The Assemblies of God denomination is one of the fastest-growing branches of Protestant Christianity in its 500-year history. The Assemblies of God shares many beliefs with other Christian churches, yet they have unique convictions as well. The 16 Fundamental Truths articulate their core beliefs, which are:
The Scriptures Inspired
The One True God
The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Fall of Man
The Salvation of Man
The Ordinances of the Church
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Sanctification
The Church and Its Mission
The Ministry
Divine Healing
The Blessed Hope
The Millennial Reign of Christ
The Final Judgment
The New Heavens and the New Earth
What do the Assemblies of God believe about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit? What is the denomination’s biblical support for speaking in tongues, healing, and miracles? Keep reading to learn more.
What does the Assemblies of God believe about Jesus Christ? See #3 below.
Here’s What the Assemblies of God Believe
The first version of the 16 Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God was written in 1906. The statement reveals significant harmony with other Protestant traditions, like Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian churches. However, there are certain statements that articulate unique convictions as well.
These truths are common to all Bible-believing Christian denominations: the inspiration of Scripture (#1), the Trinity (#2), Jesus Christ (#3), sin (#4), salvation (#5), the Church (#10), the Second Coming of Christ (#14b), judgment and damnation (#15), and a new heavens and new earth (#16).
These truths find some common ground with other Christian denominations: baptism and the Lord’s Supper (#6), sanctification (#9), ministers (#11), the rapture (#13), the literal 1,000-year of Christ (#14c).
These truths are unique to the Assemblies of God, though other Pentecostals are in general agreement with them: baptism in the Holy Spirit as a separate act following conversion (#7), speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of baptism of the Holy Spirit (#8), and divine healing (#12).
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.
Scriptural Support
2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21
Example: 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” (NIV)
The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM,” the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Scriptural Support
Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10,11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22
Example: Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (NIV)
The Adorable Godhead
Belief Statement
a. Terms Defined: The terms “Trinity” and “persons” as related to the Godhead, while not found in the Scriptures, are words in harmony with Scripture, whereby we may convey to others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished from “gods many and lords many.” We therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God who is One Lord, as a trinity or as one Being of three persons, and still be absolutely scriptural.
Scriptural Support
Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:16-17
Example: Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (NIV)
Belief Statement
b. Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead: Christ taught a distinction of Persons in the Godhead which He expressed in specific terms of relationship, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but that this distinction and relationship, as to its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible, because unexplained.
Scriptural Support
Luke 1:35; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Matthew 11:25-27; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 1:3-4
Example: Luke 1:35, “The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
c. Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Accordingly, therefore, there is that in the Father which constitutes him the Father and not the Son; there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Spirit which constitutes Him the Holy Spirit and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten, and the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty and His name one.
Scriptural Support
John 1:18; John 15:26; John 17:11; John 17:21; Zechariah 14:9
Example: John 1:18, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
d. Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are never identical as to Person; nor confused as to relation; nor divided in respect to the Godhead; nor opposed as to cooperation. The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son as to relationship. The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship. The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to authority. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation and authority. Hence, neither Person in the Godhead either exists or works separately or independently of the others.
Scriptural Support
John 5:17-30; John 5:32; John 5:37; John 8:17,18
Example: John 5:32, “There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
e. The Title, Lord Jesus Christ: The appellation, “Lord Jesus Christ,” is a proper name. It is never applied in the New Testament, either to the Father or to the Holy Spirit. It therefore belongs exclusively to the Son of God.
Scriptural Support
Romans 1:1-3,7; 2 John 3
Example: 2 John 3, “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
f. The Lord Jesus Christ, God with Us: The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is the proper and only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, He is the proper Son of Man. He is therefore, acknowledged to be both God and man; who because He is God and man is “Immanuel,” God with us.
Scriptural Support
Matthew 1:23; 1 John 4:2; 1 John 4:10; 1 John 4:14; Revelation 1:13; Revelation 1:17
Example: Matthew 1:23, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).” (NIV)
Belief Statement
g. The Title, Son of God: Since the name “Immanuel” embraces both God and man in the one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title, Son of God, describes His proper deity, and the title, Son of Man, His proper humanity. Therefore, the title Son of God, belongs to the order of eternity, and the title, Son of Man, to the order of time.
Scriptural Support
Matthew 1:21-23; 2 John 1:3; 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 7:3; Hebrews 1:1-13
Example: 1 John 3:8, “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
h. Transgression of the Doctrine of Christ: Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of Christ to say that Jesus Christ derived the title, Son of God, solely from the fact of the incarnation, or because of His relation to the economy of redemption. Therefore, to deny that the Father is a real and eternal Father, and that the Son is a real and eternal Son, is a denial of the distinction and relationship in the Being of God; a denial of the Father, and the Son; and a displacement of the truth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
Scriptural Support
2 John 9; 2 John 1:3; John 1:2; John 1:14; John 1:18; John 1:29; John 1:49; 1 John 2:22,23; 1 John 4:1-5; Hebrews 12:2
Example: John 1:2, “He was with God in the beginning” (NIV)
Belief Statement
i. Exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord: The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; angels and principalities and powers having been made subject unto Him. And having been made both Lord and Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father until the end, when the Son shall become subject to the Father that God may be all in all.
Example: Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
j. Equal Honor to the Father and to the Son: Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Spirit to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of Deity, and to give Him all honor and the glory contained in all the names and titles of the Godhead except those which express relationship (see Distinction and Relationship in the Godhead, Unity of the One Being of Father, Son and Holy Spirit , and Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead) and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father.
