Jewish scholars, the Apocryphal books as a
separate section, led to other Protestant reformers followed. Consequently, the
Council of Trent chose the canon of the Jews in the diaspora which called the
Apocryphal books as Deuterocanonical books (cf: Westminster Confession of Faith,
1646 – https://www.freepresbyterian.org/wcf/).

4. Faithfulness and Creativity – It recognizes the spiritual roots of the Christian life
and the life and ministry of the church as having been rooted in the doctrinal
affirmation that God is Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Called to be faithful to
these spiritual roots, believers are called upon to live creatively through a life that
creatively lives the fundamental values of love, peace, truth, justice, and freedom.
One of the most popular and also the most universally accepted creeds is the
Apostles’ Creed, which traditionally has been believed to have been formulated,
stated, and put together by the apostles themselves. From the beginning, it had
been used as a standard required of catechumens to memorize. Today, there have
been variations of interpretation that attempt to act out creatively the various
statements in the creed starting with belief in God and concluding with Jesus’ coming
again.

5. Unity and Diversity – At various times in history, when confronted by critical

problems and persecution, Christians had used creeds and statements of faith as a
unifying force. In the Book of Acts, we have the powerful statement of Peter, “We
cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20). Of recent history,
there was the Barmen Declaration of the Confessing Churches in Germany (1934) in
defiance of the abuses of Nazism (see https://www.ucc.org/beliefs_barmen-
declaration/). There is, of course, the powerful challenge of the Apostle Paul in
Ephesians 4:1-6, for Christians to lead a life worthy of the calling they have been
called with all lowliness and meekness, humility, and gentleness. The reason for this
challenge is that there is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and
one God and Father of all. The diversity of our living is unified only by the invitation

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 that all must be worthy.

6. Arrival and Departure – In the history of the UCCP. When the founding parents of
our faith came together in 1948, they had arrived at the point of unity and so agreed
only on one common statement and message “Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living
God, Our Living Lord and Savior.” It took the church thirty-eight years of journeying
together to agree in 1986 on a statement of faith. In less than eight years, the
statement had been revised in 1992 by the Faith and Order Commission because
the church had arrived at another stage in its spiritual journey. This is to say that life
as a journey, or the history of the church, is similar to climbing a mountain. At every
moment in the journey or in history, a people, or the people of God are at once and
at the same time at the peak of the past and at the foothill of the future. At the peak
of the past, the People of the Covenant give thanks and assess where they have
traveled. At the foothill of the future, they plan and prepare carefully for the climb
that is ahead.

In summary, "creed," "faith confession," or "statement of faith" is a product of the deep

faith experience of a community, specifically as a church. By bringing people together, sharing
reflections of their faith as people of God in line with their current situation, they form a
statement that represents their faith from their collective experience or context. This shared
faith confession or statement is their guiding principle, a stronghold of their faith, as an individual
and as a community, in fulfilling God’s mission and aspirations as time goes by. When they
face another challenge, their statement of faith will guide them again, along with their new
reflections or realizations of their new experiences, to create a new statement about their faith in
view of their new realities.

c. Why A Statement of Faith?

Dr. Levi Oracion shared 7 reasons why we need, as UCCP, a statement of faith (Unless
the Seed Falls and Dies, 2010):
1. To remind us that we are part of the history of God’s people. As the faithful of
the UCCP, we are a people whose history is of a piece with the history of God’s
people that begun way back in biblical times. It is a story that gives rhyme and
reason to our existence, and gives answers to life’s fundamental questions that are
verified by a serious and holy living, and gives meaning and power in rendering
obedience to the principal Actor (God) in the story.

2. To give us symbols that capture the wholeness of our faith. Symbols that give
us a sense of unity with the people of God, a sense of who we are, of why we are
doing what we are doing, and a sense of direction where we are going. It gives us a
sense of understanding of self and world, of the quality of our life, of the work we do,
and of our destiny.

3. To specify our historic origins and affinities with other bodies of faith. Our
statement of faith specifies not only our ecclesial unity within the UCCP but also of
our historic origins and affinities with other great bodies of faith that define their being
as determined and given shape and direction by God’s act in Jesus Christ, ecclesial
bodies that, in spite of our separation from them, are truly and essentially our sisters
and brothers in Jesus Christ.

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 4. To teach us on the uniqueness of our faith as well as its commonality to
others. Our statement of faith is exclusive in an essential way; it belief, submission,
and obedience to Jesus Christ as one’s personal Lord and Savior; but it is inclusive
in a pragmatic way because the God who redeemed, gives courage and empowers
us to rise to authentic humanity, loves all human beings and cares for the whole of
Creation as well; and we declare that we submit to none other. Christ’s love for us
leads us to care for and to love all the peoples of the earth and of all Creation. Other
well-meaning members of the human family may have found other messiahs and
redeemers also; and declaration of faith in a merciful, loving, and gracious God,
whose love cannot be bounded by any human creed or lore, allows us to affirm the
possibility that they are ensconced in God’s love and truth as well.

5. To serve as a guide in understanding and interpreting the Bible. Our statement

of faith is a prism by which we may be guided broadly and liberally in the
interpretation of the Bible and of how it may illumine the problems and puzzles, the
anxieties and agonies, and the possibilities and prospects of whatever situation we
may be thrown in.

6. To safeguard us from other teachings that may lead us astray or bring division
to our church. Our statement of faith is a bulwark of security in a world awash with
various creeds, ideologies, and philosophies that are ever seeking to lure people in
novel and daring ways. A long, hard look at our statement of faith should put us
again in touch with the faith of our mothers and fathers that have been tested in
stressful and stormy times and is found to fulfill their most authentic being and
deepest dreams.

7. To serve as a guidepost for the right practice of our faith as we creatively

engage with the world. Our statement of faith is a critical point from which we
grasp and shape ourselves and the world, and engage in dialogue with other faith
perspectives and ideologies. Within our statement of faith is a broad and deep
understanding of God and human beings that are faithfully rooted in Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord, that can dynamically and creatively engage in a fruitful
interchange with the world. There is a core within the statement of faith, an
unchanging essence and truth, that needs to be re-articulated in every clime and
culture – for these confront the church with their own unique ways and modes of
thought and being, and begs the faithful to speak out of the essence, meaning and
power of their faith – as it is enshrined in their statement of faith.

d. What made UCCP formulate its own Statement of Faith?

UCCP decided to formulate its own Statement of Faith because of the crisis of faith
among UCCP churches brought about by the inroads of fundamentalist teachings, coupled with
the crisis in Philippine society brought about by the Martial Law regime. The Statement of Faith
provides the UCCP with authoritative handles to face the crises. It would also give UCCP an
identity.

e. How did the UCCP Statement of Faith come into being?

As a response to the clamor from the churches, the 1978 UCCP General Assembly
decided to formulate a Statement of Faith. A faith and order committee was organized to draft
the Statement. It was chaired by then Bishop Pedro Raterta. The draft was distributed to the
churches for comments and suggestions. A liturgical version was drafted as suggested. And

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after some years of study (8 years) and discussions at the conference and local church levels,
the 1986 General Assembly approved the SOF.

A book of commentaries on the SOF entitled, “Like A Mustard Seed,” was prepared by
the members of the Faith and Order Committee chaired by Dr. Feliciano V. Cariño. In 1992 a
revised version of the SOF was issued by the Faith and Order Committee. One important
feature of the 1992 revision was the use of a more inclusive language and the inclusion of a
statement on Mary.

f. How do we interpret the UCCP Statement of Faith?

We should interpret the UCCP Statement of Faith in the light of its own historical context.
We should study, understand, and affirm it in the light of the situation in which it was formulated.
The process of formulating the statement formally started in 1978 and the draft statement was
approved by the General Assembly in 1986. This was the period of Martial Law leading to the
EDSA Revolution, as well as the time when there was an influx of new religious movements that
started to challenge the faith and witness of mainline Protestant churches. It was also the
period when "liberating ideas" – including the feminist movement were at its peak. Moreover,
we should not treat the SOF as a dogma (established doctrine) nor a systematic theology. It is
open to reinterpretation, restatement, or even reformulation. Like any other creeds, the UCCP
Statement of Faith includes only the kernel (most basic) of the Christian faith.

g. What are the key issues addressed by the UCCP Statement of Faith?
There are at least three key issues addressed by the UCCP Statement of Faith, namely:
political idolatry, concern for the human, and concern for justice and social order. One of the
grave dangers faced by any government, especially authoritarian regimes, is the danger of
political idolatry. The real problem in an authoritarian regime is not that people do not believe in
God, but rather they believe in god or goddesses other than the One True God, the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rulers, both secular and religious, have the tendency of
arrogating unto themselves the power and authority, obedience and loyalty, which belong only
to God. In the context of repression that necessarily accompanies authoritarian regimes, the
value of human life becomes less and less. Hence, the concern for the human, for justice and
social order become legitimate Christian concerns.

II. OUR BELIEF IN GOD

WE BELIEVE in One God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, who provides order,
purpose, meaning, and fulfillment to all creation. That in Jesus Christ, who was born of Mary,
God became human and is Sovereign Lord of life and history. That in the Holy Spirit God is
present in the world, empowering and guiding believers to understand and live out their faith in
Jesus Christ.

a. Theology: We Believe in One God

Who is God? God is One: the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer
Ref: Gen 1-2; Exo 3, 20; Mt 28; Jn 1; Acts 1

What do we mean by "God is One"? It means that there is only One God whom we
put our ultimate trust, obedience, and loyalty – the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of the
prophets, the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Ref: Ex 20:1-6; Deut 5:6-8; Jos 24; I Cor 8:5-6; Eph 4:4-6

What do we mean by "God is the Creator"? It means that everything is created by

God, the author of creation. Being the author of creation, God is the absolute source of

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everything that exists. In the words of the Psalmist, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in
it...” (Psalm 24:1). This biblical testimony is indeed a profound affirmation of faith that the origin
of creation is God alone. It is the Creator God who is giving existence to everything that we can
see in the face of the earth. This means all living creatures, plants, those that creep on the
ground, swim in the waters, fly in the air, and human beings alike cannot exist apart from God.
Everything on earth will continue to exist because the gracious God wills for it (L. Robin, 2020).
We are called to be co-creators with God and have been given the gift of creativity. But
ultimately it is God who creates. We are simply participating in God's creative work.
Ref: Gen 1-2; Psa 8, 24:1; Eph 2:10, 4:24; CoI 1:16; Rev. 4:11

What do we mean by "God is the Redeemer"? It means that God alone is the One
who redeems or saves. The Bible’s salvation story is a history of God’s continuous struggle to
liberate the human from the forces of evil and death. God as revealed in and through Jesus’ life
and message should be understood in this light (L. Dingayan, 2010). We are called to
participate in God's work of redemption or salvation. But ultimately it is God who redeems or
saves expressing this finally in Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary.
Ref: Exo 3; Mk 10; Lk 1:68, 4:1-44, 24:21; Jn 1-4; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14

What do we mean by "God is the Sustainer"? It means that God alone is the One
who sustains life. We are called to be instruments of God's sustaining grace so that all may
experience abundant life. But ultimately it is only God who sustains life.
Ref: Jos 1; Jer 1; Mt 28; Acts 1:8

