Intro to the History &

Theology of the Assemblies

of God

THEO 233D

Ag.org

The Start

 Between the Civil War and the close of

the 1800’s – conditions

 Fundamentalists and the Holiness

Movement

Bethel Bible College

 Director: Charles Parham

 Topeka, KS – January 1,

1901

 13 students in a barn –

praying and fasting

 Agnes Ozman

 Initial physical evidence

– speaking in tongues

W. J. Seymour

 Trained in the ministry

by sitting outside a

classroom window as

Charles Parham taught

– Texas

 1906 – secured a

building at 312 Azusa

St. in Los Angeles, CA

 Services from 10 am –

midnight everyday for

3 years.

Publication: Word and

Witness – E. N. Bell

 For information, teaching and organizing the

movement

 Called for a conference in Hot Springs, Ark in

1914

 300+ people attended

 The Assemblies of God birthed – E. N. Bell

elected the first Chairman of this new

fellowship

Why? 5 Reasons

1. Better understanding and unity of doctrine

2. To know how to conserve God’s work at home

and abroad (other countries)

3. To consult on protection of funds for missions

4. To help charter churches under a legal name

5. To consider the establishment of a Bible training

school with a literary division.

Doctrine Established

 16 Fundamental Truths of the

Assemblies of God – 1916

 1961 – Position Papers called “Where

We Stand”

 Commission of Doctrinal Purity – 1990’s

The Scriptures Inspired

Fundamental Truth of the A/G

 The Authoritative Rule: “The Scriptures, both the

Old and New Testament are verbally inspired of

God and are the revelation of God to man, infallible,

authoritative, rule of faith and conduct.”

 Three kinds of religious authority:

 A) human reasoning = rationality (the quality of being

based on or in accordance with reason or logic) vs.

rationalism (reliance of reason to validate religious

truth)

 B) the Church = apostolic succession (Peter)

 C) God’s Word = Hebrews 1: 1 – 2

The Revelation of God to

Humankind

 A) Natural/General Revelation: Romans 1:20, “Since the

creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His

eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen,

being understood from what has been made, so that

men are without excuse.”

 B) Conscience: Romans 2: 14-15, “Indeed, when Gentiles,

who do not have the law, do by nature things required by

the law for themselves, even though they do not have

the law, since they show that the requirements of the

law are written on their hearts, their consciences also

bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now

even defending them.”

Verbally Inspired Word of

God

 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and

is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and

training in righteousness, so that the servant of God

may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

 “theopneustos” = Hebrew meaning “God-breathed”.

This is not “dictation” – God spoke sometimes

audibly, sometimes through the heart/mind Spirit,

etc. The Spirit illuminates the mind of the writer and

reader.

 2 Peter 1: 16-21, “For we did not follow cleverly

devised stories when we told you about the

coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but

we were eye witnesses of His majesty. He

received honor and glory from God the Father

when the voice came to Him from the

Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I

love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We

ourselves heard this voice that came from

heaven when we were with Him on the

sacred mountain (transfiguration)…

 2 Peter 1 continued: “We also have the

prophetic message as something

completely reliable, and you will do well to

pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a

dark place, until the day dawns and the

morning star rises in your hearts. Above all,

you must understand that no prophecy of

Scripture came about by the prophet’s own

interpretation of things. For prophecy

never had its origin in the human will, but

prophets, though human, spoke from God

as they were carried by the Holy Spirit.”

 Jesus fully accepted the Torah (OT) in John 10:35,

“Scripture cannot be broken.” Also, look at Matt. 5:18,

“Until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest

letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means

disappear from the Law until everything is

accomplished.”

 Plenary Verbal Inspiration:

 Plenary = “full”

 Verbal = “spoken/inspired”

 Inspiration = discussed earlier

 The A/G holds strongly to the plenary verbal inspiration

of Scriptures – it’s message is absolute truth.

Peter’s view of Paul’s

writing…

 2 Peter 3: 15-16, “Bear in mind that our Lord’s

patience means salvation, just as our dear

brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom

that God gave him. He writes the same way in

all his letters, speaking in them of these

matters. His letters contain some things that

are hard to understand, which ignorant and

unstable people distort, as they do other

Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

The Infallible Rule

 Infallible = “incapable of error and therefore not

capable of misleading, deceiving, or disappointing us.”

(p. 26)

 Inerrancy = “exempt from error”- to the A/G, scriptures

are not inerrant.

 A/G strongly supports the infallibility of God’s Word but

recognizes recording/statistical errors are possible.

 “The whole Bible shows that He is reliable, dependable,

trustworthy, and His very nature guarantees the

authority and infallibility of His Word.”

