The Churches of God in the Armstrong Tradition

The United, Living, Philadelphia and Global Churches of God, which keep the teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong, and the Worldwide Church of God they came from.

History: Our organizational roots and transformation, Grace Communion International

The GCI Statement of Beliefs, Grace Communion International

Christmas Eve Sermon, 1994 (Joseph Tkach, Transformed by Truth, chapter 2), GCI archive

What We Believed, Joseph Tkach (GCI archive)

Fundamental Beliefs of the United Church of God

Government Within UCGIA, United Church of God

Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs, Living Church of God

About Us, Living Church of God

Jesus and the Apostles Observed the Sabbath Day, Living Church of God

Statement of Beliefs, Global Church of God (UK)

About, Philadelphia Church of God

This Is the Philadelphia Church of God, Philadelphia Trumpet (2002)

Mystery of the Ages, Herbert W. Armstrong (1985), as published by the Philadelphia Church of God on theTrumpet.com

More on Herbert W. Armstrong's departure from the Church of God, Seventh Day, Salem (COGwriter)

Theology: mainstream moves may split Worldwide Church of God, Christianity Today (8 November 1993)

History of Armstrongism, Watchman Fellowship

Grace Communion International (Wikipedia, last resort)

Global Church of God (Wikipedia, last resort)

Is Gerald Flurry a False Prophet? Philadelphia Church of God (2025)

United Church of God: A Brief History, United Church of God (Internet Archive copy, 6 December 2025)

Press Kit, Living Church of God

Meet the Living Church of God

Massimo Introvigne, Schism in the Global Church of God: Birth of a New "Armstrongite" Church, the Living Church of God (CESNUR)

Herbert W. Armstrong began a radio broadcast in Oregon in 1934 and built it into a worldwide church with a magazine, a television program and a college. Its teaching was unusual: the seventh-day Sabbath, seven annual holy days, three tithes, God as a growing family and not a Trinity, and the claim that the British and American peoples descend from the ten tribes of Israel. After Armstrong died in 1986 his successors changed all of it. The change cost the church most of its members, and the people who left carried Armstrong's teaching into four other bodies.

Armstrong is ordained

Armstrong is ordained by the Oregon Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day), a Sabbath-keeping body of Adventist background. Writers who oppose Armstrong say the Oregon Conference was itself a breakaway group formed in 1930, so how it is described varies by source.

The broadcast and the Radio Church of God

On 7 January 1934 Armstrong begins a weekly radio program at Eugene, Oregon. The work is called the Radio Church of God. In 1968 it takes the name Worldwide Church of God.

His credentials are revoked

The Church of God (Seventh Day) at Salem, West Virginia, revokes Armstrong's credentials. Its board gave as the reason that he taught and kept the annual feast days.

Armstrong dies; Tkach succeeds

Armstrong dies at Pasadena on 16 January 1986. He had named Joseph W. Tkach Sr. as his successor. GCI says of this time: "After Herbert Armstrong's death in 1986, our organization began to shift dramatically."

The Philadelphia Church of God

Gerald Flurry and John Amos leave the WCG and incorporate the Philadelphia Church of God at Edmond, Oklahoma. It is the first of the bodies that left to keep Armstrong's teaching.

The Global Church of God

Roderick Meredith, an evangelist whom Armstrong had ordained, founds the Global Church of God at Glendora, California.

The Trinity accepted

GCI dates its change on the nature of God to this year: "in 1993, the church accepted the doctrine of the Trinity." The same sentence says the cross is not a pagan symbol and that Christians may vote.

The Christmas Eve sermon

On 24 December 1994 Tkach Sr. preaches the sermon often called the New Covenant and Old Covenant sermon. In it he says that the Sabbath was the sign of the Old Covenant, that members who had to work on Saturday were not condemned, and that the church would no longer teach triple tithing.

The United Church of God

Ministers and members who would not follow the changes form the United Church of God. It says it "was formed in 1995", that "A conference was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, during that same year", and that a Council of Elders elected by all its ordained ministers was "tasked to create our statement of beliefs".

The Living Church of God

On 25 November 1998 the board of the Global Church of God dismisses Roderick Meredith as its presiding evangelist. Meredith and his supporters incorporate the Living Church of God at San Diego, announced in a letter of 11 December 1998, as the scholar Massimo Introvigne records.