What do we mean by God "provides order, purpose, meaning and fulfillment to all
creation"? It means we should understand creation, not in terms of profit, exploitation, or
"development" to satisfy human greed, but rather in terms of the will of God the Creator for the
whole of creation. In short, we should understand creation in terms of responsible stewardship,
of caring and sharing, to fulfill God's promise of abundant life for all. The biblical affirmation that
“God is the absolute source of everything” simply means that all we can see in the face of the
earth comes from and belongs to God alone (L. Robin, 2010). This should serve as a reminder
to all of us, especially in our present time, that no one has the right to claim absolute ownership
of anything in God’s creation. For what we deliberately claim as ours (e.g. land, water, fish,
birds, and animals of the earth) are actually not belong to us but to God alone.
Ref: Gen 1-2; Isa 40; Jn 10:10; Eph 2:10, 4:24; Col 1:16; Rev 4:11

b. Christology: We Believe in Jesus Christ

Who is Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is God becoming human, the sovereign Lord of life
and history. He is the embodiment of God’s covenant of redemption, an eternal communion,
with humanity, and the human manifestation of the Redeemer God. He was born of Mary
through a virgin birth around 4 BCE at the city of Bethlehem in the Roman Province of Judea,
Palestine. Lived in Nazareth and went to public ministry around 30 CE at the region of Galilee
and nearby provinces/regions to proclaim the coming of God’s reign. Due to the kind of life that
he lived, he was accused of being a blasphemer and disturber of peace by the Jewish leaders.
He was sentenced to death through crucifixion before the Roman Government led by Pontius
Pilate in 33 BCE. He later died on the cross but rose again after three days which was
witnessed by some of his disciples.
Ref: Exo 3, 12:33-17:16; Mt 1:18-2:23; Mk 1:1-15; Lk 1, 24:21; Jn 1-4; Eph 1:7; Col 1:1

What do we mean by "God became human"? This statement is the central message
of the Doctrine of Incarnation. “God becoming human” means that the invisible God, who is a
Spirit, became visible by having flesh and bones in Christ Jesus. It means that the timeless

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God, who is not bound with time, became confined in time as Jesus exist in a specific period in
human history. An omnipresent God, who is limitless in terms of space or location, became
limited as Jesus exist in a specific geographical location.
Furthermore, “God became human” means that God identifies with humanity and that
the human is central in God’s work. God sees the suffering of people and suffers with them;
God hears their cries and cries with them. God feels the peoples' pain, and struggles and
hopes with them for a new humanity, for a new way of life, a "new heaven and a new earth"
That is why the promised Messiah was named “Immanuel,” meaning “God is with us.” Since
God’s incarnation is essentially expressed in terms of God’s solidarity with the wretched of the
earth, it, therefore, introduces a powerful revolutionary force for truth and justice in human
history (L. Oracion, 2010). The coming of God in Jesus Christ is meant to show to us what it
means to be truly human. For it is in becoming truly human that we can be truly divine (L.
Dingayan, 2010).
Ref: Exo 3; Mt 1:3, 12:1-14, 23:1-39; Mk 5, 10:42-45; Lk 20; Jn 1, 10:1-18; Rev 21

What do we mean by Jesus Christ as "the sovereign Lord of life and history"? It
means that Jesus Christ has conquered life by putting meaning to life. The meaning of life is to
share it, especially with those who have less in life. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus claimed that
he did not come to be served but “to serve and to give his life to redeem many people” (Mk
10:45). The immediate context of this statement was an incident wherein Jesus’ disciples had
an argument over James and John’s request to sit at the right and left sides of Jesus in the
Kingdom of God. Jesus took the occasion to teach his disciples about power, authority, and
servanthood (cf. Mk 10:42-44). In contrast to people’s prevailing way of life, Jesus saw genuine
service to people as the primary purpose of power and authority. In other words, leaders are
there not to lord it over the people, but to serve them. The people are not supposed to be
dominated and controlled by those at the top, but rather they are supposed to be loved and
served. It is this great concern of Jesus for people that transformed the old way of life in relation
to power and authority. Jesus proclaims that power structures and systems must always serve
the people (L. Dingayan, 2010).
Jesus Christ also has conquered history by putting meaning to it. He gave his life in the
service of the people (e.g. fed the hungry, cure the sick, forgave the sinners, proclaim the good
news to the poor). However, that kind of life he lived for the people made him accused of being
a blasphemer and disturber of peace which eventually led him to brutal suffering on the cross.
But because of that, he became our redeemer and shown to us the way to the Father. By dying
on the cross and being raised from death to life, Jesus was able to remove the terror of the
cross and to make the cross a symbol of love and redemption. By raising him from death, God
has given His stamp of approval on Jesus’ life. God has vindicated Jesus’ life. By raising Jesus
from the dead, God is saying to us that Jesus’ life should be the life that we should live; this is
the kind of life that redeems the world (L. Dingayan, 2010). Jesus has made, shaped, molded,
and has given direction to history by the life he has lived. Therefore, it is in Jesus Christ that we
find meaning and fulfillment of life and history.
Ref: Mt 28; Mk 16; Lk 24; Jn 20; Rev 21

What do we mean by Jesus Christ as "born of Mary"? It means that Jesus Christ is
fully human as well as fully divine. The divinity of Jesus Christ is fulfilled in his humanity. Like
us, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is born of a woman. This statement underscores the
important role women play in God's work of salvation.
With Jesus being born of Mary, it does not mean that he diminished or removed his
divinity or divine nature. It does not mean that he is only fully human when he lived on earth.
But rather, as the Chalcedonian Definition of Faith confesses, that the Lord Jesus Christ “is one
and the same God, perfect in divinity, and perfect in humanity, true God and true human, with a

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rational soul and a body, of one substance with the Father in his divinity, and also begotten in
the latter days, in his humanity, of Mary the Virgin bearer of God.” It also stressed that Jesus
manifested in two natures (human and divine) “without any confusion, change, division or
separation.” The union does not destroy the difference of the two natures, but on the contrary,
the properties of each are kept, and both are joined in on person and hypostasis (substance).
They are not divided into two persons but belong to the one Only-begotten Son, the Word of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ. This gives us an impression that as people identified with Jesus
Christ, our life’s mission should not only focus on the realities of heaven (divine/spiritual nature)
but also on the realities of the earth (human/earthly nature).
* Some important theological terms:
o Hypostatic Union – describes the union of Christ's two natures (humanity and
divinity) in one hypostasis or individual existence.
o Homoousios – describes the union of God the Son and God the Father being in one
or same substance.
Ref: Mt 1:18-25; Lk 1:46-56, 2:1-7

Why having Mary in our Statement of Faith? It is important to highlight the place of
Mary in our Statement of Faith to give importance to the place of women in the life and work of
the church, as equal to men. In a patriarchal society and a community dominated by men (e.g.
Church), giving importance to women is so critical. In Protestant and Evangelical tradition,
Mary’s role is often disregarded in terms of faith confession and teachings. However, Mary was
added to our revised UCCP Statement of Faith (1992) not just to give importance to her role as
a woman who give virgin birth to Jesus but also to highlight her model of discipleship.
Mary shows us the meaning of a life lived to praise God. As the mother of Jesus, she
has demonstrated through her life and her Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55) that a true disciple is one
who works for the realization of the kingdom that Jesus preached and lived out. Mary embodied
the values of justice and peace of God. This Marian spirituality and theology is crucial in
cultivating the kind of discipleship that Jesus demands of his followers. In presenting his idea of
discipleship, the writer of the Johannine gospel points to Mary, the mother of Jesus, to be at par
with the Beloved disciple as they “stood at the foot of the cross as models for Jesus’ ‘own,’ his
true family of disciples.” Indeed, a well-developed articulation of the place of Mary in the
teachings of the church can be a strong basis for taking up the cause of equality of women and
men not only in society but especially in the church, particularly on the matter of ordination, and
in the case of other Christian churches, the matter of priesthood. It is high time for the
Protestant church, specifically the United Church of Christ in the Philippines to recognize the
place of Mary in the story of our faith, for indeed, without her, the story of God’s salvific act in
the life of Jesus the Christ will not be complete (M. O. Montenegro, 2010).

c. Pneumatology: We Believe in the Holy Spirit

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God's Presence in the world. The One who
works hand in hand with God, the Creator and the Redeemer (R. P. Billena, 2010). It is
interesting to note that in Hebrew (original language of Old Testament), the Holy Spirit is
referred feminine. In Greek (original language of New Testament), it has a neuter gender.
While in English translation, the Holy Spirit is rendered masculine.
Hebrew – ruach ( ‫ )רּו ַח‬which means “air” or “breath”
Koine Greek – pneûma (πνεῦμα) which means “air” or “breath”; paráklētos (παράκλητος)
which means “counselor,” “comforter,” “advocate,” or “helper”; dunamis (δύναμις) which means
“power,” “potential,” or “ability”
Ref: Gen 1:26; Ps 139:7; Mt 12:27-28; Lk 4:1-18; Jn 3:5, 14:17, 15:26-27, 16:1-15;
Acts 1:2-8, 10:38; Rom 8:11; I Cor 2:10-11

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 What is the role of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit empowers and guides believers to
understand and live out their faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit enables the church to do what she
was called to do namely, to go and make disciples of all nations and baptizing them in the name
of the Triune God, teaching them all that Jesus has commanded them. Furthermore, the
empowering gift of the Holy Spirit is not limited to speaking in tongues. We may not be able to
speak in different languages but it does not mean that the Holy Spirit is not at work in us.
Neither does it mean that we are not filled with the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul listed several
spiritual gifts in separate accounts in his letters (Rom 12:6-18; II Cor 12:8-10, 12:28-30). The
gifts are to build the Body of Christ and are exercised for the common good of the believers.
We view the Holy Spirit as the Sustainer because she sustains us even as we respond
to the call in our quest for a dynamic and meaningful relationship with the divine. The Holy
Spirit illuminates our hearts as we read the Scriptures and try to understand what God is telling
us during these challenging times. She enlightens us as we search the Scriptures that our
knowledge may be fired with zeal and action. As John Mackay once said, “Reflection without
commitment is the paralysis of all action.” The Holy Spirit helps the believers understand the
Bible and apply the message to their lives (R. P. Billena, 2010).
Ref: Jn 15:26-27, 16:1-15; Acts 1:8, 2:1-47

What are the signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is present
where the fruits of the Holy Spirit are present, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. Moreover, there is freedom wherever the
Spirit of the Lord is.
Ref: Acts 2:43-47; 4:32-35; II Cor 3:17; Gal 5:22-23

d. The Trinitarian Doctrine: We Believe in the Trinity

What is Trinity? In simple understanding, Trinity is the belief that God is one, but is
revealed in three ways, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or in the words of the UCCP Statement
of Faith as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Though the term “Triune God” or “Trinity” is not
a biblical term, its basis is from the prevalent Trinitarian pattern in the scripture as a witness to
God (D. Migliore, 2014). It was described in the Old Testament according to the Christian way
of reading it, and more obviously found in the New Testament from the saving work of God
through Jesus Christ and the renewing activity of the Holy Spirit. Its biblical references can be
found in different verses in the Bible that if we will going to reflect on it, the idea of the Trinitarian
Formula can be trace (cf. Everett Mendoza, “The Doctrine of the Triune God,” from the UCCP
SOF commentary book Unless A Seed Falls and Dies, p.16).
This concept is always faced with questions – “how do the three distinct persons
become in one deity?” and “how do the one deity become in three distinct persons?” (God is
One yet Three, and Three yet One). Early Christian theologians attempted to explain this divine
mystery. Many of them have been accused of being heretics for going beyond what the
trinitarian formula wants to imply, contradicting its fundamental idea. It is either that they were
over-emphasized the three distinct persons of the Triune God that lessen its oneness, or they
over-emphasized its oneness that lessens the existence of its three distinct persons. There
have been many great controversies about this which have also led to many Ecumenical
Councils. For this reason, they proposed a governing rule that says, “All of the acts of the triune
God in the world are indivisible.” It means that the person of the Creator does not act alone in
the work of creation, or the person of the Redeemer alone in the work of redemption and
liberation, or of the Sustainer alone in the work of sustentation and sanctification. In other
words, “Every act of God is the act of the one triune God.”
However, while creation, redemption, and sustentation or sanctification are all acts of the
triune God, scriptural usage permits the “appropriation” or acknowledgment of the act of
creation primarily (though not exclusively) to the Creator (which attributed to the persona of the

