We (along with scores of faithful believers throughout history) embrace our freedom in Jesus Christ; freedom from the extra-biblical traditions, false teaching and philosophies which have both plagued and crippled churches of all denominations for centuries. In rejecting these views as well as the phariseeism and false-orthodoxy by which they are underpinned, we fully embrace the model and belief system characterized the Apostolic Church of the 1st century (Acts 2:42, Colossians 2:8-9).
The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, indisputable word of God. The Bible gives a true history of the creation of heaven, earth, and humanity and contains a correct prophecy of the ages to come regarding heaven, earth, and the destiny of humanity. Moreover, there is no path to salvation outside of what is taught in its pages. (Psalm 33:4; 119:89, 160, 2 Tim. 3:16)
God
We believe that there is one God who is Creator, Savior, and Comforter. He was manifested in flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory. He is Alpha and Omega. All that is God is in Him, His revealed name by which we may personally refer and relate to Him is Jesus. (Deut. 6:4, Isaiah 9:6, 1 Tim. 3:16, Col. 2:8-9). For more information please see the button above labeled “The Godhead (Supplement).”
Father
God is a Spirit (John 4:24). He is the Eternal One, the Creator of all things, and the Father of all humanity by creation. He is the First and the Last, and beside Him there is no God (Isaiah 44:6). There was no God formed before Him; neither shall be there any after Him (Isaiah 43:10).
Son
Jesus is the Son of God according to the flesh (Romans 1:3) and the very God Himself according to the Spirit (Matthew 1:23). Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:16); the creator of all things (Colossians 1:16-17); God with us (Matthew 1:23); God made flesh (John 1:1-14); God manifested in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16); He which was, which is, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8);the mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).
Jesus Himself testified of His identity as God when He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:7-11) and “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30).
It took shedding of blood for the remission of the sins of the world (Hebrews 9:22), but God the Father was a Spirit and had no blood to shed. Thus He prepared a body of flesh and blood (Hebrews 10:5) and came to earth as a man in order to save us, for in Isaiah 43:11 He said, “Beside me there is no Saviour.” When He came in flesh the angels sang, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11).
Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is not a third person in the Godhead, but rather the Spirit of God (the Creator), the Spirit of the resurrected Christ. The Holy Ghost comes to dwell in the hearts and lives of everyone who believes and obeys the gospel, as the comforter, Sustainer, and keeper (John 14:16-26; Romans 8:9-11).
Additional Thoughts Regarding the Nature of God (Godhead)
Ultimately, one’s view of the divine nature is not a matter of salvation. While many denominations, organizations and theologians have attempted to force the issue by declaring that failure to adopt a specific point of view will result in eternal damnation, the scriptures in no way support this dogmatic approach. Unfortunately, over the many centuries since the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, countless people have adhered to exactly that dogmatic viewpoint with both great zeal and great vitriol. For the purposes of this discussion, we urge you to suspend all dogmatic thinking and approach the scripture without preconceived notions.
One widely held view of human nature is that we are tripartite beings; possessing a body, a soul and a spirit. Tripartite is defined as, “divided into or being in three parts: involving or of the nature of division into three parts: composed of three parts or kinds: having three corresponding parts or copies” [1]
This nature was not only divinely designed but also divinely patterned. That is, God seems to have patterned us after the manner in which He has revealed Himself to His creation (see above).
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” [Gen 1:26 NASB]
Out of context and perhaps at face value, this verse potentially lends itself to a pluralistic view of the Godhead. Certainly, some theologians, teachers and churches have used this statement to support the notion of a plural unity (i.e. “co-equal, “co-eternal”). At the same time, historically, Jewish theologians have made no such conclusions. Some concluded that He was speaking to the Angels; others that this is a royal/majestic plural. Either way, given the relative newness of a plural view of this passage, we must observe what scripture declares regarding His divine nature; being careful not to impose our inherently limited theological thoughts or terminology on one who is both self-existent and infinite. It is also useful to examine the original theological context of these scriptures.
Over the centuries, many Jewish theologians have sought to understand the nature of God and some have concluded (as we have) that any description we could fashion will almost certainly fall short of accurately describing the mystery of His awesomeness (see 1 Timothy 3:16). Thus, while humans may accurately be described as tripartite beings, this characterization of God is likely still problematic.
Theological Context
Jewish theology and thought must serve as the basis for any Biblically accurate discussion of the nature of God. Why? Because truly orthodox Christian faith is not a faith that can be separated from it’s Jewish origins. The first believers were Jews as was Jesus Himself. Jesus did not found Christianity, He completed the covenants He made with the Hebrews and established a new one to last into eternity. We are grafted into the faith and the New Covenant He established for His people (Romans 11:11-31, Ephesians 4:5-6). Thus, any theological discussion of God’s nature that does not incorporate the original context (that is new philosophies and theologies concerning the Godhead) is likely to be be seriously (possibly irreparably) flawed.