Grace Communion International

The WCG changes its name: "To reflect these doctrinal changes, in April 2009, the denomination changed its name from Worldwide Church of God to Grace Communion International."

A new president

Joseph Tkach Jr. retires and installs Greg Williams as president of GCI. Wikipedia reports this; it has not been checked against a GCI page.

Herbert W. Armstrong

Founder of the Radio Church of God and the Worldwide Church of God. The PCG says it teaches the doctrines God restored to the Church through him, and the UCG and LCG also trace their practice to him. Tkach Jr. notes that one of Armstrong's best-known teachings had older roots: "The Seventh-day Baptists had that first, long before Mr. Armstrong."

Joseph W. Tkach Sr.

Armstrong's chosen successor. From 1988 he led the reform of doctrine and preached the Christmas Eve sermon of 1994. He died in 1995 and his son succeeded him.

Joseph Tkach Jr.

Led the WCG from his father's death, affirmed the reforms and wrote the GCI archive account of what the church had taught. The church joined the National Association of Evangelicals in 1997. He retired in 2018.

Roderick C. Meredith

One of the first evangelists Armstrong ordained, in December 1952. He founded the Global Church of God and then the Living Church of God, and served as the LCG's first Presiding Evangelist. On his death in May 2017 Gerald Weston became Presiding Evangelist.

Gerald Flurry

Founder and Pastor General of the Philadelphia Church of God, which says it continues Armstrong's work and legacy.

Disputed points. Sources do not agree on every detail of Armstrong's early years. The Watchman Fellowship says the Oregon Conference was a breakaway body, formed in 1930, that ordained him in the summer of 1931. Wikipedia names it simply the Oregon Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day). A writer within the Church of God movement dates the Salem revocation to the fall of 1937. GCI and Wikipedia give 1934 as the start of the Radio Church of God.

The date of the change. A Christianity Today report of November 1993 already described the WCG as having "moved toward orthodoxy after 60 years of rejecting basic Christian beliefs." GCI's own history says the changes "took the better part of 10 years" and names 1993 for the Trinity. The Christmas Eve sermon of 1994 is the moment most members and ministers remember, because it touched the Sabbath, the holy days and tithing together.

Who dates what. The LCG dates its own work to Meredith's break with the WCG: "In December of 1992, Dr. Meredith stepped out in faith to revive the Work of the Church" (LCG press kit). Introvigne dates the Global Church of God to 1993 and the Living Church of God to December 1998. GCI's account calls the UCG "the largest of three main splinter groups" to come out of the 1994 sermon.

The bodies differ. The splinter bodies call themselves churches of God. GCI has dropped the old name. The Armstrong bodies do not govern themselves alike: the PCG presents Gerald Flurry as a prophet, the LCG places doctrine in its Presiding Evangelist and council, and the UCG places it in a vote of the General Conference of Elders. Part 3 says which body speaks.

The Bible is the final authority; each body also gives final say on doctrine to its own governing office, and the PCG to the doctrines restored through Armstrong.

The UCG calls Scripture "the supreme and final authority in faith and in life," and its Fundamental Beliefs are part of a constitution that only the General Conference of Elders may change. The LCG places the work of clarifying and establishing doctrine in its Presiding Evangelist and Council of Elders. The PCG says it teaches "the biblical doctrines restored to the Church by God through Mr. Armstrong," and it writes that Gerald Flurry "does call himself a prophet." All four bind the seventh day, the holy days and tithing as the practice of the true church. GCI, the WCG's successor, now calls its own statement "not a closed creed."

Scripture is inspired in thought and word, infallible in the original writings, is the supreme and final authority in faith and in life, and is the foundation of all truth.

the Presiding Evangelist and Council of Elders of the Living Church of God, led by the Holy Spirit, have the responsibility to clarify and establish doctrine, as expressed in this Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs.

The PCG believes and teaches the biblical doctrines restored to the Church by God through Mr. Armstrong (Matthew 17:10-11).

The Armstrong era. Under Armstrong the WCG treated his books and booklets as the key to Scripture. Tkach says of that time that members were asked only to "send your tithes in, read the literature, and shut up." The splinter bodies still use that literature; the PCG publishes Armstrong's Mystery of the Ages.

