(c) The Adorable Godhead
(i) Terms defined:
The terms “Trinity” and “Persons”. As related to the
Godhead, while not found in the scriptures, are words
in harmony with scripture, whereby we may convey to
others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of
Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished
from “gods many and Lords many”. We therefore, may speak
with propriety of the Lord our God, Who is one Lord,
as a trinity or as one Being of three Persons, and still
be absolutely scriptural [Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians
13:14; John 14:16, 17].
(ii) Distinction
and Relationship in the Godhead:
Christ taught a distinction of Persons in the Godhead
which He expressed in specific terms of relationship,
as Father, Son and Holy Spirit but that this distinction
and relationship, as to its mode is inscrutable and
incomprehensible, because unexplained [Luke 1:35, 1
Corinthians 1:24; Matthew 11:25-27; 2 Corinthians 13:14;
1 John 1:3, 4].
(iii) Unity
of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Son which
constitutes Him the Son, and not the Father; and there
is that in the Holy Spirit which constitutes Him the
Holy Spirit and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore
the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten,
and the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding from the Father
and the Son. Therefore, because these three Persons
in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but
one Lord God Almighty and His Name One [John 1:18; 15:26;
17:11, 21; Zechariah 14:9].
(iv) Identity
and cooperation in the Godhead:
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical
as a person; nor confused as to relations; nor divided
in the respect to the Godhead; nor opposed to cooperation.
The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son
as to relationship. The Son is with the Father and the
Father in the Son as to fellowship. The Father is not
from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to
authority. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the
Son proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation
and authority. Henceforth neither Person in the Godhead
either exists or works separately or independently of
the others [John 5:17-30, 32, 37; John 8:17, 18].
(v) The Title,
Lord Jesus Christ:
The appellation, “Lord Jesus Christ”, is a proper name.
It is never applied in the New Testament, either to
the Father or to the Holy Spirit. It therefore belongs
exclusively to the Son of God [Romans 1:1-37; 2 John
3].
(vi) The Lord
Jesus Christ, God with us:
The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal
nature, is the proper and only Begotten of the Father,
but as to His human nature, He is the proper Son of
Man. He is, therefore, acknowledge to be both God and
Man; Who because He is God and man, is “Immanuel”, God
with us [Matthew 1:23; 1 John 4:2, 10, 14; Revelation
1:13, 17].
(vii) The Title,
Son of God:
Since the Name “Immanuel” embraces both God and man
in the one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows
that the title, Son of God, describes His proper deity,
and the title Son of Man, His proper humanity. Therefore,
the title Son of God, belongs to the order of eternity,
and the title Son of Man, to the order of time [Matthew
1:21-23; 2 John 3:8; Hebrews 7:3; 1:1 –13].
(viii) Transgression
of the Doctrine of Christ:
Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of
Christ to say that Jesus Christ derived the title, Son
of God, solely from the fact of the incarnation, or
because of His relation to the economy of redemption.
Therefore, to deny that the Father is a real and eternal
Father, and that the Son is a real and eternal Son,
is a denial of the distinction and relationship in the
being of God; a denial of the Fathers and the Son; and
a displacement of the truth that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh [2 John 9; John 1:1, 2, 14, 18, 29, 49;
8:57, 58; 1 John 2:22, 23; 4:1–5; Hebrews 12:2].
(ix) Exaltation
of Jesus Christ as Lord:
The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, bore our sins
in His own body on the cross. As our Representative
and Substitute before God He bore the just judgment
of God upon all our sin, and shed His blood, in order
that we might be delivered from the guilt and defilement
and all other evil consequences of our sin and from
the power of Satan. Crucified, died and buried, He rose
bodily on the third day. Having Himself purged our sins,
He sat down on the right hand side of the Majesty on
high; angels and principalities and powers having been
made subject to Him. And having been made both Lord
and Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit that we, in the
Name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father until
the end, When the Son shall become subject to the Father
that God may be all in all [Hebrews 1:3; 1 peter 3:22;
Acts 2:32–36; Romans 14:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24–28].
(x) Equal Honour to the Father
and to the Son:
Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment
to the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in
heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable
joy in the Holy Spirit to ascribe to the Son all the
attributes of Deity, and to give Him all honour and
the glory contained in all the names and titles of the
Godhead [except those which express relationship]. See
paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) and thus honour the Father
[John 5:22, 23; 1 Peter 1:8; Revelation 5:6-14; Philippians
2: 8, 9; Revelation 7:9, 10; 4: 8-11].
(d) Man, His Fall and Redemption:
Man was created good and upright; for God said, “Let
us make man in our image, after our likeliness”. But
man, by voluntary transgression fell and his only hope
of redemption is in Jesus Christ the Son of God [Genesis
1:26–31; 3:1–7; Romans 5:12–21].