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Father); the act of redemption (though not exclusively) to the Redeemer (which attributed to the
persona of the Son); and the act of sustentation or sanctification primarily (though not
exclusively) to the Sustainer (which attributed to the persona of the Holy Spirit) (D. Migliore,
2014).
Ref: Isa 63:16, 64:8; Mt 6:9, 28:16-20; Jn 3:16-17, 4:24 20:17; II Cor. 3:17

What does the Doctrine of Trinity imply to us? 1.) The Triune God is the God who
continuously creates, redeems, and sustains us in our everyday struggle. In the midst of
corruption, poverty, and injustice in the Philippines, the triune God that the church proclaims is
the God who is eternal, One who calls us from non-being or being-unto-death (poverty,
powerlessness, oppression), to being or being-unto-life (freedom, justice, peace, prosperity).
The God who causes the divine self, through the life and work of Christ Jesus, to be with us in
our daily life and to endure the very miseries and humiliation which have become our lot on
earth. The God, who is through its ever-present Spirit, also enables us to hear his offer and
promise of freedom, to long for its fulfillment, and to work for its actual realization. Thus, the
One gracious God is the transcendent author and source of our freedom (the One who
transcends our historical circumstances characterized by poverty, injustice, and
powerlessness), our comrade in the struggle (the One who participates in our suffering and
struggles for liberation from such a historical circumstance), and the power in us (the One who
enables us to envision the future promised by God, sustaining and empowering the just to
struggle for it) by which freedom is attained. The God revealed in Jesus Christ is known in the
symbol of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (E. Mendoza, 2010).
2.) The Triune God is the ultimate model of unity amidst diversity. The triune God is
distinguished in three persons, but one essence. Although each person in the Trinity has a
distinct characteristic, they are united in one essence, and united in working together. The
triune God is united in living with understanding, harmony, and love. In the same manner, our
distinctiveness as humans should not hinder us to be united. For the triune God speaks to us,
“unity in diversity is possible.” Daniel Migliore gave a wonderful message to ponder when he
said:
“The reign of the triune God is the rule of sovereign love rather than the rule of force. A
revolution in our understanding of the true power of God and of fruitful human power is
thus implied when God is described as triune. God is not absolute power, not infinite
egocentrism, not majestic solitariness. The power of the triune God is not coercive but
creative, sacrificial, and empowering love; and the glory of the triune God consists not in
dominating others but in sharing life with others. In this sense, confession of the triune
God is the only understanding of God that is appropriate to and consistent with the New
Testament declaration that God is love (1 John 4:8).”
This means that the unity of creation, especially human beings, becomes a reality when
we start to rule in love rather than force, in humility rather than domination. The triune God is
the very model of this. So we should stop our absolutism, egocentrism, and discriminating
attitude toward others, rather start to become more democratic, inclusive and welcoming to
everyone.
3.) The Triune God is a wonderful story of great love. The Doctrine of Trinity is more
than just about the numbers, 3-in-1 or 1-in-3. As Migliore wrote, “This is the ‘depth grammar’ of
the doctrine of the Trinity that lies beneath all ‘surface grammar’ and all of the particular, and
always inadequate, names and images that we employ when we speak of the God of the
gospel.” (Faith Seeking Understanding, p. 73). The “deep grammar” of Trinity is that there is the
Ground of Life (Divine Being) whose characteristics are “self-sharing,” “other-regarding,” and
“community-forming love.” Thus, maybe we can interpret the Trinity as a story of a loving and
creative Being, who offers costly love that liberates and renews life (E. Fernandez, 2021).

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III. OUR BELIEF IN PERSON
WE BELIEVE that persons are created in the image of God and destined to live in
community with God, with other persons and with all creation. That, by disobedience, they have
become sinful, but, by grace through faith, they are redeemed in Jesus Christ. That being
entrusted with God's creation, they are called to participate in the establishment of a just and
compassionate social order.

a. Anthropology: We Believe in Person as “Imago Dei”

What is a person? A person is God's creature – whatever color, social status, gender,
and culture it is – created in the image of God and destined to live in community with God, with
other persons, and with all creation. Human beings are earthlings (mortals), created a little
lower than the angels, as the Psalmist proclaimed, and expected to be stewards of God to other
creations. It is a universal truth that every person is unique, thus humanity is diverse. For
diversity is a gift from God. Though every person is unique and humanity is diverse, all are
created in the same image and likeness of God.
Ref: Gen 1:26-31; Ps 8; Mic 6:8; I Jn 3:23

What do we mean by persons "created in the image of God"? It means that we are
created by God to image or reflect God's purpose for humanity, which is to live in a community
with God, with other persons, and with all creation. The Biblical narrative of creation, in
Genesis, tells us that after bringing forth all other creatures from the earth, God created
humankind from soil (ha adama) and breathe life into it: “Let us create humankind in our image,
according to our likeness” (Gen. 1:26a), male and female God created them (Gen. 1:26-27).
Like anything and anyone else on earth, humankind is an earthling, though created in the image
(eikon or selem) of God. Therefore, the human being is an “icon” of God (Anglicanized form of
the Greek word eikon, which means “image” or “likeness” or “portrait”). The word eikon carries
over the meaning of the Hebrew word selem, which means “image,” “likeness” or
“resemblance”, in the New Testament. The translation in Latin carries also the same meanings,
imago (image) and similitudo (similarity, likeness, resemblance, imitation). That is why the
theological term Imago Dei, that speaks to the belief that humans are created in the image of
God, pertains that we human beings should imitate the character (not so the physical attributes
but the attitude) of God.
One commonality among religions is the belief that God, no matter what the name,
created the universe and the earthlings. The Christian declaration that humanity is created in
God’s image is built upon the idea that we have some understanding of the mystery of what and
who God is. The Judeo-Christian tradition tells us that our ancestors-in-faith experienced God
in many ways and these experiences are expressed in a variety of metaphors. Although
interpreters commonly described God as male, especially as Father, one only needs to read
carefully the Bible to discover a variety of metaphors in picturing God.
There are gender-neutral images of God in the Bible such as “rock,” “fortress,” refuge”
and “light” to cite a few (Ps 31:3; 94:22; Isa 26:4; Ps 27:1). Genesis 1:26-27 says that the
Elohim, though in masculine form, were male and female, and humans were made in their
image (M. Coogan, 2010). The writers of the Bible also used different metaphors to illustrate
the feminine images of God such as mother eagle, a woman-in-labor, a pregnant woman, a
nursing mother, Lady Wisdom, a mother hen, and several others (Deut. 32:10-12, 18; Isa.
42:14; 49:15; 66:13; Prov. 8:1- 9:1-18; Matt. 23:37). These images of God emerged from
human beings’ experiences that shaped their understanding of God’s nature. God is loving, just,
and merciful. God is the source of strength, justice, nurturance, tenderness, compassion,
graciousness, creativity, and radiance. There are God’s characters that humanity ought to
reflect in daily life as created in God’s image. And yet, God is deeper and wider than all these

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descriptions. God is the great divine mystery that embraces us and all of life and the universe.
God is the One Who Is, and Will Be (M. O. Montenegro, 2010).
Ref: Gen 1:26-31; Ps 8; Mic 6:8; I Jn 3:23

What is God's purpose for humanity? What is the destiny of the human race?
God's purpose for humanity is for them to live in community with God, ' with other persons and
with all creation. This is the destiny of the human race. Human beings, as imago Dei, can
reflect the image of God by receiving the gift of power from – power of spiritual discernment and
sensitivity, and the capacity and freedom to do what is right. Being created in God’s image,
humans are compelled to participate in God’s power and creativity in cultivating life with all other
creatures, and make it flourish for all. A person who recognizes one’s self as created in the
image of God will act as a moral agent in transforming a decadent world, and built a just and
peaceful world. Obedience to God, therefore, must be understood in light of the realization of
God’s image in us. Obedience to God means living a life that radiates the truth and beauty of
the Divine (M. O. Montenegro, 2010).
Ref: Gen 1:26-31; Ps 8; Mic 6:8; I Jn 3:23

What do we mean by "live in community"? Living in community means that we do

not live our lives alone by ourselves and for ourselves. Rather, we should live our lives ever
mindful of God our Creator, our fellow human beings, and the whole of creation. To live in
community is not simply bout co-existence, but living out a interdependent life of giving and
receiving with fellow earthlings or creatures. To live in community with God and other creatures
means to place God at the center of community’s dynamics and life process, where life flourish
for human beings and other creatures. This is to build communities where mutuality and
reciprocity are practiced. This means human beings must learn to establish a partnership with
earthlings and communities that truly honor mutual accountability, a relationship that is
responsive to the needs of the partners. To live in community with God and other creatures
means to work hard to overcome the violence of domination.
There will never be a community true to God’s will when the patriarchal culture continues
to prevail, or when a reversal of roles of domination happens. Christians need to humbly
acknowledge that the anthropocentric (human-centered, especially male human) tradition where
we come from contributes to the destruction of the Earth. This Judeo-Christian tradition (Gen.
1:26b) fueled the obsession of human beings to control and have dominion over the Earth and
God’s creation. Human beings, especially men, claimed centrality in God’s creation. The
concept of “subdue” and “dominion” in the creation narrative led to human beings destroying the
Earth rather than cultivating it. We have seen how this ecological destruction resulted to the
degradation of life of all living beings. Human beings continue to inflict violence on the Earth
and this has clearly taken its toll not only on human life, but also on all forms of life – of all
earthlings. Even in the midst of the devastating environmental disaster, human beings continue
to refuse to take seriously the non-human creatures as our partners in building and living in a
peace-full community with God. To mirror God’s image in our day-to-day lives requires our
understanding and respect of Earth rights – “those rights that demonstrate the connection
between human well-being and a sound environment.” This is because living in community with
God and with all creation demands a deep understanding that “human rights, an ecologically
sound environment, sustainable development, and peace are interdependent and indivisible.”
This understanding provides a deep and profound anchor for a life that is committed to justice,
healing, and peace among humanity (M. O. Montenegro, 2010).
To mirror the image God and to live in community with God means to put into practice
the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth to love one another (Jn 15:17). Living in community with
God requires the memory and practice of loving God “with all your heart and with all your soul,
and with all your mind” and “loving your neighbor as you love yourself” (Matt 22:34-40). The

