Dr. Peter Y. De Jong, pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church of Sioux Center, Iowa, is the author of several books and has also served as Professor of Practical Theology at Calvin Seminary from 1964 to 1970. Herewith THE OUTLOOK presents the second in a series of articles by him on Guidance for Elders and Deacons.
ORDER IN THE CHURCH OF GOD
Every family, living together in love, needs regulation. Without this the strain of daily life will produce intolerable misunderstanding, strife and division. Each member must be made aware of rights and responsibilities, not only for himself but also for others.
Law Is Requisite – To insure justice and equity in the nation law is requisite. It is the God-given antidote to conflict and chaos. Speaking therefore of the civil magistracy Paul affirmed: “And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is a minister of God to thee for good” (Rom. 13:3, 4a).
How strange, then, to hear some believers insisting that there is no room for “ecclesiastical law.” Anything that smacks of church order and regulation is deprecated. All such authority is criticized as a contradiction of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. All we need to do—so the argument runs—is live in love.
Such people fail to take much of the New Testament seriously, especially the many apostolic prescriptions for ordering the life of Christ’s church in the world. By their attitude and approach they undermine the spiritual welfare of themselves and their fellow-believers much more than they realize. They would be well advised to reflect on the setting of this passage from Paul to Timothy: “These things write I unto thee . . . that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3:14, 15). By no means every pattern of thought and life which we may deem proper is pleasing to the Savior and profitable to His church.
Calvin on Discipline – In his instructive discourse on the church Calvin writes convincingly:
“But as some have such a hatred of discipline, as to abhor the very name, they should attend to the following consideration: That if no society, and even no house, though containing only a small family, can be preserved in a proper state without discipline, this is far more necessary in the Church, the state of which ought to be the most orderly of all. As the saving doctrine of Christ is the soul of the Church, so discipline forms the ligaments which connect the members together, and keep each in its proper place. ‘Whoever, therefore, either desire the abolition of all discipline, or obstruct its restoration, whether they act from design or inadvertency, they certainly promote the entire dissolution of the Church. For what wilt be the consequence, if every man be at liberty to follow his own inclinations? . . .” (Institutes, Bk. IV, ch. XII, i).
No one can be a disciple of our Lord, unless he is at the same time disciplined according to the Word and by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This is the rule by which the Savior keeps His own in fellowship with Himself and each other.
A Venerable Document – In response to its reverent hearing and embracing of the Scriptures therefore, the Christian Reformed Church—like many other churches—has adopted a Church Order.
Here are basic principles and regulations by which all these churches have pledged to govern themselves. Having once made this pledge, no member, no officebearer and no consistory or classis has the right to ignore, set aside or change any of its prescriptions. It is a “treasure” which we cherish in common. In submission to the Scriptures it, together with the confessional standards, constitutes the pattern for our life as a fellowship of believers.
The Church Order, though modified and enlarged upon occasion, is a venerable document. It goes back to the first gathering of the Reformed churches in 1568, then so cruelly persecuted for the faith and compelled to live for a while in exile from their own land. Small wonder, then, that it seeks to safeguard the spiritual liberties of God’s children in conformity with the gospel. In is definitive form it was adopted by the great Synod of Dordt (1618–‘19). Today it is still vibrant with life and meaning and direction for all congregations who take it seriously. Few would be the misunderstandings, suspicions and dissensions among us, if it were honored by a clearer understanding and more consistent practice.
We should realize that the Church Order seeks only to set forth what Christ and his apostles require of the church in the present world. It springs from principles clearly taught in Scripture. Never should it be treated as a document filled with abstract, impersonal, legalistic injunctions. It glories in the gospel which declares, “For freedom did Christ set us free,” adding what follows, “. . . only use not your freedom as an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another” (Gal. 5:1, 13). Its aim is profoundly pastoral, “. . . to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) by obeying the Savior who bought the church with His own blood. Wherever it is properly and prayerfully observed, the blessings of sound faith, strong hope and fervent love to God and to each other will accrue.
Some Basic Convictions – Without attempting to be exhaustive, we would call attention to some of the basic convictions which permeate the Church Order. In the light of these alone can we understand this document which seeks to keep us in the love and grace of God.
1–Jesus Christ alone is Savior and Lord of the church, which as His body comprises believers and their children as heirs of His saving promises.
2 –He as Head and Lord of the church gathers, defends and preserves His people in the unity of the true faith by His Spirit and Word. The church, therefore, lives by the Scriptures, also with respect to its organization and order. This is not left to our choice in the ever-changing circumstances of church and world history.
3–He has declared Himself pleased to govern and thus to preserve and strengthen His people through men appointed by Himself. No longer does He call directly and immediately, as with the prophets in the Old and the apostles in the New Testament. Instead He makes use of the believing congregation which prayerfully chooses and calls into the offices ordained by Christ Himself.
4–The calling, right and authority to govern itself in obedience to the Scriptures is given by the Savior-King to each local congregation. No church may lord it over other churches. For the sake of greater expression of unity, strength and peace, however, these congregations are to bind themselves in a fellowship of believing churches.
