T h e n e w s l e t t e r o f t h e N e w A p o s t o l i c C h u r c h C a p e African Edition 2 July 2015 Free issue Divine service: Chief Apostle in Tanzania Joy in Christ Regional news The Chief Apostle in Tanzania Chief Apostle Schneider visited Tanzania from 16-19 April 2015. On the Friday he held a service in Mbeya during which he placed Apostles E Mwaisaka and W Mtiga of Tanzania into retirement. Thereafter five apostles were ordained: three for Tanzania and two for Kenya. On the Sunday he conducted a festive divine service at Dodoma. Here he retired District Apostle S Lubasi and ordained his successor District Apostle J Ekhuya. More than 50 000 were con- nected via transmission. Dear brothers and sisters, dear guests, it show how great your love is for me?” Jesus would be wonderful if all we had to do was to produced evidence long ago that He loves us: ask Jesus and He would fulfil our wishes. But He died for us. He attached some conditions to this promise. Many people today would like to ask First of all, we have to believe that He is the Jesus, “Can’t You change Your gospel? Why Son of God who came to bring salvation and don’t You adapt it to our time.” Those who to prepare us for eternal life. believe that He is the Son of God know that The second condition is that we have to what He said is valid for all eternity. He will ask in His name if we want our prayers to be not change the gospel; there is no point in answered. They have to be prayers that Jesus asking Him to do so. Himself could be praying. When somebody It is also pointless to ask Him to punish came to Jesus to ask for something and He sinners. The disciples tried once. Jesus realized that they did not have enough faith, rebuked them. Another time, the scribes and or that He could not agree with, He refused to Pharisees brought a woman to Him “Teacher, do what had been asked. Some Pharisees this woman was caught in adultery. . .” (John came and said, “Teacher, we want a sign 8:4). They expected Him to punish her. Jesus from you.” But He refused. We cannot come refused because these were not His thoughts. to God and say, “Can you not do a miracle to He is the Saviour and wants to save the sin- ner and not punish him. 2 African Joy July 2015 d i v i n e s e r v i c e There is also no point in asking Jesus to bless a divided heart. In the Sermon on the Mount He explained “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name . . .?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you’” (Matthew 7:21–23). He knew that even though they had done great things in His name, their heart was divided. If we have a problem we can ask the Lord to help us. What we cannot do is solve the problem by lying. If we do that, we are actually asking Him to bless our disobedience. He cannot bless a divided heart. One last example. When Jesus was with Mary and Martha, Mary was sitting at His feet. Martha came and asked Jesus to tell “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it”. Mary to come and help her. And Jesus answered, “Mary John 14:14 has chosen that good part” (Luke 10:40, 42). We cannot bour. Then He will grant it to us. He is in expect Jesus to attach more importance to our heaven and intercedes for us. So if we ask for earthly life than to eternal life. The soul will grace with a humble, repentant, and forgiving always be more important than the body. So it heart He will grant it. is useless to ask Him to shift priorities. In another prayer, Jesus prayed for the So what can we ask Him for? We can ask unity of His Apostles and for all those who Him to give us a strong faith. If we ask for believe in Him through them. Therefore He this, He will do it, because He prays for exact- also prayed for us, for our unity. I would like ly the same thing (cf. Luke 22:32). We can that each and every one in every congregation pray, “Lord, Your will be done.” That is not prays sincerely for the unity in our congrega- easy, because sometimes we have misconcep- tion. Jesus will grant it because He is praying tions about the will of God. We think God for exactly the same thing. wants us to suffer and to die. God does not If we ask Him, “Please shorten the time want us to suffer. God wants us to remain and come quickly,” He will fulfil our plea, faithful even if we have to suffer. because He is praying for exactly the same Praying in the name of Jesus also means thing. asking Him for grace. For this we have to be (Shortened) humble and repentant and forgive our neigh- July 2015 African Joy 3 Joy in Christ! Dear Brothers and Sisters around the world, A few months of the year 2015 have already passed. They have brought happiness and tragedy, distress and grief, joy and confidence. When I published this motto—“Joy in Christ”—at the beginning of the year, I did not realize how multifaceted it was. Some may even have been thinking about earthly happiness. And who would not be delighted about that! But there is so much more to this motto: for example, there is the joy we feel in divine services, the joy that results from the forgiveness of our sins, and the joy we experience in Holy Communion. Have we not all experienced such beautiful moments of fel- lowship, of togetherness, of encouragement, and support? I am confident that our motto will continue to live on. It is far more than just a slogan. Following are some thoughts concerning our motto “Joy in Christ”. ■ We can rejoice that we are part of such a beautiful fellowship of God’s children. We are members in a congregation and are not alone on our path of faith. ■ The Lord loves us and has died for us. Our sins are forgiven and He calls us to His table to have fellowship with Him. In every divine service He steps into our midst and we experience Him. ■ The Lord will return. He has promised this and will keep His promise. Is that not what we are looking forward to most of all? He will return to take home His bride. And we can expect His coming! You have to admit: this is wonderful! This is something in which we can all rejoice together Remember the words in Psalm 103:2 “Forget not all His benefits.” Wishing you a joyful time ahead, Yours, Jean-Luc Schneider 4 African Joy July 2015 d o c t r i n e The Creed In September this year, the Catechism of the New Apostolic Church in Questions and Answers will be published in book form. community pres- ents excerpts of some of the 750 questions and answers. In this issue we will look at the creed and the triune God. What is a creed? Which