There is one God who reveals himself as three distinct Persons - Father, Son, and Spirit. The desire of the Triune God is to share one and the same Divine Nature and Life with beings who are not God. That includes humans, angels, and, if any, others in the universe who may be there.

God the Father is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. By his sovereign grace and mercy, he created the universe to establish those who would share his life in communion with the Son and the Spirit. This communion occurs through Jesus Christ and him alone. He is the One Who brings us into the Family of the Trinity through Baptism.

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father and is both true God and true man. He was sent by the Father and conceived by the Spirit in the womb of the virgin, Mary, at a specific time in history. He preached the good news of reconciliation with God, suffered, died on a cross, was buried, descended into the very depths of Hell to take back from Satan the dominion over all creation that our first parents had lost by their disobedience (Genesis 3), arose from death after three days by the power of God, and ascended to the right hand of his Father.

From there, he and the Spirit intercede (ask on behalf of) for all those who believe in him and for all people. From there, he rules as Lord, King, and Head of his Body, which is the Church. Through his atoning death and Resurrection, he restores to friendship with God all who commit themselves to him as Savior and Lord in faith and obedience. He gives all persons their entire lifetime to choose to accept and serve him.

Because of the Original Sin of disobedience by our first parents, everyone human is born in a state or condition of separation from God and is, therefore, a sinner, both by nature and by choice. By his death on the cross, Jesus Christ bridged the gulf between man and God. He became the bridge over which persons can cross from death to life and thus be reconciled with the Father and established in communion with God.

Begotten in sin in our human nature, every person must be begotten from above by the Father through rebirth by the Spirit in Baptism (First Peter 1:3-5, 23; 3:21 James 1:16-18) and through faith in and commitment to Jesus Christ in obedience. In this way, each one acknowledges and agrees with (confesses) one’s condition as a sinner, repents of one’s sins, accepts Christ as one’s Savior, and receives his forgiveness and reconciliation. 

Through Baptism, one becomes a child of God, a "new creature," and a member of the Church, the community of faith. United to Jesus through faith and Baptism, each one must continually commit oneself to remain in communion and fellowship with God by following Jesus at all costs through the power of the Spirit who lives in him or her. 

There is another Baptism with which you must be baptized. This is the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, a Baptism of power for witness and service.

John the Baptist proclaimed, “I baptized you with water; he (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8). In John, chapter14, Jesus tells his apostles, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth (v. 16). The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my Name will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” v. 26). ”The hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. Indeed, the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:23 & 24).

In Chapter 16, Jesus says further, “If I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world regarding sin and righteousness and condemnation (vv. 7b & 8). When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own but will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (vv. 13 & 14). Acts 1: says that as he was ready to ascend to his Father, Jesus told his apostles, “Wait for the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak, for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4 & 5, 8).

Acts 1:13 & 14 says that the apostles “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his relatives.” Chapter 2:1-4 says ,” When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

Now there were many devout Jews from every nation staying in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his or her own language. They were astounded and in amazement asked, “How does each of us hear them in his or her own native language. We hear them speaking in our own tongue of the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:5 & 6, 8, 11b).

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and proclaimed to them, “This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘It will come to pass in the last days’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. And I will work wonders in the heavens and signs on the earth below,…and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the Name of the Lord” Acts 3:14, 16-21).

Your spirit is joined to God through the Baptism of rebirth through his action. “Peter said to them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). “When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:6). The Holy Spirit may fall upon you in power at Baptism or when he chooses or you can surrender your spirit to God’s Spirit and receive the Baptism for power and service to others anytime you choose.

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit awakens the Holy Spirit’s gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, holiness, and fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2) that you receive when you confirm your faith in God and begin to live as a mature Christian. The Holy Spirit will manifest his other gifts through you as he chooses and as you will let him. These gifts are found primarily in Romans 12:3-8 and 2 Corinthians 12-14. The gift of tongues is a supernatural prayer language that allows the Holy Spirit to pray through your spirit according to the will of God, bypassing the limits of your natural language and your mind.

“We have not received the spirit of this world but the Spirit of God so that we may understand things freely given by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12). Without the Holy Spirit leading you and working through you, you will be an incomplete and powerless follower of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit in you who directs your emotions, thoughts, and will in order to accomplish what God wants to do in you and through you. But you must surrender your spirit, your I, to him constantly and allow him to do so.

