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Grace
College and Seminary
Covenant
of Faith
Statement of Doctrine
1937
As stated under paragraph VI of the original Charter, it is one of the
essential purposes of Grace “To carry on the educational activities of
this corporation in complete harmony with the articles of the following
‘Covenant of Faith,’ which cannot be changed or diminished,” and
to which each member of the faculty and board of trustees is required to
“subscribe annually in writing.”
1. We believe in THE HOLY
SCRIPTURES: accepting fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very
Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without
error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in themselves as
our only infallible rule of faith and practice (Matt. 5:18; John 10:35,
16:13, 17:17, 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
2. We believe in THE ONE TRIUNE
GOD: who is personal, spirit, and sovereign (Mark 12:29;John 4:24, 14:9; Ps.
135:6); perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness, love,
wisdom, and power (Ps. 18:30, 1147:5; Deut. 33:27); absolutely separate
and above the world as its Creator; yet everywhere present in the world
as the Upholder of all things (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 104); self-existent and
self-revealing in three distinct Persons— the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit (John 5:26; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), each of whom is to
be honored and worshiped equally as true God (John 5:23;Acts 5:3-4).
3. We believe in THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: who is the Second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and Only
Begotten Son, our great God and Savior (John 1:1, 3:16; Titus 2:13; Rom.
9:5); that, without any essential change in His divine Person (Heb.
13:8), He became man by the miracle of Virgin Birth (John 1:14; Matt.
1:23), thus to continue forever as both true God Man, one Person with
two natures (Col. 2:9, Rev. 22:16); that as Man, He was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15; John 8:46): that as
the perfect Lamb of God He gave himself in death upon the Cross bearing
the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in
our stead (Isa. 53:5-6; Matt. 20:28; Gal. 3:13; John 1:29); that He
arose again from the dead and was glorified in the same body in which He
suffered and died (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:25-28); that as our great High
Priest He ascended into heaven, there to appear before the face of God
as our Advocate and Intercessor (Heb. 4:14, 9:24; 1 John 2:1).
4. We believe in THE HOLY SPIRIT: who is the Third Person of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4),
the divine Agent in nature, revelation, and redemption (Gen. 1:2; Ps
104:30; 1 Cor. 2:10; 2 Cor. 3:18); that He convicts the world of sin
(John 16:8-11), regenerates those who believe (John 3:5), and indwells,
baptizes, seals, empowers, guides, teaches, and sanctifies all who
become children of God through Christ (1 Cor. 6:19, 12:13; Eph. 4:30,
3:16; Rom 8:14; John 14:26; 1 Cor. 6:11).
5. We believe in THE CREATION AND
FALL OF MAN: that he was the direct creation of God, spirit and soul and body, not
in any sense the product of an animal ancestry, but made in the divine
image (Gen. 1:26-29, 2:7 and 18-24; Matt. 19:4, 1 Thess. 5:23); that by
personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful
creature and the progenitor of a fallen race (Gen. 3:1-24, 5:3), who are
universally sinful in both nature and practice (Eph. 2:3; Rom. 3:23,
5:12), alienated from the life and family of God (Eph. 4:18; John
8:42-44), under the righteous judgement and wrath of God (Rom. 1:18,
3:19), and have within themselves no possible means of recovery or
salvation (Mark 7:21-23; Matt. 19:26; Rom 7:18).
6. We believe in SALVATION BY
GRACE THROUGH FAITH: that salvation is the free gift of God (Rom. 3:24, 6:23), neither
merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man
(Titus 3:5; Rom. 4:4-5, 11:16), but received only by personal faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 6:28-29; Acts 16:30-31; Eph. 2:8-9),
in whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of
eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God,
deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource
needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall
never perish (1 John 5:13; Rom. 3:22; Gal. 3:26; John 5:24; Eph. 1:3; 2
Peter 1:3; John 10:27-30); that this salvation includes the whole man,
spirit and soul and body (1 Thess. 5:23-24); and apart from Christ there
is no possible salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
7. We believe in RIGHTEOUS LIVING
AND GOOD WORKS: not as the procuring causer of salvation in any sense, but as its
proper evidence and fruit (1 John 3:9-11, 4:19, 5:4; Eph. 2:8-10; Titus
2:14; Matt. 7:16-18; 1 Cor. 15:10); and therefore as Christians we
should keep the word of our Lord (John 14:23), seek the things which are
above (Col. 3:1), walk as He walked (1 John 2:6), be careful to maintain
good works (Titus 3:8), and especially accept as our solemn
responsibility the duty and privilege of bearing the Gospel to a lost
world in order that we may bear much fruit (Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19; John
14:16); remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is
possible only for those who learned they are not under law but under
grace (Rom. 6:14), and who in gratitude for the infinite and undeserved
mercies of God have presented themselves wholly to Him for His service
(Rom. 12:1-2).
