01.01.01. Spiritual Order

Chapter 1.

Scripture Principles Forming Reformed Church Polity 1. Understanding the Concept Just what might Church Polity actually be? Why, for that matter, is there such a thing as Church Polity?

1.1 Christ is Master in Church

It is a given of Scripture that God is sovereign over all. This thought is a refrain in the Psalms: "the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations" (Psalms 22:28); "He is a great King over all the earth" (Psalms 47:2); "the Lord has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all" (Psalms 103:19), etc. As a result, believers throughout the ages confess Sunday by Sunday that "I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth." The God who created the world in the beginning - He is now my Father in Jesus Christ - still rules the world sovereignly today (see Lord’s Day 9 of the Heidelberg Catechism).

After Christ’s triumph over sin and Satan on the cross of Calvary, God "put all things under [Jesus’] feet..." (Ephesians 1:22). One is master over the things ’under one’s feet’. When the captains of Israel put their feet on the necks of the Canaanite kings, the symbolism was obvious to one and all (cf. Joshua 10:24 f). Since God put all things under Jesus’ feet, all in the world are subject to King Jesus. As Jesus also said before His ascension into heaven: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). Note how comprehensive Christ’s authority is: the ²¹ ascended Christ rules over all things. This includes not just secular gov­ernments and authorities, but also His Church. In fact, the Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, which is His body (Ephesians 1:20-23; Colossians 1:18).

Since Christ is the Head of the church, it follows that in the church of Je­sus Christ things are to be done Christ’s way. We confess this truth in the Belgic Confession with these words: "We believe that this true Church (this is the Church as confessed in the previous articles) must be governed according to the spiritual order which our Lord has taught us in His Word" (Article 30). Similarly, "We believe that, although it is useful and good for those who govern the Church to establish a certain order to maintain the body of the Church, they must at all times watch that they do not deviate from what Christ, our only Master, has commanded" (Article 32). The Church belongs to the Saviour, and precisely for this reason it is imperative that we - who by God’s grace may belong to His Church - see to it that His Church is indeed governed according to His Word. A church that confesses Christ’s sovereign­ty with the mouth, but does not honour Christ’s sovereignty in the concrete deeds of church government, is not faithful to the only Master.

1.2 How Does Christ Rule His Church?

Christ has taught us in His Word how He rules His church. We con­fess it in Lord’s Day 12, Q & A 31: He "governs us by His Word and Spirit." With the help of a couple of big words, I want to make a distinc­tion here. Christ, I suggest, governs His church by His Word and Spirit ’immediately’ and ’mediately’ (see Figure 1).

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1.2.1 Immediately With the first of these two big words I seek to express the notion that Christ rules without any intervening means. (In the word ’immediately’, ’im’ = no and ’media’ = means. So ’immedia’ = no means.) Christ rules His Church directly by His Word and Spirit, without using particular tools. In the school of life, Christ works directly upon His people to make them grow in faith, even in spite of the sins and weaknesses of the office-bear­ers. We may think here of a passage as "If you endure chas­tening, God deals with you as with sons.... He [chastens] us for our profit, that we may he partakers of His holiness" (Hebrews 12:7 ff).

1.2.2 Mediately

Christ also rules His Church via a particular medium, that is, by means of tools. Specifically, God is pleased to use people, firstly via the office of all believers, and secondly by placing between Christ and His Church the special offices.

1.2.2.1 THE OFFICE OF ALL BELIEVERS On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out not on the twelve disciples only, but on all believers. As a result, the apostle could write to entire congregations that "... you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people..." (1 Peter 2:9). Similarly, Paul asks each member of the church of Christ in Corinth: "do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19). With the gift of the Holy Spirit, all Christians have been anointed to the ’office-of-all-believers’. We are, then, all prophets, priests and kings. We are called ’Christians’ because, as we each confess, "... I am a member of Christ by faith and thus share in His anointing, so that I may as prophet confess His Name, as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him, and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and hereafter reign with Him eternally over all crea­tures" (Lord’s Day 12.32). Since all in the congregation share the office of all believers, everyone has a place and task in the congregation. True, each person has different gifts. As a result, each has the privilege of com­plementing the other. As we read it in Romans 12:4-8, "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same func­tion, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is ²³ given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." In the office of all believers, we all may be tools in the Saviour’s hands through which He cares for His church.

