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The Church of God of Prophecy . . . .
From its beginning the Church of God of Prophecy has based its beliefs on the "whole Bible rightly divided." We accept the Bible as God's Holy Word, inspired, inerrant, and infallible. We believe the Bible to be God's written revelation of Himself to mankind and our guide in all matters of faith; therefore, we look to the Bible as our highest authority for doctrine, practice, organization, and discipline. | |
It was a strong desire to rely solely on the Bible that led the early pioneers of the church to declare their willingness to be free from all man made creeds and traditions, to take the New Testament as their only rule of faith and practice, and to give each other equal rights and privileges to read and interpret the Bible as their consciences might dictate. These basic tenets remain intact today; however, as the church grew and spread throughout the world, it was seen that there was safety in a "multitude of counselors" when making doctrinal decisions. Thus, today, all doctrinal matters are agreed upon in one accord by the General Assembly.
The Church of God of Prophecy is firm in its commitment to orthodox Christian belief. We affirm that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in the deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in the physical miracles He performed, in His atoning death on the cross, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory at His Second Coming. We profess that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for the salvation of sinful man. We believe that sanctification by the blood of Christ makes possible personal holiness. We affirm the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling we are able to live godly lives and have power for service. We believe in the ultimate unity of believers, as prayed for by our Lord Jesus Christ in John 17. We believe in the sanctity of human life; we are also committed to the sanctity of the marriage bond and the importance of strong, loving Christian families.
The Church of God of Prophecy fully subscribes to the New Testament principle of Word and Spirit (God's Word and God's Spirit) as practiced by the early church in the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit is the third Divine Person of the Trinity sent by Jesus Christ our Lord after His ascension and at the pleasure of God the Father to be the Guide and Instructor of the church. He is the ultimate Author, Inspirer, and Applicator of the Scriptures (John 16:7-15; Acts 1:4-8; Acts 2:1-4; II Timothy 3:14-17; II Peter 1:20-21).
We seek to heed and observe the call and direction of the Spirit in both our understanding of the Scriptures and our attempts at personal and corporate obedience. We pledge in our Church Covenant to "walk in the light of God's Word to the best of our knowledge and ability". Hence the Church, in International General Assembly, does revisit from time to time, our understandings and explanations of our doctrines and practices. We do this against the background of the Bible, rightly divided (II Timothy 2:15), in the fear of God and because of human frailties and historic institutional failures.
Our Covenant Relationship:
We have joined ourselves together in Christ as a fellowship of believers by covenanting to accept the Bible as the Word of God, promising to believe and practice its teachings rightly divided with the New Testament as our rule of faith and practice, government and discipline, and agreeing to walk in the light to the best of our knowledge and ability.
Our Commitments:
* We will worship God with all our being:
. . . by acknowledging Him as the Sovereign of all creation
* We will evangelize the lost with our our resources by:
. . . utilizing every available means to take the gospel to all peoples
* We will equip believers, using all our gifts by:
. . . Faithfully preaching and teaching the whole Word of God
* We will prepare for Christ's return with all our hearts by:
. . . helping to take the gospel to every people group on earth
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