John Dao Statement of Faith Prof Anders TH607

I.

Introduction I, John Dao, am a Christian. What exactly this means is attempted to be displayed here. These beliefs are the result of an interpersonal discourse and revelation of Jesus Christ and are reflective of how I see and view my God and Savior. My experience of God has been through the lens of my Catholic upbringing and my subsequent conversion to the Pentecostal/Assemblies of God movement of the Protestant tradition as well as my exposure to multiple other Evangelical Christian traditions, most notably the reformed tradition.

II.

Epistemology The nature of God s discourse and the basis of my faith is twofold. He reveals Himself through his created order but more importantly through his own willful transmission of his person, character, and being throughout history as recorded the Holy Scripture. As both this general (natural) and specific (special) revelation are from God and both in essence communicate who God is, they consequently can never disagree and are to be understood as one cohesive account of who God is. Each one sheds light on the other. A. Creation (Natural Revelation) The entire created order of the universe displays God s glory. (Ps 8) Since the creation of the world, God has made his power and divine nature clearly visible from what he has made. (Rom 1:19-20) However, what we can know of God through general revelation is limited and inferred, yet it is sufficient to conclude that there is a Creator and that he is both powerful to create and glorious to behold. From Creation we understand God to be mysterium tremendum et fascinans, that fearful and wonderful divine mystery. B. Holy Scripture (Special Revelation) But God was not content to remain a mystery but has chosen to reveal Himself personally, first to his chosen people Israel, and then to the entire world in Jesus Christ. God wants to be known by mankind and has revealed Himself. The Holy Scriptures, understood to be comprised of both Old and New Testaments comprising 66 books, record not a history but an accounting of this creator God s interactions and self-disclosure to humanity. The Holy Scriptures were written by God, the Holy Spirit, through his prophets (Acts 4:25) and are thus a perfect accounting of who God is. It is inerrant because God is not a liar. (Num 23:19).

It is not only an account of the character of God and how he relates to his creation, but also contains instruction on how creation is to relate to Him and is thus the canon, or rule, by which God has ordained life to live because all other ways lead to death. (Lev 18:5; Deut 8:20) Because the Scripture is God s Word, it carries with it the full authority and power of God to will and to work God s plans and purposes for salvation and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness for all Scripture is God-breathed . (2 Tim 3:15-16) III. Doctrine of God What first must be said is that God is not man and man is not God. They are distinct. (Num 23:19; Isa 58:8-9) God is holy. There is no one like the LORD. (1Sam 2:2) He is completely unique and distinct. This is what God testifies about Himself through the Holy Scriptures as I understand it. God is unknowable unless he makes himself known. A. Divine Essential Attributes 1. God is a se, i.e. self-existent and independent. God is the ground of his own being and has life in and of Him. He needs nothing else. (Acts 17:24-25) 2. Because he is self-existent and has life in and of Himself, he is the ground by which all life draws its breath for in Him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28) He is the cause and beginning of all there is (Gen 1:1) and all things belong to Him.(Ps 24:1) God cannot not be for he is existence, the great I AM . 3. Through the grandeur of creation, we see that God is omnipotent not because He can do anything He likes (although he is free to do so), but because He can do anything He wills. Nothing is too hard for Him. (Jer 32:17; Mk 10:27) 4. Because of his omnipotence, God is sovereign for no one can reverse God s rulings or judgments or actions (Is 43:13). All things submit to God s will, the basis of which is his own good pleasure (Eph 1:9,11). He is the only being free to act and do as he pleases. 5. Yet, God can be trusted not to abuse his power and authority because of his character revealed through the giving of His divine name: The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children s children, to the third and the fourth generation. (Ex 34:6-7) His freedom is bounded by his character, and yet God can choose to be whoever he wishes to be, but he has chosen to be the following: a) God is good and his love endures forever (Ps 118:1). b) God is also love. (1Jn 4:16) c) He is also the Way, the Truth, and the light of Life and in Him there is no darkness (Jn 14:6; Jn 1:4; 1Jn 1:5).

