The True Jesus Church

A church that began in Beijing in 1917 and baptizes in the name of Jesus, face down in living water, keeps the Sabbath on Saturday, washes feet as a sacrament, holds tongues as the sign of the Spirit, and teaches that it alone is the restored true church.

True Jesus Church International Assembly, About True Jesus Church (including What We Believe, the ten articles)

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Frequently Asked Questions

True Jesus Church International Assembly, The One Church

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Church

True Jesus Church International Assembly, The Way of Salvation

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Baptism

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Footwashing

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Holy Communion

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Holy Spirit

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Sabbath Day

True Jesus Church International Assembly, Intro to Basic Beliefs

True Jesus Church, Our Basic Beliefs: An Introductory Brochure (2013, printed in Malaysia)

True Jesus Church Singapore, Should Infants be Baptised?

International Assembly of the True Jesus Church, IA Information Site

International Assembly of the True Jesus Church, Establishment of the IA

True Jesus Church, The History of the True Jesus Church (teaching lesson 11, 2011, e-library)

Wikipedia, True Jesus Church (secondary; used only where no church source was found)

Wikipedia, Paul Wei (secondary; used only where no church source was found)

True Jesus Church, US General Assembly, US Music Ministry, Choir Guidelines (effective November 8, 2024)

International Assembly of the True Jesus Church, IA Information Site, Announcement (Psallo Music App letters)

True Jesus Church eLibrary, What is your view on the Trinity?

True Jesus Church eLibrary, What's the difference between the Trinity and Oneness?

True Jesus Church eLibrary, Pastor H. H. Ko, The Doctrine of One True God

Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 3, The Civil and Religious Sunday

The church dates itself from 1917, when a Beijing merchant named Paul Wei (Wei Enbo) was baptized, as he and the church report, at the Spirit's direction, in the name of Jesus, face down in a river. Two co-workers, Zhang Lingsheng and Barnabas Zhang, joined him, and Wei died in 1919. The church spread through China, and when contact with the mainland was lost in 1949 the congregations abroad organized themselves, first in Taiwan, and from 1975 in the International Assembly.

Wei is baptized in the London Missionary Society

Wei, a Beijing merchant, is baptized in the Beijing branch of the London Missionary Society by the missionary Samuel Evans Meech. (Wikipedia is the source for this date; no church page read gives it.)

Wei becomes a Pentecostal

Wei meets the Norwegian missionary Bernt Berntsen, becomes a Pentecostal and joins the Apostolic Faith Mission. (Wikipedia is the source for this date; the church's own lesson tells of the same step without a year.)

The baptism, face down, in the name of Jesus

The church's own lesson says that in 1917 the Holy Spirit inspired Wei to fast for 39 days, and then revealed to him "the correct mode of water baptism," to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, face down, in a river in the province of Hupei. The church then dates itself from that year, in Beijing. Wikipedia gives a May date and a river by the Yongdingmen gate in Beijing; the church's own pages read do not.

Names and registration

The early workers first used the names "Church of Jesus" and "True Church of Jesus." When they registered with the government in 1917 they used "True Jesus Mission," and the lesson says that by revelation of God this was later changed to "True Jesus Church."

Zhang Lingsheng joins Wei

Zhang Lingsheng, originally an elder in the Presbyterian church, had received a revelation to observe Saturday as the Sabbath, and in 1910 received the Holy Spirit and established a "True Jesus Church" in Shandong. In 1918 he met Wei and the two worked together. The seventh-day Sabbath comes into the church by this meeting.

Barnabas Zhang; Wei's death

In 1919 Zhang and Wei met Barnabas Zhang, an antique seller, and both Zhangs accepted the baptism face down as Wei preached it. Barnabas Zhang went on to preach and found churches in central China. Wei died in September 1919.

A central body at Nanjing

Until then each congregation had preached and governed in its own way. At the Third National Delegates Conference in Nanjing in 1926 central administrative agencies were set up. Headquarters later moved to Shanghai, where the church began its publishing and training courses.

Contact with the mainland is lost

The change of government in mainland China cut the headquarters off from the churches overseas, which were left to organize and support themselves. The Taiwan General Assembly took the lead in contacting the churches of other countries.

The church inside China

Wikipedia reports that Isaac Wei, the founder's son, who had led the church in China, was arrested in 1951 and "disappeared," and that Li Zhengcheng, who succeeded him, led the mainland church into the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and spent more than twenty years in prison. This rests on Wikipedia alone.

The first World Delegates Conference

The first conference of delegates of the churches of many countries met in Taiwan, from March 6 to 10, 1967.