8. We believe in THE EXISTENCE OF
SATAN: who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride
and unlawful ambition rebelled against God (Ezek. 18:13-17; Isa.
14:13-14; 1 Tim. 3:7); thus becoming utterly depraved in character (John
8:44), the great Adversary of God and His people (Matt. 4:1-11; Rev.
12:10), leader of all other evil angels and spirits (Matt. 12:24-26,
25:41), the deceiver and god of this present world (Rev. 12:9; 2 Cor.
4:4); that his powers are supernaturally great, but strictly limited by
the permissive will of God, who overrules all his wicked devices for
good (Job 1:1-22; Luke 22:331-32); that he was defeated and judged at
the Cross, and therefore his final doom is certain (John 12:31-32,
16:11; Rev. 20:10); that we are able to resist and overcome him only in
the armor of God and by the Blood of the Lamb (Eph. 6:12-18; Rev.
12:11).
9. We believe in THE SECOND COMING
OF CHRIST: that His return from Heaven will be personal, visible, and glorious—a
Blessed Hope for which we should constantly watch and pray, the time
being unrevealed but always imminent (Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7; Mark
13:33-37; Titus 2:11-13; Rev. 22:20); that when he comes He will first
by resurrection and translation remove from the earth His waiting Church
(1 Thess. 4:16-18), then pour out the righteous judgements of God upon
the unbelieving world (Rev. 6:1-18:24), afterward descend with His
church and establish His glorious and literal kingdom over all the
nations for a thousand years (Rev. 19:1-20:6; Matt. 13:41-43), at the
close of which He will rise and judge the unsaved dead (Rev. 20:11-15),
and finally as the Son of David deliver up His Messianic Kingdom to God
the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28), in order that as the Eternal Son He may
reign forever with the Father in the New Heaven and the New Earth (Luke
1:32-33; Rev. 21:1-22:6).
10. We believe in FUTURE LIFE,
BODILY RESURRECTION, AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT: that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ
in heaven (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8), where they abide in joyful fellowship
with Him until His second coming, when their bodies shall be raised from
the grave and changed into the likeness of His own glorious body (Phil.
3:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:35-58; 1 John 3:2), at which time their works shall
be brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ for the determination of
rewards, a judgment which may issue in the loss of rewards, but not in
the loss of the soul (1 Cor. 3:8-15); that the spirits of the unsaved at
death descend immediately into Hades where they are kept under
punishment until the final day of judgement (Luke 16:19-31; 2 Peter 2:9
ASV), at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, they
shall be judged according to their works, and cast into the place of
final and everlasting punishment ((Rev. 20:11-15, 21:8; Mark 9:43-48;
Jude 13).
11. We believe in THE ONE TRUE
CHURCH: the mystical Body and Bride of the Lord Jesus (Eph. 4:4; 5:25-32),
which He began to build on the day of Pentecost (Matt. 16:18; Acts
2:47), and will complete at His second coming (1 Thess. 4:16-17); and
into which all true believers of the present age are baptized
immediately by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-13 with 1:2); that all the
various members of this one spiritual Body should assemble themselves
together in local churches for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching,
united testimony; and the observance of the ordinances of our Lord (Heb.
10:25; Acts 2:41-47), among which are the following: the Baptism of
believers by Triune Immersion (Matt. 28:20), the Laying on of Hands (1
Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), the Washing of the Saints’ Feet (John
13:1-17), the Lord’s Supper or Lovefeast (1 Cor. 11:17-22; Jude 12 ASV),
the Communion of the Bread and Cup (1 Cor. 11:23-24), and Prayer and
Anointing for the Sick (James 5:13-18).
12. We believe in SEPARATION FROM
THE WORLD: that since our Christian citizenship is in heaven, as the children of
God we should walk in separation from this present world, having no
fellowship with its evil ways (Phil. 3:20 ASV; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; Rom.
12:2; Eph. 5:11), abstaining from all worldly amusements and unclean
habits which defile mind and body (Luke 8:14; 1 Thess. 5:22; 1 Tim. 5:6;
1 Peter 2:11; Eph. 5:3-11, 18; Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 6:19-20), from the sin
of divorce and remarriage as forbidden by our Lord (Matt. 19:9), from
the swearing of any oath (James 5:12), from the use of unbelieving
courts for the settlements of disputes between Christians (1 Cor.
6:1-9), and from taking personal vengeance in carnal strife (Rom.
12:18-21; 2 Cor. 10:3-4).
We understand that the above Articles do not by any means exhaust the
content of our creed which is the whole Word of God, and they are not
intended to set a limit beyond which faith cannot go within this Word;
but we do believe that in so far as these Articles extend they are a
true presentation of the sound doctrine taught in the Scriptures, and
therefore binding upon us as Christian believers.