d) God is also holy and is the one who makes his people holy. (Lev 20:78; Is 6:3; Rev 4:8) Because he is holy, he is distinct and unique and because his holiness is an essential attribute, he defends and protects it e) And not only is he holy, but he is also righteous, exacting justice and restoring all things to their proper places. (Deut 32:4; 2 Thes 1:6) In short, God has chosen to be a God of love and justice, a God for us who chooses to love us and discipline us only because it is his good pleasure to do so. God needs no other reason. 6. God is able to be righteous because he is also Omniscient, knowing all things. (Ps 147:5; Acts 15:18) He is able to be objective, seeing every perspective all at once For the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. (1Chr 28:9) Because of this, He is just in his discernment. 7. God is infinite and incomprehensible (Rom 11:33-34), but all that God has revealed is necessary and sufficient for our salvation so that we might proclaim his glory and sing his praises. There is not enough room in the world for all the books that would be written about Him. (Jn 21:25) B. The Trinity God is one (Deut 6:4) and there are no other gods but Him (Isa 45:5). However, he exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are distinct from each other, each having their own will, attributes, works, identity and personhood. They are separate but inseparable. Each one can only be fully understood in light of the other two. His nature is a divine perichoresis, each person intimately entwined, working together to display externally the workings of his internal nature. They all share essential attributes, but also individually have personal attributes. 1. The Person of the Father The Father is the creator of heaven and Earth, all that is seen and unseen. He is the source of all things and in Him all things find their being. He sets the times and places of all things and is the sovereign head of the Trinity. He is the provider of his children and is completely invisible. No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son has revealed Him. (Mt 11:27) He gives strength to the weak and power to the powerless (Isaiah 40:29) and he defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. (Deut 10:17) He is God in heaven and is our heavenly Father. (Matt 6:9) His name is Holy and worthy of praise. He elects and ordains and predestines people for salvation. (Jn 6:44; Eph 1:3-14) 2. The Person of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. (Col 1:15) He is of one being with the Father, sharing his same divine nature. He is both fully God and fully man. Through Him all things were made for Him and by Him. (Rom 11:36) He is also the image of the invisible God, God the Father. He existed since before the dawn of creation and in Christ all things are held together. He is the head of the Church and the firstborn of the dead. Through Him the entire world was reconciled to God the Father. (Col 1:15-20) He was slain from the foundation of the world and is integral in God s plan of salvation since before creation. He is the means of salvation. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one can come to the Father except through Him. (Jn 14:6) He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and the promised Shepherd king from the line of David who has come to lead his people to salvation. (Isa 40:10-11) Jesus Christ does only what his Father in heaven does and says only what the Father tells Him. (John 5:19) He has been sent from the father and by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35) was born of the Virgin Mary. He alone is the executor of the Father s will for the salvation of the elect. (Jn 5:36) He was raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:11) and has been exalted to the right hand of the Father where he sits rightfully as the judge over all mankind. He has been proven just and the one who justifies those who have faith. (Rom 3:21-26) He is the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords. (Rev 19:16) He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. (2Pet 3:3-13; 1 Thessalonians 4:15 17) He alone separates out the sheep from the goats for he knows His sheep and the ones entrusted to his care. (Mt 25:31-46; Jn 10:14; Jn 6:39) He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the Last, the Beginning and the End and he is coming back like a thief in the night. (Rev 22:12-13; 2Pet 3:10) 3. The Person of the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. He testifies about Christ through the prophets and comes with power upon God s chosen people so they might testify as well. (Jn 15:26; Acts 1:8) He convicts the world of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment. (Jn 16:8) He is the Spirit of Truth which guides us into all truth, teaching us and reminding us of all that Jesus has said. (Jn 14:26; Jn 16:13,14) He enables our minds to understand spiritual truths. (1Cor 2:12) He is our Counselor who guides us. He is the Spirit of Sanctification, the Spirit of Holiness, who purifies us and produces in us every good fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol. (Gal 5:22-23) He works to transform us into the image of Christ. The Spirit allows us to live not under the law, but by grace. (Gal 5:18) The Spirit gives us the power to do what the Law alone could not do (Rom 8:5)

He indwells in all those who belong to Christ and leads them and thereby makes them holy. (Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 3:16) He is the guarantee of what is to come and the seal and assurance of our salvation. (Eph 1:13; 4:30; 2 Cor 1:21; 5:5) He is our subjective experience of God s revelation and applies the objective works of the Father and the Son to our lives as he clothes us in righteousness. (Luke 24:49) The Holy Spirit is He who sustains us and empowers us with gifts (such as listed in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:810; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; and 1 Peter 4:11) so that we may testify about Christ and worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. IV. Doctrine of Creation A. Purpose of Creation The purpose of creation is to display the wonder and majesty of a glorious God. (Ps 19:1; Ps 96:11-13; Ps 148:3-4,7-10; Ps 150:6) The end of all creation is the glorification of God for He ordains praise from babes and infants (Ps 8:2) and even stones will cry out in praise if man did not (Lk 19:40). Praise and worship is the only proper response to the highest and ultimate being. To worship God is the same as fulfilling one s ultimate purpose and finding perfection and one s proper place in the universe. God opposes those who do not respond to Him appropriately, that is to bear the fruit of life through the reflection of that which is life. Anything short of this reflection of God is a denial of God s glory and is thus a denial of what is truly good and truly Life. God s opposition to our failure to worship Him stems from his refusal to watch us destroy ourselves. To worship God is to be fully human. B. Theology of Creation God created the world perfect and good, without fault and without error. He did this within six days and on the seventh day he rested from his work. God does not make static and lifeless things, but things that live, move, breathe, learn, grow, change, and evolve. He created the entire span of time from start to finish in a single instance, both beginning and end, because he is outside of time. Creation is already finished, but in our own experience of time has not yet come to completion. Therefore God knows the end and can reveal what must happen in the future because it has already happened. He knows every result before it occurs and has orchestrated all things, leaving nothing to chance. Because God is sovereign, his purpose in creation has already in accomplished in Christ and although it is opposed by Satan, he ultimately cannot frustrate God s plan no matter how hard he tries. Satan works in vain, for God has destroyed all his works. C. The Nature of Created Mankind Mankind was created in the image of God, both male and female. However, Satan s first futile attempt to frustrate God s plan was deceiving Adam and Eve. They gave the serpent the dominion God had entrusted to them by obeying the Serpent rather

