This page contains a basic statement of faith regarding Spirit Lifestyle’s core beliefs and a summary of our distinctives.

Spirit Lifestyle Distinctives. 

We learn best by doing. What is greatly lacking in the lives of many believers is the application of Biblical knowledge through faith action. Spirit Lifestyle places an emphasis on ‘faith activation’ to make it as easy as possible for people to put Kingdom principles into practice in their own daily lives. Anyone who steps out in faith in the name of Jesus to offer healing or divine encouragement (to anyone at any time) through genuine compassion is operating in obedience and honouring Jesus. We are not promised a ‘safe’ life but a powerful and transformative one.

1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen

Mark 9:39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.

God, by very definition, is himself ‘supernatural’ (spiritual or outside of nature). The Bible actively encourages believers to engage with legitimate supernatural activities (such as prophecy and divine healing) while warning about the dangers of getting involved with counterfeit spirituality (occult practices). To assign all supernatural practice or spiritual manifestations to the devil or the ‘dark side’ is patently unscriptural and a great error. We are encouraged (in scripture) to seek after ‘the spiritual , or the supernatural ways of God and promised that if we ask our heavenly Father for good gifts, he will not give us bad ones.

Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

1 Corinthians 14:1 Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts.

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

that all Christian’s are called to ‘full time ministry’ (works of service Ephesians 4.12) and that this is to be expressed in all occupations and walks of life.

1 Peter 2:4-6 As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

That all believers can and should desire to walk in a level of prophecy, healing and deliverance (miracles, signs and wonders). And while the manifestations of the Spirit are not ‘skills to be learned’ as such, we are called to ‘excel’ in these spiritual empowerments through faith, love, practice and honour. Beyond the basics the Holy Spirit distributes the ‘greater gifts’ or anointings (and callings) as He sees fit and according to our desire to walk in them.

John 14:12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

1 Corinthians 1:7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:7-8 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.

We should consider heaven as our home (not distant, but present) and while the Kingdom of heaven is coming to earth at the end of all things it is already here and advancing through the community of all believers.

Philippians 3:20-21 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.

Ephesians 2:6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus

Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly

Luke 17:21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

John 10:9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Matthew 23:13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

We believe…

in common with the worldwide established church the core beliefs expressed in the Nicene Creed. These include the trinity of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the virgin birth, the physical crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the future return of the person of Jesus Christ to earth to judge the living and the dead.

Scripture

that the 66 books of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi (39 books) and from Matthew to Revelation (27 books) are the inspired Word of God and that the canon of scripture is closed and complete. The canon of scripture is inspired by God and therefore authoritative.

Sin

that all men are born with a sinful nature inherited from Adam and it is God’s work to make men righteous through the atonement of Jesus Christ – there is no other way to salvation. No man should presume to mediate between men and God in Christ’s place.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • John 14:6-7 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
  • Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
  • 1 John 2:1-2 But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Salvation

that God is Sovereign and in his divine wisdom has given men free will to choose or reject salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. However, no-one is able to come to salvation unless God chooses and draws them and while people are powerless to save themselves they are saved through the gift of grace.  The righteous in Christ will inherit eternal life but the wrath of God remains on those who reject Jesus Christ.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life
  • John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
  • John 6:43-44 Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him
  • Matthew 25:46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Salvation is for the whole person (body, soul and spirit)

that the work of salvation is to save us from the consequence of sin and restore us to wholeness. The Greek word sozo is used for both ‘saved’ and ‘healed’. In the following passages the word translated saved or healed are the same Greek word ‘sozo’.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”
  • Mark 6:56 “all who touched him were healed”
  • Mark 5:23 “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
  • Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptised shall be saved”
  • Also: Luke 8:36, Acts 2:21, Acts 14:9, Eph 2:8, Luke 18:42, James 5:15, Mark 5:34, Mark 5:28, Luke 17:19, Acts 4:9, Acts 4:12, Mark 6:56

Salvation is both deliverance from sins and from sickness:

  • Psalm 103:3 “Praise the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases’.
  • James 5:14 “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”
  • 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
  • Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Important Note: This is NOT to say that if someone is in need of physical healing that they are not saved. There are many reasons for sickness but we simply see that the testimony of scripture is that sickness does not originate in God. Nor does he inflict sickness on his children to ‘teach them a lesson’. Even in the case of Exodus 15:26 which is often translated as ‘I will put none of these diseases upon you’, according to T L Osborne the Hebrew text literally reads: ‘I will permit none of these diseases upon you’. The emphasis is subtle but significant – God allows sickness, but he does not actively send it.

