We, the fellowship known as True Apostolics, confess the following Articles of Faith as a clear declaration of our doctrine, practice, and mission. These convictions are grounded in Holy Scripture and are offered as our public testimony before God and men.
What We Are Here to Do
“To restore the purity of the Apostolic faith by rejecting man-made traditions and returning to the preserved Word of God; to facilitate the New Birth through the preaching of the true Gospel; and to advance the Kingdom of God through the development of digital technology, websites, and educational resources that empower all people to come to the Truth.”
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Matthew 7:13–14
The Body of Christ & Separation from Institutionalized Religion
We believe the true Church is the Body of Christ, made up only of those who are born again by the Spirit of God.
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”
1 Corinthians 12:27
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…”
1 Corinthians 12:13
We deny that the Church of Jesus Christ is a denomination, sect, or religious corporation of men. The true Church is not built by councils, boards, traditions, or earthly titles, but by the new birth and the operation of the Holy Ghost.
While we may operate as a legal entity to satisfy the laws of the land, we identify spiritually only as the Body of Christ.
We declare that institutionalized religion, often called Churchianity, has corrupted much of what we know of modern Christianity by replacing obedience to Scripture with systems of men, religious branding, and man-centered tradition. We therefore separate from every religious structure that exalts organization above truth, reputation above righteousness, and tradition above the Word of God.
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Colossians 2:8
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
2 Timothy 4:3–4
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3
We reject all traditions and commandments of men that are added to, or placed above the Word of God.
“…ye hold the tradition of men…”
Mark 7:8
“…making the word of God of none effect through your tradition…”
Mark 7:13
We do not receive sectarian labels, denominational brands, or institutional identity as the ground of fellowship, but only the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures.
Fellowship in this body is not a social arrangement, a membership category, or an institution one joins by signing a card or walking an aisle. True fellowship is the communion of born again believers who share in the same Spirit, hold the same apostolic faith, and walk in the same light of the Word of God. Where these things are present, fellowship exists naturally. Where they are absent, no outward ceremony or affiliation can manufacture it.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
Acts 2:42
This fellowship requires two things: truth and charity. Truth without charity produces harshness and division. Charity without truth produces compromise and corruption. The apostolic pattern is both contending earnestly for the faith while receiving one another as Christ has received us, to the glory of God.
“Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”
Romans 15:7
The Supreme Authority of Holy Scripture
We believe the Holy Bible is inspired by God, sufficient for all doctrine, correction, and righteous living, and is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. No council, creed, tradition, or human opinion may add to, subtract from, or stand above the written Word of God.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
2 Timothy 3:16
We receive the King James Version (KJV) as the preserved and purified Word of God for English-speaking ministry, standing on the Received Text tradition which we believe God has preserved across languages and generations.
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”
Psalm 12:6–7
“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
Psalm 119:89
We hold the KJV as the sole standard for our public teaching and ministry, and we do not endorse or use other English translations for the work of this body.
We reject modern translations based on corrupted manuscript traditions, including those rooted in the Westcott-Hort critical text, the Nestle-Aland compilation, and the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament, which depart from the Received Text upon which the KJV stands, and form the textual basis for versions such as the NIV, ESV, NASB, LSB and NLT.
We hold to the scriptural principle that every doctrine must be established by the witness of Scripture itself:
“In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
2 Corinthians 13:1
We reject all creeds, councils, and human traditions that bind the conscience beyond what is explicitly mandated by the Word of God. Therefore, this body holds Scripture alone as the court of final appeal for all matters of doctrine and practice.
The Mystery of the Godhead
We believe in one God. We confess with the Apostles that the nature of God in the Incarnation is a great and holy mystery. It is not a problem to be solved by human reasoning, but a truth to be received by faith according to the testimony of Holy Scripture.
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
1 Timothy 3:16
We therefore affirm this mystery as the apostolic church affirmed it: without addition, without reduction, and without the imposition of philosophical systems upon it. We believe that any attempt to fully define, categorize, or systematize the nature of God through human reasoning risks blaspheming God, minimizing the person of Jesus Christ, and replacing the living truth of Scripture with the dead traditions of men.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8–9
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5
On the Council of Nicaea and the Tradition of Men
We specifically reject the framework established at the Council of Nicaea (AD 325) and subsequent councils, not merely for their conclusions, but for the entire enterprise upon which they were built: the assumption that men may gather, apply the vain philosophy of the Greeks, lean to their own understanding, and produce binding definitions of God’s nature with apostolic authority.