1.2.2.2 THE SPECIAL OFFICES

It pleases the Head of the Church, though, particularly to use special of­fices. When Christ ascended into Heaven He gave special gifts to some people so that, in addition to serving in the office of all believers, they might also be enabled to serve in the special offices. "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pas­tors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God ..." (Ephesians 4:11-13). As Paul also says to the elders of Ephesus: "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). Those called to a special office are particularly the tools the ascended Christ uses to lead and govern His body, the Church.

1.3 Church Polity Defined

Church Polity does not concern itself with Christ’s ’immediate’ gov­erning of His Church. Church Polity does not concern itself either with how individuals carry out the office of all believers. The focus of Church Poli­ty is instead the special offices. The Lord of the Church has revealed in His Word particular principles concerning the way He wishes things to be done in His church. Where His will on a given matter has been clearly re­vealed in Scripture, the Lord’s churches have no option but to act accord­ingly. The church must, for example, have office-bearers. A church must also exercise discipline.

Still, precisely how a church goes about obtaining office-bearers, or how office-bearers go about exercising discipline is not set forth in Scrip­ture in non-discussable detail. Certain principles are revealed, to be sure. But details need to be extrapolated from these principles. The question that then arises is this: should the churches all go their own way in determining how they shall work out the applications of Scriptural principles? Shall one church call to office via one procedure and another via another, or one church exercise church discipline in one ²⁴ style and another via another? Should the churches, for that matter, be granted the liberty to change their practices year after year, according to the taste of the day? The Lord has revealed in Scripture that He is a God not of "confusion but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33). Instead of haphazard approaches to a given aspect of church life, "let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). That there be an agreed-upon way of doing things puts the brakes on push­ing to get one’s own way and it serves also to restrict opportunity for need­less argument - both of which produce division. An agreed-upon way of do­ing things produces stability, and stability encourages peace and therefore growth in the congregations of Jesus Christ.

Church polity busies itself with fleshing out in practical formulations the principles Christ has revealed in Scripture about how He wishes things to be done in His Church. Since these practical formulations (they are the articles of the Church Order) are not so much lifted verbatim from Scrip­ture as deduced (for good reasons) from the principles of Scripture, one cannot consider these formulations to be laws in the strict sense of the word. Rather, these formulations are agreements which - when one adopts the Church Order - one promises to maintain. That is why Reformed Church Polity does not ask one to submit to the Church Order (as one would to a government or to a set of laws); Reformed Church Polity instead asks one to keep one’s promises - which, of course, a child of God is most ea­ger to do (see Psalms 15:4).

Since these agreements are built on principles drawn from the Word of God, one must - if one would do justice to a study of the Church Order -pay attention first to the underlying principles.

2. Christ’s Authority is Entrusted to the Local Church

Fundamental to scriptural Church Polity is the notion that Christ rules in the Church, and does so by means of office-bearers.

2.1 The Authority of the Apostles In Matthew 16:1-28 we read that Christ gave authority to the apostles. The passage had recorded the people’s doubts concerning Jesus’ identity (Matthew 16:13 f). So Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Jesus then said, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church...." In Greek the ²⁵ name ’Peter’ means ’rock’. Jesus, then, says that He will build His church on Peter. Yet the Lord’s intent is not to build His Church on the man Peter as such, but rather to build His Church on that which Peter would proclaim, namely, the good news that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Those who accept this gospel inherit eternal life, and those who do not shall not receive eternal glory. The gospel, and therefore the preacher of the gospel, has a fundamental place in Christ’s church-gathering work. As Je­sus also said to Peter: "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heav­en, and whatever you hind on earth will he hound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven " (Matthew 16:17-19).

