The Church of God, Jesus Witness Society
1. The LORD God
The LORD God is worthy to be blessed with glory and honor, who created and presides over all things in the heaven and earth and is almighty, omnipresent, eternal and full of kindness and righteousness.
(Genesis 1:1, Acts 17:24~29, Isaiah 40:28, Psalms 55:22, Ephesans 4:6)
2. Saint Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ has been with God since the beginning and created all things, and once was brought into and nursed in the body of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, and came to us as Christ following the prophesy and became the savior of our mankind. He came to the world and died on the cross at the cost of our sin offering, and then he resurrected in three days, and 40 days later was taken up to heaven. He is on the right side of God and performs the duty of the High Priest (John 1:1-314. Hebrews 8:1-2).
At the end of the world, he will come again to judge the dead and the living. (John 5:25-29, 1 Peter 4:5)
3. Counselor The Holy Spirit
Counselor the Holy Spirit is a gift promised by Jesus when he ascended to heaven (John 16:7-8 and row 1:8:9) and he is moved and at work in anyone who believes in and practices the new covenant. Counselor the Holy Spirit makes us realize the truth (John 16:13-14, 15:26) and master the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-16, John 14:26) and gives us beautiful fruit in action (Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
4. The Bible, The Standard of Faith
The New and Old Testaments are God’s complete revelation to mankind as God’s words recorded by God’s inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21). Therefore, we will find the eternal life by examining the Scriptures (John 5:39) but if we do not study the Scriptures correctly, we will be placed under a curse. (2 Peter 3:16) When we study the Scriptures, we must keep the difference between the New Testament and the Old Testament in our mind Also we should recognize that they all are the prophets and surely realize the prophecies of our time (2 Peter 1:19). In other words, all history of the Old Testament is the shadow of reality that will appear in the time of the New Testament. By looking closely at the shadows, we can learn about our time and the events that will appear before us.(Isaiah 46:10) For this reason, the standard of faith shall be the Bible, but we should follow in accordance with the rules of the covenant of God that is taught in each time. Some say, it is right to raise the standard of faith, and there are those who insist on vegetarianism with the Bible verse of Genesis 1:29 or those who claim nudism with the fact that Adam and Eve are not dressed in the Bible verse of Genesis 2:25. Also, there are some people who want to implement the system of meat-eating discrimination in Leviticus Chapter 11, the mysterious law of Moses.
In addition, saying that they are raising the standard of faith, some people set up the issues, which are not the lessons taught by God in that time, think impudently and raise the issues beyond God’s commands. This is the act of a false prophet. “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22) Therefore, besides the words taught by Jesus or the words taught by the apostles, the lessons without proof or accomplishment are the lies of the false prophet. To raise the standard of faith by teaching the things which are not taught by the Lord or the apostles is the way to make heresy. Almost all of the people who created heresy in the history of the Bible started with such issues.
Today we should be a sincere church by examining the lessons taught for three and a half years when Jesus was baptized and preached the gospel of heaven, the actual lessons practiced by Jesus, and the deeds performed by the apostles following the lessons of Jesus. They are the pure lessons which Jesus taught in the Apostolic Age with a new covenant. (“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’”Mathew 4:17) The Bibles says, “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Mathew 28:13-20) or “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:15) or “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice.” (Philippians 4:9) And “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:8~9). Another standard beyond this is all but a heresy.
5. Our Salvation
Salvation is the grace of God, who redeems humanity that are supposed to die as a result of the crime. God sent Jesus Chris, his one and only son, to pay for our sins and to give salvation for the eternal life of humanity. (John 3:16 & 17:3, Act 4:12, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Matthew 20:28 & 26:28) The terms of salvation are to believe in God and Jesus Christ, his one and only son, repent sin, be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, follow and practice the lessons of the new covenant, the covenant of Jesus Christ and maintain the testimony of Jesus for the rest of life. (Luke 22:7-20, John 6:53-57, Romans 10:10, Mark 16:15-16)
6. The Name of The Church
In the Bible, the place where the children of God called in Jesus Christ gather was called the Church of God (1 Corinthians 1:1~2, 11:22, 15:9, 1 Timothy 3:15), referring to those who preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as witnesses of Jesus. (Acts 1:8 & 2:32 & 4:33 & 22:20; Revelation 1:22 & 2:13 & 17:6) Therefore, the church is called the Church of God and the saints are witnesses of Jesus, so the church is named according to the Bible as “The Church of God.” The Church of God is characterized by keeping the commands of God. Witnesses of Jesus are characterized by keeping Jesus’ new covenant and holding to the testimony of Jesus. Therefore, pointing to the last church of God, the Bible says, “who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17) The Church of God is the witness of Jesus, who gathers to lead the dying mankind to the path of salvation and to preach the gospel of heaven to the whole world.
7. The Rituals of The Church
Once upon a time, the old covenant received from Mount Sinai ended with Jesus’ cross and is saved by performing the new covenant that Jesus taught.
