English - New Apostolic Church International

726 Pages·2013·2.78 MB·English

by  New Apostolic Church

Vision and Mission of the New
Apostolic Church
Vision
A church in which people feel at home and, inspired by the Holy
Spirit and their love for God, align their lives to the gospel of Jesus
Christ and thus prepare themselves for His return and eternal life
Mission
Reaching out to all people in order to teach them the gospel of
Jesus Christ and to baptise them with water and the Holy Spirit
Providing soul care and cultivating a warm fellowship in which
everyone shall experience the love of God and the joy of serving
Him and others
Foreword
For the first time ever, a systematic description of the New
Apostolic doctrine has been developed. Naturally there have
already been other works describing significant elements of the
New Apostolic faith, for example the book Questions and Answers
concerning the New Apostolic Faith, which was last revised in 1992.
Nevertheless there have been increasing calls for a more
comprehensive description of our doctrine. The New Apostolic
Church is active in many countries of varying cultural
backgrounds, which makes a uniform foundational work such as
this necessary in order to reinforce doctrinal unity despite all other
differences.
I am pleased to make this Catechism–the creation of which was
initiated by my predecessor in ministry, Chief Apostle Fehr–
available to all brothers and sisters in time for the 150-year
anniversary of the New Apostolic Church. 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 the
content of the Catechism.
This book brings to expression fundamental convictions common
to all Christians, but also sets forth the special features of the New
Apostolic faith. The Catechism has been written in faith for people
of faith. It must be emphasised that in all differences of
interpretation, the New Apostolic Church holds great respect for
the doctrinal statements of other churches.
The Catechism is a fundamental reference work. It is a standard for
New Apostolic faith life. Certainly this book will not answer all
questions in detail. It provides a great deal of opportunity for
dialogue and discussion about timely issues.
A work group comprised primarily of District Apostles and
Apostles has created this reference work. This project has been
accompanied by the assembly of all District Apostles of the world
at important steps along the way. The present text has been
completed in close consultation with me.
I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all involved and express
my appreciation and gratitude for all the work they have done. May
this work be used in blessing and provide orientation in faith!
Wilhelm Leber
Zurich, March 2012
Introduction
1 Professions of the New Testament
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: "Always be ready to give a defence to
everyone" (1 Peter 3: 15).
The New Testament contains statements and formulations in
which the fundamental elements of the Christian faith, namely the
profession of Jesus as the resurrected Lord, come to expression.
Examples of this are:
"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 that He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve" (1
Corinthians 15: 3-5).
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being
in the 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 which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of
those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:
5-11).
These formulations served to give authoritative expression to the
faith and impart the fundamentals of Christian faith to those who
wanted to be baptised and become Christians. Beyond that, belief
in Jesus Christ, which was already menaced by heresies in New
Testament times, was to be spread in unadulterated fashion.
2 Concerning the term
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 prepared for baptism with water. The
content of the Christian faith and how it is to affect one's lifestyle is
set forth in the Catechism.
The foundation for the doctrine of the Church is Holy Scripture.
The core statements of its message, as contained in both the Old
and New Testaments, are presented in the Catechism.
The work presented here will begin by exploring Holy Scripture,
the Ecumenical Councils of the fourth to seventh centuries, as well
as the early church creeds and the most important statements of
the Christian faith.
Beyond that it will describe the insights that have developed since
the renewed occupation of the Apostle ministry in the early
nineteenth century, which are formulated in the New Apostolic
Creed.
3 Structure and content
The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church starts off with some
remarks on the self-revelation of God and Holy Scripture (Chapter
1). This is followed by an explanation of the New Apostolic Creed
(Chapter 2) and an explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity of God
(Chapter 3). Some central positions of Christian faith, which are
valid across denominational borders, come to expression in the
chapter on the Trinity. Presented here is the belief in God, the
Father, the Creator of heaven and earth, the belief in God, the Son,
who became human in Jesus Christ, who died and resurrected from
the dead, as well as the belief in God, the Holy Spirit, through
