Constitution
Adopted February 1, 1997
ARTICLE II
Doctrinal Summary
This fellowship is founded upon the conviction that the Bible, as the literal written Word of HaShem, is sufficient for all matters of faith and practice, and that the answers to all questions of church policy and procedure are to be found therein. The Bible, therefore, as interpreted by the Elders in accordance with a systematic methodology as specified below, shall be the true Constitution of this church. The following Doctrinal Summary is offered as a brief overview of the major points of doctrine to which this congregation subscribes. The Elders of this congregation, as guided by Ruach HaKodesh and in keeping with valid Biblical scholarship, shall create and maintain a separate document to be known as Doctrinal Guidelines for benéi HaMelech Messianic Fellowship, which is included by reference as a part of this Constitution.
Section 1. Concerning the Bible
We believe that the complete Bible consists of both the ancient Hebrew Tanakh (an acronym for Torah [Divine Instruction, usually translated “Law”], Nevi'im [Prophets], K'tuvim [Writings]) and the later writings of the Shliachim (Apostles) — variously known as the Ketuvei HaShalichim (Apostolic Writings or Apostolic Scriptures), “B'rit Hadasha,” “Renewed Covenant,” “New Covenant,” or “New Testament” — and that in its original autographs — those originally hand-written by the Shliachim [Apostles] and Nevi'im [Prophets] — it is the literal written Word of HaShem, absolutely inerrant and infallible in relation to any subject with which it deals, and is the only infallible and authoritative word of HaShem.
We believe in the verbal (all the words of the Bible) and plenary (all the parts of the Bible) inspiration, dual authorship, and protected transmission of all Scripture, so that in the Bible is to be found the full and sufficient source of all divine revelation. Therefore, no other writings, “prophecies,” or other supposed revelations are to be accepted as divinely inspired or authoritative. All teachings and all knowledge, whatever the source, are to be understood and interpreted in the light of the sacred Scriptures.
We believe that the Bible is to be properly interpreted only through the enlightenment of Ruach HaKodesh [the Holy Spirit] and understood in its literal, natural, historical, grammatical, and intended sense; that in order to be correctly understood and interpreted, it must be understood and interpreted from the perspective of its original recipients; that since the original recipients of the Sacred Text were Jews living within Tabernacle/Temple/Synagogue milieu, it can be only correctly interpreted when viewed from the perspective of Judaism as it existed from the Exodus through the dispersal following the destruction of the Second Temple; and that it is to be accepted as the full and final authority over the Believer's faith and conduct, including all matters of congregational polity, policy, and procedure (Deut. 6:4-9; Prov. 3:1-6; Ps. 119:89, 105; Isa. 48:12-16; Rom. 8:14-17; 2Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17)
Furthermore, we believe that to divide the Sacred Text into two “books” or “testaments” is error, and that the writings of the Shliachim should rightfully be included as an integral part of the K'tuvim. We object to the use of the terms “Old” and “New” Testament or Covenant, in that the word “old” suggests that which is obsolete or of less importance that it originally was, and the word “new” suggests that which supplants or has replaced something “old.” We hold that the Creator has one, and only one, standard of righteousness, the Torah, by which the conduct of all humankind will be judged.
A. Torah
The word “Torah” is best translated as “Divine Instruction” rather than “Law,” even though it contains both civil and ecclesiastical laws for the Commonwealth[20] of Israel. Although the term “Torah” technically refers to the Five Books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy), it is commonly used to refer to the entire Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures), or the whole Bible (including the Ketuvei HaShalichim), depending on usage. Our use of the word “Torah” never refers to the Talmud (the “Oral Tradition” or “Oral Torah”) but, while we do not consider the Talmud or any other commentary on the Scriptures as the Word of God, we believe that the writings of Oral Tradition, such as the Talmud, the Mishnah, and the Midrash Rabbah, also contain further insight into the character of God and His dealings with His people. In the Diaspora we do not practice those parts of Torah which require residence in the land, a theocratic civil government, and/or a consecrated Temple on Mount Moriah. We disagree with those who teach that obedience to Torah is required only for ethnic Jews, and we believe that HaShem has but one Standard of Righteousness by which every member of the human race will be judged — His Torah. We therefore believe that obedience to Torah is incumbent upon all believers in Messiah, including “the Church.”
