Spirit of Jesus Church
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The Spirit of Jesus Church (Iesu no Mitama Kyōkai, イエス之御霊教会), is an independent Christian church which was established in 1941 in Japan by Murai Jun. The church was named in accordance with a heavenly vision he reportedly receoved in 1941. The core mission of the Spirit of Jesus Church, is defined in the Gospel of Mark 16:15-18. There he instructed his disciples to preach the gospel and baptize the believers, and promised the power to perform miracles, cast out demons, speaking in tongues, and heal the sick. It is one of the fastest-growing Christian bodies in Japan, having increased its membership from 34,477 in 1970 to 433,108 at the end of the 1980s. Taken at face value, the Spirit of Jesus Church is one of the largest Oneness Pentecostal organizations in the world, and may be the largest Christian denomination in Japan.[1]. Whether or not it is heretical is seldom publicly asked, although it rejects the trinitarian doctrine and claims to be the only true Christian church in Japan.
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[edit] Doctrines and Beliefs
They believe in divine health through prayer and the anointing of oil, because this is a practice referred to in the New Testament (James 5:14-16).
They also perform the ceremony of the washing of the feet, which was originally performed by Jesus (John 13). This practice has been revived with some pastors who wash the feet of the new members immediately after the baptism in the name of Jesus. The ceremony of washing the feet, symbolizes that members have cut off ties with the devil and have embarked on a new life. In addition to these practices, the Spirit of Jesus Church also retains the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
When the Spirit of Jesus Church presents the Gospel to the newcomers, they invite people to accept Jesus, and encourage them to be baptized in water and Spirit. They sing "Receive the Holy Spirit, received the baptism in water." Only perform Baptisms in the name of Jesus Christ according to Acts 2:38 and Acts 10:48, and believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is received through speaking in tongues. During prayer sessions, the members would continually recite "Hallelujah" until they had recived the Holy Spirit.
[edit] History
In a visit he made to Taiwan in 1941, Murai Jun had contact with the True Jesus Church. Thus he joined that Pentecostal apostolic church by accepting the doctrine of the single God, and received baptism in the Holy Spirit speaking of tongues, and the baptism of water in the name of Jesus. He also knew the ceremony of washing of the feet, and the hope of the Second coming of Jesus. He was then Baptised as a member of the True Jesus Church.
However, upon his return to Japan, he founded his own denomination, the Spirit of Jesus Church. He established this church with the main intention of being free from outside foreign interference in church affairs.
Organized as an independent group in 1941, this institution, like many other Christian denominations in Japan, have not experienced significant growth until after World War II. In 1950, the church was built in central Tokyo, and two years later had established a Bible Institute to train pastors.
[edit] The Church of the Holy Spirit of Jesus and the traditional religion of Japan
The preaching methods of the Spirit of Jesus Church tend to reiterate the pledges of the spiritual and material blessings for the true believers, with the belief that God complies faithfully to their promises.
The Spirit of Jesus Church engages in "spiritual warfare" against the Japanese traditional religiosity and condemns the practice as "idolatrous". In their evangelistic campaigns, pastors have invited believers to stay away from pagan idols and refrain from participation in pagan rituals. It also teaches that we must refrain from the practice of traditional rituals of ancestor worship.
The Spirit of Jesus Church considers the Buddhist altar, the hereditary tombstones and amulets of Shintoism as places where evil spirits dwell. According to representatives of the church, ancestor worship is a direct violation of the second commandment that spoke against the worship false gods.
However, the church also performs Baptism for the Dead in which 1 Cor. 15:29 is commonly used as justification for their actions.
[edit] Scope
By 1958, the Spirit of Jesus Church had grown to a number of 28,000 members, becoming the third largest Protestant denomination in Japan. For 1970 it had 453 churches and a membership of 62,726 adherents. The church continued to grow strongly during the decade of the 1970's and has experienced great growth during the last decade. Early in the 1990's the church is believed to have 420,000 members.
