The true church is governed through a Spiritual order that flows out of the word of God. There are three offices that are mentioned here. The ministers or pastors, the elders, and the deacons.
We recently had Synod. There is also classis. These things are not mentioned here. Why? Because first and foremost the Lord Jesus Christ does not govern his church through classis or synods but through the local church council. Through the elders and the deacons. So that all things may be done decently and in good order.
Tonight, I want to briefly speak about the principle of worship, offices of the church, and then the week after that we will look at church discipline.
The true church is governed by the Word.
- The principle of the Worship
- The people chosen according to the Word
The principle of Worship
True worship is a heartfelt expression of love, adoration, admiration, fascination, wonder, and celebration. As Carson defines worship, “
While all true worship is God-centered, Christian worship is no less Christ-centered. Empowered by the Spirit and in line with the stipulations of the new covenant, it manifests itself in all our living, finding its impulse in the gospel, which restores our relationship with our Redeemer-God and therefore also with our fellow image-bearers, our co-worshipers.”
Worship is central to our life together – it is the heartbeat of the church. It is more than just the preaching – it is the visible family of God, the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, coming together in unity to meet with God under God appointed leaders. What happens in worship is that we are gathered around the word.
We gather under the lordship of the Lord Jesus, and according to his command. The leadership that is appointed by king Jesus lead with his authority. Particularly when it comes to public worship. This is why we hold generally to what is called the Regulative Principle of Worship: The worship of God is to be founded upon specific directions of Scripture and we only do that which is commanded in Scripture. The following are commanded by God in worship: Reading (1 Tim. 4:13), Preaching (2 Tim. 4:2); Singing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) Praying (Matt. 21:13); baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38–39; 1 Cor. 11:23–26; Col. 2:11–12).
In all of these the focus is the word. We read the word, preach the word, sing the word, pray in response to the word, see the word illustrated in the sacraments. So, the Word of Christ fills our hearts and minds. This is about Christ and his word. In this church we try in all things to be guided by the word. And the leaders therefore must also be chosen in good order, as stipulated by the word of God.
Here’s why all of this matters so much to Paul. It’s not that he’s bothered about the messiness of their worship especially. He’s upset because he knows a persistent and obstinate refusal to recognize the authority of apostolic Scripture, to bend before the authority of Christ, will result in more than confusion and chaos and frustration on a Sunday morning in Corinth. And chaos is the devil's playground.
If there is a persistent life pattern of obstinate refusal to bend the knee to the authority of God speaking in His Word, it will result in not being recognized, even by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself when He comes to judge the living and the dead.
Dear church let us bend our knees to his good order. This is something that a society that is in rebellion against God struggles with, but it is the most beautiful thing when done well. It brings unity, love, joy, and fellowship.
The people Chosen according to the Word
The messiness happens especially when the church no longer submits to their leaders in the Lord, those words “in the Lord” are vital. Their authority is derived authority from Jesus. They are called to lead in Christ to Christ.
The church of Jesus Christ belongs to him, and he gets to determine what ought to happen in the church and how. The office-bearers cannot ask the church to listen to them, but to listen to God. In word and deed therefore, they are to set before the congregations the will of God, or the true religion as Calvin likes to call it. They are to do so in way that makes it clear to the church that if someone is not submitting to the discipline of the church they are not submitting to Christ.
For this task Paul says to Titus, "The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you."
Here the expression "every town," impresses us. Crete was a small island. It was a favorite resort town in Paul’s day and would have been made up of many different people. We do not know exactly how many towns the island had in Paul's day. Maybe a few thousand or even a few hundred. Yet, Paul is mindful of every soul that needs to be saved. And every saved soul needs to be led in the way. Big or small the gospel light was to be established there through a local church governed by elders and deacons. This already seems to speak again the idea of a campus church, where different churches in different places are all run by the centralized government. And the people few the services on live stream at these different locations.
Here the title "elders" is a Biblical idiom for a spiritual leader. Generally older. In fact, this is what the word meant, and the church would do well to pay attention to it. Not all old people are wise and not all young people are fools, but the Bible’s valuing of age is largely neglected today. We live in a youth culture. As one author states, “The Bible, and even other eastern religions respect age because age brings with it wisdom. But as one author states, “the western world today generally credits you with wisdom and sees old age as corrupt, myopic, or behind the times.” But the term “elders” meant “older people” and it would not completely off base to translate the term “elderly.” The Bible’s idea is that age and wisdom are correlated. IF that is the case, and it often is, the elderly in our church needs to be consulted, need to be advisors, need to be what they are – elders – and as such they can become a council of wisdom.
