I recently completed a course on the fundamental beliefs of the Assemblies of God, and I thought I would like to take this opportunity to reflect and summarize the major points of this study.
There are sixteen fundamentals and four core truths of AG doctrine. The sixteen fundamentals are doctrines that are seen as indisputable and the four core truths are the main foundation of AG beliefs. You can learn more about both on the AG website under the Beliefs tab (AG.org). The four core truths are Salvation, The Holy Spirit, Divine Healing, and The Second Coming of Christ. I'll explain each briefly.
Salvation comes through the work and sacrifice of Jesus by means of grace through faith. Salvation is a like a rebirthed justification. In other words, you come to God guilty, and He forgives you. However, that forgiveness isn't just a "forgive and forget." God's justification is a rebirth--basically you are a completely different person, no longer associated with the guilty person who needed the forgiveness. The AG does not believe in the concept of eternal security--instead it is important to continually act on your faith. This action isn't a means to salvation, but it is a lack of apathy in sharing to others what God has done for you.
The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. The AG is a Pentecostal denomination, so we believe in the modern availability and use of spiritual gifts (including the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues). All believers have access to the baptism of the Spirit and have been blessed with certain gifts that God has given us to edify and build up the Church and the Kingdom. Some of these gifts lend themselves well to specific church job titles (pastoring, teaching, etc), but many include behind the scenes work, such as administration, hospitality, or generosity.
The Assemblies of God believes that divine healing is still available today, so this outpouring of God's power is not one that ended in biblical times. The biggest and most important example of this is spiritual healing: salvation; all Christians have experienced this. One thing to remember is that the body is a temporary vessel, so this healing is the most valued--if you have chronically ill, Christian friends who have not received healing, it is important to remember that they have received their eternal healing, but are still waiting for the short-term, physical one. In addition to this spiritual healing, God also acts in inner healing (emotional, internal healing--for example, healing from depression or anxiety) and physical healing (healing from illnesses and physical issues).
The last core truth is the second coming of Christ. The Assemblies of God holds to the believe that the rapture will occur before the tribulation, then after the tribulation Christ will return. This is the beginning of the end--Satan will receive his punishment and a new creation will be made.
