Ancient church government

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 4 - Early Church life and government

1-4 - Development of the ministry

1. The ancient church did not wander far from Scripture. They didn't multiply offices as Rome later did.

2. The bishop presiding over the presbyters came about by human need for order, not divine mandate. He remained subject to the assembled presbyters.

3. The main job of bishops and presbyters was preaching and teaching the Word.

4. Archbishops and patriarchs were established for order and discipline, not as hierarchical principalities.

5-9 - Deacons

5. Deacons were in charge of caring for the poor under the bishop's supervision.

6. The church's possessions were considered the "patrimony of the poor." Ministers also could receive from the church - 1 Cor 9:14; Gal 6:6 - but not to excess, and not if their family could support them instead.

7. The church set up rules for disbursing church income, after it became abused. 4 parts were assigned: for the bishop to use in hospitality and his own house, for the clergy, for the poor, and for the repair of church buildings.

8. They quickly dispensed with church gold and silver to feed the poor.

9. Other offices arose - clerics, door-keepers, acolytes, sub-deacons - which were for recruits to the minister's office more than church offices themselves.

10-15 - History of relationship between people and clergy

10. The church would meet to choose pastors, with the consent of the people. There were remedies for evil elders, in the church canons (regulations).

11. The people had to ratify bishops appointed.

12. But the elders didn't need to follow the whim of the crowd, either.

13. This procedure lasted until Gregory, and for a while after. The emperor could veto, in Rome or Constantinople, which may also be a good thing, as long as the church didn't fall routinely to the emperor's whim and prejudice.

14. Ordination required a vote to confirm him, and an examination.

15. Gradually, bishops went to the major cities to seek ordination, rather than to the local assemblies. This was not a good move. Ordination was by laying on of hands. Bishops ordained presbyters and deacons in his jurisdiction; presbyters had the same authority as bishops, except the right to ordain.

Ministers of Sound Doctrine and Holy Life

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 3 - Doctors and Ministers of the Church

10-16 - Calling of ministers

10. All things are to be done in good order in the church - 1 Cor 14:40 - but especially establishing right government of it. One must be called by God and others, and then respond - Heb 5:4.

11. Each minister has a secret call they sense from the Lord, and the church gives a separate, outward and public call to serve. The church's call is legit, even if the inner call is tainted or suspect, as long as the church is not aware of impropriety.

12. Who should be a minister? Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:1-7. Those "of sound doctrine and of holy life, not notorious in any fault." The church must see they are "adequate and fit to bear the burden imposed upon them." See Luke 21:15; 24:49; Mark 16:15-18; Acts 1:8. Ministers should be chosen with reverence and prayer - Acts 14:23; Isa 11:2.

13. Choosing of apostles in Acts 1:23-26 doesn't apply to us, as this was done to have all the apostles chosen not by men but directly by God - Gal 1:1, 12.

14. But even Saul's call included the church - Acts 13:2.

15. Titus and Timothy couldn't "arrange everything according to his own decision." Titus 1:5; 1 Tim 5:22. Elders were elected by show of hands, not appointed by one person - see the Greek in Acts 14:23. A lawful call to ministry requires the consent and approval of the congregation.

16. There is no direct command to lay hands on a minister in ordaining him, but it is described throughout Scripture, in broader application - Gen 48:14; Matt 19:15; Num 8:12; Acts 19:6. It serves "to warn the one ordained that he is no longer a law unto himself, but bound in servitude to God and the church." So it isn't an empty or superstitious ceremony - 2 Tim 1:6; 1 Tim 4:14.

Pastors, elders and deacons

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 3 - Doctors and Ministers of the Church

4-9 - Church offices described

4. The 5 offices in Eph 4 are apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. The last two are ordinary offices. God "now and again revives [the first three] as the need of the times demands." Apostles preached the gospel in new places, sent by Christ - Matk 16:15; Rom 15:19-20; 1 Cor 3:10. Prophets aren't all interpreters of the Word, but excelling in revelation. They "either do not exist today or [are] less commonly seen." Evangelists are next to apostles, with the same function, but not the twelve - Luke 10:1; Matt 10:1. These offices have no place in the daily life of the church, though God may raise up the office from time to time [as he did in Luther, Calvin thought]. Teachers do not discipline or administer sacraments. Pastors do both, and teach.