Yeshua clearly says that we have an obligation to observe all the mitzvot (commandments) of Torah that we possibly can, and that we are to teach others to do likewise (Matt. 5:17-20). We clearly understand that it is not possible for us to observe all the mitzvot because many of them refer only to life within Eretz Yisrael under a theocratic civil government, and some refer only to the Temple, which does not exist in our time. Neither are we responsible for observing those mitzvot which are particular to certain classes of individuals other than ourselves.
B. The Ketuvei HaShalichim
We believe that the Ketuvei HaShalichim (Apostolic Writings, commonly and erroneously known as the “New Testament”) were inspired by Ruach HaKodesh (see immediately above), written under the direction of Ruach HaKodesh by Torah-observant Jews, in the Jewish language (Hebrew), and were directed to an almost-exclusively Jewish audience. We believe that they were then translated (or re-written) into Koine Greek for transmission to the non-Jewish Messianic Believers in the Diaspora, and that much of the error in modern translation and interpretation comes from the attempt to understand the Apostolic Writings with a Greek (or Western) mindset and ignore the clearly Hebraic (Eastern) nature of the original text. In order to correctly understand them, we must therefore interpret them from the perspective of the Jewish audience to whom they were written.
Section 2. Concerning God
“Shema Yisrael, ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad — Hear, O Israel, ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one.” (Deut. 6:4)
We believe that there is only one living and true HaShem, an infinite and intelligent Spirit Who is the source of all being and meaning; a compound unity Who eternally exists in three Divine “Persons” — HaAbba (the Father), HaBen (the Son), and Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) — indivisibly one in essence and attributes, yet three in distinct Person, work, and purpose, each of Whom possesses all the attributes of absolute Deity and is indivisible, infinite, eternal, unchangeable, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, personal, and perfect in wisdom, power, holiness, righteousness, justice, goodness, truth, mercy, and love.
We believe that HaAbba is all the fullness of HaShem invisible (John 1:18); HaBen is all the fullness of HaShem manifested (made visible in any form) (John 1:14-18); Ruach HaKodesh is all the fullness of HaShem acting immediately upon the creature (1Cor. 2:9-10). [18] [For a fuller discussion of this subject go here.]
Section 3. Concerning Yeshua HaMashiach
We believe that Yeshua HaMashiach is the second “Person” of HaShem, eternally existing as HaBen, Who always has been and always will be fully God. We believe that He is just as much God as though He had never become man, and just as much man as though He had never been God. We believe that He created, upholds, and sustains the entire universe solely through the power of His sovereign will.
We believe that all manifestations of HaShem to man, whether in the Tanakh or in the Ketuvei HaShalichim, are in the Person of HaBen. We are therefore convinced that is was HaShem the Son (HaBen) Who walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve, Who appeared to and made the covenants with the Patriarchs, Who went ahead of Israel in smoke and fire in the wilderness, Who wrote the Mitzvot in stone with His own finger atop Mount Sinai, and to Whom the prayers and adoration of His Chosen People have been unknowingly directed for the past 4000 years.
We believe that without in any way ceasing to be fully God, He became also fully man, taking upon himself all of the human attributes except the sin nature. We believe that he was conceived of Ruach HaKodesh, born of the virgin Miriam, lived a perfect and sinless life, and accomplished our redemption through his death as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. We believe in His literal and bodily resurrection and ascension, and that now glorified He sits at the right hand of Abba where He carries out His ministry as Kohen HaGadol (the Eternal High Priest) of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate on our behalf. We believe in His literal, bodily return to reign physically on the earth for a thousand years, and in His ultimate judgment over the living and the dead.