We live in a corrupt and fallen world that Jesus will make new (Revelation 21.5). Then there will be no more pain or death (Revelation 21.4) and ultimately this is our hope of salvation. However, Jesus demonstrated or signalled to this new Kingdom of heaven and earth by ‘healing all those that came to Him’ (Mat 4.24, 8.16, 12.15). Scripture testifies that Jesus is still alive and active today through all believers by his indwelling Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3.18) to do the same. Scripture states that forgiveness and healing are both His benefits and we should not forget it!
Psalm 103:3 “Praise the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases’. Salvation means: saved, healed and delivered.

The Priesthood of all believers

that all Christian’s are called to ‘full time ministry’ (works of service Ephesians 4.12) and that this is to be expressed in all occupations and walks of life.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • 1 Peter 2:4-6 As you come to him, the living Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
  • 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Water Baptism

that water baptism accompanies confession of faith in Christ Jesus as an act of submission and obedience. Baptism is a Biblical ordinance and a powerful spiritual and public association with Christ’s death and resurrection. Although not essential for salvation it is a consequence of salvation.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
  • Galatians 3:26-27 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
  • Colossians 2:10-12 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Communion

that the sharing of bread and wine by believers is an act of obedience to the command of Jesus to remember his work of salvation whenever it is taken. We partake of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ through the bread and wine of the communion as an act of faith.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
  • Acts 2:42-43 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

that baptism in the Holy Spirit is not essential for salvation but an essential consequence of salvation and supernatural empowerment for the victorious and effective Christian life.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Jesus said: Acts 1:5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.”
  • Acts 8:15-17 then they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
  • 1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

The present and coming Kingdom of God

that it is man’s work and purpose to serve God and through obedience to His will to bring His reign and rule to the earth through the delegated authority of Jesus Christ until he returns to make all things new.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Luke 17:20-21 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
  • Matthew 6:10 “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
  • Psalm 115:16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man.
  • Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

The Fivefold Ministries: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher

that God anoints and appoints apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to serve the church (some locally and some trans-locally) and to equip all believers for works of ministry until it ‘attains to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ’.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Ephesians 4:11-13 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

that God gives supernatural empowerments to all his people by virtue of the indwelling Holy Spirit to equip them to demonstrate the gospel of Jesus Christ in love and power and for the works of ministry. The Holy Spirit determines which gifts and to whom he will give them; however His choice is influenced by our desire to receive them.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • 1 Corinthians 14:12 Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.
  • 1 Corinthians 12:11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
  • 1 Corinthians 14:1-2 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

Miracles

that healing, signs and wonders are manifestations of God’s Kingdom to lead people to Christ alone.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Jesus says in John 14:11-13 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
  • Paul says in Romans 15:17-19 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.

that true signs and wonders are important temporary manifestations which are a sign and a foretaste of the Kingdom to come when Jesus returns to earth.

  • 1 Corinthains 13:8-11 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
  • Revelation 21:3-4 “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

that true signs and wonders lead people to Jesus Christ and bear spiritual fruit that is eternal.

  • John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.

Service to God

that our salvation is not dependent on our service to God but our service to God is a response to the gift of salvation. Our greatest calling is to serve Him with all our heart and our greatest hope is that we may one day stand before our Lord Jesus and hear the words:

Supporting Scriptures:

  • ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21

The local church

For the Christian believer being a relational part of a local church is a necessary requirement for spiritual growth. The Bible describes the local church as a body with diverse parts which function together in love and fellowship with Christ as the head. There are many different expressions of local church community where believers can be discipled and grow in love for Christ and one another; the important thing is that a believer is relationally part of a local church family.

Supporting Scriptures:

  • Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
  • Paul counsels Timothy a local church leader: “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” 1 Timothy 4:13-14
  • Acts 2:42-43 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

A Note About Contributions from Guest Speakers

From time to time we may include guest speakers at events or in our videos because we believe they have something valuable to contribute to our training. However, this does not mean that we agree or endorse everything they may believe or say, or have said in the past or may say in the future! Please check our Statement of Faith for clarification.