The International Assembly is founded

The second World Delegates Conference, meeting in Taiwan in April 1975, established the International Assembly of the True Jesus Church. Its office was at first in the Taiwan General Assembly complex.

The office moves to California

The fourth World Delegates Conference, meeting in Sabah in April 1985, resolved to move the International Assembly office to southern California. After its bylaws were revised in 1989 the Assembly was officially registered in California.

Paul Wei (Wei Enbo)

The church's lesson calls him a merchant and a member of the London Mission who was healed after prayer by the elders of the Church of the Apostolic Faith, joined that church, received the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and in 1917 was led to the baptism the church now practices. He preached and wrote on "the true Gospel" and died in September 1919, two years after the revelation, in the lesson's words.

Zhang Lingsheng (Ling-Shen Chang)

A former Presbyterian elder who, the church says, was first shown the Saturday Sabbath by revelation and in 1910 received the Holy Spirit. He took a leading part in the early work, then, in his old age, returned to his birthplace and pastored the church there.

Barnabas Zhang (Barnabas Chang)

An antique seller who accepted the gospel from Zhang Lingsheng in 1911. The lesson credits him with churches in central China, his coming to Shanghai in 1923, and the first churches in Singapore and Malaysia from 1927. Wikipedia adds that he left the group in 1929 and founded a rival movement in Hong Kong.

Isaac Wei (Wei Wenxiang)

Wei's son, who with others continued the preaching after 1919, according to the lesson. Wikipedia says he led the church in China and its early expansion abroad.

Today's Chairperson of the International Assembly

The Assembly's Executive Council has fifteen elected members, and these elect a Chairperson and the directors of its departments for four years. The Chairperson represents the Assembly and chairs its meetings. No church page read, as of October 2026, names the present holder.

What the church says about its own beginning. Its home page says: "The True Jesus Church was not founded by certain individuals. Neither was it derived from any denomination. It was founded by the Holy Spirit." It describes the early workers as men to whom "the Holy Spirit revealed the truth," and it places its beginning in the "latter rain" of Joel 2:23. The church does not call Wei's words Scripture. What it holds is that the Spirit led him to the baptism, and the early workers to the Sabbath, footwashing and the rest.

Other accounts. Scholars place the church among the independent Chinese churches that rose beside the missions in the early twentieth century. Wikipedia says its early members drew on Pentecostal practice, including healing, baptism of the Holy Spirit and footwashing, and on Seventh-day Adventist influence for the Sabbath; the claim is marked "citation needed." Wikipedia also reports that Wei foretold the end of the world in 1921 or 1922, and that his death before that date did not stop the church's growth. The church's pages read say nothing of this. Wikipedia lists Melissa Inouye's China and the True Jesus (Oxford, 2018) as the main scholarly work on the church; it could not be obtained for this chart.

Size. The church's 2013 brochure gives 2 million members in 48 countries. Its undated site says more than 60 countries. Its lesson (2011) reports unofficial estimates for the mainland of about 700 churches and over 200,000 believers. Wikipedia gives about 120,000 members in 700 churches in 1949.

The Bible alone is the standard, with the church's ten articles as its summary, and the church says the Spirit established it.

The church says the Bible is "the only scriptural truth" and that salvation must be completed according to it, "without any additions or subtractions." Its statement of faith has ten articles, each tied to verses. It also says the church was founded by the Holy Spirit, who revealed the truth to the early workers, and that it is the restored true church of the apostles' time. It holds that there is one church, that this is it, and that no one is saved apart from the church.

The Holy Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, is inspired by God, the only scriptural truth, and the standard for Christian living.

Therefore, it adheres to the truth of the Bible and firmly believes that the way of salvation must be completed according to the Bible, without any additions or subtractions.

The True Jesus Church was not founded by certain individuals. Neither was it derived from any denomination. It was founded by the Holy Spirit.

The church also says: "The True Jesus Church, established by our Lord Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit during the time of the 'latter rain', is the restored True Church of the apostolic time" (article 3), and "we are not saved apart from the church" (Church page). Its teaching lesson names Paul Wei, Zhang Lingsheng and Barnabas Zhang as the early workers.

Saved by grace through faith, with baptism for the forgiveness of sins, face down in living water, then footwashing, communion and tongues.