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Colossians 2:8
This council and those that followed it became the founding prototype of what we identify as Churchianity: the replacement of apostolic truth with institutional authority, and the replacement of Scripture with the traditions and opinions of men. The Nicene Creed and all creeds derived from its framework are therefore not received by this body as binding upon the conscience of any Christian.
“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
Mark 7:7
God the Father
We believe in God the Father: the invisible, eternal, almighty God, of whom are all things, who dwelleth in light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see.
“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Timothy 1:17
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him.”
1 Corinthians 8:6
Jesus the Son
We believe that God was manifest in the flesh of Jesus Christ, that in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. We do not claim to fully comprehend how the invisible God was made manifest in human flesh, for this is the great mystery.
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
Colossians 2:9
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh…”
1 Timothy 3:16
“…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…”
John 14:9
He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, shed His blood for the sins of the world, rose again the third day, ascended on high, and shall return to judge the living and the dead and reign in glory.
The Holy Ghost
We believe the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God. He is not a separate God, not a mere force, but the Spirit of the living God given to dwell within and among believers, to comfort, to guide, to sanctify, and to bear witness to the truth of Jesus Christ.
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?”
1 Corinthians 6:19
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
John 16:13
He speaks, He hears, He makes intercession, and He may be grieved; therefore He is not an impersonal influence, but the living Spirit of God, as the Scripture plainly testifies.
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Romans 8:26
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
Ephesians 4:30
We confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the Scripture confesses them. We resist all pressure to resolve this confession into a philosophical formula that goes beyond what is written.
“…that ye might learn in us not to think above that which is written…”
1 Corinthians 4:6
Man Made in the Image of God
We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God. This image is both spiritual and physical in nature, encompassing morality, creativity, and dominion over the earth. It is by virtue of this image that man is uniquely capable of knowing and communing with the living God.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth…”
Genesis 1:26
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Genesis 1:27
The fullest revelation of that image is found in Jesus Christ Himself, who is the express image of the person of the Father, the image of the invisible God. In Christ, the image of God is not merely reflected but fully manifested in human flesh.
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.”
Colossians 1:15
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person…”
Hebrews 1:3
Body, Soul, and Spirit
We believe man is body, soul, and spirit: not three separate components, but three aspects of one living person. A living soul is not the spirit alone, nor the body alone, but both together, united by the breath of God.
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Genesis 2:7
“…your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23
We also affirm that because man is made in the image of God, one person comprising body, soul, and spirit, our own nature as living persons offers a limited but real window into the nature of the Godhead as Scripture reveals it. We do not press this beyond what is written, but we receive it as a gift of understanding graciously embedded in creation itself.
The Age of Accountability and the Nature of Sin
We believe that every person is born bearing the image of God, pure and innocent before their Creator. Infants and very young children are not born corrupt, guilty, or condemned. They bear the image of God and are precious in His sight.
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 19:14
“I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
2 Samuel 12:23
We believe that every person reaches an age of accountability — the point at which they become morally aware and personally responsible before God. This age is not fixed by a number but is known to God and determined by the individual’s capacity for moral clarity and understanding. At that threshold, every person inevitably sins, for sin is the universal condition of fallen humanity left to itself.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Romans 3:10
Rejection of Original Sin and Total Depravity
We do not hold to the Augustinian doctrine of Original Sin, nor to the doctrine of the Total Depravity of man as formulated in the traditions of men. These doctrines, rooted in the philosophy of Augustine of Hippo, who carried into the Church the dualistic anthropology of his Manichaean years, and bearing the marks of Gnostic influence, are not the apostolic Gospel. They impose upon Scripture a framework that was foreign to the first century Church and that distorts the true nature of man, the true nature of sin, and the true nature of God’s grace.
We affirm that sin is real, that its consequences are severe, and that no man can save himself. We ground these convictions in the plain testimony of Scripture, not in the philosophical traditions of post-apostolic councils and theologians.
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
Colossians 2:8
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son.”
Ezekiel 18:20
The Resurrection and the Restoration of the Image of God
We believe that the body shall return to dust, and that the soul and spirit are not the body. But we also believe that in the resurrection, the believer shall be raised incorruptible, given a glorified body by Jesus Christ, the corruption put off, and the image of God fully and eternally actualized.
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.”
