1990 Issue 1 - Jesus Christ: The Head of the Church - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1990 Issue 1 - Jesus Christ: The Head of the Church - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/6

Joe Morecraft continues his

Aspects ofBiblical Church Government

with Part II, .

esus

Christ:

The

Head

of

the Church

I.

The

Statement

of

the

Heamhip or ~ r i s t

T

he Church is a Christocraey:

Jesuf

Christ,is

its

ead ~ n ~

King.

No aspect of Christs

relationship to the church stands out

more emphatically

in

the Bible than .

this

fact.

"Jesus Christ. upon whose

s h o u l d ~

the government rests,

whose name

is

called

Wonderful, Counselor, the

Mighty

God,

the

Everlasting Father,

the Prince of

Peace

:

of

the increase of

whose government and peace there shall

be

no

end: who sits upon the throne of

David, and upon his kingdom to order it

and

to

establish it with judgment

and

justice from henceforth,

even

forever;

having all

power

given unto him

in

heaven

and

earth

by

the Father,

who

.

raised him from the dead, and

set

himat

his own right hand,

far

.al>ove .

principalities

and

power,

and

might,

and

dominion, and every name that is

named, not only in this world,

but

also

in that

which

is

to come,

and put

all

things under his feet, and gave him to

be the head over all things

to

the

c ~ m r c h which

is

his body, the fulness

of him that filleth all

in

all: he being

ascended up far above all heavens, that

he

might

fill all tbings, received gifts

for

his

church, and gave officers neces

sary for the edifiCatio9 of hi$ church,

and perfecting of his saints." (Isa.

9:6,7; Matt. 28:18-20; Eph. 1:20-23;

~ p h 4:8,11; Psa. 68:18)

The Westmin-

ster Form

of

Presbyterial Church-Gov-

ernment)

"Jesus, the Mediator, the sole Priest,

Prophet. King, Savior, and Head of the

Church, contains

in

himself,

by way of

eminency, all the offices

in

his church,

and

has many of their names attributed

to

him

in

the Scriptures. He is Apostle,

Teacher, Pastor, Minister, Bishop, and

the only lawgiver

in

Zion.

It

belongs to

his

M ljest;y from his

throne of glory to rule

and

teach the

chureh through his Word and Spirit

by

the nunistry o men; thus mediately ex

ercising his . own . authority and

forcing his own laws, unto the edifica

tion and establishment of his kingdom.

"Christ,

as

King, has given to

his

church officers, oracles,

and

ordinances;

and

especially ~ he ordained therein

his

system of doctrine, government, i s ~

cipline

and

worship, all

of

which

are

either expressly

set

down

in

Scripture,

or by good and necessary inference may

be deduced therefrom;

and to

which

things he commands that nothing

be

added. and that from them naughtbe tak

en

away.

"Since

the

ascetision of Jesus Christ

to

heaven,

he is

present with the chtirch

by his Word and Spirit, and the benefits

of

all his offices are effectually applied

by the Holy Spirit." (The Book of

Church Order

of

the Reformed Presby

terian Church in the United States)

Q. 45. How does Christ execute the

office of aking? A. Christ executes the

office

of

a

king, in

calling out of

the

world a people

to

himself,

an d

"giving

them officers, laws,

and

cenSures,

by

which

he

visibly governs

them;

in be

stOwing saving grace upon

his elect, re

warding theit

obedience,

and

correcting

them fot their sins, preserving and sup

porting them under all theit temptations

and

sufferings, restraining

and

over

coming all their enemies;

and

power

fully ordering all things for hiS owrt

glory,

and

their good; and also

in

taking vengeance on . he rest, who

know not

God, and

obey

not the gos

pel." (Acts i5:14f; Isa. 55:4f; Gen.

49:10; Psa. 110:3; Eph. 4:11 ; I Cor.

12:28f; Isa. 33:22; Matt. 18:17f; I Cor.

5:4f; Acts 5:31;

Rev.

-22:12; Rev.

The Counsel o Chalcedon

J a n ~ ~ F e b

. 1990 page 4

2:10; Rev. 3:19; Isa. 63:9; I Cor.