Repentance, faith and baptism by immersion, then the laying on of a minister's hands for the Holy Spirit.

The UCG teaches that those who repent "in full surrender and willing obedience to God" and accept Christ by faith are forgiven "by an act of divine grace." The UCG, LCG and GCG then baptize the penitent believer by immersion, and after baptism a minister lays hands on him, through which he receives the Holy Spirit. The LCG ties this to the apostles' practice. The LCG says ultimate salvation comes at glorification in God's Kingdom. GCI describes the old WCG teaching it left as faith plus obedience: believing in Christ was "insufficient to gain salvation."

We believe that all who truly repent of their sins in full surrender and willing obedience to God, and who by faith accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, have their sins forgiven by an act of divine grace.

We believe in the ordinance of water baptism by immersion following repentance. Through the laying on of hands, with prayer, the believer receives the Holy Spirit and becomes a part of the spiritual body of Jesus Christ.

they are baptized by immersion and, after the laying on of hands by one of God’s true ministers, receive the Holy Spirit

Where baptism stands. The UCG calls baptism an ordinance that follows repentance and cites Acts 2:38 among its texts. It places the forgiveness of sins at repentance and faith, and the gift of the Spirit at the laying on of hands after baptism. GCI, by contrast, calls baptism a sacrament that proclaims that "we are saved by Christ alone," and its archive prints Tkach's sermon of 1994: "We are justified by faith."

The New Testament Passover: bread and wine once a year, on the evening of the 14th of Abib, with foot washing.

The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG keep what they call the New Testament Passover, once a year, on the evening of the anniversary of Christ's death. The LCG says Jesus established it "with the symbols of bread and wine" (citing 1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and the GCG adds a service of foot washing. The Passover begins the spring festivals: the PCG lists "The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread" as the first of the holy days. None of these bodies keeps a weekly Supper. GCI now keeps the Lord's Supper as a sacrament, without saying in its statement how often.

We believe in observing the New Testament Passover on the night of the 14th of Abib, the anniversary of the death of our Savior.

Jesus established the New Testament Passover with the symbols of bread and wine

The Passover once a year in the evening by engaging in a footwashing service as an example of humility

What GCI keeps. "In the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, we partake of bread and wine in remembrance of our Savior, proclaiming his death until he comes" (GCI Statement of Beliefs). The statement does not say how often, so the chart does not guess.

Armstrong first held to the local congregation; the Armstrong bodies are governed from the top, each in its own way.

The Armstrong bodies are governed from above. The UCG has a General Conference of Elders that appoints a Council of Elders, and the Council directs the affairs of the corporation by policy. The LCG is led by a Presiding Evangelist with a Council of Elders, and writes that "God’s way of governing has always been government from the top down." The PCG calls its government "theocratic" and "hierarchical," with Gerald Flurry as Pastor General, and the GCG also calls its form "hierarchical." Armstrong did not always teach this: GCI quotes a statement of his from 1939 that each local congregation holds all authority.

One key responsibility of the General Conference of Elders is to appoint a Council of Elders, or board of directors, for the corporation

It is a theocratic government, with authority administered in hierarchical form, from the top down.

God’s way of governing has always been government from the top down (Exodus 18:21–26).

Armstrong in 1939. GCI's archive quotes Armstrong: "All authority and power to rule is limited solely to each LOCAL congregation. But there is NO BIBLE AUTHORITY for any super-government, or organization with authority over the local congregations!" (quoted in Tkach, What We Believed). Armstrong's later church was governed from Pasadena by one man. GCI, which left the Armstrong teaching, is organized on the episcopal model (Wikipedia).

The seventh-day Sabbath each week and seven annual festivals, with praise, prayer and the Bible expounded.

The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG worship on the Sabbath, the seventh day, and keep the seven annual festivals that they take from Leviticus 23. The UCG says these are given by God and "kept by Jesus Christ, the apostles and the New Testament Church." The LCG says that at the weekly meeting members praise God together and hear the Bible expounded. None of the sources describes instruments or the order of the service. GCI no longer holds these days binding; Tkach preached in 1994 that "The Sabbath was the sign of the Old Covenant with Israel."

On this day we are commanded to rest from our labors and worship God, following the teachings and example of Jesus, the apostles and the New Testament Church.

