What We Believe

The following is given as material for Bible study and should be used with an open Bible and an open
mind to allow God to speak. It is not viewed as final authority but is seen as a sound approach to
Biblical interpretation. Some may interpret the scriptures differently than here presented. The
most important and central fact is that Christ is central in our lives, and those who believe that
Jesus is the Christ and accept Him as Lord make up His church.

GOD’S REVELATION
If man is to know God, then there must be some way for man to learn about God. God has revealed
Himself to man in a number of different ways. In this particular study, we will be considering four
ways in which God reveals Himself and His will. They are: natural revelation, revelation in Christ,
immediate revelation, and revelation through God’s word.

1. God revealed through nature.

God reveals or discloses His existence through His creation. Accidental development of the
universe has been compared to the probability of putting all the parts of a clock in a bag and
shaking them up and expecting the clock to fall together and run. Even the materialist who
refuses to accept God as creator and relies upon the development of the physical world by
accident, impossible as it seems, is forced to find a first cause, some force or being who
could provide direction for the design we observe in the physical world and planetary
system.
Psalm 8:1-9 Psalm 19:1-3 Romans 1:18-20

These testify to the fact that nature gives evidence of God. The orderliness of the
universe and the exactness of physical laws and timing give evidence of the creator, but
these do not reveal the character of God nor the way in which man may be in contact with
God.

2. God revealed in Jesus Christ.

God revealed His character in the perfection of the person of Jesus Christ who lived with
men and in whom men could see the action.

God, the Father, recognized Jesus Christ as the revelation of God.

Matthew 3:17 Matthew 17:5

Christ claimed to be the revelation of God.

John 8:19 John 10:30, 38 John 12:44, 45
John 14:6-11 John 17:21, 23

Those associated with Jesus believed that He was the revelation of God.
Matthew 16:16 Mark 15:30 John 1:1, 18

The Apostle Paul believed that Jesus was the revelation of God.
2 Cor. 5:17-19 Colossians 1:12-15 1 Timothy 3:16
Hebrews 1:1, 2
 3. God revealed by immediate revelation.
God revealed Himself to us directly by the Holy Spirit who Christ said He would send when
He went away (John 16:7). God may reveal Himself directly to us by a sudden, clear
understanding of a difficult passage of scripture or through a definite sense of His
direction for our lives. We can be sure that He has at His disposal adequate means to show
us His will. He used a donkey (Num. 22:30) to speak to Balaam and directed Paul (Acts 16:6,
7) not to go into Bithynia. God through His Holy Spirit gives direction in our lives by His
immediate revelation.

The immediate revelation of the Spirit of God is essential to man’s being able to understand
the things of God and the deep truths in the Bible.
John 14:16, 17, 26 John 15:26 John 16:13-15
1 Cor. 2:9-13

The immediate revelation by the Holy Spirit is the evidence to man that he is a child of God.
Romans 8:14-16 1 John 3:24

Examples of immediate revelation by the Holy Spirit:

Acts 8:29 Acts 9:3-7, 10-15 Acts 10:11-20
Acts 11:12 Acts 13: 2, 4 Acts 16: 6, 7, 9

4. God’s revelation through scripture.

Friends firmly believe the Holy Scripture was given by inspiration of God; and, therefore,
there can be no appeal from them to any other authority. They are able to make wise unto
salvation through faith that is in Jesus Christ; “These are written, that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through His
name” (John 20:31).
John 5:30 Acts 1:16 2 Tim. 3:15-17

MAN’S RELATIONSHIP TO GOD

It has been said that within every man there is a void, which can only be filled by God. If this is
true, and we believe it is, then the most important consideration with which we may deal is man’s
relationship to God. In order to adequately consider man’s relationship to God, we must first
consider the nature of God, then the nature of man, and thirdly, how man and God can get together.

1. The nature of God.

a. Eternal. God is eternal. He is not a created being. He always will be. (Genesis
1:1; Deut. 33:27; Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 57:15; Romans 1:20; 1 Timothy 1:17)

b. Unchanging. God has not developed from man or some lower form.
He is now as He always has been and always will be. (Numbers 23:19; Malachi
3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8)

c. Holy. God is absolutely holy and perfect in His moral nature. He is not subject
to degenerate thoughts or acts. (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 71:22; Isaiah 6:3; James
 1:13; 1 Peter 1:16; Revelation 4:8)

d. Triune. God is one God who reveals Himself in three personalities, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1:1, the word God is taken from the
Hebrew word Elohim, which is a uni-plural noun.
We must remember that the true concept of the Trinity does not give us three
gods but one God revealed to us in three ways. Jesus said, “I and my father are
one” (John 10:30).

