A Vision of the Body of Christ
A Different Message
We believe we have been called to go deeper in the Word of God than any other Christian group. Every denomination has some scholars; but the average members of our churches have a deep understanding of the Bible. Some groups feature evangelism, some feature healings, some feature music or drama - we feature the Word of God.
- The Importance of Doctrine
There are many places where you can feel the Spirit of the Lord, and many churches where you can feel a genuine love - and both of those are vital. We need more Spirit and more genuine love of the Lord and of our neighbors, but in those other places, when the minister begins to speak - are his words truth? Does the Spirit of truth in you respond, or do half of the minister's words sound to you like they are in the language of Ashdod? See Nehemiah 13:24.
Acts 2:42 tells us that the early church continued steadfast in the apostle's doctrine. Doctrine is important. Elders must hold fast "the faithful word" and be able to exhort and convince "by sound doctrine." Titus 1:9.
There is a strange spirit that is permeating much of Christianity these days. It is an attitude that says: "Don't bore me with doctrinal debates; all I really need is love." Truly, the Lord does love you. Part of our mission is to communicate the divine love of God to people. But if we don't give them the Word of God, then they have no ammunition to defeat the devil. Jesus was victorious in His temptation because of His knowledge.
Hebrews 5:11-12 says that something is wrong when a child of God has served Him long enough that he or she ought to be a teacher; but needs to be taught again. Not every saint must be a theologian; but every one should be skilled in the Word, and should understand the first principles of the oracles of God well enough to explain them to someone else. ("Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you of the hope that is in you." I Peter 3:15.) Only "newborn babes" (I Peter 2:2 - desire the sincere milk of the word) in Christ are "unskillful in the word." Hebrews 5:12-14. How skilful are you in the Word of God? Are you skilful enough to do battle with the devil? Ephesians 6:12-17.
Why is doctrine important? Because you cannot defeat the devil without it! Mankind was created to deal with God's adversary, the devil.
But beyond defeating Satan in our lives, we must incorporate the Word of God if we are going to grow in Christ; to mature in Him. It is impossible to go on to perfection without knowing the principles of the doctrine of Christ and the foundation of truth upon which we build our lives. Hebrews 6:1-3.
Why is doctrine important? Because you cannot go on to perfection without it!
A Christian life must be built upon a foundation of basic truths. Ephesians 2:20. David asked in Psalms 11:3, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Woe be unto any preacher who destroys the foundations of truth and godly order, or ignores them. Paul taught that no other foundation could be laid in the church but Christ and His truth. I Corinthians 3:11.
Is doctrine important? Yes, it is! In II Timothy 2:17-18, we learn that Hymanaeus and Philetus erred concerning the truth - and overthrew people's faith. Jesus said in Matthew 15:8-9 that false doctrine voids worship. The Apostle John wrote in II John 10-11 that believers are not to receive those with false doctrine - not those with a misconception of the basic foundations that make us the body of Christ. Jude called preachers "ungodly men" - not because of an ungodly lifestyle; but because they taught false doctrine. Jude 3-4. The Apostle Paul thought preachers of false doctrine should be accursed. Galatians 1:8.
This has no reference to new ministers coming into the fellowship. Aquilla and Priscilla did not shun Apollos - but meekly showed him deeper truths. See Acts 18:24-26. Paul, John, and Jude were writing about preachers who one time had truth, but turned away from the truth. III John is written about Diotrephes, who was speaking perverse things; - John considered him to be a dangerous man.
- Foundational truths of the Body of Christ
What about our message is different from other Christian groups?
We have so much in common with other Christian groups. We are a bona fide Christian fellowship. We believe Jesus is the Son of God; that He was our sinless substitute, He bore our sins at Calvary, and He was crucified and rose from the dead. These and other truths from the infallible Bible identify us as Christian. But let us focus on those teachings that are fairly unique. There are teachings that we hold among our churches that differentiate us from others.
There are a lot of doctrinal differences even among the various divisions of this fellowship of churches, but there is a core of beliefs that virtually all of them hold to. These are "foundational messages" that the body of Christ is built upon. They are the "ancient landmarks" which our fathers have set. Proverbs 22:28. Space limitations preclude proving each one of them from the Scriptures. But there is a strong and comprehensive Scriptural basis for each of these truths - we have studied and taught them for more than 90 years.
Let us briefly survey six of those foundational truths that distinguish our fellowship from others. This list is not a comprehensive list of the doctrines held by this fellowship. There are other great truths that are held dear. But virtually all churches and ministers in this fellowship agree on these six truths, and they are distinct from the doctrine of other churches.
- The Godhead
The overwhelming majority of Christian denominations and groups believe in the trinity. A significant minority, primarily composed of several Pentecostal groups, believes in oneness; or that Jesus and His Father are one person. We have found the truth in the middle of these two extremes.
Again, there is not sufficient space here to prove that there are two in the godhead, but there is solid biblical support for this teaching. In Psalms 110:1, David refers to two Lords, not three. In John 8:17-18, Jesus refers to two testimonies, Himself and His Father. There were not one or three, but only two gods seen in that verse. In I Corinthians 11:3, God's order is seen - and it excludes the Holy Ghost as an entity.
We believe in the Holy Ghost, as the Spirit, the life-force, and power-source for both God and His Son. But the Holy Ghost is not a person. Someone may say, "That teaching is not unique to this fellowship; Charles Taze Russell and the Jehovah's Witness movement teach two in the godhead." They do, but they teach a somewhat different doctrine. They teach that Jesus was just an angel before His first advent, and that He was later promoted to godship. But the Bible teaches that He was a God before He was born in a manger. John 1:1. Yet His Father was a greater God. John 14:28.