Yet Peter is not the only one who would proclaim this gospel; the oth­er disciples would too. Jesus mentions specifically Peter because it is he who spoke first in answer to Christ’s question concerning Who Christ is. The keys of the kingdom of heaven, then, were not given simply to the in­dividual Peter, but in him also to the other disciples in their capacity as of­fice-bearers. That becomes evident from Jesus’ further words in Matthew 18:1-35, where discipline (one of the keys by which one binds and looses) is a power given to the church (Matthew 18:17). Again, after His resurrection, Christ "breathed on " the disciples, "and said to them, ’Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:22-23). The disciples (now minus Ju­das Iscariot) were entrusted with the function of overseeing the entrance to heaven. In a word, the disciples received Christ’s authority. So it was that the apostles, after the Holy Spirit had been poured out on Pentecost, set themselves to preaching the gospel. By so doing they, in accordance with the authority they had received, opened the kingdom of heaven. Equally, they spoke candid words of admonition when necessary. For example, in Galatians 2:11-14 we read how Paul rebuked Peter to his face for his hypocrisy. Likewise, in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 we read how Paul ex­horts the Church at Corinth to exercise church discipline against a brother guilty of sexual immorality. Through both the preaching and the exercis­ing of church discipline, we find the apostles busy with opening and clos­ing the kingdom of heaven.

2.2 The Authority of their Replacements But the apostles could not live forever. Who would receive their au­thority when they received the crown of glory? Other apostles could not be appointed in their place, since to be an apostle you had to be a witness of Jesus’ work and resurrection from the dead. That is clear from Peter’s words in Acts 1:1-26, when a replacement apostle was sought for Judas. Peter ²⁶ said to the crowd, "Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection" (Acts 1:21 f). When the apostles died there were no more witnesses of Christ’s work and resurrec­tion, and so no replacements for the office of apostle. So the office of apostle ceased.

Yet that does not mean that their authority ceased on this earth. For the Lord of the church moved His apostles to designate men who in turn received the authority to open and close the kingdom of heaven. After the apostle Paul, together with Barnabas, had proclaimed the gospel in Asia Minor, they vis­ited the infant churches and "appointed elders in every church" (Acts 14:23). In Titus 1:5 Paul tells Titus that he left him in Crete "that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I com­manded you." Elsewhere the apostle makes a distinction between the elders appointed in the churches. He speaks in 1 Timothy 5:17 of elders who rule and elders who labour in Word and doctrine. We have come to know these distinctions as elders and ministers. See Figure 2.

Here, then, is drawn out what the apostle wrote about the ascension of Christ. At His ascension Christ gave gifts to men; "... He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers" (Ephesians 4:11). Of the four offices mentioned in this text, the office of pastors and teachers (i. e. elders) is the only one that is still present ²⁷ today. The office of apostle ceased with the death of the last apostle. The office of prophet (Acts 11:28 and Acts 21:10 speak of a prophet named Agabus) also ceased when the Bible was completed, for no new or further revelations were required (cf. Revelation 22:18 ff). Timothy and Philip were both evangelists (cf. Acts 21:8 and 2 Timothy 4:5), but it is difficult to ascertain what exactly this office entailed. Certainly there is no instruction in the Scripture that there is to be in Christ’s church a continuing office of ’evangelist’. So we are left with the "pastors and teachers. " It is through them that the Lord is pleased to rule His Church today.

2.2.1    Let Honour be Shown

These "pastors and teachers" are variously referred to in Scripture as presbyters or elders, bishops or overseers, as well as shepherds and guardians. That the Lord has given to these office-bearers authority to speak and act on His behalf is demonstrated by the fact that the Lord would have the congre­gation members to show them honour. "And we urge you, brethren, to recognise those who labour among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). "Obey those who rule over you, and be sub­missive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief for that would be unprofitable for you" (Hebrews 13:17). Because the Head of the church has given authority to the elders, it is for all God’s people to show these elders honour and respect - not because of their person, but because God has given authority to them.

