That Christ is Head of the church has consequences for the governing of the church. In 1870, the (Roman Catholic) First Vatican Council declared that a bishop, specifically the bishop of Rome, would be Christ’s representative and head of the entire church. This basically says that Christ is no longer the head of the church. Furthermore, in this way the pope claimed the position of the Holy Spirit for himself (see John 14:15-18; 16:13-15).

We should also ask questions if a church of the Reformation sees itself as having a specific national identity: English, Dutch, Russian, etc.? Should the church of Christ be compared to other institutions in a country? We believe that the church is “catholic”. It is in line with the worldwide, cosmic rule of our Head, Christ, such that his body is not bound by political or ethnic boundaries. It is of course a practical matter, due to language, distances, etc., that parts of Christ’s body are organized within the realm of a country or a nation. However, that is not part of the actual identity of the church. It is therefore easier to accept a name such as Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands than the Netherlands Reformed Church. Of course, it means something that a church is located in a certain country, just as in the New Testament there are churches in Galatia, Asia, Rome, or Ephesus. But that fact has little to do with identity.

The church is “catholic”. That is through Jesus Christ. We have to be aware of that, also when every day the church lives in any given place, in any given country. In the church, we don’t plant the national flag right beside the pulpit. But praying in the church for our king, queen, or president, and for all in authority, that is certainly biblical!

Obedience⤒🔗

Several dangers that threaten the church almost always lead up to a conflict with our Head. Not only can members of the church go astray or make mistakes – so we can smooth it over with “to err is human” – but it always comes down to disobedience to King Jesus. Being a Christian and being united in the church means a life of obedience. To err is disobedience. The apostle Paul had many areas of concern in the church at Corinth. There were all kinds of temptation, even danger from false prophets. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul speaks of servants of Satan, for “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:13-14). Just before this, the apostle showed clearly how it all comes down to radical obedience and dedication to Christ, as he says, “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2-3).

Therefore: radical obedience is needed, rooted in Christ’s love for his people.

The Church’s Agenda←⤒🔗

This idea of obedience forms a bridge to our next theme: the agenda of the church. We understand fully that no one but the Lord God can establish the church’s agenda. It is not my intention to get into matters such as what should have the attention of meetings of consistory or other major assemblies. I just want to provide some guidance that may help us as in our process of ecclesiastical decision-making, to look in the biblical mirror. Our church identity naturally plays a role here. But where such identity is derived from our Head, we will recognize a number of tasks that should appear as matters on our agenda.

An office to which brothers are being called in the church is overarched by obedience to Christ. The norms are closely connected to the demeanour of office bearers. “Lording it” does not befit a disciple of Christ. When Christ spoke to his disciples about the need to bear fruit, as branches of the vine, he said to them – shortly before they would receive the authority of apostles – “And you shall be my disciples” (see John 15:8). In this way they will be leaders.

Mission, Evangelism – Unity←⤒🔗

There is the call to mission and evangelism. “Make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19), “And you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matt. 5:14). The question on the agenda may legitimately be: are we hidden from the world? Do we see that people around us know us, know our church, without actually ever meeting our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ?

The matter of the unity of the church is difficult! The Lord has one body, the church. The book of Acts describes and makes clear what kinds of measures were taken in the initial, sensitive period. It all results in one congregation, which consists of both Jewish disciples of Christ as well as believing non-Jews. The Holy Spirit makes that clear to the Jews at the time of Cornelius’ conversion. He and his entire family receive the same signs as the apostles did at Pentecost, and therefore none of the Jews could have any objection to them being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 10:44-48; cf. 11:15-18, 15:7-10). At the first assembly of office bearers this potentially contentious issue was discussed: whether the separation between the people of God’s old covenant, Israel, and the non-Jews, was something belonging to the past or not (Acts 15). Paul’s letter to the Ephesians shows this as well (see Eph. 2:11-22). The one body of Christ, for whom the Lord gave himself, must therefore be visible. Also because this is the unity for which Jesus prayed to his Father: “That they may all be one” (John 17:20-23).

Encounters between churches always have to do with the unity of the church. Many historical rifts concern the relationship of two church communities. Church history shows us many such conflicts, divisions, and separations. When we meet together before God’s face and we are conscious of his presence, the issues relating to unity cannot be avoided on the agendas of our synods and other assemblies. Every time our discussions must face this question: “Is the existence and continuation of ‘our’ church because of our Head, Christ, or is it because of our own “justified” position?

I like church history. I am aware of the reasons for the obedience of our forefathers during the Reformation and, for example, during the struggles of the Secession in the Netherlands in 1834. But if we look at the numerous secessions and conflicts that have occurred since that time, we may certainly ask ourselves whether it is possible that the course of church history from unity to disunity can be reversed … What do we love more? “Our” church with its history? Or the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? Whatever we have learned and gained from “our” history, through God’s Word and by his Spirit, should no doubt be treasured. But is that only important for us? A question I still remember during a meeting of two consistories (from the Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk and the Reformed Church Liberated) in the same city by an elder: “The Christian Reformed people have convinced me that what they have learned from God is the truth about rebirth and conversion. But why do they keep this so tightly to themselves and why is it so difficult to share such insights with us?” Of course, here too we see the two levels of church identity and the need to distinguish between the two.

Leadership in the Church←⤒🔗

Part of a reformed conviction regarding the offices means that, every authority is inextricably linked to Christ. That says a lot for the manner of governing the church. Ministers, elders, and deacons need to look into the mirror. Sometimes people think authority means power. Sometimes it seems as if a strategy is concealed behind the proposals for office bearers. Christ’s lordship, however, does not look like a chess game. His Word is open and clear; it demands pure and upright hearts on the part of the office bearers (as it does for the members). Consistory meetings often need to be restricted because personal and pastoral matters are dealt with, but the manner in which decision-making occurs should essentially be transparent to the congregation. The best example is the outcome of the apostles’ meeting in Acts 15. After deliberation and prayer they could note, “It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28). There was no hidden motive, only a humble submission before God.

Twirled through all the responsibilities of office bearers in the church we find the golden thread of their mission, according to Ephesians 4:11-13. “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

The work of office bearers in the church is extremely important, but the person of the minister, elder or deacon is extremely unimportant.

This article was translated by Wim Kanis