The church teaches salvation by grace through faith and says a person cannot earn it. It teaches that baptism is for the remission of sins and for regeneration. The baptism must be by full immersion, in natural living water such as a river, sea or spring, with the head bowed and the face down, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the one who baptizes must himself have received water baptism and the Holy Spirit. It teaches that a believer must also receive footwashing and the Lord's Supper, and be filled with the Holy Spirit, evidenced by tongues, in order to be included in the new covenant and be saved. It baptizes the infants of its members in the same way, as a sign of the parents' faith.

in order to be included in the new covenant and be saved, a believer in Christ must obey His commands and accept His divine sacraments.

Water Baptism is the sacrament for the remission of sins for regeneration. The baptism must take place in natural living water, such as the river, sea, or spring. The Baptist, who already has had received baptism of water and the Holy Spirit, conducts the baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the person receiving the baptism must be completely immersed in water with head bowed and face downward.

Mirroring adult baptism, infant baptism in the True Jesus Church is performed in the name of Jesus Christ

The church ties the forgiveness to Christ's blood: "Baptism is that key moment in your conversion when Jesus' blood will take effect on you and restore your relationship with God" (Baptism page). It says that "numerous visions and miracles that have occurred during baptism confirm its effectiveness" (same page). Its brochure says: "Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus and repents of his sins may be washed freely through baptism."

Kept as often as possible with one unleavened loaf and grape juice, for the baptized only, and taught as the body and blood of the Lord in the Spirit.

The church calls the Holy Communion a sacrament that commemorates the death of the Lord, and it holds that by it believers partake of the flesh and blood of the Lord and have life. It is held "as often as possible," with one unleavened loaf and one cup of grape juice, however large the congregation. A minister, usually an elder, deacon or preacher, offers a consecrating prayer; the loaf is broken and given to the congregation, and then the cup. Only the baptized may receive it, and the church means by that those baptized in its own way. Members are to examine themselves first.

The Holy Communion is the sacrament to commemorate the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It enables us to partake of the flesh and blood of our Lord and to be in communion with Him so that we can have eternal life and be raised on the Last Day. This sacrament shall be held as often as possible. Only one unleavened bread and grape juice shall be used.

After the thanksgiving prayer, the bread and grape juice become the body and blood of the Lord in the Spirit.

Only those who are baptized may receive the Holy Communion, for it is a spiritual fellowship between the Lord and His church.

On the table the church also says: "If someone has not been baptized in accordance with the Bible, he should not participate in the sacrament because his sins have not been washed away, and he does not yet belong to Christ." Its brochure says the elements "become the spiritual flesh and blood of Jesus" and not the physical body. It does not say that the Supper is held every Sabbath.

Ordained elders, deacons and full-time preachers in each church, under General Assemblies and an International Assembly that unifies doctrine.

Each local church is served by ordained workers: elders, deacons and full-time preachers. The church defines an elder as a member who is at least fifty years of age and has ministered for at least seven years, whose chief task is to oversee the church. Above the local church are General Assemblies and Coordination Boards by country, and above them the International Assembly, whose Executive Council is elected by delegates and whose World Delegates Conference meets every two years. The Assembly says one of its aims is to unify the doctrines of the church.

title given to member who is at least 50 and has ministered in the Church for at least 7 years; his primary function is to oversee the Church and watch over the members' spiritual well-being.

The IA EXCO consists of fifteen (15) elected members, with additional seats given to the Chairpersons of GAs who are not among the fifteen elected members.

to unify the doctrines of the True Jesus Church, so as to carry out world evangelism

The glossary defines a preacher as a "full-time minister whose duties are prayer, preaching, attending to members' spiritual needs, and conducting sacraments," and a deacon as a "member who has been ordained by the church to tend to the faith of the congregation, conduct sacraments, and set good examples for others." Its brochure says footwashing is generally done by ordained workers, but "if no ordained worker is present, every brother or sister who has been baptized, has received the Holy Spirit, and leads a godly life may perform the washing of feet." The church says it is financed by the willing gifts of its members, who "should offer tithes."

Hymns, prayer and a sermon on the Sabbath; Christmas not kept because it is not in the Bible.

The church describes its worship as hymns of praise, the word of God and prayer in the Spirit. A service is usually a sermon, opened and closed with hymns and prayers, held Friday evening and on Saturday. It does not keep Christmas. The church also offers Bible studies, fellowship, choir, and classes for children and youth. Its music is accompanied: the church's hymnal app supplies "piano accompaniment" for its hymns, and the US General Assembly's choir guidelines give rules for the use of musical instruments.

During our worship services, we sing hymns of praise. We share the word of God. We pray in the Spirit.

