Our Theological Position

 

Our Theological Position on Charismatic Issues
 
Tongues
  1. A manifestation of the Holy Spirit to enable one to speak in a foreign language unknown to the one speaking (1 Cor. 12:7, 10).
  2. A manifestation of the Holy Spirit to enable interpretation of foreign languages unknown to the one interpreting (1 Cor. 12:7, 10).
  3. Speaking in tongues is not necessarily a sign of spiritual maturity (1 Cor. 13:1).
  4. The gift of tongues cannot be obtained through teaching, the laying on of hands, or other human effort. It is given only by the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 12:10, 11).
  5. Not to be a part of corporate worship unless interpreted for the building up of the church. (1 Cor. 14:1-5, 18-19, 26-28). An individual is responsible to discern if it is edifying to the church (1 Cor. 12:7).
  6. Praying in tongues may be done personally and privately (1 Cor. 14:4, 13-17, 39b).
  7. The gift of tongues should not be esteemed above the other spiritual gifts, moreover, no one should be expected to speak in tongues (1 Cor. 12:27-31).
  8. We need to discern whether the speaking in tongues is true or false (1 John 4:1).
Miracles
  1. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we now have a Gospel that can provide forgiveness of sins and the transformation of lives. A transformed life is the greatest of all miracles. Every time a person is &lqu;born again” by repentance of sins and faith in Jesus Christ, the miracle of regeneration occurs (Jn. 3:3-8; 2 Cor. 5:17).
  2. Miracles are manifestations of the Holy Spirit working God’s power through believers (1 Cor. 14:12).
  3. Jesus taught that his followers would do even greater miracles than he had done (John 14:12).
  4. Miracles are the work of God; no person should take credit (Acts 14:8-18).
Filled with the Spirit
  1. When the believer allows the Spirit to control their life and bring power and gifting for witness (Acts 4:31, 11:24), which edifies the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13).
  2. In order to be “filled with the spirit”, one needs to continually confess sin, be humble and submit wholly to the words of God (Gal. 5:16-17). We are not “filled with the spirit” by our own effort or at our own initiation. It is all from the grace of God, which He gladly gives to us (1 Cor. 12:11).
  3. To be distinguished from being baptized by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion/belief enables regeneration (Jn. 3:5; Gal 3:3; Tit 3:5), baptizes believers into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), and indwells believers (Jn. 14:16-17; Rom. 5:5, 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:12; 1 Jn. 3:24).
  4. The fruit of the Spirit will be outwardly apparent when a believer is filled with the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
  5. Being “filled with the spirit” often manifests itself in believers’ lives in being spiritually revived, living holy lives, being joyful, (Gal. 5:22-23) and not necessarily by performing miraculous deeds (Acts 11:24, 13:52).
  6. It is God’s command that we are to be “filled with the spirit”. It is something every believer should strive for everyday (Eph 5:18).
Prophecy
  1. A manifestation of the Holy Spirit enabling a believer to prophecy. The gift of prophecy does not reveal new doctrinal truth, nor does it carry the authority of revelation. Each new manifestation is to be rigorously tested (1 Cor. 14:29; 1 Thess. 5:20-21), suggesting that those who exercise it are not expected to be infallible (as were the Old Testament prophets - Deut. 18:20-22). While it may occasionally impart non-doctrinal knowledge of local significance (Acts 11:27-28), it primarily applies the already-revealed truth of Scripture to the church’s present situation for purposes of edification and exhortation and consolation (1 Cor. 14:3). Like all of the other gifts, it is a means of ministry, not revelation (“Scripture Vs. the Spiritual Gifts?” by Elliot Miller, Christian Research Institute).
  2. All prophecy must be tested (1 Jn 4:1) according the written word of God and the believer (“prophet”) held accountable by the local church leadership if it is in error (Rom. 12:2; 1 Cor. 14:29).
  3. Since the canon of the Bible was set, God has completed his revelation to man (2 Pet. 1:3, Jude 3; Rev 22:18-19). There will not be any new scriptural revelation.
  4. The gifts of prophecy should be used to present God’s people with the truth, always combined with careful study of the Word of God (1 Cor. 14:3). We need to exercise the gift of discernment because many false prophets will appear at the end of age (2 Cor. 11:4,13).
  5. The gift of prophecy is given to some believers; they receive a message from God and then accurately communicate it. This message can be a prediction (Acts 11:28, 21:10-11), a sermon (Acts 2:18, 22-36), a word of encouragement (Acts 15:32, 1 Cor. 14:3), or an explanation or instruction (1 Cor. 14:19, 24-25). For example, the prophets in the New Testament prophesized on individual matters, but they are not as authoritative as the prophets of the Old Testament. Their messages are not given the same weight as the canon of the Bible and cannot contradict the Bible. All the teaching about life and godliness and faith has already been given to the early apostles (2 Pet. 1:3, Jude 3).