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summary of the Mosaic Law and the prophetic teachings that says “Do for others what you want
them to do for you” (Matt. 7:12) finds a parallel in the Golden Rule held by other Asian
religions. This could serve as a starting point for a conversation with people of other faiths and
ideologies to build communities of peace for all (M. O. Montenegro, 2010).
Ref: Gen 1:26-31; Ps 8; Mic 6:8; I Jn 3:23

b. The Doctrine of Sin: We Believe in the Sinfulness of Humankind

What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God's will or divine law, lawlessness, or missing the
“mark” (the original design of God to all creation). More forcefully, it is a rebellion against God.
Traditionally, theologians attributed human being’s propensity to do evil to sin. They trace it to
Genesis 3 that tells the story of disobedience. Here, the writer shows how human beings
missed (hata) the right path towards a life in community with God. There is a long list of words
associated with sin in the Hebrew Scriptures. Among these, the Hebrew concept of hata and its
meaning has been carried over to the New Testament. Hata means to miss the goal
of living an upright human life according to divine standards, or, to go wrong by departing from
these standards. Taking the Hebrew concept, sin may be interpreted as an act of rebellion
against God, an act of disobedience. Sin is excessive pride, evident in human being’s arrogant
claims and actions as if they are God. In the New Testament, hata is associated with usage of
the Greek word hamartia, which is translated as sin.
However, some contemporary theologians also view sin as an act of disrupting the “web
of life,” invading others “sacred spaces,” or disregarding oneself/others as imago Dei and other
creatures as created by God (cf. Sallie McFague, The Body of God, 1993). Sin has several
dimention which can be classified in personal or social level – through our attitude, actions,
negligence, or intention – whether it is acted rarely, occationally, o habitually/systematically.
As years went by, Christian interpreters developed the concept of sin as a spiritual
condition that human beings could never overcome except by God’s grace. Following the
Pauline tradition, Augustine of Hippo traced the origin of sin to Genesis 3 as the story of “the
fall” (Doctrine of Original Sin) that caused the distortion of the order of things. Augustine
understood the intellect and will as superior over the flesh, which must be controlled. However,
when the first human beings disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the tree, the intellect and will
lost their control over the flesh. Lust and desire are expressions of distorted love that reside in
the flesh. Theologians who follow this line of thinking have devalued the body as the location of
sin (Rom 7:18). These aspects of human passion, they assert, blemished the human will
and intellect, as well as the body and sexuality (Romans 7:14-21). As a result, human beings
passed on to their offspring these characteristic depravity and immorality. Thus, a person is
born into the mess of what Augustine called the “original sin” (Rom. 5:12) and “death came
through sin” (Rom. 5:13-14; 6:23).
The Doctrine of Original Sin tells us that everyone is born sinful; that they everyone is
born with a built-in urge to do bad things and to disobey God. A closer look at this view allows
us to see that the writers and interpreters of Christianity’s sacred texts have constructed sin as a
spiritual force that controls and forces a person to do something against one’s will. Holding on
to this view traps us in a dualistic understanding that splits the human being into conflicting
facets, and ignores the totality of the person. It separates the will/spirit against the body. We
need to realize that the spiritual dimension of sin is manifest in concrete and bodily terms, be it
in personal or in social levels. Thus, the view of sin that is confined to the spiritual dimension
alone is inadequate. On the one hand, the spiritualized view of sin allows persons to make
excuses to run away from their accountability to embody the image of God and evade the
responsibilities of being moral agents. In effect, human beings imagine another world beyond
the blue skies where life could be experienced fully. On the other hand, this view hinders
human beings from facing the reality that natural death is an unavoidable aspect of human
creatureliness; that earthlings must go back to the womb of the Earth. When human beings

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embrace natural death as part of a life lived long and fully, they will make every moment of life
for everyone as beautiful as they can. This attitude could empower them to resist evil acts that
bring unnatural death to humanity and to the Earth. Sin may be overcome by God’s grace, yet
such grace must be acknowledged and accepted with intentionality for one to resist sin and to
transform the self and the world (M. O. Montenegro, 2010).
Ref: Gen 3; Rom 5:19

What makes persons sinful? Persons become sinful by disobeying and rebelling
against God's will or purpose for humanity.
Ref: Gen 3; I Kgs 11; II Chr 10:1-9; Lam 5; Amo 5; Mt 23; Rom 5:19, 7:7-13

What do we mean by disobeying God's will? Disobeying God's will means obeying
our own selfish will. It means refusal to live in community with God, with other persons and with
all creation. It means playing like God, making ourselves the center of everything, lording it
over other people and the rest of God's creation.
Ref: Gen 3-11; Rom 5:19

c. Soteriology: We Believe in God’s Salvation Through Christ Jesus

Soteriology is about the doctrine of salvation according to Christian faith and tradition.
There are two prevailing views of salvation that are deeply rooted in the biblical and historical
traditions of churches that constitute th United Church of Christ in the Philipines. These two
lines have opposing ethical emphases but may converge at certain points to an extent that their
respective theological motivation may not be distinguishable.

1. The Evangelical View – This line proceeds from the Pauline understanding of
salvation as justification, or the forgiveness of sins, and sanctification as growth in Christian
perfection. This developed within the evangelical view of salvation that drift towards
fundamentalism through the pull of later generations of American mission workers (Neo-
Evangelicals). Evangelical theology came about as a critique of Medieval Catholic theology
undertaken by the 16th-century Protestant Reformers. The doctrine of salvation “by grace alone
through faith alone” is a reiteration of Paul’s view, which was meant to expose a perceived error
in Catholic theology that logically and historically led to the sale of indulgences and other
practices that tended to diminish the role of God’s grace (free gift). Luther also discovered a
new understanding of “justification” from the Greek edition of the New Testament complied by
Erasmus. Calvin’s humanist background might have influenced his firm belief in the human
possibility of gradual sanctification. In Methodist theology, pious devotion to the Lord may lead
to the realization of a truly sanctified life on earth (E. Mendoza, 2010).

Fundamental Aspects of Evangelical Soteriology

 Justification – is the act of God’s unconditional forgiveness. Here, salvation means
justification or remission of sins through God’s unconditional forgiveness, which is
received through faith in Christ alone. The sinner is then reconciled to God and so
regarded righteous by God even if essentially the person continues to be subject to
sin; as Luther says simul justus et peccatur, “righteous and sinner at the same time.”
Also, salvation refers to a new relationship that God has established with sinners. It
is a relationship of a forgiving God and a sinner that sincerely asks for God’s
forgiveness.
 Sanctification – is the process of renewal of relationship with God towards
perfection. Without this second aspect, it would seem that the Christian doctrine
of salvation is entirely contingent on the health of that relationship and therefore
provides no assurance of continuity. But in addition, the effect of God’s forgiveness

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 is that the believer is grafted into the life of Christ by which the sinful self is renewed
and matures towards perfection. Through Christ Jesus, the believer participates in
Christ’s power over sin and receives the confidence to use it in the struggle of the
Spirit against the flesh that continues to rage even in the new life. A new will and a
new spirit now possess those who abide in Christ. In this sense alone may a
Christian declare that those whom Christ has won from the powers of evil will not be
lost. The new life grows in holiness through the praxis of devotion and obedience to
Jesus Christ. As the Letter to the Ephesians says, “For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them” (1:10). God’s law, as it is revealed in Scripture as well as in
human reason and conscience, is the school teacher that guides the faithful in the
path of obedience. The faithful obeys God’s law not in order to merit God’s
forgiveness (justification) but to train the body and soul in the discipline of the new
life.
 Salvation as Manifested in the New Relationship with God – The notion of
salvation as an assurance of life in heaven after death may be considered a reward
or a result of salvation rather than essential to the definition of salvation. The
Apostle Paul’s seeming indifference to death and be with Christ in glory or to remain
alive on earth and be with his friends indicates a view of salvation that is not
defined by a trip to heaven. He didn’t have to say that the righteous ones (justified
and sanctified) would be taken up to God in glory, or that the unrepentant sinner
would end up being cut off from God and thrown to hell because the two are the
necessary effects of one’s relationship with God. Being saved is like a wedding
sponsor who is assured of a place of honor at the wedding banquet although going
to the banquet is not the reason for standing as a wedding sponsor. It is the new
relationship that matters, banquet or no banquet.
Hence, instead of emphasizing the trip to heaven, an evangelical doctrine of
salvation ought to focus on the “what” and the “how” of salvation. This means a
Christian praxis of humility, repentance and gratefulness to God, of being
forgiving and charitable to one another, and moral purity in personal conduct. This
kind of praxis is a response to God’s saving grace rather than a means to obtain it.
Those who live otherwise actually reject God’s grace and have no reason to claim a
place in heaven.
*Formula of Salvation: (Grace + Faith = Salvation = Good Works) not (Grace + Faith
+ Good Works = Salvation)

2. The Liberal View – the line that takes off from the ministry of Jesus as depicted in the
Gospels. In the ‘70s, the liberal theological view adopted some of the basic features of
liberation theology via the Protestant ecumenical movement and the Roman Catholic Church. It
emerged from the ruins of Protestant Orthodoxy, seeking to make the Christian faith once again
a lively option in the mind of modern intellectuals. It constructed bridges that could connect the
archaic forms of the gospel and modern thought and culture. Liberal theologians recast the
Reformation doctrine of salvation in ways that would address the spiritual as well as social
problems of modern times.
Two trends diverged from the original liberal impulse: 1) A philosophical reading
(Philosophy) of the spiritual culture obtaining at the time, which reveals the nature of human
sinfulness and a corresponding view of salvation based on a new exegesis of the Scriptures; 2)
A social reading (Social Science) of the human situation leading to an understanding of sin in
the structures of society, and a notion of salvation extracted from a new reading of the
Scriptures. The common denominator of these two trends is a commitment to present the

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gospel as a valid and viable solution to the most persistent and perplexing problems disturbing
humankind.
Liberal theology’s social reading of the gospel brought Christians to the forefront of
social reforms. Learning from a socialist critique of capitalism, the social gospel succeeded in
mobilizing Protestant churches and seminaries, putting them in the mainstream of non-Marxist
movements for social change, justice, and peace. In liberal theology, salvation is not only
individual but also social, not only spiritual but also material, not only for life in eternity but
also for life on earth. But the stress is on the latter. A genuine commitment to justice
presupposes a belief in the inner goodness of each person and the social origin and causation
of individual sinfulness. Those who seek human and social liberation as the central content of
the gospel also recognize the imperatives of remolding the human self into the likeness of
Christ. With this belief, personal discipline and moral purity is considered an integral component
of a social project (E. Mendoza, 2010).

Two Understandings of Salvation, One Gospel. The evangelical view of salvation, on

the one hand, proclaims the gospel of God’s forgiveness and the gift of a new life in Christ. It
testifies to the effects of the gospel on the believer’s life. The gospel is about the making of a
new being – redeemed from sin and holy in God’s eyes. On the other hand, the liberal view of
salvation proclaims the realization of God’s reign on earth and the redemption of the whole of
God’s creation. Jesus gave us a foretaste of this day as he preached good news to the poor,
healed the sick, drove out demons, gave sight to the blind, fed the hungry and comforted the
weary and sorrowful. Working for a just, peaceful and prosperous society is our participation in
the Lord’s work of salvation for the whole world.
These are two genuine and valid but distinct understandings of the gospel that may
actually merge into a common Christian praxis in the world. One should value and work on the
benefit of God’s salvation on oneself, but at the same time strive to participate on Christ’s work
of transforming the wider society and the world. Both understandings are articulated in the
UCCP’s proclamation of the gospel, but sadly its members are being misled into pitting one
against the other. The church is one household that has a Mary and a Martha, each one
fulfilling different tasks and complementing each other in the one ministry of the Lord. Instead of
confrontation, there ought to be mutual support; instead of suspiciousness, appreciation for the
variety of gifts from the one Spirit; instead of conflict, cooperation; instead of debate, dialogue;
instead of mistrust, charity.

