Until recent times most members in Reformed churches took for granted that the leadership in the local congregation was entrusted to the consistory (church council) made up of the minister, elders and deacons. Few people bothered to ask why this was so or whether it also could be done differently. Questions like these were seldom raised by those in the pew.

Today this is no longer the case. We are living in a time of great changes, socially, moral­ly and religiously, and this means that also in the church many are calling not only for changes in worship styles and preaching content, but also in forms of church government. People are questioning the value and function of the offices. This has resulted in a serious devaluation of the offices. Whereas there used to be an attitude of respect for office bearers in the church, today there is a tendency to regard them as outdated and irrelevant. Many view the special office as an anachronistic form of church government, which may have served the church well in the past, but which should now be replaced with a more up-to-date structure.

What should we say about this negative view of the offices? Before answering this ques­tion let us first examine the origin, essence and exercise of the office in the Church of Christ.

The Origin of the Office⤒🔗

When during the first years of the Reformation one city after another severed its ties with Rome, the evidence that a radical break had taken place in a city was that the mass was no longer celebrated there. Such mass-less cities were called Reformed or Evangelical cities. Here we have the his­torical background to the Reformed view of the office. The Reformation represented the removal of the altar as the location of sacrifice, the abolition of the Roman priesthood and the restoration of the pulpit and the preaching of God's Word as the central part of worship. As far as the office is concerned, this meant that the minister of the Word became the new office bearer in the church, replacing the priest, whose main task was to administer the sacraments, seen as vehicles of grace. The minister's chief function was to preach the Word as the means whereby God is pleased to save those who believe (1 Cor. 1:21)

However, the Reformers did not only oppose the Roman Catholic overestimation of the office, but they also disagreed with the Anabaptists who not only underestimat­ed, but also outright rejected the notion of special offices in the church. In their view, every believer is equipped by the Spirit to interpret and expound the Scriptures.

Calvin on the Offices←⤒🔗

Calvin and the other reformers understood that this would lead to great chaos in the church. For that reason they tried to come up with a healthy biblical and balanced view of the office. And it may be said that they succeeded in this. John Calvin wrote in his Institutes, IV, 3, 1:

Now we must speak of the order by which the Lord willed his church to be governed. He alone should rule and reign in the church as well as have authority or pre-eminence in it, and this authority should be exercised and administered by his Word alone. Nevertheless, because he does not dwell among us in visible presence (Matt. 26:11), ... he uses the ministry of men to declare openly his will to us by mouth as a sort of delegated work, not by transferring to them his right and honour, but only that through their mouths he may do his own work — just as a workman uses a tool to do his work.

Our Confession of Faith clearly reflects Calvin's influence when it says in Art. 30,

We believe that this true Church must be governed by the spiritual policy which our Lord has taught us in His Word — namely, that there must be ministers or pastors to preach the Word of God, and to administer the sacraments; also elders and deacons, who, together with the pastors, form the council of the Church.

One finds the same high esteem for the offices in the forms for ordination of ministers, elders and deacons. I'm thinking especially of the way the congregation is urged to receive "this your minister in the Lord with all gladness and to hold such in reputation" and to "remember that God Himself through him speaks to and beseeches you." The Word that he preaches is to be received "not as the word of man, but (as it is in truth) the Word of God." Similarly, the elders and deacons are to be received "as the servants of God," and especially the former must be counted "worthy of honour for their work's sake."

The Offices in the New Testament←⤒🔗

This high view of the office is being attacked by many today, not only from the side of Darbyists and other baptistic churches and sects, but increasingly also from within the Reformed community. Many critics of the traditional Reformed view of the office believe that Scripture is not at all clear as to the manner in which the church is to be governed and that therefore ample room is left for alternative forms. Yet the New Testament abounds with references to elders or overseers, and to deacons, as office bearers charged with a special task in the church.

Why then this push for new and alternative forms of church government? I believe this desire for change is symptomatic of the modern, if not post-modern view of human nature.

Equality or Sameness?←⤒🔗

Today we live in an era that can be characterized as strongly anti-authoritarian. This way of thinking can be traced to the French Revolution, which not only rejected the idea of divine authority over man, but also the notion of divinely delegated authority among human beings. Its slogan, liberty, equality and fraternity, grew out of the Enlightenment conviction that all men are created equal.

There is some truth to this statement. God has indeed created us equal in the sense that no human being has the right, by created nature, to exercise authority over any other human being. Where modernism has gone wrong is that it has drawn the false conclusion from this that the Creator (if He exists at all) did not assign different tasks or offices to His creatures.

