Edify Ministries®

Building up the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12)

Teaching Position

THE SCRIPTURES

We teach that the sixty-six books of the Bible are inspired and without error in the original autographs. We teach the dual authorship of the Scriptures, that as men of God spoke, they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, who superintended the writing, guaranteeing their inerrancy; the Scriptures are therefore the product of the “out-breathing” of God. We teach that inspiration is verbal, extending to the very words of Scripture, and plenary, extending to the whole of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible is therefore without error on every issue on which it speaks, whether historical, geographical, scientific, poetic, genealogical, social and all other disciplines of knowledge. The Bible is our only infallible guide and authority for faith and practice (Matt. 5:18; Luke 24:44; John 10:35; I Cor. 2:13; II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21). We teach that the Bible should be interpreted according to the normal, grammatical, historical method under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-15; I Cor. 2:7-15; I John 2:20).

REVELATION

We teach that God has revealed Himself in both general and special revelation. In general revelation God has unveiled His divine attributes, eternal power, and divine nature, rendering mankind accountable and inexcusable (Psalm 19:1-6; Matt. 5:45; Acts 14:17; Rom. 1:18-20). However, only special revelation, through Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, can lead to salvation (John 1:18; 14:6; Acts 4:12). With the advent of Jesus Christ and the writing of the sixty-six books of Scripture, special revelation has ceased; there is no additional special revelation being given to mankind today (Heb. 1:1-2; 2:3-4).

THE GODHEAD

We teach that there is one God who exists eternally and unchanging as three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. While the three persons of the Godhead are distinct, they have precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections, and are equal in authority, power, and in receiving honor, worship, and obedience (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:5-7; 48:16; Matt. 28:18-19; John 1:1, 14; 5:18-23; 10:30; Acts 5:3-4; II Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3).

JESUS CHRIST

We teach that Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Godhead and that He has existed eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We teach that the incarnation of Jesus Christ wherein He took an additional nature, humanity, and through the virgin birth He remained sinless, devoid of the sin nature (John 1:1; Mic. 5:2; John 8:46; I John 3:5). We teach that Jesus Christ continues forever as fully God and true man, two natures in one person (Col. 2:9; John 4:6). Christ was tempted in all points as we are, yet He was without sin (John 8:46; Heb. 4:15; I John 3:5) and is therefore able to offer a substitutionary atonement for all humanity, bearing God's wrath against sin in our place (Isa. 53:5-6; John 1:29; II Cor. 5:15; Gal. 3:13; I Tim. 2:4; 4:10; I John 2:2). We teach that Christ rose bodily from the grave in the same material body in which He died (Luke 24:39; John 20:20, 27), ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11; 2:33) where He now continues as our great High Priest, Advocate and Intercessor before God the Father (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; I John 2:1).

HOLY SPIRIT

We teach that the Holy Spirit is, the third person of the Trinity (Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4), the Divine Agent in creation, revelation, the incarnation of Christ, and the inspiration of the Scriptures (Gen. 1:2; I Cor. 2:10; Luke 1:35; II Peter 1:21). We teach that the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) to indwell all believers as His temple (I Cor. 3:16; 6:19) and to begin His ministry of convicting the world of sin (John 16:8-11), regenerating (Titus 3:5), indwelling (Rom. 8:9), baptizing believers into the body of Christ (I Cor. 12:13), dispensing spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:7-13), sealing (Eph. 1:13), teaching (I John 2:20-27), empowering (Acts 1:8), sanctifying (Rom. 8:2), and filling (Eph. 5:18). We teach that speaking in tongues and the miraculous sign gifts were given to the early church, before the completion of the New Testament canon, to authenticate the apostolic messengers and message. We teach that these sign gifts are temporary (I Cor. 13:8-10) and have ceased to be normative experience. We teach that speaking in tongues is not a sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit since all believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation (Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:13).

ANGELS

We teach that God created an innumerable host of spirit-beings called angels (Ps. 148:2-5; Col. 1:16). We teach that the holy angels are ministering spirits, sent to minister to believers (Luke 15:10; Heb. 1:14). We teach that Lucifer, one of the high-ranking angels, sinned by rebelling against God because of pride and became Satan (Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19) also known as the Devil. A large number of angels followed Satan in his rebellion, some of whom became demons and are active in their work against God's purposes; others are kept in bondage for the day of judgment (II Peter 2:4; Jude 6). We teach that Satan actively opposes and counterfeits the truth and work of God (II Cor. 2:11; 4:3-4; Eph. 6:10-12; II Thess. 2:4; I Tim. 4:1-3). We teach that Satan has been judged at the cross, although his sentence was not then executed (Gen. 3:15; John 12:31; Col. 2:15). At the return of Christ the Devil will be bound and thrown into the abyss for a thousand years after which he will be released for a period of time and then he will thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity (Rev. 20:2-10).