We believe in the commanded observance of the seven annual Biblical Festivals (Holy Days) given to ancient Israel by God and kept by Jesus Christ, the apostles and the New Testament Church.

Seeing the seventh-day Sabbath as a “holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:3), families and individuals, young and old, assemble to praise God together, to listen to the Bible expounded, and to enjoy spending time with others of like mind.

What the sources do not say. None of the pages this chart relies on describes the music or the order of a Sabbath service, so the chart gives none.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God, not a Person, given after baptism through a minister's hands.

The UCG, PCG and GCG teach that the Holy Spirit is the power of God, not a Person. In the UCG, the LCG and the GCG the Spirit is given after baptism, with the laying on of a minister's hands. None of the sources describes miracles or tongues as a present practice. GCI, which left this teaching, confesses the Holy Spirit as "the third Person of the triune God."

We believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and of Christ Jesus—the power of God (Acts 1:8; Romans 15:19), by which all things were created and made.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God and the Spirit of life eternal.

We believe in the Holy Spirit which is the power of God, both of the Father and of the Son, given by God to a truly repentant person at the time of baptism

What GCI says of the old teaching. Tkach's account of what the WCG believed says that the WCG "denied His personality" and taught that the Holy Spirit was an "it," not a Person.

Christ returns to reign a thousand years on earth; those who never knew God are raised later for their opportunity; the saved are born into God's family.

The UCG teaches that the only hope of eternal life lies in the resurrection, and that Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years. The PCG adds that at the end of the thousand years all who lived without knowing God will be raised to physical life and given their opportunity for salvation. The LCG calls glorification the final step in receiving salvation. The bodies tie the end to God's family: Armstrong taught that the faithful would be born into it at Christ's return. GCI, which left this teaching, confesses that Christ "will come again to judge and reign over all nations."

At the end of the Millennium, all who have lived not knowing God will be raised to physical life and given the opportunity for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:22; Revelation 20:5).

We believe that the only hope of eternal life for mortal humans lies in the resurrection through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

God is a family composed at present of the two Persons of John 1:1-4, but with many thousands, already begotten by God’s Spirit, in God’s true Church, soon to be born into that divine family at Christ’s return to earth.

Israel in prophecy. The LCG's statement ties prophecy of the end to the lost tribes of Israel and "the Northwest European countries settled by their descendants."

British Israelism

The teaching that the British and American peoples descend from the ten tribes of Israel and hold the birthright promises.

The LCG and the PCG teach that the peoples of northwest Europe, chiefly Britain and the United States, descend from the lost ten tribes of Israel, and that God's birthright promises to Ephraim and Manasseh rest on them. Armstrong taught this in Mystery of the Ages, which the PCG publishes. The GCG says the gospel must warn "the lost tribes of the house of Israel (mainly in the United States, Great Britain". The UCG's statement is more guarded: God "materially prospered" Jacob's descendants, and salvation "is not therefore a right of birth." GCI rejects the teaching.

the birthright was Joseph’s, and its blessings have come to the British Commonwealth of nations and the United States of America

The Anglo-American peoples are the possessors of the birthright promises and accompanying blessings of Abraham's descendants through his grandson Jacob.

The national phases of the promises—material blessings—have been given to the modern physical descendants of the Israelites (Genesis 22:15-18)

Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

But it is not as though the word of God hath come to nought. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel: neither, because they are Abraham’s seed, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, it is not the children of the flesh that are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed.

There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.

Paul says the promise was spoken "to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16), and that "it is not the children of the flesh that are children of God; but the children of the promise are reckoned for a seed" (Romans 9:6-8). The LCG and PCG read the blessings on Ephraim and Manasseh in Genesis 48 as resting now on Britain and America, but the New Testament reads Abraham's promises through Christ and never once applies them to the nations of Europe. It says instead: "if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed" (Galatians 3:28-29). British Israelism has no support in Scripture, and a reading of prophecy built on it fails with it. The LCG and PCG should give it up as GCI did; the UCG's own words, that salvation is not a right of birth, already point the way.

Where it came from. GCI's account of what the WCG taught calls it "his own version of British-Israelism" and says that "A man named John Sadler apparently pioneered the idea way back in 1649", with Richard Brothers (1757-1824) after him. No text of Scripture traces the ten tribes to Britain; the teaching rests on readings of names and migrations that the Bible does not give.

