Statement of Faith - Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee (Senior Pastor of Manmin Joong-ang church)

  THE BIBLE 

• The Bible is the Word of the Living God and"The Apostles' Creed," the backbone of the truthfulness of the Bible, is our only Biblical confession of faith.
• The original text of the Bible is the Word of God, recorded in the inspiration of the Bible, and is therefore absolutely free from error. 
• The Bible is a sacred Book that not only places all people onto the path to salvation, but also establishes a standard of faith and behavior as well as the political system within the church.
• The Bible is the truth that provides people with spiritual revival and blessings and is also the only true guidebook in life.
• The Bible is the only revelation of God and we do not acknowledge or approve of any theories or empiricism that are not based on the Bible. Moreover, the revelation in the Bible is not in any way to be denied, modified, explained with criticism, or arbitrarily interpreted. 
   
   GOD
• The Triune God exists on His own from everlasting to everlasting and is the unique spirit; He is, therefore, truly holy, righteous, and faithful. Knowledge and wisdom of God, who is also love itself and everlasting, is limitless and He is thus omnipotent; omnipresent; creates, reigns, and protects everything visible and unseen; enlightens man on His Providence; and is a merciful Father who sent His only begotten Son for the condemned mankind.

CHRISTOLOGY

• Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God the Father, the Word, and the origin of life and the light. He is also everlasting, true, omnipotent, and is one with God the Father who is the foundation of the creation of everything in the universe. He mediates on behalf of mankind and, as He was born from the womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit in order to save mankind and thus "in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," the true God became a true man. His death on the cross redeemed man from his sins and His resurrection justified believers. Since His ascension, Jesus Christ has been interceding for us so that we might be wholly saved. Moreover, before long, He will return "in just the same way" as He went up into heaven to receive all those who have received salvation and to judge the quick and the dead. Our Lord is the Alpha and the Omega "who is and who was and who is to come, [and] the Almighty."  
   

 THE HOLY SPIRIT

• The Holy Spirit is spirit ? thus one with God the Father ? whose exact representation and the majesty and glory of His strength are identical with those of the Father and the Son, and is the lasting God. In charge of carrying out the will of God the Trinity, He has come into this world to "convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment." As the Helper, He teaches, leads, helps the believers, strengthening their spirit with His power, and sanctifies the church.  
   
  

 MAN

• THE CREATION OF MANKIND
  When God created man in the beginning, He formed him in His image and according to His likeness. God's "image" refers to incorporeal aspects, such as His attributes. This is man's spirit. As God formed man's body "of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," man came to have senses and move about on his own. As a living being consisted of spirit, soul, and flesh, man could now communicate with God, who honored man when creating and establishing him as the lord of all things in the universe ? slightly lower in the chain of command than God Himself ? and gave him the authority to rule over them so that He would be magnified.
  
• FREE WILL
  God honored man when creating him in the beginning by forming man in His image ? that is, according to His attributes ? and gave him freedom. Man, however, sinned and fell away from God because, instead of using free will according to His will, he abused it. Being rich in mercy, God nevertheless gave Jesus Christ to the fallen mankind for their salvation without charge; anyone who believes in the Lord is reborn and becomes a child of God. If he abuses freedom and does not submit himself to the Holy Spirit, he can yet again fall away. A believer, therefore, must always be obedient to the Holy Spirit. The acknowledgement of free will results in the differences in two contrasting schools of thought: "predestination of man" and "God's omniscience." We adhere to "God's omniscience," which is consistent with the teachings of the Bible.
  
• THE FALL OF MAN
  When God created man, He gave him a good, righteous, and truthful nature ? in "His own image" ? but as the first man created Adam disobeyed God's Word and pursued the temptation of greed by abusing his free will, he became corrupt. This, the hereditary "original sin" with which each individual is born, was personified, resulted in "the old self" ? the flesh ? and was passed down from generation to generation. Due to this sin, every individual commits sins and dies. Each person has "the original sin" and "the self-committed sins." On the one hand, the liability of any self-committed sins falls squarely on each individual. On the other hand, since the original sin is hereditary, the state of sin is the same for everyone and people are not held liable. However, there is no avoiding of the penalty if people commit sins because of the original sin or if they refuse to believe in the Way ? even after it was shown to them ? that can cleanse their sins. In order to rid himself of all sins, therefore, each person must be cleansed from his self-committed sins and the original sin by believing in the shedding of the blood by Jesus the Son of God.

SALVATION (REBIRTH)
By Jesus Christ's redemptive death and resurrection, we are/have been born again.  

