SPIRITUAL MATTERS

 

Matthew 24:14   " And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come. "

 

Fundamental Church of God Doctrines

 

 The Godhead

  1. There are two members of the Godhead - God the Father and God the Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-12) (John 1:1-14, note verse 14) (1 Corinthians 15:24-28) (John 14:28).
  2. God the Father is greater than God the Son Jesus Christ (John 10:29) (John 14:28) (1Corintians 15:27-28).
  3. God the Father is the Head of Christ, and Christ is Head of the church. The church and Jesus Christ are all firmly united behind God the Father. Therefore there are no power struggles and politics in the true church, and in God's family. There are no clashes of will between God the Father and God the Son - Jesus Christ.

 

 

The Unlimited God

  1. God is not limited. He cannot be controlled by human beings. God is not limited or restricted to work only through one particular group or a certain Church hierarchy (Isaiah 40:28-29) (Numbers 11th Chapter) (Acts 10:9-18) (Matthew 3:7-10).

 

 

Jesus Christ

  1. All religions do not lead to God. Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) (John 3:14-21 note verse18) (1Timothy 2:5) ( Hebrews 9:15) (Hebrews 8th Chapter).
  2. Christ is our High Priest in heaven. He is the Mediator between mankind and God the Father. We don't need any more priests - other than Jesus. Anyone wanting to have a leadership role in the true church must be the servant.
  3. Christ is our Passover lamb, slain for our sins. Christ died on the cross, was dead for 3 days and 3 nights and was resurrected from the dead. He is the first fruits of them that sleep. Christ has won the victory over sin and death (Matthew 12:38-40) (Luke 11:29-30) (1 Corinthians 15:25-26) (John 8:31-36) (Romans 8:1-4) (Hebrews 2:14-15) (Romans 6:6-10).
  4. Christ is the author and finisher of our salvation. We are His work (Hebrews 12:2) (Ephesians 2:8-10) (Matthew 3:11-12) (Malachi 3:1-3).

 

 

Faith

  1. You must believe in God, know He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek and follow Him. You can never please God without believing and trusting in Him (Hebrews 11:6) (Genesis 15:1-6 note verse 6) (Romans 4:1-3) (John 3:18).
  2. We are saved through faith. We are saved through grace. We cannot earn our salvation. It is a gift of God. However, there are things we must do to qualify for God's free gift of grace. We must repent, believe and be baptized, and must remain loyal to God and endure and overcome unto the end. We can't earn our salvation, but we must meet God's conditions before we can receive salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) (2 Timothy 1:9) (Romans 4:16) (Acts 2:37-39) (Philippians 2:12-13) (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21).
  3. We must have living faith to insure our salvation. Even the devils believe in God and Christ, so belief in Christ is not enough. We must have living faith (James 2:14-26) (Matthew 7:21-27).

 

 

Salvation and the Gift of the Holy Spirit

  1. The Holy Spirit is the life and nature of God. The Holy Spirit is not a third person in a trinity (1 Samuel 10:1-13 note verses 6 and 9) (1 Samuel 16:1, 11-13 note verse 13) (2 Peter 1:4) (Galatians 5:16-26).
  2. God calls and invites people to salvation through His spirit. Most people at this time are not being called to salvation. Their first opportunity for salvation has not yet come (1 Corinthians 1:26-29) (John 6:44, 64-65) (Matthew 22:1-5) (Luke 14:15-24) (Hebrews 3:1) (Romans 1:6-7).
  3. Human beings were created by God to have a relationship with God. They were and are created in the image of God, and have the potential to be created in the spiritual image of God. If people fail to put God and Christ first in their lives, then they simply have something or someone else first in their lives. This is their personal idolatry, and they must repent of this when God's time comes for them to be called to salvation (however God at this time is calling only a very few to salvation, and the rest are simply blinded). Their false god must be torn root and branch out of their lives. God will not play second fiddle to anyone or anything (but once again let us emphasize that all men are not at this time called to salvation), (Genesis 1:26) (1 Corinthians 15:47-58) (2 Corinthians 5:17) (Romans 8:9) (Luke 14:26-33 - Living Bible).
  4. Human righteousness and human goodness is not good enough for God. Christ's righteousness and your faith in Him saves you (Isaiah 64:6) (Philippians 3:8-9) (Romans 10:1-4).
  5.  After repentance, belief, and baptism a person can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. which is the down payment of the eternal life promised. We can inherit the eternal life promised , if we endure and remain faithful to Christ until the end (Romans 6:23) (Acts 2:38) (Luke 10:25-28) (1 John 2:21-25).
  6. There is the promise of the resurrection for us. Christ the first fruits has been resurrected and lives now in heaven (1 Corinthians 15:1-8) (1 Corinthians 15:12-23) (John 5:28-29).

