Tuesday, May 22, 2007

3. The Church as a Spiritual Nation

Spiritual Nation
The MOST HOLY CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS is the Holy Nation (1 Peter 2:9) The Kingdom of God is not of this world (John 18:36) as all the nations in the lowly land. The Church is a spiritual (1 Peter 2:5; 1Tim. 3:15) sovereign nation.

Citizenship of Her People
The Lord has made the citizenship of the faithful to be in heaven (Phil. 3:20). They are not of this world (John 17:9); they are pilgrims and strangers on earth (Heb. 11:13).

Flag
Flag symbolizes the sovereignty of the Holy Nation. Her people treat it with love and respect. As a spiritual nation, God gave her a flag to be raised and displayed for the truth (Ps. 60:4). It is also a symbol of love that should be proclaimed (Song of Sol. 2:4). The flag of the Church has three (3) colors which symbolizes her embodiment as follows:

RED:  
Red stands for the love (AGAPE in Greek) (Song of Sol.8:6) that abounds in the Church. 

WHITE:  
White stands for the righteousness, or holiness, which results from the hope about God's promise to His people or nation (Rev.19:8;  Acts 26:7).

YELLOW GOLD:
Yellow-Gold stands for the perfect faith that every faithful should possess (1 Peter 1:7).


Seal
A seal is an important instrument, which is used to authenticate ownership. It was used figuratively to indicate God's ownership of His people as in Rev. 7:3-4. The Church, as the Holy Nation, and whom God claimed ownership (1 Peter 2:9-10) has attributes some of which are represented by the following as depicted in the seal:

EAGLE: 
The eagle represents being the ambassador of God in proclaiming (Eccles. 10:20(b) the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven (Mat. 24:14; Eph. 3:10; 1 Peter 2:9). God Most High uses His trusted instruments (the seven Bishops or Overseers, ministers and pastors) (1 Sam. 2:5; Rev. 1:20; Acts 20:28; Rom. 13:1-2,4; Jer. 3:15) to administer the Church in accomplishing her key mission.

CORD: 
The cord symbolizes the ministering of the Church by God Most High through His gospel (Ps. 2:2-3). It indicates coverage of souls of those who receive God's favors and blessings.

CHAIN: 
The chain represents the power of unity or perfect oneness (Phil. 1:27).  The teaching of the Lord through Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians about oneness is explicit (Eph. 4:3-6). Unity among the faithful is achieved by having one faith, one spirit and one mind.

ANCHOR: 
The anchor of the soul (Heb. 6:19) represents the salvation of His children by God Most High (Acts 27:29-31). The Lord is the only savior known to His servants (Isa. 45:21), and the Church is His means (Eph. 5:23) towards this end.

Vision of the Most Holy Church
The Vision of the Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus is summarized as follows:
"The Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus shall be exalted.  The Most Holy will reign in the world with God in the millennial kingdom. She will be filled with glory and will live with Him eternally."
 
  • Lev. 27:28; 2 Chr. 3:8-9,10; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Thes. 2:14;
  • Gal. 3:16, 28-29; Phil. 1:20; 1 Cor. 6:15, 12:27; Col. 1:24
  • Rev. 20:6 ; 2 Tim. 2:12
  • Heb. 1:3; Rom. 8:17-18
  • 1 John 2:25; Ps. 90:1-2

Need for Vision


The Church recognizes the need for vision: the reason for her being and the picture of her future. The Holy Scriptures says: "Where there is no VISION, the people (nation) perish..."(Prov.29: 18(a).

Key Mission“Mission” is the activity the Holy Nation is charged or assigned to carry out by her owner and creator, the Sovereign GOD MOST HIGH. The Key Mission of the Church is as follows:

"To preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven, to the whole world, all the nations, produce fruits, care for and insure the fruits last and become one holy nation, make Christ Jesus their Lord, with hope and AGAPE in GOD."
This mission statement of the Most Holy Church is translated into the following commitments:
 
Purpose

The salvation of souls through faith in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:15);
Make Christ Jesus their Lord, God and Savior (1 Tim. 1:12);
Bring hope, faith and agape in God (1 Cor. 13:13);
Attain the perfection of the faith (James 1:3 -4);