1 Corinthians 15:42
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 Corinthians 15:53
The corrupted made incorruptible. The mortal made immortal. This is the promise of the Gospel and the hope of every believer: not the survival of a disembodied soul, but the full redemption of the whole person, body, soul, and spirit, bearing the image of God in glory forever.
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”
Romans 8:19
The New Birth and the One True Baptism
We believe the New Birth is a real and total event, simultaneously physical and spiritual in nature. The indwelling of the Holy Ghost is not a figure of speech or a theological abstraction, it is a literal reality: the Spirit of the living God taking up residence in the body of a man. It is not a metaphor, a ritual, or an intellectual assent. It is the sovereign work of Jesus Christ Himself, who baptizes the believer with the Holy Ghost, immersing the whole person, body and spirit, with the living God.
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”
Matthew 3:11
“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…”
1 Corinthians 12:13
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
Ephesians 4:5
We confess that this one baptism is not a water rite but the New Birth wrought by the Holy Ghost: the death of the old man and the resurrection of the new.
The Door of Faith
The New Birth is the work of God, but it is received through faith. The Scripture is plain: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. This is not mere intellectual assent. It is the total surrender of a man to the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting not in his own righteousness, his own works, or any outward rite, but wholeheartedly in the blood and resurrection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8–9
From Death to Life
In the New Birth, the old person, corrupted by sin and dead in trespasses, is made alive. The born again believer is no longer of this world. This world is under the dominion of Satan, and the born again believer is a foreigner to it, redeemed out of its power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”
Colossians 1:13
“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
1 John 5:19
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
2 Corinthians 4:4
“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
John 15:19
Those who are truly born again are eternally sealed and cannot be unborn. The New Birth is not a temporary condition, but an enduring transformation: a new creation grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13–14
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
John 10:28
The Believer’s Mission
We believe that the born again believer’s life from that point forward is a holy warfare: the disciplining of the old corrupted flesh so that the Spirit may reign. The flesh does not cease to exist at the New Birth; it must be brought into subjection so that the believer may walk in the Spirit and carry out the will of God in the earth.
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:16
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”
Galatians 2:20
The will of God for every born again believer is this: to preach the Gospel, to earnestly defend the faith once delivered to the saints, and to walk in charity, the love of God toward all men.
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
Jude 1:3
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
John 13:35
“And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”
Colossians 3:14
John’s Baptism and the Baptism of Christ
We recognize water baptism as the baptism of John, a preparatory ordinance that pointed forward to Jesus Christ and to the coming baptism of the Holy Ghost. John himself declared that his baptism was not the end, but the preparation of the way of the Lord.
“John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”
Luke 3:16
“For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
Acts 1:5
Now that Christ has come in the flesh, shed His blood, risen from the dead, and sent down the Comforter, John’s baptism of water has met its fulfillment. We are now in the age of the Holy Ghost baptism, the one baptism of Ephesians 4:5, and there is no Scriptural mandate for the Church to continue the water rite of John.
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism,”
Ephesians 4:5
“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”
Hebrews 8:13
The Witness of Paul
The Apostle Paul is our apostolic witness on this matter. In the early Church, Paul recognized the danger of water baptism becoming a point of division, allegiance, and corruption. He declared plainly that Christ did not send him to baptize with water, but to preach the Gospel.
“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”
1 Corinthians 1:17
Paul did not forbid others, but he himself ceased the practice in the Church Age, having seen that it could become a source of error. We follow this apostolic example.
Our Practice
We do not condemn any believer who chooses to be water baptized as an outward testimony before their congregation. We receive this as a matter of personal conscience. However, we do not perform water baptism in this body, and we strongly advise that it profits the soul nothing, adds nothing to salvation, and has no part in the New Birth. To attach water baptism to salvation is to add to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We receive no such addition.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”
Galatians 1:8
The Office of Elders
We believe the office of an elder is a spiritual charge and not a worldly title, rank, or position of power. Elders are servants of the flock, appointed not by their own ambition but by the Holy Ghost, to feed, to oversee, and to be living examples of the faith they preach.
“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”
1 Peter 5:2–3
“Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”
Titus 1:9
The Plurality of Elders
We believe that spiritual oversight in the Body of Christ belongs not to a single man but to a plurality of elders. This is the consistent pattern of the apostolic Church. Wherever the Gospel was established, elders (plural) were ordained in every city and every church. No single man was left to oversee alone.
“And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”
Acts 14:23
“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.”
Titus 1:5
“And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.”