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Grace
College and Seminary
Covenant
of Faith
Statement of Doctrine
1937
As stated under paragraph VI of the original Charter, it is one of the
essential purposes of Grace “To carry on the educational activities of
this corporation in complete harmony with the articles of the following
‘Covenant of Faith,’ which cannot be changed or diminished,” and
to which each member of the faculty and board of trustees is required to
“subscribe annually in writing.”
1. We believe in THE HOLY
SCRIPTURES: accepting fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very
Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without
error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in themselves as
our only infallible rule of faith and practice (Matt. 5:18; John 10:35,
16:13, 17:17, 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
2. We believe in THE ONE TRIUNE
GOD: who is personal, spirit, and sovereign (Mark 12:29;John 4:24, 14:9; Ps.
135:6); perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness, love,
wisdom, and power (Ps. 18:30, 1147:5; Deut. 33:27); absolutely separate
and above the world as its Creator; yet everywhere present in the world
as the Upholder of all things (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 104); self-existent and
self-revealing in three distinct Persons— the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit (John 5:26; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), each of whom is to
be honored and worshiped equally as true God (John 5:23;Acts 5:3-4).
3. We believe in THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: who is the Second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and Only
Begotten Son, our great God and Savior (John 1:1, 3:16; Titus 2:13; Rom.
9:5); that, without any essential change in His divine Person (Heb.
13:8), He became man by the miracle of Virgin Birth (John 1:14; Matt.
1:23), thus to continue forever as both true God Man, one Person with
two natures (Col. 2:9, Rev. 22:16); that as Man, He was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15; John 8:46): that as
the perfect Lamb of God He gave himself in death upon the Cross bearing
the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in
our stead (Isa. 53:5-6; Matt. 20:28; Gal. 3:13; John 1:29); that He
arose again from the dead and was glorified in the same body in which He
suffered and died (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:25-28); that as our great High
Priest He ascended into heaven, there to appear before the face of God
as our Advocate and Intercessor (Heb. 4:14, 9:24; 1 John 2:1).
4. We believe in THE HOLY SPIRIT: who is the Third Person of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4),
the divine Agent in nature, revelation, and redemption (Gen. 1:2; Ps
104:30; 1 Cor. 2:10; 2 Cor. 3:18); that He convicts the world of sin
(John 16:8-11), regenerates those who believe (John 3:5), and indwells,
baptizes, seals, empowers, guides, teaches, and sanctifies all who
become children of God through Christ (1 Cor. 6:19, 12:13; Eph. 4:30,
3:16; Rom 8:14; John 14:26; 1 Cor. 6:11).
5. We believe in THE CREATION AND
FALL OF MAN: that he was the direct creation of God, spirit and soul and body, not
in any sense the product of an animal ancestry, but made in the divine
image (Gen. 1:26-29, 2:7 and 18-24; Matt. 19:4, 1 Thess. 5:23); that by
personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful
creature and the progenitor of a fallen race (Gen. 3:1-24, 5:3), who are
universally sinful in both nature and practice (Eph. 2:3; Rom. 3:23,
5:12), alienated from the life and family of God (Eph. 4:18; John
8:42-44), under the righteous judgement and wrath of God (Rom. 1:18,
3:19), and have within themselves no possible means of recovery or
salvation (Mark 7:21-23; Matt. 19:26; Rom 7:18).
6. We believe in SALVATION BY
GRACE THROUGH FAITH: that salvation is the free gift of God (Rom. 3:24, 6:23), neither
merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man
(Titus 3:5; Rom. 4:4-5, 11:16), but received only by personal faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16, 6:28-29; Acts 16:30-31; Eph. 2:8-9),
in whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of
eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God,
deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource
needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall
never perish (1 John 5:13; Rom. 3:22; Gal. 3:26; John 5:24; Eph. 1:3; 2
Peter 1:3; John 10:27-30); that this salvation includes the whole man,
spirit and soul and body (1 Thess. 5:23-24); and apart from Christ there
is no possible salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
7. We believe in RIGHTEOUS LIVING
AND GOOD WORKS: not as the procuring causer of salvation in any sense, but as its
proper evidence and fruit (1 John 3:9-11, 4:19, 5:4; Eph. 2:8-10; Titus
2:14; Matt. 7:16-18; 1 Cor. 15:10); and therefore as Christians we
should keep the word of our Lord (John 14:23), seek the things which are
above (Col. 3:1), walk as He walked (1 John 2:6), be careful to maintain
good works (Titus 3:8), and especially accept as our solemn
responsibility the duty and privilege of bearing the Gospel to a lost
world in order that we may bear much fruit (Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19; John
14:16); remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is
possible only for those who learned they are not under law but under
grace (Rom. 6:14), and who in gratitude for the infinite and undeserved
mercies of God have presented themselves wholly to Him for His service
(Rom. 12:1-2).