  6. 1 Corinthians chapter 14 set boundaries for the prophets:
    • Only 2 or 3 prophets should speak in a meeting (14:29a).
    • The prophet is not out of his control. (14:32).
    • The message of the prophet should be weighed carefully by the whole assembly (14:29).
    • The prophet should speak in an orderly manner (14:30-33a).
    • The message of a prophet is for strengthening, encouragement and comfort for the church (14:3).
Healing
  1. A manifestation of the Holy Spirit to enable one to heal diseases, sickness, and all kinds of physical, emotional, and psychological ailments (1 Cor. 12:28).
  2. Every sickness and every infirmity can be traced back to original sin (Rom. 5:12).
  3. There are many reasons for sickness to come upon a person. Testing of faith (Job 2:3-6); display the work of God (John 9:3); personal sin (James 5:15-16); and just being a part of a sin infected world (Rom. 8:18-21), though all things occur under the sovereignty of God.
  4. Praying to the Lord for the healing of the sick and having faith is encouraged (James 5:14-16).
  5. The church can pray for those who are sick, but we should not promise them that they will receive healing. It is the Christian duty to pray for the sick but it is God’s sovereignty to heal. (1 Cor. 3:6, Eph. 1:11).
  6. We should not only emphasize the gift of healing; we should at the same time stress that not being healed is also in the good will of God. Surely God gives other kind of blessings to all who trust in Him. Faith should not over-emphasize believing that God will always heal, true faith is submitting to God and faithfully following Him even if God chooses not to heal (Dan. 3:17-18).
Guidelines for CCGN Practice
  1. The church should not use the promise of miracles or supernatural phenomenon to draw people to church meetings. The church should not boast of miracles or supernatural phenomenon, and it should not lift up personal experiences. We are to proclaim the truth and lift high the Lord (1 Cor. 1:22-23). Anyone who claims that he/she can perform miracles, heal diseases, has supernatural gifts and use these claims to promote him/herself, is going against the principle of the Bible (Prov. 27:2).
  2. The truth of the faith has been entrusted once for all to the early saints of the New Testament. In the present all believers cannot add or take away any words from the Bible or change its truth. Therefore believers cannot say, the Holy Spirit told me so or God said to me, then have their own words be as authoritative as the Bible and expect others to obey them.
  3. John told us do not believe every spirit (1 John 4:1), but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. With the appearance of false prophets, we cannot always be sure that a prophet is of God simply by his miracles, wonders, and accurate predictions. If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 13:1-3). They were so warned because those prophets used miraculous sign or wonder to deceive the Israelites to worship other gods. Therefore we need to further test the prophet, look at all his statements and behaviors. We need to:
    • Examine if his teaching goes against the teaching of the Bible (Acts 17:11).
    • Examine his action if it is worthy of his faith (Eph. 4:1).
    • Examine the fruits of his life (Mt. 7:15-23; Gal. 5:22-26).
    • Examine who is the Jesus they claim to believe.
      • Does he believe the truth that Jesus was incarnated (1 John 4:1-3, 2 John 7-9)?
      • Does he believe Jesus is the Son of God (1 Jn. 3:23)?
      • Does he believe Jesus is the second person of the triune God (2 Cor. 13:14)?
      • Does he believe Jesus took our place to be nailed on the cross so our sins can be forgiven (Rom. 6:6)?
      • Does he believe Jesus was born of a virgin (Is. 7:14), his body resurrected from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3-4) and that Jesus has conquered sin, death (1 Cor. 15:54-56) and all dominion of Satan (Gen. 3:15; Eph. 1:20-23)?
      • Does he believe Jesus is Lord (1 Cor. 12:3)?
  4. We shall not use the church facilities or encourage brothers and sisters from our church to attend any charismatic gathering or activities. We define charismatic gatherings or activities as meetings when the leader or the participants promise the presence of, or manipulate the participants to experience any or all of the following phenomena:
    • miraculous signs.
    • faith healings
    • exorcisms.
    • speaking of tongues.
    • prophecies.
    • slayings in the Spirit.
    • spiritual hysteria phenomena (ie. holy laughter, shaking).
  5. We accept brothers and sisters who are sympathetic to the charismatic belief to worship with us. We expect as part of the church they will abide by the position of the church concerning charismatic beliefs and practices, even though they may have a different point of view.