Assembly Doctrine
Summary. In Christ Assembly we believe in the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments in the original autographs; in the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and His substitutional atonement for our sins, Who rose again for our justification; in the bodily resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust; and in the eternal joy of the saved and the eternal punishment of the lost; in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the clouds to bring bodily resurrection first to the believers who have died in Christ and then to those believers still alive at His coming; in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth itself to reign, manifesting His absolutely sovereign power.
In addition to the foregoing brief Articles of Faith, we adopt the following more complete doctrinal statement.
1. The Holy Scriptures. We believe that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God,” meaning the Holy Spirit communicated the words of the sacred writings to men of old to form the entire Bible, including the historical, poetical, prophetic, and doctrinal parts. Because God breathed them to the writers, they bore His inspiration the moment they were communicated and needed no recognition or approval by man to be canonical. God providentially preserved them, but the inerrancy resides in the original autographs. Finally, when God closed the canon of the New Testament, He completed his written revelation for the Church Age. The Old and New Testaments furnishes the man of God with all he needs to glorify God in the work of the Church. (Mark 12:26, 36; Acts 1:16; 2:4; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
2. The Godhead. We believe that the One true God eternally exists in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each Person possesses precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections. Each Person deserves the same worship, confidence, and obedience. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3, 4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6).
3. Man Created and Fallen. We believe that man was originally created in the image of God, but fell through sin. The wages of sin is death, leaving man dead in trespasses, indwelt by an evil, sinful nature and subject to the dominion and slavery of the devil (Genesis 1:26; 2:17; John 5:40; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 56; 1 John 3:8).
4. The Total Depravity of Man. We believe that the sin of Adam has been communicated to all men, except Jesus Christ, so that they are brought forth in iniquity and conceived in sin, and their very nature corrupted by sin. The heart of man abides in evil, filled with lust leading to sin and spiritual death. Before God, man has no excuse for sin, and can do nothing to commend himself to God because by nature he sins and remains in sin. (Genesis 6:5; Psalms 14:1-3; 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; Romans 3:10-19; 512-19).
5. The Person and Work of Christ. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God. Conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, He came to earth to glorify and reveal God, and to seek and save the lost. He alone redeemed us from every lawless deed, by dying on the cross as a personal substitute for each believer. Through His once and for all sacrifice, He propitiated the anger of our righteous and holy God at our sin. We are looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. In the blink of an eye, with the sound of a trumpet, He will transport us to join Him in the clouds, and instantly transform our mortal bodies so that we will be just as He is, clothed with a resurrected, incorruptible, and immortal body. Just as God raised Christ from the dead literally and physically, so also God will raise His children (John 1:1, 14, 18; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-26; 4:25). Right now, the exalted Christ sits in heaven at the right hand of God, living to be our Advocate on High and interceding for believers as they draw near to God (Hebrews 1:3; 7:23-25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).
6. The Personality of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Holy Spirit. As an eternal, divine Person, He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He also regenerates believers in Christ, indwells them permanently, and seals them unto the day of redemption. At the moment of spiritual birth, all believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts which He bestows according to His sovereign will for the glorification of God and the edification of His body, the Church. He also fills all believers yielded to Him and bears His fruit in their lives. (John 15:26,27;16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 12:4-11; John 14:16; Ephesians 4:30; 5:8,17; Galatians 5:16-23).
7. Salvation. We believe that God saves people from their sin by grace through faith, and that salvation is a gift from God, so that no one may boast. Faith comes by hearing the good news that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins. He alone is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him, and no one accepts Christ except the Father draws him (Ephesians 2:8,9; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 10:9-10).
8. The Eternal Security of the Believer. We believe that God keeps all true believers, once saved, eternally secure in Christ by His power (Romans 8:1, 29-31, 38-39; John 10:27-30).
9. The Church. We believe that God continually builds the community of believers into one living and holy temple, the Church. Like a human body, the Church has many members, with different functions, with each member gifted by God to build up the body and minister to its needs. Christ reigns as the Head of the Church, and the entire Church, the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons in this present age. God disdains factions and denominations within His church, because they separate the Body of Christ. Christ alone unifies the Church, and He commands His body to be one in love and doctrine so that they may have fellowship with God and each other, and that their joy may be made full (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 1 John 1:1-4).
10. The Christian Walk. We believe that God issues a holy calling to every believer, to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. As we walk in the Spirit, filled with His power, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Believers struggle not only against the weakness of the flesh, but also against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, we must take up the full armor of God. (Romans 6:11-13; 8:2, 4, 12, 13; Galatians 5:16-23; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 2:1-10).