Regular Sabbath service is held on Friday evening and throughout the day on Saturday. Before a service begins, the congregation will be led to sing hymns to prepare their hearts. The service is usually a sermon, beginning and ending with hymns and prayers.

We do not celebrate Christmas because neither the celebration of Christmas nor Jesus' birthday is recorded in the Bible.

The Sabbath page says that on the Sabbath the believer is to join in assembly, "singing songs of praise, learning the instructions of His Word, communicating with Him in prayer," to do good, and to look to the rest to come. The US General Assembly's choir guidelines (2024) set an "Accompanist team" beside the conductors, name "Evangelical services and spiritual convocation" among the choir's occasions, and say: "The type and use of musical instruments should be appropriate for the size of the venue and the nature of the event. Volume should be moderated to avoid overwhelming the congregation, and styles with strong secular associations should be avoided." No page read describes the accompaniment of the ordinary Sabbath hymns. The day itself is taken up under The seventh-day Sabbath below.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is evidenced by speaking in tongues, and the church says signs and miracles continue in it.

The church teaches that the Holy Spirit is given to those who repent, are baptized and obey, and ask in prayer, and that the sign of receiving him is speaking in tongues, as at Pentecost and in Cornelius's house. It says the gift is audible and often visible by movement of the body, and that one who has the Spirit can speak in tongues whenever he prays. It holds that God confirms the church's message with signs and miracles, including healing in baptism, and it counts these as proof that this is the true church.

Receiving the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues, is the guarantee of our inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.

If the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you can speak in tongues whenever you pray.

This is because the Holy Spirit has worked in the church since its establishment and has never stopped.

The brochure says: "The sign and evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit is speaking of unintelligible tongues," and that the first experience "usually occurs during prayer." The Holy Spirit page says the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who sanctifies, seals and teaches believers.

Christ returns on the last day to judge; the righteous receive eternal life and the wicked are eternally condemned.

The church teaches that the Lord will return bodily on the last day, that the dead will rise, and that the righteous will receive eternal life and the wicked will be eternally condemned. Its brochure lists the events around the coming, including world evangelism, tribulation, resurrection, judgment and a new heaven and a new earth, and says that their exact order and details are uncertain and still require further study. It teaches that this is the end time, in which the Lord has raised up the true church.

The Lord's Second Coming will take place on the Last Day when He descends from heaven to judge the world: the righteous will receive eternal life, while the wicked will be eternally condemned.

Please note: The exact order and details of these events are uncertain and still require further study.

Our eternal destinies will be decided at the coming of the Lord Jesus.

The brochure says no one knows the exact day of the Lord's coming. It reads the signs of the times as showing that Christ's return "may occur any day now," and it says the Lord "Himself has raised up the True Jesus Church" in this end time. A fuller statement of the church's view of the resurrection or the final state was not found in the pages read.

The seventh-day Sabbath

Saturday is the Sabbath, Sunday worship is not commanded, and the Sabbath is a commandment for every worshiper.

The church holds that the seventh day, Saturday, is a holy day blessed by God, to be kept in assembly for worship, in rest and in good deeds, in memory of creation and of salvation. It teaches that the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, which it calls "God's basic requirements for all people"; that the Lord and his disciples kept it; and that Sunday worship is a human tradition. For this reason it generally holds no services on Sunday.

The Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), is a Holy Day, blessed and sanctified by God.

God never commanded Sunday worship. It is man-made. The Roman Emperor Constantine officially changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday.

While, it may seem unfair and even cruel, the Bible clearly states that only those who truly follow in the Way and Word of God will be saved in the end.

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.

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.

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.

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

The church is right that the Sabbath was given at creation and written in the Ten Commandments, and that the Lord kept it. But the Law was given to Israel, and the apostles did not lay it on the churches: Paul tells Christians that no one is to "judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day" (Colossians 2:16), and that one man "esteemeth one day above another" and another "esteemeth every day alike" (Romans 14:5). The New Testament churches are seen meeting "upon the first day of the week" to break bread (Acts 20:7), and the Corinthians are told to lay by gifts on that day (1 Corinthians 16:2). Nowhere is the seventh day bound on a Gentile church, and nowhere is a church told that its salvation turns on the day. The church's lesson answers the objection that churches differing only in the day will surely not be lost by saying that, though it may seem "unfair and even cruel," only those who truly follow the Way and Word of God will be saved. To make the day a mark by which a church stands or falls is to bind what the apostles did not bind.

