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 atone ment 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 distinctive ly 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 can not 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 the blood, and are born again by the quickening. renewing , cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, through the in strumentality 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 dispensa tion , truly believe on 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 powerofthe 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. NOTE: This doctrinal statement , presented here as originally conceived by the founders of the organization, has been and continues to be the stated theological position of Biola Universi ty. In addition , the following explanatory notes indicate the continued 11
Christianity (within the evangelical Protestant framework) as well as to the spiritual, academic and holistic growth of those who are personally committed to Him. THE NATURE AND STANDARDS OF BIOLA UNIVERSITY Biola University has long recognized a value in maintammg certain behavioral standards that contribute to the atmosphere on campus, foster fellowship with a wide range of Christians and, in many instances, assist in strengthening our Christian testimony to our community. In this light , Biola University asks both its students and employees to be supportive of this behavioral standard. This institution is for earnest Christians who are sensitive to the many principles of Christian living that are found in the Bible. The institution also states certain specific guidelines for the conduct of faculty, staff and students. Although such regulations are not the basis of our standing in Christ, and are not a necessary consequence of it, they can strengthen the life and testimony of both the individual and the institution . To this end, Biola expects its faculty, staff and students to refrain from the use of alcoholic beverages and tobacco and from gambling and dancing. Further, Biola, though appreciating the rich contribution of the arts to mankind , deplores morally degrading elements whenever they are found in the theatre, the entertainment media and literature; Biolans are expected to abstain from all aspects of such that morally degrade . Biola University does not presume to be a censoring agency for all activities; it does, however , expect tangible evidence of maturing Christian convictions and discern ing judgment. Biola reserves the right to dismiss a student who, in its judgment, ·does not conform either to the stated regulations governing stu dent conduct or to the expressed principles, policies and pro grams of the university. DOCTRINAL STATEMENT Inasmuch as the university is interdenominational and yet theo logically conservative , the Articles of Incorporation contain a doctrinal statement which is given below: The Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, a supernaturally given revela tion 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 forty 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.
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