“The Church of the True Jesus” ( Chinese 真 耶穌 教會 , English True Jesus Church ) is an international independent restorationist church of Pentecostal origin. Created in Beijing in 1917 . It is a branch of the Protestant branch of Christianity and belongs to the Pentecostal Unitarian . It is one of three local Chinese churches [2] that existed before the establishment of communist rule in China in 1949.
The church has approximately 2.5 million members worldwide [3] [4] . The largest number of members of the “Church of the True Jesus” is in China, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. The international church assembly is currently located in Los Angeles , USA [5] .
In 1995, the “Church of the True Jesus” opened a branch in the Moscow region [6] .
Creed
Five basic principles
- Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The acceptance of the Holy Spirit , manifested in glossolalia , is a guarantee of our inheritance of the kingdom of heaven [7] .
- Water baptism
Water baptism is a sacrament performed for the remission of sins and rebirth. Baptism must take place in natural water, such as a river , sea , or spring. A baptist who has already received the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit is baptizing on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ . And the baptist must be completely immersed in water with his head bowed, face down [8] .
- Foot washing
The sacrament of washing your feet allows you to connect with the Lord Jesus. It also serves as a constant reminder of the need to love, to have holiness, humility, to be able to forgive and serve God. In relation to each person who received water baptism, the sacrament of foot washing in the name of Jesus Christ must be performed. Mutual washing of the legs can be carried out whenever it is appropriate [9] .
- Holy communion
Holy Communion is a sacrament commemorating the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It allows you to taste the flesh and blood of our God and become one with Him in order to gain eternal life and resurrect on Judgment Day . This sacrament should be performed as often as possible. Use one wafer (unleavened bread) and grape juice [10] .
- Sabbath day
The day of rest, the seventh day of the week ( Saturday ), is a holy day, blessed and sanctified by God. This day should be observed in commemoration of God's creation of the world and salvation, with the hope of eternal rest in life [11] .
Ten Articles of Faith
In the 80s of the XX century, five basic doctrines of the faith were supplemented by five additional additional “Provisions of the Faith”, thus becoming the “Ten Articles” of the foundations of the faiths of the followers of the Church of the true Jesus:
- Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ - the Word made flesh - died on the cross in atonement for the sins of men, rose on the third day and ascended into heaven. He is the only savior of mankind, the Creator of heaven and earth, and only He is the only and true God . [12]
- Bible
The Holy Bible , consisting of the Old and New Testaments , is inspired by God, and is the only biblical truth and standard for the life of Christians.
- The rescue
Salvation is given by God's grace through faith. Believers must rely on the Holy Spirit to become saints, glorify God, and love all people.
- Church
The Church of the True Jesus, founded by our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit during the time of the “last rain”, is the true restored church of the apostolic time.
- Final judgment
The second coming of Christ will take place on the Last Day, when He will descend from heaven in order to judge the world: the righteous will receive eternal life, sinners will be forever condemned.
Church Name
The name of the Church of the true Jesus contains several theological statements and “has a spiritual meaning” [13] . Movement theologians point to biblical passages calling God “true” ( John 3:33 , John 17: 3 , 1 Thess. 1: 9 ). Jesus also called himself “the truth” ( John 14: 6 ) or “the true vine” ( John 15: 1 ). Since God wants to create a church “in His name” ( Acts 15: 14-18 ), the name of the church should therefore bear the name of God, that is, Jesus ( Matthew 1:21 , John 17: 11,26 ). The Church of the true Jesus thus “exalts the name of God and calls Him Christ” [13] .
Church History
Historical background
Successful attempts to evangelize China with Nestorians from Persia (635-845 CE) [14] , Roman Catholics , including the Jesuits (1265, 1601-1724) were short-lived [15] . The Christians lost the favor of the Chinese emperors , therefore they acted sporadically and clandestinely.
The first Protestant missionaries began work in China in 1807 after Robert Morrison arrived from Scotland [16] . After the First Opium War in the 1840s , missionaries from all over the world began to come to China. Hudson Taylor founded the Inland Mission in 1865 [17] .
In the 19th century, there was a large increase in the number of Chinese Christians. In 1900, there were almost 111,000 Protestants in the country, along with 1,600 Chinese Christian workers and 2,000 missionaries .
Pentecostal Movement in China and the Foundation of the “Church of the True Jesus”
The first Pentecostal missionaries in China were the Garr couple who participated in the awakening at Azusa Street and arrived in Hong Kong in 1907. Later, the Mission of the Apostolic Faith was founded in Shanghai [18] .
After the Boxer Rebellion and the persecution at the beginning of the 20th century, many Chinese Christians supported the Three Independence Movement , which promoted a strategy of self-government, self-support, and self-distribution in order to reduce foreign influence and interference in the life of Chinese churches. Many local churches became impoverished.
