CONFESSION OF FAITH - WHAT WE BELIEVE - INTERNAL REGULATION FUNCTION PRINCIPLES

THE APOSTLE’S CREED

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made:

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;

And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;

And in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

I look for the Resurrection of the dead,

And the Life of the age to come. Amen.

     The above Creed is the summary of the life given doctrine of the Christian faith.

     There is no such a “right” theological a study that can replace the actual life given spiritual experience; and no Church will be able to preserve her spiritual life if she doesn’t teach the Bible truths… and only.

ABOUT THE BIBLE

     WE BELIEVE that “All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:17-17).

     We believe that the Holy Bible is the final and complete Word of God. And that is not that we “worship the Bible”. We do not “worship” neither we “bow our knees” to the Bible.

     That protects us from “mysticism”, that teaches that men guided by an inner light, and actually making everyone to be a “Bible” to himself.

     By believing that the Holy Bible is the final and complete Word of God to the human race, that, places us against “rationalism”. Human reasons, causes, and judgments are not sufficient to judge the Word of God. The Word of God judges us.

     “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).

     Rationalism judges God and His Word in the court of human logic and that is foolish.

     We reject any new teaching that the Bible “contains” the Word of God, and that His Word is different for every man. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and it is the same for every man.

     We cannot accept added “authorities”, whether they are human traditions, or apocryphal books, or religious ordinances, or expressions of the Gift of Prophecy, or “new” bibles, or whatever other written or oral word that is not in accordance with the Holy Bible, or surpasses her.

     We believe in “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

     We believe that God by His Holy Spirit used holy men to wright His Bible. He preserved and protected the written text for mistakes, or human errors, damages, and superstitions, but He used the vocabulary and the character of the human writer.

     We believe that every word is inspired, and not only the meanings, or the spiritual messages. And that because “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

     “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth, pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Mathew 5:18).

     “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:18).

     “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).

     The Bible contains and words of Satan, good and bad advice, it records sin as well as righteousness. The record is inspired.

     “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).

     It is dangerous to isolate verses out of their context, or to base doctrines on isolated verses.

     The failure to preserve simple Biblical explanations have led many simple people in every kind of wrong positions and concepts.

     On every page of the Holy Bible, there is the Sacred Light of the Holy Spirit, and everyone who reverently and prayerfully studies the Word of God can understand the message of the Bible, by the help the One who wrote it.

How can we be sure that the Bible is the Word of God?

A.          By historic evidence:

     It was written by about 40 writers, in a period over 55 generations. It was protected in the passing of the centuries, it is renowned worldwide, and it speaks with a continuing spiritual freshness. Sixty-six books, so united, one message, a perfect encyclopedic knowledge, without any other likewise.

B.          By an inner truth:

     More than 2,500 times in the Old Testament there are phrases as “Thus said the Lord”.

     The evidence of the already fulfilled prophesies. The witness our Lord Himself and His acceptance of the Old Testament. The dogmatic, constructing, prophetic and spiritual harmony of the Bible.

C.          By experimental evidence

     The testimony of the power of the Bible to save, to lift up the lost and the sinner and to protect him also in Christ Jesus is unique and unparalleled.

      Therefore, the Lord Himself is the Writer of the Bible.

      We do not accept the idea than disbelieve is an intellectual issue. Men who reject the Bible, they do it for spiritual and ethical reasons and never for intellectual reasons.

     There are four categories of people as to their attitude to the Bible and her value:

1.       Those who accept the traditions and reject the Bible or accept both, but they let their traditions to annul basic and fundamental teachings of the Bible. And by doing so, add or subtract from her.

2.       The Mystics, who replace the Holy Bible with the “inner voice”.

3.       The Rationalists, who make the distorted in many ways human logic, the criterion of the spiritual the truth of God.

4.       The believers of God· we believe that: the WHOLE revelation of God is for this today and the modern era. The Bible is composed of 66 books, the Old and the New Testaments. Nothing can be added and nothing can be subtracted from the revelation of God, His Word. The Bible is the final and complete Word of God above anything else. Our faith rests in His Word, “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints [believers]” (Jude 1:3). And for this faith, we should be satisfied, because through her people can be saved from sin, from Satan and from the eternal punishment and condemnation to hell.

ABOUT GOD

1.       We believe GOD EXISTS.

     Nowhere the Bible tries to prove the existence of God.

His existence is noticeable.

     We believe that God is a Person; not a power, or something else.

2.       We believe God is “Spirit, love, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in existence, wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, and in His truth”.

     In the Bible, many names are used to define God. Each one has the same power· and reveals the character of God. ELOHIM, JEHOVA, combinations with Jahova (i.e. JEHOVA – RAFA is translated as “the LORD who heals you” (Exodus 15:26), Father, etc.

     We believe “God is Spirit” (John 4:24).

     We believe God is not limited by time or place.

     We believe “God is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4, Exodus 20:3).

     We believe God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, All-Wise and Sovereign.

     We believe God is Love, Holy, Just, Compassioned, Good and Kind

3.       We believe God is TRIUNE.

     We don’t believe in “three Gods”. There is ONLY ONE GOD eternally revealed in three Persons. When an ignorant man tries to understand the nature of the Omnipotent and not limited by time and place God, results in a mystery and he is all the more confused. The word “TRIUNE” doesn’t exist in the Bible. But the truth about the Trinity is described and taught everywhere in the Bible.

     Some teach that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is only three Names of God and not tree Persons. Reading the 17^th chapter of John is revealed the folly of this teaching. Others reject the Deity and the Personality of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Biblical evidence of the TRINITY:

     Every Person of the Trinity is mention in the Old Testament.

FATHER:   “You are our Father” (Isaiah 63:16).

SON:   “God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Psalm 45:7).

HOLY SPIRIT:  “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

The Holy Bible ascribes the attribute of Holiness to each one of the Persons of God:

Creator:

FATHER:   “In the beginning God created” (Genesis 1:1).

SON:   “All things were made through Him” (John 1:3).

HOLY SPIRIT:  “The Spirit of God has made me” (Job 33:4).

Omnipresent

FATHER:   “Can anyone hide  in secret places,

                      so I shall not see him?” (Jeremiah 23:24).

SON:   “And He put all things under His feet” (Ephesians 1:22).

HOLY SPIRIT: “Where can I go from Your Spirit?

                        …If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

                        If I make my bed in Hell, behold,

                        You are there” (Psalm 139:7-8).

Fountain of Life

FATHER:   Read Deuteronomy chapters 30 & 20

SON:   “Christ… is our life” (Colossians 3:4).

HOLY SPIRIT: “the Spirit… is life” (Romans 8:10).

     Man is triune. He is created “in the likeness” of God.

FATHER…          He loved and sent.

SON…                  He came.

HOLY SPIRIT…  The “other Paraclete”.

  

ABOUT MAN

1.       The origin of man

     We believe man “came out of the hands of God”

“So God created man” (Genesis 1:27).

     The Bible clearly teaches that God created everything· animals, birds, reptiles, plans, trees… according to their kind. And “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him” (Genesis 1:27).

     Therefore, we accept no other theory that is trying to explain the origin of man. We do not believe in reincarnation or metempsychosis. We do not believe that man existed in heaven before he was born on earth.

2.       The nature of man

a.   We believe man is triune.

      Body, soul, and spirit (I Thessalonians 5:23 & Hebrews 4:12)

      The body is material; is the “vehicle” or the “dwelling place” of the human spirit.

      “Our earthly house, this tent” (II Corinthians 5:1).

      The spirit is the true personality. The spirit is not material. “Lord… receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).

       The soul is the embodied spirit “And the LORD God… breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

       Often in the Bible the word “soul” is used with the meaning of “natural life”.

       With this meaning, the animals have a soul. Read Genesis 1:20. But they don’t have a spirit as the man  has, they cannot know God, neither can worship Him as man does.

       Also, we find no evidence or information in the Bible that angels have a soul.

b.   The soul has a consciousness of the world through the spirit.

      The divine gifts of five senses (preservation, acquisition, food reception, reproduction,

       domination), guaranty the existence.

       His free will makes the man morally responsible.

       Consciousness is the result of the intellectual acknowledgment of man about the Holy Law of  God.

       Through the consciousness of man God convicts the world about “of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8).

