Preface:

Change and our culture:
Change is common to all human life.  We are not today what we were yesterday; we will not be tomorrow what we are today.  Like our world, much of what we are, do and say is temporal. 

However, there are a few things in life that never change--nor should they.  Such is God.  Unlike the human condition, God never changes (Malachi 3:6).  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  And like Him--His truth is also everlasting.  It remains the single constant in our ever dynamic world of shifting cultural values.  These truths of God are His word.  They are recorded in the Bible and are foundational to successful happy living.

Our 16 Doctrines . . .

The Assemblies of God (Most information taken from http://www.ag.org)

Our Statement of Fundamental Truths:

When the Assemblies of God formed in 1914, America was in the midst of a sweeping global revival.  This revival was deeply spiritual, and like none other of its day.  Unlike many present day revivals, this one was not planned, or heavily promoted--nor was it the work of any single person or tied to any church or denomination.  In reality this was more than a revival--it was a sovereign move of God's Spirit.  It was one that transcended all boundaries and reached across people of all colors, ages, and denominations.  

In this revival people began experiencing the baptism in the Holy Spirit in similar fashion as that recorded in the New Testament.  Like the 120 believers in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost (Acts2), people involved in this revival were filled with the Holy Spirit.  They too began speaking in unknown languages.  Outstanding miracles and signs of God's presence and anointing were openly visible.  People were saved and lives were magnificently changed.  Participants of the revival were given the name Pentecostals. 

As news of the revival spread, sightseers and news reporters came to mock and investigate this new outpouring of God.  Many who came to scoff were convicted under the power of the Holy Spirit and became converts to the cause of Christ. 

As participants of the revival returned to their homes, they were now changed.  All carried the message and reports of God's outpouring with them.  Some were welcomed back, many weren't.  Still others had been so moved by the Spirit that they involved themselves in full-time ministry. 

Problems soon arose.  The mainline churches quickly rejected the new Baptism phenomenon.  Those involved were asked to leave or made to feel uncomfortable in their churches.  Many were ostracized and ridiculed by their communities.  Others, now involved in ministry and efforts to continue the revival, were isolated from friends of similar beliefs.

Soon Pentecostal leaders recognized the need for some type of organization or framework for supporting their ministries and continuing fellowship with one another.  A call went out for the Pentecostals to meet and consider the possibility of establishing a new church.
 

However, many having just been scorned by their former churches didn't want anything to do with creating a new denomination.  These Pentecostals felt it best for local churches to remain totally independent.  Still others thought organizing a new church was the only way to continue the wonderful Holy Spirit revival.
 

In April 1914, some 300 of the Pentecostal leaders met in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to discuss the matter.  With division in the ranks they opened the meeting with 3 days of prayer.  Afterwards they voted to organize, but not as a denomination.  Instead they chose to form themselves in what is best described as a loosely knit fellowship.  A fellowship that allowed local churches the needed freedom to conduct their own ministries, yet provided the vital network for servicing the Pentecostal work of the Holy Spirit.  So was born the General Council of the Assemblies of God in April 1914.
 

The first years of a headquarters operation consisted primarily of printing a paper to carry reports of the ministry, establishing a fund for supporting the work of missionaries, and formally credentialing ministers.
 

It wasn't until 2 years later in 1916 that the new fellowship saw the need to establish a set of doctrinal standards.  After only a few months, an unscriptural practice of baptizing converts in water using "only the name of Jesus," surfaced.  The teaching spread like wildfire in many churches where entire congregations were re-baptized.  At stake for the young Assemblies of God was the danger of leaving the Trinitarian ranks of Christianity, creating further isolation from other Christian groups and setting sail on ill winds of biblical error.
 

However, Bible scholars stepped forward explaining the Scriptures, and pointing out the error of the new teaching.  Nearly all involved in the "Jesus only" teaching admitted their error and reputed the practice.
 

It is in this context that the young Assemblies of God realized its need for outlining some essential standards of truth--standards that would navigate the church on a biblical course.  In a meeting held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1916, the Assemblies of God established 16 doctrinal standards called the Statement of Fundamental Truths, standards that have withstood the test of time and served the church well.

The formulation of the church and a need for essential standards:

Today's Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths is the same as that established in 1916.  Only minor adjustments in wording and clarification have been made since that first statement.  Based on the eternal, inerrant Word of God, the Statement needs no alteration of the truth it proclaims.
 

