Our Beliefs
Repentance | Faith
|
Justification |
Regeneration |
Adoption |
Sanctification
Pentecost |
Divine Healing
| Second Coming |
Resurrection |
Rewards
Repentance
Repentance (Gr. metanoia-from meta-with, and noos- mind-something done with the whole mind).
Mind, as thus viewed, embraces the spirit, with particular
reference to the conscience and will, and denotes a decision
made which changes the desires, views, attitude, purpose, and
conduct of one's life. Truth inwardly applied produces
conviction for sin; conscience awakened by conviction demands a
change; and the will mightily influenced by the conscience in
view of the judgment is moved to change the whole life. Metanoia
signifies a whole life repentance-a lifetime forsaking of sin,
and not a mere momentary act day by day.
Repentance is not "godly sorrow for sin," but "godly sorrow,"
which is produced by a display of the goodness of God that leads
to repentance (Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10). Repentance puts
the heart in a position to believe.
Faith
Faith is the result of divine persuasion effected by the promises of God. It includes confidence and trust. The promises, "exceeding great and precious," express the faithfulness of God in the heart thus persuaded: confidence is begotten, trust is inspired.
"The promises are yea [established] and amen [fulfilled] in him"-the Christ. He, by them, is the "originator of faith" in the heart (Hebrews 12:2).
Confidence in and reliance [trust] upon Christ, the act of faith following repentance, brings to the heart the realization of the forgiveness of sins. Faith grows by the same process that gives it birth-the promises of God, centered in Christ, and fulfilled by Him. He is the finisher [perfecter] of faith.
Justification
Justification is the act of God, as the infinite Judge, pronouncing the penitent believing soul free from the condemnation of His righteous law. It is preceded by forgiveness and followed by regeneration. Forgiveness removes the guilt of sin; justification lifts the condemnation caused by those sins from the soul. The just God makes the soul just and upholds His just laws. His law is righteous, and the trusting soul being made just is also made righteous by the same act. Both are one. Justification and righteousness come from the same word in the original. The "righteousness of the law is fulfilled in them who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:4). Justification opens the way for the heart's regeneration. The penitent believer is rightly related to law and justified by it through faith. The law endorses him because he is in Christ. Forgiveness, justification, and regeneration are not identical, but they all take place at the same time. The three are simultaneously received by the same act of faith.
Regeneration
Regeneration (Gr. polingenesia: polin-again; genesia-
generation). This means "to be generated again." Generation is
derived from it; also Genesis. We prefix the particle re (which
means again) to generation and have regeneration, which means to
be "second born" or "reborn." We term this work the "new birth"
or "born again." The particle re, as prefixed to generation, has
for its antecedent, not the natural birth, but the birth of the
first man in Eden. Adam was not created, but generated. The term
creation is used to denote the making of man as he came from
God, but it was an act of divine generation. "We are his
offspring," as said the apostle on Mars' Hill. If we are "the
offspring of God," then the first man was His offspring, or
"generated son." He lost that birth, and became a son of Satan,
the serpent deceiver.
Every human being was potentially generated with Adam and put
into the body or materiality as he was. As he fell, all fell in
him and with him. All lost this divine birth. All were in the
Second Adam-Christ-on the Cross, and in Him were born
potentially the second time. That second birth on Calvary is
reproduced in us by the Spirit. This is the polingenesia-
"second birth"-that Jesus taught Nicodemus (John 3:3) must take
place in him. We are made conscious of the "Calvary birth" in
the "regeneration," effected by the Holy Spirit.
Pardon and justification make a change in all life's
relationships. Regeneration is a change in state; that is, our
inner nature. Being dead in sins, we are quickened to life by
the impartation of the resurrection life of the glorified
Christ. "He is our life," and in regeneration we begin to live
in and by Him.
Adoption
Adoption is an act of God the Father, dealing with the "born one" (Gr. huiothesia from huios-sons, thesia-placing-son placing).