God as a family, and no Trinity

God is a family now of two Persons; the saved will be born into it. The Trinity is called a false teaching.

Armstrong taught that God is a family, now two Persons, the Father and the Word, and that the faithful will be born into that family. He called the Trinity a false teaching. The LCG, PCG and GCG still teach that God is a divine family of two, and the UCG says that mankind exists "to be born as spirit beings into the family of God." GCI says it taught the same under Armstrong, and now confesses one God in three Persons.

Scripture shows that God is a divine Family which began with two, God the Father and the Word

The Godhead is actually composed of two personages: the God who became the Father of Jesus Christ, and the Word who was made flesh and became God’s Son (John 1:1-14).

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 through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.

Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:

But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

John says "the Word was with God, and the Word was God," and "without him was not anything made that hath been made" (John 1:1-3). The LCG and PCG read this passage as two members of a family that will grow, but John draws his line between the Maker and everything made, and a human being is made; nothing made becomes the God who made it, for "before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 43:10). Jesus sends the church to baptize "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19), three named under one name, and Peter calls a lie to the Holy Spirit a lie to God (Acts 5:3-4). The teaching that God is a family of two, with men to be born into it as God, is false, and the LCG, PCG, GCG and UCG hold it. GCI's return to the Trinity is the most important correction the WCG made.

Their best texts. The GCG cites Ephesians 3:14-15, but Paul says the Father is the one "from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named" (Ephesians 3:14-15); he does not say God is a family. John promises "we shall be like him" (1 John 3:2), not that we shall be God. GCI's account of the old teaching: "We vigorously denied the Trinity, claiming that it was a pagan doctrine."

The Sabbath and the annual holy days

The seventh-day Sabbath and the seven festivals of Leviticus 23 are binding on Christians.

The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG hold that the seventh day, and the seven annual festivals, are binding on Christians. The UCG cites Colossians 2:16-17 among its texts for the festivals and appeals to the example of Jesus and the apostles. The LCG argues that Acts 20:7 does not describe a Sunday service, because the meeting was a meal and not worship. GCI says the Sabbath was the sign of the Old Covenant and that Christians are not bound by it.

Seven annual festivals were given to Old Testament Israel and were ordained forever.

In other words, the purpose of their gathering was to eat a meal together

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.

but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again? Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.

And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.

When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord’s supper:

Paul writes: "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s" (Colossians 2:16-17). The UCG cites this passage for the festivals, reading it as a defense of those who kept them; but on any reading Paul calls feast, new moon and sabbath "a shadow," and the yearly, monthly and weekly days together are the whole calendar of the law (Hosea 2:11). To Gentiles who had taken the calendar up he says, "how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments" and "Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years" (Galatians 4:9-11). The LCG reads Acts 20:7 as a Saturday-night meal, but Luke names the day, "upon the first day of the week," and the purpose of the gathering, "to break bread" (Acts 20:7), which is the purpose Paul gives for the assembly: "When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord’s supper" (1 Corinthians 11:20). The Sabbath and the holy days are not binding on Christians, and the UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG err in binding them.

Their best texts. Jesus kept the Sabbath, but he was "born under the law" (Galatians 4:4). Paul went into synagogues on the Sabbath, where he "reasoned with them from the Scriptures" (Acts 17:2): he went where the Jews met in order to preach to them. Neither is a command to the church. Where they are close to the text. They take God's commandments seriously and keep the day out of a desire to obey Christ. The New Testament pattern is to gather on the first day for the Supper and the teaching (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2); it does not ask the church to rest on the seventh day or to keep the feasts.

The three tithes

Armstrong taught a first, second and third tithe. The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG still bind tithing, for the work, the festivals and the needy.

Armstrong taught three tithes: a first to the church, a second kept by the member for the annual festivals, and a third in certain years for the needy. The UCG and the LCG still name the festivals and the needy among the purposes of tithing, which is the place the second and third tithes held, and the LCG grounds tithing in Jesus' words that men "ought" to tithe. The GCG speaks of "the tithing system described in the Bible," and the PCG depends "solely on the tithes and freewill gifts" of its people. Tkach said in 1994 that the WCG would no longer teach triple tithing.

