The Power of the Church
References for Further Study:
Berkhof, Reformed Dogmatics, II, pp. 180–200; McPherson, Presbyterianism, pp. 37–151; Morris, Ecclesiology, pp. 98–151;
Binnie, The Church, pp. 111–146.
THE POWER OF THE CHURCH
A. The Source of Church Power. Jesus Christ not only founded the Church, but also endowed it with the necessary power or authority.
He did this in His capacity as King of the Church as a spiritual commonwealth. He gave unto His disciples power to bind and to loose, that is, to determine what is forbidden and what is permitted in the sphere of the kingdom or of the Church, Matt. 16:18, and also to forgive sins and to retain them declaratively, or to admit to the kingdom and exclude from it, John 20:23. The power, extended to the apostles in the fullest degree, is also given to the Church in general, though in a less absolute sense. In exercising this power the Church is bound by the standard of right living and proper conduct transmitted to it in the apostolic Word. While a certain measure of power is given to the people as a whole, 1 Cor. 5:7, 13; 6:2–4; 12:28, a special measure of it is bestowed upon the officers, through whom the Church mainly exercises its power. These officers receive their authority directly from Christ, though the Church is instrumental in putting them in office.
B. The Nature of This Power. The power with which Christ endows His Church is:
1. A SPIRITUAL POWER. That the power of the Church is spiritual does not mean that it is altogether internal and invisible, since Christ rules both body and soul. The ministry of the deacons has special
reference to the needs of the body. It is spiritual because it is given by the Holy Spirit, Acts 20:28, is a manifestation of the power of the Spirit, John 20:22, 23; 1 Cor. 5:4, pertains exclusively to men as believers, 1 Cor. 5:12, and can only be exercised in a moral or spiritual way, 2 Cor. 10:4. And because the power of the Church is exclusively spiritual, it does not resort to force in the maintenance of good order.
2. A MINISTERIAL POWER. It is clear from Scripture that the power of the Church is no independent and sovereign power, Matt.
20:25, 26; 23:8, 10; 2 Cor. 10:4, 5; 1 Pet. 5:3, but a ministerial power, Acts 4:29, 30; 20:24; Rom. 1:1, etc., which is derived from Christ and is subordinate to His sovereign authority over the Church, Matt.
28:18. It must be exercised in harmony with the Word of God, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and in the name of Jesus Christ, the King of the Church, Rom. 10:14, 15; Eph. 5:23; 1 Cor. 5:4.
C. Different Bonds of Church Power. From the threefold office of Christ it also follows that there is a threefold power of the Church.
1. A DOGMATIC OR TEACHING POWER. The Church has a task in connection with the truth. The Word of God was given to the Church as a precious deposit of the truth, and the Church is commissioned to guard the truth, to hand it on faithfully from generation to generation, and to defend it against all the forces of unbelief, 1 Tim.
1:3, 4; 2 Tim. 1:13; Tit. 1:9–11. It has the further duty of preaching the Word for the conversion of sinners and for the edification of the saints, and to provide translations of it, so that the work of preaching may be carried on among all the nations of the world, Isa. 3:10, 11; 2
Cor. 5:20; 1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 2:15; 4:2; Tit. 2:1–10. Furthermore, it must draw up creeds and confessions, in which it formulates its faith, so that the world may know exactly what it believes. The need of such
creeds is felt especially in times of defection, when many depart from the historic faith of the Church. Finally, it is also the duty of the Church to develop the truth by theological study. It owes this to the truth itself as a revelation of God, but also to the training of its future ministers. According to Scripture the Church is in duty bound to provide for and to supervise the training of successive generations of teachers and pastors, 2 Tim. 2:2.
