Doctrine - 1st Tenet

Anyone for tenet?

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: God, Creator: “…There are many questions that arise from the creation recorded in Genesis. Science claims that the earth is millions of years old. The creation, according to Genesis, took place some 4 000 years BC and adding 2014 gives about

6 000 years.  [PSA 90:1-4] According to Scripture, Adam and Eve were the first people to be created.  It is however clear that Adam and Eve were not the only people on earth. Read the Bible where God made Cain a fugitive but set a mark upon him to protect him from other people.[GEN 4:14-15]…”

To the author of this tenet:

Science also claims that there’s no such thing as a spirit or a soul, and therefore, no afterlife. Science does not have all the answers and you need to discern between theory and fact. According to science the meaning of life is to pass on your genes, you live, you die and that’s all there is to it, no ethics involved. Science is the knowledge and wisdom of man. Scientific theories will keep changing with each new discovery and as technology advances. Therefore the scientific model of today may not be the scientific model of tomorrow.

Science explains what’s possible, faith goes beyond possible because with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:23-26, Mark 10:23-27, Mark 14:36, Luke 18:25-27). This is why people with faith are called believers.

A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign (Matthew 16:4). We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Everything that was created, was created by eternal God, from everlasting to everlasting (Proverbs 8:23, Psalms 90:2, John 1:1-3, Ephesians 1:4, John 17:5). Your faith shouldn’t be based on science, you’ll be like a wave tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Do you choose science above God?

Do you choose the creation above the Creator?

Christ is the Wisdom and Power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-31).

Adam and Eve were the only people on earth before they had children, Cain was one of their sons (Genesis 4:1). Cain was not an only child, Adam and Eve also had other sons and daughters (Genesis 5:4). It is safe to assume that their children also had children (Genesis 5:7-30) and so forth. God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Therefore it is hardly likely that it took them 130 years to produce only three offspring (Genesis 5:3-4).

Consider the following:

• It takes about nine months for a child to be conceived and born
• Teenagers are fertile enough to produce offspring of their own

Do the math, by the time Cain set out there would’ve been a sizable population already in existence (Genesis 4:16-17).

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: Creation: “…In addition to yesterday’s statement, Cain, when he went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land Nod, he found himself a wife and had a son by the name of Enoch.[GEN 4:16-17 onwards] Furthermore, it can be seen that Scripture refers to “the sons of God” that took unto themselves as wives the “daughters of men” and that from them came a nation that displeased the Lord due to their wickedness. [GEN 6:1-6]…”

To the author of this tenet:

In the Old Testament, the sons of God refers to angels (Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7). Man was made a little lower than the angels (Psalms 8:4-5, Hebrews 2:6-9). The angels that were sent to earth sinned by lusting after the daughters of men (Genesis 6:2, Matthew 22:30, 2 Peter 2:4-5, Jude 1:6).

In the New Testament, Adam is referred to as the son of God because he was directly formed by God and God shared His breath with him (Luke 3:38). Jesus is the Son of God and He was there from before the beginning (Genesis 1:1, Daniel 3:25, John 1:1-2, John 8:56-58, 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Only Jesus is able to give power to men to become the sons of God when they receive Him and believe on his name (John 1:12-14). As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). The sons of God are blameless, harmless and without rebuke and shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15). The world doesn’t know the sons of God (1 John 3:1-2).

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: Creation: “…Who is the author of the book Genesis and when did the creation occur? Moses is the author of Genesis and the date according to some Bibles, is 4 004 BC. However, Moses was born much later, about 1 500 BC, and he wrote the scripture through inspiration. [II TIM 3:16 & II PET 1:20-21] “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”; When is the beginning? This is also clear from other portions of scripture, like [JOH 1:1-4]…”

To the author of this tenet:

God worked through Moses, the son of Amram (member of the tribe of Levi) and Jochebed (Levi’s daughter). Moses was a direct descendent of Levi (Exodus 6:16-20, Numbers 26:59) who was a direct descendent of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Luke 3:34-38).

Jochebed hid Moses for three months and when she could no longer hide him, she placed him in a little ark on the river where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed (Exodus 2:2-3). Pharaoh’s daughter found him and had compassion on him (Exodus 2:6). The Pharaoh’s daughter then hired Jochebed to nurse Moses (Exodus 2:7-10). Jochebed instilled in Moses a knowledge of his heritage and a love of his people which forty years in Pharaoh’s court could not erase.

God revealed the entire Torah (including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) to Moses. Moses took dictation from God and wrote as God instructed him.

