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Home , Churches of Christ, Finished Work, Holiness movement, Second work of grace

A Study of Denominations

1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV 1900) - 33 For is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the . Holiness Churches - Introduction

• In historical perspective, the Pentecostal movement was the child of the , which in turn was a child of . • Methodism began in the 1700s on account of the teachings of John and . One of their most distinguishing beliefs was a distinction they made between ordinary and sanctified . • was thought of as a which perfected the Christian. Also, Methodists were generally more emotional and less formal in their . – We believe that God calls every believer to holiness that rises out of His character. We understand it to begin in the new birth, include a second work of grace that empowers, purifies and fills each person with the , and continue in a lifelong pursuit. ―Core Values, Methodist Connection of Churches • By the late 1800s most Methodists had become quite secularized and they no longer emphasized their distinctive doctrines. At this time, the "Holiness movement" began. • It attempted to return the to its historic beliefs and practices. Theologian Charles Finney was one of the leaders in this movement. When it became evident that the reformers were not going to be able to change the church, they began to form various "holiness" . • These sects attempted to return to true Wesleyan doctrine. Among the most important of these sects were

the Nazarene church and the Army. Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement In The Church 1534 Anglican Church (Episcopal)

1738 Methodists

1784: Methodists USA 1814: African Methodist Episcopal (AME) 1880: Salvation Army 1887: Christian and Alliances 1908: 1901 1901: Bible students in Pentecostals Kansas speak in tongues 1886: (TN) 1907: Pentecostal Assemblies 1906: Azusa Street 1914: Revival begins with 1927: Foursquare William Seymour Charismatic: 1965: Calvary Chapel 1983: Vineyard Ministries Holiness Churches - Introduction

• American Holiness associations began to form as an outgrowth of this new wave of camp meetings, such as the Western Holiness Association—first of the regional associations formed at Bloomington, Illinois. • While the great majority of Holiness proponents remained within the three major denominations of the mainline Methodist church, Holiness people from other theological traditions established standalone bodies. In 1881, D. S. Warner started the Church of God Movement, later the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), bringing to the Holiness family. • Palmer's The Promise of the Father, published in 1859 which argued in favor of women in ministry, later influenced , co-founder of .The founding of the Salvation Army in 1878 helped to rekindle Holiness sentiment in the cradle of Methodism. • Though many Holiness , leaders, authors, and periodical editors were Methodists, this movement was not universally popular with Methodist leadership. • Southern Methodist B. F. Haynes wrote in his book, Tempest-Tossed on Methodist Seas, about his decision to leave the Methodist church and join what would become Church of the Nazarene. In it, he described the bitter divisions within the Methodist church over the Holiness movement. • In the years that followed, scores of new Holiness Methodist associations were formed -- many of these "come-outer" associations and various parties alienated by Mainline Methodism consolidated to form new denominations (e.g. the , the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Salvation Army and the Church of the Nazarene). Pentecostal Church- Introduction

• The Pentecostal movement, with beginnings from 1901 to 1906, represented a theological division within the Holiness movement. That division was essentially caused by a controversy over the evidence required to prove that one had been baptized with the Holy Spirit. • The precise beginning of the Pentecostal movement is usually traced to Charles Parham, a Kansas , who began in 1901 to preach `glossolalia' as the only evidence of one's having received the with the Holy Ghost and who taught that it should be a part of `normal' . • One of Parham's students W.J. Seymour, went to conduct a meeting in Los Angeles in April, 1906. • He soon rented an old Methodist church building at 312 Azusa Street and a massive revival was started. • The distinctive feature of this revival was Holy Spirit baptism with evidence of . • The Azusa Street revival is commonly regarded as the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement. Although many persons had supposedly spoken in tongues in the United States in the years preceding 1906, this meeting brought this to the attention of the world and served as the catalyst for the formation of scores of Pentecostal denominations. • Directly or indirectly, practically all of the Pentecostal groups in existence can trace their lineage to the Azusa Mission. Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement In The United States Pentecostal Church- - Introduction

• News of these activities in Los Angeles was carried in detail in Holiness papers and, in a few months, much of the Holiness movement had been converted to Pentecostal doctrine. • In the South especially, many entire Holiness denominations became Pentecostal. Other denominations, especially Baptist, had many congregations that were converted to this new doctrine. • spread very rapidly, particularly among the economically under privileged and African American communities. • As the movement grew, serious divisions occurred. The first concerned sanctification. – The "Holiness Pentecostals" believed that sanctification was a second work of grace, instantaneously received. Baptism in the Holy Spirit was thus considered the third step in the conversion process. – Those converted from a Baptist background, on the other hand, believed that sanctification was a , progressively received. Other differences also helped polarize the two groups. • Those from Holiness backgrounds believed the church should have a strong central government; "Baptist Pentecostals" believed in more congregational independence. • In 1914, the Assembly of God was formed. Doctrinally, this group took a non-Holiness view of sanctification; organizationally, church government was congregational. Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement In The United States Church of God- Introduction

