Bible Doctrines

W. Menzies William

Description

Examines 16 major Bible doctrines substantiated with numerous Scripture references. Topics include the inspired Scriptures, one true God, deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, divine healing, salvation of man, fall of man, baptism in the Holy Ghost, and new heavens and new earth.

Sujets

• Pentecostalism
• Christian theology
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Logion Press
• Date de parution: 23 août 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781607311102
• Langue: English

Extrait

BIBLE
DOCTRINES
A PENTECOSTAL PERSPECTIVE
WILLIAM W. MENZIES & STANLEY M. HORTON
Originally published as Understanding Our Doctrine by William W. Menzies. Revised and expanded by Stanley M. Horton.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
First Printing 1993
Revised 2012
Second Revised Printing 2015
© 2012, 1993 by Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, Missouri 65802-1894. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the copyright owner, except brief quotations used in connection with reviews in magazines or newspapers.
ISBN 978-1-60731-334-2
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective
Preface
Introduction
1. The Scriptures Inspired
The Authoritative Rule
The Revelation of God to Humankind
The Verbally Inspired Word of God
The Infallible Rule
The Canon and Later Translations
2. The One True God
The Existence of God
The Nature of God
The Attributes of God
The Trinity
3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Person of Christ
The Offices of Christ
The Work of Christ
4. The Fall of Man
The Origin of Mankind
The Nature of Humankind
The Image of God
The Origin of Sin
5. The Salvation of Man
The Concept of Sacrifice
The Atonement
Results of the Work of Christ at Calvary
Conversion to God
6. Ordinances of the Church
Water Baptism
The Lord’s Supper
7. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
What the Father Had Promised
Biblical Testimony for the Baptism
The Purpose of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
8. Initial Physical Evidence of Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Signs of the Outpouring
Functions of Speaking in Tongues
Questions on Speaking in Tongues
9. Sanctification
Defining Terms
Three Facts of Sanctification
10. The Church and Its Mission
What is the Church?
Membership in the Church
The Work of the Church
11. The Ministry
Church Organization
Functions of the Ministry
The Call to the Ministry
12. Divine Healing
The Case for Healing
The Great Physician
Healing in the Atonement
Healing Available Today
Inner Renewal
Faith Helped
Sickness and Demons
Healing and the Medical Purpose
The Purpose of Healing
Why Are Not All Healed?
13. The Blessed Hope
The Resurrection of Believers
Jesus Is Coming Again
The Rapture
The Great Tribulation
Antichrist
The Time of Christ’s Coming
14. The Millennial Reign of Christ
The Revelation of Christ
The Millennium
The Views of Millennialism
God’s Promises to National Israel
15. The Final Judgement
The Destiny of the Human Race
The Judgments
Satan’s Final Rebellion
The Great White Throne
The Lake of Fire
16. The New Heavens and the New Earth
The New Replaces the Old
The New Jerusalem
Appendix: The Original 1916 Statement of Fundamental Truths
Glossary
Bibliography
Scripture Index
Subject Index
PREFACE
Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective
The study of Bible doctrines is very important, especially in these days when the number of false prophets and false teachers is increasing. Too many Christians are being “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14). Unfortunately, some believers (perhaps not realizing that “doctrine” is simply another word for “teaching”) object to the study of doctrine—just what the propagators of false doctrine would like a person to do. This then makes one a likely candidate for their “wind of teaching.” That’s why God wants Christians to grow to the point that they know the basic teachings of the Bible. Such knowledge will protect them from false teachers and false doctrine.
The book Understanding Our Doctrine , by Dr. William W. Menzies, was originally written as a unit in a training course entitled “Fundamentals for Sunday School Workers.” Dr. Menzies, currently president of the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (formerly Far East Advanced School of Theology) in Baguio, Republic of the Philippines, gave me his kind permission to revise and enlarge his excellent book for general use.
The chapters in the book follow the sixteen points of the Statement of Fundamental Truths, as accepted by the Assemblies of God. Our purpose, however, is not to promote Assemblies of God doctrines, but tot bring out the biblical basis and applications of these fundamental Bible truths. Thus, this study will be helpful to those who believe the Bible, whatever their denomination or background. Christians need to know where they stand with respect to Bible doctrines.