Take note that the Torah consists of the written and oral Torah. The oral Torah is the oral tradition for interpreting the written Torah and the oral tradition would later be written down and be known as the Talmud. The Talmud is nothing like the OAC’s “spiritual” interpretation of Genesis. Jews are not figments of the imagination, they physically exist to this present day and they trace their heritage back to Moses.

“The beginning of the Torah describes G-d's creation of the Universe. The account of the six days of creation culminating in Shabbat, and of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, is so simple that it can be taught to a young child. At the same time it is wonderfully profound. The Talmud, Midrash and Zohar are ancient Jewish works which explain at great length the significance of the opening chapters of the Torah.

A point worth noting is that the universe, nature, is itself a communication to us from G-d. The vastness, the boundless variety, the sense of structure and the sense of a constant interplay of dynamic forces express something about G-d, who causes every detail in the universe to exist. A painting in an art gallery tells us something about the painter; existence tells us something about G-d.” – Excerpt from ‘Nature as Divine Communication’ by Dr. Tali Loewenthal, Director of Chabad Research Unit, London, UK and a frequent contributor to the Chabad.org weekly Torah reading section; based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Some other points to take into consideration:

• God had given Adam a language (Genesis 2:19-23), therefore Adam had the ability to communicate.
• Throughout Genesis the patriarchs kept a record of their generations (Genesis 5:1, Genesis 6:9, Genesis 10:1, Genesis 11:10, Genesis 11:27, Genesis 25:12, Genesis 25:19, Genesis 36:1, Genesis 37:2).
• Most modern scholars acknowledge that writing existed long before the time of Moses and Exodus 17:14 shows that writing was in common use in Moses’ day.

Everything in Scripture was written by God and the actual identity of the transcriber is not important (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

There are OAC members that deny Moses ever existed, which means they contradict the OAC’s first tenet. This places them in a difficult position, on the one hand they teach that everything in the Bible needs to be interpreted as an allegory, but by so doing they deny the literal existence of those who wrote the books of the Bible, as well as those who preached the gospel as eyewitnesses of what they saw.

An OAC member wrote: “...Moses is also referred to as the Scripture. John 5 ; 35 clearly says that just reading the scripture is not enough for salvation. Therefore, Moses, the Scripture cannot enter or receive the salvation...”

This is like saying that Wilbur Smith is also referred to as a novel, and because he’s a novel, he’s not the literal author of the novel. Did the Scripture write a book (Exodus 17:14, Deuteronomy 31:24, Joshua 8:31, Mark 12:26, Hebrews 9:19)?

This member clearly doesn’t know the Bible and quotes verses out of context. The verses in my Bible do not correspond to the OAC member’s statement.

John 5:35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

Regarding Moses, go read for yourself the following verses in your Bible and decide for yourself if Moses received salvation (Matthew 17:3-4, Mark 9:4-5, Luke 9:30-33, Luke 16:29-31, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44, John 5:46, Hebrews 11:23-24, Revelation 15:3).

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: God, Creator of all Things: “…When reading the “history” of the creation, it appears as if there was a lapse in time since the creation of man in [GEN 1:27] and when God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. [GEN 2:4-8] God made man on the sixth day: male and female created He them, but thereafter a description is given of how Adam was formed and later, how Eve was made out of the rib of Adam. How should this be interpreted?

[GEN 2: 7 & 22]…”

To the author of this tenet:

The verses in both chapters are describing the same event, there is no lapse in time.

Matthew 19:4-5 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Notice how Jesus refers to

male and female (Genesis 1:27)

and

therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24).

This is also confirmed by Mark 10:6-8. Jesus makes it clear that these are not two separate accounts, but complemetary accounts referring to Adam and Eve.

Genesis 1 is the big picture which summarises the outline of creation and culminates on the sixth day with the high point of creation, the creation of man.

Genesis 2 gives a more detailed description of the sixth day and the creation of Adam and Eve; and makes man the centre of interest.

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: God, Creator of all Things: “…All the questions lead us to the conclusion that very little is known about the mysteries of the natural creation of the heaven and earth, and that the creation in the Bible refers to the creation of Spiritual things. [ROM 11:33-36] There are natural bodies and there are spiritual bodies – the first Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the earth, earthy, the last man is the Lord from heaven. [I COR 15: 40-49]…”

To the author of this tenet:

This tenet appears to overlook several verses in the Bible:

Romans 1:18-21 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

The creation in the Bible refers to all things visible and invisible (John 1:3, Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, Revelation 4:11). We are the physical descendants of Adam and Eve and we are living souls, pinch yourself and go look in the mirror.

Only Jesus is the Lord from heaven (John 3:13-21, John 6:33, John 6:57, John 17:2-3 etc.)