This is why the elderly can be so helpful, because it is about preservation and passing on the faith through the generations. We think less about preserving then we do about innovation and growing in our time. But in the kingdom of Christ growth comes through sinking our roots deep into scripture and preserving and fighting for the faith that was once for all handed over to the saints. This is not a techie organization this is the church of the living God. The pillar and foundation of truth in society.
God has appointed ministers or a pastor, elders, and deacons. In the Greek the word for Episcopos and presbyter were interchangeable. There was basically the elders (Episcopos/presbyter) and deacons (Diacono's/servant). Some elders took on the role of preaching, while others took on more of a ruling role As Paul tells timothy, “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.”
And how are these men chosen? They are chosen by the lawful election of the church. When the consistory sets forth names, and you submit names to be considered for the office, and the election takes place. This is not just a practical procedure, but spiritual, in that we believe that God himself works through these means to appoint these men to this office. I am so thankful for you young men who desire the office and prepare for it. I am so thankful for you who every year write a letter to consistory to consider names for the office! This is a vital process. Vital because the life of the church is at stake. False teaching, and leaders that are not in Christ can kill a church. Where there are no leaders the sheep scatter.
This is why how you vote should also be a matter of prayer. We don’t vote or put forward our friends, who think like us in the consistory. So often we can vote for the person who we think will hold more of our opinions then the other person. But this is about who best fits those things described in 1 timothy 3. Do you see Christ in the person. Is there wisdom there that comes with age. Does he stand out as a follower of Christ.
And a leader in this church has never put himself forward to be elected. He is put forward by the consistory and voted on. In this way they also are confirmed that when they are called it was not them, but God himself who called them to this holy office through the church, and her leadership. This is important especially when there are hard times in the office, they can look back and be assured that God will also give the strength for the office to which he called them.
We are not here first of all because we wanted it, but because God wanted it. and that is true for all the men who serve as deacon or elder. It is commendable nevertheless to desire to office, and to serve willingly under the lordship of Christ. As Peter says, “exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” You don’t do it because you are forced. You do it out of joy for the opportunity to serve you king. You don’t do it for money or honor, but eagerly. Not in a judgmental way, but as example. This is for the leaders.
What about the church? Well Hebrews says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” This is important for the church to realize. Do you see Christ leadership in these men, or do you just see the people? If you see the people, it will be easy to grumble and complain if a decision does not go your way. If you see Christ, you see the decision as also coming from him.
Obey is a term we rarely like. Whether we are children or adults. But it is central to being a Christian. Obedience gives unity. Ignatius who was possibly a disciple of John writes to the church in Ephesus, “Beloved, ne careful to be subject to the bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons. For he that is subject to these is obedient to Christ, who has appointed them; but he that is disobedient to these is disobedient to Christ.” This echoes the words of Jesus, “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
By these men the true religion is preserved. As we read. These men “see to it that the true doctrine takes its course, that evil men are disciplined in a spiritual way and are restrained, and also that the poor and all the afflicted are helped and comforted according to their need.” Elders are primarily responsible for teaching and ruling the church. The minister is one of the elders with a special task.
The deacons give hands and feet to the elders teaching. They encourage the church to work out the gospel practically in their everyday lives. So that the church may be a body where each member is using their gifts, people are showing hospitality, and that generosity pours forth out of gospel filled hearts. This overflow of generosity will flow over into the community. This is about seeking not just the good of the church, but the good of the city! God has placed us as sojourners here to shine the light of Christ in a dark world. The gifts given to the church were given so that the church could shine in the community!
Together the elders and deacons make the decisions in prayer before the Lord. The consistory is not the boss of the church, the pastor is not the boss, it only has one Lord – Jesus Christ.
Then Dear church. Submit to them, as men from God. listen to them as men chosen by God. when they come into your home as an elder or deacon, they come not first of all as a friend, a family member, or the person you grew up with and know everything about, they come as the representative of the living Lord Jesus Christ, the supreme king over the cosmos. The head of the church.
You see we must not only worship God, but we must also worship God in the way that he has commanded, and he has given us a certain order and structure in which the gospel can be best lived out in community. That is through elders and deacons.
I will leave you with a quote of a man who probably had met Paul and wrote to the church in Corinth. It comes from a pastor called Clement who writes around the year 97, “It suits us to do all things in their proper order, which the Lord has commanded us… in order that all things, being piously done according to his good pleasure, may be acceptable to him.”
Amen