Note that Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as another person but also says in
reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit, “I will come to you” (John 14:18),
and “a little while and ye shall see me” (John 16:16), indicating His unity as the
Holy Spirit. Paul says, “Christ in you” (Col. 1:27), speaking of the Spirit.

Jesus speaks of the triune God in John 14:26. Jesus speaks of God as his
father in Matthew 11:25-27; John 5:18-47; and John 14:6-10. God calls Jesus
His Son in Matthew 3:17. Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit in John 14:26; John
15:26; and John 16:7.

e. Unlimited. God is not limited in space. 1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7-10; and
Jeremiah 23:23, 24. He is unlimited in knowledge. He knows all things and is
infinitely wise. 1 Kings 8:30; Psalm 139:1-4; Psalm 147:5; and Hebrews 4:13. He
is unlimited in power. Genesis 35:11; Jeremiah 10:12; Matthew 6:13; Romans 13:1;
and Revelation 19:6.

f. Personal. God is not simply a first “great cause” who created all things and then
left them to their fate. He has a personal interest in his creation and makes
personal contact with individuals. God spoke to Moses as a friend (Exodus
33:11).

1 Kings 8:39 Matthew 6:32 John 1:9

Revelation 3:20

g. Loving. God loves mankind, desires communion with man, and displays His love in
the face of man’s sin.
Jeremiah 31:3 John 3:16 Ephesians 2:4, 5;
Ephesians 3:14-19 1 John 4:10

h. Just. While God loves all men, He is absolutely fair and maintains justice. He
keeps a perfect balance between love and justice. Love does not permit
indulgence of sin.
2 Chron. 19:7 Exodus 34:7 1 John 1:9

Note: The problem of evil in a world created and sustained by God is a difficult
one. We must realize that God does not force His will on man but rather leads
us into His will. This allows us the final choice of obedience or disobedience: we
 can see why evil things can happen even to Christian people through the actions
of others who are disobedient or through disease which is the result of sin. God
does not create evil, but He allows man to choose to do evil. Even then,
however, he reverses the tables on Satan and turns it out for good to the
Christian.
Romans 8:28 Genesis 50:20

2. The Nature of Man

a. How man’s sin began
Law and order are basic to the universe. The earth moves according to definite
laws. The existence of life is dependent upon the laws of life. Man’s
relationship to God was and is dependent upon obedience to God’s laws.

God told the first man, Adam, he could eat of the fruit of all the trees in the
garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If he ate of it, God said
he would die (Genesis 2:16, 17). The penalty of death was both spiritual
separation from God and physical death.
Romans 5:12 Romans 6:23

The apostle Paul in Romans 5-8 talks of this penalty and indicates that there is a
spiritual and physical redemption.
Romans 8:21-23

Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s law (Genesis 3:6); and so doing, they corrupted
the race they established and broke their fellowship with God (Genesis 3:8, 23).
They could eat of the tree life; but when they disobeyed God, the penalty was
death. Man was, therefore, expelled from access to the tree of life.
Romans 3:10-12 Romans 3:23

b. Why men sin.

Men seem to sin by “just doing what comes naturally”. A small child doesn’t need
to be told to disobey; he is just naturally selfish and must be taught to respect
others rights and show love. Because of man’s

nature to sin, all have disobeyed God and are guilty before Him. All have sinned
at some point in their lives.
Romans 8:7, 8 Ephesians 2:1-3

Natural man can’t receive the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14).

Proverbs 14:12

Man is self-centered. He was made to live in fellowship with God; but when he
places his own desires before God and acts in disobedience to God, he separates
himself from God just like Adam.
Isaiah 53:6 Ezekiel 18:20 Romans 1:21
Romans 5:12
 In the Richmond Declaration of Faith, we find the following statement of Friends’ belief:
“We own no principle of spiritual light, life or holiness inherent by nature in the mind or
heart of man…we disavow all professed illumination or spirituality that is divorced from
faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified for us without the gates of Jerusalem.