What do we mean by "by the grace through faith, they are redeemed in Jesus
Christ?" It means that redemption from sin comes to us in and through Jesus Christ like a gift
that we should receive through faith and respond to it with a life of thanksgiving.
Ref.: Acts 15:11; Rom 3:24, 4:4; Eph 2:5; 2 Thess 2:16; Titus 3:7; I Peter 1:10

Kinds of Grace in the Process of God’s Salvation (Wesleyan-Arminian Theology)

 Prevenient Grace – also known as enabling or preventing grace, is the divine grace
that precedes human decision. In other words, God will start showing love to that
individual at a certain point in his/her lifetime. Prevenient grace counteracts the
effects of total depravity by enabling spiritual capacities but which falls short of
imparting eternal life. Total depravity is a Calvinist doctrine which is a state of
corruption in every human’s nature that makes oneself unable to know or obey God
as a result of the Fall or Original Sin. Prevenient Grace is: the love of God wooing
us; the will of God drawing us; the desire of God pursuing us; the Gift of God freeing
us; the activity of God empowering us.
John Wesley described prevenient grace as the porch on a house. It is where we
prepare to enter the house. Grace may also be compared to a journey. The desire

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 to embark on the trip, the road or trail, the vehicle in which the journey is to be made
and the map to be followed are all givens or gifts. The beauty of the landscape, the
mind and eyes that conceived the journey and perceive its beauty, even the explorer
who blazed the trail are all unmerited gifts – grace! But, there is more to a house
than the porch! There is more to a journey than the desire to travel! We must enter
the house or begin the journey (K. Carder, 2016).
 Convicting Grace – is the grace which interacts with us in such a way that it helps
us to see ourselves as who we really are. It helps us to see ourselves as God sees
us; to see the self-centeredness of so many of our actions. It is only here then when
we realize our brokenness, our need for change, that we can respond to God in a
way that empowers this. The right response to convicting grace is repentance. We
recognize who we are and the depths of our brokenness. We use that prevenient
grace and we turn to God (L. Loyd, 2016).
 Justifying Grace – is the assurance of forgiveness that comes from repentance,
from turning toward God’s gracious gift of new life. "Justification" is another word for
“pardon.” It is considered as the doorway into the house of God's salvation. God
reconciles us to Godself, adopts us into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ, bestows upon us our identity as beloved sons and daughters, and
incorporates us into the body of Christ (the church) (K. Carder, 2016).
 Sanctifying Grace – is the grace that perfecting us, that grace that leads us to the
process of sanctification. The word sanctify simply means “to make holy,” but not in
a holier-than-thou sort of way. Instead, God’s sanctifying grace shapes us more and
more into the likeness of Christ. Wesley's understanding of grace moves beyond
forgiveness and acceptance of our identity as beloved children of God. For God's
goal for humanity is the complete restoration of the divine image and the conformity
of all creation to the image of Jesus Christ. God's grace seeks nothing less than a
new creation in the likeness of Jesus Christ. The idea behind sanctifying grace is
that God loves us just the way we are but too much to let us stay the same. God’s
sanctifying grace changes us and leads us to increase our faith, which leads to good
works. Just as a one-sided marriage fails, a one-sided relationship with God fails,
also. We must participate in the relationship God offers us, and God’s sanctifying
grace leads us to do that.  Sanctifying grace is God's freely given presence and
power to restore the fullness of God's image in which we are created. Wesley talked
about sanctification in terms of Christian perfection by which he means entire
"holiness of heart and life." As the Holy Spirit fills our lives with love for God and our
neighbor, we begin to live differently.
 Growing in Grace – Grace involves both gift and response. Our identity as sons
and daughters of God is God's gift to us. Living in the world as redeemed children of
God is our gift to God. Justifying grace reconciles us to God, incorporates us into the
body of Christ and sets us on the journey toward wholeness. Sanctifying grace
continuously forms us in the likeness of Christ and sheds the love of God abroad in
our hearts, our actions and our relationships.
Wesley affirmed that God's grace is universally present in all and irresistible in none.
Although God's presence and power to create, forgive, reconcile and transform are
universally and persistently present, we can resist God's gracious presence and
work in us and the world. The freedom to say "no" to the invitation to be reconciled
and transformed remains. Contrary to the Calvinists of his time, Wesley affirmed that
we can lose our responsiveness to grace and thereby "backslide" or shut ourselves
off from God's grace. Still, God's grace remains steadfast, ever blessing, sustaining
and beckoning us toward wholeness and salvation.

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 In other words, we grow in Christlikeness as we open our lives to God's presence
and power at work in us and the world. Growing in grace and discipleship cannot be
done within our own strength. The One who invites us on the journey toward the
fullness of grace accompanies us and supplies our needs. The God who liberates us
and gives us a new future enables us to live toward that new creation by providing
means by which we can grow in grace.

What do we mean by "being entrusted with God's creation"? It means that we are
called to be responsible and faithful stewards of God's creation. We should take care of God's
creation according to the will and purpose of the Creator. As the last to be created in the order
of creation, human beings are given the responsibility of maintaining and preserving the beauty
and goodness of God’s creation. In other words, we are created and placed by God in a
particular place in God’s creation to serve as stewards of everything that God has created. So
that we have no right to do anything we want especially in exploiting it for the Creator has not
given us that prerogative. In line with this, we human beings (men and women alike) should not
behave as lords and masters of the whole creation rather we ought to humbly acknowledge that
we, together with the rest of God’s creatures belong to God. In view of this any forms of abuse
or disregard of the integrity of God’s creation, is not only an offense against the environment,
but also an affront against the creator (L. Robin, 2010).
Ref: Gen 1:26-31; Ps 8:5-8

What is our calling as person created in God's image? We are called to participate
in the establishment of a just and compassionate social order. The failure of human beings to
reflect the image of God goes beyond the personal sphere, and infects the social structures. In
a vicious cycle, their sinfulness manifests in corrupt and oppressive social structures that proved
to be a contagion to the human psyche and behavior. Therefore, one must bring into the
discourse of faith the social context of sin, the reality of oppression and violation of the earth
and its inhabitants. Sin is not only spiritual and personal; it is also social and ecological.
Christians must face the challenge of overcoming violence spawned by their own sinfulness and
desire to control.
God is the deepest and perfect paradigm of unity, sharing and solidarity. Thus, God
called the human beings to share life in community. In the act of creating, the triune God
mirrored the image of a caring community. It is important to remember that women and men
were neither created to dominate each other, nor to subjugate other groups of people and
nations. Humans being, as earthlings are bound to live with other earthlings God’s Earth to
build caring and peace communities to make life flourish.
Ref: Amos 5; Mic. 6:8; Lk. 4:18-19; Ps. 82

What do we mean by a "just and compassionate social order"? A just and

compassionate social order is one wherein the needs of everyone are being met. It is a social
order wherein the least, the last, and the lost are given gracious attention. Considering Jesus’
practice of love and compassion, salvation is realized only when human beings, as earthlings,
strive to make relationships with fellow earthlings and with God’s creation right and just. Jesus’
death on the cross should haunt every Christian because that death points to the refusal of
human beings to practice love and compassion, justice and righteousness. Jesus was a victim
of human beings’ arrogance and desire to control others. The death of Jesus has salvific value
only when its impact convicts human beings to stop the violence of crucifixion once and for all.
Yet, human beings choose to live as sinners, rather than as redeemed people. They continue
to crucify fellow earthlings in many ways. There is an absence of love and compassion among
them (M. O. Montenegro, 2010).

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 Ref: Neh 5:1-13; Ps 82; Isa 58, 65; Jer 29; Hos 4:1-6; Am 5;
Mt 25; Mk 2:23-28; Lk 4,15

IV. OUR BELIEF IN THE CHURCH

WE BELIEVE that the Church is the one body of Christ, the whole community of persons
reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and entrusted with God's ministry.

What is the church? The church is the one body of Christ, the whole community of
persons reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and entrusted with God's ministry. It is the
visible image of Christ’s one body into the world. The English word “church” finds its root in
the Greek word ekklesia, which means “a gathering of people with shared beliefs.” In
Theology, the area of study concerning the church is called Ecclesiology. Filipinos recognize
it in the Spanish iglesia, a term most often used in the Philippines, although in several Filipino
languages the word used is simbahan which usually refers to the place of worship.
Ref: Acts 20:28; Rom 5, 12; I Cor 12; 2 Cor 5:18; Eph 2:16; Col 1:20

What do we mean by "the church is one body of Christ"? It means that the church
is one because Christ is one. Moreover, the church being the body of Christ means being
united with him by imitating his life and works (knowing, being, doing). The churches, therefore,
should strive to work for unity in Christ. There are a hundred or more images, symbols, and
metaphors referring to the Church of Jesus Christ. Paul S. Minear, in his book The Images of
the Church in the New Testament, listed 96 images. The Statement of Faith of the United
Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) uses one of the most significant images, the “the
Body of Christ.” In addition to the Statement of Faith, the amended Constitution of the UCCP
appropriates the traditional “marks of the Church” and categorically states that the UCCP is an
integral part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Jesus Christ. Related to the
concept of the “body of Christ” is another New Testament image, the “Household of God” (in
Greek, oikos means “house”) (E. Camba, 2010).
In the history of the church as UCCP, the basic to the understanding of the Church from
our is a statement from the Basis of Union, the first official document of the uniting churches,
where it says:
We do preserve all of the heritage of faith brought into the Union by each of the
constituent Churches and hereby declare as our common faith and message: Jesus
Christ, the Son of the living God, our Lord and Savior.
(UCCP Basis of Union 1948, Art. Ill)
The unifying and binding confession of the new United Church (1948) was “our common
faith and message: Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, our Lord and Savior.” All the
doctrines and practices of the uniting churches were accepted by the new Church even, for
example, the Church of Christ Disciples that did not have a statement but a principle
which says “No Creed but Christ, no Law but Love.” This shows how we, as UCCP, live out the
image of the church as one body of Christ at the very beginning. For our faith in the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ united us and be one despite the many differences of the five founding
churches (Methodist, Presbyterian, Disciples Christian Church, United Brethren,
Congregationalist).
In referring to the Church as the Body of Christ, the immediate implication is that Christ
is the Head. As Alfred J. Lindgren puts it: “The Christian Church rests solidly on the convictions
that Christ founded the Church, is its head, and his resurrected living presence continue to
direct the Church… The nature of the Church has been determined by Christ, its head, and by
his gospel which the Church is called to proclaim.” Other metaphors on the dependence of the
Church on Christ, the Head, are: (1) Christ as the chief cornerstone; and (2) the Vine and its
branches. Christ, as the cornerstone, is laid at the juncture of the meeting of the two walls