T The Canon & Later

Translations

Canon = a rule, a standard, a measuring rod

39 Old Testament Canons – already established by the

time of Jesus’ incarnation (God in human form)

367 ad – Athanasius examining documents circulated

discovered there were 27 NT books/letters/canons

397 ad Council of Carthage

declared the NT had 27

books

4 NT Criteria:

1. Apostolicity = writer an apostle or one who had

seen Jesus?

2. Universality = was the book widely accepted by

the Church?

3. Contents = writings consistent with OT and other

NT texts?

4. Inspiration = does the writing have the divinely

inspired quality as the other accepted books have?

Dead Sea Scrolls

 Discovered in 1947 by a shepherd boy

 All or parts of all 39 OT canons – except

for the Book of Esther – were

discovered – Hebrew text

 Dated as early at 250 BC

 250 bc – 150 bc =

 Septuagint Version - Greek

Changing Translations

 312-320 ad = Jerome (Church Father) and

300 other priests/translators translated

the entire 66 books into Latin – called

the Vulgate

 1380 ad = John Wycliffe translated the

first English Bible. He died in 1384 ad.

Roman Catholic Church condemned his

work and by 1428 – most of his

handwritten copies were burnt.

 Printing press – 1440 helped spread the

Word

 1462 – 1522 = at least 17 translations of the

Bible were found in Germany

 Martin Luther influenced William Tyndale

who made the first most important English

translation of the NT in 1525. Tyndale was

arrested by the RC Church and burned at the

stake.

 Geneva Bible = English translation written by

English refugees who fled to Switzerland –

brought to America by the Pilgrims.

KJV

 King Henry VIII – broke off from the Catholic

church and created the Church of England

(Episcopal) 1530’s – varying translations were used

 King James I appointed several groups of Biblical

scholars who wrote the KJV in 1611. It was King

James who “authorized” this version.

 This was during the time when Shakespearian

English was very popular so that is what the

translators used…

The One True God

Fundamental Truth of the A/G

 “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.”

 Deut. 6:4

 Isaiah 43: 10-11

 Matt 28: 19 and Luke 3:22

 Deut. 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is

One.”

 Isaiah 43: 10-11 “…understand the I Am He. Before Me

no god was formed, nor will there ever be one after

Me…I Am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no

Savior.”

 Matt 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.”

 Luke 3:22 “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily

form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You

are My Son, Whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”

In Response to a 1913 Heresy…1916

“The Adorable Godhead”

 Terms Defined = Trinity (although not used in

scriptures) and Persons of the Godhead are in

harmony with Scriptures. Matt. 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.”

Note: “Godhead” “head” = the source from which all

things start. Paul used this term when stating that

man is the head of woman…meaning the source

from where she came…his side

 Distinction and Relationship in the

Godhead = Jesus identified the

Godhead in the terms of Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit. 2 Cor. 13:14

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus

Christ, and the love of God, and the

fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you

all.”

 Unity of the One Being of Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit = Father-Begetter; Son-Begotten; Holy

Spirit-the One proceeding from the Father &

Son. Zech 14:9; John 1: 18

Zech 14: 9 “The Lord will be king over the

whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord,

and His name the only name.”

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.

 Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead = The Father

is not from the Son – the Son is from the Father; the

Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son proceeding –

hence, neither Person in the Godhead exists or works

separately or independently of each other. John 5: 17-

30, 32 & 37

“’My Father is always at His work to this very day; and I

too am working’. For this reason they tried all the

more to kill Him…He was even calling God His own

Father, making Himself equal with God. ‘…I tell you,

the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only

what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the

Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves

the Son and shows Him all He does.

John 5: 20-27 ‘Yes, and He will show Him even grater

works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just

as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even

so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it.

Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted

all judgement to the Son, that all may honor the Son

just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor

the Son does not honor the Father, Who sent Him…I

tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who

sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has

crossed over from death to life…I tell you, a time is

coming and has now come when the dead will hear the

voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live

(rapture). For as the Father has life in Himself, so He

has granted the Son also have life in Himself. And He

has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son

of Man…

John 5: 28 – 30; 32 & 37 ‘Do not be amazed at

this, for a time is coming when all who are in

their graves will hear His voice and come out –

those who have done what is good will rise to

live, and those who have done what is evil will

rise to be condemned. By Myself (Jesus) I can do

nothing; I judge only as I hear, and My

judgement is just, for I seek not to please Myself

but Him Who has sent Me…There is another

Who testifies in My favor, and I know that His

testimony about Me is true…And the Father

Who has sent Me has Himself testified

concerning Me….’”

