Basic Beliefs

The Holy Spirit As A Testimony

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). We once had lost our identity as God’s children because we had sinned against Him. But by Christ’s salvation, we are now God’s children again. God now gives us the Holy Spirit as a witness to tell us that we are His children.

We are also spiritually dead in sin. But God restored our spiritual life, giving us eternal life. Now God lives in us through His spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us that assurance of God’s presence. “And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:24).

The Holy Spirit is also a “seal” that guarantees God’s promise of a heavenly home for believers. How do we know that Christ is alive? We know because His promise of the Holy Spirit has been fulfilled. How do we know that heaven is real? We know by the Holy Spirit God has poured out on us.

How To Receive The Holy Spirit

Knowing that we need to have the Holy Spirt to be saved, we must ask ourselves, “Do I have the Holy Spirit?” Even if you have already accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, you may not have received the Holy Spirit yet. If God has not given you the sign of speaking of tongues, you have not received the Holy Spirit. This is why the apostle Paul asked the believers he met, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2).

They replied that they had not received or heard of the Holy Spirit. After baptising them, Paul laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.

Be Baptised

To receive the Holy Spirit, we need to go through conversion, We must believe in the Lord Jesus as Our Saviour, humbly repent of our sins, and be baptised into Christ. Baptism goes hand in hand with the promise of the Holy Spirt; we cannot have one without the other.

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). If you have been baptised in a way that is different from what the Bible teaches, or have not received that complete gospel of salvation, you will need to receive baptism and the gospel in the True Jesus Church.

Obey The Truth

God gives the Holy Spirit “to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32). Since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, everyone who wishes to receive the Holy Spirit must humbly study and obey the true gospel taught by the true church.

Pray

We also must ask God for the Holy Spirt. The heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit “to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13). Prayer is the way to ask for the Holy Spirit.

Begin your prayer by saying, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray.” The Lord promised, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do” (John 14:13). It is only by the name of Jesus Christ that we have the privilege to make a request to God. So we offer a prayer in His name. In your prayer, speak to God and tell Him how much you need Him or wish to know Him. Invite Him to come into your heart and give His Holy Spirit.

You may also praise Him, saying, “Hallelujah, praise the Lord Jesus.” “Hallelujah” means “praise the Lord.” The is the way the multitude in heaven worships God. While you praise God with your lips, your prayer must also come from your heart. With a humble attitude, come before God, asking for forgiveness and mercy: “God have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13).

Thirst for the Holy Spirit as if you are thirsting for water. With faith in God’s promise, and through persistent prayer and earnest longing, you will receive the Holy Spirit as the Lord promised. When the promised Holy Spirit comes upon you, just as recorded in Scripture, you will be moved to speak in unknown tongues. You may also experience warmth and power from above.

The Holy Spirit is from God; so when you receive the Holy Spirit, the experience is not frightening one, or one where people lose control or consciousness. You will remain conscious and may end your prayer any time. This is a wonderful sign from God, and it is the same experience that Jesus’ disciples experiences two thousand years ago, when the precious gift of the Holy Spirit first came down to man.

Evidence of Receiving The Holy Spirit

When a person receives the Holy Spirit, God gives a sign to show that the Holy Spirit is in him. The sign is the speaking of tongues—the ability to speak in an unknown language that only God can understand. “For he who speaks in tongues does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries” (1 Corinthians 14:2). The speaking of tongues is a profound communion with God, for prayer and for praising God.

When God poured out His promised Holy Spirit for the first time on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), the believers began to speak in tongues. Since then, whenever the Holy Spirit came upon the believers, it was evidenced by the speaking of tongues. Anyone who has not had this experience has not yet received the Holy Spirit, because speaking in tongues is the necessary evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is an experience that is audible and very often visible. It is audible because of the sign of speaking in tongues. It is often visible by the movement of the body, although this is not a necessary sign. The disciples of the Lord Jesus said that they as well as the observers could “see and hear” the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. The speaking of tongues is not a one-time experience only. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we can speak in tongues whenever we pray.

