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Articles of Faith
We believe
there is but one living and true God everlasting, of infinite power, wisdom
and goodness; Maker and Preserver of all things, both visible and invisible.
And in the unity of this Godhead there are three Persons of one substance of
eternal being, and equal in holiness, justice, wisdom, power, and dignity;
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
We believe
that the Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of
one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed
virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead
and the manhood were joined together in one Person, never to be divided,
whereof is one Christ, very God and perfect man, who actually suffered, was
crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile the Father to us, and to make
atonement, not only for our actual guilt, but also for original sin.
Article Three
We believe
that Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again His body,
with all things appertaining to the perfections of man's nature, and
ascended into heaven and there sits until He shall return to judge all men
at the last day.
Article Four
We believe
the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance,
majesty and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.
We believe
in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, known as the
Bible, composed of sixty-six books and divided into two departments, Old and
New Testaments. We believe the Bible is the Word of God, the full and
complete revelation of the plan and history of redemption.
We believe
that eternal life with God in heaven is a portion of the reward of the
finally righteous; and that everlasting banishment from the presence of the
Lord and unending torture in hell are the wages of the persistently wicked
(Matthew 25:46; Psalm 9:17; Revelation 21:7-8).
We believe
that Jesus Christ shed His blood for the remission of sins that are past,
for the regeneration of penitent sinners, and for salvation from sin and
from sinning (Romans 3:25; 1 John 3:5-10; Ephesians 2:1-10).
We believe,
teach, and firmly maintain the scriptural doctrine of justification by faith
alone (Romans 5:1).
We believe
that Jesus Christ shed His blood for the complete cleansing of the justified
believer from all indwelling sin and from its pollution, subsequent to
regeneration (1 John 1:7-9).
We believe
in sanctification. While sanctification is initiated in regeneration and
consummated in glorification, we believe that it includes a definite,
instantaneous work of grace achieved by faith subsequent to regeneration
(Acts 26:18; 1 John 1:9). Sanctification delivers from the power and
dominion of sin. It is followed by life-long growth in grace and knowledge
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:16; 2 Peter 3:18).
We believe
that the Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire is obtainable by a
definite act of appropriating faith on the part of the fully cleansed
believer, and the initial evidence of the reception of this experience is
speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance (Luke 11:13; Acts
1:5; 2:14, 8-17; 10:44-46; 19:6).
We believe
in divine healing as in the atonement (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark
16:14-18; James 5:14-16; Exodus 15:26).
We believe
in the imminent, personal, pre-millennial second coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:1-4; Matthew
24:29-44), and love and wait for His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8).
We believe
it is the responsibility of every believer to dedicate his life to carrying
out the work of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Acts
1:8).
Doctrinal Amplification, written by Bishop Joseph A. Synan (1961),
includes a more detailed and specific explanation of the Articles of Faith,
including Scripture references. Use the Index listing at the right to view
each explanation. The materials provided in this section are taken from the
IPHC Manual, 1977-2001.
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Introduction—Historical
The first four paragraphs in our “Articles of Faith” together with number
6 as it now appears in the present arrangement were incorporated into our
Discipline (Manual) in 1929 under the above title. The remaining paragraphs
of our present Articles of Faith were then carried under the title “Basis of
Union,” and constituted our statement of faith in 1911, upon the mutual
acceptance of which the Fire-Baptized and Pentecostal Holiness Churches
consolidated in that year.
In the 1941 General Conference, steps were initiated calling for a vote
of the local churches authorizing the grouping of the Articles of Faith and
Basis of Union under one heading as “Articles of Faith,” with a renumbering
of the section accordingly and the removal of any item not specifically an
article of faith. The vote was duly taken as provided in “Changes in
Articles of Faith,” and at the 1945 General Conference, the said changes
were incorporated into the Discipline. The first four of these Articles are
the same in substance as the first four “Articles of Religion” (of which
there are twenty-five) of the Methodist Church, which are substantially the
same as those adopted, with slight variations, by John Wesley from the
Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England.
Hence, it will be seen that, in the great, basic fundamentals of our
faith, we stand upon common ground with a vast element of the Christian
Church. In fact, our teachings about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, sin and
the atonement, the birth, death and resurrection, ascension and coming again
of Christ, are in line with the great stream of doctrine and theology as
stated in the various creeds and articles of faith of the evangelical
Christian Church through the ages, embodying the great doctrinal statements
that issued from the Protestant Reformation and the Wesleyan revival. In
fact, some of our Articles are similar in thought, and in some instances
identical in word, with certain sections of the historic Augsburg
Confession. This is particularly true of the first and second Articles.
Moreover, they expand and elucidate the doctrinal tenets as set forth in
the Apostles’ Creed. This statement is particularly applicable to the first
four of our Articles. It is in the next nine that our doctrinal distinctive
appear more definitely.
We shall comment upon our Articles of Faith by paragraph as they are
numbered in the Manual. Please read carefully all Scripture references in
the order given.
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