"God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth." (St. John 4:24)
There is but one God, therefore, there is but one Spirit. God is, in essence,
and in person one from Whom and in Whom there is a divine three-fold manifestation
and relationship made kwon as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
First, as Father, he is the Creator, source, origin, and progenitor
of all things and souls, Universal Father, and Father of Eternity, without body parts,
self-existent; that is, existent of Himself and by Himself, omniscient, omnipresent,
and omnipotent.
Secondly, as Son of Man in redemption form sin, coming into the world
through the immaculate conception and virgin birth, thus assuming a personality,
the second greatest mystery of all times; a body for the purpose of redemption
through death of those who had sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God,
God's Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world.
Thirdly, the Holy Spirit, regenerator and perfector of those who believe,
the organizer and element of the church, the divine executor and head. This
trinity of manifestation of relationship may be compared to the body, soul and
spirit of operation in every man. The Father, the Divine essence and Spirit,
and the all begotten Divinity, corresponds to the soul of man.
The Son is the humanity of Jesus Christ made divine and united to the Father-Spirit,
or in other words the divine Humanity answering to the body of man. The Holy Spirit is
the Divine Proceeding Energy out of the Son from the father who dwelleth in the son,
thus answering to the operation of man's spirit and body together. Therefore, God as Father is
Creator and first cause of all things from eternity. As Son, the Redeemer in time, and as
the Holy Spirit; the Regenerator in the church to eternity. THE LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST IS
THAT GOD. In sum, we believe:
One
There is one God, the Creator of all worlds, visible and invisible,
who in consideration of his Divine case, which is the orginginal source and incoprehensible
fountain of all life and being, is called "I AM THAT I AM", OR Jehovah (YHWH), who is, who was,
and who is to be, the first anf the last, the begining and the end, the Alpha and the Omega,
the All and In All. (St. John 14:9-11-" Believe me I that I am in the Father and the
Father in me: or else believe me for the very works sake")
Two
The being and unity of Jehovah God are inculcated by the general tenor
of Divine Revelation, as well as by many express declarations, and may be
considered as the ground work or foundation of all religion. It is therfore
written, "Hear O Isreal Jehovah (YHWH) our God is One Jehovah (YHWH)"(Deut. 6:4).
"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Isreal, "...I am the First, and I am the Last, and besides
me there is no God." (Isa. 44:6)." ...I am the Lord thy God..""...and thou
shalt know no God but me: for there is no saviour besides me." Hosea 13:4.
Three
This one God is the real primary substance and form from whom, and be whom, all created
substances and forms were produced; it being impossible that any substance whatever could have risen
up out of nothing. All things that exit must, therefore, have been produced
by a Divine power from an orginal substance, that is, from God himself, yet
in a way and according to an order, that persrves the most perfect and
complete distinction between the Creator and the creature. And as we see that
all created substances and forms have,either directly or indirectly, some
respect to the human form, and it being certain that this respect must
ultimately lead and point to him form whom they proceeded, it necessarily follows,
that God is in such orginal and primary substance and form a Divine man, in whom
nevertheless all things are infinte and eternal, without any relation either
to space, or time, or matter, being prior to and far above them.
Four
As the Divine essence of Jehovah God is in itself infinitely above the
comprehension of any finite mind, and cannot become the proper subject of either human or angelic
contemplation, he has, therefore, in mercy been pleased so to accomodate himself
to the capacity of his intelligent creatures, as to exhibit before them the most
evident and striking marks of his divine love and divine wisdom, as revealed on Calvary,
constitute his essence. "Hereby perceive we, the love of God because he laid
down his life for us." (I John 3:16; Romans 5:8-10)
Five
Therefore, he accommodated himself to our human comprehension which was that
of man; if he had revelaed himself as an angel it have necessitated angelical
intelligence for comprehension. If he had come below the capacity and sphere
of man, man would have contemned rather that worship Him. The only capacity
in which we could understand him was that of a man. Therefore, God came in the
form of a man through the immaculate conception and virgin birth. The incarnation
of God is the marvel of all marvels, the mystery of all mysteries... Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into Glory." (I Timothy 3:16)
***Edited from original text Discipline Book,Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith,Inc.,third edition, 1969***