AP

There is a curious paragraph in the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) chapter 25. Often we tend to read over this paragraph without thinking about it. Paragraph two says:

The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, and their children; and is the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ; the house and family of God, out of which there is nor ordinary possibility of salvation.

Now, there is heaps here worth talking about. The universality of the church means that the church is not just in Australia nor was it founded yesterday, so we should be quick to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world and throughout history. The church consists not just of people who confess the faith but also their children. One implication there being that we should think long and hard about the ways in which we are ministering to children and opening to them all the benefits of the covenant of grace. However, the thing that I want to consider is that very next phrase. “The visible Church… is the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.” What in the world does this mean?

The WCF is picking up something that is deep in the Reformed Tradition. If we want to see where God’s Kingdom is, we look first to the place where Jesus is, the church. The church is the place where Christ rules his people. Yes, it is true that Kingdom is larger than the church, but the church is principal expression of God’s Kingdom on earth. Why is this? Because it is the place where God’s Word and God’s Spirit are at work bringing people together into a unified diversity (WCF 25.3).

When we talk about a unified diversity in the church, we tend to think about people from different ethnic backgrounds. This is good and one way in which we can see diversity in our churches that reflects the Kingdom of God. However, there is also generational diversity that should be reflected in our churches if they are to be visible expressions of the kingdom of God. Added to this, one area about which we don’t talk much is socio-economic diversity. The church should be a place where the rich and the poor, tradies and professionals, fast food workers and CEOs can gather and worship side-by-side.

Because the church should be this place where men and women, children and the elderly, rich and poor are being knitted together into a community, Calvin says, in his commentary on Micah 4:1-2, that the church should be the place where people of all stripes especially the poor should find justice. “Except then we endeavour to relieve the necessities of our brethren, and to offer them assistance, there will not be in us but one part of true conversion.” What’s Calvin’s point? His point is that the church is the place where the needs of God’s people (both physical and spiritual) are met. He writes in his Acts commentary that we care for the needs of the people through fellowship, alms, and “other duties,” and that this is, in fact, one of the “marks whereby the true and natural face of the Church may be judged.” Caring for the needs of people in the congregation is a mark of the church and, thus, is one aspect to the claim in WCF 25 that the visible church is the kingdom of God.

In our churches most would agree that we must care for the spiritual needs of people. In fact, in our churches, we have an entire office which is dedicated to caring the spiritual needs of people: the office of elder. Elders are ordained with the care of souls as their main duty. This is why when we look at the qualifications for elders, we read that they must be “apt to teach” (1 Tim 3:2). Principally, elders are the ones who are teaching. They are to expound the Word and instruct in sound doctrine. Elders, therefore, protect the flock from those who would try to destroy them. This is why a church cannot be a particular church unless it has elders.

However, another aspect of what it means for the church to be a visible manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth, is that it cares not only for spiritual needs but also the physical needs of the people. In fact, this is the pattern from the very start in Acts. In Acts the people are being cared for, both spiritually and physically. However, when the care of the peoples’ physical needs outstretches the ability of the Apostles, the Apostles create a new office, “deacons.” This same pattern is seen with the develop of the office of elder. The Apostles could not continue teaching everyone in every congregation as the church grew in number and spread throughout the world, so they trained up men for the task of continuing the teaching ministry. When the Apostles could no longer handle the duty of caring for the physical needs of God’s people, other officers (deacons) were appointed to serve in this area.

Therefore, the Bible gives us the office of deacon. It is ordinary and perpetual (meaning it is something that continues in the church until Christ returns). When we look at the qualifications for a deacon as laid out in 1 Timothy 3, we will note that every characteristic of elder is listed except “able to teach.” That isn’t to say that deacons can’t teach or even that they shouldn’t teach. It only highlights the fact that this office is not one of teaching. It is an office of “sympathy and service.” It is to be an office that takes delight in caring for the sick, the friendless, and those who are in distress. Deacons lead the congregation in showing liberality and help to collect the gifts of the church, so that they can be distributed to those in need.

It seems that if we are to be seen as what God has called us to be (the Kingdom of God on earth), then we need to be focused on both the spiritual and the physical, and God has given us two offices which do this. In Australian Presbyterianism we understand that churches need elders (though it might be good to have a conversation about what elders should be doing, I will leave that for other people and another time). However, I wonder if we really see the value of deacons. If our God is the Father to the fatherless and the Protector of the widow, if he is the one who sets the lonely in families, how does he do it? It does it through his church, and the beauty of this is that in Christ’s wisdom he has given his church an entire office to lead us in this call, deacons.

God’s Kingdom is one of justice and righteousness. The church is the visible manifestation of God’s Kingdom on earth. If caring for the needs of people in our church is a mark of the church, then we need those who will lead us in this work. We need elders AND deacons. We need people who will develop in the congregation not just good doctrine and morals but also the grace of liberality. In a world that is fixated on justice, recovering and celebrating the office of deacons in our churches would bear witness to the truth of the gospel. God brings all of us into a “mutual society” (Calvin) which makes his concerns our concerns. God’s kingdom on earth is made visible in the church, as people from every walk of life, gather together to hear the Word preached and to distribute our resources to all, as any have need (Acts 2:45).

– Cam Clausing