Scriptural Support
John 5:22,23; 1 Peter 1:8; Revelation 5:6-14; Philippians 2:8,9; Revelation 7:9-10; Revelation 4:8-11
Example: 1 Peter 1:8, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (NIV)
3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
Belief Statement
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His virgin birth,
Scriptural Support
Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31; Luke 1:35
Example: Matthew 1:23, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means ‘God with us’).” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His sinless life,
Scriptural Support
Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22
Example: Hebrews 7:26, “Such a high priest truly meets our need–one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His miracles,
Scriptural Support
Acts 2:22; Acts 10:38
Example: Acts 2:22, “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His substitutionary work on the cross,
Scriptural Support
1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21
Example: 1 Corinthians 15:3, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His bodily resurrection from the dead,
Scriptural Support
Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4
Example: Matthew 28:6, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare: His exaltation to the right hand of God,
Example: Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (NIV)
4. The Fall of Man
Belief Statement
Man was created good and upright; for God said, “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
Example: Genesis 2:17, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (NIV)
5. The Salvation of Man
Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Belief Statement
Conditions to Salvation: Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life.
Scriptural Support
Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11; Titus 3:5-7
Example: Luke 24:27, “and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The Evidence of Salvation: The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit.
Scriptural Support
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (NIV)
Example:
Belief Statement
The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.
Scriptural Support
Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12
Example: Ephesians 4:24, “and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (NIV)
6. The Ordinances of the Church
Baptism in Water
Belief Statement
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Saviour and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life.
Scriptural Support
Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47,48; Romans 6:4
Example: Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)
The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements — bread and the fruit of the vine — is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial of his suffering and death, and a prophecy of His second coming, and is enjoined on all believers “till He come!”
Scriptural Support
2 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 11:2
Example: 1 Corinthians 11:2, “I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you.” (NIV)
Assemblies of God Church
7. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Belief Statement
All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry.
Scriptural Support
Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31
Example: Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Belief Statement
This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth.
Example: Acts 8:16, “For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as:
Scriptural Support
an overflowing fullness of the Spirit
John 7:37-39, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” John 7:38 (NIV)
Acts 4:8, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!” (NIV)
a deepened reverence for God
Acts 2:43, “Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.” (NIV)
Hebrews 12:28, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (NIV)
an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work
Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (NIV)
and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost
Mark 16:20, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (NIV)
8. The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance.
Scriptural Support
Acts 2:4, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and use.
Scriptural Support
1 Corinthians 12:28, “And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.” (NIV)
9. Sanctification
Belief Statement
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God.
Example: Hebrews 13:12, “And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
The Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.”
Scriptural Support
Hebrews 12:14, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
Scriptural Support
1 Peter 1:15,16, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” 1 Pet. 1:15 (NIV)
Belief Statement
Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.
Example: Romans 6:13, “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” (NIV)
10. The Church and its Mission
Belief Statement
The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven.
Scriptural Support
Ephesians 1:22,23; Ephesians 2:22; Hebrews 12:23
Example: Ephesians 2:22, “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
Since God’s purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, to build a body of believers in the image of His Son, and to demonstrate His love and compassion for all the world, the priority reason for being of the Assemblies of God as part of the Church is:
Elaboration
To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world.
To be a corporate body in which man may worship God.
To be a channel of God’s purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son.
To be a people who demonstrate God’s love and compassion for all the world.
Belief Statement
The Assemblies of God exists expressly to give continuing emphasis to this reason for being in the New Testament apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This experience:
Elaboration
Enables them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural signs.
Adds a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with God.
Enables them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of fruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the edifying of the body of Christ and care for the poor and needy of the world.
11. The Ministry
Belief Statement
A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church in:
Scriptural Support
Evangelization of the world
Mark 16:15-20, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15 (NIV)
Worship of God
John 4:23-24, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” Eph. 4:23 (NIV
Building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son
Ephesians 4:11-16, “He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” Eph. 4:11a (NIV)
Meeting human need with ministries of love and compassion
Psalms 112:9; Galatians 2:10; 6:10; James 1:27
Example: James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (NIV)
12. Divine Healing
Belief Statement
Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers.
Scriptural Support
Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:14-16
Example: James 5:14a, “the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick” (NIV)
13. The Blessed Hope
Belief Statement
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the church.
Scriptural Support
1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51,52
Example: Titus 2:13, “while we wait for the blessed hope–the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (NIV)
14. The Millennial Reign of Christ
Belief Statement
The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years.
Scriptural Support
Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 19:11-14; Revelation 20:1-6
Example: Matthew 24:27, “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (NIV)
Belief Statement
This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel,
Example: Romans 11:26a, “in this way all Israel will be saved” (NIV)
Belief Statement
and the establishment of universal peace.
Scriptural Support
Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalms 72:3-8; Micah 4:3,4
Example: Micah 4:3b, “Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war.” (NIV)
15. The Final Judgment
Belief Statement
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
Scriptural Support
Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8
Example: Matthew 25:46, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (NIV)
16. The New Heavens and the New Earth
Belief Statement
“We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Scriptural Support
2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21; Revelation 22
Example: 2 Peter 3:13, “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (NIV)
Daniel's seminary degree is in Exegetical Theology. He was a pastor for 10 years. As a professor, he has taught Bible and theology courses at two Christian universities. Please see his About page for details.
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