15:24f;

Ro m

. 14:10f; Rom. 8:28;

Thess. 1:8f; Psa. 2:8f)

Westminster

Larger

Catechism)

II. The Significance

o

the Headship or Christ

"The Church, as a society, owes its

origin

to Christ: it derives from Him

its government

and

office-bearers;

it

receives from him its laws and consti

tution; it draws from him its spiritual

influence and grace; it accepts

at

his

hand its ordinances and institutions; it

acts iri his name;

and

is guided

in

its

proceedings by his authority. Iri the ex

pression that the

Lord

Jesus Christ is

Headof the church, and

in

the fact that

he Is the only soui'ce of church pawer,

there is much more implied than that he

is

the founder

of

the Christian society.

He s both its founder and its adminis

t r a t o r ~ - - b e i n g the

ever

present source

of

life

and

influence,

of

ordinance

and

blessing, of law and authority, of word

and

doctrine within the community.

Through his Spirit, and his Word, and

his ordinances, alike

o

governnient

and

grace, Christ both originates and admin

isters

his

church upon earth.

. "Is it the spiritual life of the Chris-

tian church that is inquired

of

in regard

to its source and supply? Christ is the

Head of

the church s the source

of

life,

breathing that .spiritual breath into the

body

at

the first,

and

holding

it

in

being

ever

since. Is it the doctrine

of

the

church that is inquired after in regard to

its origin

and

obligation? Christ is the

Head of

the doctrine

of

his church, hav

ing been himself the unerring Teacher

of

wisdom and truth since the begin

ning,

and

still continuing to instruct

his people savingly

in

all Divine know

ledge

by

his Word

and

Spirit Is it the

ordinances

of

the church that you in

quire about,

in

respect to their author

ity, and the blessing contained in them?

Christ

is

the

Head

of the church as to or

dfuanees, having appointed thertl

by

his

authonty at frrst, and made them the

channel

of

spiritUal blessings to

his

peo

ple ever since.

"Is it the Divine grace connected with

word

and ordinance

that

you inquire af-

ter? Christ is the Head of his church as

to'grace; immediately imparting

it

as he

wills litough his appointed ordinances,

or by

means

of

his Spirit,

and

thereby


2/6

making the church a living and gracious

power in the souls of its true members.

Is

it the authority

of

the church in its

transactions and decisions that is in

quired about; and is it asked whence has

it this authority and government, speak

ing through its voice, and binding

through its decisions, and making these

his own, in so far as they are framed at

cording to his mind and Word.

In all that regards its life and doc

trine, and ordinances, and grace, and au

thority; in short, in all that belongs to

the church

as

a peculiar society on

earth, we recognize its jus divinum (Di

vine Right --the presence and the pow

er

of its Divine Head. All is derived

from him; and all emanates .from.him

as

its source. Within the province

of

the church, the Lord Jesus Christ is the

only Teacher, Lawgiver and Judge. If

doctrine is taught, it is taught because

he has revealed it; if ordinances are ad

ministered, they

ar

e administered in his

name, and because they are his;

i f

gov

ernment is established and exercised,

it

is through his appointment and author

ity; if saving grace is dispensed, it is

dispensed through the virtue and power

of

his Spirit;

i f

a blessing is communi

cated, it is because

he

blesses. In the

langu

ag

e of the Westminster Confes

sion

of

Faith, 'there is no other Head

of

the Church but the Lord Jesus Cluist. '

(James Bannerman, The Church o

hrist pg. 194ff)

i l l The Headship of Jesus

Christ

over n

Things

for the Church

When God raised Jesus from the dead,

He seated him at His right hand far

above all rule and authority and power

and dominion, and every name that

is

named, not only in this age, but also in

the one

to

come.

And

He put all things

in subjection under his feet, and gave

him

as

Head over all things to (for) the

church, which

is

his body,

the

fulness

of

him who fills

all

in all,

Eph

. 1:20-

23. This .universal lordship of Cluist is

the context for Paul's comments on

Christ, as the Head

of

the church, Eph.

4:15; 5:23.

John Frame has pointed out that, as

the theme of the Old Testament is

Jehovah is Lord, so the theme of the

New Testament is Jesus is Lord. The

Chakedon Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia

Lordship-Headship

of

Jehovah-Jesus de

notes three basic emphases: (1). He is

in total control of his creation and

church; (2).

He speaks

to and through

his church with absolute authority; and

(3).

He

fills his creation

and

his church

with his presence Eph. 1:22-23. See

Frame's book, The Doctrine o

the

Knowledge

o

God Presbyterian andRe

fonned Publishing Co.