       Sin takes place when the soul with understanding uses the body to ignore the holy and perfect and goodwill of God.

       The combination of the sinful soul and the body, it is called “flesh” (read Galatian 5:24).

       The inclination towards sin is the “moral of the flesh” (read Romans 8:7).

       Sin is the distortion, the abuse of the powers God gave to man.

c.   The soul is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), when the fellowship with God is lost

       because of the “dirty” conscience.

      Sin brings:      1. guilt

                2. defilement

      Remedy:

       ATONEMENT – FORGIVENESS:  for the remission of sin and her guilt

       JUSTIFICATION: the answer for the “sick” moral condition.

3.       The image of God in man

     This does not mean the physical likeness, because “God is Spirit” (John 4:24).

     The likeness of God and man is in the ethical ability, in the logical judgment, in the ability of immortality, and in the ability of man to govern and rule.

     The result of the “fall” of our first parents (Adam and Eve), another word, the original sin, brought and cost the extinction of the “holy image” of God from man. And that means the loss of innocence and the loss of his moral integrity.

ABOUT SIN

     The Creator with a special and act of His creativity, molded man “in His own image and likeness”.

      To man was given dominion, “But now we do not yet see all things put under him” (Hebrews 2:8).

     Therefore, it is obvious that a tragedy happened to the human race. How can we explain death, sickness, warm violence, bondage, fear, depravity, decline, and the misery of man? The answer is one – SIN.

1.       The fact of evil

     The world now is the most appropriate place where natural and ethical evil is seeing. The fact is so obvious that man is very far from being angelic, from that which the Creator created him to be. At the end of His creation, “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

2.       The source of sin

      Satan, the angel who “fell from heaven, we find his story in the 28^th chapter of Ezekiel and in the 14^th chapter of Isaiah, begun and lead a rebellion against God and he was persecuted (read Luke 10:18). He beguiled our forefathers, Adam and Eve, causing the desire of their eyes, of their flesh, and of their pride. They doubted the Word of God and they listened to the lie of Satan. As a result, they sinned, and so they lost the innocence, the moral integrity, the communication (life with God, their dominion in Paradise, and the “image of God” was erased from them – read Genesis chapter 3). The freedom of the will of man, made sin possible.

3.       The nature of sin

     A sin is an ACT of disobedience against the known will of God. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (I John 3:4).

     Sin is DEFILEMENT. Sin is “poison”, spilled into the blood of the human race. “…in Adam all die” (I Corinthians 15:22).

     All men sin because they are sinners. This is the “natural fruit” of the sinful human nature… there is a distortion, a declination, a proneness, a tendency towards evil inside man. There is no need to teach a child how to be egoist or undutiful.

     “Sin” is the name we use to describe the hereditary sinful nature of man. “Sin” is an insurrection against God’s law. It is the ingratitude to the provision and care of God when the will of man ignores and does not consider at all the will of God. It is the suspiciousness and assault of the character of God; and as someone said, is “the great treason against the Government of Heaven”.

4.       The fall

     We believe the sin of Adam and Eve removed the man from God. Man is a simple “shadow” – physically, intellectually, and spiritually – of what originally created to be. The fall in sin brought a curse upon man, upon the “snake” and upon all creation. Pestilences, epidemics, catastrophes, useless plants, atmospheric and climatological disturbances – all these are evidence of the curse upon nature. “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:22).

5.       Death

     God’s command was, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). And thus it happened. The man died the moment that he sinned. “Death” means separation, not annihilation. The man died spiritually. “Dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). And the obliged physical death followed. “death reigned” (Romans 5:14).

     But CHRIST, one day He will abolish death. Halleluiah! “The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). The physical death is not the final “payment” of sin. There is a second death. “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15).

6.       The remedy of sin

     Every sin is first-degree murder. Her punishment is death. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The wrath of God remains upon man. “The wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:26). For this reason, no man can save himself. The issue of the substitute atonement was introduced by God Himself, the very day man sinned.

     ONLY a perfect life can redeem the sinner life. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).

     Truth is like a “scarlet thread woven” from the beginning to the end of the Bible.

     SIN is inside man.

     PUNISHMENT is death.

     SALVATION is by GRACE

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness” (Romans 3:23-25).

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

ABOUT CHRIST

For our SAVIOR CHRIST, we believe –

1.       The nature of Jesus Christ

     We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is the non-created, eternal Son of God. He – “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John1:1).

“For by Him, all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him, all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

“…Mighty God, Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6).

We believe, when He came to earth was perfect God and perfect Man. Another word, we believe in the true humanity and in the true Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:5-11, portraits the beautiful incarnation and ministry of the Son of God, becoming Son of Man. Jesus Himself revealed His divine privileges. The whole New Testament is the witness of the faith of His Church in His deity (read 1 John chapter 1). The Names that we have given to our Lord summarize our faith in Him.

SON OF GOD – Deity

THE WORD – GOD’s Revelation

LORD – Dominion

SON OF MAN – Incarnation

SON OF DAVID – Earthly Royal genealogy and Messiah of the Jews

2.       The offices of Jesus Christ

     Jesus was Prophet in His teaching, in His preaching and in His whole ministry (Isaiah chapter 61)

Jesus is Priest in His present ministry of intercession (read Hebrews 2:14-18). “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God” (read Hebrews 4:14-16).

Jesus will be the King during the Millennium and eternally. “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

This threefold work of Christ clearly is described in Hebrews 9:24-28· read it.

3.       The work of Christ

     The fundamental basis of the New Testament’s Gospel is the death, the burial, the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ. “The gospel… you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved… that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen…” (I Corinthians 15:1-5).

Naturally, His Deity and His incarnation make Him capable and qualified to by the Kinsman-Redeemer. His sinless life made Him capable to become the Substitute for the sinners. “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).

     a. His submission

He kept and honored the Law. “…a Lamb without blemish and without spot…” (I Peter 1:19).

     b. His death

It was substitutionary, vicarious, atonement. “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isiah 53:6). To “taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9), was something more than simple natural death. He suffered the wrath of God. He became sin for us. He tasted the separation from God, doing down… reaching down to Hades (I Peter 3:16).

     c. His Resurrection

It was literally and physically. It is the most verified even of history. His resurrection is God’s justice for His Son… and for ALL who trust His Son as their Savior and Lord. He “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). He is the Firstborn from the dead. “Christ the firstfruits” (I Corinthians 13:23).

     d. His ascension

It was confirmed by the coming of the Holy Spirit. “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33).

His Resurrection and His Ascension at the right hand of the Throne of God, appoints Christ as our Mediator, our High Priest, and our Advocate. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

WE ARE WAITING FOR HIS COMING

“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (I Thessalonians 1:10).

HE IS THE BRIDEGROOM OF THE CHURCH

“Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

HE WII BE THE KING OF ISRAEL

“And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be – "The LORD is one," And His name one” (Zechariah 14:9).

ABOUT SALVATION

     God is Holy. Man is alienated from God because of the sin that is in him, and because of his unrighteous, disgraceful, etc. deeds. God is also Just. That is why no man can stand in His Presence. “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?” (I Samuel 6:20).

     But God is also merciful and full of compassion. “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15).

     That is why God has planned to redeem and restore man. “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12). “Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed” (Psalm 85:10).

     The plan of salvation was set forth before the world was created. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4). The plan of salvation is sublimely divine. “But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD” (Psalm 37:39). How can God be Just and to justify unjust sinners? “…that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

     How is it possible for the wages of sin to be death kai sinners to live in the presence of God? “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). How can be possible the guilt and the stain of sin be removed from the inner man? “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). How the guilty can be just and… son and heir of God? “For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

     The answer of all that is one and the following –

BY THE PERSONAL FAITH IN THE ATONEMENT, SUBSTITUTIONARY WORK OF JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS, AND THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT APPLIES THE VIRTUES AND THE QUALIFICATIONS OF CHRIST AND HIS REDEEMING WORK… ON INDIVIDUAL SOULS.

     God cannot just that simple to forgive the sinner man. He cannot compromise with His Holy Law. He cannot act against the demands of His nature.

A.     When Christ died for the sinner, He was our substitute. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He took our place of judgment. “For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 5:7). God put upon Him the iniquity of all. “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

     He REDEEMED us to God and for God. “In Him, we have redemption through His blood” (Ephesians 1:7). Another word, Jesus Himself paid the RANSOM to set us free and to redeem us from the slavery of sin and Satan.

