A
STATEMENT OF OUR FAITH FORMING OUR BASIS OF
FELLOWSHIP
The Foundation.
That the book currently known as the Bible, consisting of
the Scriptures of Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, is
the only source of knowledge concerning God and His
purposes at present extant or available in the earth. and
that the same were wholly given by inspiration of God in
the writers, and are consequently without error in all
parts of them, except such as may be due to errors of
transcription or translation. (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Cor. 2:13;
Heb. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 14:37, Neh. 9:30; John 10:35)
TRUTH
TO BE RECEIVED
1. That the only
true God is He who was revealed to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, by angelic visitation and vision, and to Moses at
the flaming bush (unconsumed) and at Sinai, and who
manifested Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the supreme
self-existent Deity, the ONE FATHER, dwelling in
unapproachable light. yet everywhere present by His Spirit,
which is a unity with His person in heaven. He hath, out of
His own underived energy, created heaven and earth, and all
that in them is. (Isa. 40:13-25; 43:10-12; 44:6-8; 45:5;
46:9-10; Job 38,39,40; Deut. 6:1-4; Mark 2:29-32; 1 Cor.
8:4-6; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:5; Neh. 9:6; Job 26:13; Psa.
124:8; 146:6; 148:5; Isa. 40:25-27; Jer. 10:12-13; 27:5;
32; 17-25; 51:15; Acts 14:15; 17:24; 1 Chron. 29:11-14; Psa
62:11; 145:3; Isa. 26:4; 40:26; Job 9:4; 36:5; Psa. 92:5;
104:24; 147:4-5; Isa. 28:29; Rom. 16:27; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2
Chron. 16:9; Job 28:24; 34:21; Psa. 33:13-14; 44:21; 94:9;
139:7-12; Prov. 15:3; Jer. 23:24; 32:19; Amos 9:2-3; Acts
17:27-28; Psa. 123:1; 1 Kings 8:30-39,43,49; Matt 6:9; 1
Tim. 6:15-16; 1:17)
2.
That
Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, begotten of the
Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of
man, and afterwards anointed with the same spirit, without
measure, at his baptism. (Matt. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:16; Acts
2:22-36: Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; Gal. 4:4; Isa. 7:14;
Matt. 3:16-17; Isa. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1; John 3:34; 7:16;
8:26-28; 14:10-24)
3.
That
the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth on the earth was
necessitated by the position and state into which the human
race had been brought by the circumstances connected with
the first man. (1 Cor. 15:21-22; Rom. 5:12-19; Gen. 3:19;H
Cor. 5:19-21)
4.
That
the first man was Adam, whom God created out of the dust of
the ground as a living soul, or natural body of life, "very
good" in kind and condition, and placed him under a law
through which the continuance of life was contingent on
obedience. (Gen. 2:7; 18:27; Job 4:19; 33:6; I Cor.
15:46-49; Gen. 2:17)
5.
That
Adam broke this law, and was adjudged unworthy of
immortality, and sentenced to return to the ground from
whence he was taken - a sentence which defiled and became a
physical law of his being, and was transmitted to all his
posterity. (Gen. 3:15-19,22-23; II Cor. 1:9; Rom. 7:24; II
Cor. 5:2-4; Rom. 7:18-23; Gal. 5:16-17; Rom. 6:12: 7:21;
John 3:6: Rom. 5:12; I Cor. 15:22; Psa. 51:5; Job 14:4)
6.
That
God, in His kindness, conceived a plan of restoration,
which, without setting aside His just and necessary law of
sin and death, should ultimately rescue the race from
destruction, and people the earth with sinless immortals.
(Rev. 21:4; John 3:1:16; II Tim. 1:10; 1 John 2:25; 11 Tim.
I: 1; Titus 1:2; Rom. 3:26; John 1:29)
7.
That
He inaugurated this plan by making promises to Adam,
Abraham, and David, and afterwards elaborated it in greater
detail through the prophets. (Gen. 3:15; 22:18; Psa.
89:34-37; 33:5; Hosea 13:14; Isa. 25:7-9; 51:1-8; Jer.
23:5)
8.
That
these promises had reference to Jesus Christ, who was to be
raised up in the condemned line of Abraham and David, and
who, though wearing their condemned nature, was to obtain a
title to resurrection by perfect obedience, and by dying,
abrogate the law of condemnation for Himself and all who
should believe and obey Him. (I Cor. 15:45; Heb. 2:14-16;
Rom. 1:3; Heb. 5:8-9; 1:9; Rom. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Rom.