 

 

The Church

  1. The foundation of God's true church has been laid already almost 2,000 years ago. No human being have any authority to add anything to it. The foundation consists of the prophets, and apostles, with Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:19-22) (1 Corinthians 3:1-17 note verses 10-15).
  2. The true Church is a spiritual organism made up of those who have the Holy Spirit living in them (Romans 8:5-11 note verse 9) (1 Peter 2:5) (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) ( 2 Corinthians 6:16).
  3. The true church is the body of Christ, and consists of many different parts. Each part is important and needs the other parts. The true church is a spiritual organism consisting of those who have the Holy Spirit living in them. It is not a physical organization. The true church is built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone - this is the Bible.
  4. God the Father and God the Son are creating children - they are creating a family. We can be born into that family at the resurrection (Romans 8:14-23) (Galatians 3:26-29) (Revelation 21:1-10) (Revelation 19:7-9) (2 Corinthians 11:1-2) (Ephesians 5:25-33)
  5. The nature of the true Church. A spiritual organism
  6. True Christians are involved in a spiritual struggle within themselves. They are to strive to overcome their evil nature and not to be motivated by the carnal mind, but rather to follow the lead of God's Holy Spirit and bear the good fruits of God's Spirit in their lives. However, none of us is perfect and it is a lifetime struggle. (Galatians 5:13-26) (Colossians 3:1-17) (Romans 7th Chapter) (Mark 7:1-23 note verses 20-23).
  7. Financial Support - the brethren are to support the church through tithes. A tithe is 1/10 of your profits, if you run a business, and 1/10 of your net income if you are an employee. Tithes are to be sent into the church leadership for support of the church and of the ministry. This money is not to be squandered by the ministry on huge salaries, but is to be used for the congregations and on the work the church is doing.

 

 

Communicating With God

  1. Communicating with God through prayer, Bible study, and Sabbath services (Luke 11:1-13) (Matthew 6:5-15) (Revelation 5:8) (Psalms 141:2) (Revelation 8:3-4) (2 Timothy 2:15) (Hebrews 10:25) (Acts 17:2).

 

 

Fruits

  1. True Christians must produce fruits for God (John 15:1-8) (John 15:16) (Galatians 5:22-26) (Luke 13:6-9) (1Corintians 12th Chapter).
  2. Do good works (Matthew 7:19-21) (Ephesians 2:10) (1 Timothy 2:10, 6:17-19) (Titus 2:14).
  3. Follow justice and mercy (Matthew 23:23) (Matthew 5:7).

 

 

Sin

  1. Sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4).
  2. The greatest sin is to put something, or someone ahead of God in your life (Exodus 20:1-6) (Exodus 34:13-14, 17) (Deuteronomy 4:23-24) (Matthew 22:35-37) (Matthew 10:37-39).
  3. We must repent of our sins, and of following the old sinful nature into sin (Luke13:1-5) (Matthew 4:17) (Acts 2:37-38) (Romans 6:1-8) (Ephesians 4:22-24) (Colossians 3:1-14) (Galatians 5:16-26).

 

 

Commandments

  1. The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart , soul, strength, and mind (Matthew 22:35-38) (Luke 10:25-28) (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) (Mark 12:28-30).
  2. The second greatest command is to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39-40) (Luke 10:25-37) (Mark 12:28-34 note verses 31- 34).
  3. You show your love for God and neighnour by keeping God's Commandments (1 John 5:2-3) (John 14:15, 22-24) (Romans 13:8-10) (Matthew 5:17-20).
  4. The 10 commandments are still in effect (Matthew 5:17-19) (Romans 13:8-10) (Matthew 19:16-26).
  5. Christ did not do away with God's laws. The law was not nailed to the cross with Christ (Matthew 5:17-19) (Romans 7:4-12).
  6. God's law in the family (spiritual laws). Husbands commanded to love their wives, wives commanded to honor and respect their husbands, children commanded to obey their parents in the Lord, and honour them (Ephesians 5:22-23) (Ephesians 6:1-4).
  7. Be subject to the higher authorities, as long as they don't tell you or require you to do something sinful. You don't have to put up with abuse or injustice (Romans 13:1-8). If there is a clash between man's law and God's law - God's law takes precedent.
  8. There are gray areas of the law and Bible doctrine subject to individual interpretation (like the eating of clean and unclean meats). However, it is vital all believers basically agree on the fundamental doctrines of the faith, like faith in Jesus Christ for example (Romans 14:1-4) (Hebrews 6:1-2) (2 John 9-10) ( 2 Timothy 3:16) (Matthew 15:1-14, note verse 9).
  9. Dress and keep the earth (Genesis 2:8,15) (Revelation 11:18).
  10. Dietary Laws - don't drink blood - don't eat blood (Acts 15:19-21, 29) (Deuteronomy 12:15-16) (Leviticus 17:10-16).

 

 

Human Nature

  1. Mankind is born with a human nature that is basically sinful. However, through Christ we can receive a new nature - the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:19-21, 22-26) (Ephesians 2:1-10) (Jeremiah 17:9).
  2. Human beings are living souls made of the dust of the earth. They do not have an immoral soul at birth. They return to dust at death (Genesis 2:7) (Genesis 3:19) (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20) (Malachi 4:1-3) (Revelation 20:14-15) (Romans 6:23).
  3. Most of mankind is in rebellion against God (1John 5:19) (Galatians 1:1-4 note verse 4) (Romans 1:18-32) (Revelation 19:19-21) (Jeremiah 2:30-33). Adam and Eve rebelled against God, and almost all of their descendants have followed them in this rebellion.

