|
New Year's address |
Profile |
How he met God |
Power of Creation |
Dr. Lee's writings |
|
|
|
|
|
About Us > Manmin Central Church > Church Creed and Doctrine |
|
|
All ministers and members of the Manmin Central
Church believe in the Triune God and confess
the Apostle’s Creed as the only Biblical
foundation of our faith.
1.
The Bible – We believe the
Bible is the Word of the Living God
2.
God – We believe in the Triune
God
3.
Man – We believe that man
was created by God, but he sinned and became corrupt
by abusing his free will
4.
Rebirth – We believe that
we have been reborn by Jesus Christ’s redemptive
death and resurrection
5.
Sanctification – We believe
that we become holy through the redemptive blood
of the Lord Jesus and the baptism of the Holy
Spirit
6.
Healing – We believe that
God heals our physical diseases with the divine
power through the redemption of the blood of Jesus
Christ
7.
Resurrection – We believe
that everyone who fully believes in Jesus Christ
will resurrect with a glorious body the way Jesus
Our Lord resurrected from death
8.
The Second Advent of Jesus Christ – We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ
will come again in the body He had at the time
of His Ascent
9.
Church – We believe that
a church is where we worship God, enjoy the fellowship
with brothers and sisters in Christ, continue
to train ourselves spiritually, and we will be
preserved to the Last Day in order to change the
world
10.
The Millennium Kingdom –
We believe that Jesus Christ will descend again
to Earth and establish the Millennium Kingdom
of Peace here
11. Eternal Life and Eternal Death - We believe that in the end every man will receive either an eternal life or an eternal death
1. The Bible – We believe the Bible is the Word of the Living God
(1) We believe that the Bible is the perfect
Word of God that contains no error, and all the books in
the Old and New Testaments are God-breathed.
(2) We believe that the Bible is the absolute
scripture that leads all men to eternal salvation, the standard
of our faith and proper Christian life, and the canon for
church administration and organizations.
(3) We believe that the Bible is the truth
that gives the spiritual revival and blessings and the only
perfect guidance to proper human life, and consider the
Apostles’ Creed, which is the core of all the words
in the Bible, the foundation of our faith.
(4) We believe that the Bible is the only
revelation of God, denounce any other unbiblical theological
teachings, mysticism, or empiricism not based on the Bible.
Also, we never deny the Bible is the revelation of God,
add or remove any element to or from the Bible, judge it
critically, or interpret it on our own.
|
|
2. God – We believe in the Triune God
(1) We believe that God the Father is
the ever and ever self-existent One and the only one Spirit
that is perfectly holy, loving, just, truthful, and everlasting.
He is almighty and omnipresent – endless and measureless
in power, wisdom, and knowledge. He created everything seen
and unseen, and controls, sustains and manages it. Finally,
He is our merciful Father who sent His One and Only Son
for all men who had been doomed to die eternally.
(2) We believe that Jesus Christ is the
One and Only Son of God the Father, the Word and the Origin
of Life and Light. Jesus Christ is everlasting, truthful,
the Almighty God, the origin of the creation of all things,
and is one with God the Father. He was born of the Virgin
Mary through the Holy Spirit, and a true man and a true
God having both the humanity and the divinity in one body
in order to become the Mediator between God and man, and
redeem man.
(3) We believe that the Holy Spirit comes
from God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, that the Holy
Spirit has the same entity, majestic power, and glory as
the Father and the Son, and that He is the everlasting Father.
The Holy Spirit is sent to carry out the Will of God the
Trinity; reproaches the world about the sin, the righteousness,
and the judgment; teaches all believers as their Counselor;
strengthens their souls with His power, and makes the church
holy.
|
|
3. Man – We believe that man was created by God, but he sinned
and became corrupt by abusing his free will
(1) Creation of Man: We believe that
God created man in His own image, which indicates the invisible
and formless image of God, namely His traits. That image
is called the “man’s spirit.” God made
him from the dust of the ground and made him move and feel
by breathing the breath of life into the man’s nostrils.
The man was a living spirit that consisted of three parts:
spirit, soul, and body. God allowed the man, a living spirit,
to have a fellowship with Him, made him noble – though
a little lower than God – and rule over all creation
as the lord of all things. All this so that God might receive
His own glory.