2. A GOVERNING POWER. The governing power of the Church includes two elements: a. A Regulating Power. "God is not a God of confusion, but of peace,"
1 Cor. 14:33. He desires that in the Church "all things be done decently and in order," vs. 40. For that reason He has made provision for the proper regulation of the affairs of the Church. In virtue of this the Church has the right to carry into effect the laws which Christ has ordained for the Church. All the members of the Church possess this power in a measure, Rom. 15:14; Col. 3:16; 1
Thess. 5:11, but it is vested in a special sense in the officers, John 21:15–17; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2. This power also includes the right to draw up regulations for the proper application of the law, such as canons or Church Orders. These serve to stipulate who can be recognized as members in good standing, on what terms persons are permitted to bear office in the Church, how public worship should be conducted, and how discipline should be exercised. While these regulations must be based on general principles found in the Word of God, their details will always be dictated in part by considerations respecting the special needs, the well-being, and the edification of the Church. b. A Judicial Power. The Church is in duty bound to guard its holiness by the exercise of proper discipline. The power of discipline
is based on such passages as Matt. 16:19; 18:18; John 20:23; 1 Cor.
5:2, 7, 13; 2 Cor. 2:5–7; 2 Thess. 3:14, 15; 1 Tim. 1:20; Tit. 3:10. The purpose of discipline in the Church is twofold. In the first place it seeks to carry into effect the law of Christ concerning the admission and exclusion of members; and in the second place it aims at promoting the spiritual edification of the members of the Church by securing their obedience to the laws of Christ. Both of these aims are subservient to a higher end, the maintenance of the holiness of the Church of Jesus Christ. If there are diseased members, the Church will first of all seek to effect a cure, but if this proves impossible, it will put away the diseased member for the protection of the other members. While all the members of the Church are in duty bound to warn and admonish the wayward, only the officers of the Church can apply Church censures. The latter can deal with private sins only when these are brought to their attention according to the rule given in Matt. 18:15–17, but are in duty bound to deal with public sins even when no formal accusation is brought. The disciplinary action of the consistory has three stages: (1) The sinner is restrained from celebrating the Lord's Supper. This initial action is not published and is followed by several private admonitions to bring the sinner to repentance. (2) Three public announcements and admonitions. In the first of these the sin is mentioned but the sinner is not named. In the second the name is made known in accordance with the advice of the classis. And in the third the imminent excommunication is announced. (3) Finally, this is followed by the excommunication proper, by which one is cut off from the fellowship of the Church,
Matt. 18:17; 1 Cor. 5:13; Tit. 3:10.
3. A POWER OR MINISTRY OF MERCY. When Christ sent out His apostles and the seventy disciples, He not only instructed them to preach, but also gave them power to cast out devils and to cure all manner of diseases, Matt. 10:1, 8; Luke 9:1, 2; 10:9. 17. And among
the early Christians there were some who had the gift of healing and could perform miracles, 1 Cor. 12:9, 10, 28, 30; Mark 16:17, 18. The special gifts with which the apostles and some of the early believers were endowed, ceased when the period of revelation had come to an end. From that time on the ministry of mercy was largely limited to the Church's care for the poor. The Lord hinted at this as the task of the Church in Matt. 26:11; Mark 14:7. The early Church practiced a sort of communion of goods, and thus saw to it that no one wanted the necessities of life, Acts 4:34. Later on seven men were appointed to "serve the tables," that is, to provide for an equitable division of that which was placed on the tables for the needy, Acts 6:1–6. The Epistles repeatedly make mention of a class of deacons as officers in the Church, Rom. 16:1; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8–12. Moreover, the New
Testament places great emphasis on the necessity of giving or collecting for the poor, Acts 11:29; 20:35; 1 Cor. 16:1, 2; 2 Cor. 9:1, 6,
7, 12–14; Gal. 2:10; 6:10; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:10, 16; Jas. 1:27; 2:15, 16; 1 John 3:17.
Questions for Review:
What is the source of Church power? What power was given to the apostles? Do later officers have this power in the same degree? Is this power given to the officers only or also to the people? What is the nature of the power given to the Church? Why is it called spiritual?
Why ministerial? What is included in the dogmatic power of the Church? Why are creeds necessary? What elements are included in the Church's governing power? Must all Church regulations be based directly on the Word of God? What is the general purpose of Church discipline? What two specific purposes does it serve? What three stages are included in the disciplinary action of the consistory? How are matters of discipline brought to its attention? What was the nature of the ministry of mercy in the apostolic Church? What is its main function at present?