11. The Christian’s Service. We believe that divine, enabling gifts for service are bestowed by the Spirit upon all who are saved, and that, while there is a diversity of gifts, they, each and all, are energized by the same Spirit, and that, while each believer is called to his own divinely appointed service as the Spirit may will, God gave certain service gifts for the perfecting of the saints unto their work of ministry: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. The body of Christ depends upon every member employing his gift for the body to function optimally. Elders who preach and teach the Word of God should be afforded double honor, and supported by the church as the need arises (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 9:9; 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 5:18).
12. Christian Reward. We believe that God never condemns believers, but disciplines each child in this life. Each of us must give an account of our lives to God. Each believer must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, where Christ will evaluate the deeds of the believer, not for the purpose of salvation, but for rewards. Some will have their works consumed entirely, as done in the flesh, but even then they will be saved as if through fire. The Master will reward each believer for faithful service not only in this life, but also at the appearing of Christ when He comes to receive His own to Himself (Matthew 21:21-23; Mark 10:30; Romans 8:1; 14:12; 1 Corinthians 3:9-13; 9:18-27; 11:29-30; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 12: 6).
13. No Clergy and No Laity. We believe that Jesus forbade His disciples to use titles such as “Rabbi,” “Teacher,” “Father,” or “Leader.” Instead, we are absolutely equal in Christ, without distinctions. We honor the members we deem less honorable and rejoice with each other in unity. The Word of God teaches that every believer receives a gift of God to use as a priest before God. These gifts, when exercised under God’s guidance, glorify God by edifying the body, promoting unity and love, educating believers, providing divine guidance, meeting the needs of the Body of Christ, exhorting one another, evangelizing the lost, discipling the saints, and energizing believers to do God’s will. In essence, God carries on His earthly work through the gifts He has placed within the Body of Christ, just as He wills. Every member of the Body of Christ participates in this ministry. The Word of God clearly emphasizes that every believer occupies an essential place in Christ’s Body, His Church, and every member must esteem others properly. Within this context, the Church uses the laying on of hands to commend a believer to a particular work in recognition of God’s calling for that person. God intends that the Body of Christ should not be divided by the gifts bestowed upon believers, but rather, as members of one body, we should have the same care for one another. Therefore, God builds with believers, as living stones, a spiritual house. Within the house, the believers constitute a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ((Matthew 23:1-11; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:22-24; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; 1 Peter 2:5-6).
14. The Great Commission. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ explicitly commissioned every believer in Him to go into all nations, even as His Father sent the Son into the world. Jesus left us in the world as strangers and pilgrims upon earth, but ordained us to be divine ambassadors and witnesses of the good things God has done for us, working as harvesters in the fields of God. We live to glorify God, especially in making disciples of Christ as they go into the world, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 16:15; John 4:35; 17:18; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
15. The Blessed Hope. We believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of Christ in the air. He will bring with Him those believers in Christ who died before He returns. Christ will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and trumpet of God. Then the dead in Christ will rise first. Next, the saints on living on earth will rise to meet Him in the air, to remain forever with Him. At this time, in the twinkling of an eye, our bodies shall be resurrected and transformed into glorified, incorruptible bodies just like the body of Jesus. After we rise to meet Jesus, God pours forth His wrath upon earth during the Tribulation and that finally He will bring to an end that time of judgment for the whole earth by His own glorious appearing and personal return to earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-10).
16. The Second Coming of Christ. We believe that the world will not be converted prior to the second coming of Christ, but ripens day by day for judgment. The present church age will end with a great apostasy in the professing church. Then Christ will appear in the clouds to gather the elect. The Tribulation will follow in the earth, when God will pour out His wrath against sin filling the earth. Following that period of Tribulation, Jesus Christ will return as King, riding upon a white horse, vanquishing His enemies gathered against the saints, and then setting foot upon the Mount of Olives, just as He ascended from earth. He will inaugurate His earthly, thousand year reign and restore Israel to her own land. Satan shall be bound and thrown into the abyss, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God, and the curse lifted from creation (Matthew 24:15-25; Acts 15:16-17; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 11:25-27; Revelation 19:11-20:2).
17. The Eternal State. We believe that every believer should draw courage because we will be present with the Lord Jesus Christ after our earthly body dies, so that Apostle wrote: “absent from the body, present with the Lord.” We comfort one another with the knowledge that when Christ returns in the clouds, those in Christ shall be raised bodily from the dead to be forever with the Lord. The unbelievers will face judgment based upon the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if they have rejected Him, then they suffer eternal, conscious punishment, and they will be ultimately be cast into the lake of fire (Luke 16:9-26; Romans 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15).
18. The Ordinances. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded believers to follow Him in baptism (identification with Christ) and partaking of the Lord’s Supper (remembrance of Christ). These ordinances do not communicate any special grace, because Christ completed everything necessary for salvation and we receive the benefits of His sacrifice by faith alone (Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