A covenant means a promise of salvation, and we are promised by keeping the new covenant. Therefore, we cannot establish any lessons other than the new covenant as our creed, and no matter how good we think it is except the lessons taught by Jesus and protected and practiced by the apostles, we cannot establish them as doctrines (Galatians 1:6-10; Philippians 4:9; Ephesians 2:20-22).
■ New Covenant Rituals
The new covenant taught by the New Testament is as follows.
- Baptismal Service —————— a water-soaking ritual
(Mathew 3:16, 28:19, Acts 8:38-39)
- Maundy ——————————— feet washing ritual
(John 13:4-10; Exodus 30:17~21)
- Passover Feast — the new covenant by made Jesus’ last words
(Luke 22:7-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 6:53-58)
- Fasting Prayer in Holy Week —– It is a fast day that was designated during the life of Jesus.
(Mathew 9:14-15, Mark 2:18-20)
- Easter ————– The Easter day began on the first day of the apostles’ resurrection, and we are witnesses of this resurrection.
(Luke 24:30~43, John 20:19~23, Actes 1:22, 3:15, 4:33)
- Pentecost Prayer ————— It celebrates the day of the advent of the Holy Ghost.
(Acts 2:1 to 4:16, 1 Corinthians 16:8)
- Mission Meeting for The seven days of the Feast ———- The mission meeting for The seven days of the Feast is a lesson taught by Jesus himself.
(John 7:2, 14:16, 37:39)
The church of God, which was established as a new covenant, is following the rituals performed by Jesus and the rituals performed by the apostles. (John 13:15, Ephesians 2:19-20, Galatians 1:6, 6:9)
8. Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are the laws of the people of the kingdom of heaven, and the people of God must obey them. (Mathew 19:16-19, Exodus 20:2-17, James 2:9-111, 1 John 2:4, 1 Corinthians 7:19, 1 Timothy 6:14, Revelation 14:12)
John the Apostle recorded that the sanctuary of the new covenant in heaven also had the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments.(Revelation 11:19) But the Ten Commandments carved on the stone, an old covenant, were changed by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.(Hebrews 7:11-12, 8:1-8 and Matthew 5:17-28) Old law said that the sins of the father were punished through the three generations of his offspring (Exodus 20:3-6, Joshua 7:1-26) and that people should not light a fire in any of their dwellings on the Sabbath day (Exodus 35:2-3). However, in the new covenant, it was predicted that the sins of the father would not fall to the descendants and it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Therefore, we serve in the new covenant, and not in the old way of the written code. (Refer to Romans 7:5-6, 2 Corinthians 3:6-9)
9. The Rule of Tithe
The rule of tithe was not established by the law of Moses, but the rule of tithe began since Abraham, the father of faith, gave a tenth of everything to Melchizedek king of Salem, who was the symbol of Jesus who would come in the future.(Genesis 14:20, Hebrews 7:1-10) By giving to Jesus, the Melchizedek, who will actually appear, God made it a model to Abraham, the forefather of faith to make the word of life spread in the world. (Psalms 110:4, Hebrews 7:15-17) Then Jacob promised to give a tenth to God.(Genesis 28:22) Abraham’s deeds were kept in accordance with the law of Moses during the Old Testament, because they were to be done regardless of the New and Old Testament.(Leviticus 27:30) The prophet, who prophesied the end of the world, also warned that a man would be under a curse for stealing things from God.(Malachi 3:7-12) Jesus also said, “The tithes belong to God and do not be destroyed.” (Mathew 22:21, 23:23) The tithe is the tax of the kingdom of heaven. Each country cannot sustain itself without taxes. As such, we cannot preach the gospel in heaven without taxes. It is a sure fact that by paying good taxes, the country is doing well and so is itself.(Malachi 3:10-12)
10. Food Regulations
The regulation of food in Leviticus Chapter 11, the old way of the written code, was discarded by the cross of Jesus. (Colossians 2:14-16) The reason is that the old covenant is a prophecy of future events. The fulfillment of the prophecy of the food regulation in Leviticus Chapter 11 is as follows. The distinction of clean and unclean animals of Leviticus Chapter 11 is a prophecy that distinguishes the fleshly people of Israel from the Gentiles.” Therefore, the Israelites, who were marked as clean animals, were already God’s people and had no regrets, however the Gentiles, who were marked as unclean animals, waited for a permitted offspring to come, and they were all chastened by the sacrifice of atonement on the cross by Jesus Christ, who had been granted permission, and were not distinguished from the people of Israel. (Leviticus 11:26-28, Acts 10:10-16, Ephesians 2:12-19). So, Jerusalem’s General Assembly of the First Church, realizing this problem, abolished the food regulations in Leviticus Chapter 11 for the Gentiles returning to God, ordered people to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals.(Acts 15:28~29)
The apostle Paul then boldly told the Gentiles who had accepted the gospel, “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience.” (1 Corinthians 10:25-27, Romans 14:14) When he foretold that claims about food regulations would come out, he called it “the doctrine to abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”(1 Timothy 4:1-6) Other detailed explanations are described in the book “Food Issues Taught in the Bible”, so we should quit here.
