This "Statement of Fundamental Truths" contains the 16 doctrines of the Assemblies of God. These are non-negotiable tenets of faith that all Assemblies of God churches adhere to. Four of these, Salvation, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing, and the Second Coming of Christ are considered Cardinal Doctrines which are essential to the church's core mission of reaching the world for Christ.
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.
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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.
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 Spirit, but that this distinction and relationship, as to its mode in 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 witch 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, no person is 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 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 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.
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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.
b. His sinless life.
c. His miracles.
d. His substitutionary work on the cross.
e. His bodily resurrection from the dead.
f. His exaltation to the right hand of God.
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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 spearation from God.
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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 Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life.
(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.
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6. The Ordinances of
the Church
(a) Baptism in Water
The ordinace 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 delcare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life.
(b) Holy Communion The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements - bread and the fruit of the vine - is the symbol expressing out sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26); and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26); and is enjoined on all believers "till He come!" |
7. The Baptism in
the Holy Spirit
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 (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4,8; 1 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 Spirit 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), 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).
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8. The Initial
Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
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 (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this
instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues (1 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; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12. Scriptures teach a life of
"holiness without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
By the power of the Holy Spirit 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 (Romans 6:1-11,13; 8:1,2,13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12,13; 1 Peter 1:5).
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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.
b. To be a corporate body in which man may worship God.
c. To be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son.
The Assemblies of God exist 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.
b. Adds a necessary dimension to a worshipful relationship with God.
c. 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.
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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 4:23,25), and (3)
building a Body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians
4:11,16)
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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16. The New Heaven
and the New Earth
"We,
according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness".
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