Grace Covenant Church exists in order to cooperate with God
our Father as He establishes and maintains non-religious
relationships under Christ’s authority between Himself and
individuals, the church, and the world; thereby
demonstrating His glory to the universe.
PREMISE ONE
God, not man, is the center of the universe. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things and it is for His pleasure that everything has been created. He alone is complete, whole, perfect, and self-sufficient. The rebellion of man has temporarily affected all things except for God and His eternal purpose. That purpose which has always been to bring everything under the authority of His son, Jesus Christ, is being, and ultimately will be, accomplished.
That being God’s purpose in the universe, then the only thing that brings pleasure to Him is what advances His purpose. This is not because He is some selfish, unjust, tyrannical God that childishly demands His own way, but it is because He knows that only in the fulfillment of His purpose can all creation be complete, healthy, and whole.
Everything that God does comes from Him, through Him, and returns to Him. It is a tremendously high calling for man that He would want to involve him in that kind of relationship.
As these elements are lived out in relationship with God, all the arenas of man’s life will come under the authority of Christ Jesus, thereby fulfilling the eternal purpose of God in creation.
PREMISE TWO
Relationship is at the very heart of the purpose of God for man. He desires to have a personal intimate relationship with man that is free from guilt, shame, lists, law, or manipulation; all the things of which manmade religion consists. Without any initiative or merit on man’s part, God, through Christ Jesus, has given us a complete expression of Himself and the only means by which man can have relationship with God as Father.
Relationship with God consists of several elements that are designed, initiated, and maintained by God and when present in a relationship, are a demonstration of His mercy to man.
God desires that man have experiential knowledge of Himself as opposed to merely having information about Him. By His Spirit, God imparts personally to man revelation of Himself and draws man into the experience of relationship.
God desires that man love Him with all his being. Personal awareness of God’s love and forgiveness as opposed to religious manipulation and coercion is the motivation designed by God to draw out the love of man for Himself.
God desires for man to enjoy Him. His relationship with man was never designed to be that of a bully lording his power and authority over an unwilling subject. What God accomplished in Christ not only made it possible for Him to enjoy man, but also made it possible for man to enjoy God.
God desires for man to cooperate with Him in the fulfillment of His purpose. He does not want man to work for Him, but desires that man learn to work with Him as sons would with a Father.
PREMISE THREE
God desires that each person in relationship with His Son know by experience a healthy relationship with all others in His family. That corporate relationship consists of an organic expression of the Body of Christ lived out in daily life in a non-religious atmosphere of community.
Although involvement in community carries over beyond the actual meetings into the everyday affairs of life, they are important for worship, celebration, edification, fellowship, prayer, ministry, and equipping. The form of the meetings should be secondary to the function and should take shape as the elements mentioned previously are fulfilled. Since all members of God’s family contain the life of the Father, each member has a portion to bring to the community and should be equipped and encouraged to share what God has given them.
PREMISE FOUR
People in relationship with God have been sent by Him to live in the middle of an unredeemed world system as sons, servants, ambassadors, salt and light. Their involvement is one of cooperation with Him as He actively advances His purpose in every arena in which they are positioned and through every decision in which they participate.