11. Matters of Soul
The soul problem is a matter of great importance to all mankind. However, some people who study this soul problem say that there is no soul when a person dies, or even if a person dies, the soul remains alive. So what are the arguments of both sides based on? Of course, both will insist on the Bible. But if you look at the Bible passages both sides cited for their arguments, most of the Bible passages cited by those who claim to have no soul are Old Testament verses, and most of the Bible quotes by those who claim to have a soul are New Testament. So how do we interpret these arguments correctly from a middle ground? In this regard, the first thing we should know for sure is that the Old Testament is the shadow of reality that will appear in the New Testament. In other words, the Old Testament was the Moon and the New Testament was the Sun, which was temporarily illuminated by the light of the Sun that would appear in the future. Soul problems are also different from seeing in the moonlight and in the sun. The Old Testament is the shadow of the New Testament. The New Testament can be learned accurately in real life because they have become real.
The apostle Paul wrote about the enlightenment of the Old Testament and the New Testament. “This strange thing did not appear to the descendants of the previous generation (the Old Testament), but now you have presented it as a Holy Spirit to the holy apostles and prophets (the prophets in the New Testament).” (Ephesians 3:5) Therefore, you can learn the truth from the New Testament, which teaches the soul problem as a practical lesson.
The study of soul problems in the New Testament is roughly as follows:
[Mathew 10:28] Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
[Luke 12:4-5] A man who kills his body but can’t add…
[Luke 24:39] Young has no flesh and no bones…
[Luke 16:19~29] The Soul Problem of the Rich and the Lazarus
[Luke 23:42~43] Be with me in paradise today.
[2 Corinthians 5:6–9] I rejoice in leaving and living in the house of the LORD.
[2 Corinthians 12:2-3] I don’t know if he was in or out of his body.
[Philippians 1:20~24] Wants to leave and be with the Lord.
[1 Peter 3:18-21] Let him die by body and live by soul.
[1 Peter 4:6] Gospel to the dead, too.
[Hebrews 12:22-23] The spirits of the righteous that were intact,
[Revelation 6:9-11] Souls under the altar…
Considering the above recorded spiritual problems, it is clear that the soul is alive even if a person dies, or that the soul may leave the body or be in the body. “The body is the earth, and the soul is the God of God.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7) The Apostle John said, “There are the first death and the second death.” The first death is the death of the body and the second death is the death of the soul. (Reference to Revelation 20:6, 14, Matthew 10:28) There’s a book that gives you an easy-to-understand description of this spiritual problem.
12. Soul and Resurrection
When everyone dies, the body sleeps in the grave. But the spirits of the righteous rest in paradise and the souls of the wicked are imprisoned in hell, each waiting for a time of resurrection.(Luke 23:42~43, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23~24, Luke 16:19~31, 1 Peter 3:18~21, 1 Peter 4:5-6; 2 Peter 2:4) And all dead are resurrected. At the time of Jesus’ Second Coming, the reward of salvation is the resurrection, and the resurrection of the saints is called the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4~6), and the resurrection of the wicked after a thousand years is called the second resurrection.(Acts 24:15, 1 Corinthians 15:23-24, Revelation 20:7-15) But the majestic scene of Jesus’ Second Coming will not only be seen by thousands of angels of the universe, but by the souls of all those born in this world at once. (Refer to Revelation 1:7, Zechariah 12:10)
13. Second Coming and Judgment
The Second Coming of Christ becomes the only hope of the Church of God and the most central of all creed. He will come back to earth at the end of the world, judge the world, and build his kingdom and give it to the saints who are saved.(Acts 1:10-11, Daniel 7:27, Revelation 1:78, Matthew 19:28, Matthew 25:31-34, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) The Second Coming of Jesus will not be secretly reigned, but will make the whole world vibrate (Matthew 24:25~32, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Revelation 1:7). (1 Corinthians 6:2-4 Matthew 19:28, Revelation 20:4-6) At that time there will be the resurrection of the righteous, and the resurrected saints will judge the wicked in the millennium kingdom. Being a king means having the power to judge. Once upon a time, the king judged the people directly (1 Kings 7:7, 1 Kings 3:28) The resurrection of the wicked is supposed to take place for the judgement at the end of the millennium kingdom after Christ’s Second Coming (Revelation 20:5-15, John 5:27-29) According to its actions, a criminal soul will be sentenced to be thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur for an hour, a day, a year, ten years, a hundred years or a thousand years and then the soul will die. (Romans 2:6-10, Revelation 20:12, Luke 12:47-48).