5–Christ exercises His authority in and through the offices established in apostolic times and recognized in the New Testament. This authority is always to be exercised jointly, corporately, lest any individual lord it over his fellow office-bearers or over the congregation as the Lord’s heritage. Being themselves only ministers and servants of the Lord and His Word they may never go beyond or contrary to the Scriptures. Because this is a real possibility, the Church Order in conformity with the Bible, provides the right of appeal against unlawful decisions.
6–The church is commissioned by Christ to preach and teach the Gospel to all men everywhere and that for all of life. Yet with its authority it may not intrude into the internal affairs of family, school, state or any other non-ecclesiastical organization. Its disciplinary measures are reserved for those who are members of its fellowship. Those outside God will judge in his own season. It speaks indeed to men and women living also within these other structures and organizations but only to the extent that Scripture itself does. Thus several editions of the Church Order insist that “only ecclesiastical matters shall be treated in ecclesiastical assemblies.”
7–All exercise of authority by Christ through the office-bearers and the congregation has the high and holy aim of “. . . perfecting the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12, cf. also vss. 13–16).
For the Welfare of God’s People – By these means, then, our union and communion with Christ and His people is to be sustained and strengthened. No one can be and grow in Christ by himself. Calvin, whose chief concern was the welfare of God’s people, states this so effectively:
“But as our present design is to treat of the visible Church, we may learn even from the title of mother, how useful and even necessary it is for us to know her; since there is no other way of entrance into life, unless we are conceived by her, born of her, nourished at her breast, and continually preserved under her care and government till we are divested of this mortal flesh and ‘become like the angels: For our infirmity will not admit of our dismission from her school; we must continue under her instruction and discipline to the end of our lives. ]t is also to be remarked, that out of her bosom there can be no hope of remission of sins or any salvation . . . . In these words the paternal favor of God and the peculiar testimony of the spiritual life are restricted to His flock, to teach us that it is always fatally dangerous to be separated from the Church.”
How high, then, should be the esteem in which we hold the church! Indeed, this is not for the sake of the church itself to which still cleave so many imperfections but for the sake of Christ our Savior and Lord.
Let us thank Him for not having left the order and organization of His people to the vaporings of men’s minds or the vagaries of their experimentations. He has laid down its pattern, so that as church we may worship and witness and work to the strengthening of our life together, to the ingathering of those whom the Lord calls unto salvation, and above all to His praise. To this end also we today are exhorted: “But let all things be done decently and in order . . . for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace” (I Cor. 14:40, 33).
ORDER IN THE CHURCH OF GOD
Every family, living together in love, needs regulation. Without this the strain of daily life will produce intolerable misunderstanding, strife and division. Each member must be made aware of rights and responsibilities, not only for himself but also for others.
Law Is Requisite – To insure justice and equity in the nation law is requisite. It is the God-given antidote to conflict and chaos. Speaking therefore of the civil magistracy Paul affirmed: “And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is a minister of God to thee for good” (Rom. 13:3, 4a).
How strange, then, to hear some believers insisting that there is no room for “ecclesiastical law.” Anything that smacks of church order and regulation is deprecated. All such authority is criticized as a contradiction of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. All we need to do—so the argument runs—is live in love.
Such people fail to take much of the New Testament seriously, especially the many apostolic prescriptions for ordering the life of Christ’s church in the world. By their attitude and approach they undermine the spiritual welfare of themselves and their fellow-believers much more than they realize. They would be well advised to reflect on the setting of this passage from Paul to Timothy: “These things write I unto thee . . . that thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3:14, 15). By no means every pattern of thought and life which we may deem proper is pleasing to the Savior and profitable to His church.
Calvin on Discipline – In his instructive discourse on the church Calvin writes convincingly:
“But as some have such a hatred of discipline, as to abhor the very name, they should attend to the following consideration: That if no society, and even no house, though containing only a small family, can be preserved in a proper state without discipline, this is far more necessary in the Church, the state of which ought to be the most orderly of all. As the saving doctrine of Christ is the soul of the Church, so discipline forms the ligaments which connect the members together, and keep each in its proper place. ‘Whoever, therefore, either desire the abolition of all discipline, or obstruct its restoration, whether they act from design or inadvertency, they certainly promote the entire dissolution of the Church. For what wilt be the consequence, if every man be at liberty to follow his own inclinations? . . .” (Institutes, Bk. IV, ch. XII, i).
No one can be a disciple of our Lord, unless he is at the same time disciplined according to the Word and by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. This is the rule by which the Savior keeps His own in fellowship with Himself and each other.
A Venerable Document – In response to its reverent hearing and embracing of the Scriptures therefore, the Christian Reformed Church—like many other churches—has adopted a Church Order.
