How Jesus Runs the Church

1. Church government is a direct expression of Jesus Christ's active, present reign.

To study and to honor the government of the church is to bring glory to Jesus who has instituted that government for his own glory and for his church’s good.

Christ's active rule. Church government is not a dry, bureaucratic necessity but a vital aspect of Christian discipleship. Jesus is not an absentee ruler; he actively governs his people through the structures he established in his Word. To ignore or minimize church polity is to neglect the very mechanism through which the King of kings shepherds his flock.

The mediatorial kingdom. We must distinguish Christ's essential reign as God over all creation from his mediatorial reign as the God-man over the church. The church is his immediate domain, where his saving reign is put on display to the world. Through the government of the church, the spiritual reign of our risen and exalted Mediator becomes concrete and visible on earth.

A means of grace. Properly functioning church government serves as a channel of Christ's care, protecting believers and enabling spiritual growth. It is designed to keep the church pure, peaceful, and aligned with the Great Commission.

• It connects the Head (Jesus) to the body (the church).
• It provides spiritual security and order.
• It facilitates the execution of the Great Commission.

2. God has always had one continuous, covenantal people throughout redemptive history.

God has always had a single people to call his own.

One continuous olive tree. The Scriptures reveal that God did not replace Israel with an entirely new entity called the church. Instead, as Paul illustrates in Romans 11, the church is a single olive tree where unbelieving natural branches were broken off and believing Gentile branches were grafted in. God did not chop down one tree and plant another; he has always had one covenant people.

The single house. Hebrews 3 reinforces this unity by describing the people of God as a single house. Moses served faithfully in this house as a servant, while Jesus rules over this same house as a Son. It is the same house across both testaments, showing that the Old Covenant church and the New Covenant church are fundamentally one.

Covenantal continuity. This organic continuity means that the promises, covenants, and titles ascribed to Israel in the Old Testament belong to the New Testament church. The church is the "Israel of God," inheriting the rich spiritual legacy of the patriarchs.

• The Abrahamic covenant formally set apart the church.
• The Mosaic covenant ordered its communal life.
• The Davidic covenant promised a perpetual King.

3. The visible church is distinct from the invisible church, making formal membership necessary.

The visible Church... consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion; and of their children.

The dual aspect. The invisible church consists of the elect across all generations, known fully only to God, while the visible church consists of all who profess the true faith along with their children. This distinction is crucial for understanding that some in the visible church may not be truly regenerate, explaining the reality of apostasy. The church judges membership based on a credible profession of faith, not infallible knowledge of the heart.

The necessity of membership. Joining a local visible church is not optional for a Christian. The New Testament commands submission to leaders, mutual accountability, and participation in the sacraments, all of which require a defined, formal relationship with a local body. There is no biblical category for a "free-floating" Christian isolated from the local assembly.

Covenant children. Because the covenant of grace extends to believers and their offspring, children are birthright members of the visible church. They are entitled to the sign of the covenant and the pastoral care of the congregation.

• Baptism replaces circumcision as the covenant sign.
• Children are addressed as "saints" within the congregation (Eph. 6:1).
• They are entitled to the church's pastoral care and instruction.

4. Church government is established by divine right (jure divino), not human expediency.

The form and arrangements of ecclesiastical government have not been left to be fixed by the wisdom of man, nor reduced to the level of a question of mere Christian expediency, but have been determined by Divine authority, and are sufficiently exhibited in Scripture.

Divine right government. Presbyterianism holds that Christ has revealed the essential principles of church polity in the New Testament. We are not free to invent or alter church structures based on cultural trends, corporate models, or pragmatic efficiency. The church's constitution is given by its King, and we must submit to his design.

Apostolic pattern. We discover this divine pattern through apostolic precepts, binding examples, and general biblical principles. What the apostles established under the guidance of the Holy Spirit remains normative for the church today. This protects the church from the tyranny of human innovation and ensures that Christ remains the sole legislator.

Elements versus circumstances. While the essential elements of government are fixed by Scripture, the "circumstances" of government are left to Christian prudence. These circumstances are common to human societies and must be ordered by the light of nature.

• Elements: elders, deacons, connectional courts, discipline.
• Circumstances: meeting times, building temperature, parliamentary rules.
• Circumstances must always promote decency, order, and edification.

5. Church and State are entirely distinct, operating as planets in concentric orbits.

Church and State, to borrow words from the PCA’s Book of Church Order, are “as planets moving in concentric orbits.”

Two distinct kingdoms. Christ has established two separate governments on earth: the civil magistrate and the church. The state derives its authority from God as Creator to maintain natural justice, while the church derives its authority from Christ as Mediator to administer grace. They are co-equal in their respective spheres and must not encroach upon one another.

Sword versus keys. The state wields the physical sword to punish evil and maintain temporal order, whereas the church wields the spiritual keys to open and shut the kingdom of heaven. The state must not interfere in ecclesiastical affairs, and the church must not intermeddle in civil politics. Their weapons, methods, and goals are entirely different.