(2) Free Will: When God created man, He
made the man noble and gave a free will in His image, namely
His traits. However, the man sinned and became corrupt because
he did not use the free will according to the Will of God
but instead abused it. Nevertheless, the merciful God gave
His precious Son Jesus Christ for free to save corrupted
men, and has enabled them to be born again and become the
children of God when they believe in Jesus Christ. Believers
who have become children of God may commit sins and become
corrupt again when they abuse their free will and disobey
the Holy Spirit. That is why believers must always obey
the Holy Spirit. Depending on whether or not the free will
is recognized, the doctrine of Predestination and the doctrine
of foreknowledge and predestination are divided. We choose
the doctrine of foreknowledge and predestination in which
the free will persistently mentioned in the Bible is accepted.
(3) Corruption of Man: God gave man the
good, righteous, and truthful nature according to His own
image, but the first man Adam disobeyed the Word of God
and became corrupt in the evil nature by abusing his free
will according to his sinful desires. The evil nature was
personalized in Adam, and his old self – namely sinful
flesh – began to be inherited to all descendants.
The inherited sinful nature is called the “original
sin” by which all men commit sins and are led to death.
Man has two kinds of sins: the original sin and self-committed
sin. On the one hand, the self-committed sin is a sin for
which each individual is responsible because he himself
committed that sin. The self-committed sin has many kinds
according to each individual. On the other hand, the original
sin applies the same to everyone, but each individual is
not responsible for the original sin, by which everyone
is compelled to sin. God gave the way of cleansing the original
sin, but no one can escape from the responsibility of not
being forgiven of the original sin because he did not believe
in Jesus Christ. In order to demolish the sins of all men,
the Son our Lord Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and
His blood forgives us of the self-committed sin and the
cleanses us from the original sin.
|
|
4. Rebirth – We believe that we have been reborn by Jesus Christ’s
redemptive death and resurrection
(1) The righteous: “The righteous”
refers to all those who are declared righteous. In God’s
absolute mercy, men who had been sinners are forgiven of
all sins and accepted as “righteous” in the
sight of God when they repent and believe in the redemption
of Jesus Christ. Those declared righteous are redeemed from
all sins; that is to say, they are free from the punishment
of all sins and receive the privilege of the righteous.
Each individual’s righteousness lasts as long as he
or she has faith in God and obeys Him.
(2) Rebirth: Rebirth means “to be
born again” or “to be born of heaven.”
Each person is not only claimed righteous but also experiences
a radical change in morals by the Holy Spirit when he believes
in Jesus Christ. Each individual’s heart, which has
been dead because of sins and transgressions, is revived
in Jesus Christ and he leads an obedient and victorious
life and becomes free from the judgment of the sins of the
past. In this way, a regenerated man is given the life of
Jesus Christ and liberated from the bondage of sins, so
that he lives again for spiritual thing, lays the foundation
to overcome sins, and gains the right as the heir to God.
(3) Justification and Rebirth: Through
justification, men become justified by God’s absolute
work when they believe in Jesus Christ’s redemptive
death. Rebirth is a spiritual change in morality actually
performed in the heart of each man. In other words, sinners
are declared righteous through God’s justification
as their positions are facing God, and their inner beings
are transformed by their rebirth. In short, an individual’s
position is changed by God’s justification and his/her
inner nature is changed by rebirth. These two works –
God’s justification and man’s rebirth –
may appear different in theory in that God’s justification
is precedent to rebirth, but both take place in each individual’s
experience. The two are accomplished by the same deed of
faith.
(4) Sin after Rebirth: It is natural for
any child of God, after having been reborn, not to commit
sins again, yet the person may sin because he/she is weak.
However, as it is said in 1 John 2:1, “But if anybody
does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense
– Jesus Christ, the Righteous One,” anyone is
forgiven of sins when he finds his sins and repents of them
with a humble heart, believing in Jesus Christ.
|
|
5. Sanctification – We believe that we become holy through the redemptive
blood of the Lord Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit
(1) Sanctification: Sanctification is
often expressed in following ways: holiness, purification,
baptism of the Holy Spirit, the fiery baptism, and perfect
love. Sanctification does not equate the absolute holiness
of God but the relative purity compared with God’s.
In other words, corrupted men are forgiven and purified
to the state of having no sin through the redemption of
Jesus Christ. Man’s original sin is purified by the
washing with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and the
baptism of the Holy Spirit. They are also given the sufficient
strength to serve God in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This grace is a momentary experience brought forth by each
individual’s faith at the moment or after each one’s
rebirth.