Through praying in tongues, “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). Speaking in tongues is beyond human expression and makes our prayers more effective because it is direct, spiritual language with God. As human beings, we all have the desire to express ourselves; but the expression is often not verbal. In moments of joy, for example, we laugh. In times of fear, we scream. In times of sadness, we sob.

Sometimes we ache so deeply that mere words cannot convey our pain. Sometimes “thank you” hardly expresses our heartfelt appreciation to God. We may have the drive to say something, but to say it clearly and concisely is often beyond our oral abilities. But when the Holy Spirit prays for us, He replaces our earthly words with a spiritual language. Our hearts become satisfied.

Preparing For The Lord’s Return

Accept Christ Now

Jesus died so that man could be saved, and He has been raised to life. He now calls everyone to repent and believe in Him. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son” (John 3:16-18).

The door of grace is now wide open. As we draw close to the coming of the Lord, enter the door of salvation while there is still a chance. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

He is the only one who can save you from the coming judgment. Your choice to accept Him now will mean eternal blessings when He comes again.

Obey the True Gospel

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast our demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Open confession of Christ alone will not get us into the gates of heaven. We must obey the words of our Lord and the gospel preached by the church, the body of Christ. Only in the church that God has established may we find the gospel of salvation. “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2-3).

When Christ comes, He will take the church as His bride (Revelation 19:7). Those who have obeyed the true gospel of salvation and who abide daily by God’s word through faith will be saved. They will participate in the final and greatest wedding banquet.

Watch and Pray

Since we do not know when our Master will return, we need to be spiritually watchful at all times (Matthew 24:42; Luke 12:37).

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighted down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on your unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36).

Devotion to daily prayer also helps us examine our ways and enables us to be spiritually strong. It is essential to constantly live a life pleasing to the Lord and wait soberly for the Lord’s coming. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:12-14).

Be Faithful in Service

“Who then is a faithful servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods” (Matthew 24:45-47).

We need to be diligent and persistent as we serve the spiritual needs of others through preaching, encouragement, and intercession. By regularly meeting with fellow believers, we can “stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). When our master comes, He will require from us what each of us has received and reward us for our labour (Matthew 25:14-30). Therefore, we must put our time, possessions, and talents to use for the Lord’s work. Let us always give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because we know that our labour in him is not in vain.

Love One Another

“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’ Be hospitable to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:7-9).

Love will be a standard of divine judgment on the last day. In the parable of Jesus, it was those who showed deeds of kindness and concern that received eternal life. So let us learn to give to the needy and pray for the spiritually weak. In addition to helping others, we need to be patient with one another, because love is patient, and loves endures all things. “Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” (James 5:9).

It would surely please the Lord if we forgive others just as He forgave us. True love bears the burden of another and “covers a multitude of sins.”

“I Am Coming Soon”

Our Lord Jesus has warned us of the signs that will precede His coming, such as wars, famine, earthquakes. increase of crimes, religious persecutions, and rejection and confusion of the true faith. We can clearly see these signs occurring now, and with increasing intensity.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12).

The Judge is standing at the door. Are You Ready? Are you responding to His call to repentance? Do not wait until it is too late. Enter the gate to eternal life while you may. It is our prayer that you believe and obey the true gospel of salvation today and that you will joyfully welcome the Lord when He comes.

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Our salvation is by grace through faith, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). We cannot work our own way to heaven through good deeds; only through our faith in Jesus Christ alone can we receive the gift of salvation. While it is god alone who saves us by His grace, we need to respond to God’s calling through faith in order to be saved. This response of faith is expressed through belief, confession, repentance, and obedience.

Believe and Confess

“… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the way to receive salvation. Faith is more than mental consent. It means complete acceptance, trust, and dedication of ourselves to Christ. Faith must also persist throughout our lives. If we make a life-long commitment to the Saviour, He will save us according to His promise.

Not only do we need to believe and confess that Jesus is our Saviour, we must also believe that the Bible, which is a testament of Christ, is true. Furthermore, we need to believe in His true church, the body of Christ, because Christ has send the church to preach the gospel of salvation and administer the necessary sacraments for salvation.