     He RECONCILED us with God. “We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). Another word, He conquered our enmity with His full of love death.

     He pleased the Father. That means Christ, pleased every demand of the holy nature and of the holy character of God towards man. “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins… and for the whole world” (I John 2:2).

Β.     This PERFECT WORK OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS WAS 

          DONE FOR US, TO PROVIDE US –

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: It is the work of the Holy Spirit, making a man aware of his sinful condition and of his need for salvation. “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8).

REPENTANCE: It is God’s gift, work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the sinful man, so he can return from his sins with godly sorrow and humility to God. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted” (II Corinthians 7:10).

SAVING FAITH: It is God’s gift that makes a man able to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior and his Lord, with absolute submission to Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

REGENERATION: It is the “new birth” (John 3:3-8). It is the reformatory work of the Holy Spirit, through the cleansing of sins by the Blood of Jesus Christ. And so, the repented sinner receives a “new heart”. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (II Corinthians 5:17).

JUSTIFICATION: It is to be declared righteous in front of God. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). “To be justified by His grace and to become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7). Justification is to be aware of the Divine Justice and to be declared righteous. Only God can justify the sinner, and that, only through Jesus Christ “who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:25).

CHANGED: that is, change of life. Perfectly returned from the “old walk”, from the “old way of living”. “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 18:3).

ASSURANCE: It is the trust, it is the conviction, it is the confidence that God has received you, that God has forgiven your sins. Here are some evidence –

Dynamic testimony of the Word of God:

     “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (I John 5:11-13).

The witness of the Holy Spirit:

     “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).

The witness of the New Life:

     “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (II Corinthians 5:17).

ADOPTION: It is the legal placement in the Family of God, where we are legal children of God. “If children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).

SANCTIFICATION: It means to be separated from the world, and that, for the work of God.

How is done?

By the word of God

     “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

By the Holy Spirit

     “Ministering the Gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:16).

By the Blood of Christ

     “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12).

RIGHTEOUSNESS: It is the value; it is the virtue of Christ given to us. Christ is our justification. “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). There is also and the practical side of righteousness in which we are called. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). “Those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8). The righteousness of the Law can be fulfilled in us, by the power of the Holy Spirit. “That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4).

We believe that SALVATION is by GRACE, by FAITH, plus NOTHING ELSE.

Jesus Christ is the ONLY SAVIOR.

Eternal life is a GIFT of God, through Jesus Christ.

EVERYONE, ALL men can be saved, if they want. “For there is no distinction… for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him” (Romans 10:12).

We believe that a Christian needs the power of God to be maintained in faith. “To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).

We believe it is our personal responsibility to remain in the love and faith of God. “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:21).

We believe the grace of God can find resistance from man, or to be in vain in him. “…and His grace toward me was not in vain…” (I Corinthians 15:10).

We do not believe in “limited atonement” that only “some will be saved”. We do not believe the “unconditional predestination”, another word, that “you are saved and you are destined for eternity, in spite of your own will”.

WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR ALL MEN… and ALL CAN BE SAVED IF THEY CALL THE NAME OF THE LORD. “Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

THAT IS WHY WE BELIEVE THAT EVERY SINNER – LOST SOUL MUST BE EVANGELIZED, AND WHEN SHE RECEIVES THE SAVING WORK OF CHRIST IN HER HEART, TO BE LED IN A LOCAL CHURCH, AND THERE TO BE TAUGHT THE APPROPRIATE, HEALTHY TEACHING FOR HER GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

     The Apostle’s Creed says: “And in the Holy Spirit”. We will describe, therefore, what we believe about the Holy Spirit, His Person and His work.

1.       The Person and the Deity of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is just as much GOD as much is the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and not simply influence or power.

In the Bible are confer to Him attributes of Deity such as eternal, omnipotent, etc. “…through the eternal Spirit” (Hebrews 9:14). “For what man knows the things of a man except for the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (I Corinthians 2:11).

He creates, regenerates, raises people from the dead, etc. only God can do such things.

Personal activities are conferring to Him. “He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father!” (Galatians 4:6). “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31-32). “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). “And I will pray for the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16).

2.        The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

God the Spirit – was He through Whom “the Ancient of Days” was creating. “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

He –the Spirit– inspired and anointed men like Moses. “I will take of the Spirit that is upon you” (read Numbers 11:16-17), Gideon. “…but the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon” (Judges 6:34).

He –the Spirit– inspired the writing of the Bible. “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Peter 1:21).

The Prophets spoke of the future (our present) abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. “…I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you… I will put My Spirit within you…” (read Ezekiel 36:25-29). “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh… I will pour out My Spirit in those days…” (read Joel 2:28-32).

3.       The work (ministry) of the Holy Spirit

A.   The Holy Spirit convicts the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment. “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (read John 16:8-11).

The Holy Spirit gives repentance, faith, and new life to the sinner.

The Holy Spirit leads, authorizes and teaches trust and security the believers. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13). 

B.   The Holy Spirit is the heavenly “Eliezer” who searches for a Bride for the Bridegroom Jesus Christ, just as Eliezer for Isaac. (read Genesis 24:1-67). Another words draws people to the coming Bridegroom Lord Jesus Christ.

“Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name” (Acts 15:14).

The Holy Spirit baptizes in the Body of Christ – the Church. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (I Corinthians 12:13).

The coming of the Holy Spirit the day of Pentecost inaugurated the Church.

The Holy Spirit comes, fills , and baptizes the believed who asks for it. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). “Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17).

4.       The dependence of Jesus Christ upon the Holy Spirit

The conception of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary was the work of the Holy Spirit. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit at the Jordan River. He made his miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. How much more we need the Holy Spirit.

5.       The baptism of the Holy Spirit

This is a special ministry (work) of the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s promise to all His believers is this – “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to… the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). It is power for the ministry of His work. It is for all. For us, for our children, and for their children. “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39).

It is certified with supernatural manifestations. “And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God” (Acts 10:45-46). “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:6).

We must clearly distinguish this baptism of the Holy Spirit front the baptism in the Body of Christ, another word, from His Church, which happens with the regeneration of man.

6.       The Fruit of the Holy Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The presence of these “graces” in the life of a believer in the evidence that the Holy Spirit checks, controls and leads his life. And the longest the believer stays in Christ, in His Word, in His Presence and in His Church, the more are filled with the Holy Spirit and the more he grows in this fruit of the Spirit.

7.       The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

     “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

     But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gift of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

     But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

These are the nine “Gifts” and they are given today just as the First day of Pentecost by the God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, to the believers of the Church independently to a man or a woman, or to the level of education, or social, business, and financial status, that are baptized in the Holy Spirit, and they live a holy and clean life.

The reason these “Gifts” are given is for the sanctification, the spiritual development, the growth and the advancement of the Church; and also for her dynamic witness in the society she finds herself, so sinners to be evangelized and to receive the Savior Christ and God to add them with the saved ones. It is possible for one person to receive one or more spiritual gifts.

These Gifts are revealing also the Presence and the work of the God within the Church, but it is not permitted to function in such a way that they lift up man’s ego, even when they are manifested in the presence of unbelievers (see I Corinthians 14:22, Mark 16:17 and Acts 28:3-6).

Bud function of these gifts brings abnormality or even damage in the life of the Church; so it is the duty of the Church to discern every spiritual manifestation and to make sure if this was done by God

Let us take a closer look of these spiritual Gifts –

1^st Gift – Word of wisdom

The “Word of wisdom” as a gift, is a special provision of divine wisdom, at a certain times, to people devoted to God, with the purpose to give advices, admonitions, directions, etc. to other people that have a special and absolute need.

The Word of wisdom does not make wise the one who receives it, but makes the word that comes from him serious, positive, building up and in accordance with God’s points of view, so there isn’t any slightest possibility of failure.

The Word of wisdom is strong to convict of sin, to raise the fallen, to comfort in case of deep sorrow, to stir up the unconcerned, to wake up the dull in hearing, to revive and built up the lukewarm Christian, to dumbfound the one that is against and hostile, and to direct him who doesn’t know what to do.