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which are in utter dependence on the Cornerstone or else the whole building will collapse. In
the metaphor of the Vine and its branches, Christ as the Vine indicates the utter dependence of
the “branches” on Christ. The source of life of the branches is the Vine, and if they are cut off
from the vine the branches die.
The concept of the Body of Christ points to the corporate unity of the Church (I Cor. 12).
The Body (the Church) and its many separate parts (members) and varied functions speak of
their inter-relatedness and inter-dependence (I Cor 12:12-13). Furthermore, the concept of the
Church as the Body of Christ includes the idea that all gifts are from God; all are to be used in
serving Christ; and all are to be used for the common good (I Cor 12:4-7; Eph 4:11-13).
Ref.: Rom. 12; I Cor. 12; Eph 2:19, 4:1-16; Heb 3:1-6; I Pet 4:17
What is Christ's ministry? Christ's ministry is the ministry of reconciliation.
Ref: 2 Cor 5:19; Rom 5,7; Eph 2:16; Col 1:20; Heb 2:17

What do we mean by Ministry of reconciliation? The ministry of reconciliation aims

to reconcile people to God, to their fellow human beings, and to the rest of God's creation in and
through Jesus Christ; and to establish a community where love, justice, and peace prevail.
Genuine reconciliation comes when justice is served and love permeates the whole of
community relationship.
Ref: 2 Cor 5:19; Rom 5; Eph 2:16; Col 1:20; Heb 2:17

What do we mean by the church as “the whole community of persons reconciled

to God through Jesus Christ”? It means that the church is composed of people who are
bound together with a common experience of being reconciled to God, to their fellow human
beings, and to the rest of God's creation in and through Jesus Christ. And thus, the church,
being a reconciled community, should also be an instrument of reconciliation in the world.
In Alvin Lindgren’s language, the Church is a “fellowship of redemptive love.” The
Church as a reconciled and reconciling community is concerned with relationships: God to
persons, persons to God and persons to persons. In baptism, we affirm the reconciling act of
God in every person. And when we are baptized in the name of Christ, we are not only a new
creature but we have become part of the “sisters” and “brothers” in the faith in a loving and
reconciling fellowship. As such, the fellowship of the baptized becomes a redemptive
community. This is evident in the New Testament Church such as Paul addressing or sending
greetings to the “brothers” or “sisters” (Cf. Rom 16:1-16; Gal 6:1-2; Col 4:7-17) where he
encouraged them to strengthen each other in the faith (Rom 1:11-12). In the community of the
reconciled or of redeeming love, members of the Church strengthen one another.
Paul addresses his letters “To those sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “called to be saints”
(Cf. I Cor 1:2; Rom 1:7; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2). The term “saints” refers to holiness of the Church, a
gift of the Holy Spirit. The Saints are born of the Spirit and baptized into one Spirit (I Cor 12:13).
Whenever the Church is spoken of as “The Saints,” the power of the Holy Spirit is assumed to
be at work within it. Thus the life of the “saints” is at every point bounded by the Holy Spirit, and
determined and empowered by it. In this “holiness” of sainthood lies the unity and power of the
Church. Such unity of fellowship enables the Church to be a ministering community to the world
as each person is strengthened to be a witness for Christ as he/she goes about his/her vocation
and daily tasks. The Christian fellowship (koinonia) binds the Church together as a witnessing
community to minister in the world.
The unifying bond and source of the fellowship is not the mutual attraction of persons for
one another but their common experience of the presence of the living Christ in their lives. In
the familiar benediction “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you,” we find God as the source of the fellowship (koinonia)
and through the Holy Spirit, the relationship of persons to God. Such fellowship then becomes
a witness in the world (E. Camba, 2010).

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 Ref: 2 Cor 5:19; Rom 5; Eph 216; Col 1:20; Heb 2:17

What do we mean by the church as the community "entrusted with God’s

ministry"? It means that the church do not own mission; the church is only entrusted by God to
continue the mission started by Jesus Christ through his public ministry. In other words, the
Church actually has no mission or ministry for the Church does not exist for itself. There is
Church only because of the mission of God, the missio dei. We need to understand the ministry
of the Church in relation to the mission of God. God is the origin and owner of mission. As the
renowned South African missiologist, David Bosch, puts it, “[M]ission is not primarily an activity
of the Church; but an attribute of God. God is [the] missionary.” He further explained:
“Mission is thereby seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as
an instrument for that mission. There is Church because there is mission and not vice
versa. To participate in mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love toward
people, since God is the fountain of sending love.”
Thus, it is God who has mission. We are only instruments of God’s mission,
participating in the movement of God’s love toward people and the world. When the Church
misinterprets mission (acting as if it owns mission) or forgets mission (acting like a religious
club), existing for its own sake and doing things for its own good, the Church loses its reason for
being. In such a situation, the Church becomes withdrawn, seeks only its own interest and
often times fall into internal conflicts. The moment the Church fails to do the mission of God, it
begins to die (E. Camba, 2010).
Ref: Mt 28:16-20; Mk 16:14-18; Lk 24:44-49; Jn 20:19-23, 21:15-19;
Acts 1:4-8; 20:28; Heb 13:17; I Pet 5:2

V. OUR BELIEF IN THE HOLY BIBLE

WE BELIEVE that the Holy Bible is a faithful and inspired witness to God's self-
revelation in Jesus Christ and in history to illumine, guide, correct, and edify believers in their
faith and witness.

What is the Bible? The Holy Bible is a faithful and inspired witness to God's self-
revelation in Jesus Christ and in history to illumine, guide, correct and edify believers in their
faith and witness.
Ref.: Job. 32:8; 2 Tim: 3:16

What do we mean by “Holy Bible"? It means that the Bible is not simply an ordinary
book, because it is in and through a serious study of the Bible that we realize God's Word (will
and purpose) for us. The word "holy" literally means different.
Ref.: 2 Tim. 3:16; Jn. 20:30-31

What do we mean by "faithful and inspired witness to God's self-revelation in

Jesus Christ and in history"? It means that the Bible is a book that is both human and divine.
Human in the sense that it has been subjected to human frailties and limitations in the long
process of its formation, from the oral tradition to written tradition to translation. Yet, it is also
divine in the sense that it bears witness to God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ and in history.
The Bible has been described as a faithful witness because of the centrality of the
concept of witnessing as a primary means by which the Christian faith was preserved,
proclaimed, and defended before all peoples, even to peoples and empires that have responded
to it with hostility and even persecution (e.g. the Israelites witness God’s salvific act in the
Exodus event; the people of Israel and Judah witness God’s judgement in exile; the disciples
witness the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus). Witness, based on its popular
application is actually more of a legal term originating from the context of a courtroom. A

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witness to a certain case, when asked to give his/her testimony is always placed under oath and
thus obligated and expected to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. This is
very important, for much of the case is dependent on the faithfulness or truthfulness of a witness
in relating what is it that he/she saw, or heard, or experienced and observed. Without a faithful,
truthful witness or when the witness begins to share something which is not true, or something
that is only half true, then it is very possible that there will be a miscarriage of justice in the
resolution of a certain case (N. Capulong, 2010).
In a way, the Bible is expressly claimed by its writers as their witness. The prophets
claimed they are witnesses to the word of God revealed to them. They claim to be reporting the
vision of the word of God which they saw (Isa 1:1; Ezek 1:1), or simply the word of the Lord that
comes to them as that of Jeremiah (1:1), and the rest of the minor prophets. But they could be
the event itself of Jesus’ life, ministry, crucifixion, and rising from the dead to which the
disciples now are claiming to be witnesses as what Peter claims in his long speech during the
Pentecost event in Acts 2:32: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses.”
The faithfulness of the Biblical witness to God's revelation and to the divine-human
encounter does not necessarily imply, however, a faithful reproduction of the facts of the events
witnessed to. The Bible does not and never claims to be concerned with the details and facts of
the historical event. But the Bible is concerned mainly with an event as it becomes an indicator
of God's presence and purpose and as that event becomes a bearer of God's message for His
people. An event like the Israelites’ hurried escape from Egypt is narrated in the book of
Exodus mainly because of its revelatory significance for God's people, because God's liberating
presence was perceived as having acted decisively in favor of an oppressed People. An event
is recounted, not in order to reconstruct how it happened, but in order to derive meaning which
has profound implications in the life of God's people. It is narrated in order to teach the people
about God's ways and demands, and to challenge them towards a faithful and responsible life of
relationship with their God (N. Capulong, 1990).
Ref: 2 Tim. 3:16; Jn. 20:30-31

What do we mean by "faithful witness"? It means that in spite of the fact that the
Bible has been subjected to human frailties, it does not depart from the truth of God's self-
revelation in Jesus Christ and in history.
Ref: 2 Tim. 3:16; Jn. 20:30-31

What do we mean by "inspired witness"? It means that God's Spirit has worked in
and through the whole process in the formation of the Bible. The storytellers, writers, compilers,
editors, those who canonized, translators, and even interpreters of the Bible are all instruments
of the Divine Spirit in making the truth of God's self-revelation alive then and now and we who
seriously study the Bible should also be inspired by God's Spirit in order to understand and live
out the Biblical message in our daily lives.
Ref: 2 Tim. 3:16; Jn. 20:30-31
What do we mean by "illumine, guide, correct, and edify believers in their faith and
witness"? It means that believers do need a serious and sustained study of the Bible in order
to deepen their faith and to have a more effective witnessing. A serious and sustained study of
the Bible illumine our minds to the truth of God's self-revelation, guide our path of service to
people, correct our wrongdoings, and edify our way of life. The Bible, indeed, is like a mirror for
is to see ourselves inwardly as well as outwardly.
On another level, however, instead of being open and desirous of real, transforming
change in life and community, many Christians throughout history had used the Bible as an
instrument to justify the preservation of an unjust and unequal status quo. Taking advantage of
its predominantly patriarchal and male-centered view, language and culture, many have used
the Bible throughout history as an instrument of domination and subjugation of peoples and

25
nations and even of class and gender, like asserting the superiority of the whites over the
blacks, of the men over the women and the maintenance of slavery. It had been quoted to
justify the system of racial segregation even in the United States and the apartheid in South
Africa before. It has been used to justify the kidnapping of the natives of Africa in order to have
slave labor in the cotton fields of the southern United States. It has been clearly used by
Spain as their main instrument in the colonization and cultural domination of the Filipinos and it
has been definitely used by the U.S. to justify the illegal invasion of the Philippines and the
brutal and bloody suppression of native resistance and the resurgent revolutionary and
nationalist spirit of the Filipinos then (Cf. Ps 2:7-9).
In such instances, the Bible has failed to function like a double edged sword that can
challenge as well as pierce the heart of people. It has become in effect a domesticated and
convenient tool in the hands of those with power and privilege bent on resisting any meaningful
transformation in their lives and in their society. To make it truly function in all its power and
authority, the readers must approach and read the Bible always in the spirit of deep awe,
humility and openness to any mandate for change that may emanate from its pages. We need
to recognize and be honest with all of our assumptions, vested interests, prejudices and biases
that we often bring in the process of interpretation which are usually colored by our own distinct
theological and dogmatic understanding and even our cultural and educational locations. We
need to accept and recognize that the reading and interpretation of a group of farmers in a small
countryside church especially of the “farming” stories in the Bible, like most of the parables,
would be colored and infused with their own experiences and background and would always be
different, but not inferior to the reading being done by a group of intellectuals in a big city
church. For the Bible is quite open to a variety of perspectives being brought into it by various
groups of readers and interpreters.
This makes the Bible so distinct from all other books, a truly holy, sacred or set apart
book. But in order to appreciate such sacred, set apart character of the Bible there has to be
first and foremost this faith commitment as we read and study the Bible. We read and reflect
upon it always with the eyes of faith and always in the context of the believing community where
we belong. We can never appreciate and experience the fullness of its power and authority if we
read it just like any other literature, with an objective, detached, highly rationalistic and
sometimes even coldly cynical, scientific and so individualistic perspective (N. Capulong, 2010).
Ref: 2 Tim. 3:16; Ps. 119:105

VI. OUR BELIEF IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

WE BELIEVE that God is at work, to make each person a new being in Christ and the
whole world, God's Kingdom in which love, justice, and peace prevail. The Kingdom of God is
present where faith in Jesus Christ is shared, where healing is given to the sick, where food is
given to the hungry, where light is given to the blind, and where liberty is given to the captive
and oppressed.