• THE RIGHTEOUS
  An individual is "righteous" when "He is justified," when "He is acknowledged to be just," and "He is reckoned as just." In other words, when a sinner repents by the mercy of God, believes in the Redemption of Jesus Christ, and thus receives the forgiveness of all sins he had committed, he is deemed a righteous man before God. A righteous man is redeemed from his sins ? that is, he is exempt from the punishment of all the sins he has committed in the past ? and receives a privilege to which he is entitled as a "righteous man." The state of his righteousness will be sustained as long as the individual remains faithful and obedient to God.
    
• REBIRTH
  "Rebirth" is defined as "being born again" or "born on high," and refers to a sudden transformation in an individual's moral character by the Holy Spirit when he is justified. His heart, which had been dead in his trespasses and sins, is thus resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ and he begins living a life of obedience and triumph. Therefore, the person is set free from the judgment of all his sins of the past and "rebirth" takes place when the life of Jesus Christ is conceived in the individual's heart. He is free from the yoke of his sins and believes that for him will be prepared a foundation on which he learns/lives about spiritual things and overcomes sins, and that he will receive privileges as God's adoptive child.  
  
• THE RIGHTEOUS AND REBIRTH
  While it is an act of God's claiming His sovereignty when "the righteous" become justified by believing in Jesus Christ's redemptive death, "rebirth" is an actual spiritual transformation in his moral character taking place in his heart. For "the righteous," there is a shift in the manner in which God deals with those who had previously been sinners while "rebirth" is the work of transformation taking place in his life. In other words, becoming "righteous" alters our position on God and "rebirth" alters our character. While these two works are different in theory and becoming "righteous" logically precedes "rebirth," they take place simultaneously and bear fruit by the deeds of the same faith.  
  
• SIGNING AFTER REBIRTH
  Although an individual born again, in principle, is not to sin, if he should falter and sin, he can again receive the forgiveness of his sins when he humbly repents by acknowledging his sins and in his faith in the Advocate with God, Jesus Christ Our Lord.  
  

CHURCH

• The church shall be preserved to the end of the age as a place of worshipping God, fellowship among and training for the believers, and for transforming the world. The church is an organization that has been called by God, set apart from the sinful and evil world, and consists of believers who have been redeemed by believing Jesus Christ to be their Savior. It is the body of Jesus Christ and a sanctuary in which believers gather to worship God and baptism and Communion take place. The church is also the foundation and pillars of truth at which the Word of God is preached, from which the Good News is spread, and through which all souls receive salvation. Finally, the church is a sacred hall in which all believers, after they have equipped and prepared themselves as the brides of Jesus Christ, anticipate the Second Advent of the Lord.

We look back Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's life whose life was the pursuit of the will of the Lord Jeus Christ.

1. A YOUNG MAN FULL OF HOPES AND DREAMS   
  Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee was born to Jaebum Lee and Gham-jang Cho on April 20, 1943 in Muan, Jeollanam-do, as the youngest child in a family with three boys and three girls. A scholar of Chinese classics, Mr. Lee strictly educated his children about etiquette and made every effort for them to have a proper set of values. Firmly holding onto the little hands of his youngest son during election seasons, the elder Lee sought to give the boy hopes for future. As he heard campaign speeches made by candidates throughout his youth, Jaerock Lee began to dream of one day becoming a member of the National Assembly and working for the benefit of his country.

After graduating from Boonhyang Elementary School in Jangseong County and Songjung Middle School in the city of Gwangju, Jaerock Lee moved to Seoul to continue his education. During his high school years, however, he suffered from frequent illnesses of various types. He had always been a young man of robust health, but his suffering continued through his youth years particularly because of the side effect from an accident he suffered in childhood. When his memory began to fail shortly before the college entrance examination, Jaerock Lee was overcome by a devastating sense of failure and even attempted suicide.  
  
 
 
2. MIRACLE    
 After a period of many ups and downs, Jaerock Lee entered Hanyang University in Seoul, a prominent institution especially known for its engineering department. In October 1964, Jaerock Lee took time off from schoolwork to enlist in the mandatory military service and towards the end of his service, through the introduction of a relative, he began a pen-pal relationship with a young woman. After being discharged from the military service, Jaerock Lee married this woman in January 1968, and she was Mrs. Boknim Lee.

In March 1968, the newly wedded husband invited a few of his friends for a housewarming party but following an evening of heavy drinking, Jaerock Lee suffered from gastrointestinal disturbance. As his stomach began to fail, a complication developed and for the next seven years, Jaerock Lee would try anything from prescription drugs and over-the-counter medication to folk remedies, but all was in vain as his condition only deteriorated. Even his family, who had looked after him for years and had been growing weary, finally gave up on him.

On April 17, 1974, God called on Jaerock Lee, whose movement had been significantly limited by rheumatoid arthritis and who had been living a life marked only by devastation and distress with no hope for future. One of his older sisters, Senior Deaconess Jungsoon Lee, visited and asked him to take her to "Hyunshinae Church." Unable to refuse her request, Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee just barely relied himself on a walking stick and arrived at the site of a revival meeting in Seodaemun-gu in northwestern Seoul.

