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, I Cor. 1:10;
Acts 2:42). The phraseology employed in this Statement is
not inspired nor contended for, but the truth set forth
is held to be essential to a full-gospel ministry. No claim
is made that it covers 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 Ghost
(Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10, 11; Matt. 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 person, and still be absolutely scriptural
(examples, Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 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; 1 Cor 1:24; Matt. 11:25-27;
28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 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. John 1:18; 15:26;
17:11, 21; Zech 14:9.
(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 Rom 1:1-3, 7; 2 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. Matt. 1:23; 1 John 4:2, 10, 14; Rev. 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. Matt.
1:21-23; 2 John 3; 1 John 3:8; Heb. 7:3; 1:1-13.
(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. Heb. 1:3; 1 Peter
3:22; Acts 2:32-36; Rom. 14:11; 1 Cor 15:24-28.
(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; 1 Peter 1:8;
Rev. 5:6-14; Phil. 2:8, 9; Rev. 7:9, 10; 4:8-11
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 (Matt 1:23; Luke 1:31, 35).
(b) His sinless
life (Heb 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22).
(c) His miracles
(Acts 2:22; 10:38).
(d) His substitutionary
work on the cross (1 Cor 15:3; 2 Cor 5:21).
(e) His bodily
resurrection from the dead (Matt. 28:6; Luke 24:39;
1 Cor. 15:4).
(f) His exaltation
to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9, 11; 2:33; Phil.
2: 9-11; Heb. 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 (Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:17; 3:6;
Rom. 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 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 (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Rom.
10: 13-15; Eph. 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 (Eph.
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 on 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 16:16; Acts 10: 47, 48;
Rom. 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 (2
Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death, and
a prophecy of His suffering and death (1 Cor. 11:26);
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
(Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 1 Cor 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; Heb.
12: 28), an 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 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 (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this
instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues (1
Cor. 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 (Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:12). The Scriptures
teach a life of "holiness without which no man shall see
the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). By the power of the Holy Ghost we
are able to obey the command :"Be ye holy, for I am holy"
(1 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 (Rom. 6:
1-11, 13; 8:1, 2, 13; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 2:12, 13; 1 Peter
1:5).
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
(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 worshiped
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 (Acts 1:8;
Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16)
b. To be a corporate
body in which man may worship God (1 Cor. 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 (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Cor. 12:28;
1 Cor. 14:12).
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 (1 Cor
2:10-16; 1 Cor 12, 13, and 14).
c. Enables them
to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in
expressing of fruit and gifts and ministries as in New
Testament times for the edifying of the body of Christ
(Galatians 5:22-26; 1 Cor. 14:12; Ephesians 4:11, 12;
1 Cor 12:28; 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 (Ephesians 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
(Isa 53:4, 5; Matt. 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 (1 Thess.
4:16, 17; Rom. 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52).
14. The Millenial
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 (Zech.
14:5; Matt. 24:27, 30; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-14; 20: 1-6). This
millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel
(Ezek. 37: 21, 22; Zeph. 3:19, 20; Rom. 11:26, 27) and the
establishment of universal peace (Isa. 11: 6-9: Ps. 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 (Matt. 25: 46; Mark 9: 43-48;
Rev. 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"
(2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21, 22).
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