What is the Kingdom of God? Kingdom of God, also known as the Kingdom of Christ,
Kingdom of Heaven or Reign/Rule of God, is definitely a central theme of the Scriptures. In
simple term, the Kingdom of God is where love, justice, and peace prevail. The word
“kingdom,” comes from the Greek word basileia, which is means “the authority to rule as a king”
or “the realm over which the reign is exercised.” In the New Testament, the basileia or Kingdom
of God is the divine authority and rule given by the Father to the Son (Lk 22:29). Jesus Christ
will exercise this rule until he has subdued all that is hostile to God. When he has put all
enemies under his feet, he will return the kingdom, his messianic authority, to God the Father (I
Cor 15:24-28). The kingdom (not kingdoms) now exercised by human beings in opposition to

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God is to become the kingdom of our Lord and of the Christ (Rev 11:15) and “he shall reign for
ever and ever.”
Although the UCCP Statement of Faith uses “kingdom of God,” which is a biblical word,
many Christians prefer to use the word “reign of God” which connotes not so much a
geographical space of dominion but a kind of relationship between God and humanity and all
creation. Feminist Christians who affirm that God created women and men in God’s own image
prefer the word kindom, which reflects a sense of kinship and familial affinity. Thus, it affirms
the invisible but consistent presence of a gender-neutral God, who embraces female and male
in God’s very own image. Consequently, kinship, as in kindom, reflects a more egalitarian
relationship – where people are valued equally and treated justly (Cf. I Jn 3:1).
The concept of God’s reign was the major focus of Jesus’ teaching (e.g. Mt 6:33; Mk
1:15; Lk 6:20). It has cosmic dimensions for it includes humanity and creation (the world). It
also has an open sense of time – from the present into eschatology (Christ coming again). It
has a dynamic sense of realization – for it brings together the notion of “already and not yet” or
“here and still-to-come.” Its fullness is in the future (e.g. Lk 13:29; 22:18) and yet it has also
come in Jesus himself (e.g. Lk 10:9; 17:21). Thus, even if the reign of God is not yet fully
realized, there is already the foretaste of its presence: love, justice and peace. These signify
the presence of God’s rule in the lives of people. For where there is love, justice and peace,
there is God. Altogether, the reign of God presupposes social justice, freedom, fulfillment,
healing, restoration, reconciliation, community, solidarity, and life (H. Antone, 2010).
Ref: Mt 11:4-5; Lk 4:18-19

Where can we experience the presence of God's Kingdom? The Kingdom of God is
present where faith in Jesus Christ is shared, where healing is given to the sick, where food
is given to the hungry, light is given to the blind, and where liberty is given to the captive and
oppressed. In other words, whenever we participate to the mission of God, there the kingdom
of God is being realized. On the other hand, we also believed that there is also a kingdom that
is to come from heaven down to earth and will be established by Jesus Christ, the ruler of New
Heavens and New Earth.
Ref: Mt. 11:4-5; Lk. 4:18-19; Rev 21

What is God's work? God's Work is to make each person a new being in Christ, and
the whole world God's Kingdom — in which love, justice, and peace prevail.
Ref: Mt 11:4-5; Lk 4:18-19; Lk 49

What do we mean by "God is at work to make each person a new being in Christ"?
It means that God's Spirit is empowering us to pattern our life from Christ's way of life. We are
new beings only in so far as we reflect in our life Christ's way of life. However, we should also
keep in mind that we, as Christians, are also called to this work of God. As the Great
Commission of Jesus Christ to his disciples says (Mt 28:19-20): “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit,    and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.”
Ref: Lk 19; II Cor 5:17

What is the basic characteristics of Christ's way of life? Christ's way of life is a life
of love and compassion for people, especially the sinners, the outcasts, the poor, and
oppressed.
Ref: Mt 15:32; 20:34; Lk 7:13, 21; Jn 8:1-11; Heb 2:18; 4:15; 5:2

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 What do we mean by God is at work to make "the whole world God's Kingdom"?
It means that though God has created the whole world, every knee is yet to bow down and
every tongue is yet to confess that God alone is Lord. Love, justice, and peace are yet to
prevail in the world. Thus, God in wondrous ways is continuously working to make the whole
world (not only a portion of it) God's Kingdom. As our Statement of Faith affirms, it is God who
is at work to make each person a new being in Christ, and the whole world, God’s kingdom. We
can participate in it and in fact we are called to participate in it. But, thankfully and humbly, we
must affirm that it is really God’s work. In participating to God’s work “to make the whole world
God’s kingdom,” it means that are we participating in the work of social transformation (to
establishment of a just and compassionate social order).
However, the desire for social change is not a monopoly of Christians with their vision of
the reign of God. It is also true of people’s movements and civil society groups, which may not
be inspired by faith or religion but by certain ideologies. Definitely, the ideologies of the
movements or organizations working for social change cannot be equated with the reign of God,
just as the theologies of Christians also cannot be equated with the reign of God. As Jesus had
taught, the arrival of God’s reign is not something of our own making as if we already possess a
clear blueprint for it to be realized. We cannot force the coming of God’s reign (Mt 11:12) for it
is like the seed that grows of itself (Mk 4:26ff). We cannot use our own standards and
strategies (Mt 13:24ff) to ensure its growth. We therefore cannot and should not rely on our
human efforts alone and forget God’s own wondrous ways of grace (H. Antone, 2010).
Ref: Rom. 14:11-12; Phil 2:1-11

What do we mean by God's Kingdom is present “where faith in Jesus Christ is

shared”? It means that one of the signs of the presence of God's Kingdom is the sharing of
faith in Jesus Christ. Genuine sharing comes only in the context of a genuine community
wherein faith in Jesus Christ would also mean mutual faith in each other. We share our faith in
Jesus Christ by the word we speak and by the life we live.
Ref: Acts 2,4

What do we mean by God's Kingdom is present "where healing is given to the

sick"? It means that another sign of the presence of God's Kingdom is the giving of healing
and wholeness to the sick. Healing the sick is not just a physical or medical issue; it is also a
social and spiritual issue. People get sick not only because of virus or bacteria, but also
because of problems in life. As a matter of fact, many of the killer diseases, like heart disease
and cancer, are caused primarily by emotional tensions. Moreover, poor people get sick due to
malnutrition, and they receive inadequate medical care due to financial limitations. Healing the
sick, therefore, means addressing the root causes of illness not only to the sick individual but
also to the sick society.
Ref: Mt 4:23; Lk 9:11; Acts 3

What do we mean by God's Kingdom is present "where food is given to the

hungry"? It means that another sign of the presence of God's Kingdom is the giving of food to
the hungry. Giving food to the hungry is not just an economic issue; it is also a political and
spiritual issue. In many cases, people are deprived of food simply because a few have too
much while many have too little or even nothing at all. Human greed expressed in economic
terms produces a world of hunger. Giving food to the hungry, therefore, means addressing
the root causes of hunger.
Ref: Lk 16:19-31; Mt 4:1-14.25

What do we mean by God's Kingdom is present "where light is given to the

blind"? It means that another sign of the presence of God's Kingdom is the giving of light to the

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blind. Giving light to the blind is not just a physical issue; it is also an spiritual issue. Many may
have 20-20 vision, but are blind to the realities around them. There is such a thing as selective
perception. Some vested interests may hinder us to freely see what we ought to see, thus we
perceive only those that we want to perceive or what the powers-that-be want us to see. Giving
light to the blind, therefore, means dealing with that which prevents people to see the truth.
Ref: Mk 10:46-52; Acts 4

What do we mean by God's Kingdom is present "where liberty is given to the

captive and oppressed"? It means that another sign of the presence of God's Kingdom is the
giving of liberty to the captives and oppressed. Genuine liberty is not simply given on a silver
platter; it has to be struggled for. Sometimes captives are not only those behind bars; but also
those whose minds and hearts are captives to oppressive ideologies and fanatical religiosity.
Sometimes a whole country and people are captives to international powers-that-be. Hence,
giving liberty to the captive and oppressed is not just a political issue; it is also an spiritual issue.
Giving liberty to the captive and oppressed, therefore, means dealing with the root causes of
captivity and oppression in its deepest and broadest sense.
Ref: Lk 4:16-20

Who would establish God's Kingdom in the world? It is God who is working patiently
to establish God's Kingdom in the world. We are called, however, to participate in God's work to
make the whole world God's Kingdom.
Ref: Mark 10:35-45

VII. OUR BELIEF IN RESURRECTION AND CHRIST’S COMING AGAIN

WE BELIEVE that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has overcome the power of death and
gives assurance of life after death. And we look forward to His coming again in all fullness and
glory to make all creation new and to gather all the faithful under God's Kingdom.
Amen.

a. Doctrine of Death: We Believe in Death as the Consequence of Sin

What is death? Death is the consequence of sin. It is not simply a cessation of
physical life; it is also a cessation from the kind of life God intends us to live with. Physical
death is real and terrible; but death as a consequence of sin is even more real and terrible.
Death is Satan’s last weapon; it is a fearsome weapon, and a great many human beings
surrender to its demands. Satan and Satan’s cohorts know of its terrifying power, and they
meet it out to their most resolute enemies. And among their enemies, Jesus was the most
resolute. In their mind, the death of Jesus eliminates their most powerful enemy. This is how
death is also understood from the perspective of fallen human beings or from the eyes of unfaith
because from that point of view, death ends all. But from the perspective of faith, death can be
the end only of those who cannot bring themselves to faith in the holy, righteous, merciful,
gracious, loving and living God. The life of Jesus from the very beginning to his death on the
cross is the very definition of the divine in terms of the most authentic expression of the human
reality (L. Oracion, 2010).
Ref: Lk 12:4; Rom 6:23; 1 Cor 15:56

What is the "power of death"? The power of death is sin. Sin claims death to be the
end; that death has the final say. Hence, people are anxious and fearful to face death.
Enemies of truth do kill the bearers of truth, thinking that death is already the end. But the
resurrection of Christ says otherwise: death is not the end.
Ref: Rom 6:23; I Cor 15:55-57

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b. Doctrine of After Life and Resurrection: We Believe in the Resurrection and the Life
After Death
What is resurrection? Resurrection is the overcoming of the power of death and the
assurance of life after death.
Ref: Jn 11:25; I Cor 15; I Thes 4-5