On Constantine. The church says Constantine "officially changed the day of rest" and that Sunday worship is man-made. The church historian Philip Schaff gives a different account. He writes that "the ancient church viewed the Sunday mainly, we may say, one-sidedly and exclusively, from its Christian aspect as a new institution, and not in any way as a continuation of the Jewish Sabbath," and he dates Constantine's law to 321: "a law prohibiting manual labor in the cities and all judicial transactions" on Sunday. That is a civil day of rest. It came more than two and a half centuries after Acts 20:7, and it followed the church's custom; it did not start it. The church's brochure puts a further change in 336. No source for it was found in this study.

What is fair to say. The church keeps a day of worship with reverence and does not call it a burden. A believer who rests on Saturday is not condemned, by Romans 14, for it. The wrong is in binding the day on others.

Footwashing as a sacrament

Every baptized person must have his or her feet washed in the name of Jesus, and the church says the Lord's "no part with Me" requires it.

The church holds that footwashing is, with baptism and the Lord's Supper, a sacrament the Lord commanded in order that believers may have a part with him. Every baptized person must have his or her feet washed in the name of Jesus Christ, after baptism, by a worker who represents the Lord. Believers may also wash one another's feet whenever fitting, to express forgiveness and love.

The sacrament of Foot Washing enables one to have a part with the Lord Jesus. It also serves as a constant reminder that one should have love, holiness, humility, forgiveness, and service. Every person who has received water baptism must have his/her feet washed in the name of Jesus Christ. Mutual foot washing may be practiced whenever is appropriate.

Like baptism, footwashing is a sacrament: a physical action the Lord commanded His believers to receive that carries the spiritual effect of salvation.

The sacrament of footwashing, instituted by the Lord Jesus, is necessary for our salvation. It enables us to have a part with the Lord.

So when he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and sat down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you.

Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

Let none be enrolled as a widow under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, well reported of for good works; if she hath brought up children, if she hath used hospitality to strangers, if she hath washed the saints’ feet, if she hath relieved the afflicted, if she hath diligently followed every good work.

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.

The Lord did wash his disciples' feet and said, "ye also ought to wash one another’s feet" (John 13:14), and the church is to be commended for taking his example seriously and not explaining it away. But he gave it as "an example, that ye also should do as I have done to you" (John 13:15), a pattern of humble service to be done by one to another, not an ordinance done by a worker to a candidate on the Lord's behalf. When Peter objected, the Lord's "no part with me" (John 13:8) was said to Peter about being cleansed by him; it is not repeated in any apostle's gospel preaching, where nothing is said of footwashing as a condition for salvation. In the one other place it is named, it is a good work of a widow, washing "the saints’ feet" (1 Timothy 5:10), listed with hospitality and relief of the afflicted. To teach that it is "necessary for our salvation" adds a condition to a salvation Paul says is "by grace" and "not of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The Lord's word that one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet (John 13:10) is, in the church's reading, baptism followed by footwashing. The apostles never so taught. Where footwashing is kept as a free act of service among believers, it is a good thing. Where a church makes it a rite that must be received to be saved, it has gone beyond the written word.

The one true church

There is one church; this is it; salvation is in it alone.

The church teaches from Ephesians 4:4-6 that there is one body, one Spirit and one baptism, and that therefore there can be only one true church. It holds that this one church is the True Jesus Church, which was established by the Holy Spirit in the last days and has the apostolic faith and experience of the Spirit and the one baptism. It does not call individual members of other churches condemned; it says the church to which a person belongs decides whether he is in the body of Christ.

In essence, the True Jesus Church is the body of Christ, not because of her members, but because of the true gospel and the Holy Spirit that God has entrusted her.

Therefore, to accept the church is to accept Christ, and to be saved is to become a member of the body of Christ, the church. We cannot separate the Savior from His body, and we are not saved apart from the church.

The church you belong to decides whether you are in the body of Christ and receive the gospel of salvation.

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit.

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. But Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against you is for you.

praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.

The church is right that there is one body, one Lord, one faith and one baptism (Ephesians 4:4-6), and it is right to grieve over a divided Christendom. But the one body is made by the Spirit, who puts into it everyone who is baptized, "whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free" (1 Corinthians 12:13), and the Lord adds to it "those that were saved" (Acts 2:47). The text does not make membership in one organization founded in 1917 the test. When the disciples forbade a man who did not follow with them, the Lord said, "Forbid him not" (Luke 9:50). What the New Testament marks is one gospel, one baptism and one Lord, and every church is measured by Scripture, this church too. The claim that no one is saved outside the True Jesus Church puts the church where Christ is.