Only Jesus is the quickening spirit (John 4:14, John 5:21, John 5:25-29, John 6:39-40, John 6:63, John 6:68, John 11:25-26, John 14:6, Romans 8:10-11, Colossians 3:4, 1 John 5:11-12 etc.)

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: God, Creator of all Things: “…The natural body was first, and thereafter the spiritual. It is, however, clear that flesh and blood (the physical) cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither can corruption inherit incorruption. As we bear the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. [I COR 15:49-50] It is clear that God is not a man, but spirit, and that we must worship / serve Him in spirit and in truth. [NUM 23:19 & JOH 4:23-24]…”

To the author of this tenet:

You need to read further than flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Let’s read that part in context with the subsequent verses:

1 Corinthians 15:50-54 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Later we read the following:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

God is a Spirit but that doesn’t mean our Messiah isn’t a man:

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Jesus is the Word (Logos) that was made flesh (John 1:14). This does NOT mean anybody who receives a spoken word by some officer in a church now suddenly becomes Jesus, there is only ONE Jesus who was physically crucified as an atonement for our sins (Romans 3:23-26, Hebrews 7:22-28, Hebrews 9:11-15, Hebrews 9:27-28, 1 John 2:1-6, 1 John 4:8-10).

God wants to be worshipped in spirit and in truth which means you don’t need to be in a mountain or at Jerusalem in order to worship Him:

John 4:21-24 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me,

the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But

the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:

for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Worshipping Him in spirit means God is not confined by geography, worshipping Him is not geographically dependent. This doesn’t mean He wants to be worshipped in allegories, metaphors, mysteries and lies.

OAC [II] Confession of Faith: First Tenet: God, Creator of all Things: “…The wonders of the creation will always be amazing to us and makes us fully aware of the greatness and wisdom of God.  God created it in the beginning. What or who’s beginning? [JOB 38:4-11] God made man a physical, natural being but also blew the breath of life into his nostrils, thus making him a living soul. He created man in His image

(Spirit). Man is therefore the crown of God’s creation and made to inherit His Kingdom. [JOH 18:36 and EZE 18:4]…”

To the author of this tenet:

This contradicts a previous tenet statement which claimed “...the creation in the Bible refers to the creation of Spiritual things...”

Job 38:4-11 points out God’s Divine Power and man’s ignorance. See the previous chapter where Job had challenged God to answer him, and now God is asking Job a series of questions which point out man’s inability to understand God’s ways. Job wasn’t there in the beginning and the verses are not implying Job’s beginning or any other individual person for that matter. Beginning refers to the beginning of time, space and matter. The one cannot exist without the other.

On a spiritual level, man’s relationship to God sets him apart from all other living creatures. The relationship of God to man throughout the Bible is represented as that of a father to his children. Children usually have a strong resemblance to their parents. Adam and Eve were disobedient and corrupted the image of God within themselves. As physical descendants of Adam and Eve, that damaged likeness has been passed on to us and mankind still bears the scars of sin (Romans 5:12).

Redemption is only available by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:4-9). He restores the original image when we put off our old corrupt ways and become renewed in the spirit of our minds (Ephesians 4:17-24). Only through Christ are we made new (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). God wants us to be more like Him so that we can be called the sons of God (1 John 3:1-3).

On a physical level, as children resemble their parents, so too do we resemble our Father and Creator. Even though God is a Spirit, we still bear a physical resemblance to Him. Jesus Christ lived in human form among His disciples, remained in human form when He was transfigured (Matthew 17:1-9), and appeared in human form to His disciples after the resurrection. He appeared in human form to Stephen (Acts 7:55-56) and when He returns He will again appear in human form (Acts 1:9-11). In more ways than one, He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: The Creation of God: “…Through the Word, God created the heaven and earth, and said: “let there be light”. The Word of God, the light of knowledge and understanding, also came into our hearts, thus enabling us to discern between light and darkness; i.e. good and evil.

 [II COR 4:3-6]…”

To the author of this tenet:

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

According to Strong’s, the word “word” in the New Testament is translated from the Greek word logos and is defined as:

something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension a computation; specifically (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (that is, Christ): - account, cause, communication, X concerning, doctrine, fame, X have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, + reckon, remove, say (-ing), shew, X speaker, speech, talk, thing, + none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.