(2) Duty of Sanctification: All believers
have the duty to receive the grace of sanctification. Sanctification
is the providence, command, covenant, and calling of God
planned before the eternity, the aim of the redemption of
Jesus Christ and our prayer, and the purpose of the descending
of the Holy Spirit. If a believer neglects his or her duty
of sanctification, the individual forsakes God. Therefore,
all believers must receive the grace of sanctification.
(3) Necessity of Sanctification: From his
forefathers, man has inherited the original sin and evil
desires, and his old self is corrupted by sins, and conscience
is stained with wickedness. He has to be cleansed from all
these things. Only through washing of all kinds of dirty
things, will he serve the Lord all the days of his life
and stand in a blameless image before the Second Advent
of Our Lord Jesus.
(4) The Way of Sanctification: The grace
of sanctification is not accomplished by human ways such
as cultivating, educating, reforming, penance, and the like.
Instead, it is carried out only by God’s methods:
each one’s faith in the Word of God, obedience to
the Word, and prayer for the Word; the Holy Spirit’s
power; and the blood of Jesus Christ.
(5) Rebirth and Sanctification: Rebirth
indicates the forgiveness of the self-committed sin and
receiving the new life while sanctification indicates being
cleansed from the original sin hidden deep within one’s
heart. Through rebirth sins are suppressed, and through
sanctification the sinful nature is destroyed. In short,
rebirth is the beginning of sanctification and conversely
sanctification is the perfection of rebirth.
|
|
6. Healing – We believe that God heals our physical diseases with
the divine power through the redemption of the blood of Jesus
Christ
(1) Divine Healing: Divine healing indicates
having good health assured by God’s protection and
being healed of diseases by the power of God through prayer.
Healing is the Will, promise and powerful work of God.
(2) Importance of Divine Healing: Healing
is a part of the grace of the redemption of Jesus Christ
that comes on the body of believers. Jesus Christ took the
infirmities and sicknesses of all men by being whipped and
shedding His blood. Countless sick people were healed during
Jesus’ ministry, and after He endured all the sufferings,
these supernatural healings have continually occurred around
the world. Therefore, believers should experience divine
healing through repentance, faith, and prayer when they
are ill, and testify to this grace to all the people when
they preach the gospel and pray that these miracles of healing
will continue.
(3) Divine Healing and Worldly Treatment:
Divine healing refers to being healed of diseases by relying
entirely on the omnipotence of God and His trustworthy promise,
and praying without depending on medicine, science, or hospital
treatment. However, even though we depend entirely on God’s
healing, we do not deny positive impacts of medical or scientific
treatments and we do not condemn people receiving such treatments.
|
|
7. Resurrection – We believe that everyone who fully believes in Jesus
Christ will resurrect with a glorious body the way Jesus Our
Lord resurrected from death
(1) Resurrection: Resurrection is a revival
of the dead and is divided into two categories: spiritual
resurrection and physical resurrection. Spiritual resurrection
refers to the revival of men’s dead (because of their
sins) spirits through their faith in Jesus Christ’s
redemptive death and resurrection. Physical resurrection
is the resurrection of the bodies of dead believers, taking
place at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and the resurrection
of the body of sinners after the Millennium Kingdom.
(2) Two Types of Resurrection
i. The first type of
resurrection is that of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of
dead believers at the time of
Jesus’ return in the
air, and the resurrection of two witnesses during the Seven
Years of the Great Tribulation.
ii. The second type
of resurrection is the resurrection of all those who have
been dead since the beginning
of creation and are resurrected
just after the Millennium Kingdom prior to the Great Judgment.
(3) Resurrected Body: Human bodies consist
of perishable, dishonored, and weak flesh and bones, but
resurrected bodies are not only free from any diseases,
far from being aged, and imperishable but also go beyond
the limitation of time and space, matters, and genders.
In short, a resurrected body is glorious and everlasting,
much like the body of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
|
|
8. The
Second Advent of Jesus Christ – We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ will come down
to Earth again before the beginning of the Millennium Kingdom
in the body He had at the time of His Ascent
(1) The Second Advent: The Descent of
Jesus Christ is the main doctrine of the Bible. The Old
Testament records the First Descent of Jesus Christ, and
the New Testament focuses on His Second Descent, or His
Second Advent. The Lord of the First Descent became flesh
and came down to redeem sinned men, and the Lord of the
Second Descent will return to receive and take saved believers
in glory the way He was lifted up to heaven.
