CATECHISM OF THE NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH PDF
Preview CATECHISM OF THE NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH
CATECHISM OF THE NEWAPOSTOLIC CHURCH CATECHISM OF THE NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH ©2012NewApostolicChurchInternational,Zurich/Switzerland Allrightsreserved Design:EINDRUCKVisuelleKommunikationGmbH,Saarlouis/Germany Composition:GriebschundRocholDruckGmbH&Co.KG,Hamm/Germany Printingandpost-pressprocessing:FriedrichPustetKG,Regensburg/Germany VerlagFriedrichBischoffGmbH,FrankfurtamMain OrderNo.221003 ISBN: 978-3-943980-02-8 Firstedition2012 VisionandMissionoftheNewApostolicChurch Vision and Mission of the New Apostolic Church Vision Achurch inwhich people feel at home and, inspired by the Holy Spirit and theirloveforGod,aligntheirlivestothegospelofJesusChristandthuspre- parethemselvesforHisreturnandeternallife Mission Reaching out to all people in order to teach them the gospel of Jesus Christ andtobaptisethemwithwaterandtheHolySpirit Providingsoulcareandcultivatingawarmfellowshipinwhicheveryoneshall experiencetheloveofGodandthejoyofservingHimandothers VisionandMissionoftheNewApostolicChurch 6 Foreword Foreword Forthefirsttimeever,asystematicdescriptionoftheNewApostolicdoctrine hasbeendeveloped.Naturallytherehavealreadybeenotherworksdescribing significant elements of the New Apostolic faith, for example the book Ques- tionsandAnswersconcerningtheNewApostolicFaith,whichwaslastrevised in1992.Neverthelesstherehavebeenincreasingcallsforamorecomprehen- sivedescriptionofourdoctrine.TheNewApostolicChurchisactiveinmany countries of varying cultural backgrounds, which makes a uniform founda- tionalworksuchasthisnecessaryinordertoreinforcedoctrinalunitydespite allotherdifferences. IampleasedtomakethisCatechism—thecreationofwhichwasinitiated by my predecessor in ministry, Chief Apostle Fehr—available to all brothers andsistersintimeforthe150-yearanniversaryoftheNewApostolicChurch. It would make me happy if this work were also to be met with interest by believers of other churches. I warmly invite all to acquaint themselves with thecontentoftheCatechism. This book brings to expression fundamental convictions common to all Christians,butalsosetsforththespecialfeaturesoftheNewApostolicfaith. The Catechism has been written in faith for people of faith. It must be em- phasised that in all differences of interpretation, the New Apostolic Church holdsgreatrespectforthedoctrinalstatementsofotherchurches. The Catechismis a fundamental reference work. Itis a standard for New Apostolicfaithlife.Certainlythisbookwillnotanswerallquestionsindetail. It provides a great deal of opportunity for dialogue and discussion about timelyissues. Awork group comprised primarily of District Apostles and Apostles has createdthisreferencework.Thisprojecthasbeenaccompaniedbytheassem- Foreword blyofallDistrictApostlesoftheworldatimportantstepsalongtheway.The presenttexthasbeencompletedincloseconsultationwithme. Iwould liketoextendheartfelt thanks toall involved and express myap- preciation and gratitude for all the work they have done. May this work be usedinblessingandprovideorientationinfaith! WilhelmLeber Zurich,March2012 1 ProfessionsoftheNewTestament Introduction 1 ProfessionsoftheNewTestament The Christian faith is intended to be shared with others. Already in early times, Christians were instructed to profess their faith and testify of it to others:“Alwaysbereadytogiveadefencetoeveryone”(1Peter3:15). The New Testament contains statements and formulations in which the fundamental elements of the Christian faith, namely the profession of Jesus astheresurrectedLord,cometoexpression.Examplesofthisare: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and thatHeroseagainthethirddayaccordingtotheScriptures,andthatHewas seenbyCephas,thenbytheTwelve”(1Corinthians15:3–5). “LetthismindbeinyouwhichwasalsoinChristJesus,who,beinginthe form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name whichisaboveeveryname,thatatthenameofJesuseverykneeshouldbow, of those in heaven, and of those onearth, and of those under the earth, and thateverytongueshouldconfessthatJesusChristisLord,tothegloryofGod theFather”(Philippians2:5–11). Theseformulationsservedtogiveauthoritativeexpressiontothefaithand impart the fundamentals of Christian faith to those who wanted to be bap- tised and become Christians. Beyond that, belief in Jesus Christ, which was Introduction alreadymenacedbyheresiesinNewTestamenttimes,wastobespreadinun- adulteratedfashion. 2 Concerningtheterm The term “Catechism” has its origin in the Greek language (from Greek kata = “downward”, “toward”, and echein = “ring out”, “resound”), and was originally used in reference to the instruction of those who were being pre- paredforbaptismwithwater.ThecontentoftheChristianfaithandhowitis toaffectone’slifestyleissetforthintheCatechism. ThefoundationforthedoctrineoftheChurchisHolyScripture.Thecore statementsofitsmessage,ascontainedinboththeOldandNewTestaments, arepresentedintheCatechism. The work presented here will begin by exploring Holy Scripture, the Ecumenical Councils of the fourth to seventh centuries, as well as the early churchcreedsandthemostimportantstatementsoftheChristianfaith. Beyondthatitwilldescribetheinsightsthathavedevelopedsincethere- newed occupation of the Apostle ministry in the early nineteenth century, whichareformulatedintheNewApostolicCreed. 3 Structureandcontent TheCatechismoftheNewApostolicChurchstartsoffwithsomeremarkson theself-revelationofGodandHolyScripture(Chapter1).Thisisfollowedby anexplanationoftheNewApostolicCreed(Chapter2)andanexplanationof the doctrine of the Trinity of God (Chapter 3). Some central positions of Christian faith, which are valid across denominational borders, come to ex- pressioninthechapterontheTrinity.PresentedhereisthebeliefinGod,the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, the belief in God, the Son, who be- camehumaninJesusChrist,whodiedandresurrectedfromthedead,aswell
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