Before returning to his Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ commanded the apostles, whom he had personally chosen and equipped during their time with him, to go to all ethnic groups, to proclaim the Gospel and make them followers of Jesus Christ, to baptize them, and to teach them to obey the Father (Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-48; John 17:18, 20, 21; Acts 1:8). On the day of Pentecost, he sent the Spirit whom he had promised, and the Church was born (Acts 2).

There is, therefore, only one Church, one Family of God, founded by Jesus Christ Who is its Head, established upon the twelve apostles whom he personally chose and trained, and united through Christ with the Father and with each other through the Holy Spirit. "God's household, which is the Church of the living God, (is) the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). By their faith, obedience, and holiness, members of the Church provide a prophetic witness to the presence of Jesus Christ in the world at every moment of history. 

The Church's twofold work is to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth and to be the Ministering Body of Christ to each of its members and to those who do not yet know Jesus. In this way, it continues the work of Christ by preaching the gospel (good news) of repentance and reconciliation through Christ and by ministering in love and through the power and manifestations of the Spirit to its members and to all people. The Church's universal mission is thus born from the command of Jesus Christ and is fulfilled throughout the centuries in the proclamation of the mystery of God, Father, Son, and Spirit, and the mystery of the Incarnation (becoming human like us) of the Son of God as the saving event for all humanity.  Salvation comes to each person in no other way. 

The Father and the Son send the Spirit as the first of God's gifts to the Church, that is, to those who believe in and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Jesus promised that the Spirit would be with, guide, and protect the Church from all error and that the gates of Hell would never prevail against it. Through the Baptism in the Spirit, the Spirit will manifest himself as he wills through each member of the Church to build it up in love and unity and to empower and assist them to continue the saving work of Jesus Christ until he returns for his Bride.

At the time the Father alone has already decided, Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. He will bring those who, by their free choice, accept and serve him into eternal life and communion with the Father and the Spirit. He will allow those who, by their same free choice, either do not seek communion with God or reject him, to remain separated from this communion forever. This choice is what is meant by judgment. This state or condition of eternal separation from God is called Hell. a condition of incredible loneliness and isolation. God sends no one to Hell. Individuals are there by their own free choice. Hell is eternal isolation and loneliness. There are no friends in Hell.

Sacred Scripture, both Old and New Testament, is the written revelation of God's nature, word, and will to all people. It is inspired (breathed into) by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living so that each person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. Together with the oral Tradition handed on by the apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:15) and their successors, to whom they also passed on their authority, it provides a sure foundation of truth throughout history until Jesus comes again in glory at the end of time.

God gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers to equip the holy ones (members of the Church) for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of Go, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept away by every wind of teaching, arising from human treachery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the Head, Christ, from whom the whole Body (of Christ), joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love (Ephesians 4:11-16).

Apostle – this term literally means "one sent," who represents the sender and is entrusted with the sender's authority and message. In the Church, it means one who is called by God to lay foundations and to exercise his divine authority over particular regions or nations.

Prophet – a man or woman called by God and regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the message and the will of God. They are found in the Old Testament but also in our day in the Church.

Prophecy – a prediction of the future or a revelatory utterance.

To prophesy – to foretell God's purpose or event(s), to reveal by divine inspiration, or to speak as a prophet.

Since the time of Jesus to today, both good and bad people exercise these five ministries. Jesus warns that there are “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who go about claiming to be his messengers, even to be the Messiah. God calls and equips all his ministers over a period of time. They spend extended time with him. He did this with his apostles for three years. Even then, all but one abandoned him at the end until he filled them with the Holy Spirit.

Others claim these positions for themselves. All writers of the New Testament warn us about them. Jesus warned us that even Satan can appear as an angel of Light. We are not to reject these ministries or persons but to test those who hold them. Jesus said we would know them by their fruits. If you smell something rotten, run the other way. All will be accountable to God for how they exercise his governance over the Church.

“Christian life is a ‘road’ to be travelled, consisting not so much in a law to be observed as in the Person Christ Jesus himself, who must be encountered, welcomed, and followed.” ~Pope Benedict XVI