(e) The Salvation of Man:
(i) Conditions of Salvation.
The grace of God, which brings salvation, has appeared
to all men, through the preaching of repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; man is saved
by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy
Spirit, and being justified by grace through faith,
he becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal
life [Titus 2:11; Romans 10:13–15; Luke 24:47; Titus
3:5].
(ii) Evidence of Salvation.
The inward evidence to the believer of his Salvation
is the direct witness of the Spirit [Romans 8:16]. The
outward evidence to all people is a life of righteous
and true holiness. This kind of life rejects such behavior
as homosexuality, lesbianism, sexual immorality and
Sexual perversion, lust, incest, idolatry, envy, murder,
strife, drunkenness, deceit, malice, gossip, slander,
insolence, arrogance, boasting, promoting evil deeds,
disobedience, greed, covetousness and all forms of moral
depravity [Romans 1:18 – 32; Colossians 3:5].
(f) Baptism in Water:
The ordinance of Baptism by immersion as a burial with
Christ should be observed as commanded in the scriptures,
by all who have really repented in their hearts, and
have truly believed on Christ as Saviour and Lord. In
so doing, they have the body washed in pure water as
an outward symbol of cleansing, while their heart has
already been sprinkled with the blood of Christ as an
inner cleansing. Thus they declare to the world that
they have died with Jesus and that they also have been
raised with Him to walk in newness of life [Matthew
28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Acts 20:21; Hebrew 10:22].
(g) The Lord’s
Super:
The Lord’s super, consisting of the elements, bread
and the fruit of the vine, is the symbol expressing
our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ
[2 peter 1:14]; a memorial of His suffering and death
[1 Corinthians 11:26] and is enjoined on all believers
“until He comes”.
(h) The Promise
of the Father:
All believers are entitled to, and should ardently expect,
and earnestly seek, the promise of the Father, and Baptism
in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command
of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience
of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes
the endowment of power for life and service, the bestowment
of the gifts and their uses in the work of the Ministry
[Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–31]. This
wonderful experience is distinct from and subsequent
to the experience of the New Birth [Acts 10:44–16; 15:7–9].
(j) Entire Sanctification:
The Scriptures teach a life of holiness without which
no man shall see the Lord. By the power of the Holy
Spirit we are able to obey the Command. “Be ye holy;
for I AM holy”. Entire sanctification is the will of
God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued
by walking in obedience to God’s Word [Hebrews 12:14;
1 Peter 1:15, 16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24; 1 John 2:6].
(k) The Church:
The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of
God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for
the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer,
born of the Spirit is an integral part of the General
Assembly and Church of first-born, which are written
in heaven [Ephesians 1:22, 23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23].
Christ Reigns Ministries exists to give
continuing emphasis to the New Testament apostolic pattern
by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized
in the Holy Spirit. This Experience:
(i). Adds a necessary dimension to a
worshipful relationship with God [1 Corinthians 2:10–16;
1 Corinthians 12–14].
(ii). Enables them to respond to the
full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of fruit
and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for
the edifying of the Body of Christ [Galatians 5:22-26;
Colossians 1:29].
(iii). Enables them to evangelize in
the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural
signs [Mark 16:15-20, Acts 4:29-31, Hebrews 2:3-4].
(l) The Ministry and Evangelism:
A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry
has been provided by our Lord for a threefold purpose:
(i). The Worship of God through Christ
[John 4:23, 24]:
(ii). The edifying of the Body of Christ
[Ephesians 4:11–16];
(iii). The evangelization of the world
[Mark 16:15–20].
(m) Divine Healing:
Deliverance from devils, sicknesses and diseases is
provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege
of all believers [Isaiah 53:4–5; Matthew 8:16–17; Mark
16:16-18].
(n) The Blessed Hope:
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in
Christ and their translation together with those who
are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord is the
imminent and blessed hope of the Church [1 Thessalonians
4:16–17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51–52].
(o) The Millennial
Reign of Jesus:
The revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven,
the salvation of national Israel, and the millennial
reign of Christ on the earth is the Scriptural promise
and the world’s hope [2 Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation
19:11–14; Romans 11:26–27; Revelation 20:1–7].
(p) The Final
Judgment:
There will be a final Judgment in which the wicked dead
will be raised and judged according to their works.
Whoever is not found written in the Book of life, together
with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false
prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment
in the lake of burning sulphur, which is the second
death [Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation
19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8].
(q) The New Heavens and The
New Earth:
We, “according to His promise, look for new heavens
and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” [2 Peter
3:13; Revelation 21:22].
It is written in 2 John 9-11:
9. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the
Father and the Son.
10. If there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,
neither bid him God speed:
11. For he that biddeth him God speed
is a partaker of his evil deeds.