Christ's Universal Mediatorial Em

pire

has no boundaries--- All things

have

een put in

subjection under

Christ's reign, Eph. 1:22. God exalted

him

to this majestic position in order

that all the peoples, nations, and men

of every language might serve him. His

dominion is an everlasting dominion

which will not pass away; and his king

dom is one which will not be de

stroyed, Dan. 7:13-14.

Christ's Empire has no rivals

or

su

periors---He has been enthroned far

above all rule and authority and power

and dominion and every name that is

named, Eph. 1:21.

He

is the King of

kings and Lord

of

lords, Rev. 19:16.

All authority and power in heaven and

on earth belong to Him, Matt. 28:18 .

Cluist's Empire continues to advance

irresistibly and triumphantly through

history until the earth will be full of

the

knowledge

of

the

Lord as the waters

cover the sea, lsa. 11:9. Because Jesus

humiliated himself, by taldng upon

himself the form

of

a servant and be

coming obedient to death by cruci

fixion, God highly exalted him and

gave him the name, LORD, that

every knee will bow and every tongue

confess in all of creation, that Jesus is

Lord, to the glory of God the Father,

Phil. 2:8ff. All the ends of the earth

will remember

and

turn to

the

Lord, and

all the families

of

the nations will wor

ship before Thee, for the Kingdom is

the Lord's, and

he

rules over the na

tions,

Psa

.

22:27f

. The

end

of

history

will

take place

when

Christ has abol

ished all opposition to him in all areas,

for

He

must

reign

until he has put all

his enemies under his feet. -- And when

all things are subjected to him, then the

Son Himself also will be subjected to

the One who subjected all things to

him, that God may be all in all,

I

Cor.

15:24ff.

Christ reigns over all for the good of

his church and the glory

of

God, Eph.

1 22f. God made him Lord

to

guarantee

that Romans 8:

28

would always come

true in the life and history

of

his church--

God causes all things

to

work together

for good to those

who

love

God,

to

those who are the called according to

his purpose. s the Absolute Monarch

of the Universe, Jesus administers the

covenant blessings and curses of Deu

teronomy 28

upon his friends and ene

mies, cursing those who curse us, and

blessing us, along

with

those who

bless us, Rom. 15:8. As the Westmin-

ster Shorter Catechism says: Christ

executes the office

of

a king, in sub

duing us to himself, Acts 15: 14f,

in

ruling,

Isa

. 33:22, and defending us,

lsa. 32: lf, and in restraining and con

quering al l his and our enemies, I Cor.

15:25f. (Q. 26)

In bringing the world's nations under

the dominion of his throne of grace,

Christ uses his church as his instru

ment

Christ's church is the means for

(Continued on page 44)

The Couhsel of Chalcedon Jan.-Feb. 1990

page

5


3/6

The Head of the Church

Continued from page 5

the establishment

of

Christ'S kingdom.

The church

exists

for

the sake

of

the

kingdom. . . . .

to

belong to the

church is to belong

to

Christ's working

corps,

to

his

anny

militant,

to

that

divine society which he has set

up

on

the earth

as

the propaganda

of

his royal

cause

in the earth. -- The very meaning

and purpose of the Church in the earth

makes it a missionary institute and

binds it

to

devote itself exclusively and

industriously to

the establishment,

in

an instrumentary way, of the mediator

ial

Kingdom of

the Redeemer; arid the

sublimest motive which can play upon

the Christian heart

to urge it to

aggres-

to

his rescue in Jesus Cluist. God sent

a second man, a last Adam, to cor

rect the effects

of

the fall and

o

save

man from his sin. As the last Adam,

Jesus

is

the covenantal-representative

head

o

a new, regenerate humanity. By

Go d

's

grace,

whatever

is

true of Jesus

Christ, is true of those whom he repre

sents--the elect Whatever happened

to

him, happens

to

those who

are

in

uriion

With him, their covenantal and repre

sentative head.