2.2.2    Let Office-bearers Speak the Word of God

Similarly, that the office-bearer has received authority from God is made clear by the instructions God gives to the office-bearer. Their identi­ty as spokesmen of God dictates that no office-bearer may speak his own words. The congregation is the Lord’s, and the office-bearer a tool in God’s hands to care for His people. So the elders of Ephesus were told to "take heed ... to all the flock ..., to shepherd the church of God" (Acts 20:28). Timothy was told to "preach the word!" Though people will "heap up for themselves teachers" and "turn their ears away from the truth," Timothy must nevertheless "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Timothy 4:2-5). His very identity as office-bearer endowed with God’s authority determined that his words and his conduct must agree with the wishes of his Sender. In the words of the office-bearer, then, the congregation must be able to hear the Voice of the Shepherd. ^28.

2.3 The Principle of Local Authority

How far, now, does the authority of an office-bearer extend? The au­thority of the apostles was universal. Hence the apostle Paul could with authority write letters to the church in Rome, the church in Corinth, the churches in Galatia, the church in Philippi, Colossae, Thessalonica, etc. Similarly, when the apostle John was on the island of Patmos he was told by the Head of the Church to send a letter to each of the seven churches in Asia Minor. Have elders a similar authority? May elders of the church of Kelmscott exercise any degree of authority in, say, the church of Launceston - four thousand kilometres removed? Or in the church of Armadale - four kilometres removed? The universal character of the authority given to the apostles died with the office. In Acts 14:23 one reads that elders were appointed in every church. None of the elders were appointed to serve all the churches. Likewise in Titus 1:5 we read that Titus had been left in Crete to "appoint elders in every city." Again, in Revelation 2:1-29 and Revelation 3:1-22 we are introduced to seven local office­-bearers; each "angel" (presumably minister, that is, the ruling elder) was at­tached to a local congregation. It is also instructive that the church in each locality is described in the New Testament as a "body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27). That is: each local church is complete in itself, completely a church.

Further, the fact that the Voice of the Shepherd is locally heard is also important in defining the extent of an office-bearer’s authority. Jesus Christ gathers a catholic church, but does it through having His Word preached in local communities. The preaching of the gospel (a responsibility of the el­ders) in one town does not gather the church in the next town. As the Word is locally opened, and the particular needs of the local congregation supplied through that local preaching, the extent of the office-bearer’s authority must also be local; they are responsible for and address this congregation and not that one. Of office-bearers too Jesus’ Word is true: "One is your Teacher [or Leader], the Christ, and you are all brethren " (Matthew 23:8). This principle of local authority has received concrete expression in Ar­ticle 80 of our Church Order. There we read,

FRCA: Article 80 - No lording over others (CanRC: Article 74)

No church shall in any way lord it over other churches, no office­-bearer over other office-bearers.

Within the bond of churches, no office-bearer of a given church can dictate what must be done in another church. The office-bearer’s authority is local only. ^29.

3. Towards a Bond of Churches 3.1 From One Church to Many Churches The Book of Acts has much to tell us concerning the formation of lo­cal churches. In Acts 5:11 we read "So great fear came upon all the church...." The church mentioned here is a reference to the church in Jerusalem. On Pentecost Day the apostles had preached the Gospel and many had come to faith (Acts 2:41). However, those who came to faith did not keep to themselves but rather sought each other out and met to­gether. So we read in Acts 2:44 that "all who believed were together, and had all things in common" and in Acts 2:46 we are told that they "continued to­gether with one accord in the temple, ...breaking bread from house to house...." Similarly, in Acts 4:32 we read, "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common." The believers in Jerusalem formed one body and did things as one body. To­gether they formed the Church of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. This church gets mentioned once again in Acts 8:1, "Now Saul was consenting to [Stephen’s J death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." The one church in Jerusalem was broken up through the persecution, so that Christians spread abroad. Like ripples on a pond, the believers at Jerusalem were spread abroad further and further, as far as Judea, Samaria, Galatia, (Acts 9:31), the two coastal cities Phoenicia and Antioch, and the island of Cyprus (Acts 11:19). Did the scattered Christians of Jerusalem remain one church? Are we to envisage a single ’city church’ becoming a ’regional church’ by virtue of the fact that the members of the ’city church’ were dispersed over nu­merous towns throughout the surrounding region? It appears not. Instead of suggesting the formation of a regional church (say, of Judea and/or Samaria and/or Galatia), the text of Scripture would have us think of numerous separate, complete churches arising in the towns to which the Christians were scattered. The evidence is as follows: a. In Acts 9:31 we read of churches: "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified..." A footnote to this verse informs us that some manuscripts have the word ’church’ in the singular. The singular may well be the better reading, but the ambiguity of the textual witnesses indicates that one cannot build strong arguments either way on this text. ^30. b. Far more compelling is what the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians. He writes in Galatians 1:13, "For you have heard of my for­mer conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it." This text is a reference to the persecu­tion he had begun in the church in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 8:1. Note the singular; Paul speaks about the "church" in Jerusalem. The apostle goes on to relate that God called him through His grace to faith (i. e. on the way to Damascus), that he then went on to Arabia, returned to Damascus, and so did not go back to Jerusalem to see Peter until three years later (Galatians 1:15-20). Striking, now, is how Paul describes the ecclesiastical scene after three years had passed. For Paul says of himself that he "was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ" (Galatians 1:22). Note the use of the plural. Note also that "the church in Jerusalem" has changed to "the churches of Judea". The conclusion follows: as a result of the persecution of the church in Jerusalem, this one (large) church was scattered into various (smaller) churches throughout Judea. c. Further texts illustrate the continuation of this development:

• Acts 11:26 : "And when [Barnabas] had found [Saul], he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. " Note that the church in Antioch is described as a complete body in itself, and not a part of a wider, regional church.

• Acts 14:23 : After Paul and Barnabas had preached the Gospel throughout Asia Minor, "they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch" and "appointed elders in every church...." Here we read of a plurality of churches, one per town, and not of a single regional church.

• Acts 15:41 : "And [Paul] went through Syria and Cilicia, strength­ening the churches." Again, not one church, but many churches.

• Acts 16:5 : "So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily."

• Acts 20:17 : "From Miletus [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church." To these elders Paul gave this charge: "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). These elders were made overseers of the flock in Ephesus (and not ³¹ the flock in Antioch or in Jerusalem), and this flock in Ephesus is "the church of God which He purchased with His own blood" - complete in itself.

• 1 Corinthians 12:27 : Paul describes "the church of God which is at Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2) as "a body of Christ". That is: this church in Corinth is (as the Greek original actually has it) a complete body in itself. By extension, each church in any given community is a complete body. The term ’church’, then, is not to conjure up in our minds the notion of a regional or national entity of which each local church is a subset. The evidence of Scripture indicates instead that each local church is a com­plete church in itself.

3.2 Churches are Autonomous but Not Independent

Although each of the New Testament churches were separate churches, we yet read of cooperation and interaction between them. The following points serve to illustrate this:

3.2.1    Mutual Interest

Believers who had been scattered by the persecution in Jerusalem had passed on the Gospel not only to other Jews but also to Gentiles. Under God’s blessing, many Gentiles came to faith. When it was heard in Jerusalem that Gentiles in Antioch had been converted to the Christian faith (let the reader recall that Jews were conditioned to keep the gospel for themselves; that’s why Peter needed the vision of the clean and unclean animals, Acts 10:1-48), the church at Jerusalem sent out Barnabas to investi­gate. He received the mandate "to go as far as Antioch" (Acts 11:22). The words "go as far as" suggest that Barnabas was not to travel directly to Antioch to investigate developments there, but was instead to touch base with various of the churches along the way, till he finally ended up in An­tioch. Of significance to our topic is the fact that the church at Jerusalem displayed an interest in what was going on in other churches. The church in Jerusalem did not consider itself an island unattached to and uninterest­ed in the other churches; the church in Jerusalem instead recognised that there was a bond of faith between the various churches.

3.2.2Mutual Care Several passages draw out that the early churches cared for each other.

• Acts 11:27-30 tells us of prophets from Jerusalem going out to Anti­och. One of them, Agabus, prophesied a severe, extensive famine that ³² caused a need for assistance in Judea. In response to this prophecy, the believers in Antioch sent relief along with Barnabas and Saul to the elders in Judea. In so doing, they displayed an attitude of care to those with whom they shared a bond of faith.