Section 4. Concerning Ruach HaKodesh
We believe that Ruach HaKodesh is a divine Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Possessing all of the attributes of Deity, He is fully God, and is therefore coequal to and coeternal with Abba and HaBen. We believe that with both Abba and HaBen, He was an active agent in the creation, and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration and sanctification, immersing all believers into the Body of Mashiach (the Miqra), equally and permanently indwelling every believer, and sealing them unto the day of redemption. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher, Who inspired and superintended the writing of all Scripture, Who illuminates the interpretation of Scripture, and Who guides believers into all truth, assisting Believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures. We believe that it is the privilege and duty of all true Believers in Mashiach to be filled with and controlled by Ruach HaKodesh.
Section 5. Concerning Angels
We believe that angels are created beings, not deity, and are not to be worshipped; that they were created by HaShem to serve and worship Him; that they are organized into different ranks and orders; and that there are now both holy and fallen angels.
We believe that holy angels are “ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). They ministered extensively to Yeshua during His earthly life and ministry, and are involved in a general ministry to believers. Toward unbelievers, angels announce impending judgments, and will be actively involved in the judgments of the time of Ya'akov’s Trouble (the “Great Tribulation”).
We believe that HaSatan (the Accuser) is also an angel, a cherub of the highest rank of all angelic creatures, that he sinned through the pride of self-will, and thereby became the author of sin and the cause of the fall of man. He is the open and declared enemy of both HaShem and man, and with his fallen angels (demons) is in a state of present and open warfare against HaShem and His saints. Some of the demons are presently being held captive “in chains” in Sheol. They will all be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire, which was created specifically for HaSatan and his demons. Moreover, it should be clearly understood that HaSatan is not the ruler of the Lake of Fire or of hell; he will be only one of the multitudes of prisoners there.
Section 6. Concerning Man
We believe that man was originally created in the image of HaShem, by HaShem’s own hand and not by any process of evolution or natural selection, and was given the authority and ability to exercise dominion over the created world. Adam chose to disobey HaShem, and because of his disobedience Adam, all of his descendants, and all of his entire dominion fell under HaShem’s curse. Sin, sickness, and death entered the world; man became alienated from HaShem and inherited a sin nature, is totally depraved, possesses no spark of divine life, and, of himself, is utterly helpless to remedy his lost condition apart from the grace of HaShem.
Section 7. Concerning Sin
The word “sin” is an archery term that means “to miss the mark.” Since the “target” is the perfect example set by Yeshua, that is, the very nature of HaShem Himself, then we believe that anything that falls short of that goal misses the mark and is, by the broadest sense of its definition, “sin.”
We believe that there are two classifications of sin:
(1) original (imputed) sin, that sin nature which every human inherits from his/her father Adam, and
(2) personal sin, the individual choices each person makes to either willfully or ignorantly disobey HaShem and His Torah.
We believe that all men and women are totally depraved, without personal merit, and completely unable to save themselves.
We believe that the penalty for sin is separation from fellowship, which takes one or more of three forms:
(1) separation from HaShem (spiritual death);
(2) separation from the visible Body of Mashiach through discipline and “excommunication” (which is to be practiced by the Elders [or Beit Din] of the local congregation solely for the sake of maintaining the purity of the Body of Mashiach and for producing the repentance and eventual restoration of the sinning brother or sister), and
(3) separation from this earth and from the physical body through physical death. We believe that the physical illness and death of all earthly creatures is the direct result of Adam’s sin, and that some physical illness and death is the result of personal sin.
Section 8. Concerning Salvation
We believe that salvation is the free gift of HaShem brought to sinful man by the unconditional grace of HaShem and received solely by personal faith in the completed redemptive work of Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach. We believe that salvation comes by faith in the Person and completed work of Yeshua, plus nothing else!