Acts 20:17
“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”
1 Timothy 5:17
We therefore reject any church governance model that concentrates spiritual authority in a single human leader, whether called pope, bishop, president, or a single ruling pastor, above the scriptural plurality of elders. Such models have no apostolic precedent and open the Body to corruption, abuse, and the traditions of men.
No Man May Appoint Himself
We deny that any man may appoint himself to the office of elder, or receive that office by institutional credential, academic degree, or human appointment alone. The Holy Ghost maketh overseers. The Church recognizes what God has already set in order. It does not manufacture it.
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
Acts 20:28
“And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.”
Hebrews 5:4
An elder is known and recognized by doctrine, character, and fruit, not by self-proclamation or institutional appointment. Where a man lacks the witness of godly life, sound teaching, and the recognition of the Body, he has not been made an overseer by the Holy Ghost regardless of any title he may carry.
Scriptural Qualifications
We receive the full scriptural qualifications for elders as given by the Apostle Paul:
“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
1 Timothy 3:1–7
“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.”
Titus 1:5–9
These qualifications are not suggestions. They are the standard. A man who cannot rule his own house cannot take care of the church of God.
“For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?”
1 Timothy 3:5
Among these qualifications, the requirement that an elder be the husband of one wife is not incidental. It is apostolic doctrine, and the apostolic reasoning behind it extends further than the qualification itself. Any tradition that forbids marriage to its ministers contradicts the plain teaching of Scripture and has opened the door to the very corruption Paul warned was coming in the latter times.
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.”
1 Timothy 4:1–3
Women’s Role in the Body
We receive the plain teaching of Paul that the office of elder is reserved for men. This is not a cultural accommodation. It is apostolic doctrine grounded in the order of creation, not in the customs of any particular age.
“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
1 Timothy 2:12
“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.”
1 Corinthians 14:34
We equally affirm that women hold indispensable and honored roles in the Body of Christ. Paul himself commended women as fellow laborers in the Gospel. The older women are charged to teach the younger women in godliness, sobriety, love, and order in the home, a vital ministry of discipleship.
“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness... teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
Titus 2:3–5
“I commend unto you Phebe our sister... she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.”
Romans 16:1–2
The roles are different, and the difference is not inequality. It is order. The Body of Christ honors both.
Accountability and Financial Oversight
We believe that elders bear responsibility for the integrity and stewardship of the ministry’s affairs, spiritual and material. No elder is above accountability. Paul commanded transparency in financial matters, that no man be able to find fault.
“…avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”
2 Corinthians 8:20–21
The elders of this body shall together bear fiduciary responsibility for ministry assets, records, and legal compliance. No single elder shall exercise unilateral financial authority. This collective stewardship follows the apostolic pattern, in which gifts and resources were committed to the elders together, not to any one man.
“Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.”
Acts 11:29–30
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10
Correction and Removal of an Elder
We believe that elders are not exempt from correction. Paul publicly withstood Peter to his face when Peter walked contrary to the truth of the Gospel, establishing the apostolic precedent that no man’s office exempts him from accountability to the Word of God.
“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.”
Galatians 2:11
Paul gave Timothy clear instruction for handling accusations and public sin among elders:
“Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
1 Timothy 5:19–20
And Titus was charged to rebuke sharply those among the leadership who taught things contrary to sound doctrine and corrupted households for filthy lucre’s sake:
“Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.”
Titus 1:13
An elder who falls into open sin shall be rebuked before the body according to Paul’s instruction. If he will not receive that correction, he shall be removed from oversight. The purity of the flock is the primary concern, not the reputation or comfort of any man. Every elder shall give account to the Chief Shepherd, before whom no office, title, or reputation shall stand as a shield.
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
1 Peter 5:4
Apostolic Practice
We believe the practices given to the Church are to be kept in obedience to the Word of God, not as a means of salvation, but as a testimony of faith, order, and holiness in the Body of Christ. No practice saves any man apart from the New Birth and the grace of God in Jesus Christ. We observe these things as the fruit of the New Birth, not as the means of attaining it.
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”
Colossians 2:14
“Let all things be done decently and in order.”
1 Corinthians 14:40
Contending for the Faith
We believe that the defense of the Gospel is not optional. It is a charge laid upon the whole Body of Christ. Every born again believer is called to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. As a corporate body, we are collectively charged to preach the Word in season and out of season, to reprove error, to rebuke false doctrine, and to stand firm when sound doctrine is not endured.
