The Biblical Basis of Reformed Church Government

Robert D. Decker

[Originally published in the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal, vol. 30, no. 1 (Nov. 1996), pp. 15-24]

That we have a conference on this subject is a commentary on our times. For well over three hundred years it was assumed, taken for granted, that the rules, stipulations, and regulations of the Church Order of Dordt and the Westminster Assembly Directory for Church Government were squarely based on sound, biblical principles. In both traditions no one questioned this. Had someone asked me thirty years ago, when on Oct. 1, 1965 I was ordained a minister of the Word and sacraments in the Protestant Reformed Churches, or had someone asked me twenty-two years ago, when I began teaching Church Polity in the Seminary, “Do you think, Robert, that you will ever be asked to speak on the subject, ‘The Biblical Basis of Reformed Church Government’?” I would have replied, “Of course not! Who among us doubts the biblical basis of the Church Order of Dordt?”

This is not the case today. Accompanying the widespread departure from biblical doctrine and practice among much of the church is a rejection of the biblical principles of Reformed church government. That departure takes the form of one or the other of two evils, viz., hierarchy and independentism. Hierarchy is the view that the church is ruled by her clergy, from the top down. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the church is ruled by the pope (the Vicar of Christ, according to Rome), the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and parish priests. In the Anglican tradition the church is ruled by her bishops. In the Reformed tradition among those committed to a hierarchical church government, the church is ruled by her synods and synodical boards and officers.

Perhaps the greater evil, at least among the more conservative branches of the Reformed churches, is that of independentism or congregationalism. According to this view, each congregation stands by itself and is completely independent of other congregations. Local congregations are only very loosely connected. There are really no broader gatherings, there is no denominational structure.

It is our firm conviction that Reformed church government steers a straight biblical course between these two evils. By Reformed church government we mean those principles which find their expression in the Reformed confessions (Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dordt, and the Westminster Confession and creeds) and more particularly in the Church Order of Dordt and the Westminster Directory for Church Government. We shall limit ourselves to a study of the Church Order of Dordt (hereafter, Church Order) because of time constraints and because we are more familiar with it.

Reformed church government is founded on two great, precious, biblical principles, viz., the autonomy of the local church and her calling to manifest the unity of the body of Christ. By the autonomy of the local church we mean that biblical truth that each local congregation of believers and their children, with the officebearers, is a complete manifestation of the body of Christ. Only the local congregation has the right to preach, administer the sacraments, and exercise Christian discipline. These autonomous congregations have the calling to manifest the unity of the body of Christ. Therefore they join with other congregations of like precious faith in a biblically structured federation. They do this to manifest the unity of the church of Christ, for mutual counsel, and to perform that work of the church which no local congregation is able to do by herself.

There are two other matters we need to note by way of introduction. The matter of church government is, for us (and I mean for both those in the Dordt and those in the Westminster traditions), a confessional matter. The Reformed Creeds, especially the Belgic and the Westminster confessions, bind us to our form of church government. This means, to be more specific, that we believe the Church Order reflects the will of Christ revealed in Scripture for the rule of His church. And, therefore, these rules and regulations are not optional, but mandatory. Christ commands that thus His church shall be governed and thus His church shall serve Him.

Let us also note that we do not find in Scripture a Church Order, but we find the principles by which God would have His church governed. These principles are woven into the very fabric of the Church Order of Dordt. The Church Order is divided into four main sections dealing with: 1) the offices of the church, 2) the assemblies of the church, 3) the worship of the church, and 4) the discipline of the church. In its introductory article, the Church Order insists that these four are necessary to maintain good order in the Church of Christ.

Following the outline of these divisions, we speak on “The Biblical Basis of Reformed Church Government.”

