Dogmatic explanation
In many ways, the dogma of Twelve Apostles’ Church in Christ is similar to that of numerous other Apostolic Churches but there are significant differences. Common ground is that we believe that there are Apostles here on earth today, carrying out the mission given to the original 11 disciples by our Lord, Jesus Christ. And here we start to differ from many of our brethren, e.g., why Matthias is forgotten: he was appointed by Chief Apostle Peter as a replacement for Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15-26)
We believe that distinction must be made between Jesus, son of man, of the house of David , Jesus son of David (Luke 18:38) and Jesus, Son of God, the anointed one, Jesus Christ. Jesus David was indeed an intelligent young man who had learnt much about Jewish religious beliefs in his upbringing and who knew his calling. When he followed so many of his contemporaries to the river Jordan and was baptised by John The Baptist, that was not the end, he was then anointed by God. The Spirit of the Lord descended on Him (in the form of a dove) and a voice from the Heavens spoke “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt.3: 17 ). Our belief is that there are 2 baptisms, the first by water, the second by the laying on of hands by a living Apostle, the baptism of The Holy Spirit: Jesus David was the human person, Jesus Christ is the spiritual person, the Son of God.
We believe that the Word of GOD has been entrusted to the Apostles and that the Bible is a history of the early Hebrew nation and evidence of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. “You search the scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me“ (John 5:39). If the Bible is not the Word of God, what is? The Word of God was entrusted by Jesus Christ to His 11 disciples as evidenced in John 17:14. “ I have given them Your Word”. Also ” For I have given them the words which you gave to me and they have received them and have known surely that I came out from you and they have believed that you did send me”. Out of this it must be accepted that the interpretation of the scriptures and the Word of God is in the hands of the Apostles, even more so in the hands of the living Apostles.
We believe that there will be no second coming as proclaimed by so many Churches. It has already happened. The Bible, as evidence, tells us that Jesus Christ did indeed say “ I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (John 20:17), but it also tells us “all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth…….:and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matt 28:18-20). Note the tense, “I AM with you”, not “I will be with you”. This means that He is with His Disciples even today. If He is here today, He cannot return.
We believe that there is a difference between disciples and Apostles. Jesus Christ was given 12 Apostles but only 11 of them were disciples. 11 were prepared to follow their teacher and learn from His teachings, the twelfth indeed followed the teacher but did not learn. This was all part of God’s greater plan for mankind, even that one of the Apostles was predestined to perdition (John 17:12).
We believe that The Holy Spirit can only be received by the laying on of hands by a living Apostle in the same way as the Bible testifies that the early Apostles laid hands on believers and they received The Holy Spirit (inter alia Acts 8:14-17). Likewise, only a person who has been anointed by a living Chief Apostle can be an Apostle. No person can proclaim himself to be an Apostle, only our Father can make this known to the Chief Apostle. In the same way as the 12 were given to Jesus Christ, God gives the chosen ones to His Church on earth. Let nobody be mislead by the events recounted in the scriptures concerning the earliest Apostles. Jesus was Anointed by God as the first of all Apostles (Matt.3:16) (Hebrews 3:1), He in turn breathed on the 11 Disciples when giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22), and, as an exception to what followed, Apostle Paul was told of his calling by God Himself and Ananias was given his instructions also by God. After these first anointments, all Apostles were appointed by Peter or his successors, like Apostle Matthias for example.
We believe that many are called but few are chosen (Matt.20:16), that this includes the multitude of false prophets, prophets not necessarily in the strict sense of the word but those who claim to perform miracles in God’s name (Matt. 7:21-23). How many self appointed Pastors claim just this? At the first commissioning of the Apostles, Jesus Christ specifically instructed the 12 to “go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘ The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.. .” (Matt.10:6-8). This was an instruction given to the 12, originally limited to “the lost sheep of Israel”, but later (second commissioning) to “all nations” (Matt.28: 19). Only an Apostle has this authority.
We believe in the process of cleansing and purification subsequently, after Jesus Christ had been to His Father and had been given “all authority in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18), He commanded His Disciples to extend the Gospel to souls destined for heaven and that can be done by the Chief Apostle as the successor of Chief Apostle Peter, the rock upon which Christ’s Church was to be built, against which the gates of Hades would not prevail, and to whom the keys to heaven had been given (Matt. 16:18-19).
We believe in the preaching to the dead and to the spirits (1 Peter 3:18-20) and the purification of these souls, the giving of the gift of The Holy Spirit to the living (Psalm 68:18) as well as the baptism of the living for the dead (1 Corinthians 15:29)
We believe that the only way to receive Jesus Christ is to receive the Apostles first, as Jesus Christ commanded “ whosoever receives you receives Me and whosoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (Matt. 10:40).
We believe that the Apostles are the only people who were given the authority by Jesus Christ to forgive sins on earth (John 20:23).
