Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

III. The Government of the Church
A. DIFFERENT THEORIES RESPECTING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
CHURCH.
1. THE VIEW OF QUAKERS AND DARBYITES. It is a matter of principle with the Quakers
and Darbyites to reject all Church Government. According to them every external
Church formation necessarily degenerates and leads to results that are contrary to the
spirit of Christianity. It exalts the human element at the expense of the divine. It neglects
the divinely given charisms and substitutes for them offices instituted by man, and
consequently offers the Church the husk of human knowledge rather than the vital
communications of the Holy Spirit. Therefore they regard it as not only unnecessary but
decidedly sinful to organize the visible Church. Thus the offices fall by the way, and in
public worship each simply follows the promptings of the Spirit. The tendency that
becomes apparent in these sects, which gives clear evidence of the leaven of Mysticism,
must be regarded as a reaction against the hierarchical organization and the formalism
of the Established Church of England. In our country some of the Quakers have
regularly ordained ministers and conduct their worship very much as other Churches
do.
2. THE ERASTIAN SYSTEM, NAMED AFTER ERASTUS, 1524-1583. Erastians regard the
Church as a society which owes its existence and form to regulations enacted by the
State. The officers of the Church are merely instructors or preachers of the Word,
without any right or power to rule, except that which they derive from the civil
magistrates. It is the function of the State to govern the Church, to exercise discipline
and to excommunicate. Church censures are civil punishments, though their application
may be entrusted to the legal officers of the Church. This system has been variously
applied in England, Scotland, and Germany (Lutheran Churches). It conflicts with the
fundamental principle of the Headship of Jesus Christ, and does not recognize the fact
that Church and State are distinct and independent in their origin, in their primary
objects, in the power they exercise, and in the administration of that power.
3. THE EPISCOPALIAN SYSTEM. The Episcopalians hold that Christ, as the Head of the
Church, has entrusted the government of the Church directly and exclusively to an
order of prelates or bishops, as the successors of the apostles; and that He has
constituted these bishops a separate, independent, and self-perpetuating order. In this
system the coetus fidelium or community of believers has absolutely no share in the
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