Service

Preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mat. 24:14);
Produce or bear fruits (Mat. 3:8; Luke 3:8);
Care for and insure that the fruits last, and become one Holy Nation (John 11:52; 15:16; 1 Peter 5:2; John 10:16; 1 Peter 2:9);

Scope
The whole world, to all nations (Mat 24:14; Luke 24:47);

End
The glory of the Lord God, Christ Jesus (Rev. 4:11)

Summary
In summary, the Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus is the SEED OF ONE WORLD, ONE NATION (SOW ON in short) which will be fulfilled in due time as promised by God Most High (El Elyon).
(Luke 8:5,11; Mat 13:31, 3 8; Mark 4:26; Acts 7:56)

Friday, May 18, 2007

2. Church Ministration

Theocratic-Democratic Monarchy

 
Theocratic-Democratic Monarchy, a monarchy in which GOD rules, is the form of government of the Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus.  It is democratic in that its people has choices (Eccl. 11:9), subject to the church policies, teachings and doctrines.  We were set free from sin (Satan) and have become slaves to righteousness (God) (Rom 6:18).

Spiritual Government

 
The Kingdom of God is not of this lowly world (John 18:36) but of heaven. This is in contrast with all nations in the lowly land, which is this entire world. Her government, headed by the Lord Christ Jesus (Col. 1:18) is spiritual and addresses the souls of mankind in all nations.
 

Legislative, Executive and Judicial Functions

The three (3) functions of governance—legislative, executive and judicial functions—are all carried out by the Lord GOD MOST HIGH Himself: 'For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King; it is He who will save us" (Isa. 33:22).
 

Head and King

 
MOST HOLY CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS is the Kingdom of God, and the Holy Nation. GOD MOST HIGH (El Elyon) who manifested Himself in the flesh in the name of CHRIST JESUS is the HEAD and everlasting KING of this nation which He solely owns (Isa. 9:6; John 1:1,14; Col. 1:18; 1Tim. 1:17; 1Peter 2:9-10).
 

God Most High Rules Full of Agape

 
GOD MOST HIGH (El Elyon) is the only RULER, the KING of kings and LORD of lords (1 Tim. 6:15). Love (agape) comes from GOD (John 4:7) because God is love (agape) (John 4:8, 16). And since He rules through His instruments (like Paul in 1 Cor. 14:37), they (instrumental servants) must demonstrate the AGAPE of the LORD in governing the faithful. The Lord has demonstrated this when He appeared to His disciples for the third time after He was raised from the dead, where for three times He repeatedly asked Peter if the latter truly loved Him.  Peter answered positively (John 21:15-17). The AGAPE of the Lord is not limited to His sheep (or people of God in Ezek. 34:31) when He instructed His disciples to care and feed them, but to the whole world (John 3:16) as well.

Monday, May 07, 2007

1. Values of the Church

Faithful 

 
All souls who have been taught, accepted and expressed his or her faith in all the basic teachings and doctrines of the Church, as administered through the consecrated Bishops, Presbyters and Ministers, and consequently baptized in the Most Holy Church of God in Christ Jesus shall be considered faithful (member).
 

Need For Discipline

 
The Church recognizes the need for discipline because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline;

God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?...Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good. That we may share in His holiness. No discipline is pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Heb. 12:6-7,10-11NIV).

Disciplinary Procedures

 
Disciplinary cases involving oral and written reprimand shall be decided by the Minister in the "ekklesia" where the faithful who committed the infraction is registered as a member.
An interim COURT shall be appointed by the Bishop from among the Church officers, to adjudicate disciplinary cases which carry a penalty of suspension or expulsion from the Church.

Disciplinary Action

 
The Bishop shall approve the final disciplinary action for cases carrying a penalty of suspension or higher.

He may, however, consult the Council of Ministers for advice on the action to be taken.
  

Expulsion

 
The Church through her instrumental Bishop reserves the right to take disciplinary action, including expulsion from the Church when warranted, against erring faithful, member, and/or official in order to preserve and defend the integrity of her systems of faith, teachings and doctrines; to maintain order and discipline; preserve unity between and among the faithful; and, to protect the interest of the Most Holy Church.