Modernism is not opposed to the idea of office as such, but it bases it on human qual­ities and abilities. In other words, it looks at office as a functional instead of a divinely ordained concept. The basic principle for modernism is its unshakeable conviction that all human beings are equal. It has replaced the biblical concept of difference with the humanistic concept of sameness. Today, this false notion of equality has led to the abolishment of the most fundamental difference between human beings, namely the difference between man and woman. The result, of course, is moral chaos.

I mention this because this modern concept of equality or sameness has also infected the church. It has led to the idea that all believers, regardless of gender, are eligible to hold office and that the distinction between general and special offices is arbitrary and outdated.

We saw that the Anabaptists already rejected the idea of special offices, which shows they were far ahead of their time. But today similar notions are creeping into Reformed churches as well. Examples are the push for women in office, experimenting with "user-friendly" forms of liturgy, brief "sound bite" sermonettes, singing contemporary mantra-like praise and worship songs, participation of children, young people and other non-office bearers in the worship services. Compare this with the tasks assigned to office bearers in the New Testament by Christ through His apostles and you can't help but see the difference.

The Essence of the Office←⤒🔗

What does it mean to be a minister, elder or deacon? It means nothing less than to repre­sent Christ. That is the essence of the office. When He sent His disciples on their preach­ing mission Jesus reminded them: "He that receiveth you receiveth me" (Matt. 10:40). Jesus gives His office bearers both the ability and authority they need to carry out their tasks. This brings with it an awesome responsibility. The office bearer must give an account of the way he has discharged his duty. Especially the elders (both teaching and ruling) must not abuse their power. They rule the Church, but as servants of Christ and of His people. They may never speak or act on their own behalf and accord­ing to their own ideas, but like the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their mas­ters, so their eyes must wait upon the Lord their God (cf. Psalm 123:2) to receive and carry out His instructions.

A Three-Fold Office←⤒🔗

The offices, which Christ has instituted for the benefit of His Church, are those of prophet, priest and king. Lord's Day 12 of our Heidelberg Catechism speaks of the official ministry of Christ. He is called Christ, i.e. the Anointed One, "because he is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, our only High Priest and our eternal King." While every Christian is invested in this three-fold office by virtue of his or her union with Christ, it is especially the office bearers of the church who represent Christ in this three-fold way.

The ministers of the Word reflect His prophetic office, the elders His kingly office, and the deacons His priestly office. Not that these offices can be separated from each other, but it is a question of priority and specialization. Ministers serve Christ primarily as prophets. They are His witnesses testifying to the prophetic word that is "more sure" than any vision or audible voice (2 Pet. 1:19).

The task of the minister is to proclaim that sure word of prophecy: "Thus saith the Lord," is to be his constant refrain. This is how Scripture presents these men of God, whether it is Elijah or Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and so many others both in the Old and the New Testament.

How these men wrestled in their ministry for the salvation of the people to whom God sent them! Each in his own way and in different accents bore witness to the only way of redemption revealed in Jesus Christ. "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace," Isaiah cries, "and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as bright­ness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth" (Isa. 62:1).

Inseparably connected to his prophetic witnessing is the preacher's priestly compas­sion. True prophets do not stand high above the people to read them the riot act. No, as servants of Jesus Christ they know what it is to weep when sinners reject their solemn warnings of judgment to come as well as their tender overtures of mercy. As servants of their great High Priest they perform the ministry of reconciliation, God Himself beseeching sinners through them to be reconciled to Him (2 Cor. 5:19-20).

The office bearer is also king. Not a king sitting on his throne oblivious to the needs of his subjects but one who ministers to those needs with humility and wisdom, delivering the needy when they cry and the poor who have no helper (Ps. 72:12). As their shepherd he guides the Lord's flock in paths of righteousness, feeding them with wholesome food and protecting them from wolves that are poised to enter the fold to deceive and destroy (Ps. 23; Acts 20:29). Furthermore, with the assistance of the elders, the minister must also maintain good order in the church by administering disci­pline fairly, lovingly, yet also firmly.

The Discharge of the Office←⤒🔗

Who is sufficient for these things? No one really. The qualifications for office bearers mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are very high. But all true office bearers, like Paul, know that their sufficiency is of God. They may not have outstanding gifts, but God can use them. Also here we can say, "weakest means fulfill His will, mighty ene­mies to still."

Let the congregations keep this in mind when evaluating the work of the office bearers in their midst. They are Christ's ascension gifts to His Church! (Eph. 4:11-16) It is easy to criticize the minister for his pulpit work, the elders for the way they conduct family visits and the deacons for their ministry to the needy, because they are only men with the same weaknesses we all have. But they also have the same sensitivities we all share, the same desire for appreciation and the same feeling of frustration when they can't seem to do anything right in the eyes of their critics.

While it is true that no office bearer on earth is perfect, either in his person or work, let us be sure to make our critical remarks in a constructive and charitable way, always keeping in mind the apostolic exhortation to "obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you" (Heb. 13:17).