Confession of Faith

(Holley Gazette, May, 1997)

In its 172 year history our church has adopted at least three different confessions of faith. The first in 1825 when the church came into being. In 1839 an updated version was accepted and 100 years later, 1939, probably the one currently in use was adopted. The differences were mainly in the wording.

In the last few decades there has been a declining interest in “doctrine” but that has not lessened the necessity of knowing what we believe and why we believe it. Peter admonishes us to “Always be prepared to give an answer to every one who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15) Our present constitution lists eighteen statements of “we believe” and one admonition to other churches.

The first article-of-faith states “We believe in the one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:10.” We might as well admit at the outset that we cannot understand, with our natural minds, that the “One” God exists in three persons, the Trinity. But we can accept this truth as it has been revealed to us in Holy Scripture.

There are hints of the three-in-one in the Old Testament. “Elohim,” the most frequently used Hebrew word for God, is in the plural form. Statements such as “…Let us make man in our image…” Genesis 1:26; “Come let us go down…” Genesis 11:7; and “…who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8, also indicate the multiple nature of God. But in the New Testament the doctrine becomes much more clear.

When Jesus was baptized, the three persons of the Godhead are refereed to (John 1:32-34). Likewise, when we were baptized, it is “…in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19). In Paul’s benediction to the Corinthians, he refers to the three persons of the Trinity “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (II Corinthians 13:14) There are numerous other scripture references that verify the deity, not only of God the Father, but also of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In summary, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions five and six, states “Are there more Gods than one?’ There is but one only, the living and true God. ‘How many persons are there in the Godhead?’ There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Spirit); and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”