- The Mortality of the Soul
Christians, generally, believe that every human soul is immortal. There is no scriptural support for that belief. In this fellowship, we have searched the scriptures, and have seen that the soul is mortal. Romans 2:7 refers to those Christians who are seeking for immortality. Why seek for immortality if you already have it? But the Scriptures teach that the soul that sins shall die. Ezekiel 18:4, 20. Since all have sinned, all souls shall die. Even Jesus poured out His soul to death. Isaiah 53:12.
In their false doctrine of the immortality of the soul, religion had to have a place for the souls of sinners to go after the death of the body. So they invented a place where those evil, immortal souls could be punished forever: hell.
- Hell
The third foundational truth that sets this body apart is its understanding of biblical hell. Virtually every Christian denomination and group believes that hell is a literal lake of fire and brimstone. Sinners will be roasted alive, not for a thousand years, not a million, or a billion or ten trillion years, but forever. Satan will laugh as souls pop and fry. (Without nerves to conduct pain impulses, it is difficult to understand how a disembodied soul could even feel the pain of an eternity of hurting.)
In this fellowship, we've learned that hell is the grave - and that most Bible references to hell mean the second, or perpetual, death. For example, in Revelation 20:11-15, the Bible clearly states that the lake of fire is the second death. See also Revelation 21:8. In Jeremiah 51:39, it is said that the dead sleep a perpetual sleep - not an endless torment of burning fire. Hell cannot be a lake of fire, because the Bible says that hell, itself, will be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14.
Romans 6:23 proclaims that the wages of sin is death, not eternal pain and burning. The hell of the Bible is a place of destruction, not one of perpetual torture.
- The Body of Christ
The phrase "the body of Christ" is commonly used throughout Christianity. But the fourth distinction between this fellowship and the rest of the Christian people is our belief that that phrase refers to a limited company of true believers in an identifiable fellowship. Most Christians think that "the body of Christ" refers to an invisible, mystical composition of all believers scattered in all denominations and groups.
But Brother William Sowders early on received a revelation: that the body of Christ is separate and distinct from everything else in religion. Brother Lloyd Goodwin expounded upon this truth when he taught that the body is a corporal, corporate fellowship.
Corporal means separate and distinct, identifiable as one body of people. In Acts 9:26, Saul left the Pharisee organization and joined an identifiable group of disciples, the body of Christ. In Acts 4:23, the apostles returned to "their own company." There was a separate company of believers that constituted the true church in those days; there is still a separate company of believers who are the true church today. By the end of the first century, there was still one identifiable fellowship. I John 1:3. When ministers defected, and left that fellowship, they were leaving the body of Christ. I John 2:19. Paul was in the body of Christ; Hymaneaus and Philetus were outside of that fellowship. John was in; Diotrephes was out.
The body of Christ is also corporate. This means that it is given recognition or legal standing - not by the government, but by God. There is a fellowship that Jesus Christ recognizes as His body. We must be sure we are in that particular fellowship. Colossians 1:18 tells us that Christ is the head of the body - His church. He recognizes it. Paul said in Galatians 4:9 that it is one thing to know God; another to be known of God. There is a fellowship on the earth that He knows, and recognizes as belonging exclusively to Him.
Further, we were taught that the Body of Christ is not aligned with or allied with other Christian groups. We go unto Christ outside the camp of organized religion. See Hebrews 13:13.
- The Bride of Christ
The fifth doctrinal distinction is our understanding of the Bride of Christ. If you ask any licensed minister of any organized denomination about the Bride of Christ, chances are you'll be told that it is a type of the entire church. Ask about the rapture and you'll be told that all believers are going to be caught away.
This fellowship asks: But what does the Word of God say? God gave Bro. William Sowders the truth that not every sincere Christian is in the bride of Christ.
Revelation 14:1 is misunderstood by most Christians. We are almost the only people to know that the Bride is limited to 144,000 overcomers. We can explain why Paul pressed for the "high calling of God" and understand that there are other callings of God that are not so high. Philippians 3:14. In Revelation 12:1-6, the woman is a type of the church; the man-child is a type of the Bride. Only the man-child is caught away, or raptured, to heaven; the woman flees into the wilderness.
Many sincere, believing Christians will be "left behind" when the rapture takes place. They are not doomed. The Lord will take care of them, and they will witness wonderful things. They will see Christ when He returns. But only a limited number will be caught away at a secret rapture.
- The Beast and Babylon
A final point of distinction is this fellowship's understanding of the beast and Babylon. Much of Christianity fails to understand prophecy. Specifically, they do not understand what constitutes the 'beast' seen especially in Revelation and Daniel, and they do not have any idea what Mystery Babylon really is.
God has given this fellowship knowledge. Revelation 13:1 shows a type: a beast with seven heads, and ten horns. In verse 11, another beast rises up. That is the eighth head seen on this horrible creature. Verse 15 is about an image that speaks - not a statue that lives. Verse 17 presents information about the mark of the beast. In Revelation 17:3, the same beast is seen - but with a woman riding it.
This beast, and others in Daniel 7 that we don't have space to cross-reference, are great human world governmental powers that have dominated the Middle East. The seven heads are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, and Papal Rome. The eighth head will be an image of the seventh. The whore that rides the beast is an apostate religious system that has been supported by the beast, and which has given birth to apostate daughters - harlot denominations.
That apostate system is called Babylon in the Bible. God's people are to flee out of that system. Revelation 18:4. Jeremiah 51:6-8 tells all true believers to flee Babylon.
- The Godhead
If you have any questions about any of these foundational doctrines, or would like additional information about them, please feel free to contact us.