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. 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 Ghost.
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.
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.
c. Unity of the One Being of Father, Son
and Holy Ghost
(TOP)
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 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.
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.
e. The Title, Lord Jesus Christ
(TOP)
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.
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
(TOP)
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 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.
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 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 Ghost , and
Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead) and thus honor the Son
even as we honor the Father.
3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
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.
4. The Fall of Man
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.
5. The Salvation of Man
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 Ghost, 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.
6. The Ordinances of the
Church
Baptism in Water
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.
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
(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!"
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.
This experience is distinct
from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth.
With the baptism in the Holy
Ghost come such experiences as:
-
an overflowing fullness
of the Spirit, John 7:37-39 [KJV/NIV],
Acts 4:8 [KJV/NIV]
-
a deepened reverence for
God, Acts 2:43 [KJV/NIV],
Hebrews 12:28 [KJV/NIV]
-
an intensified
consecration to God and dedication to His work, Acts 2:42 [KJV/NIV]
-
and a more active love
for Christ, for His Word and for the lost, Mark 16:20 [KJV/NIV]
8. The Initial Physical
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.
The speaking in tongues in
this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but
is different in purpose and use.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-10 [KJV/NIV]
- 1 Corinthians 12:28 [KJV/NIV]
9. Sanctification
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 Ghost
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.
10. The Church and its
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 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:
- 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]
- To be a corporate body in which man may
worship God.
1 Corinthians 12:13 [KJV/NIV]
- 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:
- 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]
- 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]
- 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]
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:
Evangelization of the world.
Worship of God.
Building a body of saints being
perfected in the image of His Son.
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.
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.
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 earth for one thousand years.
This millennial reign will
bring the salvation of national Israel,
and the establishment of
universal peace.
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 the everlasting punishment in the
lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.
16. The New Heavens and the
New Earth
"We, according to His promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness."
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