2^nd Gift – Word of knowledge

This gift differs from the previous to the point that he who receives it does not simply become wise according to the situation and the need, but becomes deep knowledgeable of the truths of the Gospel and bearer of the divine views of the Will and Plan of God. He knows the truths kai discerns the errors, and so he can use profitably – according to the situation – the Word of God, because it dwells richly in his heart.

It differs from the Gift of discerning the spirits, because it does not discerns the spirits, but the knowledge; which ones, another word, are appropriate for the edification of the Church and which ones are causing harm. Many born again Christians cannot approach souls who need advice, because they don’t have the appropriate knowledge, which must be activated to bring the solution to various problems.

3^rd Gift – Faith

While little faith is needed for the dead spiritually man to be born again of God (“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” Acts 16:31), and a large dosage of faith – trust in God – for the daily life, God gives a special Gift to certain people to use it in exceptional situations, that they need to be raised above the human limitation, in memorable deeds.

Knowing that the works of God are appropriate to the faith that is shown by man, God gives a special dosage of faith when is about to do glorious and blessed activities and interventions to His people.

4^rd Gift – Healing

This concerns exclusively the human body when it suffers from whatever sickness. In the Epistle of James (5:14-15) we read about the case of a believer who is sick. He calls the Elders of the Church, they anoint him with oil and the pray to the Lord for the man’s healing. God listens and heals the sick man from simple or serious sicknesses, and he also forgives his sins, if there are any. The Gift of Healing goes even beyond, to more serious cases, such as incurable sicknesses or disorders a person was born with.

When this happens, full and complete healing is observed. The Gift of Healing is unthinkable without the immediate and complete healing of him who suffers. God gives it by His Holy Spirit as He wills. It is exercised either be laying hands on the sick or without it, simply and only through prayer, within or outside the limits of the Church. Also, it is not always based on the faith of the sick person, while always is for the glory of God!

5^th Gift – Working of miracles

This gift includes many cases and is given by God for the completeness of works of unusual functions. “Miracle” is called a work of God that surpasses the natural laws, unexplainable and unprecedented, that its purpose is to reveal the love, the power, and the glory of God. Miracles occurred and in the Old and in the New Testament, with a common characteristic the immediate supernatural intervention of God on the behalf and the benefit of the people of Israel and His Church.

In the Old Testament: The passing of the Red Sea, the plaques of Pharaoh, the provision of manna for 40 years to the Israel people in the desert, the departure of Enoch to heaven, the stillness of the sun and the moon with the command of Joshua, the fall of the walls of Jericho, the miracles of Elijah, of Elisha.

In the New Testament: The release of the Apostle Paul from the jail in Philippi after earth quick with the many beneficial results, the rapture of Philip from the way toy Gaza and his transfer to Azotus, the resurrection of Dorcas in Joppa, is workings of miracles. Workings of miracles must take place and in our days, so the love, the power and the Lordship of God will be revealed, and by this, His Name will be glorified.

The miracle takes place after the exercise of great faith, and it has the capability to create faith to them that doubt. It is possible to interact with many cases of miracles, but our attention must be awakened, just in case sometimes the Devil works, through some the unclean spirit, in order to mislead the people away from the Person and the saving work of Jesus Christ (read Acts 8:9-24, 16:16-18).

6^th Gift – Prophecy

PROPHETS

“For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Peter 1:21).

“Now in the church that was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers” (Acts 13:1).

“Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20).

“As [this mystery] it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:5).

The Prophets constitute one of the most responsible ministries. They are given by the Lord as gift (read Ephesians 4:7-8).

The Gift of Prophesy is given to men and women (Acts 2:17, 21:9), with the purpose not to add new prophecies to the written Word, but for the edification of the Church (I Corinthians 14:3-5), thru specific exhortations and revelations. The prophecy is given during the time of prayer of the Church, first for all to learn and all to be comforted; and second, for its authenticity to be checked by the of discerning Spirit (I Corinthians 14:29,31).

One or two prophets speak, in order and reverence, while the rest of the Church discerns the prophecy. If the prophet thinks that his prophecy will bring disorder and discord in the Church (trouble, quarrel), he can subdue the spirit of prophecy (I Corinthians 14:32-33). Prophesy does not offend neither exposes people by name but contributes to the spiritual interest, increase, and edification of the Church.

A prophet must live a holy and exemplary life. The object of the prophecy must not be a repetition of the Gospel’s portions, neither a personal opinion of the prophet, but the expression of God’s will for a certain issue, in a specific time. An unbeliever is proved by the prophets and examine, and he discerns and sees that God is in the midst of this Church (I Corinthians 14:25).

7^th Gift – Discerning of spirits

This Gift is unseen and very valuable in the Church because it is very rare. It differs from the Gift of the Word of knowledge or the Word of wisdom, because they are referring to the speech or the knowledge, while this one to the spirits, which in all expressions of man’s life is having an active part, whether as angels of God that are sent to minister to God’s people, or as demons (fallen angels, satanic spirits), who try to deceive His chosen ones.

The believer is not restricted to the phenomenon, but to the depth of things, and in every theme that has to do especially with the spiritual life of the believers, it is necessary to discern the spirit that prevails in every situation, what kind it is: an angel of God, the Holy Spirit, or a diabolical spirit? Man can easily hide himself from the near and relative people, but it is impossible to hide from the Spirit of God, Which probes into everything and the depth of God. This way the probing Spirit of God reveals the depth of the heart and of the thought of every man, whether he is a member of the Church, or not, and averts the damage of tragic mistakes against the Church.

The Gift of discerning of spirit reveals also the many of the spirits that are around us, the battle they fight and the measure of love and interest of our God. There are many spirits of hypocrisy, exploitation, profiteering, evilness, miserliness, indifference for the spiritual things, hate and evilness, and none of all that is possible to hide diligently so well, as to escape the censure of the Gift of discerning of spirits, when it works well.

This Gift can reveal the person, who delivered a sensational or appealing, a fascinating or “revealing” message – if it was the Spirit of God that spoke or some “other” spirit. So, in order to operate usefully this Gift in the Church, he or she who has it, when on if discerns something bad, to reveal it and to prove it, so all the interfering of the evil one to disappear, and the disgrace, the shame and every root of bitterness to be removed.

8^th Gift – Of tongues

The most common Gift is this one, the Gift of tongues. The Christian who has it can speak more than one language (unknown to him), divine and angelic, without making a special effort for its (them) acquisition. When this Gift adorns a holy and clean life of a Christian, it can be considered in combination with the Gift of interpretation, as a prophetic saying of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul could speak many unknown languages. He recommends the Church to “speak in tongues”, because great spiritual benefit comes from it if they are true languages of the Spirit to the believers, because of the multitude of revelations and of other blessings of God. He/she who speaks an unknown language builds up himself/herself, while when this happens within the Church there must also be active the Gift of interpretation, so the whole Church to be build up. It is also possible a believer to speak a human language, in other words, known (Chinese, etc.) which he never studied it. Or to speak an angelic language, that its interpretation is known only by the Holy Spirit and He can give it to the believers.

9^th Gift – Interpretation of tongues

This Gift functions only with the energy of the Holy Spirit and in co-operation with the Gift of tongues is equivalent to the Gift of prophecy (I Corinthians 14:5). It has been separated as a unique Gift, because it functions more rarely than the previous one, with the purpose of the spiritual edification of the others than the one who speaks it. It interprets the spiritual languages nonnecessary word to word, but apocalyptical (I Corinthians 14:13). It is possible few words of an unknown language to have a much wider interpretation or the other way around. This Gift is given to men and women and in all stages of age.

ABOUT THE CHURCH

     When the Creed says, “One, Holy, Catholic… Church”, the term “Catholic” is the true meaning of the Church and it means “worldwide” and not dogmatic.

     There is only one Body into which all the believers are placed by the Holy Spirit. “For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body” (I Corinthians 12:13).

     This is the Church that the Lord Jesus Christi Himself spoke and said that He will build. “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

     The Church is not an earthly organization and it is totally independent of “religious denominations”. It is almost a sacrilege for any “religious denomination” to claim that “they are the Church of Christ”.

     The word “Church” means “called out of”. The true Church includes ALL the people who have been called out of the kingdom of darkness, into the Kingdom of the beloved Son of God. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13).

     And who is born into the family of God? “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-7).

     To the Church belong all who believe in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ and they compose the Holy Nation and the Royal Priesthood (see Ephesians 5:25-27 & I Peter 2:9).

