We at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Riverview Michigan declare to the world what we believe as written in the Gospel of John & outlined in the Athanasian Creed…………
The Athanasian Creed
Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three Eternals, but one Eternal. As there are not three Uncreated nor three Incomprehensibles, but one Uncreated and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords.
The Father is made of none: neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son: neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before or after other; none is greater or less than another; But the whole three Persons are coeternal together, and coequal: so that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. He, therefore, that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood; Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ: One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead; He ascended into heaven; He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give an account of their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.
This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved. (The catholic faith is Christian Universal)
What We Teach and Believe
We Believe That:
God is three persons yet one God. The title we use to express this mystery is the “Trinity.” God has always existed.
God the Father created the cosmos and continues to provide for the needs of every aspect of it, including each of us. We believe that God knows us by name.
God the Son, Jesus Christ, is true God and true human. At the right time, he was born into our humanity, lived among us proclaiming God’s love, died to pay the price for human sin, and came back to life on the day we call Easter. In doing this, he has saved us from sin and death and has given us formidable forgiveness, absolute acceptance and limitless life.
God the Holy Spirit gives us the power to follow Christ and live each day fully and joyfully.
The Bible is God’s revealed truth and shapes all that we believe about God and our relationships with God and one another.
We are a sacramental people. That is, the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion are important to us and are a central part of our life.
When this earthly life is completed, there is a never-ending life, amazingly beyond the joys of our imagination, that awaits the people of God in Jesus Christ.
The church is not a denomination nor is it a building. The church is the “Body of Christ,” which includes all who believe that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. No walls, no boundaries - all believers across the globe and throughout time are the church.
The people at Immanuel are not simply members with names on a roster. They are each gifted to serve in unique and beautiful ways. As we join our God-given spiritual gifts together, we bring love and hope to our community and the world in the name and through the power of Jesus Christ.
The people of God at Immanuel care for each other and value one another in a “real” way that is not based upon outward appearances, but inner worth and importance. It is the way of Jesus.
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John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The Foundation of
the Lutheran
Christian Faith
The Holy Bible (kjv)
The Holy Bible (nrsv)
The 95 Theses is the Document that Dr Martin Luther nailed to the Cathedral @ Wittenberg, Germany on 31October 1517 triggering the Reformation. Luther sought to debate the unbiblical practices of the Catholic Church of His day. Debates continued for the next 63 years. Several documents were written explaining the Lutheran Christian position. Finally, consensus was achieved among Lutherans & the Book of Concord was assembled in 1580.
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