• The same attitude was evident amongst the churches in Macedonia and Achaia. Even though they were very distant from the church at Jerusalem and did not know the brethren there, "it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem" (Romans 15:25-26). Paul set this deed of the Macedonian brethren as an example before the church at Corinth: "Moreover brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear wit­ness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints" (2 Corinthians 8:1-4). Further on in his letter (2 Corinthians 9:1-5) Paul encourages the Corinthians also to give for the benefit of the needy in churches outside of Corinth.

• The Thessalonians, who lived in the south of Greece, likewise made it their business to help out the brethren who lived in Macedonia, northern Greece. Paul encouraged the saints of Thessalonica, "But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you your­selves are taught by God to love one another: and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia " (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10).

3.2.3 Letters of Recommendation

Paul writes to the saints in Rome, "I commend to you Phoebe our sis­ter, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also" (Romans 16:1-2). Similarly, we read in Acts 18:27 of Apollos receiving an ’attestation’ when he travelled from Ephesus to Achaia: "And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived he greatly helped those who had believed through grace." That letters of commendation were writ­ten concerning a member travelling to another church demonstrates that the churches saw each other united in the bond of faith. ^33.

3.2.4 Greetings In sending each other greetings, the churches gave expression to the fact that even though they were separate churches, they recognised each other as sister churches in Christ, united by their faith in Him. For that reason the apostle John concluded his second epistle by writing, "The children of your elect sister greet you" (2 John 1:13). Equally, to the church at Rome Paul writes, "The churches of Christ greet you" (Romans 16:16). He draws his letter to the Corinthians to a close with these words: "The churches of Asia greet you" (1 Corinthians 1:1-31).

3.3 Churches Need to Federate Together The above details of cooperation and interaction between the churches of the New Testament are descriptive of what happened at that time. The question that now needs attention is this: ought the Lord’s churches today also to cooperate with one another? We look at the question first from a doctrinal point of view, and then from the angle of the communion of saints.

3.3.1 Doctrinal The Lord has revealed in Scripture various characteristics of Christ’s church. We confess this aspect of God’s revelation in the Nicene Creed, with the words, "I believe one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church."

3.3.1.1 THE CHURCH IS ONE Various texts from Scripture compel us to view the Church as one.

• Matthew 1:21 : The angel told Joseph to "call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." Jesus did not come to save individuals, so many islands in a big sea, but a people. Note the singu­lar; this is one people.

• Acts 15:14 : James draws out the unity of God’s own, when he says: "Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name." The saved are not unconnected individuals, but are together a distinct people.

• 1 Corinthians 10:17 : With reference to the Lord’s Supper the apostle Paul says, "For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread." Note that the "one bread and one body" of which the apostle speaks comprises more persons than simply the mem­bers of the church of Corinth, for he uses the word "we" - and so includes himself, though he was not a member of the Corinthian congregation.

• Ephesians 4:4-6 : Here this unity comes out in all its strength: "there is ³⁴ one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." First and foremost, there is a spiritual bond between all the churches. They have all heard the one Gospel. Through the activity of the one Holy Spirit, one faith was worked in all their hearts. The unity of the Spirit was there and therefore Paul urged the Ephesians in verse 3 to hold on to it: "en­deavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The gift of unity contains within itself the mandate to maintain the unity.

3.3.1.2 THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC The word ’catholic’ means universal, and so describes the notion that the Church of Christ may be found anywhere on earth throughout the course of the earth’s existence. This is the promise of Scripture:

• Genesis 22:18 : God said to Abraham: "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed...." The Gospel will advantage people of every tribe and tongue and nation.

• Psalms 87:1-4 : By the election of God, persons from Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia all have their spiritual roots in Jerusalem, the city of God.

• Revelation 7:9 : In the vision Jesus showed him, John saw "a great mul­titude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...."

We confess this catholicity of the Church in Article 27 of the Belgic Con­fession with these words,

"We believe and profess one catholic or universal Church.... More­over, this holy Church is not confined or limited to one particular place or to certain persons, but is spread and dispersed throughout the entire world."