The church says Galatians 1:8 condemns any other gospel, and it applies this to other churches. That is a verse to apply to every church, including this one, which adds face-down baptism, footwashing and tongues as conditions of salvation. A church that is built on "the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2:20), as this church says it is, is known by whether it teaches only what they taught.

Jesus as the one true God

The church teaches that Jesus Christ is the only true God, that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God and not three persons, and it baptizes in the name of Jesus.

The church's first article says that Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh, "is the only Savior of mankind, the Creator of the heavens and earth, and the only true God." Its brochure says that the name Jesus is the name of God. Its eLibrary sets out what it calls "the doctrine of one God in Jesus Christ": the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God and one Spirit, not three persons, and Jesus Christ is himself the Father and the Holy Spirit. It agrees that the Bible makes a distinction between the Father, the Son and the Spirit, but it does not accept the Trinitarian terms of "three persons" and "substance." It baptizes in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the only Savior of mankind, the Creator of the heavens and earth, and the only true God.

The Oneness of God means that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God and one Spirit, not three "persons."

For example, the belief that Jesus Christ is not the Father or the Holy Spirit contradicts certain passages in the Bible.

Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

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:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.

The church is right to say that Jesus is God and to confess with Thomas, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). But Scripture shows the three at once and distinct. At the baptism of Jesus the Son is in the water, the Spirit descends "as a dove," and the Father speaks from heaven (Matthew 3:16-17). The Lord says, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter" (John 14:16), and he commands baptism "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). The Son prays to the Father and the Father sends "another Comforter"; one who prays is not the one he prays to, and one who sends is not the one sent. The church grants that the Bible makes a distinction between them, but when it teaches that Jesus Christ is himself the Father and the Spirit, it erases the distinction the texts draw.

Its best texts. A study by Pastor H. H. Ko in the church's eLibrary cites Isaiah 9:6 ("Everlasting Father"), John 10:30 ("I and the Father are one") and John 14:9 ("he that hath seen me hath seen the Father"). They show that the Son is fully God and reveals the Father perfectly. They do not make him the Father, for in the same chapter he says, "I go unto the Father: for the Father is greater than I" (John 14:28).

The formula. The church appeals to Acts 2:38 for baptism "in the name of Jesus Christ" and takes that as the form of words. Acts records no formula; the command of Matthew 28:19 and the practice in Acts are not at odds. To baptize with the Lord's own words is safe.

The label. Wikipedia calls the church's view "Oneness Pentecostal." The church's own eLibrary uses the word "Oneness" for it, so the label is not imposed from outside, though the church calls itself non-denominational.

Blood in the baptismal water

The church says baptisms are confirmed by visions of Christ's blood in the water and by healings.

The church teaches that Christ's blood is present in the water of its baptisms by the witness of the Spirit. It says God opens the eyes of people, including passers-by, to see blood in the water, and that some see the Lord on the cross or receive healing at baptism. It names these visions and miracles as confirmation that its baptism is a saving act of God.

God often opens the eyes of people, including passers-by and observers, to see visions of blood in the water.

These miracles confirm that baptism is truly a saving act of God.

When performed according to the biblically prescribed mode and in the name of Jesus Christ, baptism carries the marvelous power to remove all sins, for the precious blood of our Lord Jesus is present in the water by the Holy Spirit's witness.

but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own; else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once at the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

prove all things; hold fast that which is good;

But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.

It is true that "the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7), and that in baptism a penitent person is washed (Acts 22:16). But the New Testament never offers a seen vision of blood as the proof that a baptism has taken effect. A baptism avails because of the promise of Christ, received in faith, not because someone sees a sign. A claim of visions cannot make a baptism more or less valid, and it cannot test a church. Paul says to "prove all things" and hold fast what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21), and that even "an angel from heaven" who preached another gospel is to be refused (Galatians 1:8).

The same page says that blood may be seen, but also that baptism is valid because of "the presence of the Holy Spirit, the baptist having been baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit." This makes the validity of a baptism turn on the one who baptizes. The New Testament gives no such rule.

The plumb line is the New Testament: what the apostles commanded, and what the churches practiced with their approval. Each position is set against it, and the wall below shows how far each course stands from it. The True Jesus Church goes to the Bible in earnest. It teaches baptism for the forgiveness of sins, which is the apostolic teaching and which many churches have lost, and it asks its members to live by the word. Where it stands nearer the pattern than others, that is said plainly. Where it stands further, that is said too.

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.

But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.

Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.

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.

