Statement of Faith

Baptisms and Gifts

It is in the area of baptisms and ministry gifts that many differences begin to surface in the Christian community. Since conflicting beliefs and practices cannot all be found in scripture, it must be concluded that many of them have been man-made. For the sake of convenience and other motivations, religious leaders and systems have not only formulated non-scriptural practices, but have also deleted various biblical ones.

Each humanly contrived belief or practice could be given an historical account, but in this presentation we shall focus on those which we feel are founded in the scriptures and thus expose the man-made.

Baptisms
Let us note first that in the list of foundational doctrines and experiences found in Hebrews 6:2, the term 'baptisms', in the plural, is used. Likewise, throughout the New Testament text, we find references to several forms of baptism. Let us list these below and make some brief comments.

The three basic types of experience which can be categorized as a baptism are (1) Baptism into Christ, (2) Baptism in water, and (3) Baptism in the Holy Ghost. There are no biblical references to infant baptism.

1. Baptism Into Christ: By the experience of true repentance, the penitent sinner experiences the death and burial of the old life of sin and finds an entrance into a new life, or into Christ. In this spiritual transaction, the believer leaves the life governed by sin and self and enters into a life governed by Christ. He thus experiences the reality of 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation); old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." The terminology 'baptized into Christ' is equivalent to the above experience.
   

2. Baptism In Water In order to obey the commandment of the Lord in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) and follow the Apostle Peter's instructions on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38), Christian believers should be baptized in water. All references to baptism strongly infer the mode of immersion. (Both Thayer's Lexicon and Strong's Concordance of the Bible confirm the above conclusion, defining the Greek word 'baptizo' as 'to dip, to immerse, submerge'.) Only the mode of immersion properly portrays the important principle of death (to the old life of sin) and resurrection (to a new life in Christ.)
   
   Let us also consider that, according to the Biblical record, all of the following were baptized in water: Jesus (Mt.3:16), Jewish converts (Acts 2:41;8:12), the Apostle Paul (Acts 9:18), and Gentile converts (Acts 10:47,48).
3. Baptism in the Holy Ghost This subject has become one of the most controversial ones in all of Christendom. Some state emphatically that a full measure of the Holy Spirit is granted the believer at his conversion. Others hold to the belief that a further impartation of the Holy Spirit (a baptism) occurs after initial salvation.
   
   It is in this area of truth and experience that we have seen man depart from the scriptures to make the gospel palatable to more people. Although the Charismatic-Pentecostal movement has been rife with excessive and fleshly manifestations attributed to the Holy Ghost, nonetheless, the overwhelming evidence of both scripture and experience establish the reality of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It can be further concluded that in the majority of cases in scripture, this experience of baptism was accompanied by supernatural signs such as speaking in other tongues or prophesying.
   
   Let us look at the scriptural evidence in this matter of the baptism in the Holy Ghost:
   
   
   1. Hebrews 6:2 , in reference to foundational doctrines and experiences, speaks of 'baptisms' (plural).
   2. In his introduction of Jesus and the age of the gospel, John the Baptist spoke of baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, something beyond repentance and water baptism. (Matthew 3:11)
   3. Jesus spoke of the coming of the Holy Spirit to His disciples and of the work He would do throughout the age of the Church. Let us consider the following scriptures and the conclusions we get from them:
      
      
   1. The Holy Ghost is God's means of establishing His abode with men. [John 14:23]
   2. The Holy Ghost is God's means of empowering believers. [Acts 1:8]
   3. The Holy Ghost is God's means of doing His work on earth. [John 14:12; John 16:8-11]
   4. The Holy Ghost is God's means of teaching us, guiding us into all truth and revealing things to come. [John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9-14]
   5. On the day of Pentecost, converts to Christ were 'filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4) What followed this in the subsequent chapters of Acts is an empowered ministry and church bearing witness to Christ's resurrection and 'turning the world upside down'.
   6. In Peter's powerful message on the day of Pentecost, God gave the pattern and guideline for the entire church age. When the Jews asked what they should do, Peter responded: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." [Acts 2:38] Then he added, "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." The term, "to all that are afar off" is a definite reference to all Gentiles, and the term 'promise' is a definite reference to the gift of the Holy Ghost which had just been given them. (See the entire context of Acts 2.)