We believe that because of the fact of the eternal, unconditional, and unilateral promise of HaShem, because of the nature of the Word and promises of HaShem, and because of the immutability of the unchangeable covenants of HaShem, all the redeemed, blood-bought, regenerate, and sanctified children of HaShem have entered into an unbreakable relational covenant with HaShem, are completely and permanently indwelt by Ruach HaKodesh, and are constantly interceded for by Yeshua HaMashiach, our Kohen HaGadol. We believe that they are therefore secure in Mashiach forever.
We believe that before the foundation of the world, for His own purpose and for His own glory, HaShem foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified all those who are to be redeemed; that is, “predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29) and “adopted as sons through Yeshua HaMashiach to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:5). The Scriptures refer to these individuals as His “elect,” all of whom have had their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life from before the foundation (creation) of the world (John 17:24; Eph. 1:4; 1Pet. 1:20). Although HaShem sovereignly elects some to salvation and glory, paradoxically the election of the saved in no way demonstrates that HaShem is responsible for the damnation of those who are not elect to salvation. The Scripture makes it quite clear that it is not HaShem’s will than any should perish (2Pet. 3:9). We believe that the Scriptures clearly teach that “whosoever will” (Rev. 22:17) may come to saving faith in Yeshua HaMashiach. We also believe that the Scriptures just as clearly teach that “the elect” were chosen from before the foundation of the world.
We believe that from man’s limited perspective he perceives that he has a measure of “free will,” but that from HaShem’s perspective HaShem is absolutely and completely sovereign, and is thus in total control of every event that occurs in time, space, and eternity. Although HaShem receives all of the glory and honor for all those who are saved, He in no way is to blame for any who are lost. We believe that these facts are in no way paradoxical or contradictory, only that they can only be properly understood from HaShem’s perspective.
We believe that it is the privilege of all Believers in Mashiach to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation and their freedom from “bondage” to the eternal penalties imposed by Torah through the testimony of HaShem’s Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of that liberty as an occasion to sin. Though free from “bondage to legalism,” we believe that every person is yet accountable to the standard of righteousness that HaShem has defined in His Torah. We believe that all mankind, and especially Believers in Mashiach, are obligated to obey all the mitzvot (commandments) of Torah except for those which are specific to life in Eretz Israel under a theocratic government, or those which require the presence of a Holy Temple on Mount Moriah. However, we believe that no man has ever been, or will ever be, saved or counted as righteous through observance of or obedience to Torah, but only through faith in Him who is the Giver of Torah, plus nothing else.
We believe that at the moment of salvation, each person is literally transformed into a “new creation” (Gal. 6:15; 2Cor. 5:17) which the Bible also refers to as a “saint” or “holy person” (Phil. 4:21; Acts 9:13; Rom. 1:7) — that is, a person who has been “set apart” (“sanctified” — Rom. 15:16; 1Cor. 1:2) by HaShem to be His precious possession (Eph. 1:14; 1Pet. 2:9) and to serve His specific purpose (Titus 2:14; 2Tim. 1:9).
We believe that sanctification is a “setting apart” of the believer unto HaShem and that it consists of three steps or stages in the believer’s life: positional sanctification, progressive sanctification, and ultimate sanctification. We believe that all Believers in Mashiach should live in obedience to Torah and in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, and that separation from all religious apostasy and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded by HaShem. We believe that the Torah is the standard of righteousness by which each “saint” is to conduct his/her life.
Notes: (These notes are for explanation only, and are not considered part of our Constitution.)
18. Paraphrased from Boardman, cited in Great Doctrines of the Bible, by William Evans. Chicago: Moody Press, 1912, 1949, p. 28. [BACK]
20. Some have objected to our use of the term “commonwealth” assuming it refers to the current political government or nation of Israel. The Oxford Dictionary defines “commonwealth” as “independent state or community; a community of shared interests in a non-political field; archaic the general good.” This is the sense in which the use of the term is intended. See “Commonwealth of Israel.” [BACK]
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ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
