Our Understanding of Doctrine
a. THE SCRIPTURE
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six (66) books of the Old and New Testaments, is verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit, is inerrant in the original manuscripts, and is the infallible and authoritative Word of God.
(Matt. 4:4; 5:17-19; John 10:35; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20, 21)
b. GODHEAD OR TRINITY
We believe that there is only one living and true God. He eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the same in essence, equal in power and glory. We believe that God, by His spoken Word and for His own glory, created the heavens and earth out of nothing.
(Gen.1:1; Deut. 6:4; Isaiah 45:21-22; Matt. 3:16-17; John 4:23, 24; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:3-6)
c. GOD THE FATHER
We believe that God the Father loves the world, gave Christ to be its Savior and is the Father of all who believe on Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
(John 3:16-17; Rom. 8:15-17; Eph. 2:4-8; Gal. 3:26; 4:6)
d. GOD THE SON
We believe that God the Son became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary. He is truly God and truly man, and lived a perfect, sinless life. All His teachings and utterances are true.
(Luke 1:34-37; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19; Heb. 7:26; 1 Tim. 3:16)
We believe that the crucified body of Christ was raised from the dead, according to the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and He sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
(1 Cor. 15:4; Heb. 2:17-18; 7:24-25; 10:12)
e. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person. He is the divine author of the Scriptures. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He is the divine agent of regeneration. and He indwells all believers. The Holy Spirit enables the believer to understand the Scriptures. He empowers believers for godly living, and He equips them for witness and service.
(John 16:7-11; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:4-16; 1 Cor. 2:12-13; 6:19; 12:4-7; 12:13; Eph. 1:13, 14; Titus 3:5; 2 Pet. 1:21)
f. HUMANITY
We believe that the human race was created in the image of God. Adam sinned and, thereby, incurred spiritual death, which is separation from God, as well as physical death. Consequently, all people are born with a sinful nature, which is at enmity toward God. and are absolutely in need of salvation.
(Gen. 1:26-27; 3:19; Rom. 3:23; 5:12; James 3:9)
g. SATAN
We believe in the existence of a personal Satan and evil angelic powers and that they all have been judged by God in the death and resurrection of Christ.
(Matt. 25:41; Luke 4:1-13; John 16:11; Rev. 12:9; 20:10)
h. SALVATION
We believe that salvation is only by grace, through faith. All who by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are born again by the Holy Spirit. There is no other way by which a person may be saved. All who are truly born again have been given eternal life and shall never perish.
(John 3:16; 10:28; Acts 4:12; Rom. 5:8, 9; 8:28-39; Eph. 2:8-9; 4:30)
i. THE CHURCH AND ORDINANCES
We believe that the church is the body of Jesus Christ and is a divinely established instrument for the worship of God, the growth of believers and evangelism of the lost. It is the responsibility of the members of the church to participate in making disciples of Jesus Christ and to live out their faith with justice and mercy. Baptism and the Lord’s supper are divinely enjoined upon all believers. They are without saving merit in themselves, but they provide an expression of faith regarding the believer’s identification and fellowship with Christ.
(Matt. 16:18; 28:18-20; Rom. 15:20-21; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 2 Cor. 8:10, 13-15; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:8, 9; 2:19-22; 3:10, 21; James 1:27)
j. THE RETURN OF CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ will return personally and bodily to rapture the church. The second coming of Christ will be premillennial to establish His kingdom upon the earth and to reign in righteousness, justice and peace.
(1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 20:1-10)
k. RESURRECTION
We believe that both believers and unbelievers will be raised from the dead bodily. The redeemed in Christ will enjoy eternal blessedness. Those who have not accepted the offer of salvation will be judged by Jesus Christ.
(Daniel 12:2; Mark 9:47-48; John 5:28, 29; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15; 21:3,4)
l. CHRISTIAN LIFE
We believe that the Christian life is to be lived by faith, trusting the Lord to meet all of our needs. All who are saved are new creatures in Christ, with provision made for victory over the flesh by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are called to be holy, and to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness.
(Matt. 6:31-34; Rom. 6:8, 7:8; Eph. 6:10-20; 1 Peter 1:13-15; 5:8-11; 2 Peter 3:11-14; 2 Tim. 2:3-6; Titus 2:11, 12; Hebrews 12:14)
Our Ministry Style
As you can see, our understanding of doctrine is very Biblically conservative. Our understanding of ministry is equally Biblically conservative. In fact we strongly believe that we have to follow the plain teachings of scripture with respect to ministry style. This has led us to a ministry style that has four basic points which conform to how we understand the Bible.
– Firstly, we try to follow the direct ministry style of Jesus as it is revealed in the Gospel narratives.
– Secondly, we accept the indirect ministry style of Jesus as the Holy Spirit incarnated His life within the apostolic churches described in the Book of Acts.
– Thirdly, we accept the Biblical mandate in 1 Corinthians 9 to adapt to Hindu culture.
– Lastly, we accept the warnings in Galatians to avoid exporting a set of “Christian” traditions to people from non-Christian families.
Putting this into practice is simply implementing the teaching of the Bible in our ministry to Hindus today.
– Firstly, Jesus prayed with spiritual authority for very needy people and explained the gospel to them in the style of teaching and learning that spoke most clearly to common people. He also mentored the people who received his ministry in a group context, teaching them to become his disciples. We try to do that.
– Secondly, this pattern was carried on by the apostles who mentored disciples of Jesus in groups which Christians refer to as churches, teaching them how to pray and teach like Jesus did through the power of the Holy Spirit. We try to do that.
– Thirdly, as the churches multiplied and the Kingdom spread, issues of how to bring Jesus to very different people emerged. The Holy Spirit demonstrated that Jesus accepted faith in him that was expressed in different ways without diverging from the Truth, so a ministry style which we refer to as contextualization began. We try to do that. A major issue of church life emerged in the early church that threatened to stymie the spread of the true gospel. Some older disciples of Jesus tried to insist that all newer disciples had to adopt a lifestyle that the older disciples were comfortable with, even including diet. This was eventually shown to be an error, so newer disciples were given freedom to live out their faith according to their own local culture. We try to do that.
GO Network exists to reproduce spiritually healthy networks of churches and outreach workers within Hindu communities around the world.