What We Believe

United Church of Christ Statement of Faith, adapted by Robert V. Moss

 

We believe in God, the Eternal Spirit, who is made known to us in Jesus our brother, and to whose deeds we testify:

 

God calls the worlds into being, creates humankind in the divine image, and sets before us the ways of life and death.

 

God seeks in holy love to save all people from aimlessness and sin.

 

God judges all humanity and all nations by that will of righteousness declared through prophets and apostles.

 

In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Lord,God has come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the whole creation to its Creator.

 

God bestows upon us the Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.

 

God calls us into the church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship, to be servants in the service of the whole human family, to proclaim the gospel to all the world and resist the powers of evil, to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table,to join him in his passion and victory.

 

God promises to all who trust in the gospel forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace, courage in the struggle for justice and peace,the presence of the Holy Spirit in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life in that kingdom which has no end.

 

Blessing and honor, glory and power be unto God.   Amen.

 

      Christ is Head of the Church 

 

Christ is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
for in Christ all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or principalities or authorities—
all things were created through Christ and for Christ.

 

Christ is before all things,
and in Christ all things hold together.

 

Christ is the head of the body, the church;
Christ is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything Christ might be preeminent.

 

For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through Christ all things are reconciled to God,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of Christ’s cross.

 

Colossians 1:15-20

 

About this testimony  This testimony of faith, adapted from Colossians 1:15-20, is from the Book of Worship, United Church of Christ. In the words of Holy Scripture, it affirms our belief that Jesus Christ is the center of creation, the head of the church, and both the human and divine One “in whom the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” For information on how to order the Book of Worship, please call United Church Resources at 1-800-325-7061.  The above statement copied from the UCC website:  http://www.ucc.org/beliefs/jesus-christ-is-head-of-the.html

 

                        The Name of Jesus is Above Every Name

 

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

 

who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

 

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Philippians 2:1-22

 

 

About this testimony  One of the oldest Christian liturgical texts recorded in Scripture, this is the famous “kenotic hymn” or “Song of the Self-Emptying of Christ” from Philippians 2:1-11. It explores the mystery of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation. The One who was handed over to a shameful death on the Cross is the One before whom all knees will bend and all tongues will confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” But Christ’s humility also teaches us how to live: we should “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better” than ourselves. So, “let each you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” This is how Jesus lived. This is how we can live.  The above statement copied from the UCC website:  http://www.ucc.org/beliefs/the-name-of-jesus-is-above.html

 

 

          Jesus Christ is Both Human and Divine

 

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one accord,
teach people to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in humanity,
truly God and truly human, consisting of a rational soul and body;

 

of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead,
and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his humanity; like us in all respects, apart from sin;

 

as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages,
but yet as regards his humanity begotten, for us and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the Theotokos [God-Bearer];

 

one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten,
recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change,
without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

 

About this testimony  The “Definition of the Council of Chalcedon,” 451, was the end result of the struggle to understand the relationship of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. It is accepted as a symbol of Christian doctrine by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Reformed and Lutheran churches. The concern of Chalcedon is the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ. Seeking a middle way, it says “no” to doctrines that deny either that Christ was truly human or that Christ was truly divine. Christ is both, the definition says, united to the First Person of the Trinity in his divinity and united to us in his humanity. Even today, some Christians experience Jesus only as God, others only as a human being. The contribution of Chalcedon—which is now the mainstream of Christianity—is an inclusive Christology that affirms that both experiences are true, but neither is complete without the other.  The above statement copied from the UCC website: http://www.ucc.org/beliefs/jesus-christ-is-both-human.html