Those

whom

Christ

represents receive

what

He

deserves

from

God

. For

if by

the transgression

of

the one (Adam) the many (whom he

represented) died, much more did the

grace

of

God and the gift

of grace of

the

one Man

, Jesus Christ, abound to the

many (whom he represented).- For if

~ very meaning al d p u r p o ~ of

CJ:lurch

1n

the earth makes

1t

a

tmss1onary

mstitute

and binds it to devote itself exclusively and

industriously to the establishment, in an

instrumentary way,

of

the mediatorial

Kingdom of the Redeemer.

sive enterprises is derived from the fact

that

the success of

the

Church's

mis-

sion is the triumph

of

the Kingdom

of

the Redeemer,

wrote

Alexander Webb

in Christian Salvation: Its Doctrine

nd

Experience

pg

.

240f

.

IV. The Covenantal Headship of

Jesus Christ over His Church

God dealt with

Adam

as the covenan

tal

and

representative head

of

the whole

human race.

What he

did, how

he

obeyed

or disobeyed, would determine

the nature

of

life and the destiny of all

his descendants. His posterity

would

receive whatever he deserved. Whatever

was

true

of

him would be true of all

whom

he represented---the whole hu

man

race. Whatever happened

to

him

would

happen to the whole human race.

When

he

ate of the forbidden fruit in

direct disobedience to God, Gen. 3:1f,

he

plunged his posterity into the misery

of

sin, death

and

divine condenmation.

This

is

the point Paul

makes

in Ro

mans 5:12ff.

When man in the image

of

God

failed,

God

in the image of man

came

by

the

. transgression of the

one

(Adam),

death reigned through the one, much

more those who receive

the

abundance

of grace and of the gift

of

righteousness

will reign in life through the One,

Jesus Christ.

So

then as through

one

transgression there resulted condemna

tion to all men whom Adam repre

sented); even so through one act of

righteousness there resulted justification

of life to

all

men whom Christ

repre-

sented). For as through the one man's

disobedience the

many

of

whom

Adam

was the bead)

were

made sinners, even

so through the obedience of the One the

. many of

whom

Christ is the Head)

will . be made righteous, Romans

5:15,17-19.

I Corinthians 15:22, 45-49 tell us

that God raised Jesus from the dead as

the last Adam, so

that

all who are in

Christ .will live. The first

Adam

was

earthy. The last

Adam

is heavenly.

And those

whom

each represents bear

his image. These two heads contrast

two bodies of individuals, two humani

ties,

two

creations,

two

orders of life,

two ages, two world-periods. The order

and covenantal headship of Christ is the

The Counsel o Chalcedon Jan.-Feb.

199

page 44

last---there is none since Adam, but

Christ, and there will be none after

Christ.

An

entirely

new

human race has

begun in Jesus

Ctuist

that is dominated

by

the Holy Spirit

Christ died as the Last Adam and God

raised him from the dead as the Last

Adam, inseparably

one

with and repre

Sentative of all those people God sent

him

to

earth

to

save,

and

which com

prise the New Humartity

of

which

Christ is the Head.

By

virtue of that

union with the resurrected Christ, we

are

saved,

by

it we live, and because of

it whatever is true of Christ is true of

us---whatever his death and resurrection

meant for him it means

fot

us.

In

I COrinthians 15:45 we see a clear

contrast of two representative Heads.

The reference

to

the first Adam s

living soul, Gen. 2:

7,

and the

Last

Adam, as life-giving spirit establishes

a frame of reference for underStanding

the

meaning of psychical (natural) and

pneumatic (Spiritual). These

ate

two

representatives

and

two

models

defining

the existence of those whom each

represents. Adam is the Psychical Man

and

Christ is The Pneumatic (Spiritual)

Man. The contrast, at this point, is

not

simply between the dead bodies

of

be

lievers and their resurrection bodies, but

between the whole persons as repre

sented by Adam by virtile of creation

and

the whole persons represented by

the

resurrected Christ Psychical

.reans

belonging

to

the

first Adam;

and

pneumatic

means belonging

to the

Last

Adam

. Those whom

Adam

represents

derive their psychical (created, not fall

en, pre-resurrection) existence from

him,

and

those whom the resurrected

Christ represents

and

who in solidarity

with him derive their pneumatic (Spirit

dominated, regenerate

and

post-resurrec

tion) existence

frOm

him. It should be

obvious by this contrast that psychical

and

pneumatic are not defined dualis

tically, as if they were higher and lower

anthropological , levels,

but

re

defined

as two mo ks

of

human existence

of

which the resurrection of Christ is the

turning point.

(See

John Frame's ex

cellent book,

The

Centrality of Resur-

rection Baker

Book

House.)