     All its members believe the word of God (Old and New Testament), as the only mean of supplying power to man and as the only irreplaceable book, that contains the will of God, and they live the way that He suggests.

     In other words, the Church of God is ALL PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO THE LORD independent from the nation to which belong, the language they speak or the color of their skin.

  

OTHER DEFINITIONS OF THE CHURCH

A’.       The Body of Jesus

“The church, which is His body” (Ephesians 1:23).

“And He is the Head of the Body, the Church” (Colossians 1:18).

This definition emphasizes the organic unity of the Church in its vital relationship with Jesus Christ, the Head. It emphasizes the dependence of each other and the personal responsibility of “every member”.

“From whom, Christ, the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supply, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”(Ephesians 4:16).

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ… God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased… God composed the body… You are the body of Christ, and members individually” (I Corinthians 12:12-30).

B’.       The Temple of the Holy Spirit

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”(I Corinthians 3:16).

“In whom, Christ, the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a Holy Temple in the Lord,  in Whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”(Ephesians 2:21-22).

“…are being built up a spiritual house” (I Peter 2:5).

C’.       The Jerusalem from above

“The Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26).

D’.       The Pillar and Ground of Truth

“The church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Timothy 3:15).

The Church, therefore, is the guard and defender of truth.

E’.       The Pillar and Ground of Truth

“For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (II Corinthians 11:2).

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her... that He might present her to Himself a glorious Church”(Ephesians 5:25-27).

“The marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).

TWO DISTINCT DEFINITIONS

     The invisible Church spans across the centuries, including believers that they are called ones and victors.

     The visible Churches are the local identical of this invisible Church. Every local congregation of born again believers of the Lord Jesus Christ it is called Church.

“The seven lampstands are the seven Churches” (Revelation 1:20).

     All who confess their faith in the Lord are included.

     Sometimes “weeds” grow along with the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30).

     In the Church of God, there is an absolute equivalence and every distinction is excluded. All genders, ages, colors, social status, education, financial status, and position, have the same privileges, rights, and responsibilities. The one worldwide militant Church is divided in many local and topical Churches (see Romans 16:4-5), which are joined together with love, work together with compassion, and because of their common purpose and destination, they fell like one soul and one heart (Acts 4:32).

     The members of every Church compose a spiritual family, where the weakest are protected and honored from the stronger, not only morally but also physically and economically (Romans 15:1).

     Every particular Church must be governed by the word and the Spirit of God, through its Pastor and the advisers of the Presbytery.

     Records its adult members in the Member’s Book of the Church after their application and after six months observation of their spiritual life and behavior, when they possess the characteristics that the word of God mentions.

     In the case that a member of a like Church asks to be enrolled in the local Church of God, its Pastor must ask the Pastor of the other Church, and when the reasons are considered right, and this does not create a conflict, then the enrollment can take place; otherwise this believer is considered a guest.

     In the case that a believer does not belong to some other local Church, and he claims that he is a member of the One, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, he must be admonished in a such a way that he will review his opinion and view, and to enroll himself in a local Church (I Timothy 3:15).

     Every local Church suggests to its members often a time of worship and every member respects and loves every other member of some other Church.

     The gathering of the believers takes place in a certain place, where the Triune God is worshiped with hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19-20), the word of God is preached, prayers and supplications take place and religious ceremonies are taken place.

     The will of God is for every Church to be financially vigorous, so to be able to face various adversities. This must be done with the deposit of the offerings of its members, which is their tithing and their offerings, the gifts and the voluntary assistance (read the 8^th chapter of II Corinthians).

     Permanent offering for the Church is the tithing of the earnings of its members, and their voluntary offerings, that are presented the first and the last Sunday of every month, at least (I Corinthians 16:1-2 & II Corinthians 9:6-7).

     The Church keeps various useful books, which are –

1.     The Book of Members.

2.     The Book of Weddings.

3.     The Book of the Minutes of the meeting of the Church and of the Presbyters.

4.     The Book of Income and Spending, and,

5.     The Book of the Deceased – (deaths).

     All the books are kept and taken care of and supervised by the Pastor of the Church. Also, they can be kept by the Secretary of the Church, who is appointed by the Pastor and/or is elected by the Presbyters with the approval of the Church.

     The above Books are possible to be always or whenever the pastor wants under his keeping or preservation, and to be given all or some to the Secretary in order to maintain the appropriate work. Especially the Book if Income and Spending must be kept and updated by the Pastor or the Secretary, or both.

     The Church’s body should be able at any time to be informed of whatever is written in the above Books, and even to express a different view or decision for whatever theme applies to them.

     The Pastor is under obligation once a year –at the end or the beginning of the year– to give a Financial Report of the Income and Spending of all the affairs of the Church.

     As a given fact that there are members of the Church that at certain times are going thru financial difficulties, the Pastor or the Presbytery can supply from the income of the Church the appropriate financial support. This way in the Book of Income and Spending always appear every financial deposit. In other words, the member and the amount or whoever else offers whatever amount of money to the Church, just as every monthly expenditure of the Church.

     In the case that a curtain Church is blossoming financially, can and must, according to the word of God, “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel”(1 Corinthians 9:14) support financially its Pastor and his family, and to send and support financially –if that is possible– Missionaries and Evangelists with the purpose to form missionary activities and Churches. If the Church has the financial ability, all the expenditure of the ministry and the support of the Pastor, the Evangelist and the Missionary and their families are charged to the Church.

     The Church, as a corporate body, has the responsibility and the competence, always under the leading of her Chief Pastor, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit and the leadership of the Pastor –

1.     To solve the differences between her members (I Corinthians 6:1).

2.     To decide for the expulsion or not of one of its members that “does not walk appropriately”

        (Matthew 18:15-17 & Galatians 5:12).

3.     To call the members to “elect” and “place” a new Pastor or a new Presbytery, in the case of

        “decline” of the previous one, and all to be done with prayer and the guiding of the Lord.

     The members of the Church prefer their differences to be solved in front of the saints (I Corinthians 6:1-8), so just justice to be rendered in every case.

     Also, the members of the Church are submissive to the Constitution and to the Laws and to all the terms of the State, voting at the elections, the men fulfill their military obligation, pay their taxes and avoid to get involved in politics, knowing that every human authority is ordained by God (Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1-2, I Peter 2:13, 3:13-17).

     The believers and members of the Church can address to the courts of the State only when the litigant is not a born again Christian.

     Also the believers and the members of the The church must not be idle, they must exercise livelihood occupation, and when they don’t have, to be assisted by the rest of the members to find a job. They can trade; they can have movable and immovable property, considering these as means of survival and not an end in itself.

     As of the job that the believer practices, it must be of great importance. Jobs that have to do with immodest shows, secular entertaining and expressions, illegal exploitation, or harmful occupations of the public order and health, must, by all means, be avoided.

THE ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH

1.     The Baptism in the water. The religious the ceremony of the entrance, symbolizes the beginning of the spiritual life (see Romans 6:2-7).

2.     The Lord’s Supper. The religious ceremony of communion (relationship), symbolizes the continuation of the spiritual life (see I Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-32).

THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CHURCH

     According to all information, we can find in the New Testament, the assembling of the believers was public, for prayer, worship and preaching of the word of God. Preaching, teaching, hymns, worship, prayer, the co-operation of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, were taking place in the assembling of the believers (see the 12^th chapter of I Corinthians).

     The basic tone was simplicity. The honor was rendered to the Holy Spirit. God was cooperating with them, proving Himself and “speaking” with his word, the Holy Bible.

THE ORGANIZING OF THE CHURCH

     The Lord Jesus Christ, the “Head of the Church” did not leave, neither had He described a “framework” or a “type” of a Church. The Holy Spirit was leading as the Church was growing. In Acts 6:1-6 we read of the appointing of “deacons” for the ministry of the material affairs of the Church.

     In Acts 15:6, we dead about the “gathering” of the Apostles and the Presbyters, which later was called the A’ Ecumenical Synod, about the dogmatic affairs of the Church. There is no evidence of Sacramentalism, something that the Church of Rome and others teach.

THE MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH

General:

     According to the Epistle to Ephesians, “God gave some to be Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers,  for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (4:4-13).