8:3-4; Heb. 2:15; 9:26; Gal 1:4; Heb. 7:27; 5:3-7; 2:17;
Rom. 610; 6:9; Acts 13:34-37; Rev. 1:18; John 5:21-Psa.
2:6-9; Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 11:15; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 14:9:
Eph. 1:9-10)
9.
That
it was this mission that necessitated the miraculous
begettal of Christ of a human mother, enabling Him to bear
our condemnation, and, at the same time, to be a sinless
bearer thereof, and, therefore, one who could rise after
suffering the death required by the righteousness of God.
(Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; Gal. 4:4; Isa. 7:14; Rom.
1:3-4; 8:3; II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:14-17; 4:15)
10.
That
being so begotten of God, and inhabited and used by God
through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was
Emmanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh--yet was,
during His natural life, of like nature with mortal man,
being made of a woman, of the house and lineage of David;
and therefore a sufferer, in the days of His flesh, from
all the effects that came by Adam's transgression,
including the death that passed upon all men, which He
shared by partaking of their physical nature. (Matt. 1:23;
1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:14; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:17)
11.
That
the message He delivered from God to His kinsmen, the Jews,
was a call to repentance from every evil work, the
assertion of His divine sonship and Jewish kingship; and
the proclamation of the glad tidings that God would restore
their kingdom through Him, and accomplish all things
written in the prophets. (Mark 1:5; Matt. 4:17; 5:20-48;
John 10:36; 9:35; 11:27; 19:21; 1:49; Matt. 27:11-42; John
10:24-25; Matt. 19:28; 21:42-43; 23:38-39; 25:14-46; Luke
4:43; 13:27-30; 19:11-27; 22:28-30; Matt. 5:17; Luke 24:44)
12.
That
for delivering this message, He was put to death by the
Jews and Romans, who were, however, but instruments in the
hands of God", for the doing of that which He had
determined before to be done - the condemnation of sin in
the flesh, through the offering of the body of Jesus once
for all, as a propitiation to declare the righteousness of
God, as a basis for the remission of sins. All who approach
God through this crucified, but risen, representative of
Adam's disobedient race are forgiven. Therefore, by a
figure, His blood cleanseth from sin. (Luke 19:47; 20:1-26;
John 11:45-53; Acts 10:38-39; 13:26-29; 4:27-28; Rom 8:3;
Heb. 10:10; Rom 3:25; Acts 13:38; I John 1:7; John 14:6;
Acts 4:12; 1 Peter 3:18; 2:24; Heb 9:14; 7:27; 9:26-28;
Gal. 1:4; Rom. 3:25; 15:8; Gal. 3:21-22; 2:21; 4:4-5; Heb.
9:15; Luke 22:20; 24:26, 46-47; Matt. 26:28)
13.
That
on the third day, God raised Him from the dead, and exalted
Him to the heavens as priestly mediator between God and
man, in the process of gathering from among them a people
who should be saved by the belief and obedience of the
truth. (1 Cor. 15:4; Acts 10:40:13:30-37; 2:24-27)
14.
That
He is a priest over His own house only, and does not
intercede for the world, or for professors who are
abandoned for disobedience. That He makes intercession for
His erring brethren, if they confess and forsake their
sins. (Luke 24:51; Eph. 1:20; Acts 5:31; I Tim. 2:5; Heb.
8:1; Acts 15:14; 13:39; Heb. 4:14-15; John 17:9; Heb.
10:26; I John 2:1; Prov. 28:13)
15.
That
He sent forth apostles to proclaim salvation through Him,
as the only name given under heaven whereby men may be
saved. (Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19-20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts
26:16-18; 4:12)
16.
That
the way to obtain this salvation is to believe the gospel
they preached. and to take on the name and service of
Christ, by, being thereupon immersed in water, and
continuing patiently in the observance of all things He has
commanded, none being recognized as His friends except
those who do what He has commanded. (Acts 13:48; 16:31;
Mark 16:16; Rom. 1:16; Acts 2:38, 41; 10:47; 8:12; Gal.
3:27-29; Rom. 6:3-5; 2:7; Matt. 28:20; John 15:14)
17.
That
the gospel consists of the "things concerning the Kingdom
of God and the name of Jesus Christ." (Acts 8:12; 19:8,
10.20; 28:30-31)
18.
That
the things of the Kingdom of God are the facts testified
concerning the Kingdom of God in the writings of the
prophets and apostles, and definable as in the next twelve
paragraphs.
19.
