Who are the Christadelphians?

The Name Christadelphian
The Christadelphians (a word created from the Greek for "Brethren in Christ" from Colossians 1:2 "brethren in Christ") are a Christian group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century. The name was coined by John Thomas, who was the group's founder.

Christadelphians are spread across approximately 120 countries; there are established churches (or ecclesias, as they are often called) in many of those countries, along with isolated members.

Beliefs

Due to the way the Christadelphian body is organised there is no central authority, but there are core doctrines most Christadelphians do accept. For instance in the Central fellowship, the BASF, the standard statement of faith, has 30 doctrines to be accepted and 35 to be rejected.

The Bible

Christadelphians state that their beliefs are based wholly on the Bible, and they do not see other works as inspired by God. They regard the Bible as inspired by God and, therefore, believe that, in its original form, it was error free (errors in later copies are regarded to be due to 'errors of transcription or translation'). Based on this, Christadelphians teach what they believe to be true Bible based teachings.

God

Christadelphians believe that God is the creator of all things and a father to true believers. That God is a separate being from his son, Jesus Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is the power of God used in creation and for salvation. They believe that a constant reading of the Bible (which, they believe, contains words God gave by his Spirit) and trying to live by what it says during the events of their lives allows God to help shape their character.

Jesus

Christadelphians believe that Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah, in whom the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament find their fulfilment. They believe he is the Son of Man, in that he inherited human nature (with its inclination to sin) from his mother, and the Son of God by virtue of his miraculous conception by the power of God.

Although he was tempted, Jesus committed no sin, and was therefore a perfect representative sacrifice to bring salvation to sinful humankind. They believe that God raised Jesus from death and gave him immortality, and he ascended to Heaven, God's dwelling place.

Christadelphians believe that he will return to the earth in person to set up the Kingdom of God in fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham and David. This includes the belief that the coming Kingdom will be the restoration of God's first Kingdom of Israel, which was under David and Solomon.

For Christadelphians, this is the focal point of the gospel taught by Jesus and the apostles.

Salvation

Christadelphians believe that people are separated from God because of their sins, but can be reconciled to him by becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. This is by belief in the gospel, through repentance, and through baptism by total immersion in water. They do not believe we can be sure of being saved, believing instead that salvation comes as a result of a life of obedience to the commands of Christ.

After death, believers are in a state of non-existence, knowing nothing until the Resurrection at the return of Christ. Following the judgement at that time, the accepted receive the gift of immortality, and live with Christ on a restored Earth, assisting him to establish the Kingdom of God and to rule over the mortal population for a thousand years (the Millennium).

Christadelphians believe that the Kingdom will be centred upon Israel, but Jesus Christ will also reign over all the other nations on the earth.

The Commandments of Christ

The historic Commandments of Christ demonstrates the community's recognition of the importance of Biblical teaching on morality. Marriage and family life are important.