Our Beliefs

These beliefs are at the heart of all we say and do at the International Church of Grenoble. We´ve included references from the Bible if you would like to study the basis for these beliefs.

We believe in the historic Christian faith as reflected in these statements:

About God. We believe that God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternal and completely good, knowing all things, having all power and majesty. God exists as the Trinity, in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God passionately desires relationship with us and towards this end continually invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning, and service.

Genesis 1:1, John 14:6-9, 15-17 and John 16:7-15, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14,1 John 4:9-10

About Jesus Christ. We believe that God expressed himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  He lived a sinless life, was crucified for the sins of us all, was buried, rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven and will return in power and glory.

Colossians 1:13-23 and Colossians 2:8-14, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Matthew 22:36-40, John 14:1-3, Hebrews 1:1-3, Acts 10:42-43, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

About the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit, sent from God to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ, teaches, comforts, and empowers us, giving each follower diverse gifts, fostering unity, interdependence, productivity, Christ-like character, and love among Christians.

Romans 5:5 and Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Galatians 5:16-25, Ephesians 3:16, Ephesians 4:3-4, and Ephesians 5:18, John 14:26 and John 16:7-14

About the Bible. We believe that God speaks to us in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and that it is our privilege to seek to understand God´s message and apply it responsibly to our lives. The inspired Word of God is our standard in all we say and do, fully trustworthy, and the final authority in all matters of Christian faith and life.

Matthew 5:17-19, 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Hebrew 4:12, 2 Peter 1:16-21 and 2 Peter 3:14-18, Psalm 19:7-11 and Psalm 119:9-16, Joshua 1:7-8, Acts 17:11

About Salvation. We believe that all people are created with dignity and value in the image of God, to live in a vital relationship with God. However, through our sin (failing to live by God´s moral standards), we break our intended relationship with God and we experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship, spiritually and socially, in this life and beyond. However, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken relationships with God and others, through Christ´s death on the cross, a perfect act of redemption for each of us. Salvation comes to people on the basis of God´s grace through their faith in Jesus alone. They receive the free gift of forgiveness and are spiritually reborn through repenting of their sin and believing in Jesus Christ. Good works and a holy life, although totally unable to save anyone, are the natural product of repentant, believing people.  We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost.

I Peter 2:24, 3:18, Romans 3:9-28, Romans 6:23 and Romans 10:9-10, John 3:16 and John 5:24, Ephesians 2:1-10, Titus 3:3-8, James 2:14-26

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Appendix
(proposed by the Evangelical Federation of France)

Reception of the Holy Spirit. The believer receives the Holy Spirit when he is united by faith to Jesus-Christ. We cannot dissociate in time these two aspects of the beginning of the Christian life.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. During his spiritual growth, in the form of different experiences, the believer benefits in several ways from the work of the Holy Spirit : he enters into the effective enjoyment of the blessings which were already his in Jesus-Christ but which he had not yet entered into possession (for example, fruits of the Spirit and spiritual gifts).

Assessment of spiritual gifts. The presence of gifts does not allow one to claim any spiritual superiority.  Christians should respect one another as fellow servants of Jesus Christ, seek to understand and evaluate each other’s positions from a Biblical perspective, and agree to work together for the glory of God.

Speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is one of many gifts but neither an indispensable nor a sure sign of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Divine healing. Since we are still awaiting the redemption of our bodies at the second coming of Jesus-Christ, although he has already achieved this for us in his death, God may already grant the healing of illness when He chooses to, but He has not promised always to do so. It may therefore happen that a most faithful Christian remains ill and be called on to glorify God in this way.

Prophecy. The prophetic ministry in the church, whatever form it may take, can in no way contradict, alter, complete or replace the Holy Scriptures.

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Our Values

We believe in community. We express our strong value of community by seeking to reach out and connect with a diversity of people. We want to be personal and caring in a world that is increasingly fragmented and impersonal. We are not afraid to be vulnerable, human, and honest with each other. We believe our spirituality fulfills rather than denies our humanity, and we believe this approach strengthens community. We believe that the one, holy, universal Church is the body of Christ, composed of all regenerate people. This redeemed community worships God and seeks to proclaim the Good News to all people.

John 15:12, Acts 2:42-47, Romans 12:3-18, Galatians 6:1-5, 10, Colossians 4:5-6, 2 Timothy 4:1-5

We believe in unity among Christians
The International Church of Grenoble recognizes diversity among Christians in nonessential areas. We do not press for uniformity in these areas, but rather encourage people to search the Scriptures, seeking balance, mutual understanding, humility and love. Additionally, we seek to respect one another’s differences without a quarrelsome, arrogant or divisive spirit, and to return continually to the great commandment, to love God and one another.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Romans 14:1-15:7, 16:17, 2 Timothy 2:14-17, 23-26, James 3:13-17, Philippians 2:1-5