He was taken aback by the sight of people earnestly praying but nevertheless knelt down. At that very moment, Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee felt his body beginning to heat up and found himself sweating profusely even though no one had prayed for him or he had prayed for healing. Otitis media had limited his hearing but he began to clearly hear the messages proclaimed from the pulpit, and the symptoms of more than ten diseases that had tormented him from head to toe disappeared. On that day, an atheist had received the baptism by the fire of the Holy Spirit and experienced God's healing of all of the diseases that had tormented him for seven long years.  
  
 
 
3. CALLING   
  After meeting with the Living God, layman Jaerock Lee began attending church and leading a life in Christ. He chose to do manual labor so that he could the Lord's Day holy and kept himself busy with reading of the Word, spreading the gospel, and fasting at every opportunity he found. Longing only to live by the Word so that he could repay for God's love and grace, his one desire was to thoroughly understand the spiritual significance of God's Word found in the 66 books of the Bible.

Even as Jaerock Lee attended various revival meetings and did receive grace in hopes of understanding the depths of God's Word, his thirst could not be quenched. While he was fasting and pleading and wrestling with God ? just as Jacob had done ? so that he might understand more difficult verses from the Bible, God in person called on Jaerock Lee to become His servant.

Even though God's calling was in stark contrast to his dream of becoming a worthy elder and helping people in need, Jaerock Lee nevertheless became convinced that becoming a servant of God was, in fact, His will. Obedient to God's calling, Jaerock Lee graduated from a seminary and began walking a life of a minister. As he prayed earnestly and fasted as often as he ate in order to understand God's Word more clearly, whenever he placed his hand on the sick and prayed for them, the undeniable work of the Holy Spirit took place.  
  
 
 
4. FOUNDING AND REVIVAL   
  In July 1982, Pastor Jaerock Lee founded a church in Shindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu in western Seoul. Through the life-filled messages that had been revealed in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, its members experienced healing and transformation and their faith grew rapidly as they constantly witnessed God's works.

God's works of power, manifested through signs, wonders, and evidence of His presence, continued steadily after the founding. Relentlessly manifested at the church were such Biblical miracles as the dead coming back to life, the weak becoming strong, the mute beginning to speak, the deaf beginning to hear, and the like. The church continued to experience revival as the news was rampant about this "church filled with the Holy Spirit," "church where the Word and prayer were alive and at work," and "church where the works of healing were powerful and God's power was unquestionably manifested."

Ordained as pastor in May 1986, Rev. Jaerock Lee made an appearance on "Renew Me" of the Christian Broadcasting System (CBS) in August 1987 and testified to how he was miraculously revived at the threshold of death. After 1990, Rev. Jaerock Lee's messages were heard on the Far East Broadcasting Company, the Asia Broadcasting Company, and CBS.

The church continued its growth and by 1991, the size of congregation exceeded 10,000 registered members. In March 1993, the Christian World magazine of the United States selected Manmin as one of "The World's Top 50 Churches" (reported by The Chosun Ilbo). While the church kept growing, Rev. Jaerock Lee did not hesitate to cooperate with and provide assistance to promote collaborative efforts and unity of Korea's Christianity. For national evangelization and the improvement of the Christian community, Rev. Jaerock Lee supported newly-founded churches and churches with great potential for growth.  
  
 
 
5. CHURCH GROWTH ACCOMPANIED BY AFFLICTION ANND TRIUMPH   
 As the church was filled with the Holy Spirit like the early churches before it, and always abounding in God's works, revival was accompanied by times of affliction. Both laymen and theologians alike agreed that messages of Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee were the gospel in its purest form. Even though the works of the Holy Spirit manifested through Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee were clearly in line with the Bible and its teachings, however, there were those who judged and condemned him as "heretical" as they remained mindful of the Christian authority and their thoughts were clouded by selfish interests. Of course, such phenomena were not limited to Manmin. In the current climate of Korea's Christianity, instead of rejoicing with and praying for a church at which the works of the Holy Spirit and revival are evident, it is more likely for that congregation to be slandered and labeled "heretic" by certain individuals abusing their authority

Manmin Joong-ang Church had one time been a victim of such abuse of authority, but based on the five-fold gospel of "Rebirth, Sanctification, Divine Healing, Resurrection, and the Second Advent," God led it to spread the gospel more vigorously than before. After making steady progress month after month, year after year throughout the 1990s, Manmin Joong-ang Church endured difficulties by a number of individuals who sought to satisfy their own interests with foul motives. They spread baseless rumors, established false witnesses, and wrote to a prominent Korean broadcasting company in hopes of using the airwaves to destroy Manmin but the church God had built upon the rock was not shaken. The truth is always revealed with the passing of time.   
  