Here are basic principles and regulations by which all these churches have pledged to govern themselves. Having once made this pledge, no member, no officebearer and no consistory or classis has the right to ignore, set aside or change any of its prescriptions. It is a “treasure” which we cherish in common. In submission to the Scriptures it, together with the confessional standards, constitutes the pattern for our life as a fellowship of believers.
The Church Order, though modified and enlarged upon occasion, is a venerable document. It goes back to the first gathering of the Reformed churches in 1568, then so cruelly persecuted for the faith and compelled to live for a while in exile from their own land. Small wonder, then, that it seeks to safeguard the spiritual liberties of God’s children in conformity with the gospel. In is definitive form it was adopted by the great Synod of Dordt (1618–‘19). Today it is still vibrant with life and meaning and direction for all congregations who take it seriously. Few would be the misunderstandings, suspicions and dissensions among us, if it were honored by a clearer understanding and more consistent practice.
We should realize that the Church Order seeks only to set forth what Christ and his apostles require of the church in the present world. It springs from principles clearly taught in Scripture. Never should it be treated as a document filled with abstract, impersonal, legalistic injunctions. It glories in the gospel which declares, “For freedom did Christ set us free,” adding what follows, “. . . only use not your freedom as an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another” (Gal. 5:1, 13). Its aim is profoundly pastoral, “. . . to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) by obeying the Savior who bought the church with His own blood. Wherever it is properly and prayerfully observed, the blessings of sound faith, strong hope and fervent love to God and to each other will accrue.
Some Basic Convictions – Without attempting to be exhaustive, we would call attention to some of the basic convictions which permeate the Church Order. In the light of these alone can we understand this document which seeks to keep us in the love and grace of God.
1–Jesus Christ alone is Savior and Lord of the church, which as His body comprises believers and their children as heirs of His saving promises.
2 –He as Head and Lord of the church gathers, defends and preserves His people in the unity of the true faith by His Spirit and Word. The church, therefore, lives by the Scriptures, also with respect to its organization and order. This is not left to our choice in the ever-changing circumstances of church and world history.
3–He has declared Himself pleased to govern and thus to preserve and strengthen His people through men appointed by Himself. No longer does He call directly and immediately, as with the prophets in the Old and the apostles in the New Testament. Instead He makes use of the believing congregation which prayerfully chooses and calls into the offices ordained by Christ Himself.
4–The calling, right and authority to govern itself in obedience to the Scriptures is given by the Savior-King to each local congregation. No church may lord it over other churches. For the sake of greater expression of unity, strength and peace, however, these congregations are to bind themselves in a fellowship of believing churches.
5–Christ exercises His authority in and through the offices established in apostolic times and recognized in the New Testament. This authority is always to be exercised jointly, corporately, lest any individual lord it over his fellow office-bearers or over the congregation as the Lord’s heritage. Being themselves only ministers and servants of the Lord and His Word they may never go beyond or contrary to the Scriptures. Because this is a real possibility, the Church Order in conformity with the Bible, provides the right of appeal against unlawful decisions.
6–The church is commissioned by Christ to preach and teach the Gospel to all men everywhere and that for all of life. Yet with its authority it may not intrude into the internal affairs of family, school, state or any other non-ecclesiastical organization. Its disciplinary measures are reserved for those who are members of its fellowship. Those outside God will judge in his own season. It speaks indeed to men and women living also within these other structures and organizations but only to the extent that Scripture itself does. Thus several editions of the Church Order insist that “only ecclesiastical matters shall be treated in ecclesiastical assemblies.”
7–All exercise of authority by Christ through the office-bearers and the congregation has the high and holy aim of “. . . perfecting the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12, cf. also vss. 13–16).
For the Welfare of God’s People – By these means, then, our union and communion with Christ and His people is to be sustained and strengthened. No one can be and grow in Christ by himself. Calvin, whose chief concern was the welfare of God’s people, states this so effectively:
“But as our present design is to treat of the visible Church, we may learn even from the title of mother, how useful and even necessary it is for us to know her; since there is no other way of entrance into life, unless we are conceived by her, born of her, nourished at her breast, and continually preserved under her care and government till we are divested of this mortal flesh and ‘become like the angels: For our infirmity will not admit of our dismission from her school; we must continue under her instruction and discipline to the end of our lives. ]t is also to be remarked, that out of her bosom there can be no hope of remission of sins or any salvation . . . . In these words the paternal favor of God and the peculiar testimony of the spiritual life are restricted to His flock, to teach us that it is always fatally dangerous to be separated from the Church.”
How high, then, should be the esteem in which we hold the church! Indeed, this is not for the sake of the church itself to which still cleave so many imperfections but for the sake of Christ our Savior and Lord.
Let us thank Him for not having left the order and organization of His people to the vaporings of men’s minds or the vagaries of their experimentations. He has laid down its pattern, so that as church we may worship and witness and work to the strengthening of our life together, to the ingathering of those whom the Lord calls unto salvation, and above all to His praise. To this end also we today are exhorted: “But let all things be done decently and in order . . . for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace” (I Cor. 14:40, 33).