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The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith
and practice. This Statement of Fundamental Truths is intended simply as
a basis of fellowship among us (i.e., "That we all speak the same thing"
1 Cor. 1:10; Acts 2:42). The phraseology employed in this Statement is
not inspired or contended for, but the truth set forth is held to be
essential to a Full-Gospel ministry. No claim is made that it contains
all Biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these fundamental
doctrines.
1. The Scriptures Inspired
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 (2 Tim. 3:15-17; I
Thess. 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
2. The One True God
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 (Deut. 6:5; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22).
The Adorable Godhead
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. (Matthew
28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:16-17).
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 Ghost, but that this distinction and relationship, as to
its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible, because unexplained. (Luke
1:35; I Corinthians 1:24; Matthew 11:25- 27; 28:19; II Corinthians
13:14; I John 1:3-4).
c. Unity of the One
Being of Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Son
which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in
the Holy Ghost which constitutes Him the Holy Ghost and not
either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter, the
Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Ghost 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. (Zechariah 14:9; John 1:18; 15:26; 17:11, 21).
d. Identity and
Cooperation in the Godhead:
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost 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 Ghost 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. (John 5:17-30, 32, 37; John 8:17-18).
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 Ghost. It therefore belongs exclusively to the Son of God.
(Romans 1:1-3, 7; II John 3).
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. (Matthew 1:23; I John 4:2, 10, 14; Revelation
1:13, 17).
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. (Matthew
1:21-23; II John 3; I John 3:8; Hebrews 1:1-13, 7:3)
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 the 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. (John 1:1, 2, 14, 18, 29,
49; 2:22, 23, 4:1-5; Hebrews 12:2, II John 9).
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 Ghost
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.
(Acts 2:32-36; Romans 14:11; I Corinthians 15:24-28; Hebrews 1:3; I
Peter 3:22).
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
Ghost to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of Deity, and to give
Him all the honor and the glory contained in all the names and titles of
the Godhead (except those which express relationship. See paragraphs b,
c, and d), and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father. (John
5:22-23; Philippians 2:8-9; Revelation 4:8-11; 5:6-14; 7:9-10).
3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.
The Scriptures declare:
a. His virgin birth
(Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31, 35).
b. His sinless life
(Hebrews 7:26; I Peter 2:22).
c. His Miracles
(Acts 2:22; 10:38).
d. His
substitutionary work on the cross (I Corinthians 15:3; II Corinthians
5:21).
e. His bodily
resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; I Corinthians
15:4).
f. His exaltation to
the right hand of God (Acts 1:9-11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews
1:3)
4. The Fall of Man
Man was created good and upright; for God said,
"Let us make man in our 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 (Genesis
1:26-27; 2:17; 8:6; Romans 5:12-19).
5. The Salvation of Man
Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed
blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
a. Conditions to
Salvation
Salvation is received repentance toward God and
faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing to regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man
becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life (Luke
24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7).
b. The Evidences of
Salvation
The inward evidence of salvation is the direct
witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is
a life of righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12).
6. Ordinances of the Church
a. Baptism in Water:
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded
in the Scriptures. All who repent and believe in Christ as Savior 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 (Matt. 28:19; Mark 1:16; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4).
b. Holy Communion:
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 (II Peter 1:4); a memorial of
His suffering and death (I Corinthians 11:26); and a prophecy of His
second coming (I Corinthians 11:26); and enjoined on all believers "till
He come!"
7. The Baptism in the Holy Ghost
All believers are entitled to and should ardently
expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the
Holy Ghost 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 (Luke
24:49; Acts 1:4-8; I Corinthians 12:1-31). This experience is distinct
from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12-17;
10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9). With the baptism in the Holy Ghost come
such experiences as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39;
Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:43; Hebrews 12:28), and
intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work (Acts 2:42),
and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost (Mark
16:20).
8. The Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost
The baptism of believers in the Holy Ghost is
witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as
the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4). The speaking in
tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues
(I Corinthians 12:4-10, 28), but different in purpose and use.
9. Sanctification
Sanctification is an act of separation from that
which is evil, and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1-2; I
Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12). The Scriptures teach a life of
"holiness without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). By
the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey the command: "Be ye
holy, for I am holy" (I Peter 1:15-16).
Sanctification is realized in the believer by
recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and
resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union,
and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy
Spirit (Romans 6:1-13; 8:1-2, 13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12-13; I
Peter 1:5).
10. The Church and It’s Mission
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 the Church of the First-born, which are
written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23).
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:
a. To be an agency
of God for evangelizing the world (Matthew 28:10, 20; Mark 16:15-16;
Acts 1:8).
b. To be a corporate
body in which man may worship God (I Corinthians 12:13).
c. To be a channel
of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image
of His Son (I Corinthians 12:28; 14:12; Ephesians 4:11-16).
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:
a. Enables them to
evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural
signs. (Mark 16:15-20; Acts 4:29-31; Hebrews 2:3-4).
b. Adds a necessary
dimension to worshipful relationship with God. (I Corinthians 2:10-16;
12:13-14).
c. Enables them to
respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of the
fruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the
edifying of the body of Christ. (I Corinthians 12:28; 14:12; Galatians
5:22-26; Ephesians 4:11-12; Colossians 1:29).
11. The Ministry
A divinely called and scripturally ordained
ministry has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of
leading the church in: (1) Evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20),
(2) Worship of God (John 4:23-24), (3) building a body of saints being
perfected in the image of His Son (Eph. 4:11-16).
12. Divine Healing
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 (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; James
5:14-16).
13. The Blessed Hope
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 (Romans 8:23; I Corinthians 15:21, 52; I Thessalonians
4:16-17; Titus 2:13).
14. The Millennial Reign of Christ
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 the earth for one thousand years
(Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 24:27-30; Revelation 1:7; 19:11-14; 20:1-6).
This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel
(Ezekiel 37:21- 22; Zephaniah 3:19-20; Romans 11:26-27) and the
establishment of universal peace (Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalm 72:3-8; Micah
4:3-4)
15. The Final Judgment
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
everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48;
Revelation 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8).
16. The New Heavens and the New Earth
"We, according to His promise, look for new heavens
and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" (II Peter 3:13;
Revelation 21:22).
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