Giants of the Reformation (7)

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons… Philippians 1.1

Institutes of the Christian Religion
John Calvin (1509-1564)
“Each city, then, had a college of presbyters, who were pastors and teachers. For all exercised among the people the office of teaching, exhorting, and correcting, which Paul enjoins on bishops; and to leave successors after them, they labored hard to teach the younger men who enlisted in the sacred army.”

I’ve omitted most of Calvin’s references to Scripture, but he is doing nothing more than giving us his understanding of what he read in the New Testament about the organization of the church. Geneva in Calvin’s day had several churches, and several more existed in the outlying areas. The pastors of those churches met regularly as a “company” to study, discuss their ministries, deal with cases of discipline, assess one another’s preaching, hear reports of pastoral visitation, hold one another accountable in matters of doctrine and life, and other matters. The unity of the church in Geneva had a profound effect on the expansion of the Reformation in places like Eastern Europe, Scotland, and the American colonies, in no small part because the pastors made a point of seeking and training younger men to serve the Lord’s churches. In our day, we know nothing of such leadership by pastors in local communities.

Meditate on John 17.21. Are we compromising our witness by not joining with other churches in the community for worship, outreach, and ministry?

T. M. Moore

Prayer for Revival
We invite you to join us in October as men gather online from around the country to pray for revival. Using a psalm to guide us, we seek the Lord to bring increased spiritual vitality to our lives and churches, and to awaken the lost world to the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom. To learn more about praying for revival – why, how, and to what ends – write to me. I’ll send you a free copy of my book, Restore Us! Our Revival Prayer Groups meet online, so all you have to do is click in at the appointed time. If you’d like to participate in this monthly prayer effort, drop me a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I’ll send you the details.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.All quotations from John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, John T. McNeill, ed., Ford Lewis Battles, tr. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960), Vol. 2, Book IV, pp. 1012ff.