General Information
Accreditation and Affiliations Biola University holds institutional accreditation by the WASC Senior College and University Commission * (1961). In addition, the institution and certain of its programs are accredited by the American Psychological Association (1980), the Association of Theological Schools (1977), the National Association of Schools of Music (1970), the State of California Board of Registered Nursing (1966), the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (2007), the California Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing (1960), the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (1997) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (1998). Note: Dates in ( ) reflect the initial approval date. Biola University is authorized to train students under the Veteran’s Bill of Rights. In addition, the University is affiliated with a number of professional organizations, of which the following are representative: American Anthropological Association; American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers; American Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation; American Council on Education; American Guild of Organists; American Intercollegiate Athletic Women; American Library Association; American Psychological Association; Associated Collegiate Press; Association of Christian Schools, International; Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs; Association of College Unions International; American Association of Higher Education; Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities; California Association of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; California Council on the Education of Teachers; Choral Conductors’ Guild (California); Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; Christian Scholar’s Review; College Entrance Examination Board; Council on Post- secondary Accreditation; Evangelical Teacher Training Association; Intercollegiate Press; Music Educator’s National Conference; National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics; Western Association of Graduate Schools; Western Council on Higher Education for Nursing; and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. * If you wish to contact the WASC Senior College and University Commission for any concerns, please contact them at: 985 Atlantic Ave., Suite 100; Alameda, CA 94501; (510) 748-9001; or online at: wascsenior.org/contact. Doctrinal Statement The Articles of Faith, presented here as originally conceived by the founders of the organization, have been and continue to be the stated theological position of Biola University and are an essential part of the Articles of Incorporation of the University. Where “man” is used referring to the human race it includes both genders. Articles of Faith The Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, a supernaturally given revelation from God Himself, concerning Himself, His being, nature, character, will and purposes; and concerning man, his nature, need and duty and destiny. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are without error or misstatement in their moral and spiritual teaching and record of historical facts. They are without error or defect of any kind. There is one God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin — Mary, a lineal descendant of David. He lived and taught and wrought mighty works and wonders and signs exactly as is recorded in the four Gospels. He was put to death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. God raised from the dead the body that had been nailed to the cross. The Lord Jesus after His crucifixion showed Himself to be alive to His disciples, appearing unto them by the space of fourty days. After this, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, and the Father caused Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the Church.”
The Lord Jesus, before His incarnation, existed in the form of God and of His own choice laid aside His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. In His pre- existent state, He was with God and was God. He is a divine person possessed of all the attributes of Deity, and should be worshipped as God by angels and man. “In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” All the words that He spoke during His earthly life were the words of God. There is absolutely no error of any kind in them, and by the words of Jesus Christ the words of all other teachers must be tested. The Lord Jesus became in every respect a real man, possessed of all the essential characteristics of human nature. By His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus made a perfect atonement for sin, by which the wrath of God against sinners is appeased and a ground furnished upon which God can deal in mercy with sinners. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse in our place. He who Himself was absolutely without sin was made to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The Lord Jesus is coming again to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly. The return of our Lord is the blessed hope of the believer, and in it God’s purposes of grace toward mankind will find their consummation. The Holy Spirit is a person, and is possessed of all the distinctively divine attributes. He is God. Man was created in the image of God, after His likeness, but the whole human race fell in the fall of the first Adam. All men, until they accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior, are lost, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, hardened in heart, morally and spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins. They cannot see, nor enter the kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit. Men are justified on the simple and single ground of the shed blood of Christ and upon the simple and single condition of faith in Him who shed His blood, and are born again by the quickening, renewing, cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the Word of God. All those who receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Lord, and who confess Him as such before their fellow men, become children of God and receive eternal life. They become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in conscious blessedness, and at the second coming of Christ their bodies shall be raised and transformed into the likeness of the body of His glory. All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in the present life shall be raised from the dead and throughout eternity exist in a state of conscious, unutterable, endless torment and anguish. The Church consists of all those who, in this present dispensation, truly believe in Jesus Christ. It is the body and bride of Christ, which Christ loves and for which He has given Himself. There is a personal devil, a being of great cunning and power: “The prince of the power of the air,” “The prince of this world,” “The god of this age.” He can exert vast power only so far as God suffers him to do so. He shall ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and shall be tormented day and night forever. Theological Distinctives In addition to the Articles of Faith, the following Theological Distinctives indicate the University’s understanding of, and teaching position on, certain points that could be subject to various interpretations. In fulfillment of God’s historical purpose for humanity to rule and establish God’s kingdom on earth (Gen. 1:28; Ps. 8:4–8; Matt. 6:10; Heb. 2:6–9), the Scriptures teach a millennial reign of Christ with His saints on earth following His literal return. The nation of Israel, having been redeemed, will play a central role in bringing the blessings of salvation to all nations during the millennium in fulfillment of biblical prophecies (e.g., Is. 2:1–4, 11:1–12; Jer. 23:5–6; Ezek. 37; Amos 9:9–15; Zech. 14; Matt. 19:28; Acts 1:6, 3:19–21; Rev. 20:4–7). Following the millennium, this kingdom will be merged into the eternal kingdom (I Cor. 15:22–28). Before these millennial events, the believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (I Thess. 4:13–17). The time of this “rapture”
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