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Calvary Church of God in Christ, UK |
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We
believe that the Bible is the Word of God and contains one
harmonious and sufficiently complete system of doctrine. We
believe in the full inspiration of the Word of God. We hold the
Word of God to be the only authority in all matters and assert
that no doctrine can be true or essential, if it does not find a
place in this Word. We
believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Author and Creator of all
things. The Old Testament reveals God in diverse manners, by
manifesting his nature, character, and dominions. The Gospels in
the New Testament give us knowledge of God the "Father"
or "My Father", showing the relationship of God to Jesus
as Father, or representing Him as the Father in the Godhead, and
Jesus himself that Son (St. John 15:8, 14:20). Jesus also gives
God the distinction of "Fatherhood" to all believers
when he explains God in the light of "Your Father in
Heaven" (St. Matthew 11:33;6:8). We
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Second person in
the Godhead of the Trinity or Triune Godhead. We believe that
Jesus was and is eternal in his person and nature as the Son of
God who was with God in the beginning of creation (St. John 1:1).
We believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin called Mary
according to the scripture (St. Matthew 1:18), thus giving rise to
our fundamental belief in the Virgin Birth and to all of the
miraculous events surrounding the phenomenon (St. Matthew
1:18-25). We believe that Jesus Christ became the "suffering
servant" to man; this suffering servant came seeking to
redeem man from sin and to reconcile him back to God, his Father
(Romans 5:10). We believe that Jesus Christ is standing now as
mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5) We
believe the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the third person of the
Trinity, proceeds from the Father and the Son, is of the same
substance, equal to power and glory, and is together with the
Father and the Son, to be believed in, obeyed, and worshipped. The
Holy Ghost is a gift bestowed upon the believer for the purpose of
equipping and empowering the believer, making him a more effective
witness for service in the world. He teaches and guides one into
all truth (John 16:13; Acts 1:8, 8:39). We
believe that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost is an experience
subsequent to conversion and sanctification and that
tongue-speaking is the consequence of the baptism in the Holy
Ghost with the manifestations of the fruit of the spirit
(Galatians 5:22-23; Acts 10:46, 19:1-6). We believe that we are
not baptized with the Holy Ghost in order to be saved (Acts
19:1-6; John 3:5). When one receives a baptismal Holy Ghost
experience, we believe one will speak with a tongue unknown to
oneself according to the sovereign will of Christ. To be filled
with the Spirit means to be Spirit controlled as expressed by Paul
in Ephesians 5:18-19. Since the charismatic demonstrations were
necessary to help the early church to be successful in
implementing the command of Christ, we therefore, believe that a
Holy Ghost experience is mandatory for all men today. We
believe that man was created holy by God, composed of body and
soul. We believe that man, by nature, is sinful and unholy. Being
born in sin, he needs to be born again, sanctified and cleansed
from all sins by the blood of Jesus. We believe that man is saved
by confessing and forsaking his sins, and believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and that having become a child of God, by being born
again and adopted into the family of God, he may, and should,
claim the inheritance of the sons of God, namely the baptism of
the Holy Ghost. Sin,
the Bible teaches, began in the angelic world (Ezekiel 28:11-19;
Isaiah 14:12-20), and is transmitted into the blood of the human
race through disobedience and deception motivated by unbelief (I
Timothy 2:14). Adam's sin, committed by eating of the forbidden
fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, carried with it
permanent pollution or depraved human nature to all his
descendants. This is called "original sin." Sin
can now be defined as a volitional transgression against God and a
lack of conformity to the will of God. We, therefore, conclude
that man by nature, is sinful and that he has fallen from a
glorious and righteous state from which he was created, and has
become unrighteous and unholy. Man, therefore, must be restored to
his state of holiness from which he has fallen by being born again
(St. John 3:7) Salvation
deals with the application of the work of redemption to the sinner
with his restoration to divine favor and communion with God. This
redemptive operation of the Holy Ghost upon sinners is brought
about by repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ which brings conversion, faith, justification regeneration,
sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Repentance
is the work of God, which results in a change of mind in respect
to man's relationship to God. (St. Matthew 3:1-2, 4:17; Acts
20:21). Faith is a certain conviction wrought in the heart
by the Holy Spirit, as to the truth of the Gospel and a heart
trust in the promises of God in Christ (Romans 1:17, 3:28; St.
Matthew 9:22; Acts 26:18). Conversion is that act of God
whereby He causes the regenerated sinner, in his conscious life,
to turn to Him in repentance and faith (II Kings 5:15; II
Chronicles 33:12-13; St. Luke 19:8, 9; Acts 8:30). Regeneration
is that act of God by which the principle of the new life is
implanted in man, and the governing disposition of soul is made
holy and the first holy exercise of this new disposition is
secured. Sanctification is that gracious and continuous
operation of the Holy Ghost, by which He delivers the justified
sinner from the pollution of sin, renews his whole nature in the
image of God and enables him to perform good works (Romans
6:4;5:6; Colossians 2:12; 3:1). The
Bible uses the term "angel" (a heavenly body) clearly
and primarily to denote messengers or ambassadors of God with such
scripture references as Revelations 4:5, which indicates their
duty in heaven to praise God (Psalm 103:20), to do God's will (St.