V. The Organic Headship

of

Christ over

the Church

The church

ill

described as the Body


4/6

of Christ, I Cor. 12:12-27. Now you

(the church) are Christ's body, and in

dividually members

of

it, 12:27. Jesus

Christ is said to be the Head

of

the

body, I Cor. 2:17,19.

Paul

says that

we are to grow

up

in all aspects into

Him, who is the Head, even Christ,

from

whom

the whole body, being

fitted and held together by that which

every joint supplies, according to the

proper working

of

each individual part,

causes the growth of the body for the

building up

of

itself in love, Eph.

4:15-16. In 5:23, he exhorts wives to

be submissive to their husbands

in

the

Lord, because the husband is the head

of

the wife,

as

Christ also is the Head

of

the church, He Himself being the

Savior of the body. Paul goes on

to

exhort husbands to love their wives as

they love themselves because no one

ever hated his own flesh,

but

nourishes.

and

cherishes it, just as Chris t also does

the church, because

we

are

members

of

his body, 5:28-30.

There is an organic and Spirit

wrought relation between Jesus Christ

and his church, that is

more

intimate

than that of

a husband and his wife, and

more complete than that of the head and

the body. In fact, it is a solidarity so in

timate and complete, that it is similar

to that union between

the

Persons of

the Holy Trinity, John 17:22.

Christ, the Head, is the Source of

Life for his Body.

From

him life-sus

taining, Spiritual power flows through

out the entire Body, through the proper

ly working network of interconnecting

and

interdependent members of the

Body, which causes the growth of the

body into deeper unity, deeper

know

ledge

of

God, deeper love, and full

maturity in Christ-likeness, Eph. 4:13-

16.

We

are so closely joined to Christ

that without him we can do nothing,

John 15: lff . Furthermore, we are so

closely joined to every

other

member of

his Body, that when one weeps, we all

weep,

and

when one rejoices, we all re

joice. For

just

as

we have many mem

bers in one body and all the members

do

not have the same function, so we,

who are many, are one body in Christ,

and individually members one of

another, Rom. 12:4-5.

What, then, does it

mean

that Christ

is the organic

Head

of his church? It

means that the church has

no

life apart

from Christ and receives from Christ

whatever life

it

has.

It

means that the

church was originated not only by

Christ, but also from Him,

and

cannot

continue to exist for even a moment

apart from Him. t means that the

chwch

in all of its members lives and

operates only through Christ.

It

means

that

one

and the same Spirit, even the

Holy Spirit of God, dwells both in

Christ and in His church.

It

means that

the life which Christ has imparted to

the church and keeps imparting to it is

His very own, wrote R.B. Kuiper,

The

Glorious Body o

Christ,

pg 94

n

this organic relationship Christ is

his church's Loving Husband who nour

ishes and cherishes her; her Savior, who

laid down his life for her; her Sanctifier,

being completed by the church. But as

bridegroom

he is incomplete without

the bride; as vine he cannot

be

thought

of without the

branches;

as

shepherd

he

is not seen without his sheep; and so al

so as head he finds his full expression

in his

body,

the church. (NEW TEST

AMENT COMMENTARY:

Ephesians,

pg. 104)

VI.

The

Organizational,

Ruling Headship

of

Christ

over the Church

In the purest sense of the word, the

church is a monarchy, a Theocracy, a

Christocracy, with Jesus Christ as its

King.

He

is the organizational head

of

In the purest sense of the word,

the church is a monarchy,

a Theocracy, a Christocracy,

with Jesus Christ as its King.

who cleanses her by the Word

of

God;

and

her Petfecter, who will cause her to

stand with him blameless

and

spotless

forever, Eph. 5:23ff. The Body

of

Christ is the fullness

of Him

who fills

all in all, Eph. 1:23. The church is the

fullness

of

Christ in two senses: (1).

It

is filled by

Him

as Jehovah dwelt by

the Spirit

of

Christ; (2). t fllls or

completes his Body

of

which he is the

Head, so that Body and Head together

are referred to as Christ himself work

ing out his will in this earth, I Cor.