To be certain, the whole of the Tanakh (or Hebrew Bible which is comprised of the Torah, the Nevi’im, and the Ketuvim – the law, the prophets and the writings) reveals His nature relative to humankind and also reveals the Messiah. It is the Hebrew Bible from which Jesus and the Apostles taught and preached. The Hebrew Bible teaches exactly what we see revealed in the New Testament and it begins with the Shema. The Shema is one of the most important components of the Jewish liturgy. Interestingly it reveals to Israel (and by extrapolation all humanity) that God is one.
Deuteronomy 6:4 is the beginning of the Shema and it sates:
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” [Deu 6:4 NASB]
Transliterated from Hebrew it reads:
Sh’ma Yis-ra-eil, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, A-do-nai E-chad.[5]
According to Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon, the word one in this passage is ʼechâd.
- אֶחָד ʼechâd ekh-awd’; a numeral from H258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first:—a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-) ly, each (one), eleven, every, few, first, highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together, [4]
From the very beginning no Jewish doctrine was so firmly proclaimed and so heroically defended as the belief in the One and Only God. This constitutes the essence and foundation of Judaism. However slowly the people learned that there could be no gods beside the One God, and that consequently all the pagan deities were but “naught and vanity,” the Judaism of the Torah starts with the proclamation of the Only One, and later Judaism marches through the nations and ages of history with a never-silent protest against polytheism of every kind, against every division of the Godhead into parts, powers, or persons (Kohler, 1918 p.82) [6]
Another Jewish writer, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan states,
It is a foundation of our faith to believe that God is One and that
He is a most perfect and absolute Unity.
It is written, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). This is a positive commandment to believe in God’s unity. This commandment depends on thought and can be fulfilled at any time.
Although the universe contains many galaxies, each consisting of innumerable stars and planets, there is one God who is Author and Creator of them all. It is absolutely impossible to conceive of more than one Absolute Being.
Although there may be many other universes, both physical and spiritual, God is One over all. It is thus written, “Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds” (Psalms 145:13).
(Kaplan, 2021, para. 3) [7]
Yet we see in the New Testament verses like the following and we are sometimes tempted to wrestle the underlying thought into a conceptualization of God that likely did not exist before the early 4th century. To be certain, it did not exist as part of Jewish orthodoxy.
- “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” [1Jo 5:7 KJV]
John also writes,
- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. [John 1:1-3 NASB95]
Careful study of the text (even in it’s original language) reveals that it does not negate the Shema, nor does it negate a strict monotheistic view of the Godhead such as what we read in the above excerpts. In both cases we simply see John expressing what we also see in the teachings of Jesus. God has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son (or Word) and Holy Ghost (or Spirit).
The infinite being expressed in the finite (the One God taking on the form of human flesh and living amongst His creation as a human being) has continuously confounded theologians and teachers since Jesus set foot in Jerusalem to begin His public ministry. It was in their quest to understand, categorize, quantify and express God’s nature within the limitations of our human context that the Roman Catholic Church codified the doctrine of the Trinity in 325 AD.
However, when we invoke Jewish theological context and the text of the scriptures as a whole, we know we can only safely conclude and observe that God is one; having no separation, division or plurality of personalities in His one divine essence. The manner in which He has chosen to reveal Himself to creation at large reflects traits analogous to (though not identical) to our own nature. Ultimately, whether you choose to believe that God is one divine person or that He exists eternally as two or three divine persons is up to you. While it may affect how we understand certain elements of scripture, we do not believe that this affects salvation.
- “Tripartite.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. 2015.. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
- https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/modern-jewish-views-of-god/
- https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/maimonides-conception-of-god/
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H259&t=NASB
- http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/282822/jewish/Transliteration.htm
- Kohler, K. (1918). Jewish Theology: Systematically and Historically Considered. Macmillan Publishers.
- Kaplan, A. (2021, December 19). Understanding God. aish.com. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://aish.com/48942416/
Sin
Sin is the transgression of the law, or commandments of God (I John 3:4). The guilt of sin has fallen upon all humanity from Adam until now (Romans 3:23). The wages of sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14) to all those who refuse to accept salvation as set forth in the Word of God.
Salvation
Salvation consists of deliverance from all sin and unrighteousness through the blood of Jesus Christ. The New Testament experience of salvation consists of repentance from sin, water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, after which the Christian is to live a godly life (Acts 2:36-41).
Water Baptism
Water baptism is an essential part of New Testament salvation and not merely a symbolic ritual. It is part of entering into the kingdom of God (God’s church, the bride of Christ), and therefore, it is not merely a part of local church membership. (See John 3:5; Galatians 3:27).
Mode of baptism
Water baptism is to be administered only by immersion. Paul said, “We are buried with him [Jesus Christ] by baptism (Romans 6:4; see Colossians 2:12), Jesus came up “out of the water” (Mark 1:10), and Philip and the eunuch went down “into the water” and came up “out of the water” (Acts 8:38-39).
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection are applied to our lives when we experience New Testament salvation: “Repent [death to sin], and be baptized [burial] every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost [resurrection].” (See Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-7; 8:2).
Sprinkling, pouring, or infant baptism of any kind cannot be substantiated by the Word of God, but are only human traditions.
Formula for baptism
The name in which baptism is administered is vitally important, and this name is Jesus.