Origins (1886–1902) – R. G. Spurling (1857–1935), a Missionary Baptist minister, and his father Richard Spurling (1810–91), an ordained , rejected some of the views of the in his area as not being in accord with Christianity. – R. G. Spurling disagreed with Landmarkism, an which held that only churches descending from churches with Baptist doctrine were true Church and that they should not associate with Christians of other traditions. – Spurling felt that there needed to be another reformation of the Church that went beyond the Protestant Reformation so that Christians would be united together by love and not by , which he believed divided. – On August 19, 1886, after being barred from his local Baptist church, he and eight others organized the Christian Union at the Barney Creek Meeting House in Monroe County, . – They agreed to free themselves from man-made creeds and unite upon the principles of the New Testament. – Between 1889 and 1895, Spurling organized three other congregations, all with the name Christian Union and functioning independently under Baptist polity. While this group would later disband and its members return to their original churches, the Church of God traces its origins to this 1886 meeting. Church of God- Introduction

Tomlinson era (1903–1923) • It would be Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson and his organizational skills, however, that would be responsible for the growth of the Camp Creek Holiness Church into a national denomination. • By 1905, there was a desire for greater organization among the churches. Delegates from four churches met at Camp Creek in January 1906 to conduct the 1st General Assembly of the "Churches of East Tennessee, North Georgia and Western North Carolina. • The 1st Assembly decided that foot washing was on the same level as the of communion and, like other holiness groups, condemned the use of tobacco. The name "Church of God" was adopted in 1907, and Tomlinson was elected general overseer in 1909. • As news of the Azusa Street Revival (Pentecostals) began to spread and reach the Southeast, Church of God adherents began to seek and obtain Spirit baptism. • Tomlinson, impeached because of financial bookkeeping, took his followers and formed a new group that eventually became known as the Church of God of . The other identified as the Church of God (Cleveland). • The practice of snake handling briefly became a controversy in the denomination in the 1920s after it was endorsed by George Went Hensley, a Church of God minister. The practice was quickly repudiated by the Church of God leadership and Hensley and the small number of congregations which practiced it left to become independent congregations generally using the name Church of God with Signs Following. Hensley died in 1955 after being bitten by a snake during a . United Pentecostal Church- Introduction

• Another division, this one over the number of persons in the Godhead, began in 1913 when Frank Ewart began to teach that "there was only one personality in the Godhead – -- the terms `Father' and `Holy Spirit' being only `titles' used to designate various aspects of Christ's personality. • These people believed that proper baptism was in the name of Jesus only and many of them were re-baptized in that name. In 1916, the Assembly of God officially rejected this doctrine and many individuals and churches left the Pentecostal denomination. • Several Oneness ministers met in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and on January 2, 1917, formed a Oneness Pentecostal organization called the General Assembly of the Apostolic Assemblies. It merged with Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW) and kept this name. • In 1925, three new Oneness churches were formed: the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance, and Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ. In 1927 Emmanuel's Church in Jesus Christ and the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ merged, taking the name the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ. • In 1931 the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ and PAW merged retaining the name of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. In 1932, the Pentecostal Ministerial Alliance changed its name to the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated • In 1945, several small sects merged to form the United Pentecostal Church, now the largest unitarian Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Despite these divisions, the Pentecostal movement continued to grow rapidly.

Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement In The United States Neo-Pentecostal Influence - Introduction

• At about mid- 20th century a new constellation of Pentecostal people appeared on the horizon. • The neo-Pentecostal is essentially an outburst of Pentecostalism in non-Pentecostal denominations. • The groundwork for this movement was laid in the 1950s by the Business Men's Fellowship International and since they popularized the Pentecostal movement among non-Pentecostals. ( helped its organization in 1960) • The exact beginning of the Charismatic movement is usually traced to St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, California, where in 1960, the preacher, Dennis Bennett, introduced tongue-speaking to several prominent members of that church. • This Neo-Pentecostal movement is similar to traditional Pentecostalism in that both emphasize Holy Spirit baptism with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues. It is different in that it is a movement within traditional denominations. • There is very little if any interest in separating from old ecclesiastical structures and building new ones according to the Classical Pentecostal pattern. Rather, present institutions are to be `renewed' by the Charismatic activity of the Holy Spirit as it affects the membership of a church or other group through the continued presence within the structure of individuals who have been baptized in the Spirit. Prominent Pentecostal Preachers

Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christian televangelist, ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches. He is considered the godfather of the charismatic movement and was one of the most recognized preachers worldwide at the height of his fame.