12:12. In fact, we are so closely joined

to

him, that as we are faithful in bear

ing witness for him in the face of suf

fering and persecution, Jesus manifests

his own life through us to the saving

of

sinners, II Cor. 4:10. John Calvin

wrote: This

is

the highest honor

of

the

church, that, until

he

is united to us,

the Son of God reckons himself in

some measure imperfect. What consola

tion

it

is for us

to

learn that, not until

we

are in his presence, does

he

possess

all his parts, or does he wish to be

regarded as complete. Will iam Hendrik

sen clarifies Calvin's comment: As to

his divine essence Christ is in

no

sense

whatever dependent on or capable of

the church, governing and regulating it

subjectively

by

the Holy Spirit

and

ob

jectively by the Word of God. In the

church Christ's

word

is law. Only

Christ, the King

of

the church, has

jurisdiction in and over his church.

No

other person

or

institution, particularly

the state, has the

right

of jurisdiction

over

Christ's church. He bears absolute

and total government, Matt. 28:18. God

has established him as the only king

and lawgiver on his holy hill of Zion,

Psa. 2:6. Church members are to sub

mit to his headship in everything, Eph.

5:23,24.

The Lord Jesus Christ, as King and

Head

of his Church, has therein appoint

ed

a government in the hands of church

officers, distinct from the civil magis

trate. Westminster Confession.

o

Faith,

chapter XXX)

This means

that

within the bounds

of

a nation, there should be two kings

and two kingdoms. Those are the strik

ing words of the great Andrew Melville

in his bold comments to King James

VI of Scotland:

Sir, we will always humbly rever

ence your Majesty in public; but since

we have this occasion to

be

with your

The Counsel

of

Chalcedon Jan.-Feb. 1990 page 5


5/6

Majesty in private;

and

since you are

brought

in

extreme danger

both of

your

life

and

crown,

and

along with you he

colintry

and

che Church of God

are

like

to go to wreck,

for liOt

telling you the

truth and giving you faithful counsel

we

must discharge our

duty,

or

else

be

traitors both tO Christ and you. There

fore, Sir,

as

divers times before I have

told you,

so

now again

must

I

tell

you,

there be two kings and two kingdoms

in Scotland: there is King James, the

head of this cortunortwealth; and there

is Christ Jesus, the King

of

the

Church, whose subject JanteS the Sixth

is,

and

of

whose

kingdom

he

is not a

king, nor a lord, nor a head, but

a

member.'' -M'Crie,

Life ,o AndreW

upon

the conscience

a creed which, al-

though true in itself, is nevertheless

imposed

as an

articleofbelief

by his

au-

thority.

Again, the ordinances and positive

institutions of the Church demand . he

obedience and observance of its

Diem-

bel's, not merely because

of

their own

virtue

as

conducive to the wellbeing

of

the Christian society,

but

because they

are Christ's, and are prescribed by Him;

and the civil magistrate may ertcroach

upon the privileges 'of

His

Headship,

when he asSumes apower to dictate in

regard to the rites

and

worship and order

of the Church, imposing on the con

science, instead

of

Divine InStitutions,

the ordinances and commandments of

Christ has the exclusive right to determine in what

way

he

should be worshipped and served,

and

he

has

expressed his

will

in1he Bible.

He

lias

the

exclusive right to settle the constitution,

doctrine.s, laws, government;_

s c i p l i n e

worship, program and work of nis church for

which fie shea his precious blood, Acts 20:28.

Melville

vol. I.

James Bannennan carefUlly explains

this principle of tWo jurisdictions

(church

and

state):

. . . .

for

the civil ruler to pass

beyond the l ine that divides them,

('the

two kings

and

two

kingdoms'),

to

trespass within the dominion of Christ,

to assume jurisdiction

there,. and to

interfere between Him and His subjects,

is plainly to touch very nearly the

honor

of

Christ's Crown.

The

civil

magistrate denies

or

detracts from the

right

of

Christ as Head

of

His ChUrch,

when he interferes with those matters

in

the Church in whichChrist claims to

act Himself,

or

usurps that authority

which Christ claims to exercise

Himself.