MAN

We teach that man was created directly by God in time and space, apart from any evolutionary process (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-25; Matt. 19:4). We teach that man was originally created in the image and likeness of God but through Adam's fall, his sin has been transmitted to the entire human race, with the exception of Jesus Christ, with the result that man is totally depraved and spiritually dead in every aspect, including the mind, heart, and will (Gen. 3:1-24; Rom. 5:12-21; Eph. 2:1-3; I John 1:8). As a result, everyone born into this world is devoid of spiritual life, totally depraved and presently under the wrath and judgment of God (John 3:18, 36) and hopelessly lost apart from salvation in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).

SALVATION

We teach that because of man's depravity he is alienated from God and in need of being born again (John 3:3). We teach that man is unable to achieve this new birth and restoration to fellowship with God through any effort, merit or work of his own (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5); salvation is entirely a work of God and a gift of the grace of God (Rom. 3:24; 5:8, 9) and achieved for us solely by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross (Rom. 3:24; 5:8-9; II Cor. 5:18-21). We teach that salvation is received by faith in Christ through the instrumentality of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit imparting spiritual life. We teach that repentance (a change of mind) is a part of believing but not a separate condition to salvation. Baptism, prayer, and confession should accompany salvation but are not separate conditions for salvation (John 3:16, 18, 36; 5:24; 6:29; Acts 16:31; Rom. 5:1; 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-9). We teach that works are not a part of salvation but the evidence of salvation, the extent of that evidence depending on the believer's growth in the Word (Eph. 4:11-13) and submission to the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16-24). We teach that because salvation involves the Father sovereignly electing certain people from eternity past, the Son redeeming them from the penalty of sin, and the Holy Spirit sealing that salvation, believers are eternally secure (John 10:28-29; Eph. 1:3-14).

SANCTIFICATION

We teach that all believers are positionally sanctified, set apart to God (Rom. 1:7; I Cor. 1:2); that even though believers retain a sinful nature (Rom. 7:17) they are able to grow in experiential sanctification as they obey God and as He works in and through them (I Thess. 5:23; Phil. 2:12, 13; I Peter 1:16; II Peter 3:18); that ultimate sanctification will come when believers are transformed into the likeness of Christ at His coming (I John 3:2).

CHURCH

We teach that all who have trusted in Christ are united to Christ at the moment of salvation as members of His body and to one another as one spiritual body, the church, of which Christ is the head (Eph. 1:22-23). This body began on the day of Pentecost and will be completed when Christ comes for His own at the Rapture (Acts 1:5; 11:15; 2:1-4; I Thess. 4:13-18) and as such, the church is distinct from Israel (I Cor. 10:32). We teach that the Holy Spirit builds the church by baptizing believers into the body of Christ (I Cor. 12:13). We teach that groups of believers assemble as local churches for worship, instruction, and fellowship (Acts 2:42-47; 4:24-31; Heb. 10:25) and scatter for evangelism and service (Acts 8:4; 11:19-20; Rom. 12:3-8). We teach that God has ordained male leadership in the local church as elders (also called overseers and functioning as pastors) and deacons (I Tim. 2:8-15; 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). We teach that the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper have been given to the church to be observed (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 22:19-20; I Cor. 11:23-29).

LAST THINGS

We teach that at death believers immediately go into the presence of God, enjoying the fellowship of God while awaiting the resurrection of the body (II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23) whereas unbelievers immediately go into the eternal torment in Hades, both states being immediate, irrevocable and eternal (Luke 16:19-31; Heb. 9:27). We teach that the next great prophetic event will be the rapture of the church when the Lord comes to take the church to b e with Himself where believers will be rewarded (John 14:2-3; I Cor. 15:51-53; I Thess. 4:13-18; Rom. 14:12; II Cor. 5:10). At the rapture living and departed believers will both receive incorruptible, resurrection bodies like the body of Christ (I Cor. 15:51-53; Phil. 3:20-21; I John 3:2). We teach that following the rapture, the outpouring of God's wrath will take place on earth during the seven years of the tribulation (also known as Daniel's Seventieth Week and the Day of the Lord; Rev. 6-19), the purpose being to discipline Israel and bring the nation to faith in Christ (Ezek. 20:37-48; Zech. 12:10-14) and to judge unbelieving Gentiles on earth (Isa. 24:1-23; Rev. 3:10). We teach that the tribulation will terminate with the second coming of Christ to the earth, a coming that will be personal and visible (Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:11; Rev. 19:11-16) when He will consign Satan to the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3) and restore the kingdom promised to Israel (Deut. 30:1-10; Isa. 11:1-10; Matt. 25:31; Rev. 20:4). We teach that at the end of the millennium the bodies of the unrighteous dead will be raised, judged at the Great White Throne judgment and consigned irrevocably to the lake of fire for eternity (Rev. 20:11-15). We teach that following the millennium believers from all times will enter the new heavens and the new earth to spend eternity with the Lord (II Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1-22:5).

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Updated: December 10, 2003 00:50 -0500
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