Those who would teach that the experiences and practices of the early church (as recorded in the book of Acts) were only for the 'Jewish Church' are in error. By carefully following scriptural evidence, we cannot but conclude that Pentecost represented the birth of the church, which, according to Paul's revelation, was God's 'one new man'. In what God was doing, the 'middle wall of partition' between Jew and Gentile had been broken down and now both were becoming members of the 'same body' by coming into Christ. [See Ephesians 2:15; 3:6] In Christ, any distinction between Jew and Gentile, is done away. (Galatians 3:28) The gospel for the Gentile is no different from the gospel for the Jew and neither are their spiritual experiences to be different.

A teaching exists which attempts to establish that the entire events of the book of Acts are a history of what has been termed the 'Jewish Church'. The claim is set forth that it was not until Acts 28:28 that God turned to the Gentiles. It is further suggested that from then on, there was a dramatic change in the composition of the gospel and in the practice of the church. Man, not God nor the scriptures, has taught that after Acts 28:28 there was no more Holy Ghost baptism, no more speaking in tongues, no more apostles and prophets and no more miracles.

As per our discussion above, we refute this claim and add the following to our proof. Although the first converts to Christ were Jews, God turned to the Gentile world in Acts 10 (not Acts 28) with the conversion of Cornelius (a Roman centurion) and his household. What happened in Cornelius' house - among Gentiles - is exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost - among Jews. Here are the words of the Apostle Peter in his report to the apostles and brethren at Jerusalem: "...as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost." (Acts 11:15,16) It is evident from the Cornelius story that the word 'ye' in this verse includes both Jews and Gentiles.

We can thus conclude that both the gospel and all basic spiritual experience were meant to be the same from the day of Pentecost through the entire church age and should include the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Gifts
There are two types of 'gifts' spoken about in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 12:4, we find, "...there are diversities of gifts...", and in Romans 12:6 we read, "...having then gifts according to the grace given to us...". In both these verses, the meaning of the word 'gifts' is 'charisma', meaning 'spiritual endowment or enablement.'

As listed in the above passages, these gifts are: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, ministry (administration), teaching, exhortation, giving, ruling (presiding over) and showing mercy.

According to scripture, we are to 'covet earnestly the best gifts'. (1 Corinthians 12:31) Some religious leaders and systems teach that these gifts are no longer for today, but the Bible teaches that they will remain until 'that which is perfect (complete, spiritually mature) is come'. (1 Corinthians 13:10)

THE FUNCTION OF THESE GIFTS WILL BRING A FULL EXPRESSION OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST TO THE CHURCH.

The second type of gift is referred to in Ephesians 4:8, "...when he ascended up on high...he gave gifts unto men." The word here has a different meaning from that of 1 Corinthians 12. It means 'something granted or given'. These gifts can be called 'ministry gifts', that is, individuals with a specific calling and ministry for the church.

As listed in Ephesians 4:11, they are called apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Some teach that apostles and prophets were used only to establish the early Jewish Church and no longer exist today. Nowhere in the Bible are apostles and prophets deleted. This same passage in Ephesians indicates that all 5 of these 'ministry gifts' will be required to fully establish God's purpose in His church. Let us list the various aspects of God's purpose for these gifts as outlined in Ephesians 4:12-13:

* 'for the perfecting (equipping) of the saints for the work of the ministry'....verse 12 * 'for the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ'...verse 12 * to bring the church to the unity of the faith...verse 13 * to bring the church to a full knowledge of the Son of God...verse 13 * to bring the church unto full spiritual stature in Christ...verse 13

It is both logical and scriptural to conclude that, since the above goals have not been fully reached, God will continue to raise up apostles and prophets, as well as the other ministries.

THE FUNCTION OF THE 5-FOLD MINISTRY GIFTS WILL BRING THE CHURCH UNTO SPIRITUAL MATURITY.