Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Satan -- Review 1. Where do we find a description of Satan prior to his rebellion (two primary scriptures)? 2. Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 2. Provide scriptures which prove that Satan was created. Ezekiel 28: 15 3. How many angels followed Lucifer in his rebellion? What are they called now? 1/3 according to Revelation 12: 4; demons. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Satan -- Review 4. What does “Lucifer” mean? What does “Satan” mean? “light bringer” and “adversary” 5. List as many as you can of the names and titles for Satan found in scripture. Prince & power of the air; god of this age; liar; dragon; serpent; the enemy; roaring lion 6. How long will Satan be bound after Christ returns? 1000 years (the Millennium) Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs Church of God, a Worldwide Association Humanity Instructor: Jim Franks Date: June

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Fundamental Belief… Human beings, both male and female, were created in the image of God with the potential to partake of God’s divine nature as children in His eternal family. Humans are mortal beings relying on the breath of life and are subject to corruption and decay. They do not have an immortal soul nor do they possess eternal life at this time. Eternal life is a gift of God, given only to those who accept His calling and the terms and conditions expressed in the Scriptures. God gave Adam and Eve the choice of eternal life through obedience to Him or death through sin. Adam and Eve succumbed to sin by disobeying God. As a result, death entered the world. All humans have sinned and are therefore subject to death. In God’s plan it is appointed for man to “die once. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Garden of Eden Experience… Genesis 1: 26 -27 “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping that creeps on the earth. ’ 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Garden of Eden Experience… Genesis 2: 7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 1” 1 Hebrew is “chay nephesh. ” It has more the meaning of life in general and not a “soul” within a person. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Garden of Eden Experience… First use of “chay nephesh”… Genesis 1: 24 “Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature 1 according to its kind; cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind; and it was so. ’” 1 Hebrew is chay nephesh. Word means life or any living creature. Translated soul in other places. Concept of “immortal soul” is not found in this Hebrew word. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God vpn Nephesh (neh’-fesh) Strong’s Concordance… “soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion…that which breathes; living being; activity of mind; activity of will” “AV: soul 475; life 117; person 29; mind 15; heart 15; creature 9; body 8; himself 8; yourselves 6; dead 5; will 4; desire 4; man 3; themselves 3; any 3; appetite 2; misc. 47” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Nephesh can die… Ezekiel 18: 4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. ” Ezekiel 18: 20 “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The First Lie– Immortality… Genesis 3: 1, 4 -5 “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, ‘Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden… 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ’” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Does Man Have Eternal Life… Eternal life is a gift… Romans 6: 23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Does Man Have Eternal Life… Eternal life is a hope… Titus 1: 2 “…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The Spirit in Man… Concept introduced by Mr. Armstrong to the Church about 1968. “Spirit in man” or “spirit of man” is mentioned in the following scriptures: Proverbs 20: 27; Ecclesiastes 3: 21; 12: 7 Job 32: 8; 34: 14; Zechariah 12: 1 1 Corinthians 2: 11 -12 Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The spirit in man… 1 Corinthians 2: 11 “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God HWA described the “spirit in man” to a tape recorder and tape. Tape recorder would be your body and the tape would be everything that makes you who you are. The tape returns to God upon death; and the body decays. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The Spirit in man… 1. Is not the same as the Holy Spirit. 2. Is the spirit essence that separates man from the animal world. 3. Returns to God when a person dies (Acts 7: 59; Luke 23: 46). Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The spirit in man returns to God… Acts 7: 59… “And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. ’” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The Spirit in man… 4. Cannot function apart from the body. 5. Makes resurrection possible (John 5: 25). 6. Is not an immortal soul. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God What Happens When Someone Dies… 1. The dead know nothing (Ecclesiastes 9: 5). 2. He remains dead until the resurrection (Acts 2: 29). 3. No one ascends to heaven at death (John 3: 13). Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The dead know nothing… Ecclesiastes 9: 5 “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing. And they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God No one has ascended to heaven… John 3: 13 “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God What Happens When Someone Dies… 4. No one is put into the “lake of fire” at death. It doesn’t exist until Christ returns (Rev. 19: 20). 5. Hell (hades) is the grave (Rev. 20: 14). 6. The dead in Christ are resurrected at the last trump (1 Thes. 4: 16). Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Two Sections of Scripture that Document God’s Plan… 1 Corinthians 15 – The Resurrection Chapter 1 Thessalonians 4 – The Last Trump and Return of Christ Two Sections of Scripture Used to Prove You Go to Heaven When You Die… Lazarus and the Richman; The Thief on the Cross Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Lazarus and the Richman… 1. Luke 16: 19 -31 2. This is a parable, not a true story. 3. We are told that Abraham is dead (John 8: 52; Hebrews 11: 13). This must be a future time. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Lazarus and the Richman… 4. Verse 23– Richman opens his eyes in “hell” or the grave. He is being resurrected. 5. Verse 24– He is tormented by the flame. Greek here can be “in, on, at, by, with. ” 6. The richman was about to die in the lake of fire which is the second death (Rev. 20: 14). Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Study of the Greek Text… ojdunavw odunao {od-oo-nah’-o} “tormented” = sorrow 2, torment 2; 4 1) to cause intense pain 2) to be in anguish, be tormented 3) to torment or distress one’s self ---from Strong’s Concordance Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The Thief on the Cross… 1. Luke 23: 43 Bullinger’s Companion Bible… “I say to you today… Today—Connect this with ‘I say, ’ to emphasize the solemnity of the occasion, not with ‘shalt thou be. ’” See Deuteronomy 4: 26. 2. Punctuation as we know it, is entirely absent in the early Greek manuscripts. Greek word for “that” is “hoti. ” It is absent in this verse. 3. See Mark 14: 30 -- Same type of statement. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Use of Greek “hoti” (that)… Mark 14: 30 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times. ’” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God The Thief on the Cross… Luke 23: 43 “And Jesus said unto him, ‘Verily, I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise. ’” Luke 23: 43 “And Jesus said unto him, ‘Verily, I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with Me in paradise? ’” Luke 23: 43 “And Jesus said unto him, ‘Verily, I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with Me in paradise. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Spirit, Soul and Body 1 Thessalonians 5: 23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ” Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Spirit, Soul and Body (flesh) = Greek Soma Flesh, mortal body. Soul (life) = Greek Psuche Life. A body can be dead or alive. Psuche is the breath of life. Spirit = Greek Pneuma Essence given by God. Returns to God at death. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Summary of Humanity… 1. Man is mortal. 2. Man is in the image of God. 3. Man is born “neutral” in his nature and he has a choice whether to sin or not. 4. Man is a soul– He doesn’t have a soul. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Summary of Humanity… 5. Man has a spirit– the spirit in man, which provides intelligence and makes resurrection possible. 6. Man can have God’s Holy Spirit if he is called, repents, and is baptized. 7. Man is not pre-destined to be lost. Some may be pre-destined to be called. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Summary of handout… 1. Immortality is found only five times in the King James Version. 2. It is established by scripture that man is “a living soul. ” 3. There are numerous scriptures that contain the Hebrew word for soul– nephesh. None of these establish the immortality of the soul. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Summary of handout… 4. There are three Greek words in the New Testament for body, soul and spirit. None of these words support an immortal soul “doctrine. ” 5. The “spirit in man” is the essence that makes resurrection possible. Humanity

Fundamental Beliefs of the Church of God Assignment… Next Class– Sabbath, July 16, 2011 Sin and God’s Law Complete Review Sheet from Today Humanity