A. Church Government

Note: This list is a work in progress, and may change at any time both in the selection of quotations and the content of the annotations. In the meantime, feel free to offer any suggestions.

CLEMENT OF ROME

“The apostles have preached the Gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ [has done so] from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ. Both these appointments, then, were made in an orderly way, according to the will of God. Having therefore received their orders, and being fully assured by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and established in the word of God, with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they went forth proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first-fruits [of their labours], having first proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe. Nor was this any new thing, since indeed many ages before it was written concerning bishops and deacons. For thus saith the Scripture in a certain place, “I will appoint their bishops in righteousness, and their deacons in faith.” (1st Letter to the Corinthians, chap. 42)1

“Our apostles also knew, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and there would be strife on account of the office of the episcopate. For this reason, therefore, inasmuch as they had obtained a perfect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed those [ministers] already mentioned, and afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry. We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole Church, and who have blamelessly served the flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, and disinterested spirit, and have for a long time possessed the good opinion of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry.” (1st Letter to the Corinthians, chap. 44)2

IGNATIUS

“For if I in this brief space of time, have enjoyed such fellowship with your bishop —I mean not of a mere human, but of a spiritual nature—how much more do I reckon you happy who are so joined to him as the Church is to Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ is to the Father, that so all things may agree in unity! Let no man deceive himself: if any one be not within the altar, he is deprived of the bread of God. For if the prayer of one or two possesses such power, how much more that of the bishop and the whole Church! He, therefore, that does not assemble with the Church, has even by this manifested his pride, and condemned himself. For it is written, “God resisteth the proud.” Let us be careful, then, not to set ourselves in opposition to the bishop, in order that we may be subject to God.” (Epistle to the Ephesians, chap. 5).3

“For, since ye are subject to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, ye appear to me to live not after the manner of men, but according to Jesus Christ, who died for us, in order, by believing in His death, ye may escape from death. It is therefore necessary that, as ye indeed do, so without the bishop ye should do nothing, but should also be subject to the presbytery, as to the apostle of Jesus Christ, who is our hope, in whom, if we live, we shall [at last] be found. It is fitting also that the deacons, as being [the ministers] of the mysteries of Jesus Christ, should in every respect be pleasing to all. For they are not ministers of meat and drink, but servants of the Church of God. They are bound, therefore, to avoid all grounds of accusation [against them], as they would do fire.
        In like manner, let all reverence the deacons as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and the bishop as Jesus Christ, who is the Son of the Father, and the presbyters as the sanhedrim of God, and assembly of the apostles. Apart from these, there is no Church. Concerning all this, I am persuaded that ye are of the same opinion. For I have received the manifestation of your love, and still have it with me, in your bishop, whose very appearance is highly instructive, and his meekness of itself a power; whom I imagine even the ungodly must reverence, seeing they are also pleased that I do not spare myself. But shall I, when permitted to write on this point, reach such a height of self-esteem, that though being a condemned man, I should issue commands to you as if I were an apostle?” (Epistle to the Trallians, chap.s 2-3)4

“Be on your guard, therefore, against such persons. And this will be the case with you if you are not puffed up, and continue in intimate union with Jesus Christ our God, and the bishop, and the enactments of the apostles. He that is within the altar is pure, but he that is without is not pure; that is, he who does anything apart from the bishop, and presbytery, and deacons, such a man is not pure in his conscience.” (Epistle to the Trallians, chap. 7)

“For though some would have deceived me according to the flesh, yet the Spirit, as being from God, is not deceived. For it knows both whence it comes and whither it goes, and detects the secrets [of the heart]. For, when I was among you, I cried, I spoke with a loud voice: Give heed to the bishop, and to the presbytery and deacons. Now, some suspected me of having spoken thus, as knowing beforehand the division caused by some among you. But He is my witness, for whose sake I am in bonds, that I got no intelligence from any man. But the Spirit proclaimed these words: Do nothing without the bishop; keep your bodies as the temples of God; love unity; avoid divisions; be the followers of Jesus Christ, even as He is of His Father.” (Epistle to the Philadelphians, chap. 7)5

  1. Here, we see indication that the apostolic office was temporary, and ceased with the establishment of the eldership and diaconate, which would be permanent; and also, a clear understanding of the latter two offices as the only scriptural ecclesiastical offices.
  2. Further indication that the apostolic office was temporary, and ceased with the establishment of the eldership and diaconate, which would be permanent; also, definite assent to the active role of the congregation in the appointment of persons to those offices, which at the same time expresses a high degree of respect for the official authority of the officers.
  3. The mistaken notion of contemporary Evangelicalism, that being a Christian is primarily a matter of the individual, personal, and experiential is here eloquently argued against.
  4. This passage is an indication of the early date at which the original structure of the Church, with Bishops/Elders and Deacons (see Clement, above), gave way to a tripartite structure of Bishops, Elders (as a distinct office) and deacons. However, it must be emphasized that Ignatius seems always to consider every local church as having its own bishop, presbytery, and diaconate, and not a bishop who oversees a group of presbyters, each with his own church. In this respect, Ignatius seems in a sense to be closer to the common Reformed division between a teaching/preaching elder (whom he calls the bishop) and ruling elders (whom he calls the presbytery) – with the difference that he accords very definite primacy to the bishop over the presbytery. While Ignatius accords all of the church officers very high honor, he also holds them accountable to live in an manner worthy of their high calling, as authorized representatives of Christ and the apostles; still, he sees them and himself as having an intrinsically lesser authority than the apostles who spoke the inspired truth.
  5. There are several other similar passages in the epistles of Ignatius, in which he makes his threefold division of the offices of the Church very clear, and which, for the sake of space, I have decided not to include.

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