     The Apostles received and receive the orders from the living Christ. The word itself explains their ministry: consignment to preach the Gospel to the whole world, “…preaching everywhere, while the Lord working with them and confirming the message by the signs that attended it.” (Mark 16:20)

     The Prophets had and have the gift of the inspiring expression and their basic task was and is the checking, the exhortation, the correction, the spreading, the edification of the Church, and also the prediction of specific events that were to happen.

     The Evangelists were evangelizing and evangelize the people within and without the Church, and actually, they were “gathering” and they do “gather” the new believers.

     The Teacher had and have the gift of explaining the Scriptures and the impartation of the deeper meanings of the Holy Bible.

Locally:

     The Apostles, the Prophets, the Evangelists and the Teachers must be under the spiritual authority of the Pastor of the local Church, and under his ecclesiastical leadership for the good of the unity of the Church (the apostolic “one the accord”), for the progress and the growth of its work.

     All together with the Pastor overseeing the spiritual life of the Church and work for its growth and its progress. They preach and they teach the flock feeding it with the word of God. They take care of their souls so as to be always with the Lord, His word, and in prayer. They visit the believers, especially when they are sick or when they are in some special need of personal care and love (see I Timothy 3:1-13, 5:9-11, Philippians 4:3).

THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH

     The purpose of the Church is the spreading of the principals of the Gospel and the cultivation of the practice of the Christian teaching among its members and wider in the society, as the only basis of the salvation man, of progress, and of civilization. It is also the practice of benevolent work, and also of any support to its members that are in need, and not only. The Church is obligated by the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ – to keep on going proclaiming the Gospel and to make Disciples of Christ, them that they want to be.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH

     The Pastor is placed (Ephesians 4:4) after prayer and fasting, as the Holy Spirit witnesses in the hearts of the believers as of whom the Lord wants to place and appointed as Pastor. The Ministry of Education and Religions asks for an application of the members of the Church and of the new Pastor along with their signatures, in order to approve his placement and to issue the appropriate License. The members of the Church sign along with the Pastor the application to the Ministry of Education and Religions (Office of Heterodoxy), for the approval of the appointment and placement of the Pastor. The Ministry of Education and Religions approves the appointment and placement of the new Pastor of the Church.

     The Pastor chooses and places the Presbyters; just as in the apostolic days they were placed by the Apostles in every city (Titus 1:5).

     The Pastor administrates the Presbyters and the Church. The Pastor and the Presbyters are always men with virtues that are described in the I Timothy Epistle of Paul, in the 3^rd charter and the verses 1 to 7, and also in his Epistle to Titus 1:5-9.

     With the given fact that the Pastor comes in contact with various people and he constitutes the display of the Church that he represents, it is good and useful to possess except the already mentioned virtues, sufficient education and sociability, so he will be able to interpret the laws and to face people of every kind of social protrusion and education.

     Having as a base the Scriptures Titus 1:5-9, the Pastor has the ability to place Presbyters or/and Deacons in the Church, who must fulfill the requirements of God’s word, as they are explained in I Timothy 3:1-13.

     The Pastor presides in the Presbytery as its President, officiates in the ceremonies (marriages, dedications, baptisms, the Lord’s Supper, funerals, etc.) ministers the word of God, and visits the members of the Church and looks into every issue that has to do with the Church. The Pastor administrates the Church with the advisory co-operation of the Presbytery. He has the responsibility of all the final decisions of all the issues of the Church.

     The Pastor’s ministry is stopped – (1) if he willingly decides to do so, so the motion is set for the process of his replacement. (2) if there is proven and evidenced written proposal at least three witnesses to the Presbytery or /and to the Body of the Church for violation whether (a) of the Divine Law, as it is described in the present Regulations and Principals of Operation – especially in cases of Stealing, Adultery, Fornication, Drunkard, Gambling, or any other unethical, anti-biblical case, whether (b) of the Greek and any other Constitution or /and other Law of the country of Greece or /and any other nations.

     The Greek Pastor –legal representative– who has the license of operation of the Place of Prayer from the Ministry of Education and Religions in his name represents and expresses the Church of God of the Full Gospel, in front of every authority, every organization of authority, courts, banks, and the like, of the Greek Nation, and not only.

      THE CHURCH OF GOD OF FULL GOSPEL was founded, supported and it continues to be supported by the internationally known CHURCH OF GOD, with its headquarters in Cleveland Tennessee, in the United States of America. It is affiliated with all Churches and its local organizations in the USA, in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

     Since the beginning of its founding in Greece had and has very good relationships and respect with the Greek Orthodox Church. It maintains good interdependence and spiritual bonds with the Greek Evangelical Church. It is a member of the Greek Evangelical Alliance and of the Brotherhood of the Pentecostal Churches in Greece, as well as their local ecclesiastical communities.

     The Presbyter must have spiritual experience and knowledge of God’s word and not to be a novice (new convert) (I Timothy 3:6). He is an essential and necessary helper and co-worker of the Pastor.

     Age does not affect the election / placement of the Pastor or of the Presbyter, but it is good to be rather “proficient” people, i.e. tested with a good Christian experience, so they wouldn’t fall into temptation and they wouldn’t be carried away from enthusiasm and frivolous behavior or to make mistakes due to their spiritual immaturity.

     The Presbyter can be unmarried, but he is not permitted to be polygamous. The governing of his household is the proof of his diligence of the things of God and of His Church. The submission of his children proves his ability to govern well his household, but it is understood that he carries the responsibility only for his underage children, and not of them than carry themselves and their life independently. If a believer became born again while he was married and his wife remains an unbeliever i.e. not born again, that is not a hindrance to his election. A necessary prerequisite is his good testimony with the world outside the Church.

     The added obligation of the Presbyter – if he has a business occupation of his own, not to permit any misunderstanding, so to be blamed for something and in extension the name of our Lord and Savior and our God Jesus Christ to be offended.

     The believers are not permitted to rebuke a Presbyter in office or a presbyter in age.

     If a member of the Church has serious complaints or accusation against the Pastor or of a Presbyter, he is obliged to make them known in writing to the Presbytery, which must look after the situation. The Presbytery must be convinced by proving if there is a substantial injustice, sin or wrong behavior, before it decides what to do, according to 1 Timothy 5:19. If the complaints or the accusation do not stand or if they can be solved between the Pastor, the Presbytery and the member of the Church, then the situation is solved without reaching to Body of the Church.

     But if it is proven that there is a sin, an injustice, a violation of God’s word by the Pastor or the Presbyter, which can be restored with a personal confessed repentance and with the acceptance of the forgiveness from the offended member, then the Presbytery must accept this Biblical restoration and to permit the Pastor or the Presbyter to continue practice his work and ministry.

     In the case, that restoration is not accomplish, because the Pastor or the Presbyter do not accept the accusation, while it has been proven tenable and true, the Presbytery is obliged to call the Pastor or the Presbyter as deposed. Then, the call of the general assembly is mandatory, whether to validate the decision of the Presbytery or to set free the accused if the accusation has not stability is falls and groundless and without proven evidence, and finally reached the Body of the Church.

     In the case that the accusation or the complains of a member of the Church are proven groundless, not true, and slanderous against the Pastor or the Presbyter, the Presbytery with Christ’s love and wisdom must recommend the member to repent and to ask first forgiveness from God and from the Minister of the Church, whom he has injured for nothing. If the member acts correctly, i.e. Biblical, then must be given to him full forgiveness; otherwise, if he insists with an evil and a non-Christian in the unjust accusations and continues not to be conformed to the admonitions, then his flesh must be left with a prayer to Satan, so his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord, according to I Corinthians 5:2-5.

     And if he persists and does not repent, he must be cut off from the Body of the Church, because he continues to disturb the Church, according to Galatian 5:12.

     If the Pastor or a Presbyter commits a proven and obvious sin – trespassing the word of God–   which causes deformation of his work and/or the bad witness of the Church or scandalizing the society in general or even and isolated people outside the Church, he must resign willingly from his position, even yet if there is true personal repentance and forgiveness from God and from the people, if this is necessary. It is the responsibility and duty of the Presbytery and of the whole local Church to decide prayerfully and with much prayerful thought, if they will permit the repented Pastor or Presbyter to continue to exercise his work or he must continue to minister in another position or in another way. This delicate issue must be led completely by the Holy Spirit. It is good and useful for the Presbytery to meet together frequently and regularly at certain appointed times; also to hold a special meeting if the Pastor calls for it or two of its members.

