God foreknows human response to gospel; free will affirmed; prayer and faith shape destiny
The Cherubim and Seraphim Church teaches that God possesses perfect foreknowledge and foresees all events, including human decisions. However, this divine foreknowledge is not understood as deterministic. God foreknows who will respond to the gospel through their exercise of free will. Predestination, in the C&S view, is conditional — based on God's foresight of human faith and obedience, not on an arbitrary divine decree.
Human free will is genuinely affirmed. Individuals are responsible moral agents whose choices matter. God invites all people to faith and salvation through the gospel, and the human response to this invitation is free. Redemption is not forced but chosen. This Arminian framework shapes C&S soteriology and pastoral practice — believers are exhorted to press into prayer, to seek God's face, to maintain faith and obedience, with the understanding that these choices genuinely affect one's spiritual destiny.
Moreover, the C&S emphasizes that prayer and intercession can alter outcomes. Through prayer, believers can avert judgment, receive healing, and influence events. This reflects a conviction that the future is not rigidly fixed but is responsive to human prayer and faithfulness. Destiny is not wholly predetermined but is shaped through the cooperation between God's sovereign grace and human obedient response.
Key Distinctions
- Election model:
- conditional — foreseen faith and response; not arbitrary decree
- Double predestination:
- rejected; God desires all to be saved
- Free will teaching:
- free will affirmed; human choices genuinely shape destiny
Scripture References
Sources
- Cherubim and Seraphim Teaching on Providence
- Oloyede, I. 'The Concept of Prayer in the Aladura Churches' — theological study