Page 132 2023–24 Graduate Academic Catalog We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal in nature with God the Father and God the Son.The Spirit had an active role in creation and in the inspiration of the Scriptures. He convicts sinners, guides humans into truth and regenerates believers to new life, baptizes them in Christ and serves as their assurance to eternal life. Believers mature in their faith through the work of the Spirit, who produces His fruit in them.The gifts of the Spirit are for ministry to the body of Christ and the“sign gifts”are not intended to be a pattern for today. Psalm 139:7–12; John 14:16,17; 16:13,14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 12:8–10, 28–30; 14:1–40; Galatians 5:22–23; Hebrews 2:3–4. We believe that the local church is a gathered congregation of believers, associated by covenant, practicing self-governance, and observing the ordinances of believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper.The church is to be committed to the authority of the Word of God in matters of doctrine and practice. God calls certain men to be pastors, providing spiritual leadership for the church. Deacons, likewise, minister to the church body through specific acts of service.We believe that the universal church consists of all who have saving faith in Christ.As the body of Christ, the church is to fulfill His mission of making disciples throughout the world. Matthew 18:15–17; 28:18–20; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 12:12–28; 7:17; 11:16; Ephesians 1:22–23; 2:14,15; 4:11–16; 5:23–32; 1 Timothy 2:12; 3:1–15. We believe that every believer should walk by the Spirit and engage in practices that stimulate spiritual maturity. Christians grow as they worship and serve the Lord, study the Scriptures, pray, and live in fellowship with other believers. Christians are also to flee evil influences and practices, which hinder a Spiritfilled life. Due to the commission of Christ and the urgency of the gospel, all believers are to engage in gospel conversations, to live God-honoring lives, and to work continuously to spread the gospel to their neighbors and the nations. Matthew 5:16; 28:19– 20; Mark 16:15; John 17:18; 20:21; Acts 1:8; Romans 6:1–14; 12:1; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 6:14–7:1; Galatians 5:16–25; Colossians 3:1–17; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15–17. We believe in the literal, bodily resurrection of the crucified Lord, His ascension into heaven, His present life there as our high priest and advocate, and His rapture of the church before the tribulation. He will return bodily and visibly to the earth at the end of the tribulation to establish His millennial kingdom, and to reign as the supreme Lord over all nations. Luke 24:36–43; John 14:1–6; 20:24–29; Acts 1:9–11; 1 Corinthians 15:12–58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 5:1–11; Revelation 1:4–7; 19:11–16; 20:6. We believe in the bodily resurrection and judgment of all the dead.Those people who are in Christ will be saved to a life of eternal glory with God. Unbelievers will suffer judgment and eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Matthew 10:28; 18:8,9; 25:41,46; Mark 9:43–49; John 5:28,29; 2 Thessalonians 1:6–9; Revelation 20:6,11–15; 21:1–8. Doctrinal Statement All trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff support and adhere to the doctrinal statement and lifestyle commitment of Cedarville University. We believe that God has revealed Himself truthfully to humans through the inspired texts of the Scriptures.These canonical texts, Old and New Testaments, are inerrant, infallible, and reliable in detail and in theological content.The Bible, as the sufficient Word of God, has authority over the church and the Christian’s life and thought.As divinely inspired texts, the meaning of the biblical authors is to be discerned through careful, textual interpretation guided by the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:10–14; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:19–21. We believe in one God-eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present, existing as three Persons- Father, Son, and Spirit, one in nature, attributes, power, and glory. God will be glorified by all creation and is worthy of worship from all humans. Genesis 1:1,26; Psalm 104, 148; Proverbs 30:4; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29; John 1:1–4, 14, 18; Acts 5:3,4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Timothy 2:3–4. We believe that the Son, eternally begotten by the Father, through the Spirit was also born of the virgin, Mary.Therefore, Jesus, the Son, is both fully God and fully human.As the Word made flesh, the Son is the perfect mediator between God and humanity. Proverbs 8:22–31; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–35; John 1:14–18, 5:16–29; Philippians 2:6–11; 1 Timothy 2:5–6; Hebrews 1:1–14. We believe that the Scriptures provide a literal and historical account of God’s creation of all things.The climax of the six days of creation was the special, immediate and personal creation of human life.The first humans,Adam and Eve, were directly created, not evolved from previous life forms. God created humans, male and female, in His image. Human life, sexual identity and roles are aspects of God’s creative design. From creation, marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman that should be marked by sexual purity, by sacrificial male leadership, and by recognizing the divine blessing of children, including preborn children. Adam and Eve, though created in perfection, sinned, warranting physical death, spiritual death, and eternal separation from God. Consequently, all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and are sinners in thought, word, and deed. Genesis 1:1–27; 2:7–25; 3:1–24; Psalm 127:3–5; Romans 1:18–32; 3:10–19; 5:12–19; Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 3:18–19. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as the representative and substitutionary sacrifice and rose again for our justification. Only those who repent and believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood and are saved by grace through faith wholly apart from human merit and works. Genuine believers, the elect, are the adopted children of God and are eternally secure through the work of God. John 1:12,13; 3:3–16; 5:24; 10:28,29; Acts 13:39; 16:31; Romans 3:21–28; Ephesians 1:3–14; 2:8–10; Philippians 1:6; Titus 3:3–8; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Peter 1:4–11.
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