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What We Believe
We believe that the Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. This
Statement of Beliefs is intended simply as a basis of fellowship among us
(i.e., that we all speak the same thing, 1 Corinthians 1:10 [
KJV/
NIV];
Acts 2:42 [
KJV/
NIV]).
The phraseology employed in this Statement is not inspired nor contended for, but
the truth set forth is held to be essential to a full-gospel ministry. No claim is
made that it covers all Biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these
fundamental doctrines.
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1. The Scriptures Inspired
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally
inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible,
authoritative rule of faith and conduct.
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2. The One True God
The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally
self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer
of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles
of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
The Adorable Godhead
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Terms Defined
The terms "Trinity" and "persons" as related to the Godhead, while
not found in the Scriptures, are words in harmony with Scripture,
whereby we may convey to others our immediate understanding of
the doctrine of Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished
from "gods many and lords many." We therefore may speak with propriety
of the Lord our God who is One Lord, as a trinity or as one Being
of three persons, and still be absolutely scriptural.
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Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead
Christ taught a distinction of Persons in the Godhead which He
expressed in specific terms of relationship, as Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, but that this distinction and relationship, as to
its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible, because unexplained.
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Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Father which constitutes
him the Father and not the Son; there is that in the Son which
constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that
in the Holy Ghost which constitutes Him the Holy Ghost and not
either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter,
the Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Ghost is the one proceeding
from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons
in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord
God Almighty and His name one.
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Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are never identical as
to Person; nor confused as to relation; nor divided in respect
to the Godhead; nor opposed as to cooperation. The Son is in the
Father and the Father is in the Son as to relationship. The Son
is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship.
The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father,
as to authority. The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son
proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation and authority.
Hence, neither Person in the Godhead either exists or works separately
or independently of the others.
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The Title, Lord Jesus Christ
The appellation, "Lord Jesus Christ," is a proper name. It is
never applied in the New Testament, either to the Father or to
the Holy Ghost. It therefore belongs exclusively to the Son of
God.
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The Lord Jesus Christ, God with Us
The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is
the proper and only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human
nature, He is the proper Son of Man. He is therefore, acknowledged
to be both God and man; who because He is God and man is "Immanuel,"
God with us.
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The Title, Son of God
Since the name "Immanuel" embraces both God and man in the one
Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title, Son
of God, describes His proper deity, and the title, Son of Man,
His proper humanity. Therefore, the title Son of God, belongs
to the order of eternity, and the title, Son of Man, to the order
of time.
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Transgression of the Doctrine of Christ
Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of Christ to
say that Jesus Christ derived the title, Son of God, solely from
the fact of the incarnation, or because of His relation to the
economy of redemption. Therefore, to deny that the Father is a
real and eternal Father, and that the Son is a real and eternal
Son, is a denial of the distinction and relationship in the Being
of God; a denial of the Father, and the Son; and a displacement
of the truth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
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Exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord
The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by Himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; angels
and principalities and powers having been made subject unto Him.
And having been made both Lord and Christ, He sent the Holy Ghost
that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father until
the end, when the Son shall become subject to the Father that
God may be all in all.
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Equal Honor to the Father and to the Son
Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the
Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth
to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Ghost
to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of Deity, and to give
Him all honor and the glory contained in all the names and titles
of the Godhead except those which express relationship (see Distinction
and Relationship in the Godhead, Unity of the One Being of Father,
Son and Holy Ghost , and Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead)
and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father.
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3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures
declare:
His virgin birth,
His sinless life,
His miracles,
His substitutionary work on the cross,
His bodily resurrection from the dead,
His exaltation to the right hand of God.
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4. The Fall of Man
Man was created good and upright; for God said, "Let us make man
in our own image, after our likeness." However, man by voluntary
transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death
but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
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5. The Salvation of Man
Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus
Christ the Son of God.
Conditions to Salvation
Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith
toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith,
man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life.
The Evidence of Salvation
The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the
Spirit.
The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and
true holiness.
