What We Believe
How We Speak About the Church
We have good reason to use the name Church of God. It is a biblical name. What better source is there from which to get a name for a group who worships God! The name Church of God is used to describe the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:13; and 1 Timothy 3:5.
Many church groups use the name Church of God. Also, some independent congregations use some form of the name. It is appropriate for Christians to search the Scriptures and discover that descriptive title. The Church of God with North American offices in Anderson, Indiana, makes no claim to the exclusive use of the biblical name and is conscious that such use brings with it the responsibility, even the obligation, to worship, fellowship, and serve in ways that honor God and his church.
We do not consider ourselves to be another denomination, with a prescribed creed and an unbending organizational structure. Neither are we a sect with legalistic statements on, and enforcement of, lifestyles. We do not have any captivating commitment to a human personality.
1. The name Church of God is used in a universal sense to refer to all persons who believe on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and are thereby in the Church by God’s action as indicated in Acts 2:47.
The Church of God is not a particular set of believers so much as it is all believers, whatever other associations to which they may give themselves in the name of Christ. The universal nature of the Church is marvelously communicated by Paul to the Ephesian Christians (Ephesians 2:1–22). His summary is descriptive and explanatory:
You are…fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
—Ephesians 2:19–22, NIV
2. The name Church of God is used to identify a particular movement within Protestant Christianity.
When the name is used to designate the movement, it is written thus: Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). Since the time of its earliest spokesman, Daniel S. Warner, in the 1880s, the preachers, teachers, poets, and other writers have given emphasis to the message of unity and holiness.
The message of unity is that all God’s people are one (John 17) and are called to recognize that unity, to relate to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and to coordinate their efforts in mission to the world.
The message of holiness is expressed well by Arlo F. Newell. He says the holy life begins as:
Divine cleansing purges the attitudes and disposition of the believer until the image of Christ is reflected in him or her. All of our emotions are left fully intact but are cleansed and sensitized by the Holy Spirit. Nothing essentially human is removed in the sanctifying experience. One’s ability to love, hate, laugh and cry are now freed from the curse of sin to be experienced rightly as God’s child. The believer now demonstrates the graces of the sanctified life as spoken of in Galatians 5:22–23.
The life of holiness includes both personal piety and disciplined practical service within the church and to all peoples of the world (Galatians 6:7–10).
Dr. John W. V. Smith, the late Church of God historian who taught at Anderson School of Theology until his retirement in the 1980s, has caught the spirit of the Church of God in this statement:
The Church of God reformation movement was more than a series of emphases, however. It was a crusade to open the door of all truth. Some of the specific content of this truth was lifted up and proclaimed, but the limits of truth were never defined. That was left open, for God was still at work among his people and who could say when the boundaries of his revelation had been reached?
3. The name Church of God is also used to identify congregations.
A Church of God congregation is a local community embodiment of the universal church as well as the Church of God reformation movement (Anderson, Indiana). We believe very strongly that genuine Christians identify themselves with a local body of believers and worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians. Participation in the local church is not an option for Christians; it is an integral part of their salvation experience. (See Acts 2:41–46; Ephesians 5:19–21; Hebrews 10:25; 1 John 3:11–1 5.)
Nearly all congregations (local churches) identify themselves with designations of location such as Northside Church of God or West Fourth Street Church of God. Some use the title First Church of God, but in those instances, they refer only to the fact that theirs was the first congregation of the Church of God in that city or community. First has no biblical or theological meaning.
Some congregations in recent years have wanted to express more visibly the openness of the Church of God to fellowship all believers in Christ. Thus a few congregations have used designations such as Community Church, The People’s Church, or simply Northside Church. The theology and practices of the Church of God are consistent with the community concept for the local church.
Information on this page is excerpted from Oral and Laura Withrow’s publication, Meet Us at the Cross (Anderson, IN: Warner Press, 1999), 5–17. Should you want additional information about what the church believes, contact the pastor or visit the website of the Church of God Ministries.