The Father receives the regenerated one from the hand of His beloved Son, and places him in His heavenly household. Jesus the first-born Son-the Elder Brother-by virtue of the Father's act of adoption, assigned to the newly acknowledged Son His work and service in the heavenly family, or kingdom. Jesus, as the "first begotten from the dead" has the "preeminence among the brethren" (Colossians 1:18), and by the appointment of the Father, has complete control of all the heavenly household; therefore, He gives to each one in the "household" his individual work. The Father, in accepting the "newly born" into His family, "sends forth the Spirit of His first-born Son into the heart of the adopted son" making him a "joint-heir with Christ." The Spirit of the first-born Son put into the heart of the "newly-born" is the witnessing Spirit assuring him of his salvation and sonship.
Sanctification
The derivation of this word, from root to stem in both Hebrew
and Greek languages (the original languages in which the Word of
God was first written) may help to some extent in the definition
of its meaning, but is not sufficient to set forth the vast
scope of truth embraced by the word as used in both Old and New
Testaments. The historico-ethical revelation of the word as
connected with the manifestation of Jehovah to the patriarchs,
to Israel, the elect nation, and to and through Jesus Christ in
fullness, is the only way by which the full knowledge of the
word as to its meaning can be obtained.
Kadesh is the Hebrew word for sanctification and its
equivalents. Its verbal stem is derived from the root dash which
primarily signifies to "break forth shiningly" (Cremer's
Lexicon). The word in the Greek which was used to translate
kadesh is hagios. The 70 men appointed from among the Jews to
translate the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language, known
historically as the Septuagint, in B. C. 287, used hagios in
translating kadesh into that language.
The first instance of the use of kadesh is in Genesis 2:3: "And
God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it." The day "broke
forth shiningly" in its sanctification.
The word next occurs in Exodus 3:5: "Draw not nigh ... put off
thy shoes ... for the place whereon thou standest is holy
ground." In the bush of fire "God broke forth shiningly" and His
radiance hallowed the ground where Moses stood, making it holy.
The holy flame that burned upon the bush and consumed it not was
a type and prophecy of God's future manifestation to Israel and
His method of dealing with them.
This manifestation was clearer and more abundant in Christ Jesus
who was the effulgence of his Father's glory (Hebrews 1:3). It
also characterizes the fullness of the work of the Holy Ghost.
From the root and stem significance of the Hebrew word kadesh
and its equivalent in Greek, we learn by its historic
development that holiness ( "that which breaks forth shiningly")
is the fundamental essence and perfection of God's being in
infinite fullness. He embodies all holiness absolutely. There is
none outside and independent of Him. Everything is holy as
related to Him. On the basis of, and to the extent of this
constituted relationship, we are holy.
We now come to consider holiness in the sphere of relationship.
The Hebrew and Greek terms, as defined above in relation to God,
take on other shades of meaning in the sphere of divine
relationships. As applied to persons and things, it signifies to
be solely and completely devoted to a divine service. "Every
devoted thing in Israel shall be holy" (see Leviticus 27:28).
This devotion is necessarily preceded by a separation from
everything in the previous life. This separation covers all sins
and sinning, and all inherited sin-the old man-since sin in all
forms is of no service to God. The former separation is done in
repentance and the latter in crucifixion. This crucifixion is
wrought in the heart of the one who is alive to God; that is,
the regenerated. Separation from all the former life, inward and
outward, places us in the position to be forever devoted to God.
The original word signifies divine appropriation as a result of
the act of devotion. This appropriation makes us holy. Then
begins the "breaking forth shiningly" of the sanctification of
the divine Being wrought within us. We become luminaries in the
world. The holiness of God shines in us to the degree of our
relationship to Him.
Pentecost
Pentecost (Gr. pentecoste-fiftieth day) has for its antecedent
the "Feast of Weeks," called also the "Feast of Harvest," one of
the seven feasts that Israel was commanded by the Lord to
observe annually. There are three feasts to be observed in the
beginning of the spring season: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and
the Feast of First-Fruits. Following the night of the Passover
Feast, they began to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread which
lasted one week. During this week the Feast of First-Fruits was
held, which lasted but one day, or a part of a day. That day was
the "morrow after the Sabbath" of the Unleavened Bread Feast,
corresponding to our Sunday. From that Sabbath of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, Israel was commanded to number seven Sabbaths
(which would make the seventh Sabbath the forty-ninth day), and
on the morrow after the seventh Sabbath, Israel was commanded to
observe the Feast of Weeks, or Feast of Harvest, which would be
a feast on the fiftieth day.