whom sanctification and the new creation are effectuated.
This is followed in Chapter 4 by statements on the condition of
mankind before God, which also remark on the fall into sin and the
necessity of redemption. In this context there is also commentary
on the functions of the Mosaic Law and its relationship to the
gospel. The remarks on the Ten Commandments (Chapter 5) make
it clear that Christian faith is not a purely internal matter, but that
it also has practical implications for conduct in life.
Believing sinners who have been made righteous by God practise
their faith in the church, that is in the fellowship of the baptised,
who believe in Jesus Christ and profess Him as their Lord. Chapter
6 describes the church of Jesus Christ and its various forms, and
explains how the New Apostolic Church perceives itself within the
one church of Jesus Christ. Ministry–the significance of which is
presented in Chapter 7–is also part of the church of Christ. Here
the Apostle ministry is understood as the source of all other
ministries. This brings a pivotal element of the New Apostolic faith
to expression: church and Apostle ministry belong together.
Chapter 8 contains remarks on the sacraments, namely Holy
Baptism with water, Holy Communion, and Holy Sealing, that is
the baptism of the Spirit. Here it becomes clear that the sacraments
are essential elements of God's salvific care. They are fundamental
to the New Apostolic faith.
The chapters on "Life after death" (Chapter 9) and "The doctrine of
future things" (Chapter 10) deal with individual and universal
eschatology, respectively. Every human being is confronted with
questions as to what transpires after death, what form of
relationship exists between the departed and God, and whether
there are still opportunities for attaining salvation after death. Also
presented here is the New Apostolic Christian goal of faith. Here
we are given a glance into the future in accordance with God's plan
of salvation.
These statements concerning the New Apostolic doctrine are
supplemented by others that relate to the history of Christianity
and the New Apostolic Church (Chapter 11) as well as to divine
service (Chapter 12), and general practice in life (Chapter 13).
4 Functions
The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church takes into account
earlier portrayals of the New Apostolic faith, but goes beyond
previous publications of our Church in terms of both language and
development of the contents of faith. Our bond with the
fundamentals of faith of all Christians becomes evident in our
acknowledgement of the early church creeds. The path to salvation
in Christ is described in accordance with the stipulations of current
understanding. This occurs in the knowledge that God, in His
omnipotence, can also grant salvation to human beings in other
ways than the revealed and recognisable path.
It can be considered an important function of the Catechism to
serve as a basis for Church instruction and ministers' meetings.
Beyond that it is intended to bring greater uniformity to doctrinal
statements while taking other languages and cultures into account.
In this manner, the content will also serve to deepen the
knowledge and strengthen the faith of New Apostolic Christians.
The New Apostolic doctrine is also to become clear in its
relationship to the doctrines of other Christian churches. Thus the
Catechism presents both sides, namely that which binds us
together and that which distinguishes us. The presentation of these
differences is not intended to exclude others or close ourselves off
to them, but can rather be a starting point for fruitful dialogue with
other Christians.
The Catechism is a call to all New Apostolic Christians to occupy
themselves intensively with the content of their faith. Beyond that
it is also an invitation to all other interested parties to become
acquainted with the New Apostolic doctrine of faith.
1 The revelations of God
God, who created heaven and earth, reveals Himself in various
ways in nature and history, thereby making it possible to recognise
nature as His creation and the history of mankind as the history of
salvation.
God has revealed Himself in a unique way in His Son Jesus Christ.
In order to ensure that this revelation would always be kept alive,
the Eternal One sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. He reveals God
as the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. At the return of
Christ, God's revelation to those who will then be caught up to Him
will be perfect, for they will see God as He is (1 John 3: 2).
1.1 The self-revelation of God in
creation and history
On their own, human beings cannot perceive God's being and
nature or God's reign and will. Nevertheless, God does not conceal
Himself, but rather reveals Himself to mankind.
His revelation is a declaration of divine nature, divine truth, and
divine will, and is to be seen as a sign of God's love and care for
mankind.
When we speak of God's "self-revelation" we understand that God
grants human beings insights into His nature. God thereby makes
Himself known as the Creator of heaven and earth, the Deliverer of
Israel, the Reconciler of mankind, and the Maker of the new
creation. However, this revelation is not only a self-revelation and
expression of the divine will, but also an encounter which God
grants human beings in word and sacrament.