 
 
6. EXPLOSION OF GOD’SPOWER CONSUMES THE WORLD   
As Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee endured in patience and in love for those who paid back for grace by making themselves his adversary, and overcame all hardships, God blessed Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee with an unimaginable magnitude of His power.

At each overseas crusade Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee began conducting in 2000, explosives works and evidence of God's power were made apparent. Such miracles were reported by the Cable News Network (CNN) during "The 2000 Uganda Church Leaders" Conference and Crusade," and the depths and widths of Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's manifestations of God's power only increased year after year. "The 2002 Miracle Healing Prayer Festival" held in at Marina Beach in Chennai, India, brought together more than three million people over four days. Through "The 2003 Russia Miracle Healing Festival" ? designated as part of "The Official Celebration of the 300th Anniversary of St. Petersburg" ? "The 2004 Germany Healing Festival," "The 2004 Peru Healing Crusade," "The 2006 Democratic Republic of the Congo Miracle Healing Festival," and "The New York Crusade 2006," Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee magnified God by proclaiming to the whole world about the Living God with life-filled messages and earth-shattering manifestations of His power.

When he conducted ¡°The Peru Healing Crusade" in December 2004, President Alejandro Toledo invited Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee and received his prayer for a variety of problems facing the South American country and in May 2005, Peru's former and current vice presidents visited Manmin Joong-ang Church in Seoul and conveyed their gratitude to Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee for the 2004 Crusade.

When he visited Kinshasa, DR Congo, for "The Miracle Healing Festival" in February 2006, President Joseph Kabila invited Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee for a friendly dialogue.

The Festival gathered hundreds of thousands of people from all over DR Congo and was flooding with people who desired to testify to the healing of AIDS and other incurable and terminal diseases.   
  
 
 
7. VISION   
  Jesus showed the types of signs that no man is capable of even imitating after proclaiming messages so that people would believe. By the same token, the ministry of Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee can be summarized as, "The work of proving the Bible to be the truth by plainly manifesting the works of the Living God and thus enabling people to believe."

Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee confesses that the origin of power manifested through him comes only from God. He is a humble servant of God seeking only to magnify the Father by confessing that no manifestation of power would be possible without the presence of God and that everything is possible only by the name of Jesus Christ.

A notable trait of Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's ministry is that he has made himself an example of how man is able, by God's grace and strength, to rid himself of not only visible sins but also sinful attributes in the heart. As we pray by faith, by the grace and strength of God, we can abstain from every form of evil and cultivate within us a sanctified and clean heart, the heart of Jesus Christ. As much as one keeps himself clean, God gives him spiritual faith from on high. When the individual has taken ownership of a true heart and perfect faith and become faithful in all God's house, he will be able to enter New Jerusalem in heaven.

The last remaining tasks for Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee's ministry are spreading the five-fold gospel to the remotest part of the earth and constructing the Grand Sanctuary, which will be accomplished within God's Providence.

Rev. Dr. Jaerock Lee marches on today, keeping his eyes fixed on the day when he and all other believers, who will have set themselves apart by the truth and lived by the Word ? those who will have prepared oil and brightly lit their lamps ? will embrace the Lord with confidence.

Welcome in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Looking back at the history of Manmin, I can only confess that all things were by God's grace and a progression of His blessings. When I was praying for the founding of a church in 1982, God gave me a dream and a vision of greatly accomplishing national evangelization and world mission, and named the new congregation "Manmin," which, when translated from Korean, means "all people" or "all creation."

The twenty-four years of Manmin's history are a testament of God's grace by which its members have been leading their lives in Christ the way their fathers of faith had lived, and they bore witness to the fulfillment of the visions and the dreams God had given this church at the time of the founding. There were indeed times of turbulence but even such times proved to be precious opportunities of spiritual growth through which all Manmin members became united by more perfect faith and love.

Throughout its existence, the ministry of Manmin has made every effort to nurture each of its members to become "wheat": training each individual to possess true heart and perfect faith so that he might prosper and be in good health just as his soul prospered in this world and become worthy of shining glory and rewards in heaven. When I pleaded with God for national evangelization and world mission, He anointed me with His power and led each step of the way to proclaim to the whole world the teachings and the news of the Living God, and for these I only give all thanks and glory to Him.

He, who took upon the cross and shed all His blood and water in order to bring us salvation, is interceding for us and encouraging us today. I earnestly hope this online medium will serve as a blessed device, allowing the birth of many a holy congregation that experience God's love, answers, and power, and a place where all people come to have an intimate relationship with Jesus who is "the way, and the truth, and the life."
May God's grace and blessings be always abundant in your life and ministry, in the name of Our Lord I pray!