This article is about the necessity and the character of the Church Order.

Sometimes it seems that our idea of church unity bears a frightening similarity to the world's idea of marital unity. Just as the world has exchanged the glory and the wonder of true marriage for an altered and impoverished substitute, maybe we have exchanged the glory and the wonder of true church unity for some sentimental and vague substitute. The federative relationship does bear similarity to marriage, at least in some of its aspects.

This article reflects on the Church Order of Dort. It considers what a church order is, how it functions, what are its aims, and other, non-Reformed systems of church ruling, particularly the hierarchical and independentistic (congregationalistic) systems. It goes on to discuss the content of the Church Order. It ends with some discussion questions on the material.

This article shows that the church order is a gem that must be treasured for the guidance provided in it, the accountability it calls for, its rootedness in scripture, and its clarity.