Repent and Obey

Repentance means turning back to God. It is a necessary act of faith. A repentant sinner must leave his sinful life and determine to obey God’s word. He must walk by the Holy Spirit and aim towards leading a life of purity and love.

Obediences is the practice of faith. Without it, confession of the Lord’s name would be a hollow statement. Although obedience itself is not the basis of salvation, through it, we demonstrate our faith in the Lord. The Lord Jesus said to a young man who asked how to receive eternal life, “if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).

Receive the Sacrament

Faith in the Lord also means accepting the sacraments. The sacrament, which are baptism, footwashing and Holy Communion, are specific commands from our Lord that are necessary for salvation. Christ washes our sins away in baptism; He offers us a part with Him through footwashing; and He gives us His life through the Holy Communion.

The use of physical actions or elements for the salvation of the soul cannot be rationally explained. However, they are required according tot he Lord’s own word. If we have not received the sacraments, or have not done so in the manner taught in the Bible, we need to receive them in accordance with God’s word in order to be saved.

Salvation For Today

Salvation is not only an important subject, it is also an urgent issue. While taking your time to decide may seem harmless, waiting just means remaining under God’s wrath and condemnation. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, ow is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Do not wait until you complete your degree, finish enjoying life, or retire from your career. Time is not in your hands. What if today is your last day? God has given you today; so you are accountable for your decisions today.

Call on the Lord Jesus now, come into His church, and determine to walk in the way of salvation. God is ready to accept you. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knock it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

The Seventh Day

The Bible tells us clearly that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. In the western world, we call this day Saturday. Actually, the concept of the weekly cycle came from the first week in history, the creation week, which consists of seven days, including the day of rest. God set apart the last day of every week as the Sabbath.

From the time of their forefathers, the Israelites have acknowledged that Saturday is the Sabbath. The Lord Jesus kept the seventh-day Sabbath, and so did His disciples. Sunday worship, which is widely practiced by Christians today, originated when the Roman emperor Constantine officially changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday. God never commanded Sunday worship.

Since God did not change the Sabbath day, we should still keep the Sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day, rather than on Sunday, the first day. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not do away with Sabbath observance. Being one of the Ten commandments, the Sabbath is still a day that all Christians must keep. Blessed are those who hold true to God’s commandments!

A Day of Remembrance

On the Sabbath day, we are to remember God’s mighty work of creation, and that He made the seventh day holy. Therefore, this weekly day of rest is a time for us to remember our origin. We are from God, and he made us to be like him.

With this in mind, we can live another week in obedience to God’s word. When commanding the Israelites to keep the Sabbath day, God also asked the people to remember how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:15).

Likewise, God has also delivered us, the believers, from a sinful lifestyle under the hands of Satan into the promise of God’s eternal kingdom. Through the Sabbath, God furthermore reminded the Israelites that they belonged to God. “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them” (Ezekiel 20:12).  The Sabbath is God’s way of telling us how special we are–that we are His people.

A Day of Hope

The Sabbath rest is a prefiguration of the rest we will receive when we enter into heaven. “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

Just as God rested from work of creation, and just as we rest from our weekly tasks, one day the believers of God will also rest in His arms. When we reach that home, we will rest from all the toils and sorrows of this life and enjoy true rest forever. Today, we have found that rest in Jesus Christ. By His sacrifice, He has opened the gates of heaven; through His power, we can live like the citizens of heaven; with His assurance, we have peace amid troubles. He will guide us all the way to that eternal rest if we always trust and obey Him.

Elements of the Sacrament

Since the Lord commands us to partake of the Holy Communion according to His example, it is important to use the same element that the Lord used — bread, and drink made from the fruit of the vine (grape juice); The bread used should not contain any yeast. That is why the bread in the Passover meal was called the “unleavened bread”.