In the beginning the Word already was which means the Word is eternal and existed before the beginning. Ten times in Genesis 1 we read “God said”. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made (Psalms 33:6). John sums these all up as the Word that created all things.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Notice that John (an apostle) is speaking in the past tense and he’s not referring to his own words or those of the other apostles. Neither is he referring to his own flesh or that of the other apostles. Jesus is the only begotten of the Father and John was an eyewitness of Jesus the Messiah, whose name is called ‘The Word of God’ (Revelation 19:13). When John names the three that bear record in heaven, he calls Him ‘Word’ rather than ‘Son’ (1 John 5:7). Because Christ is the Word, it not only refers to the Father that begot Him but also to everything made by Him.

John 1:4-5 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Note that it doesn’t say the Word was light, but that the life was the light.

• Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12, John 9:5)
• Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)

The manifestation of the Word is the light of the world, namely Jesus.

OAC members twist John 1:1 out of context to mean blind obedience to the spoken words of their ministry and your supposed “beginning” refers to the day you heard their “word” and saw their “light” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

John the son of Zebedee and one of the twelve apostles was an original eyewitness of the life of Jesus (Mark 1:19-20, Mark 3:17, John 21:2). John’s purpose for writing the book is best described in his own words.

John 20:30-31 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Our dependence should not be on religious groups who believe their own words empowers them to become “saviours” (Mark 12:29-34, John 17:3, Acts 4:10-12, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, Galatians 3:26, Ephesians 2:8-9, Ephesians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, 1 John 4:14).

When Jesus said “I am”, it was not a blank statement for cults thousands of years later to misuse this statement to refer to themselves. When Jesus said “I am”, He in no way, shape or form implied “we are” (Matthew 24:5, Mark 13:6). “I am” is a singular expression from the mouth of Jesus, it’s not meant as a plural expression from the mouths of mere mortals.

• John 6:48 I am that bread of life.
• John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
• John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
• John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
• John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus Christ gave us clear direction as to who He was, is and always will be.

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: The Creation of God: “…We now realise that our former world (existence) was void and without form; and that in our beginning God also created light (understanding) through the Word. Thus we became the sons of God, born, not of blood, nor of the will of flesh etc. but of God. [JOH 1:1-14]…”

To the author of this tenet:

See my comments on the previous tenet. Regarding our former selves also known as the ‘old man’, there are other verses which are far more appropriate (Ephesians 4:17-32, Hebrews 10:19-39, 1 Peter 1:13-25 etc). You’ll notice that these verses do not refer to any type of beginning but rather to renewal or rebirth. There’s really no need to twist scripture out of context to get this point across.

Only Jesus is able to give power to men to become the sons of God when they receive Him and believe on his name (John 1:12-14). As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). The sons of God are blameless, harmless and without rebuke and shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15). The world doesn’t know the sons of God (1 John 3:1-2).

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: The Creation of God: “…God creates man, through Christ (the Church), in His image and likeness and blows the breath of life in his nostrils (Holy Ghost). Through the Church we are born anew and receive the mark of the Lamb in our foreheads, sealed unto eternal life.  [EZE 36:24-28 and EPH 1:13]…”

To the author of this tenet:

God did NOT create man through the church, the church is the body of Christ.

Ephesians 5:23-32 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Notice that Christ and the church are two seperate entities just as a husband and wife are two seperate people. The church is NOT your saviour.

OAC Confession of Faith:  The Creation: “…In Genesis, God created the two great lights; Christ, the Sun of righteousness, and the light of the world. [MAL 4:1-2 & LUK 1:76-79] The second light is the moon reflecting the light of the sun, to guide those in darkness until the morning star shall shine to announce the coming of the day. This signifies the evangelistic powers in the Church of God,  [REV 2:24-29 and DAN 12:3]…”

To the author of this tenet:

Genesis 1:14-19 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

You will notice that the greater light was made to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night, and that they were not made in the beginning, but only on day four.

They were made for signs, seasons, days and years and to give light upon the earth.

Christ existed before day one (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3).

Man was only made on day six (Genesis 1:26-31).

Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament. The Old Testament was written long before the New Testament. The church did not truly come into existence until the New Testament (Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 1:20-23, Ephesians 4:7-12). Pentecost marked the beginning of the church as a functioning body (the body of Christ) when the Spirit was poured out on that day about 2,000 years ago (Acts 1:4-5, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 2:41-47). The book of Joel was also written after Genesis and Joel the prophet prophesied about the pouring out of the spirit (Joel 2:28-32). Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled in the New Testament on the day of Pentecost about 2,000 years ago (Acts 2:14-21). The disciples were later called Christians (Acts 11:26, 1 Peter 4:16).

The OAC on the other hand originated in South Africa (1927) and they refer to themselves as “apostolics”.

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: The Creation of God: “…Has anyone heard of the kind of trees that were in the garden of Eden?  The tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil – some people refer to the latter as an apple tree, but it rather sounds like spiritual qualities that man should / should not partake of.

