The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical Christian Church of Brazil (ICEB).
You have the right to know what we believe.A confession of faith is an honest, transparent way to declare what a church community believes.
The Bible holds higher authority than any confession of faith. A confession is simply a summary of how a church interprets the Scriptures, helping us walk in unity regarding the central truths of the Christian faith.
Healthy churches have confessions of faith and publish them openly... Food for thought.
One God subsisting in three Persons.
Art. 1 We believe that there is only one God in His essence, but subsisting in three distinct persons, co-equal in power and glory, and co-eternal — God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, possessing the same attributes and perfections.
Mt 3:16-17; 28:18-19; Jn 14:16-17; 16:12-15; 2 Cor 13:13; Gal 4:6-7; Heb 9:14; 1 Jn 2:22-23; 5:6-12.
Personal, eternal, immutable Spirit who reveals Himself.
Art. 2 We believe in God the Father, personal, spirit, eternal, infinite, immutable, and unsearchable in His Being, creator, preserver, and consummator of all things; who revealed Himself to the world through His Son and His works, making Himself and all that He requires for our conduct and life known to us.
Deut 33:24; Ps 9:2; 139:7-12; Isa 40:28; Jer 10:10; 23:24; Mt 5:45-48; Mk 12:19-30; Lk 12:32; 24:39; Jn 1:18; 4:24; 5:37-39; 14:28; Acts 17:24-29; Rom 1:20; 1 Cor 8:4-6; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 1:1-4; 7:3; Jas 1:1-18.
Behold our Savior and King...
Art. 3 We believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, conceived by the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit, who lived without sin, died to atone for our guilt, rose again for our justification, ascended to the right hand of the Father for our intercession, from where He will return to judge the living and the dead.
Ps 2:1-8; Isa 7:14; Mt 1:18-21; Jn 1:1-3; 8:56-58; 10:30; Rom 4:24-25; 1 Thess 2:5-6; Heb 4:14-16; 1 Pet 4:5; 1 Jn 4:8-9.
Companionship and power to witness.
Art. 4 We believe in God the Holy Spirit, of the same essence as the Father and the Son, regenerator, sanctifier, and comforter of our lives, who dwells in every believer from the moment of conversion to Jesus Christ.
Ps 4:6; Jn 14:16-17; 16:7-14; 2 Cor 3:16-18; Eph 2:17-18; 2 Thess 2:13; Tit 3:4-5; 1 Pet 1:3-12.
We believe in the baptism with the Holy Spirit occurring at the moment of conversion to Jesus Christ, by which the believer is introduced into the Body of Christ, the Church.
Jn 1:33-34; 14:16-17; 1 Cor 12:12-13; Gal 3:27; Eph 1:13.
We believe in spiritual gifts granted by Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to every believer, for the edification, equipping, and unity of the Body of Christ.
Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:4-11; Eph 4:7-12; 1 Pet 4:10-11.
God’s inspired gift to humanity.
Art. 5 We believe in the full divine inspiration and inerrancy of the original manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures — Old and New Testaments, composed of sixty-six books written by holy men of God. We accept them as the only sufficient and infallible rule of faith for God's revelation in His redemptive purpose and as the standard for our conduct. The infallible rule of Scripture interpretation is Scripture itself.
Deut 4:2; Ps 119:112; Isa 8:19-20; Dan 9:2; Acts 7:38; 2 Tim 3:16; Heb 1:1; 2 Pet 1:19-21; Rev 22:18-19.
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.
Art. 6 We believe that a rebellion occurred in heaven, led by Lucifer and followed by his angels, whose goal ever since is to destroy God's works, thus becoming the agent of evil with demonic hosts and the chief cause of sin entering the world and human misery.
Gen 3:1-7; Isa 14:12-15; Ezek 28:13-17; Mt 4:8-9; Jn 12:31; Eph 5:12; 1 Jn 5:19.
We recognize that Lucifer, also known as Satan or the devil, is a personal being, the author of sin and the instigator of the fall of mankind.
Mt 4:1-11; 25:41; 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 20:10.
We recognize the demonic operation of Satan and his angels (demons) or evil spirits to hinder people from turning to Jesus Christ and to oppress believers.
Job 1:1-12; Mk 9:37-43; Eph 6:11-12; 1 Pet 5:8-9.
Created by God and in need of redemption.
Art. 7 We believe that mankind was created by God, exactly as described in Genesis, free and responsible, in positive holiness, in an ideal state of perfection. However, man did not keep his original state; tempted by Satan, he failed to resist, fell into sin, and was separated from God's presence, living in moral and spiritual misery, affecting all humanity.
Gen 2:7-17; 9:24; Ps 51:5; Rom 3:24; 5:12-21.
More than a physical body, we have eternal souls.
Art. 8 We believe in the immortality of the soul, in its perpetual and conscious existence, either in a state of salvation and joy in heaven or in a state of damnation and misery in hell.
Gen 2:7; Eccl 3:11; 12:7; Dan 12:2; Mt 25:31-46; Lk 16:22-31; 19:21; Rev 20:10-14; 21:7-8.
Physical death is not the end for those who reject Christ.
Art. 9 We believe in the reality of hell, a place prepared by God for the devil and his angels (demons), which will also be the eternal destination of all souls who reject Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Mt 25:41-46; Mk 9:43-48; Lk 16:22-23; Rev 20:10-14; 21:8.
By grace alone, through faith alone.
Art. 10 We believe in eternal salvation solely by God's grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, brought about by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit through the new birth, sealing us for the day of redemption.
Lk 19:10; Jn 16:7-11; Acts 4:12; Rom 4:24-25; 6:23; 2 Cor 5:17; 2 Tim 2:19.
A chosen people, a gift for the journey.
Art. 11 We believe in the Church as the universal assembly of believers existing worldwide in local congregations, as the unified people of God, chosen and set apart from the world, established by our Lord Jesus Christ for the equipping and service of the saints.
Mt 16:16-19; Jn 17:22-26; 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 4:10-16; 5:22-27; 2 Tim 3:15; Heb 12:22-24; 1 Pet 2:9-10.
Attesting new birth and confirming inclusion in the church.
Art. 12 We believe in water baptism following a profession of faith, administered in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as a public testimony of faith and outward symbol of the inner regenerating work performed by the Holy Spirit, uniting us to the Body of Christ.
Mt 28:18-20; Acts 10:44-48; Rm 6:1-14; 8:12-17; 1 Cor 12:12-14.
A memorial and means of grace.
Art. 13 We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper with the elements of bread and cup, representing His body and blood, to nurture the fellowship of believers and proclaim the death, resurrection, and second coming of Christ.
Mt 26:26-31; Mk 14:22-26; Jn 6:42-59; 1 Cor 11:23-29.
The King is coming...
Art. 14 We believe in the personal, physical, and visible second coming of Christ for the resurrection of the dead, the rapture of the Church, the judgment of the nations, the establishment of His Kingdom, and the consummation of all things.
Dan 12:2; Mt 24:29-31; 25:31-32; 26:63-64; Mk 13:3-37; Lk 21:25-28; Jn 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Thess 2:7-8; Rev 3:11; 20:1-13.
How the story ends.
Art. 15 We believe in God's final judgment, the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth for the eternal dwelling of the redeemed, and the full inauguration of God's universal reign.
Isa 65:17-25; 1 Cor 15:24-28; Rev 20:11-15; 21:1-5.