3.3.1.3 THE CHURCH IS APOSTOLIC The Lord has revealed that His one Church, in whatever locality it may be gathered on the face of the earth, believes the same doctrine. This doctrine has come to us from God by means of the apostles.

• Ephesians 2:20 describes the Church as "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets...."

• Revelation 21:14 describes the New Jerusalem, which is the Church in her perfection: "Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." ^35.

It is because God has revealed one gospel that Paul could instruct the saints at Colossae to see to it that his letter to the Colossians "is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea" (Colossians 4:16). The one truth is valid for all the church­es. This also explains why James could write one letter "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad" (James 1:1). The "twelve tribes" is Old Tes­tament language to describe the New Testament Israel, the Church. There is one truth, one message valid for the whole Church of Christ, and this one truth forms the basis of the bond between all the churches.

3.3.1.4 THE CHURCH IS HOLY

All the churches of Christ share in the same sanctifying work of Christ’s Holy Spirit; they are all holy. The fact that one Holy Spirit works the same sanctification in all the churches draws out the unity that exists between these churches.

• 1 Corinthians 1:2 : Paul can address the Corinthian church as "those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.... "

• 1 Peter 1:1 : Peter can address "the pilgrims of the Dispersion" in a sim­ilar way. Though these "pilgrims" are spread throughout five districts ("Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia") they are all "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit...."

• James 1:27 : James addresses numerous churches with his one letter (he writes "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad"), and instructs all "to keep oneself unspotted from the world." Holiness cannot charac­terise just one local church, but must characterise all since the numerous local churches are united by the one work of the one Holy Spirit.

3.3.1.5    CONCLUSION

God has told us in His Word that the churches are separate, au­tonomous. In His Word God has also told us that His Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. The churches we read of in Acts, all separate churches but all equally the Lord’s churches, made it their business to ex­press and demonstrate an active interest in each other. In so doing, these au­tonomous churches gave expression to the spiritual bond that united them. This thought comes back in what we confess in Article 27 of the Belgic Confession, that

"this holy church ... is joined and united with heart and will, in one and the same Spirit, by the power of faith." ^36.

3.3.2 Exercising Communion of Saints as Churches The notion that there is no room for churches to exist independently from each other can also be drawn out from the angle of the communion of saints.

• In Proverbs 11:14 and Proverbs 15:22 Solomon advises, "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.... Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of coun­sellors they are established." In other words, rather than tackle prob­lems on your own, one ought to seek advice from others in order to make a wiser and more informed decision. In this broken world, finite and sinful people act arrogantly if they assume they know all things best themselves. The principle is true for churches too. So a local church does well to seek input from other churches in facing the chal­lenges on its path.

• Php 2:3-4 instructs persons to reach out to others. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." In the brokenness of this world, it is equally necessary that each church looks to the interests of other churches, and offers assistance in the struggles of this life.

• 1 Corinthians 14:36 records that in Corinth women were being per­mitted to speak in Church. Paul wanted to show the church of Corinth that this was incorrect. To do so he appeals to practices elsewhere: "Did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?" That is: the gospel began in Jerusalem, and in that church the women did not speak in church. So one church is held up as an example for another church as to how God wished to be worshipped.

Here, then, is the material of the Belgic Confession, Article 28, applied to the level of inter-church relations:

"We believe, since this holy assembly and congregation is the assembly of the redeemed and there is no salvation outside of it, that no one ought to withdraw from it, content to be by himself, no matter what his status or standing may be. But all and everyone are obliged to join it and unite with it, maintaining the unity of the Church. They must submit them­selves to its instruction and discipline, bend their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, and serve the edification of the brothers and sisters, according to the talents which God has given them as members of the same body." ^37. The Lord has saved a people for Himself, and in view of Satan’s constant attacks on the redeemed, plus the weaknesses that continue to hamper the redeemed, God’s people cannot afford to stand independently of each oth­er as so many individuals. Christians need each other. Churches need each other as well.

