1. THE CREED
Foreword
The World Korean Presbyterian Church adopts the following twelve articles as its Confession of Faith to be subscribed by ministers, elders, deacons and all members. This is a summary of the teachings of the Scripture and also the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms that are worthy exponents of the Word of God. Therefore, the following should be taught in our local churches and the seminaries.
The Twelve Articles
Article 1
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and duty.
Article 2
There is but one God and He alone is to be worshiped. He is a Spirit, self-existent, omnipresent, yet distinct from all other spirits and from material things; infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth and love.
Article 3
In the Godhead, there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
Article 4
All things visible and invisible were created by God by the word of His power, and are preserved and governed by Him so that, while He is in no way the author of sin, He works all things according to the counsel of His will, and they serve the fulfillment of His wise, good, and holy purpose.
Article 5
God created man, male and female, after His own image, in knowledge, impartiality and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. All men have the same origin and are brethren.
Article 6
Our first parents, being free to choose between good and evil, and being tempted, sinned against God; and all mankind, descending by ordinary generation from Adam, the head of the race, sinned in him, and fell with him. To their original guilt and corruption, those capable of so doing have added actual transgressions. All justly deserve His wrath and punishment in this present life and in that which is to come.
Article 7
To save men from the guilt, corruptions and penalty of sin, and to give them eternal life, God, in His infinite love, sent into the world His eternal and only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone God has become incarnate , and through whom alone men can be saved. The eternal Son became true man, and was and continues to be true God and true man, in two distinct natures, and one person forever. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary, yet without sin. For sinful men, He perfectly obeyed the law of God, and offered Himself a true and perfect sacrifice to satisfy Divine justice and reconcile men to God. He died on the cross, was buried and rose again from the dead on the third day. He ascended to the right hand of God, where He makes intercession for His people, and whence He shall come again to raise the dead, and to judge the world.
Article 8
The Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, makes men partakers of salvation, convincing them of their sin and misery and enlightening their minds in the knowledge of Christ, renewing their wills, persuading and enabling them to embrace Jesus Christ freely offered them in the Gospel, and working in them all the fruits of impartiality.
Article 9
While God chose the people in Christ before the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and without blemish before Him in love, having foreordained them unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on them in the beloved; He makes a full and free offer of salvation to all men, and commands them to repent of their sins, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, and to live a humble, holy life after His example, and in obedience to God's revealed will.
Those who believe in Christ and obey Him are saved, the chief benefits being that they receive justification, adoption into the number of the sons of God, sanctification through the indwelling of the Spirit and eternal glory. Believers may also in this life enjoy assurance of their salvation. In His gracious work, the Holy Spirit uses the means of grace, especially the Word, the sacraments and prayer.
Article 10
The sacraments instituted by Christ are Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the washing with water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and is the sign and seal of our union to Christ, of regeneration, and of the renewing of the Holy Spirit, and our engagement to be the Lord's. It is administered to those who profess their faith in Christ and to their children.
The Lord's Supper is the partaking of the bread and of the cup as a memorial of Christ's death, and is a sign and seal of the benefits thereof to believers. It is to be observed by His people till He comes in token of their faith in Him and His sacrifice, of their appropriation of its benefits, and of their future engagement to serve Him, of their communion with Him and with one another.
The benefits of the Sacraments are not from any virtue in them or in him who administers them, but only from the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit
in them that by faith receive them.
Article 11
It is the duty of all believers to unite in Church fellowship, to observe the sacraments and other ordinances of Christ, to obey His laws, to continue in prayer, to keep holy the Lord's Day, to meet together for His worship, to wait upon the preaching of His word, to give as God may prosper them, to manifest a Christ-like spirit among themselves and toward all men, to labor for the extension of Christ's kingdom throughout the world, and to wait for His glorious appearing.
Article 12
At the last day, the dead shall be raised, and all shall appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and shall receive according to the deeds done in the present life, whether good or bad. Those who have believed in Christ and obeyed Him, shall be openly acquitted and received into glory; but the unbelieving and wicked, being condemned, shall suffer the punishment due to their sins.
Form of Acceptance
I receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of this Church as based upon and in accord with the Word of God; and I declare it to be the Confession of my faith.