Matthew 18:10) and to behold his face. But since heaven must come
down to earth, they also have a mission to earth. The Bible
indicates that they accompanied God in the Creation, and also that
they will accompany Christ in His return in Glory. Demons
denote unclean or evil spirits; they are sometimes called devils
or demonic beings. They are evil spirits, belonging to the unseen
or spiritual realm, embodied in human beings. The Old Testament
refers to the prince of demons, sometimes called Satan (Adversary)
or Devil, as having power and wisdom, taking the habitation of
other forms such as the serpent (Genesis 3:1). The New Testament
speaks of the Devil as Tempter (St. Matthew 4:3) and it goes on to
tell the works of Satan, The Devil, and Demons as combating
righteousness and good in any form, proving to be an adversary to
the saints. Their chief power is exercised to destroy the mission
of Jesus Christ. It can well be said that the Christian Church
believes in Demons, Satan, and Devils. We believe in their power
and purpose. We believe they can be subdued and conquered as in
the commandment to the believer by Jesus. "In my name they
shall cast out Satan and the work of the Devil and to resist him
and then he will flee (WITHDRAW) from you." (St. Mark
16:17). The
Church forms a spiritual unity of which Christ is the divine head.
It is animated by one Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. It professes
one faith, shares one hope, and serves one King,. It is the
citadel of the truth and God's agency for communicating to
believers all spiritual blessings. The Church then is the object
of our faith rather than of knowledge. The name of our Church, "CHURCH
OF GOD IN CHRIST" is supported by I Thessalonians
2:14 and other passages in the Pauline Epistles. The word "CHURCH"
or "EKKLESIA" was
first applied to the Christian society by Jesus Christ in St.
Matthew 16:18, the occasion being that of his benediction of Peter
at Caesarea Phillippi. We
believe in the second coming of Christ; that He shall come from
heaven to earth, personally, bodily, visibly (Acts 1:11; Titus
2:11-13; St. Matthew 16:27; 24:30; 25:30; Luke 21:27; John 1:14,
17; Titus 2:11) and that the Church, the bride, will be caught up
to meet Him in the air (I Thessalonians, 4:16-17). We admonish all
who have this hope to purify themselves as He is pure. The
Church of God in Christ believes in and practices Divine Healing.
It is a commandment of Jesus to the Apostles (St. Mark 16:18).
Jesus affirms his teachings on healing by explaining to His
disciples, who were to be Apostles, that healing the afflicted is
by faith (St. Luke 9:40-41). Therefore, we believe that healing by
faith in God has scriptural support and ordained authority. St.
James' writings in his epistle encourage Elders to pray for the
sick, lay hands upon them and to anoint them with oil, and that
prayers with faith shall heal the sick and the Lord shall raise
them up. Healing is still practiced widely and frequently in the
Church of God in Christ, and testimonies of healing in our Church
testify to this fact. The
Church of God in Christ believes that miracles occur to convince
men that the Bible is God's Word. A miracle can be defined as an
extraordinary visible act of Divine power, wrought by the
efficient agency of the will of God, which has as its final cause
the vindication of the righteousness of God's word. We believe
that the works of God, which were performed during the beginnings
of Christianity, do and will occur even today where God is
preached, Faith in Christ is exercised, The Holy Ghost is active,
and the Gospel is promulgated in the truth (Acts 5:15; 6:8; 9:40;
Luke 4:36, 7:14-15; 5:5-6; St. Mark 14:15). It
is generally admitted that for an ordinance to be valid, it must
have been instituted by Christ. When we speak of ordinances of the
church, we are speaking of those instituted by Christ, in which by
sensible signs the grace of God in Christ, and the benefits of the
covenant of grace are represented, sealed, and applied to
believers, and these in turn give expression to their faith and
allegiance to God. The Church Of God In Christ recognizes three
ordinances as having been instituted by Christ himself and
therefore, binding upon the church practice. The
Lord's Supper symbolizes the Lord's death and suffering for the
benefit and in the place of His people. It also symbolizes the
believer's participation in the crucified Christ. It represents
not only the death of Christ as the object of faith which unites
the believers to Christ, but also the effect of this act as the
giving of life, strength, and joy to the soul. The communicant by
faith enters into a special spiritual union of his soul with the
glorified Christ. Feet
Washing is practiced and recognized as an ordinance in our Church
because Christ, by His example, showed that humility characterized
greatness in the Kingdom of God, and that service, rendered to
others gave evidence that humility, motivated by love, exists.
These services are held subsequent to the Lord's Supper; however,
its regularity is left to the discretion of the Pastor in charge. We
believe that Water Baptism is necessary as instructed by Christ in
St. John 3:5 However,
we do not believe that water baptism alone is a means of
salvation, but is an outward demonstration that one has already
had a conversion experience and has accepted Christ as his
personal Savior. As Pentecostals, we practice immersion in
preference to "SPRINKLING", because immersion
corresponds more closely to the death, burial, and resurrection of
our Lord (Colossians 2:12). It also symbolizes regeneration and
purification more than any other mode. Therefore, we practice
immersion as our mode of Baptism. We believe that we should use
the Baptismal Formula given us by Christ for all "…IN
THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY
GHOST…" (St. Matthew 28:19) |
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