Hence, from the Feast of the First-Fruits to the Feast of Weeks,
fifty days intervened. The Feast of Weeks or Harvest was also a
First-Fruit Feast-the second-so that between the two was a
period of fifty days. The first of these feasts pointed to the
resurrection of Christ and the second to the outpouring of the
Holy Ghost, as in Acts 2. Christ died on the day the Passover
was killed and was raised from the dead on the day of the
offering of the sheaf of the first-fruits. He continued on the
earth forty days, and then, ascended to heaven.
The apostles, by Christ's command, returned from the Mount of
Olives where they saw the Christ depart from earth, and in the
upper room with over one hundred other believers, began tarrying
for the fulfillment of the "promise of the Father" which the
Christ assured them would be given "not many days hence." They
sought and waited ten days. The tenth day was the fiftieth day
after the resurrection of the Christ. On that day the old Feast
of Harvest was observed. And at the hour that the Priest offered
the two loaves "according to the law," the Holy Ghost fell upon
the upper room waiters, "and they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit."
Pentecoste was the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, or
Harvest, held on the fiftieth day. The last letter of the
original word was dropped and so we have our word pentecost. The
original pentecoste literally means, fiftieth, as a number. "And
when the day of Pentecost [pentecoste] was fully come" (Acts
2:1), the Holy Spirit was given in fullness to the 120 in the
Jerusalem "upper room."
Pentecost now refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and not
to any special day. His coming was the beginning of the
indwelling of God the Father, Son, and Spirit in the hearts of
believers and in the New Testament Church.
God (Hebrew Elohim) as a name signifies uni-plurality-the unity
of more than one personality. The Trinity (tri-unity) is implied
in the name. However, we say God the Father, God the Son, God
the Holy Spirit. Not three Gods, but one God with three
personalities, co-existing in unity.
The coming of God the Holy Spirit to dwell in believers meant
the coming of God the Son and God the Father, at the same time.
Pentecost is the indwelling of the adorable Trinity in
individual believers and in the Church of the New Testament
dispensation. This is the great distinguishing feature of the
pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost. The Comforter was given
to dwell in the hearts of the crucified-fully cleansed-
believers. "And ye are clean-cleansed every whit-but not all"
(John 13:10). The statement "not all," referred to Judas the
betrayer, "Now ye are clean [cleansed, purified] through the
word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3). These statements
were made before the Day of Pentecost. The washing of the
disciples' feet was a symbol of the inner cleansing of their
hearts, and the statement "ye are clean every whit" was made at
that time and place.
The "upper room" company, while tarrying ten days for the "enduement
from on high," was continuously "praising and blessing God."
This is a fine specimen of a genuine holiness meeting. "They
were all with one accord in one place" during the ten days'
waiting, which gave evidence of heart purity as a preparation
for the pentecostal baptism.
Divine Healing
Divine healing, as we teach and believe, is altogether a product
of the atoning merit of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
"Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses" (Matthew
8:17), and "with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). This
healing is wrought solely by the application of the atonement to
the body, through faith alone. The Holy Spirit applies the
efficacy of the blood of healing to the sick and afflicted body,
or parts, which in fact, is the impartation of the resurrected
life of the glorified Christ. This is direct divine healing,
effected by the divine Being in response to faith alone.
The law of recovery is written in all creation, and also in our
bodies, since they are an essential part of creation. This law
operates according to its relation to the infinite law of all
creation as upheld and directed by the Creator. Healing is a
part of the benefits flowing out of this law of recovery, and it
may be termed the healing of natural law.
The earth is under the curse of the violation of the Edenic
Covenant by the sin of the first man, "As lord over all the
works of God's hands." And this curse has caused a thousand
disturbances in the movement of natural law. An abnormal
condition prevails, largely throughout this mundane sphere.
These abnormal disturbances force the law of creation as related
to earth, to work destruction in the natural. They interfere
with the operation of the law of recovery so that complete
restoration is rarely ever fully attained. Physicians depend
upon this law of recovery to restore health, and as far as they
know this law, they endeavor to have the patient adjusted to its
operation. Remedial agencies can be beneficial only insofar as
they assist in making this law of recovery normal in its
operation.