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
Jude 1:3
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.”
2 Timothy 4:2–3
We receive no doctrine of silence in the face of error; to refuse to defend the faith is to abandon the flock.
Holy Days and Religious Seasons
We find no commandment in the New Testament binding the Body of Christ to the observance of religious holy days or yearly church seasons. The feasts, new moons, and sabbaths of the Old Covenant were a shadow of things to come, and the substance is Christ. To reinstate these observances as commandments upon the Church is to return to the shadow after the substance has come.
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Colossians 2:16–17
“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.”
Galatians 4:10–11
We therefore do not observe Christmas, Easter, Lent, or any other religious season as a commandment upon this body. These observances, as practiced in institutional Christianity, are rooted not in apostolic instruction but in the traditions of men and the assimilation of pagan calendars into the post-apostolic Church.
We honor the birth, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ not in seasons only, but continually, through daily faith, obedience, preaching, and remembrance.
The Lord’s Supper
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a full congregational meal among the Body of Christ, kept in remembrance of Jesus Christ and of His one sacrifice for sins.
“And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 11:24–25
“When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.”
1 Corinthians 11:20–21
“Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation.”
1 Corinthians 11:33–34
We hold therefore that the Lord’s Supper is set in the context of a shared meal; that the congregation must tarry one for another; that none are to be left hungry, shamed, or excluded; and that the assembly is not for satisfying private hunger, but for holy remembrance and charity.
Order in the Assembly and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that the operation of spiritual gifts in the assembly is to be governed by the plain instruction of Scripture. All things are to be done decently and in order. The gifts of the Spirit are diverse in their expression — prophecy, healings, miracles, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation — and all are given by the one Spirit for the profit of the whole assembly. No gift is to be exalted above another, and none is to be despised.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.”
1 Corinthians 12:7–10
Regarding the exercise of tongues in public worship, Paul sets a clear boundary:
“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church.”
1 Corinthians 14:27–28
Spiritual gifts are real and are given by the Spirit as He wills. They are never to become a source of disorder, confusion, or fleshly display in the assembly. The Spirit of God is not the author of confusion.
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
1 Corinthians 14:33
Prayer and Laying On of Hands
We believe in prayer and the laying on of hands, according to the Scriptures, for blessing, healing, separation unto ministry, and care in the Body of Christ.
“Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.”
1 Timothy 4:14
“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
James 5:14
We hold that prayer is a form of worship and a spiritual sacrifice, to be offered to God alone. To direct prayer to any other, whether to the dead, to saints, to angels, or to any created thing, is idolatry, a transfer of the worship due to God to that which is not God. The Scripture is without ambiguity: it is the LORD thy God thou shalt worship, and Him only shalt thou serve.
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Matthew 4:10
“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 42:8
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Exodus 20:3
Jesus Himself taught us how to pray. We are to enter our closet and pray to our Father in secret, not to make a display before men as the hypocrites do, and not to use vain repetitions as the heathen do, who think they shall be heard for their much speaking. Our Father already knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him. Prayer is therefore not an attempt to inform God or to move Him by force of words, but the humble, trusting communion of a child with his Father.
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
Matthew 6:5–8
We further confess that even in prayer, we are dependent upon the Holy Ghost. We do not always know what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit of God Himself maketh intercession for the saints, bearing our infirmities before the throne of God with groanings which cannot be uttered, according to the will of God. It is in this confidence that we pray, not in our own wisdom or worthiness, but in the Spirit, through the Son, to the Father.
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26–27
Prayer is not a religious form or a ceremonial duty. It is the breath of the spiritual life, the continual communion of the born again believer with the living God. It is to be unceasing, fervent, and persistent. Jesus Himself taught that men ought always to pray and not to faint, and the apostolic Church was known above all things as a praying body.
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”
Luke 18:1
“Pray without ceasing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:16
We believe in the prayer of faith for the healing of the sick. The promise of Scripture is plain: the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. We do not relegate healing to a past dispensation. We receive it as the present ministry of Jesus Christ through His Body in the earth.
“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
James 5:15
We also believe in the power of united prayer. Where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, He is present in their midst, and what they shall agree to ask, it shall be done of the Father. This is the foundation of the corporate prayer life of this body, not the performance of a religious exercise, but the assembling of the Body before the throne of God in faith and in one accord.
“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:19–20
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.”
