1. The outward honest confession of Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord is the only way to Justify an individual in God's Sight, as the Father has irreversibly decreed that all things in heaven and earth are given into Christ's Hand. God favors His son Jesus, and if we love His Son Jesus, God will then favor and bless us with Him.
2. Jesus clearly emphasized water baptism and continued the baptismal ministry of the prophet John after his imprisonment and consequential death. However, this new baptism was now water baptism in Jesus' Name for the remission of sin.
3. The apostle Peter instructed the Jewish population in the first century AD to repent of their rejection of Jesus as Messiah and to be water baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. He also clearly states that afterward, they would also receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This declaration applies to us in present day according to Acts 2:39. If we confess the lordship of Jesus Christ and are water baptized, we can also hold to the promise of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.
4. Jesus Christ, The Gospel writers, & the apostolic letters all clearly show a great emphasis on the importance of both the baptism and the activity of the Holy Spirit within the Church. The entity of the Church runs on the power of the Spirit. There is no dispute concerning this truth. Therefore every member of the Church should logically desire to be full of the Holy Spirit.
5. Jesus instructed His apostles to not only "preach the gospel to every creature" & "teach all nations", but to baptize them "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Ghost." This sometimes misunderstood prophetic saying of Jesus is explained below:
- Baptizing in the Name of the Father
- Jesus, coming in the Name (or instead) of the Father, promoted the water baptism the Father commanded "for the remission of sin." When we water baptize in Jesus' Name, verbally confirming that it is in Jesus' Name, the supernatural act of sin-remittance takes place, according to the Father's Will. John the baptist is no longer the water baptizer, but now christian disciples baptize in water in obedience to Jesus, according to the Father's command, In Jesus' Name.
- Baptizing in the Name of the Son
- It is clear from the scriptures and the prophetic saying of the prophet John the baptist, that Jesus has a secondary baptism: The baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Father is water baptism. But the baptism of the Son is the Spirit baptism. Jesus Himself baptizes us with the Holy Spirit given Him by God.
- Baptizing in the Name of the Holy Ghost
- The Holy Spirit who comes upon us also has a baptism. This is a consecutive experience. It is called the baptism of the fire of God. The fire of God is the Power of God. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to divinely help us to be converted and regenerated. We are literally new people. But the Holy Spirit will at various times come upon (or up-on) us. When this takes place, it is a supernatural empowerment that manifests signs and wonders.
Because this scriptural command to baptize in these three manners were given the apostles by Our Lord Jesus Christ, we believe that the apostolic anointing can come upon an individual to minister the results of each of these experiences in Jesus' Name, as well as other miracles attributed to such anointing.
6. The gospels and the pauline epistles clearly record that
- If we continue in Jesus' word we are His disciples indeed.
- If we believe on Jesus we will mimic the works He has done. And because He has gone to the Father, we, representing Jesus Christ on earth, will do greater works than those first ones.
- The manifestations or gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to every person in the church to profit the whole church. Great emphasis is given to the edifying power of the gift of prophecy in the local church. The characteristics of such gift is shown in the book of Acts by the ministry of men like Peter, Paul, Agabus, and the daughters of Philip the evangelist. More attention to the function of prophecy is dealt with in the Pauline epistles, and literary examples of the gift are recorded within the context of letters by other apostles to churches existing in the first century AD.
8. Jesus response to the apostles questions in Acts 1, His parables in the gospels, and His command to the 12 in Matthew 10 clearly prove that there is both a figurative, spiritual, and literal manifestation of the Kingdom of God. This simple statement is the foundational basis for further inquiry and exposition of references to the Kingdom in the Gospels and the apostolic letters.
9. It is expected that the elders or shepherds of the local church should pray for the sick in faith expecting the Lord Jesus to both heal them and forgive their sins.
10. Both Peter, Paul, and John recognized the church governmental structure of local elders and diaconal ministers along with an elected overseer/chief-shepherd in that district. Apostles of a less restrictive sense were designated and sent to appoint such officers in every place where evangelism had taken place and believers assembled. These apostolic emissaries had the responsibility of evangelizing new territories while balancing the supervision of local officers. Some believe that this type of minister should be called a bishop. Although the present day structure of many christian communities differ from this original model and because the succession of authority since that time is largely disputed, we should make every effort to somehow restore the original model with respect to current work in various cities.