The Offices of the Church

The fundamental principle of Reformed church government is this: Christ is the Head of the church. Robert Breckinridge, a nineteenth century pastor and theologian in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., in his address, “Presbyterian Government, Not a Hierarchy but a Commonwealth,” delivered to the Synod of Philadelphia in 1843, put it as well as anyone could:

God has established a kingdom in this world wholly distinct from all secular kingdoms and entirely independent of all civil magisteries; the visible church of Jesus Christ is that kingdom, and he, the Lord Jesus, is its only head and king, its sole lawgiver, its sole priest, and by his Word and Spirit its only infallible teacher; and the only safe, certain, and entire rule of faith and practice is contained in sacred Scripture. That to this kingdom, thus set up, held forth, and guided, the Lord Jesus has given an outward government and permanent offices, our standards clearly teach (Confession of Faith, 31: 1).[1]

That Christ is the officebearer of the church the Scriptures clearly teach. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” In the following verse the Lord instructs the church to teach and baptize all nations. The word “power” could better be translated “authority.” Christ has been given all authority in heaven and in earth. This means that Christ alone has the right to preach the gospel, administer the sacraments, and exercise discipline. Christ alone possesses the right to govern the church. Ephesians 1:20-23 teaches that God, when He raised Christ from the dead, set Him at His own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality and power and hath put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church.  I Peter 2:25 tells us that Christ is the “Shepherd and bishop of our souls.” Jesus teaches us in John 10:11, 14-16 that He is the officebearer in the church, when He says, “I am the good Shepherd.” The good Shepherd, Jesus explains, gives His life for the sheep, He knows His sheep, the sheep hear the voice of the good Shepherd and they follow Him, and to them the good Shepherd gives eternal life.  I Peter 5:1-4 teaches that Christ is the Chief Shepherd who rewards faithful elders with a crown of glory.

The Reformed confessions beautifully reflect this great truth. The Belgic Confession teaches that Christ is the eternal King of His church (Art. 27), that all are bound to join themselves to the true church, “bowing their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ” (Art. 28), that in the true church Jesus Christ is “acknowledged as the only head of the church” (Art. 29). The Canons of Dordt teach that God, from eternity, has “appointed Christ the only Mediator and Head of the elect, and the foundation of salvation” (I, 7). In similar fashion, the Heidelberg Catechism teaches that Christ sits at the right hand of God “that he might appear as head of his church, by whom the Father governs all things” (LD 19) and that it is the Son of God who gathers the chosen church out of the nations (LD 21).

According to Scripture and the confessions, Christ is the only Head and King of His church.

Inseparably related to this first principle is the second, viz., that Christ governs His church through men, lawfully called by Him.  No one, I trust, disputes this. In the Old Testament era of the types and shadows, Christ spoke His word through the prophets, ministered His mercies through the priests, and ruled through the kings. In the early New Testament church, the exalted Christ cared for His church through the special office of apostle. Jesus assured the apostles that He would make them “fishers of men” (Luke 5).  He promised to give them the Spirit of Truth who would lead them in all the truth, reminding them of everything Jesus taught them (John 14-16).  Jesus, just before His ascension. told them to go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the triune God. And. He promised to be with them even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:19). The exalted Christ appeared to Paul on the Damascus road, making him a chosen vessel unto Himself to bear Jesus’ name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel (Acts 9). That the apostles were deeply conscious of their being called by Christ is obvious from the salutations to their epistles to the churches and people of God.

Though the office of apostle ceased with the death of the apostle John, Christ still calls men to the special offices of minister (pastor), ruling elder, and deacon. When the Grecian widows were neglected in the daily ministrations, the apostles instructed the congregation to select qualified men “over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:1-7). Scripture lays down the qualifications necessary for one serving in the office of deacon (I Tim. 3:8-13). Christ gives pastors and teachers to the church for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11ff.).  Romans 10 teaches that one cannot call upon the name of the Lord in faith and be saved without hearing Christ through a preacher who is sent. Timothy is exhorted to preach the Word of the inspired Scriptures (II Tim. 3 and 4). Christ calls elders to rule the church in His name. Their qualifications are given as well in I Timothy 3 and in Titus 1. They are called to shepherd the flock of God and are promised the crown of life by the Chief Shepherd (I Pet. 5: 1-4). The church is exhorted to esteem them very highly in love (I Thess. 5:12-13), to count them worthy of double honor (I Tim. 5:17), and to remember and obey them (Heb. 13:7, 17).