Acts 1:14
Marriage
We believe that marriage is a God-ordained covenant between one man and one woman, established before governments existed, before law codes were written, and before any human institution had authority to define it. No government entity, court, or council has authority over what God has ordained.
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24
“What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
Matthew 19:6
When a man and a woman come together and are joined, they are spiritually bound by God. They become one flesh. This is not a legal transaction. It is a spiritual reality established by God Himself in the act of union.
We believe marriage is a living symbol of the greatest mystery in Scripture: the relationship between Christ and His Body (Bride). The husband represents Christ; the wife represents the Church. This is why Paul grounds his entire teaching on marriage in this mystery.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it... This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
Ephesians 5:25, 32
The charge laid upon the husband is weighty. He is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, not as a lord over her, but as one who gives himself for her good, her sanctification, and her flourishing. He is to dwell with her with understanding, giving honour unto her as the weaker vessel, knowing that they are heirs together of the grace of life. A man who fails in this charge does not merely fail his wife; he misrepresents Christ before His Body.
“So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.”
Ephesians 5:28–29
“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”
1 Peter 3:7
It is precisely because marriage represents this sacred union that fornication is so grievous before God. Fornication is not merely a moral failure. It is a mockery and defilement of the very thing marriage represents. To join oneself to another outside of marriage is to defile the image of Christ and the Body.
“Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.”
1 Corinthians 6:15
“Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”
1 Corinthians 6:18
Yet the same body that may be defiled by sin may also be redeemed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not only a warning against fornication but a declaration that no sin is beyond the reach of grace. Such were some of us, but we are washed, we are sanctified, we are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:11
We therefore hold that marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman, that it is for life, and that it is not subject to redefinition by any human authority.
On Divorce
We hold that what God has joined together, no man has authority to separate. The one-flesh union is not a legal contract to be dissolved by a court. It is a spiritual reality established by God. From the beginning it was not so that man should put away his wife.
“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.”
Matthew 19:8
“And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband.”
1 Corinthians 7:10
We therefore do not receive divorce as a right, a remedy, or a solution for the difficulties of marriage.
However, we recognize that many people have, through poor instruction, worldly tradition, and the rudiments of this world, including government-defined marriage, ungodly courtship customs, and ignorance of what true union means before God, found themselves in unions that were never built on the apostolic understanding of marriage. Some have found themselves bound to spouses who subject them to emotional, spiritual, or physical abuse, conditions that are themselves a corruption and violation of what marriage represents.
In such cases, we do not apply a blanket rule. We entrust discernment to the elders of the congregation, who bear the responsibility to examine each situation in light of Scripture, prayer, and the witness of the Spirit. Where the elders determine that a union was entered into through deception, ignorance, or ungodly foundations, and bears the character of fornication operating under the legal guise of marriage rather than true God-ordained covenant, they may declare closure to that union, releasing the individual from its bonds.
The elders do not act as a court of divorce. They act as shepherds entrusted with the discernment of spiritual reality. Where God did not join, no man needs to separate. And where God has called us to peace, we receive that peace.
“But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.”
1 Corinthians 7:15
Modesty and Conduct
We believe that the born again believer’s outward conduct and appearance are a testimony to the inward reality of the New Birth. We are set apart, foreigners to this world, and that separation has a visible character.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:1–2
Paul instructs both men and women that their appearance is to reflect holiness and sobriety, not the fashions, adornments, and displays of the world.
“I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
1 Timothy 2:8
“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”
1 Timothy 2:9–10
“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”
1 Peter 3:3–4
We do not hold modesty as a means of salvation. We hold it as a fruit of transformation, the natural result of a mind renewed by the Spirit of God and no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, which is ruled by the principalities and powers of the air, the Adversary, Satan.
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”
Ephesians 2:2
Final Authority, Unity, and Continuance
We affirm that this Statement of Faith is not a replacement for Holy Scripture, but a witness to what we believe Scripture teaches. The Word of God alone remains the final authority in all matters.
We call all who walk in this body to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers, holding fast the truth in charity until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We acknowledge that no written document can contain the fullness of the life of Christ in His Body, and therefore we commit ourselves not merely to right confession, but to faithful obedience — walking in the Spirit and in the fear of God.
This Statement of Faith is set forth as our testimony before God and men. We do not claim perfection in understanding, but we stand firmly upon the Word of God as it is written, refusing to add to it or take away from it.
We commit ourselves to walk in truth and charity, to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, and to remain separate from the traditions of men that corrupt the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.