ORGANIZING FOR SERVICE
Whatever the organization of a body of Christians may be, the body itself is a true branch of the Church if it consists of those who believe in Christ. Nevertheless, if the Church is to be more than an aggregation of individuals, if it is not only to be something, but also to do something, it requires some sort of organization. This fundamental need was clearly recognized in the apostolic age; and it was met by certain provisions which we believe ought still to be followed. These provisions, however, do not amount to anything like an elaborate constitution; they do not hinder adaptation to changing conditions.
1. ELDERS ACCORDING TO THE PASTORAL EPISTLES
In the Pastoral Epistles, which afford more detailed information about organization than is to be found anywhere else in the New Testament, the government of the local church is seen to be intrusted to a body of "elders," with whom "deacons" are associated. No one of the elders, so far as can be detected, possessed authority at all different in kind from the authority of the others; all had the function of ruling; all were "overseers" or "bishops" of the church.
The functions of the elders are not described in detail; but evidently they had a general oversight over the affairs of the congregation. That is the meaning of the word "bishop" as it is applied to them. Some of them at least also labored "in the word and in teaching," but all seem to have been alike in their function of bearing rule.
2. ELDERS ACCORDING TO THE PRESBYTERIAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT
The similarity of such an arrangement to our own Presbyterian form of government is plain. Our churches also are governed not by an individual, but by a body of "elders" who are equal to one another in authority. Changing conditions have of course introduced elaboration of the simple apostolic model. Thus the teaching function, for example, which in apostolic times was perhaps exercised more or less informally by those of the elders who possessed the gifts for it, is now naturally assigned for the most part to men who have received a special training. These "teaching elders" in our church are the ministers. Conditions have become so complex that men of special training, who devote their whole time to the work of the Church, are imperatively required. The pastors and teachers, Eph. 4:11, even in the apostolic Church, seem to have formed a fairly definite group. This class of gifts is exercised to-day especially by the ministers, though similar functions should also be exercised by other members of the Church.
3. HOW WERE ELDERS TO BE CHOSEN?
With regard to the government of the apostolic Church a number of interesting questions can never be definitely answered. For example, how were the elders to be chosen?
(1) Sometimes Appointed by the Apostles.—Such passages as Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5, do not settle the question. According to the former passage, elders were appointed in the churches of southern Galatia by Paul and Barnabas. But it must be remembered that the authority of the apostles was peculiar and temporary. Because the apostles had power to appoint elders it does not follow that any individuals at a later time would possess a similar power. The situation, at the time of the first Christian mission, was peculiar; small bodies of Christians had just been rescued from heathenism; at first they would need a kind of guidance which could afterwards safely be withdrawn. According to Titus 1:5, Titus was to appoint elders in the churches of Crete. But clearly Titus, like Timothy, was merely a special and temporary representative of the apostle Paul; for Titus to appoint elders, under the definite direction of Paul, was no more significant than for Paul to appoint them himself.
(2) The Right of Congregational Election.—On the whole, it may be confidently maintained that the Presbyterian method of choosing elders—namely the method of election by the whole congregation—is more in accordance with the spirit of apostolic precedent than any other method that has been proposed. Throughout the apostolic Church, the congregation was evidently given a very large place in all departments of the Christian life. The Jerusalem congregation, for example, had a decisive voice in choosing the very first Church officers who are known to have been added to the apostles. Acts 6:2-6. In Thessalonica and in Corinth the whole congregation was active in the matter of church discipline. II Thess. 3:14,15; I Cor. 5:3-5; II Cor. 2:6. The whole congregation was also invited to choose delegates for carrying the gifts of the Corinthian church to Jerusalem. I Cor. 16:3. These are merely examples. It must be remembered, moreover, that the authority of the congregation in the apostolic age was limited by the authority of the apostles, which was special and temporary; when the apostles should be removed, the congregational functions would be increased. Yet even the apostles were exceedingly careful not to destroy the liberties of the rank and file. Nowhere in the apostolic Church were the ordinary church members treated as though they were without rights and without responsibilities. Indeed, even when the apostles appointed elders, they may have previously ascertained the preferences of the people.
4. THE APOSTOLIC PRECEDENT AND DEPARTURES FROM IT
The presbyterial form of church government—that is, government by a body of elders—which is found in the apostolic age, differs strikingly from certain later developments. In several particulars, at least, principles have become prevalent which are at variance with the apostolic model.
(1) The Monarchical Episcopate.—The first particular concerns the relation of the church officers to one another. In the apostolic Church, as we have observed, there was a parity among the elders; the local congregation was governed, not by an individual, but by a body. As early, however, as the first part of the second century, a change had taken place, at least in many of the churches. The supreme authority had come to be held by an individual, called "bishop"; all other officers were clearly subordinate to him; the government of the local congregation was no longer presbyterial, but monarchical; the so-called "monarchical episcopate" had been formed.
This state of affairs appears clearly in the epistles of Ignatius, which were written a short time before A. D. 117. But all attempts to find traces of the monarchical episcopate in the apostolic age have resulted in failure. The Greek word episcopos, which is translated in the English Bible—rather misleadingly, perhaps—by "bishop," is applied, not to a special officer standing above the elders, but simply to the elders themselves. "Elder" designates the office; episcopos designates one function of the office. The latter word could hardly have been used in this general way if it had already acquired its technical significance.
