Before there was anything else, there was God. Then, God created the cosmos, including humans on Earth, whom He created in His own image. With Christians everywhere, we worship the one, true God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
People attempted to be good enough for God but have failed miserably. God had the answer: sending the second person of the Trinity into the world to accomplish what people could not accomplish on their own. We believe that Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly human. He died and was raised from the dead; is the Savior, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who will one day return and make all things new.
At the very core of God's identity is community. God is both One and Three. Even better for humans, God wants people to share in the very community that exists between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When a person receives God's grace through Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to stay in that person; God's very presence living in followers of Jesus! The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit empowers and comforts all those who follow Christ.
We affirm that the current state of dysfunction and chaos in the world is the result of human choice for something and anything other than God’s heart, and that God offers freedom — also referred to as salvation — from this dysfunction and chaos through faith in Jesus Christ alone. God accomplishes this freedom as an act of grace, or unmerited favor. Wholeness, love, and eternity are available through God's grace coming to us in Jesus.
God desired for people to have insight regarding the design of creation, the causes of chaos and dysfunction, and the path that leads to freedom. Over many centuries, through numerous individuals, God produced what the world knows as "The Bible." Much more than the most supported ancient book, we believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God, and that it is as applicable today as it’s always been.
Even though we believe in the spiritual unity of everyone who follows Christ, and that He instructed his Church to represent Him in this world in order to help everyone else experience His love, receive baptism and grow to obey all of His teachings. We're all a work in progress. We know that the Church can also be pretty messed up; yet the Church, especially the local church, is the hope of the world. Followers of Christ gather together for encouragement, love, and support, then send one another back to the world to represent Christ's love to everyone.
Presbyterians have been of two minds about essential tenets. We recognize that just as there are some central and foundational truths of the gospel affirmed by Christians everywhere, so too there are particular understandings of the gospel that define the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition. See below for more information on the Essential Tenets and Confessional Standards of ECO