Deacons – Helpers

     Their qualifications are described in I Timothy 3:8-13. They also are elected by the Church, the same way as the Presbyters.

     The Deacons have the same responsible ministry as the Presbyters. It is not permitted to them to be polygamous, but they can be single (i.e. Stephen, Phoebe).

     Deacons can be chosen from both genders. Basically, they care about material things that have to do with the house of the God, but they don’t participate in the Administration of the Church.

     As of their age, profession and education, the same of the Presbyters apply to them also.

NOTE

     Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. Every sincere Christian will also love the Church, will support the the witness of the Church will submit to the discipline of the Church, will share in the task of the Church, will defend and will look after the Church from its enemies.

     The participation in the local Church and the practical activity in her life is an assurance and a proof of the acceptance of this holy vital spiritual organism that makes each other members of the Body of Jesus Christ.

     The income of the Church comes from the regular and the special contributions of the members, friends, and any other believer (whether he is a member or not) who give willingly their tithing (Malachi 3:10, Mathew 23:23, I Corinthians 16:1-3). Also from donations of movable and unmovable property that was obtained and it is legally in the State of Greece or in any other legal state of a nation.

     Members of the Church can become people of various nationalities and languages who accept, believe, and represent this Confession of Faith, the Function Principles and the Rules of the Church of God of Full Gospel and, above all, they respond with faith and submission to the commandments of the Gospel of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, after submitting personal Application to its Leadership. A member is suspended ether with his willingly withdrawal, whether he is suspended by the administration of the Church, after a proven and substantiated conscious trespass of the divine Law –as it is described and explained in this Confession of Faith and in the Function Principles– and also by a conscious trespass of the Law of the Greek Constitution and any other law of the Greek nation or of any other nation. The suspension of a member of the Church is valid after the approval of the Pastor.

     The rights and the obligations of the members are all that the word of God, the Bible (Old and New Testament) we believe that provides and asks indiscriminately from all the believers and followers of the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. The members of the Church owe allegiance to co-work with the administration (the Pastor and his co-workers Presbyters and Deacons) helping her, just as the whole Church spiritually, morally and materially to fulfill her purpose.

ABOUT THE SACRAMENTS

     Firstly, we BELIEVE in all that the Bible describes as SACRAMENTS. The word “Sacrament” in the New Testament is found in the following passages:

     1. “And He said to them, “To you, it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things come in parables” (Mark 4:11)

     2. “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Romans 11:25)

     3. “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” (Romans 16:25-26)

     4. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (I Corinthians 15:51-53)

     5. “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him” (Ephesians 1:9-10)

     6. “How by revelation He made known to me the mystery of Christ…  that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:3-6)

     7. “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32)

     8. “The mystery which has been hidden from ages… the riches of the glory of this mystery… which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27)

     9. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work” (II Thessalonians 2:7)

     10. “Holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience” (I Timothy 3:9)

     11. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness” (I Timothy 3:16)

     12. “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands” (Revelation 1:20)

     13. “And on her forehead, a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abomination of the earth” (Revelation 17:5)

     The sacrament is an outward, visible act of an inward and spiritual grace.

     We believe the Lord Himself ordained only TWO Sacraments, as ritual acts, that we, the born again conscious believers, must do:

     The water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

     The Church of Rome (and other denominations that follow this teaching), suggests that the Sacraments are seven. Others teach that they are three.

     Sacramentalism, is the teaching that indeed, men and women receive divine Grace through the observance of the Divine Sacraments.

     But this teaching and idea are absolutely unknown to the spirit and teaching of the New Testament Christendom. This teaching makes the Church and the clergy caretaker and administrator of the Divine Grace!

    WE BELIEVE IN THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS:

“To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to He be glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 1:5-6).

“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

1.     WATER BAPTISM

     It is a command of the Lord Jesus Christ:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).

     It was observed by the first Christians:

“Those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (Acts 28:19-20).

“When they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men, and women were baptized” (Acts 8:12).

“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5).

     The baptism was done in the name of Jesus Christ, in recognition of His Lordship and as a witness of them that were his disciples and follow Him.

     We believe the type of baptism is given in Matthew 28:19 – “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.

     We do not find the baptism of the infants nowhere in the word of God, in the Holy Bible, and it is a product of a non-Bible theology. Infant’s baptism in a product of Sacramentalism.

     The baptism put no one in the Kingdom of God. The regeneration does that:

“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,  who were born of God”(John 1:12-13).

     The baptism symbolizes the recognition with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection:

“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).

     Baptism is a public testimony of the saving faith:

“But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized”(Acts 8:12).

     Baptism symbolizes the “washing” of the regeneration:

“Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

     The baptism in the water is important for the follower of Christ, for every disciple of His, for every Christian. It is important and significant as obedience to the command that Jesus Himself gave.

     Carefully it must be distinct from the Baptism into the Body of Christ, the Church, by the Holy Spirit:

“For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body [the Church]” (I Corinthians 12:13).

     Carefully it must be distinct from the Baptism into the Holy Spirit:

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4).

     The “ONE BAPTISM” in Ephesians 4:5 is that without it no one is a Christian. It is exactly that that I Corinthians 12:13 speaks about – “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body [Church]”.

2.     THE LORD’S SUPPER

     The command of remembrance of our Lord’s death by the participation of bread and wine was given by Jesus Christ Himself:

“Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:26-29).

     TRANSUBSTANTIATION if the teaching of the Church of Rome (and other denominations follow it, as the Orthodox Church) and teaches that the “bred” and the “wine” literally change and become the “Body” and the “Blood” of Jesus, and that, when they are “sanctify” on the holy table. And so, in this way, they teach the “endless and continues sacrifice of Jesus Christ through the liturgy”. And that is the heart of the papal denomination, and also the other denominations that follow this teaching.

WE BELIEVE THAT –

“We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

“But now, ONCE at the end of the ages, He has appeared” (Hebrews 9:26).

“Who [Jesus] does not need daily to offer up sacrifices… He did that ONCE FOR ALL when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27).

The “wine” symbolizes and represents the Blood of Christ.

The “bread” symbolizes and represents the Body of Christ.

     It is done as a remembrance:

“Do this in remembrance of Me” (I Corinthians 11:24).

     It is a declaration of His work on the Cross:

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death” (I Corinthians 11:26).

     Man’s participation in the Lord’s Supper does not save his soul, without repentance before that and seeking forgiveness of his sins by the Lord.

     It is not a “mean of Grace”, except only when he who partakes feeds his soul with the living faith in Christ, and then he can take part in the Lord’s Supper.

     The displeasure and the judgment of God fall a him who takes part without sincerity or with hypocrisy in this holy command of the Lord.

     The Christian who stretches out his hand to take these symbols, at that time he must have already examined himself. If the Holy Spirit reminds him of some sin known to him, he must surely confess it to Jesus and immediately ask forgiveness; otherwise, he must not take the “bread” and “wine”.

     Also, if someone has harmed his brother in the Lord, he must ask for his forgiveness. If someone has bitterness in his heart for some other Christian or man, he must forgive him, according to Matthew 6:14-15, as the command of God, is:

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason, many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (I Corinthians 11:27-30).

     The pastor of the Church, according to the word of God regarding the spiritual –and not only– a responsibility that he carries for the souls the Lord has entrusted to him to look after, he can, or actually, he should not permit the partaking of the symbolic elements of the Lord’s Supper to a person or persons who are not born again, or they don’t walk right spiritually, or who do not compline with the above words-commands of God, even if they insist. And that, not to take upon themselves judgment and condemnation.

     It is wrong to apply John 6:53-58 directly to the Lord’s Supper. John 6:53 is explained by John 6:35 (read these verses).

     There is also a deeper spiritual meaning of the Lord’s Supper, and it is mentioned in I Corinthians 10:16-17

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For us, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread”.

In these verses, there is an emphasis on the organic unity of His unseen Church.

     The “bread’ does not represent only the physical Body of Christ, but also HIS CHURCH… and we are its members.

             During the Lord’s Supper is presented by the Pastor of the Church or/and by the Presbyter, to the members of the Church unleavened bread and a small glass that contains wine. It is good to be celebrated on Sunday at the times that have been decided by the Church, at least once a month. For many years the local Church of God has commemorated the Lord’s Supper the first Sunday of every month. Last few years her Eldership decided to commemorate one more Sunday per month, the third one.