5. Pastors and apostles have the same charge, as do prophets and teachers. Apostles were set apart "to put forth a new and unheard-of thing:" Matt 10:1; Luke 6:13; Gal 1:1.

6. Apostles were to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments - Matt 28:19; Luke 22:19. So are pastors - 1 Cor 4:1; Titus 1:9. Preaching is private, not only public - Acts 20:20-21. Pastors "have been set over the church not to have a sinecure but... to instruct the people to true godliness, to administer the sacred mysteries and to keep and exercise upright discipline." See Ezek 3:17-18; 1 Cor 9:16-17. So, "what the apolstes performed for the whole world, each pastor ought to perform for his own flock."

7. Each pastor should be assigned his church. He can help elsewhere, but shouldn't "dash about aimlessly... forsaking their churches at pleasure." Ministers and elders assigned their places: Acts 14:22-23; Titus 1:5; Phil 1:1; Col 4:17; Acts 20:18-19.

8. Scripture uses interchangeably the terms bishop, presbyter, pastor and minister - Titus 1:5, 7; Acts 20:17, 28. Other offices of power, healing, interpretation, government and caring for the poor are listed in Rom 12:7-8; 1 Cor 12:28. Only the last two are permanent, the others temporary and past. Governors - 1 Cor 12:28; Rom 12:8 - "discipline along with the bishops."

9. "Care of the poor was entrusted to the deacons." Some administer the finances, others have direct contact with the poor - Rom 12:8; 1 Tim 5:9-10. Acts 6:1-4 describes the origin of these deacons.

Pastoral office is necessary to preserve the church on earth

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 3 - Doctors and Ministers of the Church

1-3 - Ministry given by God; its functions

1. Christ alone is head, but He exercises authority through other men, since "He does not dwell among us in visible presence." He could do without us, or work through angels, but "He prefers to do it by means of men." Why? Because He has regard for us as His temple - 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16. It exercises our humility, to have to hear Him "through men like us and sometimes even by those of lower worth than we." See 2 Cor 4:7. It binds us together, to "receive the common teaching from one mouth." "For if anyone were sufficient to Himself and needed no one else's help (such is the pride of human nature), each man would despise the rest and be despised by them." See Eph 4:4-8, 10-16.

2. This ministry is the chief sinew holding the body of Christ together. It destroys the church to argue against this order.

3. "The dignity of the ministry" of preaching is seen in Isa 52:7; Matt 5:13-14; Luke 10:16; 2 Cor 4:6; 3:9. An angel directed Cornelius to Peter, and Paul to Ananias, for preaching - Acts 10:3-6; 9:6.

AntiChrist, sitting in the Temple...

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 2 - Comparing the false and true church

7-11 - Rome resembles Israel under Jeroboam

7. They had the truth, but fell from it to corruption.

8. There was a trace of the church left, as they fell away in degrees.

9. Rome is WORSE than Israel under Jeroboam, for Israel's sacrifices themselves were not corrupt. Thus, the prophets did not and didn't need to separate and set up separate pure worship. But Rome's worship is inherently idolatrous in their Mass. And they demand we participate in it, and honor Rome as much as Christ does His church. "The communion of the church ought not to extend so far that, if it degenerates into profane and corrupted rites, they have to follow it headlong."

10. There were times when the prophets declared Israel's assemblies profane (Isa 1:14), and "had to depart from agreement with those assemblies." If Rome is a true church, we must submit to their legit power of the keys. But they are disowning genuine believers!

11. Like a building demolished, Rome is still a church, with a recognizable foundation and ruins. "Their treachery could not obliterate His faithfulness, and circumcision could not be so profaned by their unclean hands as to cease to be the true sign and sacrament of His covenant." God still counted Israel His children, in the midst of their deepest idolatry - Ezek 16:20-21. The main thing still standing is "baptism," which "retains its force despite the impiety of men."