The church says the Bible is "the only scriptural truth" and that salvation is to be completed "without any additions or subtractions." That is the right rule, and it is stated more firmly than by many. But beside it the church places a founding vision and a set of articles. It dates its beginning to a revelation of baptism face down in a river, given to one man, and to a later revelation of the Sabbath to another, and it binds its ten articles on every member as the faith of the restored church. What those revelations brought in is bound on others as the Bible's own teaching, though the Bible does not command it; the saving conditions that result are weighed under salvation. The apostles' test was that a gospel beyond what they preached, even from "an angel from heaven," is to be refused (Galatians 1:8-9), and that disciples are "not to go beyond the things which are written" (1 Corinthians 4:6).

Nothing read says that Wei's words are Scripture, and the church does not place him with the apostles. The warrant is the claim that the Spirit "revealed the truth to the early workers" and "established the True Jesus Church." That makes the church's own existence rest on an account of private visions that no one else can test. The Bereans tested even Paul by "examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11), and a church is safe only where it can be tested the same way.

The church claims that it holds the Bible alone, and it does hold to the Bible more closely than most, as its method of citing a verse for every article shows. The fault is in what stands beside it, not in what it keeps.

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.

And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, immediately. And he brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God.

This position stands nearer the line than most. The church baptizes by full immersion, as a penitent believer's act, in the name of Jesus, "unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38), and teaches grace through faith. On who is baptized, how, and for what, the church is mostly on the line, apart from its infants, although in Acts the household "rejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God" (Acts 16:34), and faith came before baptism. The placement is one step further out than the baptism teaching alone would put it, because the church adds conditions of being saved that the apostles never preached: footwashing as "necessary for our salvation," a baptism valid only when face down in living water at the hands of a baptizer who has the Spirit, and no salvation "apart from the church," by which it means this church. Tongues as a condition is weighed under the Spirit below, not here.

Acts 8:36-39 shows the eunuch and Philip going "down into the water" and coming "up out of the water," with no word about posture, kind of water, or the baptizer's gifts. The church is right about Colossians 2:12, that baptism is "through faith in the working of God"; faith in his working does not rest on a visible sign or the form of the rite.

The church is clear that grace is not earned. What it does with that is another matter. Having said that works do not save, it names baptism, footwashing, the Lord's Supper and the Spirit with tongues as acts a believer must "accept" in order "to be included in the new covenant and be saved." No sermon recorded in Acts names footwashing or tongues as a condition of being saved.

For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.

But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we all partake of the one bread.

The church is right to keep the Supper as the Lord's own commemoration, to use unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, to hold to one loaf as a sign of the one body (1 Corinthians 10:17), and to ask a person to examine himself first (1 Corinthians 11:28). That is much that is sound. It stands off the line in two ways. It does not fix the first day: it keeps the table "as often as possible," but the example of the church at Troas is that disciples "gathered together to break bread" "upon the first day of the week" (Acts 20:7). And it teaches that after a minister's prayer the bread and juice "become the body and blood of the Lord in the Spirit," which the Lord's "this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24) does not say. The table is given to the baptized who examine themselves and are not in serious sin, and those are limits the text itself sets.

Who may come. The church gives the bread and the cup to every baptized member, and withholds them from the unbaptized and from those in serious sin; that is the fence Scripture sets (Acts 2:41-42; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 11:28), and it is not charged here. The church counts as unbaptized anyone immersed outside its own form, so a believer baptized elsewhere is turned away. That fault is real, but it lies in its doctrine of baptism and of the one church, and it is weighed under salvation; counting it again here would count one error twice.

The day. The weekly table is the heart of the matter. A church that gathers on the seventh day, as this one does, does not gather on the day on which the apostolic churches broke bread, and so the Supper is not kept as they kept it.

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.

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge; if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly. For the bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;

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 from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, serving the Lord with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews; how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I testify unto you this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God. Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit hath made you bishops, to feed the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood.

The church has elders and deacons in its congregations, and these are the offices the New Testament names. It also allows, where no ordained worker is present, that any baptized believer of godly life may wash feet. But in the New Testament elders were appointed "in every church" (Acts 14:23) from men fitted by character (Titus 1:5-7), and they are the same men who "oversee" (Acts 20:17, 28); the church defines an elder by age and years of service, and it sets full-time preachers beside the elders as a standing ministry who "conduct sacraments." Above the congregation stand General Assemblies and an International Assembly that "unify the doctrines" of every church, and no apostolic church had such a body over it.