Nor should the drink undergo any fermentation, because the Lord used grape juice, not wine, during the last supper. Yeast represents sin (1 Corinthians 5:8), false teachings (Matthew 16:6, 12), and hypocrisy (Luke 12:1); therefore it must not be found in the Communion. There is to be only one bread and one cup regardless of the size of the congregation. “for we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17).

Administration and Participation

The Bible does not specify how often we need to partake of the Communion, but it does stress its effect and meaning. Thus, each congregation may decide to hold the Communion as often as it deems fit, so long as the participants take it with solemnity. In the same manner as our Lord, we give thanks to God for Christ’s sacrifice and salvation. We can then break the bread and give it to the congregation. The same goes with receiving the cup.

During the Communion, the participants should be together in one place. None of the elements should remain until the next day. These instructions are from God’s commands to the Israelites concerning the Passover, a festival in remembrance of God’s salvation of the Israelite households through the blood of lambs.

Only those who are baptised may receive the Communion, for it is a spiritual fellowship between the Lord and His church. If someone has not been baptised, or has not done so in a way that is according to what the Bible teaches, he should not participate in the Communion because his sins have not been washed away, and he does not yet belong to Christ. It is important that we take the Communion seriously and solemnly, knowing that we are partaking of Christ’s body and blood.

“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

Before the Communion, we need to examine ourselves, remove our grudges against anyone, ask the Lord to forgive our sins, and determine to live by Christ’s perfect example.

Holy Communion and Christian Living

Participation in the Covenant

The Lord Jesus referred to the blood in the Communion as the “blood of the new covenant.” The covenant is an agreement between two or more parties, and this is God’s covenant with us; by the blood of Christ, give to us on the cross, we are now God’s children. With such a promise from God, we ought to live like God’s children, trusting Him and obeying His commands throughout our lives.

Apostle Paul prayed that the believers would “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Living a holy life as Christ did is the way to participate in the divine covenant.

Getting Rid of Sin

Our Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sinless sacrifice. His whole life was pure, and so is the Holy Communion. As we partake of the Lord’s body and blood, we should also resolve to remove all sin from our thoughts, words, and actions. “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

Thus, true participation in the Communion means participation in God’s holiness in daily life.

Daily Communion with the Lord

The Lord Jesus said “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56).

In addition to receiving the sacrament, we ought to live in Christ every day and let Him live in us. We need to partake of Christ himself, who is the “bread of life” (John 6:35) by feeding with the Spirit. We must also abide by and live according to His word, just as branches on a good vine constantly bear good fruit. Through daily Bible reading and prayer, we learn to listen to God and talk with God. As we study and practice the Word, God also strengthens us with His Spirit.

Thus we become more like Him each day, full of His holiness, compassion, and humility. We become more and more united with our Lord, just as a wife is united with her husband. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17). The communion that pleases God is our growing relationship with Him. We must love the Lord with all our hearts, making Him the centre of our lives. Ultimately, it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. Then we will never hunger or thirst spiritually, but will have strength and joy in our lives.

Oneness of Christ’s Body

The Holy Communion also brings the participants together as one body. “For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17). Division or cliques among God’s people are contrary to the spirit of the Communion. So as we come together to remember the Lord’s death, we must each learn to consider the good of others. The Lord gave us His body and blood through self-sacrifice and love; let us also deny our own interests and learn to love our fellow members in Christ.

The Sacrament of Footwashing

Like baptism, footwashing is a sacrament; a divine act which the Lord commanded the believers to receive and imitate.

Jesus said, “He who is bathed needs only to washed his feet, but is completely clean” (John 13:10). With this analogy, the Lord demonstrated that a believer needs to accept footwashing after he has been baptised. When we receive the sacrament, a brother or sister in Christ performs the footwashing, but in spirit, it is our Lord who washes our feet. It is the Lord’s reminder to us of His eternal love and a call to live forever under His love.

Having A Part with The Lord

According to the Lord’s command, the church today washes the feet of the baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The person administering the sacrament follows the example left by Jesus and washes each new believer’s feet and dries them with a towel.

The observance of footwashing is not merely symbolic. It is a command from the Lord. Its effect is to “have a part” with our Lord Jesus (John 13:8). To have a part with Jesus is to have a part in His life. God’s saving grace does not end at baptism — it is a life-long gift.

