What is the Difference Between Pentecostal and Apostolic

Publish date: 2024-05-03

Faith is a small word that encompasses a huge part of one’s life. It is what helps one sail through difficult times when everything else seems grim. There are various faiths that people believe in, in this world. The belief in the power of faith is a common characteristic of the Apostolic and Pentecostal cultures.

Pentecostal vs Apostolic

The main difference between Pentecostal and Apostolic is that in Pentecostal beliefs, they believe in the Holy Trinity or the three individual forms of God, whereas Apostolic was a part of the Pentecostal Churches but split from it and believe in only one God. In most cases, Apostolic means that they are under the jurisdiction of the “apostles.”

Pentecostal churches are the ones that carry out the work and legacy of belief in the Holy Spirit and the complete and exact truth of the Bible. Pentecostal is a person who is a member of a Pentecostal Church. These people include the Protestant Christians that believe in the live manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

Apostolic refers to a person that is a member of the Apostolic Church and is related to the role of the Apostles. Apostles were a group of devout Christians that spread the word about Jesus Christ and his teachings. They believe that the Bible is God’s Word and encompasses the exact truth.

Comparison Table Between Pentecostal and Apostolic

What is Pentecostal?

Pentecostalism has been in existence since the 1900s. They believe in the Holy Trinity and divine gifts such as healing. Their belief in speaking in different tongues is their unique identity. Pentecostalism was a protestant Christian movement and comes from the word “Pentecost.” Pentecost was a day when the Holy Spirit was supposed to be descending upon the earth and talking to the followers of Jesus Christ in foreign languages. Hence, the belief in different tongues.

They believe in “Baptism by the Holy Spirit.” They also perform Water Baptism and Baptism into the body of Christ. Pentecostals also believe in the Bible and consider it to be absolutely true and without error. They interpret the Bible very literally. Prayer and faith are accepted to be the most key aspects in the process of healing, and it is also agreed upon that Jesus is a healer.

There are five values that govern the spirituality of a Pentecostalism believer. They are the individual experience, orality, spontaneity, asceticism, and a commitment to biblical authority. One of the most time-forward features of these churches is that they also ordain women to serve as missionaries, pastors, or preachers. Although some of their rules are very strict, their worship is more free-flowing and spontaneous.

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What is Apostolic?

Apostolic usually refers to the apostles, a group of early Christians whose purpose was to spread the teachings of Jesus. There are a lot of variants of the Apostolic churches, many of which also follow the Pentecostal doctrine while some do not. Apostolic churches are led by their prime-most member, the chief apostle.

They are people who believe in Baptism by Immersion. Apostolic followers differ in their opinion of God. They do not believe in the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Apostolic followers believe in God to be of only one form. They believe each to be another form of Jesus. In order to achieve one’s salvation, in Apostolic culture, one must repent for his or her sins and be baptized by immersion.

All the theological beliefs of the Apostolic Church have been noted down in its confession of faiths, or better known as the Tenets. Although there are certain beliefs that are common. One of them is the belief that their scriptures, such as the Bible, are the inerrant word of God. Their sacraments are Baptism by immersion and the Last supper. They also believe in the return of Jesus and in interpreting the Bible for its literal meaning.

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Main Differences Between Pentecostal and Apostolic

  • The main difference between the Pentecostal and Apostolic views is that Pentecostal believes in God having three faces; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit or better known as the Holy Trinity. Apostolic views are such that they believe these to be the manifestations of one God.
  • The route to salvation is through accepting Jesus Christ as their savior in Pentecostalism, while in Apostolicism, the way to salvation is through the atonement of their sins and through being baptized by immersion.
  • Apostolicism is to believe in baptism that is performed “in the name of Jesus.” Pentecostalism believes in baptism performed “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”
  • Apostolicism has very rigid rules about modesty in the dres’ code, while Pentecostalism does have a dress code, but it is not as rigid.
  • Pentecostal means the power from above that once bestowed upon a believer shows evidence through speaking in unknown tongues, while Apostolic means the ones sent by God. It refers to the apostles that were the early Christians, spreading the teachings of Jesus.
  • Conclusion

    Pentecostal was a Protestant Christian movement, and the Apostolic movement was its offshoot. Hence, it is seen to have a lot of similarities in some of its doctrines, including the belief in the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that it is the absolute truth and without error. But they differ in opinion on the belief in the nature of Godheads. Pentecostals view it to be three, while Apostolic views it to be one. But both these branches are known far and wide.

    References

  • https://www.jstor.org/stable/40731074
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2153599X.2011.639659
  • Last update on 2022-02-08 / Amazon Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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