What Do Christadelphians Believe?

Christadelphians confess one God, the Father alone, and they say Jesus was of the same mortal nature as other men. Their Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith and their reject list say that in their own words. Christians confess that Jesus is God, and that the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Key Points

• The Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith, clause 1 (1), says the only true God is “the supreme self-existent Deity, the ONE FATHER.”
• Clause 2 says Jesus was “begotten of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of man, and afterwards anointed with the same Spirit, without measure, at his baptism.”
• Clause 10 says he was “Emmanuel, God with us, God manifested in the flesh,” and “during his natural life, of like nature with mortal man.”
• The reject list (2) rejects “that God is three persons,” “that the Son of God was co-eternal with the Father,” “that the Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father,” and “that man has an immortal soul.”
• John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (4) says the Word was God. John 20:28John 20:28 · King James VersionAnd Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James VersionOpen source (5) records Thomas answering Jesus, “My LORD and my God.”

Who Are the Christadelphians?

The pamphlet Who Are the Christadelphians? (3) says the name is their own, for a community “organized in groups found throughout the world,” and that “the Holy Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are their sole authority.”

The community has no paid ministry, no robes or elaborate ceremonies, nor has it any “head of the church” or legislative council.

Who Are the Christadelphians?

Ecclesias “organize their own affairs.” The breaking of bread is on “the first day of the week,” and “the bread and the wine circulate among all the ‘brothers and sisters’ present.” The pamphlet says the difference from other churches “arose from the conviction of one, John Thomas,” who “made no claim to any vision or personal revelation.” It says a magazine has come from Birmingham. It does not rank countries by membership, so this page does not name a country that has the most Christadelphians.

The statement’s own note says clause 24 was amended in January 1898, and that “nearly all Christadelphian ecclesias worldwide have adopted this amended statement of faith,” while “a few ecclesias in North America still use” the unamended statement. What Is Biblical Unitarianism? quotes this statement beside the Church of God General Conference and Restoration Fellowship. Biblical Unitarianism on that shelf is not Unitarian Universalism.

What Do They Say About God and Jesus?

Clause 1:

That the only true God is He Who was revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by angelic visitation and vision, and to Moses at the flaming bush (unconsumed) and at Sinai, and Who manifested Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the supreme self-existent Deity, the ONE FATHER, dwelling in unapproachable light, yet everywhere present by His Spirit, which is a unity with His person in heaven.

Clause 2 says Jesus of Nazareth “was the Son of God, begotten of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of man,” and was then anointed with that Spirit at his baptism. Clause 10 says that, so begotten, “Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us, God manifested in the flesh—yet was, during his natural life, of like nature with mortal man,” sharing “the death that passed upon all men, which he shared by partaking of their physical nature.”

Clause 19 says God “will set up a Kingdom in the earth, which will overthrow all others.” The pamphlet says the dead “lie unconscious in the grave,” and that “the widespread idea that man possesses an ‘immortal soul’ and goes on living after death (usually ‘in heaven’) is definitely not a Bible teaching.”

What Do They Reject?

The reject list is their own clarification of the statement. The first items:

• “that the Bible is only partly the work of inspiration.”
• “that God is three persons.”
• “that the Son of God was co-eternal with the Father.”
• “that the Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father.”
• “that man has an immortal soul.”
• “that man consciously exists in death.”
• “that the wicked will suffer eternal torture in hell.”
• “that the devil is a supernatural being.”
• “that the Kingdom of God is ‘the church.’”
• “that baptism is not necessary to salvation.”

The Trinity and What vs. Who: One Being, Three Persons are the Christian confession those rejections refuse. Is the Holy Spirit God? is the Spirit as a person.

What Are They Not Allowed to Do?

The reject list states what these ecclesias refuse. Item 34 rejects “that marriage with an unbeliever is lawful.” Item 35 rejects “that we are at liberty to serve in the Army, Navy, Police Force, or any service whatsoever requiring the Oath of Allegiance or use of force.” Item 36 rejects “that we are at liberty to take part in politics, or recover debts by legal coercion.” Item 21 rejects “that baby sprinkling is a doctrine of Scripture.” Item 20 rejects “that the observance of Sunday is a matter of duty.”

The statement and the reject list fetched here do not state a rule about alcohol, or about marriage between two men or two women. This page does not add one.

How Do They Differ From Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Both communities refuse the confession that God is three persons. They are not the same community. Christadelphians, in the reject list, deny that the devil is a supernatural being and deny an immortal soul. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus was Michael the archangel before his life on earth. That claim is quoted on Is Jesus Michael the Archangel?. The Christadelphian clause 10 says Jesus was of like nature with mortal man, not that he was an archangel.

The Christian Claim

John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (4): “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 20:28John 20:28 · King James VersionAnd Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.John 20:28 · King James VersionOpen source (5): “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.” The creed of 381, quoted on The Trinity, confesses the Son as true God from true God. Christadelphians quote “Emmanuel” and “God manifested in the flesh” and still say he was, in his natural life, of like nature with mortal man, and that God is not three persons. The Christian confession is that the Son is God, co-eternal with the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is a person.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Christadelphians Christians?

They call themselves brothers and sisters in Christ, and they confess Jesus as the Son of God born of Mary. Their statement rejects that God is three persons and that the Son was co-eternal with the Father. The Christian confession on this site is that Jesus is God.

What Do Christadelphians Believe About the Devil?

Reject item 11: they reject “that the devil is a supernatural being.”

Which Country Has the Most Christadelphians?

The pamphlet says the groups are found throughout the world and names Birmingham for the magazine and for the amended statement. It does not give a country ranking.

Keep Reading

• Biblical Unitarianism
• What Is Biblical Unitarianism?
• Does 1 Corinthians 8:6 Mean Only the Father Is God?
• Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven?
• Common Arguments