We believe in tithing as a way of honoring God with our substance and as a means of serving Him in the preaching of the gospel, the care of the Church, attending the festivals and helping the needy.

Through tithing, Christians serve God by supporting the preaching of the Gospel, attendance at His festivals and the care of the Church and the needy.

He said that we were no longer going to teach triple tithing.

Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

And they indeed of the sons of Levi that receive the priest’s office have commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though these have come out of the loins of Abraham:

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.

Paul's rule for giving is "Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity" (2 Corinthians 9:7). The tithe of the law belonged to the sons of Levi, who "have commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law" (Hebrews 7:5), and the writer goes on: "the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law" (Hebrews 7:12). The LCG answers that Jesus said men ought to tithe and that Abraham tithed before the law; but Jesus said it to scribes and Pharisees still under the law (Matthew 23:23), and Abraham gave a tenth once, of the spoils, not as a yearly rule. The festival and needy tithes come from Deuteronomy 14, which ties them to the place God would choose and to the Levite, and no apostle laid them on a church. Generous giving is right, and these bodies practice it, but the UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG are wrong to bind a tenth, or three tenths, as a duty.

The third tithe. Wikipedia describes the third tithe as paid in the third and sixth years of a seven-year cycle for the poor, widows and orphans. The bodies' own statements this chart relies on name the purposes of tithing, not the number of tithes.

Government from the top down

Authority comes down from God through a single leader or a council, and a ranked ministry, to the congregations.

The PCG teaches that the church is a theocratic government "from the top down," with Gerald Flurry as Pastor General, and the LCG uses the same words of its Presiding Evangelist and Council of Elders. The GCG calls its government hierarchical. The UCG uses a General Conference of Elders and a Council, which is more collegial but is still a body above the congregations. GCI quotes Armstrong in 1939 against any authority above the local congregation.

All authority and power to rule is limited solely to each LOCAL congregation. But there is NO BIBLE AUTHORITY for any super-government, or organization with authority over the local congregations!

The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock.

And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.

Of the men therefore that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection.

And Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all.

Peter, an apostle, writes to the elders as "a fellow-elder" and tells them to tend "the flock of God which is among you," "neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you" (1 Peter 5:1-3). If Peter stood beside the elders and not over them, no Pastor General, Presiding Evangelist or council can stand over them now. The LCG reads Ephesians 4:11 as a ranked ministry with apostles at its head, but an apostle had to be "a witness with us of his resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22), and that office has no successors; Moses' judges in Exodus 18 governed a nation, not a congregation of Christ. The PCG rightly says "Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, not any man," and then gives one man the whole government of it; Jesus said of rule like that, "it is not so among you" (Mark 10:42-44). Armstrong's statement of 1939, that no authority stands over the local congregation, was right, and these bodies should return to it.

The range. The UCG's elected council is the nearest to the pattern among these bodies, and the PCG, where one man is presented as a prophet over every congregation, is the furthest. Each still sets an office over the congregations that the New Testament does not.

Each position is weighed against the New Testament. The verdicts fall on the four bodies that keep Herbert W. Armstrong's teaching, the UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG, and they name the body where the four differ. Grace Communion International, the WCG that left that teaching, is credited where it moved toward the text.

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.

Scripture is "inspired of God" and makes the man of God "complete" (2 Timothy 3:16-17), so nothing needs to be bound beside it. The UCG confesses Scripture as the supreme and final authority, and that is right, but it binds the seventh day, the holy days and the tithes as the practice of the true church, and only a vote of its elders may change its beliefs. The LCG gives doctrine to its Presiding Evangelist and council, and the PCG to the doctrines restored through Armstrong and to a man it presents as a prophet. The placement is the UCG's lineage value, with no move; the calendar bound beside the text is what carries it.

Credit where due. The Bereans were "examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). GCI did what the Bereans did. It tested Armstrong's teaching against the text and gave up what failed, at the cost of most of its members.

for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory.

And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace.

Peter said, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38). The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG baptize penitent believers by immersion, and the UCG cites Acts 2:38 for it; on who is baptized and how, they stand with the apostles, and the placement is the UCG's lineage value, with no move. Their errors on salvation lie in what they add after it: the Spirit tied to a minister's hands, weighed under the Holy Spirit, and the law's days bound on the saved, weighed under authority and in the distinctives. Salvation is "by grace" and "not of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9), and to any law made a condition Paul answers, "Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law" (Galatians 5:4).