are the most important of the A creed is a summary of the essential early church creeds? content of a doctrine of faith. Such a creed The two most important early church contains all the things which the members creeds are the of a particular religious denomination pro- Apostolic Creed (“Apostolicum”) and the fess. It is by way of its creed that a Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople. The basic religious denomination distinguishes itself features of the Apostolicum were compiled from another. in the second century and lightly supple- mented in the fourth century. The Creed of How did the first Christian creeds come Nicaea-Constantinople is the result of the into being? Council of Nicaea (in the year 325 ad) and The first Christian creeds are called the the Council of Constantinople (in the year “early church creeds”. They came into 381 ad). The main purpose of this creed being between the second and fourth cen- was to enshrine the profession of the trinity turies ad. It was during this time that the of God. doctrine of the trinity of God and the doc- A council is an assembly of senior reli- trine of the essence of Jesus Christ, that is, gious dignitaries, who come together to of His nature, were formulated. discuss important matters of faith. This had become necessary because there had been disputes about various con- What significance do the early church tents of faith. For example, there was the creeds have for the New Apostolic Church? opinion that Jesus Christ did not really die The doctrine of the New Apostolic on the cross and that He did not really res- Church is based upon Holy Scripture. The urrect. The function of the creeds was to early church creeds summarize important distinguish the faith from these heresies. contents that are attested in Holy Scripture. July 2015 African Joy 5 d o c t r i n e The New Apostolic Church professes human being in the Holy Spirit, and that the belief in the triune God, in Jesus Christ as person baptized is adopted into the fellow- true God and true Man, in Jesus’ birth by ship of those who believe in Jesus Christ the virgin Mary, in the sending of the Holy and profess Him as their Lord. Spirit, in the church, the sacraments, the “I believe that Holy Communion was insti- expectation of the return of Christ, and the tuted by the Lord Himself in memory of the resurrection of the dead, as formulated in once brought, fully valid sacrifice, and bitter the two early church creeds. suffering and death of Christ. The worthy Despite the differences between the indi- partaking of Holy Communion establishes vidual denominations, these professions our fellowship with Jesus Christ, our Lord. It constitute a binding element among is celebrated with unleavened bread and Christians. wine; both must be consecrated and dis- The term “confession” can mean “creed” pensed by a minister authorized by an or “church affiliation”. The different Apostle. Christian denominations can also be “I believe that those baptized with water described as different “confessions”. must, through an Apostle, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to attain the childhood in God What is the text of the New Apostolic and thereby the prerequisite for becoming a Creed? firstling. “I believe in God, the Father, the “I believe that the Lord Jesus will return Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth. as surely as He ascended into heaven and “I believe in Jesus Christ, the only begot- that He will take to Himself the firstfruits of ten Son of God, our Lord, who was the dead and living who have hoped for and conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the vir- were prepared for His coming; that after the gin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was marriage in heaven He will return to earth crucified, died, and was buried, entered the with them to establish His kingdom of realm of the dead, rose again from the dead peace, and that they will reign with Him as a on the third day, and ascended into heaven. royal priesthood. After the conclusion of the He is seated at the right hand of God, the kingdom of peace, He will hold the Last Father Almighty, from where He will return. Judgement. Then God will create a new “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the one, holy, heaven and a new earth and dwell with His universal, and apostolic church, the commu- people. nity of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the “I believe that I am obliged to obey the resurrection of the dead, and life everlast- worldly authorities provided no godly laws ing. are thereby transgressed.” “I believe that the Lord Jesus rules His church and thereto sent His Apostles, and What is the significance of the New until His return still sends them, with the Apostolic Creed? commission to teach, to forgive sins in His In ten Articles of Faith, the New Apostolic name, and to baptize with water and Holy Creed brings the doctrine of the New Spirit. Apostolic Church to binding expression. It “I believe that those designated by God also has the function of defining the attitude for a ministry are ordained only by Apostles, of faith of New Apostolic Christians. and that authority, blessing, and sanctifica- Beyond that, the creed serves to make tion for their ministration come forth out of other people familiar with the most impor- the Apostle ministry. tant elements of the New Apostolic faith. “I believe that the Holy Baptism with water is the first step to a renewal of a 6 African Joy July 2015 d o c t r i n e The Triune God The Catechism of the New Apostolic Church in Questions and Answers has been designed with a didactic and methodological approach in mind. By way of 750 questions and answers, readers are taken by the hand, so to speak, and led from statement to statement in a manner that is easily understandable. Who is the triune God? Redeemer who became human and gave God is a spiritual, perfect, and complete- His life as a sacrifice for the redemption of ly independent being. He is eternal, without mankind. God, the Holy Spirit, is the Maker beginning and without end. The one God is of the new creation: He sees to it that the the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. salvation of God is made accessible to When we talk about “the Father, the Son, mankind and that the new creation comes and the Holy Spirit”, we are not referring to to its completion. three different gods, but rather three per- What does