Jesus’ last command to His disciples was, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). We should notice that He said name (singular) not names. As previously explained, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not names of separate persons, but titles of positions held by God. An angelic announcement revealed God’s saving name in the New Testament: “She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The apostles understood that the Messiah’s name (Jesus) was the name to be called upon during baptism, and from the day that the church of God was established (the Day of Pentecost) until the end of their ministry, they baptized all nations (Jews–Acts 8:16; Gentiles–Acts 19:5) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, Jesus is the only name given for our salvation. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Baptism of The Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit)
The baptism of the Holy Ghost is the birth of the Spirit (John 3:5). This spiritual baptism is necessary for someone to be born into the kingdom of God (God’s church, the bride of Christ) and is manifested by speaking in other tongues (other languages) as the Spirit of God give utterance.
It was prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:28-29) and Isaiah (Isaiah 28:11), foretold by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11), purchased by the blood of Jesus, and promised by Him to His disciples (John 14:26; 15:16). The Holy Ghost was first poured out on the Day of Pentecost upon the Jews (Acts 2:1-4), then upon the Samaritans (Acts 8:17), and later upon the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-46; 19:6). “The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39).
Tongues
Speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance is a manifestation God has given as a definite, indisputable, supernatural witness or sign of the baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6).
It was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah as the rest and the refreshing (Isaiah 28:11-12), foretold by Jesus as a sign that would follow believers of the gospel (Mark 16:17), and experience by Jews and Gentiles alike.
The gift of “divers kinds of tongues,” mentioned by Paul in I Corinthians 12:1-12 and concerning which he gave regulations in I Corinthians 14:1-40, is given by both for self-edification (I Corinthians 14:4) and for the edification of the church (I Corinthians 14:27-28).
In church meetings the gift of tongues is used to give a public message, and it is to be interpreted. Since this gift can be misused in public, it needs proper regulation (I Corinthians 14:23-28). Not all believers exercise the gift of tongues, which is different in function from tongues given by God as the initial witness of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Paul said, “Forbid not to speak with tongues” (I Corinthians 14:39) and “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all” (I Corinthians 14:8). Who dares to teach or preach to the contrary?
“Speaking in tongues” means speaking (miraculously) in a language unknown to the speaker, as the Spirit gives utterance. Tongues can be classified in two ways, according to function: (1)speaking in other tongues as the manifestation of the baptism of the Holy Ghost and (2)the gift of tongues as mentioned in I Corinthians
Holiness
The term holiness as we use it does not refer to a specific code of dress, personal accessories or hairstyles but rather it is the manner in which we conduct ourselves (and our thoughts) after having been joined to Christ.
After we are saved from sin, we are commanded, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). We are commanded to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Titus 2:12) and warned that without holiness no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
We must present ourselves as holy unto God (Romans 12:1), cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (II Corinthians 7:1), and separate ourselves from all worldliness (James 4:4). If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (I Peter 4:18).
No one can live a holy life by his own power, but only through the Holy Spirit. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8).
Divine Healing
God has made Himself known through the ages by miraculous healings and has made special provisions in the age of grace to heal all who will come to Him in faith and obedience. Divine healing was purchased for us by the blood of Jesus Christ, especially by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; I Peter 2:24).
Jesus went everywhere healing those who were sick (Matthew 4:23-24), and He commanded His disciples to do the same (Matthew 10:8). He said concerning those who believe the gospel, “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18). Mighty healings and miracles followed the disciples wherever the gospel was preached.
There is no sickness or disease that is beyond God’s ability to heal. Any of us, our children, or our friends can be healed by the power of God. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the Elders of the church; and let them pray over him , anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord shall raise him up: and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:14-16).
Second Coming of Christ
Just as he left, Jesus Christ is coming back to earth in bodily form (Acts 1:11). He will catch away a holy people (His bride, His church) who have accepted redemption through His blood, by birth of water and of the Spirit, and who are found faithful when He comes.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
“One shall be taken and the other left” (Luke 17:36). Will we be ready? The signs of His coming are everywhere. The days of peril are here indeed, with forms of godliness void of the power of God; society and politics corrupted; and people’s hearts filled with pride, blasphemies, unholiness, love of evil, and love of pleasures (II Timothy 3:1-13). These things, together with multitudes running to and fro, the increase of knowledge (Daniel 12:4), the persecution of the Jews and their return to Palestine (Luke 21:24), and scores of other things are starting signs that Jesus’ coming is drawing near.
Wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, storms, floods, distress of nations, perplexity, and people’s hearts failing them for fear are sounding the solemn alarm that Jesus’ coming is at hand (Matthew 24:6; Luke 21:25-28).
“Prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:12).
Resurrection
There will be a resurrection of all the dead, both just and unjust. “Marvel not this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-29).
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God . . . and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them” (Revelation 20:12-13)> (See also Daniel 12:2; I Corinthians 15:13-23.)
Judgment
“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). For this reason there will be a resurrection for everyone. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (II Corinthians 5:10).
The eternal destiny of every soul shall be determined by a just God who knows the secrets of everyone’s heart. “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. . . .Then shall he also say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:32-34, 41, 46).