The Scriptures, both the Old and New
Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man,
the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.
The one true God has revealed Himself as the
eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and
the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the
principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
a. Terms Defined
The terms "Trinity" and "persons" as related to the
Godhead, while not found in the Scriptures, are words in harmony with Scripture,
whereby we may convey to others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of
Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished from "gods many and
lords many." We therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God who
is One Lord, as a trinity or as one Being of three persons, and still be
absolutely scriptural.
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2 Corinthians 13:14 [KJV/NIV]
b. Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead
Christ taught a distinction of Persons in the Godhead which He expressed in
specific terms of relationship, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but that this
distinction and relationship, as to its mode is inscrutable and
incomprehensible, because unexplained.
c. Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Father which constitutes him the
Father and not the Son; there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son
and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Spirit which constitutes Him
the Holy Spirit and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is
the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding
from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the
Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty and His
name one.
d. Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical as to Person; nor
confused as to relation; nor divided in respect to the Godhead; nor opposed as
to cooperation. The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son as to
relationship. The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to
fellowship. The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as
to authority. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son proceeding, as to
nature, relationship, cooperation and authority. Hence, neither Person in the
Godhead either exists or works separately or independently of the others.
e. The Title, Lord Jesus Christ
The appellation, "Lord Jesus Christ," is a proper name. It is never
applied in the New Testament, either to the Father or to the Holy Spirit. It
therefore belongs exclusively to the Son of God.
f. The Lord Jesus Christ, God with Us
The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is the proper and
only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, He is the proper Son
of Man. He is therefore, acknowledged to be both God and man; who because He is
God and man is "Immanuel," God with us.
g. The Title, Son of God
Since the name "Immanuel" embraces both God and man in the one
Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title, Son of God, describes
His proper deity, and the title, Son of Man, His proper humanity. Therefore,
the title Son of God, belongs to the order of eternity, and the title, Son of
Man, to the order of time.
h. Transgression of the Doctrine of Christ
Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of Christ to say that Jesus
Christ derived the title, Son of God, solely from the fact of the incarnation,
or because of His relation to the economy of redemption. Therefore, to deny
that the Father is a real and eternal Father, and that the Son is a real and
eternal Son, is a denial of the distinction and relationship in the Being of
God; a denial of the Father, and the Son; and a displacement of the truth that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
i. Exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord
The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by Himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; angels and principalities and
powers having been made subject unto Him. And having been made both Lord and
Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our
knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father
until the end, when the Son shall become subject to the Father that God may be
all in all.
j. Equal Honor to the Father and to the Son
Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not
only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is
an unspeakable joy in the Holy Spirit to ascribe unto the Son all the
attributes of Deity, and to give Him all honor and the glory contained in all
the names and titles of the Godhead except those which express relationship
(see Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead, Unity of the One Being of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit , and Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead) and
thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of
God. The Scriptures declare:
His virgin birth,
His sinless life,
His miracles,
His substitutionary work on the cross,
His bodily resurrection from the dead,
His exaltation to the right hand of God.
Man was created good and upright; for God
said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness."
However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only
physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
Salvation is deliverance from spiritual
death and enslavement by sin. God provides salvation for all who believe and
accept His free offer of forgiveness. Mankind’s only hope of redemption from
the fallen sinful state is through the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son–blood
that was shed as Jesus died on the cross. [The account of the crucifixion of
Jesus is recounted by four of His contemporaries: Matthew (chapter 27), Mark
(chapter 15), Luke (chapter 23), and John (chapter 19).] (Luke 24:47; John
3:3,16,17; Rom. 8:16; 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8,9; 4:24; Titus 2:11-12; 3:5-7)
Man's only hope of redemption is through the
shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Conditions to Salvation
Salvation is received through repentance
toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through
faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life.
The Evidence of Salvation
The inward evidence of salvation is the
direct witness of the Spirit.
The outward evidence to all men is a life of
righteousness and true holiness.
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is
commanded by the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Saviour
and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died
with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of
life.
The Lord's Supper, consisting of the
elements --bread and the fruit of the vine-- is the symbol expressing our
sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4 [KJV/NIV]),
a memorial of his suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26 [KJV/NIV]),
and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26 [KJV/NIV]),
and is enjoined on all believers "till He come!"
All believers are entitled to and should
ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in
the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it
comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts
and their uses in the work of the ministry.
This experience is distinct from and
subsequent to the experience of the new birth.
With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come
such experiences as:
The baptism of Christians in the Holy Spirit
is accompanied by the initial physical sign of speaking in other tongues
(unlearned languages) as the Spirit of God gives them audible expression. (Luke
24:49; Acts 1:4,8; 2:4; 8:12-17; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9; 1 Cor. 12:1-31)
The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit
is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the
Spirit of God gives them utterance.
The speaking in tongues in this instance is
the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and
use.
Sanctification is an act of separation from
that which is evil, and of dedication unto God.
The Scriptures teach a life of
"holiness without which no man shall see the Lord."
By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able
to obey the command: "Be ye holy, for I am holy."
Sanctification is realized in the believer
by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection,
and by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering
every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.
The Church is the Body of Christ, the
habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the
fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an
integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are
written in heaven.
Since God's purpose concerning man is to
seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, and to build a
body of believers in the image of His Son, the priority reason for being of the
Assemblies of God as part of the Church is:
1.
1. To
be an agency of God for evangelizing the world.
Acts 1:8 [KJV/NIV]
Matthew 28:19,20 [KJV/NIV]
Mark 16:15,16 [KJV/NIV]
2.
2. To
be a corporate body in which man may worship God.
1 Corinthians 12:13 [KJV/NIV]
3.
3. To
be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the
image of His Son.
Ephesians 4:11-16 [KJV/NIV]
1 Corinthians 12:28 [KJV/NIV]
1 Corinthians 14:12 [KJV/NIV]
The Assemblies of God exists expressly to
give continuing emphasis to this reason for being in the New Testament
apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the
Holy Spirit. This experience:
1.
1. Enables
them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural
signs.
Mark 16:15-20 [KJV/NIV]
Acts 4:29-31 [KJV/NIV]
Hebrews 2:3,4 [KJV/NIV]
2.
2. Adds
a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with God.
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 [KJV/NIV]
1 Corinthians 12 [KJV/NIV]
1 Corinthians 13 [KJV/NIV]
1 Corinthians 14 [KJV/NIV]
3.
3. Enables
them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of fruit
and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the edifying of the body
of Christ.
Galatians 5:22-26 [KJV/NIV]
1 Corinthians 14:12 [KJV/NIV]
Ephesians 4:11,12 [KJV/NIV]
1 Corinthians 12:28 [KJV/NIV]
Colossians 1:29 [KJV/NIV]
A divinely called and scripturally ordained
ministry has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of leading the
Church in:
Evangelization of the world.
Worship of God.
Building a body of saints being perfected in
the image of His Son.
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Ephesians 4:11-16 [KJV/NIV]
Divine healing is an integral part of the
gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the
privilege of all believers.
All Christians who have died will one day
rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air. Christians who have
not yet died will be raptured or caught up with them, to be with the Lord. Then
Christians of all ages will live with God forever. The scriptural truth of the
Lord’s soon return is "the blessed hope". (Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians
15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Titus 2:13)
The resurrection of those who have fallen
asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the
church.
The second coming of Christ includes the
rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible
return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years.
This millennial reign will bring the
salvation of national Israel,
and the establishment of universal peace.
There will be a final judgment in which the
wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is
not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels,
the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting
punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the
second death.
"We, according to His promise, look for
new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."