the term “Father” mean when sons who are the one God. it is used in relationship to God? When the term “Father” is used in rela- What characteristics of God do we tionship to God, it is associated with divine know? aspects of creatorship, authority, and lov- Human beings are incapable of fully ing care. God is the source and sustainer of describing God. However, we know some that which He has created. In this respect, of God’s characteristics: He is the One God all human beings are able to address God, (the only God), the Holy One, The Almighty, who is their Creator, as “Father”. the Eternal, the Loving One, the Gracious One, the Righteous One, and the Perfect What does the creation tell us about One. God? The creation and the laws by which it What is the relationship of the Father, functions bear witness to God’s wisdom, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to one another? the magnitude of which cannot even be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are names imagined by man. In admiration the for the three divine persons. Although they psalmist exclaims, “The heavens declare are to be distinguished from one another, the glory of God; and the firmament shows they are nevertheless the one God. In His handiwork” (Psalm 19: 1). Christian tradition, each of the three divine persons is assigned a particular point of emphasis: God, the Father, is the Creator of Continue on page 10 heaven and earth. God, the Son, is the July 2015 African Joy 7 GOD PROVIDES WATER IN THE DESERT (EXODUS 17:1–7) God had freed His people from The Israelites were complaining captivity in Egypt. The Israelites because they had nothing to eat. had been wandering through the So every evening God provided desert for a considerable time. them with quails and every morn- They had not yet reached the ing He provided manna that they Promised Land. were able to find around the camp. They carried on walking and then they ran out of water. The people were very thirsty. They thought they were going to die of thirst. Again they complained to Moses. “Give us water. Why did you take us away from Egypt if we, our children, and our animals are just 8 African Joy July 2015 s u n d a y s c h o o l c o r n e r going to die here in the desert?” the rock. Strike the rock and Moses asked them, “Why are you water will come out of it for the so angry? Why do you not trust people to drink as much as they God? He cares for you.” want.” The Israelites were not pacified, And that is what happened. however. They became more and more angry. Moses called out to God, “What am I going to do with these peo- ple? It wont be long before they ’ start stoning me.” God answered, “Gather together all the elders of the tribes, take your staff with which you struck the River Nile and walk ahead of the people. Go to the rock at Horeb. I will stand before you on Wihs el ons itt, sGeoedm ws itl lh haet l pa.l l July 2015 African Joy 9 d o c t r i n e In what span of time did God create the also revealed in that He allows angels to world? serve human beings. From Matthew 18: 10 God created the world in six “days of we may even conclude that children have creation”. The term “day of creation” special angel protection. refers to a period of time whose duration is “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy not precisely specified. A “day” in the cre- angels, which present the prayers of the ation of God is not to be equated with a day saints, and which go in and out before the according to our reckoning of time. Genesis glory of the Holy One. … For not of any 2: 2 states, “And on the seventh day God favour of mine, but by the will of our God I ended His work which He had done, and came; wherefore praise him for ever” He rested on the seventh day from all His (Tobit 12: 15, 18). works which He had done.” “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in “… that with the Lord one day is as a heaven their angels always see the face of thousand years, and a thousand years as My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18: one day” (2 Peter 3: 8). 10). “For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past” (Psalm 90: Should angels be worshipped? 4). No, because angels only act in accor- dance with the will of God. For this reason Does the creation of God only consist of it is not to them, but to God alone, that that which human beings can grasp with thanks and worship are due. their senses? No. There is also an invisible creation of Angels are “all ministering spirits sent God. Its mysteries elude human inquiry— forth to minister for those who will inherit like God Himself. Holy Scripture salvation” (Hebrews 1: 14). nevertheless contains references to realms, occurrences, conditions, and Why should human beings concern beings outside of the material creation. themselves with the invisible? Man is an entity consisting of spirit, soul, Is the Devil part of the invisible creation? and body (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5: 23). The The Devil was originally one of the body is mortal and thus belongs to the visi- angels. As such he is part of the invisible ble creation of God. Soul and spirit thus creation. This angel rebelled against God belong to the invisible creation of God. and was cast out of heaven and the fellow- Because soul and spirit continue to exist ship of God with his followers owing to his even after physical death, it is important to disobedience, envy, and lies. concern oneself with the invisible. The attitude which a person adopts “For … God did not spare the angels toward God during earthly life will have who sinned, but cast them down to hell” (2 consequences for his existence in the Peter 2: 4). beyond. This insight can help him resist the “And the angels who did not keep their temptations of the Devil and lead a life that proper domain, but left their own abode, He is pleasing to God. has reserved in everlasting chains under The significance of the invisible is clari- darkness for the judgement of the great fied by Apostle Paul, “For our light day” (Jude 6). affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and What is the task of the angels? eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4: It is the task of the angels to worship 17–18). Occupying themselves with the God, fulfil His commissions, and thereby invisible therefore helps human beings serve Him. God’s love for human beings is process that which they experience. 10 African Joy July 2015