Episode 209: Why Reformed Ecclesiology Is Critical for Reformation
“[From Berkhof and Bavinck, the role of the Holy Spirit is] to apply the work of Christ and the benefits of Christ to his elect people…If we keep that as the central focus of our doctrine of the Holy Spirit, who is truly God himself, then I think we understand better what we always want to focus on…The primary role of the Holy Spirit is not just to give gifts to his church. The church can't have the gifts of Christ without first having the benefits of Christ, the salvation of Christ, and that has to come with the Spirit taking away a heart of stone and creating a heart of flesh that we may obey his statutes, and he will be our God and we will be his people.” — Willy Krahnke
Summary of This Episode'
Jason, Willy, and Dan are back on this episode sharing some of their findings as they prepare for the 2025 Messy Reformation conference. Jason shares we don’t see ourselves as the world’s top experts of Bavinck, but we think he has a lot to offer and with that, we want to hear others engage–“We have a group of people trying to discern through the power of the Spirit what God is teaching us in his Word about who we are as the church."
Dan steers the conversation towards one of his workshop topics: the government of the church. He shares how the pre-1970s understanding of office in the CRCNA was in line with Bavinck’s–pastors, deacons, and elders reflected prophets, priests, and kings respectively. In the ‘70s, we underwent a shift towards the priesthood of believers that threw the baby out with the bathwater. Bavinck has a threefold obligation for believers–“to join the church, to use their gifts for the benefit of the body, and to be active in the formation and reformation of the church”--but officebearers are certain individuals with special God-given gifts to lead. Willy helpfully recognizes this is what’s behind our parity of offices and relationships of our assemblies as well as “recovering these things…gives us a better sense of our…confessional identity [and] our historic identity.”
One of the observations that others have made in the CRC is the shifts of the ‘70s turned focus to function rather than consecration. Dan points out that elections for elders and deacons can easily turn to popularity contests rather than seeking out who God has gifted. “I think the historical focus of the CRC and…having a pretty tight rein on [vetting and doing] examination before ordination is a really important part that we've seen in some places start to lack.” Willy summarizes, “Our pragmatics have…taken over in the last 50 years.” He offers how Bavinck is a good corrective–he asks what is the spiritual giftedness of the individual. Dan and Jason also talk a bit about the messiness of church governance throughout history and the necessity of intentionality when it comes to application.
Jason brings the focus back to the heart of our conference topic, which is that Bavinck roots “the theology of the church in the theology of the Spirit.” What that means is all the pragmatic changes in the world don’t matter if done without the Spirit. If the church is to be grown, reformed, or corrected, it requires the Holy Spirit. Willy captures how we’re pitching a vision that is a hybrid of Continental Reformed (our confessions and theologians like Bavinck) and the Puritan “trifecta” (head, heart, and hands). “We understand that something cannot go to the heart without it first being in the head…When that happens, the Holy Spirit regenerates, recreates, the human heart, and implants saving faith to an individual…When that happens, that faith does something…is obedient…is something that is spurred on to love and good works.”
Jason raises the point, if pragmatics–even 16th century Reformation actions–aren’t the answer, then what is. If it’s not feasible or likely going to work to drag people to church or preach daily and expect them to show up, what do we do? We have to focus on discipling. Dan shares how people are wanting to learn and have access to plenty of stuff, but there needs to be a shift towards wanting hard and important things. Willy reminds us, though, this is totally dependent on God’s sovereignty. Speaking of God’s sovereignty in the person of the Holy Spirit, he shares, “[From Berkhof and Bavinck, it is] to apply the work of Christ and the benefits of Christ to his elect people…If we keep that as the central focus of our doctrine of the Holy Spirit, who is truly God himself, then I think we understand better what we always want to focus on…The primary role of the Holy Spirit is not just to give gifts to his church. The church can't have the gifts of Christ without first having the benefits of Christ, the salvation of Christ, and that has to come with the Spirit taking away a heart of stone and creating a heart of flesh that we may obey his statutes, and he will be our God and we will be his people.”
For more of this conversation, join us in April! For anyone who’s interested in acquiring Herman Bavinck’s “Reformed Dogmatics,” Reformation Heritage Books is currently offering a beautiful imitation leather edition on sale for $168. Check that out here.