What do we mean by the “resurrection of Jesus Christ has overcome the power of
death”? It means that Christ's resurrection has shown that death is not the end, but a
beginning of a new life in Christ; that life is more powerful than death. Hence, death has no
more power to instill fear and hopelessness to people. Jesus Christ has overcome the power of
death by living the kind of life God intends us to live with – a life of love and compassion. It is
this kind of life that transcends death.
There are two ways of viewing Christ’s resurrection. First, the resurrection of Jesus
could be seen as an act of divine vindication (declaring as righteous) of the life, ministry, and the
totality of the work of Jesus. Second, it could be viewed as Jesus exemplified in his entire life –
which includes his way of life, the way he related to God and to others, what he taught and the
way he embodied his teachings with his life, his ministry, and his death on the cross – a
revelation of how the righteousness, the mercy, the love and grace of God was to be made
incarnate in human life. And so, Jesus entire life becomes an inspiration and a model to imitate
that it continues to live in the lives of people inspired him. What Jesus revealed to us is no less
than divine righteousness and love as articulated in human life. It means that Jesus’ life, finite
as it was with all the limitations of human finitude, was nonetheless the bearer of God’s justice,
truth and love, which is beyond the power of death, or any other force to conquer and destroy
(L. Oracion, 2010).
Ref: Jn 11:25; I Cor 15; I Thes 4-5

What do we mean by the "resurrection of Jesus Christ gives assurance of life after
death"? It means that our hope of life after death is based not on mere speculation, but on
what has already happened in the past – in Jesus Christ.
Ref: Mt 28; Mk 16; Lk 24; Jn 20

c. Eschatology: We Believe in the Second Coming of Christ

What is our hope in Jesus Christ? We hope that Christ will come again in all fullness
and glory, to make all things new, and to gather all the faithful under God's Kingdom. To
believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior is to believe that he is coming again. The belief that
Jesus is coming again does not simply hinged in what Jesus promised but also in the
understanding that God is at work in history, wherein the first coming of Jesus constitutes both
the essential divine act of liberation-redemption as well as the divine act of self-revelation. God’s
salvific act was accomplished in Jesus Christ in principle, and the gradual outworking of that
liberative-redemptive work is an ongoing process, which will find its complete consummation
with the second coming of Christ. God is with us, God is actively at work in our lives and in our
history, and God draws us to participate in God’s work as God lures the whole of history and
creation into their fullest consummation (L. Oracion, 2010).
Ref: Mt 24; I Thes 4-5; Rev 21-22
When will Christ come again? Only God knows when Christ will come again.
Ref: Mt 24:36; 1 Thes 5:1-11

What is the purpose of Christ's coming? Christ will come to make all creation new
and to gather all the faithful under God's Kingdom. With Christ coming again, we have the
assurance that nothing rendered in obedience to him will ever pass into nothingness for each

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act of obedience, each life lived in faithfulness, and each word spoken in truth and love will be
woven by Christ into God’s coming kingdom. Thus, we dream of the life everlasting with Christ
in the company of all the saints and the angels around the throne of God. Evil doers will get
their just reward, and those who have suffered agony, pain, and death unjustly will be given a
reward that would far exceed their expectations (L. Oracion, 2010).
Ref: Rev 21-22

What do we mean by Christ coming to "make all creation new"? It means that it is
Christ, not us, who makes all creation new, and that this newness Christ brings will be total and
complete. We are called, however, to participate in this task of making all creation new.
Ref: Rev 21-22

What do we mean by Christ's coming to “gather all the faithful under God's
Kingdom”? It means first of all that working for God's Kingdom of love, justice and peace is not
an easy task; it is like walking in a narrow road. Hence, the faithful may be hesitant to join the
task of Kingdom-building, though they claim to be believers of Christ. It is Christ, however, not
us, who gathers them all together under God's Kingdom. It is Christ who challenges and
enjoins them to participate in the struggle to establish God's Kingdom. It is Christ who works
patiently to bring them all together into a common struggle to build God's Kingdom of love,
justice, and peace.
Ref: Rev 21-22; Mt 25; Lk 14:15-24

What is "Amen"? The word "Amen" literally means may it be so. It is a prayer of
blessing or benediction, hoping that our declaration or confession of faith may come to full
realization. It also implies a firm conviction and affirmation on what we have confessed or
declared.

VIII. THE SACRAMENTS OF OUR CHURCH

What do we mean by “Sacrament”?
The word sacrament meant merely “something sacred.” It is derived directly from the
Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentum, from Latin sacrō “hallow, consecrate” and sacer “sacred,
holy.” In Ancient Rome, the term meant a sacred vow or oath of allegiance for a Roman soldier
before joining the army.  In time Christians used it when they speak of what was sacred to them.
Tertullian, a 3rd-century Christian theologian, suggested that just as the soldier's oath was a
sign of the beginning of a new life, so too was initiation into the Christian community through
Baptism and Eucharist. Sacraments are symbolic rituals of the Church that signifies their unity
in Christ and new covenant with God, the visual representation of the invisible grace of God that
Jesus instituted based on the Gospels (Gen 17:10-14; Ex 12:25-27; Mt 3:16-17, 26:26-28,
28:19-20; Mk 14:22-24; Lk 22:17-20; Jn 6:25-59; Rom 6:3-7; I Cor 10:16-17, 11:24-25; Gal 3:27;
Col 2:11-12). The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have seven
sacraments. While in our own denomination, along with other Protestants and Evangelicals,
have only two sacraments – Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

The Sacraments Were Instituted by Jesus

Both Baptism and the Lord's Supper go back to Jesus himself what he did, as well as,
what he said. In the beginning of his ministry, Jesus went to Jordan river to be baptized by
John. It was then that he consecrated himself wholly to God's will, that he felt surer than ever
before of his nearness to the Father. After he had gone, the early Church remembered him as
saying to them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). On Thursday evening of the Feast of
the Passover, that last week of Jesus just before his arrest, he and his disciples gathered in an

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upper room for the Last Supper together. This is a scene that Christians have never forgotten.
Every time we observe the Lord's Supper we call this scene to mind. Our Lord himself began
this observance, and he himself told us to keep it up in remembrance of him and as we wait for
his return (I Cor 11:23b-26, Mt 26:26-29, Mk 14:22-25, Lk 22:19-20). The reason why we,
Protestants, have only two sacraments (i.e. Baptism; Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion), is
because these are the only sacraments that the Lord Jesus instituted based on the New
Testament Scripture.

Symbolism in the Sacraments

Both Baptism and the Lord's Supper are symbolic acts. They stand for something
spiritual. In Baptism we see that water is used. But, there is much that we do not see. We do
not see the repentance and the consecration of the adult person who is being baptized. In
infant baptism, we do not see the hopes and dreams and plans of the parents as they bring their
baby to God and the Church. We do not see the Christian Church of which the child or grown
person is becoming a member, for it goes around the world and back through the ages. We do
not see God's gracious love reaching out to forgive the sins of the adult and make her/him clean
and pure or to make and keep the baby pure and good.
In the Lord's Supper, we see the bread and wine (or grape juice). But again, there is
much that we do not see. We do not see, the many hearts whose cares and worries grow less,
as God's love in Jesus becomes real to them, in the breaking of the bread. Nor do we see the
many hearts, in which new resolutions are being made, to follow Jesus wherever he would have
them go. We do not see the spirit indwelling human hearts. We do not see God's gracious
love, continually seeking out to make and keep us pure – the love which was made so clear to
people when our Lord's body was broken and his bloodshed on the cross.
We, therefore, believe that a sacrament is a sacred observance coming from God and
combining something seen worth something unseen. As quoted from the Evangelical Catechism
it says, “A sacrament is a holy ordinance of the Church, instituted by Christ himself, in which by
visible signs and means he imparts and preserves the new life.”

What Does Baptism Means?

The word baptism is indirectly derived from the Greek báptisma (βάπτισμα), meaning
“washing” or “dipping.” In Holy Baptism God imparts the gifts of the new life unto a person,
receives her/him into God's fellowship as God's child, and admits her/him as a member of the
Christian Church (Cf. UCCP Constitution Art. III, Sec. 2; By-Laws, Art. I, Sec. 3). When the one
being baptized confesses her/him faith in Christ and resolves to give up whatever is evil in
his/her life, then God through the Holy Spirit opens the way into a new life. This Christian way
of life takes place in the Church, and it is through a minister of the Church of Jesus Christ that
the new Christian is received into this great fellowship. So often, as we witness a baptism, we
think only of the visible participants – the candidate for baptism and the minister. But unless
God is active in the process it is not complete, it is not sacred, it is not a sacrament. Baptism is
about:
 Participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 6:3-11; Col 2:13;
3:1; Eph 2:5-6)
 Renewal, forgiveness, and cleansing (Mk 1:4; Heb 10:22; I Pet 3:21; Acts 22:16; I
Cor 6:11)
 Gift of the Spirit (Mk 1:10-11; Acts 2; II Cor 1:21-22; Eph 1:13-14)
 Being part of the Body of Christ (Eph 4:4-6)
 Sign of new life and God’s Kingdom

Church Practices in Baptism

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 The churches use water in baptism to represent the inner cleansing of a person's life.
Just as his/her body is made clean with water, so he/she is to become clean within as he/she
begins the new life of a Christian (Cf. Ezk 36:25-27). Some of the ways or methods of baptism
in our church are: (1) Immersion; (2) Pouring; (3) Sprinkling; (4) Public Declaration/Confession.
Though there are several ways of doing baptism, what is more important is that baptizing in the
name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We practice baptism to both infant
(except the churches in Disciples tradition) and adult.

What Does Lord’s Supper Mean?

The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a ritual of remembrance in the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as his promise of coming again. It also called “Holy
Communion” (emphasizing the union with Jesus), and “Eucharist” (from the Greek eucharisteo,
meaning “act of thanksgiving”). In this sacrament, we receive the body (bread) and blood (wine)
of our Lord Jesus Christ as the nourishment of our new life, strengthen the fellowship with Christ
and all believers, confess that he died for us, and wait for his coming again. As we eat and
drink in the Lord's Supper, we receive forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. For so it is written:
“Broken and shed for you for the remission of sins” (Mt 26:28). We receive the blessings of the
Lord's Supper only as we eat and drink with heartfelt repentance and true faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ.
You will want to read for yourself the oldest account we have, of how the Lord's Supper
was began (See I Corinthians 11:23-25). This event took place the night before Jesus was
crucified (when his body was broken and his blood was shed on the cross). Ever since that
time, the bread and the wine recalled for Christians our Lord's death on the cross. There also
God's love for humankind was shown most clearly. Some churches use wine, and others use
unfermented grape juice. Some use ordinary bread, and other use bread made without yeast
into thin round wafers. Do you think it makes any difference which elements are used? But
Jesus did use ordinary bread of that time.

Different Views Regarding the Bread, the Wine, and the Presence of Jesus Christ
 Transubstantiation – [Latin: transubstantiatio; Greek: μετουσίωσις (metousiosis)] is
the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of
Christ and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ,
according to the teaching of the Catholic Church. This change is brought about in
the eucharistic prayer through the efficacy of the word of Christ and by the action of
the Holy Spirit. However, the outward characteristics of bread and wine, that is the
'eucharistic species', remain unaltered.
 Consubstantiation – is a Christian theological doctrine that (like transubstantiation)
describes the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It holds that during
the sacrament, the substance of the body and blood of Christ are present alongside
the substance of the bread and wine, which remain present.
 Sacramental union – is the Lutheran theological doctrine in the sacrament of the
Lord’s Supper where the consecrated bread is united with the body of Christ and the
consecrated wine is united with the blood of Christ by virtue of Christ's original
institution with the result that anyone eating and drinking these "elements" – the
consecrated bread and wine – really eats and drinks the physical body and blood of
Christ as well.

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https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-gender-of-god

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