10. An Early Christadelphian Statement of Faith
What follows is an exact reproduction of the
original “Synopsis of the One Faith Taught by the Apostles”,
composed by Dr. John Thomas in 1867.
This synopsis was later referred to by Brother
Thomas himself as “a definition of the one faith and the one
obedience...the definer’s creed...what he believes and holds as the truth
as it is in Jesus.” He seems to have followed the pattern of the
Apostles’ Creed, reflecting the brevity and simplicity of that document,
while amplifying a few items.
This statement has been adopted by some
Christadelphian ecclesias, and is still in use today in certain
quarters.
-
One God, inhabiting light
unapproachable, yet everywhere present by universal spirit (irradiant from
Himself) revealed to Israel and manifested
in
-
Jesus of
Nazareth, a mortal man, who
was
-
Born of
Mary, by the Holy Spirit, and thus constituted the Son of God;
-
He was put to
death as a “sin
offering”;
-
Exalted
to the heavens “until the restitution of all things”,
-
Thus
confirming the Promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob;
and
-
The
Covenant made with David, which have realization
in
-
The Second
(personal) Coming of Jesus to the
earth;
-
The
Resurrection and Judgment of the whole household of God (just and
unjust);
-
The
bestowal of Immortality on those who are found worthy, and appointed rulers in
His
kingdom;
-
The
condemnation of the unworthy, to the second death;
-
The
enthronement of Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews, and of the whole earth;
-
The
establishment of the Kingdom of God (the kingdom of Israel), in the Holy Land;
-
Involving the
restoration of the Jews from dispersion;
-
The
destruction of the Devil and his works, scripturally understood as sin and the
lusts of the flesh, in every mode of manifestation, and
-
The
subjugation of all kingdoms and republics on
earth.
-
The
kingdom, in its mediatorial phase, will last one thousand years, and will
destroy “all enemies”, including death
itself.
-
The
human race is essentially mortal, under the law of sin and
death.
-
Jesus,
the Christ, through death and resurrection, brought immortality to
light.
-
Salvation
is attainable only by the belief of the things concerning the Kingdom of God and
the Name of Jesus Christ;
and
-
Baptism
(i.e., immersion) in water, for a union with that
Name.
-
It is
necessary to believe the Old Testament in order to have a correct New Testament
faith.