CHAPTER XIII

 A Christian¹ church is a society with a corporate² life, organized on some definite plan, adapted to some definite purpose, which it proposes to accomplish. It has, therefore, its officers and ordinances³, its laws and regulations, fitted to administer its government and carry out its purposes. The question then arises, What is the true and proper form of church organization and government? We do not care to inquire as to the various and contradictory⁴ forms, as we see them about us in the different denominations⁵, but what was the organic form and government of the first churches, planted by and molded under the hands of Christ’s inspired Apostles.

 

There are three special and widely different forms of church government which have gained prevalence in Christian communities during past age, and which are still maintained with varied⁶ success, each of which [p. 141] claims to have been the original primitive⁸ form:

 

1. The prelatical, in which the governing power resides in prelates, or diocesan bishops⁹, and the higher clergy¹¹; as in the Roman, Greek, English, and most Oriental churches.

 

2. The presbyterian, in which the governing power resides in assemblies, synods, presbyteries, and sessions; as in the Scottish Kirk, the Lutheran, and the various Presbyterian churches.

 

3. The independent, in which the body is self-governing, each single and local church administering its own government by the voice of the majority of its members; as among Baptists, Congregationalists, Independents, and some other bodies.

 

Now which of these modes of church life and administration is taught in the New Testament¹², if either? or which best accords with the constitution and government of the Apostolic churches?

 

Baptists hold that each separate, local church is an independent body, governing itself according to the laws of Christ, as found in the New Testament; that each [p. 142] such church is independent of all other churches, and of all other persons, so far as administration is concerned, owing comity¹³ and fellowship to all, but allegiance and submission¹⁴ to none. The government is administered by the body of the members, where no one possesses a preeminence¹⁵ of authority, but each enjoys an equality of rights, and in which, in matters of opinion, the majority decides.

 

That this style of church structure is according to the New Testament appears evident from a study of the sacred records themselves. The Apostles treated the churches as independent bodies. Their epistles were addressed to the churches as such; they reported their doings to them; enjoined¹⁶ upon them the duty of discipline; exhorted¹⁷, instructed, and reproved them as independent and responsible bodies. They recognized the right of the churches to elect their own teachers and officers, a primary and fundamental right, which, when conceded supposes all other rights and powers necessary to a self-governing community acting¹⁸ under Divinely given laws.

 

Neander, the distinguished¹⁹ historian, says of the first age: “The churches were taught [p. 143] to govern themselves.” “The brethren chose their own officers from among themselves.” “In respect to the election of church officers, the ancient principle was still adhered to: that the consent of the community was necessary to the validity of every such election, and each one was at liberty to offer reasons against it.” Introd. Coleman’s Prim⁷. Christ’y, p. 19; Ch. Hist., Vol. I., p. 199; Plant. and Train., p. 156.

 

Mosheim says of the first century: “In those primitive times, each Christian Church was composed of the people, the presiding officers, and the assistants, or deacons. These must be the component²⁰ parts of every society. The principal voice was that of the people, or of the whole body of Christians²¹.” “The assembled people, therefore, elected their own rulers and teachers.” Of the second century, he adds: “One president, or bishop¹⁰, presides over each church. He was created by the common suffrages²² of the people.” “During a great part of this century, all the churches continued to be, as at first, independent of each other. Each church was a kind of small, independent republic, governing itself by its own laws, enacted²³, or at least sanctioned, by the people.” [p. 144] Eccl. Hist., Cent. 1, Part 1, Ch. 2, Sec. 5, 6; Cent. 2, Ch. 2, Sec. 1, 2.

 

Coleman says: “These churches, wherever formed, became separate and independent bodies, competent to appoint their own officers and administer their own government without reference or subordination to any control, authority or foreign power. No fact connected with the history of the primitive church is more fully²⁴ established or more generally conceded.” Prim. Christ. Exemp., Ch. 4, Sec. 4, p. 95.

 

Archbishop Whately, Doctor Barrow, Doctor Burton, Doctor Waddington—all of them Church of England Divines—fully agree with this testimony²⁵, and confirm the evidence cited:

 

Geiseler, the historian, says, concerning early changes: “Country churches, which had grown up around some city, seem, with their bishops, to have been usually, in a certain degree, under the authority of the mother church. With this exception, all the churches were alike independent, though some were especially held in honor, on such grounds as their Apostolic origin, or the importance of the city in which they were situated²⁶.” Ch. Hist., Period 1, Div. 1, Ch. 3, Sec. 52.

 

[p. 145] Further discussion on this subject is not needed. The point is proved, and the independent form of church government is manifestly primitive and apostolic, as advocated and practiced by Baptists.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

4 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

5 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

7 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

8 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

9 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

10 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

11 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

12 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

13 comity   

n.礼让，礼仪；团结，联合

参考例句：

• Sometimes comity is regarded as a stimulus to the pattern of behaviour.礼让有时被视作行为模式的一个促进因素。
• The basic feature of positive comity is its voluntariness.积极礼让的基本特征是它的自愿性。

14 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

15 preeminence   

n.卓越,杰出

参考例句：

• No one doubted the preeminence of my father in financial matters.我父亲在财务方面的杰出才能是不容置疑的。
• Japan had no such confidence in its cultural preeminence or diplomatic skill.日本对本国文化的卓越程度和自己的外交手腕都缺乏这种信心。

16 enjoined   

v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The embezzler was severely punished and enjoined to kick back a portion of the stolen money each month. 贪污犯受到了严厉惩罚，并被责令每月退还部分赃款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She enjoined me strictly not to tell anyone else. 她严令我不准告诉其他任何人。 来自辞典例句

17 exhorted   

v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The party leader exhorted his members to start preparing for government. 该党领袖敦促党员着手准备筹建政府。
• He exhorted his elder. 他规劝长辈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

19 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

20 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

21 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

22 suffrages   

（政治性选举的）选举权，投票权( suffrage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

23 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

24 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

25 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

26 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。