But while we hold these views of the lost condition of man in the fall, we rejoice to believe
that sin is not imputed to any, until they transgress the divine law, after sufficient capacity
has been given to understand it; and that infants though inheriting this fallen nature, are
saved in the infinite mercy of God through the redemption which is in Christ.”

While man is not responsible for his inherited sin nature and God does not impute sin until
there has been an act of sin, man’s nature of sin leads him into acts of sin. He becomes
responsible for sins committed after he has the capacity to know right from wrong. It is
the testimony of the scriptures and human experience that all have sinned in thought or
deed.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 Romans 3:23 Galatians 3:22

We are thankful to God for His mercy in making it possible for man to be delivered from
both the power and guilt of sin through Jesus Christ.

HOW MAN AND GOD CAN GET TOGETHER

God’s remedy for sin is designed to deliver man from the effects of sin and restore him to his
position before the fall. This is accomplished in the life of an individual through accepting Christ as
Savior (conversion), making Him Lord of his life (Christian perfection of Holy Spirit fullness), and
trusting in the eventual completion of the saving work of God in the resurrection. Man’s conversion
and resurrection are provided by the death and resurrection of Christ. The Lordship of Christ is
accomplished by the individual’s sincere obedience to the Holy Spirit.

In Christ, man may be reconciled to God (Col. 1:20). The death of Christ paid for our sin and made
it possible for us to be put back into fellowship with God and share eternal life with Him. Even the
body has been redeemed from the death penalty and will be changed and raised at Christ’s coming.

1. Conversion.
Conversion involves a change of character, action desires, interests, and direction in life.
As sinners, we served Satan; but through conversion, we are changed to serve God (Romans
6:16-18).

The death of Christ provides justification of the sinner before God and the satisfaction of
the death penalty for sin. Through Christ, we are made just before God.
Acts 13:39 Romans 3:24-26 Romans 5:1
Romans 6:23

Conversion involves regeneration, or a changed nature.

Titus 3:5 2 Cor. 5:17 Galatians 6:14, 15
Ephesians 2:8-10
 This change delivers from the necessity of continual sinning.
Romans 6:1, 2, 12-14 1 John 2:1

Conversion requires an act of repentance and faith in Christ.

Luke 13:3 John 3:16 Acts 3:19
Ephesians 2:8, 9 Hebrews 11:6

2. Christian purity.
The doctrine of Christian purity is entirely consistent with the plan of God for man and with
God’s requirements as revealed in the Bible. To deny this is to insist that God’s power and
provisions of grace are insufficient to counteract the destructive work of Satan.
1 John 2:1 1 John 3:5-8

Christian purity denotes a work of grace by the Holy Spirit in the life of one who is fully
surrendered to the will of God that results in the perfection of motives, desires, and
attitudes toward God. It involves cleansing from the pollution of sin and deliverance from
the sin nature.
Luke 1:73-75 Romans 6:6-11 2 Cor. 5:17
Colossians 3:1-3, 10 Ephesians 4:22, 23 1 Thess. 5:23
1 Peter 1:15, 16

3. Resurrection.
The final defeat of sin and its effect on man will be accomplished in the resurrection. God
through faith in Christ thus restores us to fellowship with Himself. As we continue to walk
according to His will, in obedience, we are perfect before Him (1 John 1:7).
Romans 8:22-23 1 Cor. 15:40-46 1 Cor. 15:51-54
Revelation 21:4

We firmly believe that God never takes from man his right of free moral agent. Thus,
there is no relationship to God or state of grace, however blessed, from which man could
not depart temporarily or eternally if he so chooses. Scripture repeatedly exhorts us to
walk close to God and refuse sin lest we fall. We rejoice that the presence of Christ is so
sweet to the fully yielded heart that the susceptibility to falling is so greatly diminished.
We are secure in Christ but may remove ourselves from Christ’s hand.

Let us note some exhortations and warnings.

Matthew 24:12, 13 John 15:6 Hebrews 2:1
1 John 2:4-6

Additional scriptures:
Romans 11:20-22 1 Cor. 9:27 Galatians 5:19-21; 6:7-8
James 5:19-20