We share the confession of faith of the Apostolic Evangelical Churches of the French speaking part of Switzerland including these major elements of its doctrine:
God
God is spirit, light and love. He is One God and uniquely one. He exists eternally as three equal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Father
God is Father; He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth together with His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. As initiator and supporter of all things, His desire is to call to Himself as many people as are willing to become His children, that is, as sons and daughters. He is together with the Son and the Holy Spirit: Holy, Eternal and Transcendent.
The Son
Jesus Christ is the only and eternal Son of God. True God, he is eternally begotten of the Father and He was not created. True man, he is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. By His sinless life, His death and resurrection, He’s the only Savior and Redeemer of the world. As our eternal High Priest, He sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes on our behalf. We do believe that He will come again for His Church, to judge the living and the dead and to establish His everlasting Kingdom of glory.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God, representative of Christ on earth. He prepares the heart of man to receive the salvation work of Christ, which leads the one who receives Him to repentance, thus giving birth to new life. Speaking in tongues and prophecy are some of the signs that attest the baptism and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There are other spiritual gifts which are dispensed to the Church according to His will for the edification of the Saints. They are an expression of the grace of God and His Holy Spirit to help and enlighten us in our adoration and communion, in revelation and knowledge, and to encourage growth, testimony and services.
The Holy Bible
The Bible is the inspired word of God. It is infallible and normative for life and faith. It is also and at the same time the human expression inspired by the Holy Spirit taking into account the writer’s individuality and his cultural and historical context. We believe in the verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures.
Man and creation
Man was created in the image of God to live eternally in communion with Him. In denying this divine authority, men became subjected to an earthly authority, which is that of Satan, hence bring Creation under this same dominion. By his transgression, man is separated from God, totally fallen and lost.
Salvation
In His sovereignty, God reserves the right to elect whom He chooses. But, in His infinite grace, He freely offers salvation to all men through faith in Jesus Christ. The responsibility of men is to respond to this call by returning to God through conversion and repentance. This inner attitude is confirmed by baptism (immersion). Redeemed, justified and born again, the believer now receives the assurance of salvation; he or she can therefore live the life of Christ and walk according to God's will. This salvation involves the restoration of man but the fullness of salvation will be manifested at the return of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures affirm the eternal security of the believer who remains in the hand of God.
The Church
The universal Church is composed of all those who, through the ages and in all nations, have been redeemed by Jesus Christ. It finds its visible expression in the local churches of which Jesus Christ is the head. He leads and teaches it through the biblical ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, pastors, elders, and deacons, in accord with the universal doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. It is apostolic because it is founded on the apostles' doctrine revealed by Scripture. It is missionary because of its mandate to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples. It has not replaced Israel, but God's election for His people remains. The Church is involved spiritually and humanly in society.
The spiritual world
The spiritual world is a reality of the creation that is manifested in the visible world. Created by God, are the heavenly hosts, formed of angels, who are at the service of God to minister to those who will inherit salvation. One angel rebelled against God becoming His and man’s adversary. He is the devil or Satan. He took along with him a third of the heavenly angels, as we refer today as demons. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. Clothed with the authority of God, the believer can resist the devil and cast out demons.
Our hope
Our hope is based on the realization of God's plan of salvation revealed in the Bible, namely: the rapture of the Church, the great tribulation, the return of Christ and the establishment of a thousand-year reign, the last judgment, the establishment of a new earth and new heaven for men regenerated with an eternal and perfect happiness in the immediate presence of God. Those who have rejected the offer of salvation in Jesus Christ will remain in a permanent and conscious state of separation from God.