It may be that the Holy Spirit, at times, elevates and
accelerates this law of recovery so that it is made, thereby, a
channel of healing. If so, this is an act of divine healing, but
not on an equality with the healing of Calvary's sacrifice.
Natural means viewed as a product of the law of recovery are not
to be despised. Neither are we to look upon their use as sinful
on the part of believers in Christ. The healing of Calvary's
stream is the "better way," and the way to secure complete and
permanent healing of all sickness and diseases.
Second Coming
The word millennium is the name for the Latin numeral 1,000. The
Greek is kiliad or chiliad, as it is more frequently spelled in
English. Both are used in the discussion of the coming reign of
Christ. His coming is premillennial, as we teach. "Pre " means
before, and His coming will be before the millennium shall
begin. We mean His coming "with all the saints " will be the
event that shall inaugurate the millennial (one thousand years)
reign of Christ on earth.
That period will be preliminary and preparatory in purpose. It
is preliminary to the final and absolute regeneration of all
that belongs to this mundane creation. It is preparatory to the
reign of Christ as it will subjugate absolutely everything to
the will of the Father, by destroying all enmities, animosities,
and every possible degree of rebellion against the royal will of
God. When this is done, the eternity of the kingdom will be
fully inaugurated. Ineffable glories, surpassing all finite
conception, will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
All the saints look for, long for, and pray for the coming of
Christ, as that which is "nigh at hand." A thousand signs and
events proclaim and signify the immediate end of this present
age. The Great Tribulation shadows are visible now on the earth,
and the first event of the Second Advent program may occur at
any moment. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Resurrection
Resurrection (Gr. [1] anastasis, from ana-again, and stasis-to stand up again; [2] egerio, to raise up) means to raise up anything, such as (a) a building, (b) a savior, (c) to awaken from sleep.
Resurrection is the "standing up again" of that which has
fallen-that bringing to life that which has fallen to death.
That which went down in death is raised up again to life.
The resurrection of Christ is both a proof and example of the
resurrection. He had a real material human body, the same as all
other human beings on earth. "He was born of a [mortal] woman,"
who descended from David the king, through his son Nathan, a
full brother of Solomon; therefore, He was born of the "seed of
David according to the flesh"; also of the "seed of Abraham,"
and the "seed of Adam," through whom "death passed upon all the
human race." All the seed of Adam proceeded from him after he
had fallen in sin, under death.
Therefore Christ lived in a mortal body subject to suffering and
death. He died "under sin"- "unto sin"-an atoning death for sin
in the body, and this being "finished," He "dropped out" of the
mortal body on the cross. The same body that hung on the cross
was laid in the tomb, and the same body that lay in the tomb was
the body that came forth in the resurrection "on the third day."
Thus, His resurrection is proof of our resurrection. His being
raised from the dead is infallible proof of resurrection as a
fact. The manner of His coming forth illustrates the way the
saints shall come forth. The same body that each one left in
death will be the same that shall be raised, and all will "enter
their own body" as Christ did His.
Rewards
Existence is eternal. Things existing can never cease to exist.
Change of form and places may occur, but this is not
annihilation. Eternal existence is not identical with
immortality. The latter is a condition of the former, and
commensurate with it. "[Christ] only hath immortality, dwelling
in light which no man can approach unto" (1 Timothy 6:16). "[He
is] the resurrection, and the [immortal] life" (John 11:25).
Believers are to seek, by well doing, "glory and honor and
immortality" (which is, "eternal life," or the "life of the ages
of the ages"). They are not to seek eternal existence, as that
is already a fact, since we can never cease to be. But they are
to "seek for glory, honor and immortality," as Christ alone
"hath immortality," which is synonymous with the eternity of
life in "the ages of the ages" to come.
The unconditionally lost in the ages of the ages to come will
exist in a state of everlasting death, which can have no end.
They shall have "shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2),
but not "life and immortality," as that marks the state of the
glorified saints in heaven, "unto the ages of the ages." At the
great judgment to come, the wicked depart into everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels (the "lake of fire" which
is the "second death"), but the righteous enter into "life
eternal" or infinite immortality in the glory in which the
eternal God dwells into all eternities. -Written by Bishop J. H.
King (1945)