The Assemblies of God, like every Bible believing group, must speak God's eternal truth to each generation and to each individual.  Sometimes a statement of fundamental truths, with its theological terminology, speaks more to theologians than it does to the man and woman on the street or in the pew.  This publication of the 16 fundamental doctrines of the Assemblies of God expresses the doctrines in non-theological terminology .  We desire that every man, woman, and child understand the truth of Scripture as did our predecessors who searched the Bible, composed the Statement, experienced its truth, and left it to us as a precious heritage.

Concerning this document:

The Bible is completely adequate by itself to serve as the guide for our beliefs and way of living.  This paraphrased version of the Statement of Fundamental Truths is intended only to make the  official Statement more readily understood.  The primary Statement, as it appears in the Constitution of the Assemblies of God, is intended to be the common basis for our fellowship and unity, or as the Bible recommends, that we may agree with one another so as to avoid divisions because of disagreements on what we believe (1 Corinthians 1:10 and Acts 2:42).  There is no claim that the wording of this statement is divinely inspired (as is the Bible), but the truth it sets forth is felt to be essential to a full-gospel, Bible-based ministry.  Furthermore, there is no pretense that this statement contains all of the Bible's truth.  It merely covers some basic fundamental teaching thought to be vital to successful Christian living.

Our 16 Statement of Fundamental Truths: (Some information taken from http://ag.org)

Doctrine Number One:

The Scriptures Inspired

Doctrine Number Two:

The One True God

There is one true God.  He has revealed himself as having always existed without any outside cause or agent bringing Him into being (Isaiah 43:10).  He is the Creator of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1) and the One who redeems, saves, or rescues mankind from sin and its painful consequences (Isaiah 43:11).  God has further revealed himself as a single Being (Deuteronomy 6:4) consisting of three interrelated persons:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, Luke 3:22).  This concept of one God or Being of three persons is called the Trinity.

Importance of This Doctrine:
It is contrary to the clear statement and meaning of Scripture to speak of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three gods or as three modes in which the one God has revealed himself.  Through the centuries such false teachings have created division and devastation in the church.  Though the concept of a "three in One" Trinity has no parallel in the human world, it is absolutely scriptural and essential to a proper understanding of the multifaceted nature of God.  Other Scripture references support the nature of the one true God and the relationship between the three persons:   Zechariah 14:9; Matthew 1:21-23, 11:25-27, 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 1:1,2,14,18,29,49, 5:17-30,32,37, 8:17-18, 14:16-17, 15:26, 17:11,21; Acts 2:32-36; Romans 1:1-3,7, 14:11;   1 Corinthians 1:24, 15:24-28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Philippians 2:8-9; Hebrews 1:1-13, 7:3, 12:2;  1 Peter 1:8, 3:22;  1 John 1:3,4, 2:22-23, 3:8, 4:1-5,10,14; 2 John 3,9;  Revelation 1:13,17, 4:8-11, 5:6-14, 7:9-10.

Doctrine Number Three:

The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has always existed.  He too is without beginning or end (Revelation 1:8).   In order to complete His earthly sacrificial mission, He became human by being born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31,35).  He lived a perfect life, absolutely without sin (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22).  While on earth, He worked many miracles through the anointing of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:22, 10:38).  In order to restore fallen mankind, He died on the cross as a substitute for the sins of every person (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  He was raised from the dead by the supernatural power of God (Matthew 28;6; Luke 24:39: 1 Corinthians 6:14, 15:4).  Since His resurrection He has been exalted (honored), and is seated at the right hand of God (Acts 1:9,11, 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3).

Importance of This Doctrine:
The supernatural birth of Jesus, His sinless life, His working of miracles all give proof that He is the divine Son of God who came to earth in human form to give himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  No death of a natural human could provide forgiveness of sin (salvation) for the entire human race.

Knowing that Jesus came from God, and actually is God, and returned to God's presence after His death and resurrection assures us that our salvation and restored relationship with God is not only logical, but a true reality.

Doctrine Number Four:

The Fall of Mankind

Importance of This Doctrine:  
The fact that mankind fell from its original innocence and moral goodness is ignored by humanistic philosophies which teach that the human race can be improved and moral imperfection removed through education.  The truth is that mankind apart from God is fallen or morally defective. The Bible teaches that mankind is destined to remain fallen, until his tendency toward evil thoughts and deeds is reversed through accepting of the salvation provided in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's Son.  Education can improve a person intellectually and socially, but belief in the saving work of Jesus Christ is the only lasting means that can improve a person morally.  Salvation restores the relationship with God that was broken with the fall of mankind.

Doctrine Number Five: