We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; John 17:17).

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God, fulfil prophecy, and redeem sinful humanity. We believe He accomplished our redemption through His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, His burial, and His bodily resurrection. We believe our redemption and salvation are guaranteed by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and that He is the only means of salvation (John 1:1; 14; 18; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-26; 4:25; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Timothy 2:5).

We believe that Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth, and the Head of the church. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God where, as High Priest to His people, He serves as our Advocate and intercedes for us (Colossians 1:15-19; Hebrews 1:3; 3:1; 7:23-25; 1 John 2:1-2).

We believe that the church has a clear biblical mandate to spread the good news of the gospel to the world; therefore mission is not an optional program in the church but an essential element in the identity of the church (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:14-15).

We believe there is one God, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are each God, and that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are each a distinct person (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 2:9; Acts 5:3-4).

We believe salvation is a sovereign gift of God and is received by believers through personal faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin. We believe that believers are justified by grace through faith apart from works (Acts 13:38-39; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10). We believe that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation and that no one is saved apart from a conscious and personal decision to trust in Christ as his or her one and only Saviour (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10).

We believe sanctification, which is a setting apart unto God, is positional, progressive, and ultimate. Positionally, it is already complete since the believer is in Christ and is set apart unto God as Christ is set apart unto god. Since the Christian retains his sinful nature, however, there is need for progressive sanctification whereby he grows in grace by the power of the Spirit. Ultimately, the child of God will be set apart from sin in his practice (as he is now in his position in Christ) when he is taken to be with Christ and shall be like Him (John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:10-14).

While the Elders of CityLight East hold to the full doctrinal statement (excluding a preferred position on eschatology), we understand that there is room for differing interpretations in what we consider the “non-essentials”. Consequently, members of CityLight East are not required to agree with all of the teaching distinctives, however, they are required to affirm the above 6 core beliefs that are crucial to understanding orthodox Christianity.

The Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with the Father and Son, whose primaryministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ; he also convicts unbelievers oftheir need for Christ imparts spiritual life through regeneration (the new birth).

We believe that God still does miraculous work today, however this work is a result of God’s providential and sovereign hand and not a result of an individual’s spiritual gifting.

We believe that the spiritual gifts of tongues, miraculous healing, and prophecy, functioned throughout the NT as authenticating signs for the early church (Acts 8:14; 10:44-48; 11:15-18; 19:1-6) and not as final evidence of God’s presence in a believer’s life nor as confirmations of a“second blessing” or subsequent filling of the Spirit.

With the closing of the canon, these gifts have now ceased, though God’smiraculous hand still works in response to prayer through His sovereign and providential will. Furthermore, we believe the gift of tongues in theNew Testament always presents itself as a known language (Acts 2:6-13)and not as a private prayer language.

We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church. This event, commonly called the rapture, will be followed by great tribulation on earth and will culminate in the visible and bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth, commonly called the Second Coming, to rule the nations and establish His millennial kingdom (1 Thessalonians4:13-18; Philippians 3:20; Matthew 24:15-31; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-6).

We believe that men and women are both equally saved and equally called to participate in ministry. We also believe that men and women have been created to complement one another, which scripture teaches involves a distinction of roles. For example, we believe that the role of Elder is to be fulfilled by godly men who fulfil the necessary qualifications laid out in Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim. 3:1-7 and 1 Peter 5:1-4. We also believe that the role of preaching to the gathered church is set aside for godly men as commanded in 1 Tim 2:12-14.

We believe that the church has a clear biblical mandate to spread the good news of the gospel to the world; therefore mission is not an optional program in the church but an essential element in the identity of the church (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:14-15).

We believe Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and theLord’s Supper, both of which are to be observed by believers until He returns (Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

We believe by water baptism a believer publicly identifies with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We believe that infants of believing parents may be dedicated to the Lord but should not be baptized until they can personally articulate their faith and the purpose of baptism.

We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s death and an expression of our faith in His future coming that is to be continually practised by all believers. We believe every Christian has a right to partake of the elements of the Lord’s Supper, but that participation must always be preceded by solemn self-examination.