 The Title, Lord Jesus Christ = belongs exclusively to

the Son of God only. Romans 1: 2-3, 7

“the gospel He has promised beforehand through His

prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son,

Who as to His earthly life was a descendant of David,

Who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the

Son of God in power by His resurrection from the

dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

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.”

 The Lord Jesus Christ, God with Us = The Son of

Man, both God and man – Immanuel. His time on

earth.

Matt 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a

son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.”

Rev 1: 13, 17 & 18 “…I (John) fell at His feet…then He

placed His right hand upon me and said, ‘Do not be

afraid, I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One;

I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!

And I hold the keys of death and Hades.’”

 The Title , Son of God = eternal

The Existence of God

1. Ontological view = because god does not have a

physical existence – he is imperfect and therefore

non-existent

2. Cosmological view = the First Cause

3. Teleological view = Divine Designer

4. Moral view = every human being has a stamp of

right and wrong that is higher than his/her

existence therefore there is a god.

Attributes

 Omnipotence = almighty

 Omnipresent = all present

 Omniscient = all knowing

 God is good

 God is love

 God is holy

 God is righteous

The Deity of the Lord

Jesus Christ

Fundamental Truth of the A/G

The Lord Jesus Christ is the

eternal Son of God

1. His virgin birth = Matt 1:23; Luke 1: 31 & 35

2. His sinless life = Heb 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22

3. His miracles = Acts 2:22 & 10:38

4. His substitutionary work on the cross = I Cor 15:3 & 2

Cor 5:21

5. His bodily resurrection from the dead = Matt 28:6;

Luke 24: 39; I Cor 15: 4

6. His exaltation to the right hand of God = Act 1: 9 &11;

Acts 2:33; Phil 2: 9- 11; and Heb 1:3.

His miracles

 Acts 2:22, “Men of Israel, 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.”

 Acts 10:38, “John preached how God anointed

Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power,

and how He went around doing good and healing

all who were under the power of the devil, because

God was with Him.”

His sinless life

 Heb 7:24-26, “ …because Jesus lives forever, He has

a permanent priesthood…He is able to save

completely those who come to God through Him,

because He always intercede for them. Such a High

Priest meets our need – one Who is holy, blameless,

pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the

heavens.”

 1 Peter 2:22, “He committed no sin, and no deceit

was found in His mouth.”

His substitutionary work on the cross

 I Cor 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.”

 2 Cor 5:21, “God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for

us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness

of God.”

 I Peter 2: 24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on

the tree (cross) so we might die to sin and live to

righteousness; by His wounds we have been healed.”

His bodily resurrection from the dead

 Matt 28:6, “He is not here; He has risen, just

as He said. Come and see the place where He

lay.”

 Luke 24: 39, Jesus said, “Look at My hands

and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see;

a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as I

have.”

 I Cor 15: 4, “…Christ was buried, that He was

raised on the third day according to the

scriptures.”

His exaltation to the right hand of God

 Act 1: 9 &11 “…He was taken up before their eyes

and a cloud hid Him from their sight... ‘This same

Jesus, Who has been taken from you into heaven,

will come back in the same way you have seen Him

go into heaven.’”

 Acts 2:33 God has “exalted Him to the right hand of

God…”

 Phil 2: 9- 11 “…God exalted Him to the highest

place and gave Him the name that is above

every name, that at the name of Jesus, every

knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and

under the earth, and every tongue/language

confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of

God the Father.”

 Heb 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 of

heaven.”

THE OFFICES/Roles OF CHRIST:

 Prophet = the anointed Servant = Is. 11:2 & 3

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him –

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit

of knowledge and the fear of the Lord – and

He will delight in the fear of the Lord.”

 Priest = Heb 7:21 & 24 “The Lord has sworn

and will not change His mind: ‘You are a

priest forever.’ … but Jesus lives forever, He

has a permanent priesthood.”

 King = Rev. 5: 6- 13, “The I saw a Lamb, looking as if it

had been slain, standing in the center of the throne,

encircled by the 4 living creatures and the elders…

He took the scroll from the right hand of Him Who

sat upon the throne. And when He had taken it, the 4

living creatures and 24 elders fell down before the

Lamb…they were holding golden bowls full of

incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And

they sang a new song:

“You are worthy to take the scroll and open the

seals because You were slain, and with Your blood You

purchased men for God from every tribe and language

and people and nation. You have made them to be a

kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign

on earth.”

Rev. 5 continued:

V11 & 12 “Then I looked and heard the voices of

many angels, numbering thousands and

thousands,…sang,

“Worthy is the Lamb, Who was slain, to

receive power and wealth and wisdom

and strength and honor and glory and

praise.”