The purpose of baptism. The UCG places forgiveness at repentance and faith and does not say in its statement that baptism is unto the remission of sins, as Acts 2:38 does. GCI, now nearer on grace, calls baptism a sacrament that proclaims salvation by Christ alone and is no nearer on its purpose.

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.

The apostolic example is the first day, every week: "upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread" (Acts 20:7). The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG keep the bread and the cup once a year, on the night of the 14th of Abib, and that departure is charged in full on the question of when the Supper is kept. They keep it as a memorial of bread and wine, not a sacrifice, and on its nature they stand with the text, so the placement is the UCG's lineage value, with no move. The Passover argument fails because Jesus gave the bread and the cup a new meaning, and "as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26).

What a yearly Supper loses. The disciples came together on the first day to break bread, and Paul names that as the purpose of the assembly. A once-a-year service does not follow the example of Acts 20:7, whatever day the rest of the week's worship is held.

The apostles appointed "elders in every church" (Acts 14:23), and Peter tells the elders to tend the flock "neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you" (1 Peter 5:1-3). Nothing in the New Testament sets an office above the congregations. The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG each set one above them, as an elected council, a Presiding Evangelist or a Pastor General. Armstrong himself said in 1939 that no authority stands over the local congregation, and he was right. The placement is the UCG's lineage value.

The range. The UCG's collegial council is the nearest to the pattern among the Armstrong bodies. The PCG, where one man holds the prophet's office over every congregation, is the furthest.

speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Worship in the New Testament is the church gathered to sing, teach, pray, give and eat the Supper, "speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19). The LCG describes its weekly meeting in those terms, with praise to God and the Bible expounded, and prayer is to the Father through Christ. The set yearly Passover service adds a form, and the sources do not say whether instruments are used. The binding of the seventh day and the feasts is weighed under authority and in the distinctives, so it is not charged twice here, and the placement is the UCG's lineage value, with no move.

Music. The sources do not describe the music of any of these bodies, so the chart makes no claim about instruments.

but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will.

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a Person who can be lied to (Acts 5:3-4) and who works "even as he will" (1 Corinthians 12:11). The UCG, PCG and GCG teach that the Spirit is the power of God, which the text does not allow. The UCG, LCG and GCG make the laying on of a minister's hands the way the Spirit is received, but in Acts 8:17 it was the apostles' hands, and that gift ended with the apostles. GCI's confession of the Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity is correct and is one of the clearest gains it made.

On gifts. None of the sources describes tongues or healing as a practice, so this chart makes no claim about them.

Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.

And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;

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 that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Jesus says all who are in the tombs will come out, "they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28-29), and it is "appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). The PCG teaches that those who lived without knowing God will be raised to physical life after the thousand years for their opportunity; the text gives no second life for that. The bodies add that the saved are born into God's family as God, and the LCG and PCG place prophecy in Britain and America. The New Testament does not teach these things.

What they hold rightly. The UCG holds that the only hope of eternal life lies in the resurrection, and the bodies look for Christ's return to reign. Both are near the text. The additions are not. GCI's statement that Christ will come again to judge and reign is in line with the text.

All of these bodies hold the Bible in high honor and call people to repent and live by it. The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG baptize believers by immersion, keep the Supper as a memorial of bread and wine, preach that Christ will return, and give generously to the work of the gospel. Their parent did something rare among churches. The WCG, now GCI, looked at what its founder taught, tested it against Scripture, and gave up the God family, British Israelism, the Sabbath and holy days as binding, and the three tithes. It came back to the Trinity and to grace, and said so publicly, at the cost of most of its members. That is repentance, and it is GCI's to be credited with.

The UCG, LCG, PCG and GCG still bind the Sabbath, the festivals and the tithes, keep the Supper once a year, teach a God who is a family of two, read prophecy through British Israelism, and govern the congregations from above. Scripture does not teach these. Paul says "Let no man therefore judge you" over feast days and Sabbaths, and the apostles left no office above the congregation.

Grace Communion International, the body they left, returned to the Trinity and to salvation by grace, and in these it moved toward the New Testament. For all of them the pattern remains the Lord's Supper on the first day of the week, elders over each congregation, and Scripture alone.

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