ABOUT MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

     Marriage is the first institution that God instituted right after the creation of man. Before languages, nations, religions, civilizations, philosophy, political parties, God Himself instituted the institution of marriage.

     “And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” (Genesis 1:18)

     “And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24). This is marriage.

     It is a personal situation, for which only they that are interested have the total word. To be legal must be published in a local newspaper, according to the laws of the state and to be enclosed with a ceremony.

     Christians must enter into marriage based upon spiritual foundations, and supremely upon the Rock of Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ, upon His holy and eternal word, and upon the provision and love of Almighty God, Who is the only one who can build it.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1, read also Proverbs 31:10-28)

    The first word belongs to them that they are immediate interested, and they must have pure and holy faith in God, and to be equipped with psychological and spiritual virtues, so there can be harmony and understanding during their whole life (II Corinthians 6:14).

     Marriage is a blessed institution, useful and necessary for the spiritual fulfillment of the Christian and for the effective fulfillment of the supreme purpose which is to know, to worship and to serve the True and Living Lord and God. The exemption is if there is a personal call and revelation to remain without marriage, for the purpose of a wider use of the person from the Lord (read, I Corinthians 7:1 & 7).

     The husband and the spouse are in total equality (I Corinthians 11:11-12), but they differ in the following points:

     The man is the head of the woman (I Corinthians 11:3) and the leader of the family. He must leave his father and his mother (Ephesians 4:33 & 5:25) and to nurture and care his wife (Ephesians 5:29).

     The wife must respect her husband (Ephesians 5:33), to submit to him with the fear of God (Ephesians 5:21-22), to feed and nourish the children, to be sweet (I Peter 3:1-7), to be dressed decently and proper (I Timothy 2:9-10), to pray for herself and her family as his equal helper.

     The wife is obliged not to start conversations that destroy the quietness in the Church (I Corinthians 14:34), to ask her husband at home for the issues that she needs an answer, and not to be bossy on him.

     In the Church, the women can minister, pray, prophesy, speak unknown languages –if she is filled with the Holy Spirit, as I Corinthians chapter 14 determines– teach other women, be Sunday school teacher (to children or to the adolescence), give her testimony, sing to the glory of God, even to lead the singing and worship in the Church, if that call from God is evident. The COG USA accepts women to serve as elders board and be ordained together with the husband as couple as elders. Also as exhorters and ordained Pastors, but cannot be ordained Bishops.

     If a woman believer desires to be involved in the evangelism of souls, she is permitted to do so.

     “Divorce” for the believers is a word without substance. The believers in no case are permitted to separate and that because it is obvious that their marriage has been founded upon a divine base. The only reason as a concession (Matthew 5:32) is the case of fornication of one of the two, and in this case, the member who wants to separate takes upon him/herself the total responsibility of the further facing of the issue. But any case of a possible separation of a born again couple must be dealt with separately with the appropriate grace, love, wisdom, and prudence within the boundaries of the word of God.

     If the person was born again after its marriage and the other person continues to remain in a state of unbelief (it hasn’t been born again), it is good and must the believer not to leave the marriage life, provided that the non-believer assents to live along with the other (I Corinthians 7:12-13). Through this cohabitation, the non-believer receives a portion of holiness from the believer, and if there are children, they also can remain in purity of heart and sanctification through the prayers of the believer parent (I Corinthians 7:14). Also, the good and holy life of the believer becomes a reason to contribute for the salvation of the non-believer (I Corinthians 7:16).

     The issue of procreation is a personal matter of the married couple. But it is good because God wants it, the procreation no to be avoided, because the married couple is deprived of a great blessing, the women particularly, because they wander from their purpose.

     The wedding ceremony, if both belong to the same local Church is officiated at the Church’s Place of Prayer, or in another Place of Prayer of another Church of the same Christian Confession, always from the active Pastor of the Church where the groom and the bride to be belong.

     A marriage ceremony that took place, as the newly married decided, in a Place of Prayer of a different Confession of Faith than that of the Pastor, cannot be included i.e. registered in the Book of Marriage of the Church.

     In the case that the Church is financially vigorous, she can take upon herself, after the approval of the Pastor or/and of the Presbytery, all or part of the expenses of the wedding ceremony of needy members.

ABOUT THE LAST TIMES

     The Apostle’s Creed mentions the Second Coming of the Lord:

“And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. Whose kingdom shall have no end? I look for the Resurrection of the dead· and the Life of the age to come”.

     ESCHATOLOGY is the revelation of God in the Holy Bible, and only, regarding the events that are going to take place “towards the end” and “at the end” of the ecclesiastical period. It is referred to as the Jews, to the Gentiles, and to the Church.

     WE BELIEVE:

     The 2^nd and the 3^rd chapters of the Book of Revelation portray the present ecclesiastical period. The 4^th chapter shows the Church in heaven. Chapters 4 to 19, portray the return of Jesus Christ with His saints, to judge the nations, to bind Satan , and to reign for 1000 years (20:4-6). After that Satan will be “loose” for “a time”, the battle of the Great Day of the Lord, the Judgment of the Great White Throne and… new heavens and new earth (chapters 21 & 22).

     WE BELIEVE:

     The 2^nd chapter of the Book of Daniel describes the history of the world, till the time that Christ will reign (see Daniel 2:44-45). The “Ten Toes” of the statue of Nebuchadnezzar symbolize the ten kingdoms of Revelation 17:12. This commonwealth of the last times, we believe is a revival of the Roman Empire, probable through the European Communion, or a new alliance of 10 nations within the boundaries of Mediterranean nations, or perhaps the commonwealth of the G8 financially strongest nations of the earth, which of course must be G10.

     WE BELIEVE that the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is mentioned over 300 times in the New Testament, will happen in two phases:

A’.     The secret rapture of the sleeping and living saints in the air as clearly is described in the Bible:

“For the Lord, Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

     This is the return of the Groom (Christ) for His Bride (Church).

     This is the Blessed Hope of the Church:

“Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), which can happen at any time!

B’.     The public revelation of Christ together with His saints:

“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints” (Jude 14).

“Behold a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war” (Revelation 19:11)

“They will look on Me whom they pierced” (Zachariah 12:10)

“In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” (Zachariah 14:4).

The Lord Jesus Christ will undertake the Kingdom and the governing of the world for 1000 years of BLESSEDNESS.

     WE BELIEVE, according to the 9:20-27 of Daniel, to the Gospels and John’s Revelation, that the rapture of the church will take place before The antichrist reveals himself on earth. Therefore, the Church will not be on the earth during the Great Tribulation of the reign of Antichrist. The Lord will come (and He must) for His own, the righteous ones. Christ will reign on earth for 1000 years (millennium).

JUDGMENTS:

The Bema of Christ (see Romans 14:10 & 2 Corinthians 5:10) is for the Christians and it will take place after the Rapture of the Church, for decision and definition of rewards (crowns – rewards that the Lord will give toy the Christians, according to how the lived for Him in their earthly life) and our placemen in the upcoming Kingdom of the Lord (see I Corinthians 3:11-15).

“So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

The Great White Throne Judgment follows the period of the Millennium and includes all of them that did not take part in the first resurrection, the Rapture (see Revelation 20:6, 11-15).

THE BATTLES:

Armageddon: (see Revelation 16:16, 19:19). It takes place at the end of the seven years reign of the Antichrist, of the Great Tribulation.

Gog and Magog: (see Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39). It could take place at any time, but most likely the battles are connected against Gog and Magog with that of Armageddon.

The Great Day of the Lord: (see Revelation 20:8-10). It takes place at the end of the Millennium.

THE JEWS:

God will gather again His people (Israel) in their land.

“Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land” (Ezekiel 37:21).

The “broken branch” will be grafted again.

“And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again… and so all Israel will be saved, as it is written” (Romans 11:23, 26).

HEAVEN AND HELL:

Both are eternal… but just as there is an endless joy for the redeemed, so there is hell and punishment for them who reject His grace. Nowhere the Bible mentions that there is a second chance; or that the things are written in the Bible will change.

ETERNAL SITUATION… FOREVER AND EVER…

The final and endless Kingdom of God:

“Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.  Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet…

Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all” (I Corinthians 15:23-28).