(2) Prophecies on the Second Advent: The
Second Advent of Jesus Christ is prophesied in both the
Old and New Testaments more than 300 times. Many prophets,
Jesus’ Disciples, and angels prophesied it, and the
Lord Himself proclaimed His Second Advent time and again
throughout His ministry.
(3) The Time of the Second Advent: The
Lord Jesus once said, “No one knows about that day
or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father.” Therefore, man can never know the
precise time of His Second Advent. However, Jesus did say
that the hour would come unknowingly like a thief or as
suddenly as labor pains begin for a pregnant woman. Jesus
also mentioned various signs that would be shown during
times leading up to His Second Advent: disasters will strike;
anti-Christianity movement will take off; false prophets
will appear; sin and wickedness will be rampant; the Gospel
will be preached throughout the world; many will rush here
and there; knowledge will increase; the world will be ideologically
divided into two halves; the statehood of Israel will be
restored, and the like. Some of the signs have already been
fulfilled and others are being fulfilled. Therefore, all
believers should watch and prepare for Jesus’ Second
Advent.
(4) The Location of Jesus’ Second Advent
i. In the air
ii. On Earth
(5) The Sight of Jesus’ Second Advent:
The Lord will return riding on glorious clouds, in the midst
of a blazing fire, with a loud command, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet call of God filling the
heavens, and surrounded by countless spirits of dead believers
in Christ.
(6) The Purpose of Jesus’ Second Advent
i. To receive and take
all saved believers to heaven
ii. To establish and
rule the Kingdom of Righteousness
iii. To judge the living
and the dead
(7) Preparation for Jesus’ Second Advent
i. Prepare oil
ii. Having faith of
the firm rock
iii. Watch and be alert
|
|
9. Church – We believe that a church is where we worship God,
enjoy the fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ,
continue to train ourselves spiritually, and we will be preserved
to the Last Day in order to change the world. Church is a
collection of redeemed believers who are called by God, separated
from the world, and saved by having accepted Jesus Christ.
It is the body of Jesus Christ, the holy sanctuary where the
believers gather, worship God, and partake in the Holy Communion.
Church is also the foundation of truth where the Word of God
is taught, where the Gospel is preached, and is responsible
for leading all souls to salvation. It is a holy assembly
where all believers are prepared as the brides of Jesus Christ
and await His Second Advent. |
|
10. The
Millennium Kingdom –
We believe that Jesus Christ will descend again to Earth and
establish the Millennium Kingdom of Peace here
(1) The Millennium: The Millennium Kingdom
is a kingdom full of blessings that Jesus Christ the Messiah
will build on Earth after He has returned to it, judged
all nations, and seized and bound Satan in chains for a
thousand years in the Abyss. The Kingdom will be an age
of rest of jubilee, the restoration of Eden, and the fulfillment
of the prophecies and the Lord’s Prayer.
(2) The Millennium Kingdom
i. The age
of the Millennium Kingdom is without sin and of peace and
unity: the whole world will return to
Jesus Christ.
ii. The land and all
living things on it – plants and animals – will
be restored.
iii. Human life will
be restored.
(3) Politics in the Millennium Kingdom:
The Lord Jesus Christ will reign over the whole world as
the King of kings and all believers themselves will reign
with the Lord like kings. People in fleshly bodies and people
in spiritual bodies will live together, and the Millennium
Kingdom will be the ideal age filled only with bliss.
|
|
11. Eternal
Life and Eternal Death –
We believe that in the end every man will receive either an
eternal life or an eternal death
(1) God made each individual’s spirit immortal
and made his/her spirit live eternally. Those who
believe in the Son of God Jesus Christ as their Savior will
enter the kingdom of heaven and enjoy an eternal life. However,
those who deny Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God
and do evil in this life will inevitably fall into hell
and be held captive and tortured eternally.
(2) Every man is destined to die once and be judged. Each individual must be judged according to his or her own
goodness or wickedness, and then sent to the either eternal
life in heaven or the eternal torture in hell as either
a reward or punishment. No one will be exempt from the Great
Judgment of God.
(3) People sometimes make erroneous arguments on
hell. Some individuals argue that people in hell
will receive a second chance. Others claim that people in
hell will not feel any pain from the punishment. Still others
contend that the spirits of people in hell will perish once
they have fallen into hell. However, all such arguments
and theories are false. The Bible explicitly proclaims the
existence of an eternal heaven and an eternal hell, and
all men after the Judgment will go to either heaven or hell.
|
|
|
|
|