Jimmy Lee Swaggart (March 15, 1935) is an American Pentecostal evangelist. Swaggart's TV ministry, which began in 1971, has a viewing audience both in the U.S. and internationally. The weekly Jimmy Swaggart Telecast and A Study in the Word programs are broadcast throughout the U.S. and on 78 channels in 104 other countries, and over the Internet. At its height in the 1980s, his telecast was transmitted to over 3,000 stations and cable systems each week James Orsen Bakker (Born January 2, 1940) is an American televangelist and former Assemblies of God minister. With his former wife Tammy Faye he hosted the The PTL Club, an evangelical Christian television program from 1974 to 1989

Paul and Jan Crouch, Broadcasting Network - In 1973, Paul and Jan Crouch founded Trinity Broadcasting Network with partners Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, who are also connected to the Pentecostal movement. Today, TBN is the largest Christian network in the world, reaching 100,000,000 homes around the globe. The network features a variety of Christian ministers from Catholic to Southern Baptist, but its content is overwhelmingly Pentecostal and Charismatic. Neo-Pentecostal – Jesus Only Doctrine

Argument: "Since both Old and the New Testament emphatically declare that there is only one Lord, then it is evident that the Lord Jesus of the New Testament and the Lord God of the is the same Lord” Answer: No one denies that there is one Lord (Deut. 6:4; Eph. 4:5). The Godhead, Deity, is one in Lordship, in authority, but this does not affirm that there is only one person in the Godhead. "But to us there is but one God, the Father ... and one Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 8:6). "Grace ... mercy, and peace, from , and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father" (2 Jn. 3). (Cf. Psa 110:1; Acts 2:34-36) Argument: “From Isa. 9:6, Micah 5:2, and Jno. 20:28 the bible says Jesus is the Everlasting Father, the Everlasting God, which means there is only one person in the Godhead” Answer: Jesus has seed or children (Isa. 53: 10; Heb. 2:13). He is "The everlasting Father," but He also has a Father (2 Jn. 3). One is called "Father" by his children, and he is a son, but he is not his own Father, nor his own son. Jesus is Father to His children, but He is not His own Father. Romans 15:6 refers to "God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:3). Neo-Pentecostal – Jesus Only Doctrine

Argument: "Since both Old and the New Testament emphatically declare that there is only one Lord, then it is evident that the Lord Jesus of the New Testament and the Lord God of the Old Testament is the same Lord” Answer: No one denies that there is one Lord (Deut. 6:4; Eph. 4:5). The Godhead, Deity, is one in Lordship, in authority, but this does not affirm that there is only one person in the Godhead. "But to us there is but one God, the Father ... and one Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 8:6). "Grace ... mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father" (2 Jn. 3). (Cf. Psa 110:1; Acts 2:34-36) Argument: “From Isa. 9:6, Micah 5:2, and Jno. 20:28 the bible says Jesus is the Everlasting Father, the Everlasting God, which means there is only one person in the Godhead” Answer: Jesus has seed or children (Isa. 53: 10; Heb. 2:13). He is "The everlasting Father," but He also has a Father (2 Jn. 3). One is called "Father" by his children, and he is a son, but he is not his own Father, nor his own son. Jesus is Father to His children, but He is not His own Father. Romans 15:6 refers to "God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:3). Truly, Deity, God, is everlasting, but this does not say that Jesus is the only person in the Godhead. (Cf. John 1:1,14; 14:28; 17:5,24) Neo-Pentecostal – Jesus Only Doctrine

Argument: "the Sonship began, when God became a man ...There was no Son before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. . . ." The argument is that "In eternity God as an invisible spirit without flesh and bones ... who came in the form of man to become man s salvation." Answer: The implication is that Sonship could not exist without the human body, the flesh. But this proves too much. If there was no Son before Christ came in the flesh, then there could be no Son of God after he departed from the flesh. Jesus is not now in His fleshly body (Phil. 3:20, 21). If He were, we would be like Him (Cf. Heb. 5:7; 1 in. 3:2). If Sonship does not exist without "the body of his flesh" (Col. 1:22), then He is not presently the Son of God. Thus, the argument denies the Sonship of Jesus. It forces the Pentecostal Church to affirm that Jesus is not now the Son of God since He is not in His fleshly body. Their doctrine makes them "anti-christs." "He is anti-christ that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father" (I Jno. 3:22, 23).