For

example, the doctrine

professed

and

published

by

the

Christian Church is binding upon the

conscience

of

its members,

and

claims

to be

believed, not only because it is

true in itself, but

also because it is the

truth revealed and

imposed

by its

Divine Head; and the civil magistrate

may interfere with

the

prerogatives

of

Christ as Head, When he presumes to

ru,ctate to the Church another doctrine

than Christ has dictated, or to impose

men. The Church

o

Christ, pg. 200t}

Since Jesus Christ is the only execu

tive, legislative and judicial authority in

his church, the Bible,

and the

Bible

alone, is the regulating, governing

standard for the church's worship and

The

Bible is

the

church's

one

regulating principle. It is unlawful to in-

. ttoduce into the worship and work of

the

church any iimovations which have

not been sanctioned by Christ through

his apostles in his Word. It is Christ's

will that nothing should be introduced

into the government and worship of the

church unless a warrant for i t can be

found in the Bible. Christ alone is the

Head

of

the Church, not man in any

sense; therefore Christ alone may say

how his worship

and

service are to be

carried out. The Bible is

aii

all-suffi

cient, complete,

and

perfect rule

of

faith

and practice. It needs no supplementa

tion, correction

or

abridgement,

Deut.

12:32.

Christ has the exclusive right to deter

mine

in

what

way he

should be wor

shipped and served,and he has expressed

his will

in the

Bible.

He

has the exclu

sive right to settle the constitution, doc

trines, laws, government, discipline,

The qouns l of Chalcedon

o

Jan.-Feb., 1990

o

pg 46

worship, program and work of his

church, for which

he

shed his precious

blood, Acts

20:28.

God says: See that

you

do all I command you;

do

not add

to it

or

take away from it, Deut

12:32; 4:2. Do

not

add to his words,

or

he will rebuke you and prove you a

liar. Prov. 30:6.

The choice before the church today is

between divinely-regulated worship and

work orhumailly-regulatedworship and

work.

It

is sinful for

man

even Chris

tian man, to try to regulate the worship

ofGod

John Knox wrote:

All

worship

ping, honoring, or service invented by

the brain of man in the religion

of

God,

without his

oWn

express command-

ment, is idolatry. This is not an over

statement according to Mark 7:5ff.

which makes clear that acts

of

worship

and

devotion originating with man are

subversive

of

true worship, i.e., they

supplant and nullify the Bible.

As

Jesus

said: Thus you invalidate the word

of

God by your traditions, Mark 7:13.

The

Book of Church

Order

of the

RPCUS states: Since the Holy Scrip

tures are the only infallible

rule

of faith

and practice, the principles of public

worship must be derived from the

Bi-

ble. and from no other. source.

The

Bible is full

of

illustrations of

people who attempted to worship

or

serve God in ways not expressly f o r ~

bidden, but, clearly,

not

commanded by

God, therefore originating in .

man s

brain. Keep in

mjnd

that

the

regulative

principle is .not that whatever is not for

bidden is

allowl;ld.

which involves a d d ~

ing to the Word

of

God; but whatever

is

not commanded is forbidden. God

brings severe judgment upon those who

make such attempts: n Chron.

26:16f;

Num. 20;1f; Lev. 10:1f; I Chron.

13:7f; 15:1lf; Jer. 7:3f; Exod. 20:3f;

Acts 7:44f. These passages confmn that

Christ will not

be

worshipped except in

the way

he

has prescribed

in

the Bible.

Man is not to be the judge as to how he

will

be

subjected to

God

. JesilS Christ

is the King

and

Head

of

his Cburch.

He

alone regulates and

defmes

faith, dqty

and

worship through

his

Spirit-inspired

prophets

and

apostles, Eph. 2:19-20;

n

Tim. 3:15-17. .

Consider the case

of

Nadab and Abi

hu in Leviticus. 10. Motivated by re

ligious excitement, they tried to express

their worship of God

in

a way not com

manded and God killed them i m m


6/6

diately for it. They offered strange flre

before the Lord, which He had not com

manded them. And fire came out from

the Presence of the Lord and consumed

them 10:1-2.

God did

this

to

teach us

that

(1). We are dealing with a

holy and jealous God, who will be

worshiped only as he commands; (2).

Good intentions, sincerity and religious

fervor do

not

excuse adding to or sub

tracting from God's word;

and

(3).

. if we reflect how holy a thing God's

worship is, the enormity of the punish

ment will by no means offend us. -

John Calvin.

Nadab and Abihu probably loved God

and meant well in what they did, but

they offered fire which the

Lord

had

not commanded, either

in

a way not

commanded or at a time

or

in a place

not commanded. And so God would

not

allow them to leave the impression for

coming generations that worship is the

self-expression

of

religious impulses.

Worship is not a matter of conscience

or of Christian liberty, i.e., doing what

appeals to us in

one

way or another.

