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Statement of Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God
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
Corinthians 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.
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.
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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)
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).
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).
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).
The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is
the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare:
- His virgin
birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31, 35).
- His
sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; I Peter 2:22).
- His
Miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38).
- His
substitutionary work on the cross (I Corinthians 15:3; II
Corinthians 5:21).
- His bodily
resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; I
Corinthians 15:4).
- His
exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9-11; 2:33;
Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3)
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).
Man's only
hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus
Christ the Son of God.
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).
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).
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 (Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:16;
Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4).
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!"
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).
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.
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).
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:
- To be an
agency of God for evangelizing the world (Matthew 28:10,
20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8).
- To be a
corporate body in which man may worship God (I Corinthians
12:13).
- 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: 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). Adds a necessary dimension to worshipful
relationship with God. (I Corinthians 2:10-16; 12:13-14).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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)
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).
"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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