In order to participate in this lasting relationship, we need to accept the footwashing by our Lord. Behind this act of washing lies the full extent of Christ’s unfailing love.

Participating in His Holiness

Our feet represents our behaviour and lifestyle. The Lord Jesus cleanses all our past sins through baptism. But we still need to continue our lives in a world filled with temptation, immorality, and godless values. We must leave our former life of sin and detest sin as much as God detests it.

To continue living in sin after we have heard the truth is to “trample the Son of God underfoot” (Hebrews 10:29) because it is disregarding our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice. It grieves our Lord to see His children sin, knowing that sin brings on us troubles and hurts. Sin is a serious matter to God, so serious that He “did not spare his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Romans 8:12).  God loves us so much that He paid the greatest price to deliver us from sin.

If we are willing to rely on Christ to help us overcome sin, He will create in us a new heart after the image of God. We also need to let the word of God “wash” our feet, by listening to and obeying the teachings of the Bible. The word of God keeps our feet from straying. A psalmist writes, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105). God’s word directs the way that we should go in life.

Total Cleansing

Baptism was not invented by man. It is a requirement of God which He commands us to receive. Jesus promises that “he who believes and is baptised will be saved” (Mark 16:16). There is a saving effect in the cleansing power of baptism.

The outward action of baptism, which Jesus and His disciples demonstrated, involves going into natural flowing water, head bowed, and being totally immersed in water. Baptism must also be performed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The inward effect of baptism is the cleansing of the soul by the blood of Christ. Baptism is a key moment in your conversion, when Jesus’ blood will take effect on you and restore your relationship with God, making you His child once again.

No sin is too great to be forgiven. God is ready to pardon everyone who turns back to Him and seeks cleansing. However, you determined to follow His words. It is during baptism that you come before your Savior with your heavy burden of sin. As you are immersed in water in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, His blood, which was shed on the cross, will cover all your sins. There, on account of Jesus’ sacrifice, God will pardon all your sins.

Therefore, baptism, along with faith and repentance, is necessary for the forgiveness of sins. For this reason, Peter, a disciple of Jesus, commanded the believers to be baptised. “Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

A New Life Begins

The Bible calls baptism “the washing of generation” because it is a spiritual rebirth and the beginning of a new life (Titus 3:5; John 3:5) This new life is possible because Christ has overcome the power of sin by His resurrection. As your sins are forgiven during baptism, a spiritual transformation occurs— the death and burial of the sinful being and the rebirth of a spiritual, eternal life. The blood of the Lord Jesus brings your spiritual being back to life.

“[You were] buried with [Christ] in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians 2:12-13).

The moment you come up out of the water, you become a new being who has escaped the punishment of sin and now possess the hope of eternal life.

Dead to Sin, Alive to Christ

The change of identity that occurs during baptism must also lead to a change in attitude and lifestyle. Paul, an apostle of Jesus, reminds us that the free grace of God should not be a license to remain in sin. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that man of us as were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4).

Baptism teaches us to say no to sin and yes to God’s will. Before we were baptised, we were rebellious children, going our own ways. But the life that we live after baptism is no longer ours, but Christ’s. We ought to live as obedient children and determine to become as perfect as our Heavenly Father.

Even so, it is not by our efforts that we are able to live according to God’s perfect nature; it is only with God’s grace in our lives that we can have power over our own weaknesses. The salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ is a life-long gift. As long as we determine to be obedient to God, He will continue to transform our lives. Buy building and keeping a trusting relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ after baptism, we can witness how God continues to work wonders in our lives.

God’s Book to Man

“All Scripture is give by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

At first glance, the Bible does not seem to be much different from any book. However, since its content did not come from the thoughts of its writers but from God, they are the very words of God. “No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).  Over a period of more than 1,500 years, God moved the hearts of about 40 people from various walks of life to record what they had witnessed. These sacred writings were later compiled to become what we know today as the Bible.