than God. And so it is with every man and woman who still bears the weight of this Original Sin. Mankind has fallen and unable to serve God because they are in chains in service to Satan. V. Doctrine of Salvation There are five essential points to salvation A. Total Depravity- Mankind is unable and unwilling to affect his own salvation due to their own sin which blinds them to grace. If not for God s law, we would be unaware of our own sin. B. Unconditional Election - Election is the immutable action of God from eternity and is founded upon God s character and the direct consequence of God s holiness to establish a chosen people for his purposes. Justification depends solely on the grace of God and belongs only to those whom God wills it. He elects some for salvation and some for destruction. Only God knows the elect and only Christ is elect. Through faith in Christ we become one with Christ and become elect only as we remain in Him, but it is the working of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to give faith. C. Limited Atonement Not everyone will be saved, but only those whom God has chosen. God is just in this because he did not have to choose to save any for all have fallen short and are deserving of Death. God s inequity is not his injustice. Christ died to give his life as a ransom for many, not all. (Mark 10:45) D. Irresistible Grace People cannot choose hell anymore than a prisoner can choose jail they are already condemned. Grace is not resisted, as it is present and available to all, but is simply not always understood as grace (see point A), which comes through the revelation of God alone and no one can recognize the Father unless the Father reveals Himself to them in Christ (see point B). No one will choose Christ unless God causes them to see Christ s true identity (see point A). Grace is resisted in as much as God Himself causes you to resist it in his judgment for Christ has been revealed unto the entire world (see point C). Once grace is realized, the Holy Spirit brings the elect to faith through repentance and regeneration and sustains them by his presence. E. Perseverance of the Saints Because God has elected for Himself a people from the nations, he perseveres them in faith until the end so that they might not be lost. God gives the faith which is necessary and sufficient for salvation. Salvation cannot be lost because it is brought about by God. The Father wills it, Christ accomplishes it, and the Spirit perseveres and perfects it. Church and Sacrament A. Nature of the Church The Church, that is the body of believers, is an eschatological community of God s elect but is not his ultimate goal. The Church is the product of Jesus work on the cross and is sustained, bound, and animated by the Holy Spirit and is elect from the Father as a direct result of his holiness. The Church belongs to Jesus Christ as his bride, purchased by His blood. He is the first born of the Church, its head and mediator. He enables peace and fellowship with God the Father

VI.

VII.

through reconciliation. The Church s duty is to witness to Christ and the coming kingdom of God and to worship Him. The Church is the place where God dwells on Earth. B. Church Sacraments Church Sacraments are those ordinances instituted by God for his purposes, of which there are two, baptism and the Lord s Supper. 1. Baptism This is an outward sign of a real internal change. Christ has commanded that all believers be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Infants may be baptized if and only if: a) One or both parents are baptized, professing, and practicing Christians and b) The faith community surrounding the infant (parents, church, etc.) promise to do all they can to raise the child in the faith and bring the child to maturity in Christ until the age the child can make his own profession of belief. 2. The Lord s Supper Jesus calls us to remember his sacrifice through the eating of the Eucharist. God is not present in the elements of communion, nor is he actually transubstantiated from the bread and the wine, but rather he is present in the fellowship of believers by their honoring of his sacrifice. Communion is to be limited to believers only as non-believers who partake eat to their own destruction. C. Church Polity 1. The Church has one head and that is Christ. All other roles, such as Deacons, Elders, and Pastors, are to submit to the authority of Christ and must meet the requirements set out in 1 Timothy 3 as well as Titus 1. They should be appointed as needed by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They are to be first and foremost servants to the Church, not leaders. Last Things We await Christ s second coming and the resurrection of the dead because Christ was resurrected. If we are in Him and his spirit lives in us, we have that same hope that he who raised Christ from the dead will raise us also. We stay alert, keeping faithful and watching for his coming because He is coming to judge the living and the dead. The present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. At his coming, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess to God. People from every tribe, nation, and tongue will worship Him forever and ever. God is waiting the full ingrafting of his people, being patient with them so that the elect might all come to repentance before that great and dreadful day. The Gospel must first be preached in every nation. We remain in hope because we know the Lord is faithful in his promises. He has decreed it and He will do it, His name be praised forever and ever. Amen.