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6. The Ordinances of the Church
Baptism in Water
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded
by the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Saviour
and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that
they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with
Him to walk in newness of life.
Holy Communion
The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements --bread
and the fruit of the vine-- is the symbol expressing our sharing
the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4 [KJV/
NIV]),
a memorial of his suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26 [KJV/
NIV]),
and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26 [KJV/
NIV]),
and is enjoined on all believers "till He come!"
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7. The Baptism in the Holy Ghost
All believers are entitled to and should ardently
expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism
in the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord
Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early
Christian Church. With it comes the enduement of power for life
and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work
of the ministry.
This experience is distinct from and subsequent to
the experience of the new birth.
With the baptism in the Holy Ghost come such experiences
as:
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an overflowing fullness of
the Spirit, John 7:37-39 [KJV/
NIV],
Acts 4:8 [KJV/
NIV]
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a deepened reverence for God,
Acts 2:43 [KJV/
NIV],
Hebrews 12:28 [KJV/
NIV]
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an intensified consecration
to God and dedication to His work, Acts 2:42 [KJV/
NIV]
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and a more active love for
Christ, for His Word and for the lost, Mark 16:20 [KJV/
NIV]
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8. The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost
The baptism of believers in the Holy Ghost is witnessed
by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the
Spirit of God gives them utterance.
The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same
in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and
use.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-10 [KJV/
NIV]
- 1 Corinthians 12:28 [KJV/
NIV]
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9. Sanctification
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which
is evil, and of dedication unto God.
The Scriptures teach a life of "holiness without which
no man shall see the Lord."
By the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey
the command: "Be ye holy, for I am holy."
Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing
his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and
by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by
offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.
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10. The Church and its Mission
The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation
of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment
of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an
integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn,
which are written in heaven.
Since God's purpose concerning man is to seek and
to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, and to build
a body of believers in the image of His Son, the priority reason
for being of the Assemblies of God as part of the Church is:
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To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world.
Acts 1:8 [KJV/
NIV]
Matthew 28:19,20 [KJV/
NIV]
Mark 16:15,16 [KJV/
NIV]
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To be a corporate body in which man may worship God.
1 Corinthians 12:13 [KJV/
NIV]
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To be a channel of God's purpose to build a body of saints
being perfected in the image of His Son.
Ephesians 4:11-16 [KJV/
NIV]
1 Corinthians 12:28 [KJV/
NIV]
1 Corinthians 14:12 [KJV/
NIV]
Calvary Family Church exists expressly to give continuing emphasis to this reason for being in the New Testament apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This experience:
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Enables them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with
accompanying supernatural signs.
Mark 16:15-20 [KJV/
NIV]
Acts 4:29-31 [KJV/
NIV]
Hebrews 2:3,4 [KJV/
NIV]
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Adds a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with
God.
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 [KJV/
NIV]
1 Corinthians 12 [KJV/
NIV]
1 Corinthians 13 [KJV/
NIV]
1 Corinthians 14 [KJV/
NIV]
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Enables them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit
in expression of fruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament
times for the edifying of the body of Christ.
Galatians 5:22-26 [KJV/
NIV]
1 Corinthians 14:12 [KJV/
NIV]
Ephesians 4:11,12 [KJV/
NIV]
1 Corinthians 12:28 [KJV/
NIV]
Colossians 1:29 [KJV/
NIV]
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11. The Ministry
A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry
has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of leading
the Church in:
Evangelization of the world.
Worship of God.
Building a body of saints being perfected in the image
of His Son.
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12. Divine Healing
Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel.
Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and
is the privilege of all believers.
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13. The Blessed Hope
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep
in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed
hope of the church.
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14. The Millennial Reign of Christ
The second coming of Christ includes the rapture
of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible
return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand
years.
This millennial reign will bring the salvation of
national Israel,
and the establishment of universal peace.
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15. The Final Judgment
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the fiery lake of burning sulfur, which is the second death.
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16. The New Heavens and the New Earth
"But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."
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