The Bible is God’s self-revelation to the world. God speaks to us through the prophets, the apostles, and His own Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible also records God’s interactions with men throughout history, focusing on the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ—God’s greatest gift to the world. Through these historical events and divine messages, the Bible shows us who God is, where human beings came from, and what God expects from us. It explains how we have all rebelled against God, how God has sent His Son to the world to reconcile the world to Him, and what happens in the afterlife. The Bible is a letter from God with a most important message about man’s origin, purpose, and eternal destiny.

Word of Life

The Bible is able to instruct us “for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). In other words, the Bible teaches us how to receive salvation and what true faith in Christ means. God’s word as found in the Bible has power to save us. “Therefore lay aside filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21)

It is not the text of the Bible that gives eternal life, but the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord said “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Because the Bible bears witness to Jesus Christ and directs our faith to the Savior, we can receive salvation by trusting and obeying all that is written in the Bible, which is the word of God.

The word of God carries a life-giving power. God “gives birth” to believers through the word of truth (James 1:18). When we give our lives to Jesus Christ and obey Him as Lord, we can live a new life and have the hope of eternal life. “You have been born anew, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God… That word is the good news which was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:23, 25 RSV). The gospel of Jesus Christ that the Bible preaches is truly the word of life!

The Man who is God

God’s Spirit is not limited by time or space; He fills the Universe. When Jesus walked on earth, He was also in heaven. Jesus is called the Son of God, yet He is actually the manifestation of the Father in human form. He took the roles of Lord and servant, Father and Son at the same time.

Thus the Lord Jesus said: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) Although Jesus is God, when He came to earth, He participated in and experienced our humanity. Jesus never committed sin, yet He felt the lure of temptation; He spoke with authority, yet humbly served others; He performed supernatural deeds, yet also experienced hunger, thirst, weariness, and sorrow.

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is the most influential man who ever lived; through the centuries people have talked about Jesus, written about Jesus, preached about Jesus and even died for Jesus. How could one person make such a profound and universal impact on humanity?

During His time on earth, Jesus performed miracles that were unheard of. He fed thousands of people with five loaves of bread and two fish; He walked on the sea; He calmed a storm; He opened the eyes of the blind, made the lame walk, and even raised the dead to life. Where did His supernatural power come from?

Jesus promised His believers everlasting spiritually fulfillment. He assured His followers that they would always have peace in their hearts. He even told the people that the only way to receive eternal life was to believe and follow Him. What gave Him the authority to offer these promises?

God Became Flesh

The fact is that Jesus was not a man; He was God who became man. He is not just a historical figure; He is the everlasting and almighty Creator. He was not just a religious leader; He is Lord and Savior.

Although Jesus was born at a point in time, He was always existed, long before His entry in this world. He was no beginning or end. He said of Himself, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation 22:13)

When we talk about Jesus, therefore, we must not only think of Him as someone who lived two thousand years ago in the land of Palestine. Jesus is the everlasting God, who humbly became a man in order to save us and bring us into His eternal kingdom. Thus to understand the life and work of Jesus, we need to first turn our attention to Jesus is the eternal God, the Creator and Ruler of all things.

The True Jesus Church, established by our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit during the time of the “latter rain,” is the restored church of the apostolic time. (Joel 2:23, Amos 9:11)

God spoke through the prophet Zechariah. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit”, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zech 4:6).

It is God’s Spirit, not human effort, that established the temple of the last days – the church. This was how the True Jesus Church came into existence. The Holy Spirt first revealed the truth of salvation in the Bible to truth-seeking Christians and then commissioned them to proclaim the complete gospel.

The Lord has also confirmed that the True Jesus Church is His church through signs and miracles. Since the establishment of the True Jesus Church in 1917 to the present time, many have found the truth of salvation in this church and have experienced the wonder of God’s power.

The name True Jesus Church tells us that Jesus is the Lord of the church. The church is the body of Jesus; everyone who is baptised in the church comes under the Lord’s name (Acts 4:12, 15:16-17). The church should thus bear and uplift Jesus’ name.