Again, the Reformed confessions teach these great truths clearly. The Belgic Confession teaches that there must be ministers, elders, and deacons in the church (Art. 30) and that these men must be lawfully called by Christ through the church to these holy offices (Art. 31). The Canons of Dordt teach that God mercifully sends messengers of the joyful tidings of the gospel that men may be brought to believe (I, 3), and that the Lord preserves His work of grace in the elect by means of the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments (V, 14).  Likewise, the Heidelberg Catechism makes clear that the Holy Spirit works faith by the preaching of the holy gospel and confirms it by the use of the sacraments (LD 25), the preaching and Christian discipline are the keys by which the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and shut to unbelievers (LD 31), and God will have His people taught not by dumb images but by the lively preaching of the Word (LD 35). The Form for the Ordination of Ministers of God’s Word teaches that God uses the ministry of men for the gathering of His church. This same Form asks the ministerial candidate if he is convinced that, through the lawful call of the church, Christ Himself calls him to the holy ministry.

These principles are expressed in the rules and regulations of the first section of the Church Order which speaks of the offices of the church (Arts. 2-28). In this section the Church Order speaks of the necessity of the officebearers being lawfully called and it describes of what the lawful call consists. The Church Order also speaks of the minister’s being bound to the ministry for life, of his being in a fixed charge, and other related matters. The section also speaks of the church’s duty to support the ministers and to provide for the need of emeriti ministers and their widows and orphans. These articles also set forth clearly the duties of the ministers, elders, and deacons. Here, as well, the Church Order speaks of the equality of the offices.

All of these rules/regulations are based on the explicit teaching of Holy Scripture, or, at the very least, these are clearly implied in Scripture. One does find in this section, as well as in the entire Church Order, rules/regulations which are neither required nor forbidden by Holy Scripture. Examples of this are how often a consistory or council shall meet or how long a minister must be in his present pastorate before he is eligible for a call from another church. These kinds of rules/regulations are based on sanctified wisdom and may vary according to the times and circumstances in which the churches find themselves.

Those rules/regulations based on Scripture, however, obviously must be observed. Why do we insist with Article 3 on the necessity of the lawful call? Because Scripture requires this! For this reason, too, a particular point of the Church Order may be changed only when it is proved to be in conflict with Scripture and, then too, only by a synod by way of a gravamen or overture from a consistory or individual member via his consistory and classis.

The Church Order carries no authority by itself. Its authority is derived from Holy Scripture. But it is for that very reason to be observed. We have no options. We must abide by the Church Order.

The Ecclesiastical Assemblies

The second section of the Church Order deals with the Ecclesiastical Assemblies (Arts. 29-52). These are necessary for the maintenance of good order in the church. In this section are set forth two great principles of Reformed church government, viz., the autonomy of the local congregation and the calling of the churches to manifest the unity of Christ’s Body in a biblically structured federation or denomination.

Articles 29-36 contain general rules which Scripture enjoins concerning the assemblies of the church. The assemblies are four: the consistory, the classis, the particular synod, and the general synod. Because we do not have particular synods in our churches, we have three kinds of assemblies.

Three articles of this introductory section are of special importance. Article 30 carefully distinguishes the proper sphere of the ecclesiastical assemblies. Only ecclesiastical matters (those matters having to do with the church and her calling) may be treated by the assemblies. And these ecclesiastical matters must be transacted in an ecclesiastical manner. Article 30 also speaks of the fact that only such matters as could not be finished in the minor assemblies may be dealt with by the major assemblies. Article 31 emphasizes the supreme authority of the Word of God.  A decision is “settled and binding, unless it be proved to conflict with the Word of God ...”  At the same time, this article protects the sanctity of the individual conscience of the believer. He always has the right of appeal.  Article 36 speaks of the jurisdiction of the three assemblies. The classis has the same jurisdiction over the consistory as the synod has over the classis. Noteworthy in this connection is what the article does not say, viz., that the classis has the same jurisdiction over the consistory as the consistory has over the congregation.  Articles 37-52 contain the rules governing the ecclesiastical assemblies. Several important biblical principles form the basis for these articles and are expressed in these articles. The deepest principle of all church federation is the unity of the body of Christ. The elect are one in Christ. The church is called by God to give expression to this unity in institutional form as much as possible. This unity in Christ has a common life principle: the one faith, one hope, one doctrine, one calling (Eph. 4:1-14). Each congregation is, itself, a complete manifestation of the body of Christ and, therefore, is autonomous.  The autonomous congregations federate in order to: manifest the unity of Christ’s body in the way of confessing together the one truth of the gospel, fight the battle of faith together, encourage and assist one another in the work and life of the church (notably in Christian discipline), and accomplish those aspects of the church’s calling which each is unable to do by herself, e.g., the training of men for the ministry, inter-church relations, and mission work.

