We at Scripture Union New Zealand believe in and trust one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit speaks supremely through Jesus the Christ, God’s living Word. God’s written word, the Bible, is the ultimate source of authority concerning God’s being, His standards for how we should live and His activity in the world. On the basis of the Bible we affirm the following:
God created the world for us to live in and created us for relationships of love and freedom – with God, others, ourselves, and the created world, of which we are to be careful custodians. God created us in His own image so that we might choose to know God with our minds, trust Him with our hearts and participate with Him in fulfilling His purposes for creation. As members of families and communities we are to love, and live in peace with, one another.
Ignoring God’s goodness towards us, humanity rejected God’s loving rule and rebelled against His purpose for the world. This has led to brokenness, alienation, suffering and death – with each other, creation, and with God. All of us have fallen short of God’s plan and standards for our lives.
But God has acted in human history to restore us to our true humanity, dignity and freedom as His children. Even though we were helpless and deserving of judgement, God lovingly chose to redeem us through the perfect work and sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
In Jesus, God came to us as a human being, like us in every single way yet without sin. Through His ministry, Jesus established God’s rule and reign showing us who God truly is, who we truly are and the true nature of God’s Kingdom.
Through suffering and dying upon the Cross as our representative and substitute, God has dealt with the power and penalty of our sin. By raising Jesus bodily from death, God has demonstrated His power to heal our brokenness and restore the world. Jesus has won victory over sin and death giving hope to those who believe both in the present and in eternal life with God as king.
God has made the death and resurrection of Jesus a living reality for each of us personally through the work of the Holy Spirit who leads us to faith and empowers us for witness and service as part of God’s worldwide family, the Church.
Therefore, in partnership with local churches, we are committed to participating in God’s mission through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring the knowledge of these things to people in ways they are best able to understand and respond to.
We do this confidently, knowing that God calls and equips us for this task, in the joyful anticipation that God will finally fulfil His purposes for creation through Jesus Christ at His promised return.