We need, therefore, to guard against the danger of independentism, the thought that we can do it alone. This is not how Christ would have it. All the churches have received the same Gospel and all have received the grace needed to be able to help each other. This is true for us as churches within the one country, but by extension this also applies to us as churches on an international level. The bond that exists between the churches is the fact that all are saved by one Christ. Each church is His church, and therefore each church has a bond with the church of the next locality. Admittedly, in the Bible we do not read of churches forming a bond or a federation. But that need not surprise us, for a bond is an organisational expression of an existing unity, and it takes time for such an organisational expression to come into being. Nev­ertheless, it is a very scriptural thought that all Christ’s churches he bond­ed together. Though many miles or different cultures may separate the churches, no such factors take away from the fact that there exists a bond, a unity. Such a bond is expressed through the formation of, and the inter­action of churches within, a federation of churches such as the Free Re­formed Churches of Australia. This bond is also expressed by establishing sister relations with federations of churches elsewhere in the world.

3.4 To Join a Bond of Churches is Voluntary From the above, it follows that forming and joining a federation of churches is an act of obedience to the Lord. The Lord gives no option; His churches are obliged to federate together. On the other hand, no one can compel a church to join a federation of churches. Seen from that angle, forming or joining a bond is totally a voluntary matter.

I grant that this may well sound like a contradiction. To show that it is not a contradiction, I refer to an example from Scripture on an entirely different topic. Paul writes to the Corinthians about collecting money for the saints in Jerusalem. He says, ’Wow concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches in Galatia, so you must do also..." ( 1 Corinthians 16:1-3). Paul’s reasoning is this: since the saints in Corinth and the saints in Jerusalem are equally the fruits of the work of one Holy Spirit, giv­ing financial assistance to each other is at bottom not voluntary; rather, it is ³⁸ mandatory ("must do"). At the same time, though, Paul says, "I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the dili­gence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. And in this 1 give advice..." (2 Corinthians 8:8-10). So: Paul does not ’lay down the law’ on the Corinthians in the matter of giving for others; he gives his "advice". But, he says, this is an advice the Corinthians "must" accept. That is: though Paul could not compel them or make them give, yet before God it remained their duty to give.

Likewise, no one can compel a church to join a bond of churches. This is a decision each church must make for itself. However, the criteria on which a church is to base its decision can only be the revealed Word of God. And that Word draws out that there is a Scriptural imperative to voluntarily federate with other churches of Jesus Christ.

Any church which federates with other churches acknowledges thereby that it accepts the other churches as churches of Christ. That recognition of each other as churches of Christ obligates each to stand by the other churches no matter what happens, and to give whatever assistance may be required, be it financial help, spiritual help, or help by way of admonition.

How churches go about helping each other has been written down in the Church Order. Each church that joins the federation promises to maintain and abide by the Church Order. This promise is expressed in the final article of the Church Order like this:

FRCA: Article 81 - Observance and revision of the Church Order (CanRC: Article 76)

These articles, which regard the lawful order of the church, have been adopted with common accord. If the interest of the churches demands such, they may and ought to be changed, augmented or diminished. However no consistory or classis shall be permitted to do so, but they shall endeavour diligently to observe the provisions of this Church Order as long as they have not been changed by synod. This is no empty promise, for a Christian is bound to keep his word (Psalms 15:4). So the Church at Kelmscott can expect the Church at, say, Rockingham to come with an admonition when it goes astray, or expect help from other churches should it run into financial difficulty. As broth­ers in the Lord it is our privilege always to be ready to come to each oth­er’s aid. This is true with neighbouring churches in a locality; it is equally true of churches throughout a country and even internationally. ^39.

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¹ Note: the Greek does not have the definite article "the". It is therefore wrong to translate here "the body of Christ". Rather, the church of Corinth is "a body of Christ", complete in itself. See further J. Faber. Lectures on the Church (Kelmscott: Pro Ecclesia Publishers 1991), pg 7f.

² This his principle, in my conviction, is not sufficiently recognised in Presbyterian church polity. See my The Doctrine of the Church in Reformed/Presbyterian Contacts (Kelmscott: Pro Ecclesia Publishers. 1991). pg 20ff.

³ Book of Praise, pg 437.