Spiritual Order for the Church

The ascended Saviour is Head of the Church. People, then, may not regulate matters in Christ's Church as they see fit. Instead (as the Belgic Confession has it), "we believe that this true Church must be governed according to the Spiritual order which our Lord has taught us in His Word."

This book is an attempt to draw out from the Bible how the Lord would have His Church be governed. Through a process of detailed Scripture study, the author concludes that the historic Church Order of Dort encapsulates God's revealed wish for how matters ought to be done in His Churches. At the same time, he argues, the principles of Scripture as captured by Dort can receive varying applications according to the changing circumstances of the day. As the ecclesiastical scene moves and changes, churches do well to look at the Scriptures behind Dort and apply the principles of Reformed Church Polity with renewed enthusiasm.

Author:

Clarence Bouwman received his MDiv degree from the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary. He has served congregations in the Canadian Reformed Churches and in the Free Reformed Churches of Australia. He is the author of Spiritual Order for the Church (2000), The Overflowing Riches of My God (2008), A Vow to Love (2008), and The Privilege of Parenting (2011).

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