 

 

The Holy Days

  1. God's Holy Days show us God's plan and schedule here on earth (Leviticus 23rd chapter) (Leviticus 23:1-8, 15-16, 21, 24, 27-28, 34-36, 36). Please go to God's Holy Days for in-depth information about God's schedule here on earth.
  2. Keep the Passover yearly (Luke 22:7-20 note verses 17:20) (1 Corinthians 11:20-30 note verses 23-25).

 

 

Return of Christ and the Setting Up of God's Kingdom On Earth

  1. Christ will return to earth in the last days to set up His world ruling Kingdom (Daniel 2:44-45) (Daniel 7:13-14) (Micah 4:1-3) (Isaiah 2:1-4) (Matthew 19:27-28) (Revelation 11:15).
  2. There are signs that must precede the return of Christ. Christ won't return at any moment. Some major signs for example are ; the Temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem, a world ruling government controlled by the Beast set up for 3 ½ years just before Jesus returns, and Two Witnesses will preach the gospel to the whole world just before Christ returns. Go to Signs of Christ's Return for a comprehensive list of the events that must precede Christ's return.
  3. Christ will rule the earth during the 1000 years (the millennium) which starts shortly after Jesus has returned (Revelation 20:1-6).
  4. The resurrected Saints will rule the earth under Christ in His Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6) (Daniel 7:27) (Matthew 19:27-28) (1Corintians 6:1-3).

 

 

 

We Must Remain Faithful Until the End

 

1. After receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit true Christians must remain loyal to God and Christ by continuing to put God and Christ first in their lives (It is important to remember that the vast majority of professing Christians have never yet been called to salvation. They are simply deceived and blinded at this time by the false Christianity. God has not yet called them to salvation. The vast overwhelming majority of professing Christianity is therefore not lost, but have not yet had their minds open to the truth).

 

 

2. Christ will punish any true Christian, who begins to put something or someone ahead or in front of Him and God the Father, in their lives. If the true Christian refuses to heed the warnings and punishment, then after a time God the Father and God the Son Jesus Christ will reject that person, and remove the Holy Spirit from them. God is patient and longsuffering, but there are limits. This is an unpardonable sin, because the individual former Christian will have shown repeatedly to God that they are no longer interested in God and they will simply be unwilling to repent (but if there remains still a willingness to repent then perhaps there is still hope). Something or someone else is now first in that persons life. God will simply not play second fiddle to anything or anyone (Joshua 24:14-28 note verses 19-20, 27). But once again let us emphasize that all men are not at this time called to salvation, so please do not jump to the conclusion you may have committed an unpardonable sin. If there is a willingness to repent then God is willing to forgive. However, God has self-respect, and won't share our affections with anyone or anything else. This is very important and cannot be emphasized more.

 

 

Twelve Tribes of Israel

  1. The Jews are only one of the twelve tribes of Israel. They do not represent all of the tribes of Israel. The physical descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel exist today, but the Jews are only one part of this.

 

 

Holy Angels

  1. The Holy Angels remain loyal to God. 2/3 or the Holy Angels remain loyal to God. They are spirit beings, individual creations of God. They are sexless beings as are Satan and the fallen angels. Two great archangels, or cherubs are Michael and Gabriel, who remain loyal to God ( Matthew 22:23-33) ( Hebrews 1:4-8, 13-14) (Revelation 7:7-9) (Luke1:11-20 note verses 19-20) (Daniel 8:15-19) (Jude 9) (Daniel 10:13).

 

 

Fallen Angels

  1. There is a literal Devil, who is the enemy of God and mankind. 1/3 of the Holy Angels followed this Cherub Lucifer when He rebelled against God. Lucifer transformed Himself into Satan - God's adversary. The rebellious Holy Angels transformed themselves into fallen angels and demons. God did not create the Devil - the Devil created himself, when he rebelled against God (Ephesians 6:11-13) (Ezekiel 28:12-17) (Isaiah 14:12-15) (Luke 10:18) (Revelation 3:3-4) (1 Peter 5:8) (Mark 5:1-20).
  2. Satan has his Kingdom here on earth. He is the unseen spiritual ruler of this rebellious world and those rebellious people, who refuse God's rule over their lives (Ephesians 6:11-13) (Ephesians 2:1-7) (Mark 3:22-30) (Matthew 12:24-30).

 

 

Judgment

  1. The incorrigible wicked will be burnt up in the Lake of Fire. The wages of sin is death - not eternal life in hell fire. The ones who will suffer and be tormented forever and ever in hell are Satan and the fallen angels (Romans 6:23) (Revelation 20:11-15) (Revelation 20:10) (Malachi 4:1-3).