Pastors will find the book useful in the training of new converts. Sunday school teachers will find it useful either for course work or as background for their teaching. Bible college students will find it giving them a solid basis for further studies in theology.
I wish to thank Dr. G. Raymond Carlson, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God; The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary; Central Bible College; the Division of Foreign Missions of the Assemblies of God; and others who by their generosity have made this project possible. Special thanks are due also to Glen Ellard and his editorial staff for their expert help.
For easier reading, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words are all transliterated with English letters.
A few abbreviations have been used:
Gk.: Greek Heb.: Hebrew KJV: King James Version NASB: New American Standard Bible NIV: New International Version
S TANLEY M. H ORTON , T H .D. D ISTINGUISHED P ROFESSOR E MERITUS OF B IBLE AND T HEOLOGY AT T HE A SSEMBLIES OF G OD T HEOLOGICAL S EMINARY
INT RODUCTI ON
Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective
The Assemblies of God came into being as a result of the Pentecostal revival that began early in the twentieth century. This revival came as God’s mighty supernatural answer to Modernism, the antisupernatural religious liberalism that was taking over the major Christian denominations in America and around the world. Books written to defend the faith were being ignored by the seminaries that trained their ministers. The possibility of God-given miracles was denied. A spiritual vacuum was developing. As Dr. William Menzies points out:
The United States in the years between the Civil War and the close of the [nineteenth] century was in social and religious ferment. Moral, political, and economic corruption increased the stresses occasioned by urbanization, industrialization, and immigration. The great denominations, successful in Christianizing the frontier, had become complacent and sophisticated, lacking the vision and vitality to meet the changing needs of a distressed populace. Varying degrees of accommodation to popular ideas, newly imported from Europe, which assaulted orthodox Evangelicalism, further weakened the great communions. Against the erosion in the church world arose the Fundamentalist and Holiness movements. It was largely out of the spiritual concern generated in this segment of the church that the yearning for a new Pentecost was born. Prior to 1900 there were charismatic manifestations, but these were isolated and episodic in nature. But the stage was being set for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit which would quickly encircle the earth, bringing a great refreshing in the Latter Days. 1
The current Pentecostal movement traces its origin to a revival at Bethel Bible College in Topeka, Kansas, that began on January 1, 1901. Students, from their studies of the Bible, concluded that speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4) is the initial outward evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. One of the students, Agnes Ozman, said she felt “as though rivers of living water were proceeding from [her] innermost being.” 2
The revival became a Pentecostal explosion when, in 1906, W. J. Seymour secured an old two-story frame building at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California. For about three years services ran almost continually, from ten in the morning to midnight. Many of those who received the Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit there scattered to spread the message. Many independent Pentecostal churches sprang up. Then,
After the Pentecostal outpourings began, numerous publications appeared advocating its teachings and serving as channels for teaching information, and the support of missionaries overseas. One of these publications, the Word and Witness edited by Eudorus N. Bell, issued a call in 1913 for a conference of Pentecostal believers to convene in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the following year. This became the founding meeting of the General Council of the Assemblies of God. 3
Five basic reasons were given for calling the General Council of April 2–12, 1914. They were “(1) to achieve better understanding and unity of doctrine, (2) to know how to conserve God’s work at home and abroad, (3) to consult on protection of funds for missionary endeavors, (4) to explore the possibilities of chartering churches under a legal name, and (5) to consider the establishment of a Bible training school with a literary division.” 4 More than three hundred attended and elected E. N. Bell as the chairman of their new Assemblies of God fellowship. Then in 1916, a “statement of truths” was prepared, primarily by Daniel Warren Kerr, of Cleveland, Ohio. 5 It was adopted with the following preamble:
This statement of Fundamental Truths is not intended as a creed for the church, nor as a basic of fellowship among Christians, but only as a basis of unity for the ministry alone (i.e., that we all sp