[GEN 2:8-9]…”

To the author of this tenet:

After their creation, Adam and Eve were given only one commandment.

Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When God created the world, He clearly defined right (obedience) from wrong (disobedience). One could choose to be disobedient, the choice was clear. If God had not given them the choice, then they would have been mere robots doing what they were programmed to do. The ability to make decisions and having choices is what true freedom is all about, and every decision has a consequence, good or bad.

The tree of knowledge had an affect on Eve’s senses:

• Eve listened to the serpent’s seduction
• Eve saw that the tree was pleasant to her eyes
• Eve touched and then tasted the fruit

When Adam and Eve ate of this tree, their senses became more powerful than their intellect. Forbidden fruit has the tendency of changing one’s frame of reference from universal to personal, from spiritual to carnal. There was nothing evil about the tree, it was the act of disobedience that was spiritually detrimental.

Before they ate from the forbidden tree they saw each other as souls with the body merely serving as a covering. Because they were focused on the spiritual side, they weren’t aware of their naked bodies.

After eating from the forbidden tree their perception of the physical world changed, their bodies became a distraction from their souls and they were ashamed of their naked bodies. Their guilty conscience also caused them to try and hide from the LORD God.

Adam and Eve had to put on clothes to shift the focus from their external nakedness so that their souls could shine through. This explains why animals never feel the compulsion to put on clothes because they don’t have divine souls.

As physical descendants of Adam and Eve, we can identify with the seductive power of our senses.

1 Peter 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

Due to their disobedience, they lost access to the tree of life which would have helped them to live forever (Genesis 3:22). To live forever in a sinful state would be agony. God in His great mercy provides eternal life through Christ to spare us the misery of an endless existence in our sinful condition.

Romans 5:12-17 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Through Christ we will be resurrected again to see the tree of life in the New Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 15:50-57,  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 2:7, Revelation 22:2-5, Revelation 22:14). The curse will be no more, darkness will be forever banished and Eden will be restored.

Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the tree so that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by His stripes are we healed (Acts 5:30, Acts 10:39, Acts 13:29, 1 Peter 2:24). Jesus on the cross became our spiritual tree of life.

OAC Confession of Faith: First Tenet: The Creation of God: “…Has anyone ever come across a serpent (snake) that can speak? The serpent is the devil, Satan, who still lures the souls away from God through disobedience and better knowledge. He “speaks” to us through our minds and our “friends” as “angels of the light”.  [II COR 11:14 & REV 12:9]…”

To the author of this tenet:

The OAC’s definition of the devil is one’s own will. I remember a popular Afrikaans saying in the OAC which said “...duiwel is verkeerd gespel in die Bybel, dis eintlik my wil...”

For those of you who don’t understand Afrikaans, they’re saying “…devil is spelled wrong in the Bible, it’s actually my will...”

It’s interesting that only one verse is quoted from 2 Corinthians and that the preceding and subsequent verses are omitted. Let’s see 2 Corinthians 11:14 along with those other verses.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

This sounds very much like the OAC who claim to be the apostles of Christ. Satan is the ultimate source behind every false church.

The devil however is not a symbol of evil inside a person or a product of human imagination. It was the devil that tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). A devil is able to possess people (Matthew 12:22). The devil was a murderer from the beginning and is the father of lies (John 8:44). When we submit ourselves to God, the devil will flee when we resist him (James 4:7).

Remember, Adam and Eve were the only people at the time which is why the serpent was used as a medium through which to speak. Speaking animals are nothing strange, later in the Bible we read of another animal which was used as a medium by the LORD to speak to Balaam (Numbers 22:28-31).

Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,

then your eyes shall be opened,

and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Did you notice the lies spoken by the serpent to Eve?

• Ye shall not surely die
• your eyes shall be opened
• ye shall be as gods

These lies sound strangely familiar to the doctrines and teachings of false apostles.

The serpent doesn’t always have a negative connotation. Moses made a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole. If any man was bitten by a serpent, he would live by looking at the serpent of brass (Numbers 21:9). Likewise Jesus was lifted up so that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:14-15).

OAC [Ш] Confession of Faith: First Tenet: The Creation of God: “…By the grace of God He created us as spiritual people through Christ, the Church, to bear spiritual fruits with an eternal value.  [EPH 2:1-10 & ROM 8:9]…”

To the author of this tenet:

Ephesians 2:8-13 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

The blood of Christ does not refer to the blood of the church.

Hebrews 9:22-28 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The good news is that there is only one REAL Jesus and He is the ONLY Messiah.