The essence of this violation is called

in the Bible, will-worship, Col.

2:16f. Will-worship is worship

in

which the worshiper disregards the

revealed will of God concerning the pre

scribed way by which God is to be wor

shiped and served, and

in

which he

creates ways and means of worshiping

God out of his

own

inclinations, dis

positions and preferences. Man's pride

often leads to impertinence and presump

tion in worship and in the work of the

church.

Man, because of his sinfulness, is

totally disqualified for suggesting how

God

is to be worshiped or served, much

less for making actual additions to the

worship of God, other than those com

manded in the Bible. Even the church is

not qualified, nor does it have the right

to

decree new procedures, offices, holy

days, or observances in worship, as it

has no right to inculcate new doctrines

or new laws. The wisdom of men must

be allowed

no

voice

in

determining the

worship of the church,

Deut

29:29;

Isa. 33:22; 8:20.

Christ, the Head of the Church, has

clearly set forth in his word the ele

ments

he

wants in a worship service.

Certain circumstances pertaining

to

the

service allow a measure of freedom,

i.e., the time, place, announcement of

the time and place of the next service,

etc. But, even these things, which are

in

no way vital

to

the worship of God,

must have reference to God's glory, be

Foundational Principles


preach and teach them, till the people

know

them like the alphabet, and

an

unwilling world be compelled to lis

ten. (pg. 88)

There is such a thing as being a

Presbyterian without being a Christian,.

as

it

is possible to be a Christian with

out being a Presbyterian. Depend upon

it,

it is

best

to be both.

Make

the atone

ment

of Christ the refuge of your souls;

hold fast by every truth of God's Word,

Identity

and

Form


duced to the level of Christian expedi

ency. They have been determined

by

the Head of the church and clearly re

vealed in the Bible. The word

of

God

gives us the model,

in

the OT and the

NT, for ecclesiastical polity and organi

zation, which it is the duty of all Chris

tians

in

all items and circumstances to

conform with gladness. If this is

not

the case, then Christ has left his church

without sufficient guide and structure,

and its government must be shaped by

expediency and fallen human wisdom.

Because the church of Christ, in all

its aspects--its doctrines. sacraments,

discipline, government, mission, wor

ship, faith, life and form--is the institu

tion of Christ, its

Head and

Savior,

every aspect of the church, including its

consistent with the Bible,

and

not

be

a

stumblingblock to others or contrary to

the Christian conscience. 0

small and great; lend no encouragement

to opposing errors; take no pains to con

ceal your attachment to Presbyterian

principles; and strive to do honor to the

system with which you

claim

connec

tion, by your love to Christ, by an up

right and consistent life, and

by

earnest

endeavors on your

part

to deserve the

character which distinguished the saints

of

God

in other

and

better days - a

peculiar people, zealous of good

works. ' (pg. 91)

[Editor's note- Amen. brother.

.runm .l

0

government is equally and alike a posi

tive appointment

by

God,

being, in the

strict sense of the terms, a Divine insti

tution, not owing its origin or virtue to

man, and not amenable

to

his views of

expediency, or determined by his ar-

rangements. Looking at the church of

Christ as an express and positive ordi

nance of God, it

is

clear that man is

neither warranted or competent to judge

of its organization, wrote James Ban-

nermen in his book

The Church

o

Christ

The

book of Church Order of

the RPCUS reaffmns this view: The

scriptural doctrine ofpresbytery is neces

sary to the perfection of the order

of

the

visible church,

but

is not essential to

its existence.

Our

responsibility is

not to try to improve upon Christ's

form of church government revealed in

the Bible,

but

simply to

put

it into prac

tice

in

our own churches. 0

Thanks to all of you who have responded to the

fundraising letter sent out in December.

f you have

not

responded yet, please help us meet

our

financial needs for the year.

Your contributions of $100.00 or more,

and

your subscription payments of $25.00

will enable

us to go forward with our plans for

1990

and beyond.

We thank God for you and pray His richest blessings on you as you live

and labor for the advancement of His glorious kingdom.

The Counsel of Chalcedon

3032 Hacienda Court

Marietta, GA 30066

The Counsel

o

Chalcedon Jan.-Feb. 1990 page 47

1990 Issue 1 - Jesus Christ: The Head of the Church - Counsel of Chalcedon

Documents