8. We believe in THE EXISTENCE OF
SATAN: who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride
and unlawful ambition rebelled against God (Ezek. 18:13-17; Isa.
14:13-14; 1 Tim. 3:7); thus becoming utterly depraved in character (John
8:44), the great Adversary of God and His people (Matt. 4:1-11; Rev.
12:10), leader of all other evil angels and spirits (Matt. 12:24-26,
25:41), the deceiver and god of this present world (Rev. 12:9; 2 Cor.
4:4); that his powers are supernaturally great, but strictly limited by
the permissive will of God, who overrules all his wicked devices for
good (Job 1:1-22; Luke 22:331-32); that he was defeated and judged at
the Cross, and therefore his final doom is certain (John 12:31-32,
16:11; Rev. 20:10); that we are able to resist and overcome him only in
the armor of God and by the Blood of the Lamb (Eph. 6:12-18; Rev.
12:11).
9. We believe in THE SECOND COMING
OF CHRIST: that His return from Heaven will be personal, visible, and glorious—a
Blessed Hope for which we should constantly watch and pray, the time
being unrevealed but always imminent (Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7; Mark
13:33-37; Titus 2:11-13; Rev. 22:20); that when he comes He will first
by resurrection and translation remove from the earth His waiting Church
(1 Thess. 4:16-18), then pour out the righteous judgements of God upon
the unbelieving world (Rev. 6:1-18:24), afterward descend with His
church and establish His glorious and literal kingdom over all the
nations for a thousand years (Rev. 19:1-20:6; Matt. 13:41-43), at the
close of which He will rise and judge the unsaved dead (Rev. 20:11-15),
and finally as the Son of David deliver up His Messianic Kingdom to God
the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28), in order that as the Eternal Son He may
reign forever with the Father in the New Heaven and the New Earth (Luke
1:32-33; Rev. 21:1-22:6).
10. We believe in FUTURE LIFE,
BODILY RESURRECTION, AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT: that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ
in heaven (Phil. 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8), where they abide in joyful fellowship
with Him until His second coming, when their bodies shall be raised from
the grave and changed into the likeness of His own glorious body (Phil.
3:20-21; 1 Cor. 15:35-58; 1 John 3:2), at which time their works shall
be brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ for the determination of
rewards, a judgment which may issue in the loss of rewards, but not in
the loss of the soul (1 Cor. 3:8-15); that the spirits of the unsaved at
death descend immediately into Hades where they are kept under
punishment until the final day of judgement (Luke 16:19-31; 2 Peter 2:9
ASV), at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, they
shall be judged according to their works, and cast into the place of
final and everlasting punishment ((Rev. 20:11-15, 21:8; Mark 9:43-48;
Jude 13).
11. We believe in THE ONE TRUE
CHURCH: the mystical Body and Bride of the Lord Jesus (Eph. 4:4; 5:25-32),
which He began to build on the day of Pentecost (Matt. 16:18; Acts
2:47), and will complete at His second coming (1 Thess. 4:16-17); and
into which all true believers of the present age are baptized
immediately by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:12-13 with 1:2); that all the
various members of this one spiritual Body should assemble themselves
together in local churches for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching,
united testimony; and the observance of the ordinances of our Lord (Heb.
10:25; Acts 2:41-47), among which are the following: the Baptism of
believers by Triune Immersion (Matt. 28:20), the Laying on of Hands (1
Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), the Washing of the Saints’ Feet (John
13:1-17), the Lord’s Supper or Lovefeast (1 Cor. 11:17-22; Jude 12 ASV),
the Communion of the Bread and Cup (1 Cor. 11:23-24), and Prayer and
Anointing for the Sick (James 5:13-18).
12. We believe in SEPARATION FROM
THE WORLD: that since our Christian citizenship is in heaven, as the children of
God we should walk in separation from this present world, having no
fellowship with its evil ways (Phil. 3:20 ASV; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; Rom.
12:2; Eph. 5:11), abstaining from all worldly amusements and unclean
habits which defile mind and body (Luke 8:14; 1 Thess. 5:22; 1 Tim. 5:6;
1 Peter 2:11; Eph. 5:3-11, 18; Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 6:19-20), from the sin
of divorce and remarriage as forbidden by our Lord (Matt. 19:9), from
the swearing of any oath (James 5:12), from the use of unbelieving
courts for the settlements of disputes between Christians (1 Cor.
6:1-9), and from taking personal vengeance in carnal strife (Rom.
12:18-21; 2 Cor. 10:3-4).
We understand that the above Articles do not by any means exhaust the
content of our creed which is the whole Word of God, and they are not
intended to set a limit beyond which faith cannot go within this Word;
but we do believe that in so far as these Articles extend they are a
true presentation of the sound doctrine taught in the Scriptures, and
therefore binding upon us as Christian believers.
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