12. But this doesn't make Rome the one true church. Doctrine is also important to the "true and lawful constitution of the church," which this argument is really about. The pope is the antichrist, sitting in the church - Dan 9:27; 2 Thess 2:4 - where "Christ lies hidden, half buried, the gospel overthrown, piety scattered, the worship of God nearly wiped out. Rome has "churches to the extent that the Lord... preserves in them a remnant of His people." But they "lack the lawful form of the church," as their doctrine confounds the gospel.

We withdrew from Rome to come to Christ

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 2 - Comparing the false and true church

1-6 - Departing from true doctrine and worship, Rome's claim to be the true church is false

1. The apostles taught to "entrust salvation to Christ alone." This is the foundation of the church - Eph 2:20; 1 Tim 3:15.

2. Rome is full of lies, idolatry and sacrilege. There is no danger of leaving the church in leaving this. They say any who leave are schismatics, based on their history of succession of bishops. What about Greece [Eastern Orthodox], then? Rome's condemnation of Greece is a vain pretense.

3. Rome is presumptuous, like Israel used to be. Jer 7:4; Rom 9-11; Gal 4:22. Rome has no boast in outward signs or antiquity, as Ishmael was circumcised and older than Isaac. Caiaphas wasn't a true priest just because he succeeded in an unbroken line from Aaron! "Nothing is more absurd than to lodge the succession in persons alone to the exclusion of teaching."

4. Rome scares the simple asserting temples and priests, but the Church is found where the Word is heard - John 18:37; 10:4-5, 14, 27; 8:47. "Those are lying words by which the Kingdom of Christ is imagined to exist apart form His scepter (that is, His most holy Word)."

5. The church is held together by "agreement in sound doctrine and brotherly love." Heretics violate the truth; schismatics violate the loving fellowship. Our fellowship can only be genuine if "our minds agree in Christ." Eph 4:5; Phil 2:1, 5; Rom 15:5.

6. The church is one in Christ's headship alone. Her various members are "indivisible" with one another and with Him. We separated from Rome because they couldn't "bear the pure profession of truth.... it behooved us to withdraw from them that we might come to Christ."

They allow pardon for no sin

Calvin's Institutes (1559)
Book 4 of 4 - External Means by which God Invites Us into the Society of Christ and Holds Us Therein

Chapter 1 - The True Church with which as Mother of All the Godly We Must Keep Unity

23-29 - Forgiveness illustrated

23. Some say if you fall from the first forgiveness you received at your conversion, you are lost. This is wrong. God calls us to confess our sins daily in the Lord's Prayer. He tells us to forgive each other 70 times 7, because that is what He does with us.

24. In the church's infancy, during the patriarchs' lifetimes, they committed grievous sins (Gen 37:18, 28; 34:25; 38:16; 2 Sam 11:4, 15), but were forgiven by God (2 Sam 12:13).

25. The law and prophets show forth God's continual forgiveness. Jer 3:1, 12; Ezek 18:23, 32; 33:11; 1 Kings 8:46-50; Num 28:3.

26. God wouldn't remove this with Christ's coming in fullness of grace. Titus 1:9; 3:4; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Cor 5:18. Peter was told not to deny Christ - Matt 10:33; Mark 8:38 - he did anyway - Matt 26:74 - and was still forgiven - Luke 22:32; John 21:15.

27. The Galatians and Corinthians erred and sinned horribly. They were not cut off from grace, but were called to repentance - Gal 3:1; 4:9; 2 Cor 12:21. The church is always offered mercy - Ps 89:30-33.

28. Others say only willful sin is unforgivable. They "allow pardon for no sin, except one that is an error of ignorance." But the law granted atonement for both - Lev 6:1; 4. Other examples of willful sin forgiven - 2 Sam 11; Gen 37:18; 1 Cor 5; Matt 26:74.

29. The early church "made pardon very difficult... to deter others." But the Word says not to push so hard - 2 Cor 2:7.