Limits of authority. While Christians are subject to civil laws, the state has no right to dictate the doctrine, worship, or discipline of the church. Conversely, the church cannot enforce its spiritual decrees with civil penalties.

• The state's standard is natural law and reason.
• The church's standard is the written Word of God.
• Church officers must report civil crimes but maintain spiritual independence.

6. Church power is strictly ministerial and declarative, possessing no legislative authority.

No officer or court of the church has any legislative power.

No human laws. The power of the church is not legislative but "ministerial and declarative." This means church courts cannot make new laws or bind the conscience of believers with human traditions; they can only declare and apply what Christ has already commanded in Scripture. The Bible is the positive, complete charter of the church.

Preserving Christian liberty. Christ alone is Lord of the conscience. When church courts overstep their bounds by making pronouncements on political or social issues not addressed in Scripture, they violate Christian liberty and usurp Christ's authority. The church must remain silent where the Scripture is silent, leaving believers free to exercise Christian prudence.

Three-fold jurisdiction. The church's declarative power operates through three specific channels: doctrine, order, and discipline.

• Doctrine: framing confessions and bearing testimony against error.
• Order: arranging circumstantial details for worship and government.
• Discipline: admitting members and administering spiritual censures.

7. Power is vested in the whole congregation but exercised exclusively by ordained officers.

The power which Christ has committed to His Church vests in the whole body, the rulers and those ruled, constituting it a spiritual commonwealth.

A spiritual commonwealth. Church power does not belong to a clerical hierarchy, nor does it belong to a pure democracy. It is vested in the entire organic body—both rulers and ruled—making the church a spiritual commonwealth in its internal relations. This organic view prevents both clerical tyranny and popular disorder.

The right of election. The congregation exercises its vested power in one primary way: the choice of its officers. The people do not confer spiritual gifts, but they recognize the men whom Christ has already gifted and called to office. This right of election is an inalienable privilege of the Christian people.

Representative exercise. Once officers are elected and ordained, the exercise of governing power is reserved exclusively to them. They act as representatives of Christ, not as delegates of the congregation.

• Officers are accountable to Christ, not the congregation.
• The people have no direct share in active governance.
• Officers must prioritize the Word of God over popular opinion.

8. The eldership is a single office of rule with two distinct, equal orders.

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Parity of the eldership. The New Testament teaches that "elder" and "overseer" (bishop) are different titles for the same office. All elders share equal authority in the spiritual oversight and governance of the congregation, rejecting any hierarchical episcopacy. There is no higher rank of office than the elder.

Two orders of one office. Within this single office of elder, there are two orders: ruling elders and teaching elders (ministers). While both are called to rule and shepherd, the teaching elder is specially gifted, trained, and set apart to labor full-time in preaching and teaching. This distinction is functional and financial, not hierarchical.

Functional distinctions. The parity of the office is preserved even though certain functions are restricted to the teaching elder. These distinctions are necessary to maintain order and protect the public ministry of the Word.

• Only teaching elders administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
• Teaching elders are members of the presbytery, not the local church.
• Ruling elders must cultivate an aptness to teach and shepherd the flock.

9. The diaconate is a perpetual, spiritual office of sympathy, service, and temporal management.

This office is one of sympathy and service, after the example of the Lord Jesus; it expresses also the communion of saints, especially in their helping one another in time of need.

A spiritual calling. The office of deacon, established in Acts 6, is a perpetual and spiritual office of service. Deacons are not merely financial managers; they must be men of deep spiritual character, "full of the Spirit and of wisdom," to represent Christ's sympathy. Their work is a vital expression of the gospel.

The ministry of mercy. The primary focus of diaconal ministry is the communion of saints, specifically caring for the physical and temporal needs of believers within the visible church. This ministry is designed to relieve the elders of secular distractions so they can focus on prayer and the Word. It is a ministry of restoration, not enablement.

Temporal stewardship. Deacons also serve as the church's fiscal agents and property managers, handling the secular business of the church under the session's oversight.

• Deacons manage church funds and physical property.
• They assist families, who remain the primary caretakers of their needy members.
• The board of deacons remains under the authority of the session.

10. Connectional church courts preserve the visible unity and doctrinal purity of the church.

The lower courts are subject to the review and control of the higher courts, in regular gradation.

Connectionalism. Presbyterianism rejects the idea that local congregations are completely independent. Following the biblical pattern, local churches are bound together in a connectional government, giving visible expression to the unity of Christ's body. This connectionalism protects local churches from isolation and doctrinal drift.

The model of Acts 15. The Jerusalem Council provides the biblical blueprint for connectional church courts. When a doctrinal dispute arose in Antioch, it was referred to a representative assembly of apostles and elders in Jerusalem, whose authoritative decision was binding on all the churches. This demonstrates the subordination of local sessions to broader assemblies.

Gradation of courts. The church is governed by a series of graded courts: the local Session, the regional Presbytery, and the national General Assembly.

• All courts are equal in nature but differ in constitutional scope.
• Lower courts are subject to the review and control of higher courts.
• The right of private judgment allows members to protest or peaceably withdraw.

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