The elders in the New Testament "tend the flock of God" among them, "neither as lording it over" the charge allotted to them (1 Peter 5:2-3). Each flock had its own elders, and no body of delegates stood over them to settle doctrine. The church's structure grew from need, and the Assembly came about in 1926 when the congregations were said to be acting without order, and in 1975 when the mainland was cut off. Those reasons are understandable; they are not the apostolic pattern.

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

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

What the church describes is close to the New Testament pattern: hymns of praise, the word of God opened in a sermon, and prayer, with the congregation led to sing before the service. Paul tells the Ephesians to be "speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19) and the Colossians to let the word dwell in them richly (Colossians 3:16). The church also declines to keep Christmas because it is not in the Bible, which is the same rule applied well. Where it stands off the line is the instrument. The church's own guidelines regulate "the type and use of musical instruments" with its choirs, and its hymnal comes with piano accompaniment; the New Testament commands the church to sing and names the instrument as "your heart." The day of assembly is weighed under the Sabbath below.

The church's guidelines are restrained: volume is to be moderated "to avoid overwhelming the congregation," and secular styles are to be avoided, and a soloist is to stay within the choir. That is nearer the pattern than a worship band. But an accompaniment is still an addition to the singing the text commands, and no apostolic church is seen using one.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galilæans? And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born?

Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,

The church is right that the Spirit is given to those who repent and are baptized (Acts 2:38), that he dwells in believers and bears fruit, and that without him "he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). It is wrong to bind one gift to every believer as the proof. At Pentecost the apostles spoke "with other tongues" and each hearer heard "in his own language" (Acts 2:4-6), but the church calls the gift "unintelligible" speech and requires it of all. Paul asks, "Do all speak with tongues?" and the plain answer is no (1 Corinthians 12:30). And the miraculous gifts came through the apostles' hands, for it was by their laying on of hands that "the Holy Spirit was given" (Acts 8:18); that is why they do not continue as the mark of a church. The church makes continuing signs its proof that it is the true church.

The church says that tongues are "the guarantee of our inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven." A position on tongues that makes it a test of salvation is far from the New Testament, where Paul lists many gifts, none required of all. The scoring takes into account what the church gets right: it looks to the Spirit for sanctifying power and not for show, and it teaches a believer to pray.

But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

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.

And I also say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

The church holds what the apostles taught: the Lord will come again, descending "from heaven, with a shout" (1 Thessalonians 4:16), the dead will rise, the world will be judged, the righteous will have eternal life and the wicked will not. It says the order of the events is uncertain and needs further study, and it is to its credit that it does not claim to know more than Scripture says. Where it stands off the line is in its setting. It teaches that in this end time, the "latter rain," the Lord has restored the true church after a long loss. The Lord said of his church that "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18), so no age needs to be rescued from a lost church by a new one.

Wikipedia reports that Wei foretold the end of the world in 1921 or 1922, and that it did not come. The church's pages read do not mention it. The brochure's reading of the signs, that Christ's return "may occur any day now," shows the same habit of reading the times, though it sets no date.

The True Jesus Church holds much that Scripture also holds, and it should be said plainly. It takes the Bible as the standard of life and cites it for every article. It teaches baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), by immersion, of those who repent, and it holds that baptism does something and is not merely a sign, which many do not. It confesses Jesus as Savior, Creator and God. It teaches salvation by grace through faith and says that works cannot earn it. It keeps the Lord's Supper with unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, with self-examination first. It has elders and deacons in its congregations. It does not keep Christmas, because it is not commanded. It sends out its members to preach, gives without outside funding, and has kept its faith through the loss of its first home on the mainland and a long time of hardship. It looks for the Lord to come back, and it keeps the day of the judgment before its people.

Measured by the New Testament alone, the True Jesus Church stands near the line in its call to baptism for the forgiveness of sins, in its use of immersion, in its elders and deacons, in its plain worship, and in its hope of the Lord's return. It stands off the line in the extra conditions it binds, in face-down baptism by one who has the Spirit, in footwashing as a saving sacrament, in tongues as the proof of the Spirit, in the seventh day as the Lord's day, in a Supper kept on no fixed day, and above all in its claim that salvation is found in this church alone. The gospel is not completed by a posture, a day or a rite; the penitent believer is baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27) and added to the body by the Lord. A church that calls itself true must let Scripture say whether it is.

These are not the failings of careless people. The church's members keep their faith at cost, and they are serious about obeying the Lord. The answer is not to doubt their sincerity but to ask them to hold to what they say they hold: the Bible alone, with no addition, so that nothing be bound on a believer's conscience except what the apostles bound, and a penitent believer who has been immersed for the forgiveness of sins be received as the Lord has received him (Romans 15:7).

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