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Critique the Apostolic Church Denomination?

by Stephen Davey

Terry asked: “Are there errors in the Apostolic Church Denomination?”

Terry, 

I believe there are errors in that denomination, though they might not be evident at first glance. I’ll give you three examples. 

Regarding the Trinity, the articles of faith of the Apostolic Church state that “We do not believe in the Orthodox Trinitarian perspective of the Godhead.” The orthodox view of the Trinity, which I believe, is that there is one Triune God who exists as three eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Apostolic Church believes that God exists as one being and the name of God is Jesus. If you want to research this further, their view has been known throughout church history as the heresy of modalism.

I also believe they are in error regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They recognize the continuation of the gifts of apostles—prophets, tongue speakers, healers, etc. I believe that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church through which we all serve one another and the world. However, some of those gifts were temporary and are no longer given today. For example, some gifts, such as word of knowledge, tongues, and interpretation, were critical when the church was without the written New Testament. Other foundational gifts, such as healing and raising from the dead, were used to confirm and validate the ministry of the apostles as the authentic founders of the church. But with the completion of the New Testament, those gifts ended. 

Finally, I disagree with their view regarding the security of the believer. Some members of the Apostolic Church hold that a believer can lose their salvation. That’s not true of everyone in that denomination, but some. I believe it goes against what Paul taught in Ephesians 1:

Ephesians 1:13–14 [13] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (ESV).

While these are a few of the differences I have with the Apostolic Church, the most significant is the denial of the Trinity because that is a heresy that speaks directly to the nature and being of God.

Thanks for your question, 

Stephen

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Comments

Dwight Osborne says:
The new apostolic reformation groups also deny the deity of Christ saying that He came to earth, not in the power and person of God, but as a man who was agood moral teacher and philosopher. They also participate in the occult through a ritual called "gravesucking" designed to gain the spirit of the dead, those who claimed to be a faith healer. But the Bible calls this practice necromancy which is a form of witchcraft. It's also known that they believe in gold dust and angel feathers coming down from the ceiling originating in Heaven. If anyone wishes to do further reesearch, this movement is exposed in Defining Deception: Freeing the Church From the Mystical Miracle Movement bu Costi Hinn. If the name sounds familiar, he's Benny's nephew and he expoes Uncle Benny as a charlatan as well who's getting wealthy off his deception. Costi got saved out of the NAR movement and delivered from it.

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