Jesus was the Son of God before He was manifest in the flesh, "For God ... gave his only begotten Son" (in. 3:16), and "the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world" 0 in. 4:14). And now "he is the Son of God" (Acts 9:20; 2 Cor. 1: 19). Neo-Pentecostal – Jesus Only Doctrine

Argument: "John 10:30 and 14:9 are cited as evidence that Jesus is God the Father.” Answer: God and Christ are one, but they are not said to be one person. The Father and the Son are one in work (Jno. 4:34), creation (Eph. 3:9), word (Jno. 12:49; 17:8), name (authority - jn. 5:43), love (Jno. 14:23), protection (Jno. 10: 27-30), witness (Jno. 8:18), doctrine (Jno. 7:16), will (Jno. 6:38), and judgment (in. 5:22), but they are not said to be one in person.

Argument: "At the same time God was manifest in the flesh on earth he remained Spirit in heaven. For that reason Jesus could speak of the Father that dwelleth in me, and also speak of the Father in heaven. " Answer: The apostle Paul spoke of Christ that "liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20) and of Christ that was in heaven (Cf. Phil. 3:20, 21; 2 Thess. 1:7). Are Paul and Christ one person? Neo-Pentecostal – Jesus Only Doctrine

Argument: "The right hand is a symbolic term which means power and authority ... Therefore Jesus at the right hand of God, means Jesus has all the power” Answer: Jesus has all power, but it was, given" to Him (Matt. 28:18). Who gave it? In Hebrews 1: 3-8, the Father says to the Son, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever It was the Father who said unto the Son, "Sit thou at my right hand" (Psa. 110: 1). Paul says that God, the Father, "set him (His Son) at his own right hand in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3). Stephen saw "Jesus standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55, 56). Grant that the "right hand" is figurative; it still does not alter the fact that Stephen saw two persons, the Father and the Son. Neo-Pentecostal – Jesus Only Doctrine

"The Holy Spirit. - It is affirmed that (1) "God is Spirit." (2) "God is Holy." (3) "Therefore God is the Holy Spirit”.

By this same "logic" one could prove that there are many Holy Spirits. (1) Angels are spirits. (2) Angels are holy. (3) Therefore, angels are Holy Spirits. This would prove that any angel is the Holy Spirit just as quickly as it would prove that God is the Holy Spirit. Christians are to be holy (I Pet. 1: 15). Christians have spirits (2 Cor. 7:1). Are Christians the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is Deity (Acts 5:3, 4, 9), but the Holy Spirit is not God the Father because the Father sent the Holy Spirit (Jno. 14:26; 15:26).

“The Holy Spirit. - The United Pentecostal Church teaches that Jesus is the Holy Spirit because He said He would send the Comforter, and then He said, "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you" (Jno. 14:18).

Christ came in the power of the Spirit; the Spirit was representative of Christ. This is parallel to Elijah and . John the Baptist came "in the spirit and power of Elias" (Mau. 17:10-13; Lk. 1:17). The Holy Spirit was "another Comforter” other than the Son Un. 14:16). He was no more the Son than John the Baptist was the literal person of Elijah. Neo-Pentecostal – Jesus Only Doctrine

(1) "If there are three persons each raised Jesus from the dead. Acts 13: 30; Rom. 8: 11; Jno. 2:19". Answer: The persons of the Godhead act as one. What one does the other does. Jesus said, " The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things so ever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" (Jno. 5:19). The Father begat Christ through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1: 18, 20), and He raised His Son from the dead in like manner (Rom. 1: 4). See 2 Cor. 4:14 cf. Jno. 6:44; 2 Cor. 1:8.

(2) "If Christ and God are two separate persons there are two separate churches because the Church is called the church of God and is also called the " . Answer: The church is the church of God because Christ is Deity or God. Acts 20:28 speaks of "the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." Who purchased the church "with his own blood," the Father or the Son? So, the church is "the church of the Lord" Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28- American Standard Version). The "church of God" or the "churches of Christ" are scriptural designations of the church. It is worthy to note that the church is never called the "United Pentecostal Church." No mention is made of it in the word of God. If it were named, I suppose that would make three churches according to their reasoning!

(3) "If the Holy Ghost and God are two separate persons then Jesus has two fathers" . Answer: God is "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 15:6; Eph. 1: 3; 2 Jn. 3). He acted through the agency of the Holy Spirit in the conception of Mary (Mau. 1: 18, 20). Jesus knew and recognized the difference between His Father and the Holy Spirit. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, he shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" Un. 14:26). The comforter, the Holy Ghost, was sent "from the Father" Un. 15:26).

(4) "If there are three separate, distinct persons there should be three separate, distinct names, whereas there is only one name". Answer: The Godhead is one in name or authority, but not one in person. Name, singular, often refers to names, plural. In Isa. 9:6, "his name (singular) shall be called Wonderful, Counselor," etc. Here His name included a plurality of names. Gen. 48:16 says, "Let my name be named on them and the name (singular) of my fathers. Abraham and Isaac . . ." So, name (singular) may refer to a plurality of persons. See Jno. 5:43.