The three founders of the “Church of the True Jesus” also supported this idea and decided to break with the existing Pentecostal church. These were Paul Wei Enbo (d. 1919), Zhang Linshen (born 1863), and Barnabas Zhang (1882-1960) [13] . Zhang Linshen was a deacon of the Presbyterian Church, who in 1909 experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit . Paul Wei, a believer in the church of the British Congregationalists , converted to Pentecost after healing from a serious illness. Barnabas Zhang was converted to Christianity by Zhang Linsheng in 1912. In 1917, the first community of the Church of the True Jesus was created in Beijing.
From mainland China, the movement spread to Taiwan (1927), Southeast Asia (1927) and Hawaii (1930). Headquarters soon moved to Nanjing (1926), then to Shanghai (1927). By 1949, at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Church of True Jesus had become one of the largest Christian denominations in the country with 700 churches and 120 thousand members.
Current State of the Church
In 1950, communications between mainland Chinese communities and outside of China were discontinued. By this time, movement communities existed in Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea. For a long time, the church of mainland China was subjected to repression. In 1975, delegates to the Second World Conference in Taiwan created the International Assembly of the Church of the True Jesus. By this time, the church was introduced in the USA (1965). The first community of the True Jesus Church in Europe appeared in 1976 in the UK. Since 1979, the church is present in Africa (Nigeria), since 1982 - in Australia.
In 1985, in accordance with the decision of the fourth world conference, the office of the International Assembly moved to Los Angeles . Towards the end of the 1980s, communication was restored between the communities of the International Assembly and the churches of mainland China. Subsequently, church management was divided into four centers in America, Europe, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. As of 2010, the True Jesus Churches were present in 58 countries of the world, including in 12 countries of Europe.
See also
Pentecostal Denomination List
Notes
- ↑ “The Church of the True Jesus, founded by our Lord Jesus Christ , through the Holy Spirit during the time of the“ last rain, ”is the true restored church of the apostolic time.” Website of the Church of the true Jesus. Provisions of Faith Archived February 5, 2012 on Wayback Machine
- ↑ The three local Chinese churches are considered to be the Pentecostal Church of the True Jesus , the Little Flock evangelical church (founded in 1922 by Watchman Nee ) and the Pentecostal “ Jesus Family ” (founded in 1927)
- ↑ Although the Los Angeles based IA church website states a figure of 1.5 million, church sources from China say the figure is closer to the range of 2.4 - 3 million within China itself. See Allan Anderson: An introduction to Pentecostalism: global charismatic Christianity , p. 133-134.
- ↑ The "exact" number is difficult to determine accurately and there is a discrepancy due to problems in the disseminating of information within China. For further information, see Alan hunter: Protestantism in contemporary China , p. 66-70. The number of TJC members in China were obtained from the TJC preachers in China itself. Depending on how many Protestants there are in China, the figure for TJC members could be at least three million
- ↑ Allan Anderson: An introduction to Pentecostalism: global charismatic Christianity , p. 133-134.
- ↑ Website of the Church of the true Jesus. Find a church
- ↑ Romans 8:16; Ephesians 1: 13-14
- ↑ Gospel of John 3: 5, Gospel of Matthew 3:16, Acts of the Holy Apostles 2: 3-8; 10-48
- ↑ Gospel of John 13: 1-7
- ↑ 1 Corinthians 10:17; 11:26, John 6:53
- ↑ Hebrews 4: 9-11
- ↑ In the understanding of God, the followers of the True Church of Jesus adhere to Unitarian views: on earth “The One God was both Lord and servant, Father and Son” Official site of the Church of the True Jesus: Jesus Christ
- ↑ 1 2 3 J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann. True Jesus Church // Religions of the World, Second Edition A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. - Santa Barbara, California: ABC CLIO, 2010 .-- P. 2894. - 3200 p. - ISBN 978-1-59884-203-6 .
- ↑ Ding, Wang. Remnants of Christianity from Chinese Central Asia in Medieval ages // Jingjiao: the Church of the East in China and Central Asia. - Steyler Verlagsbuchhandlung GmbH, 2006. - ISBN 978-3-8050-0534-0 .
- ↑ Ruggieri, Ricci & Witek 2001, p. 151
- ↑ Johnstone, Patrick. Operation World. London: Paternoster, 2001, p. 164.
- ↑ Broomhall, Alfred James (1982). Hudson Taylor & China's Open Century. Vol. 1: Barbarians at the Gates
- ↑ Hayford, Jack W .; Moore, S. David (2006). The Charismatic Century: The Enduring Impact of the Azusa Street Revival (August, 2006 ed.). Warner Faith. ISBN 978-0-446-57813-4