The efforts which have been made to discover references to the office of bishop in the apostolic age are unconvincing. It is exceedingly doubtful whether the "angels" of the seven churches to which messages are sent in the Apocalypse are to be regarded as church officers; and even if they were church officers it is by no means clear that they exercised the functions of bishops. Undoubtedly Timothy and Titus appear in the Pastoral Epistles with functions similar in many respects to those of bishops, but it is also clear that they exercised those functions, not as officers of the Church who might have successors, but merely as temporary representatives of the apostle Paul.
(2) The Priesthood of the Clergy.—An even more important divergence from apostolic conditions concerns the functions of the church officers. According to a theory which has become widely prevalent, certain officers of the Church are to be regarded as "priests"—that is, they are mediators between God and man. Curiously enough the English word "priest," is nothing but another form of the word "presbyter," which means "elder"; "presbyter" is only "priest" "writ large." In actual usage, however, "priest" means vastly more than "presbyter"; it designates a man who represents men to God and mediates God's actions to men. So understood, the term is never applied in the New Testament to church officers as such. According to the New Testament, the only priest (in the strict sense) under the new dispensation is Christ; Christ is the only mediator between God and man, I Tim. 2:5; the high-priesthood of Christ is elaborated in the Epistle to the Hebrews. In another sense, indeed, all believers are priests, I Peter 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6; all have the right of direct access to God; all are devoted to a holy service. The idea of a special priesthood in the Christian Church is strikingly at variance with the apostolic teaching.
(3) Apostolic Succession.—Another point of variance concerns the manner in which the officers of the Church should receive their authority. By a theory prevalent in the Church of England and in the Protestant Episcopal Church in America as well as in the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches, the authority of the clergy has been received through an unbroken line of transmission from the apostles; the immediate successors of the apostles received the right of handing down the commission to others, and so on through the centuries; without an ordination derived in this way no one can be a ruler in the true Church; and without submission to such regularly ordained rulers no body of persons can constitute a branch of the true Church. This theory places a tremendous power in the hands of a definite body of persons whose moral qualifications for wielding that power are often more than doubtful. Surely so stupendous a claim can be made good only by the clear pronouncement of a recognized authority.
Such a pronouncement is not to be found in the New Testament. There is not the slightest evidence to show that the apostles provided for a transmission of their authority through a succession of persons. On the contrary, their authority seems to have been special and temporary, like the miraculous powers with which they were endowed. The regular church officers who were appointed in the apostolic age evidently possessed no apostolic authority; however chosen, they were essentially representatives of the congregation. A true branch of the Church could exist, at least in theory, without any officers at all, wherever true believers were together; the Church did not depend upon the officers, but the officers upon the Church.
5. RELATIONS OF THE CONGREGATIONS TO ONE ANOTHER
So far, the organization of the apostolic Church has been considered only in so far as it concerned the individual congregation; a word must now be said about the relation of the congregations to one another.
That relation, in the apostolic age, was undoubtedly very close. The Pauline Epistles, in particular, give an impression of active intercourse among the churches. The Thessalonian Christians "became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia"; the story of their conversion became known "in every place." I Thess. 1:7-10. In the matter of the collection, Macedonia stirred up Achaia, and Achaia Macedonia. II Cor. 8:1-6; 9:1-4. The faith of the Roman Christians was "proclaimed throughout the whole world." Rom. 1:8. Judea heard of the missionary labors of Paul, Gal. 1:21-24; fellowship between Jews and Gentiles was maintained by the collection for the Jerusalem saints. Evidently the apostolic Church was animated by a strong sense of unity.
This feeling of unity was maintained especially by the instrumentality of the apostles, who, with their helpers, traveled from one congregation to another, and exerted a unifying authority over all. Certainly there was nothing like a universal Church council; Christian fellowship was maintained in a thoroughly informal way. In order that such fellowship should be permanent, however, there would obviously be an increasing need for some sort of official union among the congregations. When the apostles passed away, their place would have to be taken by representative assemblies; increasing complexity of life brought increasing need of organization. The representative assemblies of our own Church, therefore, meet an obvious need; and both in their free, representative character and in their unifying purpose it may fairly be claimed that they are true to the spirit of the apostolic age.
6. PRINCIPLES
The apostolic precedent with regard to organization should always be followed in spirit as well as in form. Three principles, especially, are to be observed in the Church organization of the apostolic age. In the first place, there was considerable freedom in details. No Christian who had gifts of any kind was ordinarily prevented from exercising them. In the second place, there was respect for the constituted authority, whatever it might be. Such respect, moreover, was not blind devotion to a ruling class, but the respect which is ennobled by love. Finally, in Church organization, as in all the affairs of life, what was regarded as really essential was the presence of the Holy Spirit. When Timothy laid his hands upon a new elder, the act signified the bestowal of, or the prayer for, divine favor. This last lesson, especially, needs to be learned to-day. Without the grace of God, the best of Church organizations is mere machinery without power.
In the Library.—Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on "Elder," "Deacon," "Deaconess," "Laying on of Hands." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Gayford, article on "Church"; Gwatkin, article on "Church Government in the Apostolic Age." Lightfoot, "The Christian Ministry," in "Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians," pp. 181-269, and in "Dissertations on the Apostolic Age," pp. 135-238. Charteris, "The Church of Christ," pp. 1-43, 130-170, 205-239. Falconer, "From Apostle to Priest." MacPherson, "Presbyterianism" (in "Handbooks for Bible Classes").