Chapter 30: Of Church Power and Church Officers

Q. What is the power or liberty of particular churches?

A. It is not civil or worldly, for Christ's kingdom is not of this world; neither is it independent and supreme, for that belongs only to Christ; but their power is spiritual and ministerial.

Q. And wherein have they such power?

A. They have such power from Christ to exercise all the ordinances of true religion, and to assemble together for the exercise thereof; and in particular to choose officers to themselves, and to practice discipline or censures.

Q. Whether have churches absolute power from Christ to assemble together for the exercise of true religion, or only so far forth as the princes of the earth shall give them leave?

A. Princes ought not to hinder these things, but to be nursing fathers to the church; and it is a great blessing of God when they are such.

Q. But if princes be not such, what ought the church to do in such case?

A. They must not neglect to observe the commandments of God, for lack of the commandment of man, because Jesus Christ who gives them commandment for these things, is the King of Kings, and the Prince of the Kings of the earth.

Q. To whom belongs the power of choosing officers to the church?

A. The church is to choose her own officers (Acts 1:23; 6:3, 5; 14:23).

Q. How may that be further cleared?

A. Either the church must choose her own officers, or else men may intrude themselves; or officers must be called immediately of God, or be appointed by some other men: none of which may be affirmed.

Q. Why may not men intrude themselves?

A. No man must take this honor to himself to be an officer in the church, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron (Hebrews 5:4).

Q. And why may not a man be called of God immediately?

A. Such kinds of callings are not to be expected in these days, as being particular to apostles and other extraordinary officers (Galatians 1:1).

Q. But why may no other men appoint officers to the church?

A. Other men that are not of the church have no such authority given them as to appoint offices to the church.

Q. If men must not be officers without a calling, and immediate callings be ceased, and other men may not appoint church officers, it remains then that the church is to choose her own officers: but to what functions must the church choose officers?

A. Only to such functions as are appointed by Christ in his word and are of ordinary and perpetual use in the church; for otherwise they cannot expect that God will be with them in the choice, or bless the officers to them.

Q. What are the officers appointed by Christ for ordinary and perpetual use in the church?

A. They are bishops and deacons, which bishops are also called elders more particularly; they are pastors, teachers, ruling elders, deacons, and widows.

Q. What are Pastors?

A. They are elders of the church, who are to quicken the hearts of the people to all faith and obedience, and to reprove and comfort where there is need, by attending upon exhortation, with a word of wisdom.

Q. What are Teachers?

A. They are elders of the church who are to instruct the people in the good knowledge of the Lord, and to refute error by attending upon teaching sound doctrine with a word of knowledge.

Q. What are ruling elders?

A. They are elders of the church, who though they do not labor in the word and doctrine, yet they are to guide the church in comeliness and order, and peaceably attending upon ruling with diligence.

Q. What are Deacons?

A. They are officers of the church, who are to retain, preserve, and distribute the outward treasures of the church, for the relief of the poor, and other outward affairs of the church, in simplicity and faithfulness.

Q. What are widows and their works?

A. They are godly and aged women, left desolate and destitute of outward support, who are to attend the sick, and such like offices as are more suitable to be performed by women than by men (1 Timothy 5:9-10; Romans 16:1).

Q. What persons must the church choose for these offices?

A. Such members of the church, as by sufficient experience, time, and trial, are known to be fitted with gifts and graces from God for the places that the church would put them in.

Q. How must officers be put into their places?

A. All of them by solemn prayer to God, and with imposition of hands upon elders and deacons, and in the ordaining of elders with fasting also (Acts 6:6; 1 Timothy 4:14; 5:22; Hebrews 6:2; Acts 14:26).