That
God will set up a Kingdom in the earth, which will
overthrow all others, and change them into "the kingdoms of
our Lord and his Christ." (Dan. 2:44; 7:13; Rev. 11:15;
Isa. 32:1, 6; 2:3-4; 11:9-10)
20.
That
for this purpose God will send Jesus Christ personally to
the earth at the close of the times of the Gentiles. (Acts
3:20-21; Psa. 102:16,21; 11 Tim. 4:1; Acts 1:9,11; Dan.
7:13)
21.
That
the Kingdom, which He will establish, will be the Kingdom
of Israel restored, in the territory it formerly occupied,
viz., the land bequeathed for an everlasting possession to
Abraham and his seed (the Christ) by covenant. (Micah
4:6-8; Amos 9:11-15; Ezek 37:21-22; Jer. 23:3, 8; Gen.
13:14, 17; Heb. 11:8-9; Gal. 3:16; Lev. 26:42; Micah 7:20)
22.
That
this restoration of the kingdom again to Israel will
involve the ingathering of God's chosen but scattered
nation, the Jews; their reinstatement in the land of their
fathers, when it shall have been reclaimed from "the
desolation of many generations"; the building again of
Jerusalem to become "the throne of the Lord" and the
metropolis of the whole earth. (Isa. 11:12; Jer. 31:10;
Zech. 8:8; Ezek. 36:34, 36; Isa. 51:3:15; 62:4; Jer. 3:17;
Micah 4:7-8; Joel 3:17; Isa. 24:23)
23.
That
the governing body of the Kingdom so established will be
the brethren of Christ, of all generations, developed by
resurrection and change. and constituting, with Christ as
their head, the collective "seed of Abraham", in whom all
nations will be blessed. and comprising "Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and all the prophets", and all in their age of
like faithfulness. (Dan. 12:2; Luke 13:28; Rev. 11 :18; I
Thess. 4:15-17; John 5:28-29; 6:39-40; Luke 14:14; Matt.
24:34,46)
24.
That
at the appearing of Christ prior to the establishment of
the Kingdom, the responsible (namely, those who know the
revealed will of God, and have been called to submit to
it), dead and living--obedient and disobedient--will be
summoned before His judgment seat to be judged according to
their works"; and "receive in body according to what they
have done, whether it be good or bad". (II Cor. 5:10; II
Tim. 4:1; Rom. 2:5-6, 16:14:10-12; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rev. 11:18)
25.
That
the unfaithful will be consigned to shame and the "second
death", and the faithful, invested with immortality, and
exalted to reign with Jesus as joint heirs of the Kingdom,
co-possessors of the earth, and joint administrators of
God's authority among men in everything. (Matt. 7:26; 8:12;
25:20: Dan. 12:2: Gal. 6:8; 5:21; II Thess. 1:8; Heb.
10:26-28; II Peter 2:12; Rev. 21:8; Mal. 4:1; Psa 37:
30-38, Prov. 10:25-29; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; 11 Cor. 5:1-4; as.
1:12; Rom. 2:7; John 10:28; Matt. 5:5; Psa. 37:9, 22 ,29;
Rev. 5:9; Dan. 7:27; I Thess. 2:12; II Peter 1:11; Rev.
3:21; II Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; Psa. 49:7-9; Luke 22:29-30)
26.
That
the Kingdom of God, thus constituted, will continue a
thousand years, during which sin and death will continue
among the earth's subject inhabitants, though in a much
milder degree than now. (Rev. 20:4-8; 12:15; Isa. 65:20;
Ezek. 64:22, 25; 1 Cor. 15:24, 28)
27.
That
a law will be established which shall go forth to the
nations for their "instruction in righteousness" resulting
in the abolition of war to the ends of the earth; and the
"filling of the earth with the knowledge of the glory of
Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea". (Micah 4:2; Isa.
42:4; 11:1-5; 2:4; Hab. 2:14)
28.
That
the mission of the Kingdom will be to subdue all enemies,
and finally death itself, by opening up the way of life to
the nations, which they will enter by faith, during the
thousand years, and (in reality) at their close. (I Cor.
15:25-26; Rev. 21:4; 20:12-15; Isa. 25:6-8)
29.
That
at the close of the thousand years, there will be a general
resurrection and judgment, resulting in the final
extinction of the wicked, and the immortalization of those
who shall have established their title (under the grace of
God) to eternal life during the thousand years. (Rev.
20:11-15; I Cor. 15:24)
30.
That
the government will then be delivered up by Jesus to the
Father, who will manifest Himself as the "All-in-All", sin
and death having been taken out of the way, and the race
completely restored to the friendship of the Deity. (1 Cor.
15:28)