Since all these matters are the subjects to be treated by my two colleagues, Professors Engelsma and Hanko, we take leave of them at this point.

The Worship of the Church

For the maintenance of good order in the church, it is necessary that there should be “supervision of doctrine, sacraments, and ceremonies.” This, the worship of the church, is the subject of the third section of the Church Order (Arts. 53-70).

The biblical principle at work in this section of the Church Order is, again, the unity of the body of Christ. The church confesses the one truth of Scripture. That truth of Scripture is summed and set forth in the Three Forms of Unity, the confessions of the church. Therefore, the Church Order stipulates that the officebearers must sign the Formula of Subscription, thus promising to defend and teach this truth and to reject all heresies repugnant to this truth. The ministers in particular must, in all their preaching, teaching, and pastoral labors, ward off false doctrines and errors. This calling of the officebearers and ministers is set forth in Articles 53-55.

Still more: because God is a Spirit and must be worshiped in spirit and in truth (John 4) the Church Order in Articles 56-60 lays down the rules and regulations concerning baptism, and in Articles 61-64 the rules and regulations for the administration of the Lord’s Supper. The rules for the latter are several. Only those who have made a confession of the Reformed religion and are reputed to be of a godly walk shall be admitted to the Supper. The Supper must be administered according to the teachings of God’s Word and for the edification of the congregation.  The Holy Supper shall be administered at least every two or three months.  And the Supper must be administered under the supervision of the elders during an official worship service and with the Form adopted by the Reformed churches. The rest of this section deals with funerals, special worship services, Heidelberg Catechism preaching, Psalm-singing, and marriage. The biblical principle here is that we must worship the Lord not according to that which is pleasing to us, but only as God Himself instructs/commands us in His Word.

Censure and Ecclesiastical Discipline

The last section of the Church Order deals with what is called the third mark of the church, Christian discipline (Articles 71-86). The principles are that discipline is done by means of the preaching of the Word and by means of the rule of the elders of the church.[2] The purpose of Christian discipline is the salvation of the penitent and the hardening of the ungodly, impenitent.  In this way, the church is kept pure and the name of God is glorified.

Thus, in this section, the Church Order carefully sets forth the rules/regulations for the reconciliation of the sinner—how this shall take place in the instance of secret sins (Matt. 18), and how this shall take place in the case of public sin.  This section also deals with the steps to be followed in the application of discipline as these finally end with the extreme remedy, excommunication.  Finally, this section treats the deposition of the officebearers. These must be suspended and deposed if they remain impenitent concerning public, gross sins. Again, the steps involved in all this are carefully laid out for the church.

Conclusion

Just two points need be made in conclusion. The first is this: the churches voluntarily agree to live by this Church Order because they are convinced that these are the principles and the rules/regulations required by Holy Scripture and the confessions. God teaches us that thus we shall live together as churches.

The second is this: This Church Order has been around for a long, long time. In its more primitive form, it dates back to the sixteenth century Reformation in Geneva. John Calvin reformed the church at that time, bringing her back to her biblical m00rings also in the maintenance of good order. Hence, in a real sense, the Church Order has existed in one form or another fr0m the very beginning of the history of the church in Bible times. For this reason, and because the Lord says all things must be done decently and in good order (I Cor. 14). we are bound by this Church Order.

But there is another consideration in this connection. Over the centuries, the Church Order has been studied and revised in the light of Scripture and the confessions by countless synods, including our own Protestant Reformed synods. It is our firm conviction, therefore, that anyone of any Reformed church which ignores all this Reformed church polity tradition is foolish and does so at his own ecclesiastical peril.

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FOOTNOTES:

1.  David W. Hall, Joseph H. Hall, editors, Paradigms in Polity: Classic Readings in Reformed and Presbyterian Church Government (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994), p. 506.

2.  See: Heidelberg Catechism, LD 31 and Matthew 16:18-19, both of which speak of the “key power” Christ assigns to the church.

[Note: Picture at top of article: Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church, Hudsonville, Michigan]