- Reformation History
- National Church—One State, One Church (A.D. 1517-present)
- Independent Churches—Unique Doctrine, One Church (A.D. 1520-present)
- Concepts out of Reformation History
II. Reformation History
Because another website is devoted exclusively to Martin Luther and the events related to the Reformation, these will not be considered here. Instead, a few of the consequences of the Reformation will be covered.
A. National Church—One State, One Church (A.D. 1517-present)
As a consequence of the Reformation a new attitude developed toward the church, or what constituted a church. National churches were formed so that for each state there was one church. This development began with Luther and has continued until the present. In England the Church of England was formed, also called the Episcopal or Anglican Church; in Germany, the Lutheran Church; in Holland and Switzerland, the Reformed Church. These were all under the auspices of the state, supported by the state, and promoted by the state. Anyone born in one of these countries automatically became a member of that state church. Praise the Lord that due to the Reformation the yoke of the Catholic Church was cast off, particularly as it relates to salvation. It is most unfortunate, however, that the unholy union between the church and the state which existed in Catholicism not only continued, but was broadened in the state churches.
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B. Independent Churches—Unique Doctrine, One Church (A.D. 1520-present)
Almost concurrently there began to develop a number of independent churches. The ground, or basis, of these churches was either a particular doctrine, a type of church government, a special way of living, or some particular person. In Further Talks on the Church Life, Watchman Nee speaks concerning these independent churches, also known as private churches, dissenting churches, free churches, or as we call them today, denominations:
Later, when the private churches were raised up, they first had to leave the Anglican Church. These private churches were called “dissenters,” which means that they dissented from the state church. They were originally in the state church, but now that they wanted to come out they first had to leave this one in order to join that one. If a person wanted to join the Wesleyan Church, he must first leave the Anglican Church. They were dissenters; otherwise, they would not have come out.[1]
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Watchman Nee continues:
Many did not approve of the state church. They not only disapproved, but also opposed the state church's fault. Such were the Baptists, the Presbyterians, and the Wesleyans. The Wesleyans thought that preaching could be done everywhere. The dissenters such as these rose up and, based upon their dissent, formed churches to maintain the truth. Thus, the Baptist Church arose, the Presbyterian Church arose, the Wesleyan Church arose, the Quaker Church arose, and later several thousand groups arose. In England, they were called the dissenters. In the Russian Empire, the state church was called the Greek Orthodox Church and the rest were called denominations. All these brothers rose up for the truth. This is a good point! We thank God. But on the other hand, we regret that they caused the church of God to be divided into several thousand parts by forming churches to maintain God's truth.[2]
He further states:
Today all these churches have already been formed. People because of baptism formed the Baptist Church, people because of Luther formed the Lutheran Church, people because of Calvin formed the Presbyterian Church, people because of Wesley formed the Methodist Church, and people because of Simpson formed the Christian and Missionary Alliance. But in the Bible there was never a case of a church being formed by a certain doctrine. And the doctrines over which men have argued most strongly were not, according to the Apostle Paul, the major problems. In Romans 14, Paul said it is all right for one man to observe this day while another observes another day. All these people are weak in the faith.[3]
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C. Concepts out of Reformation History
1. Doctrine of Invisible and Visible Church
As a result of the Reformation certain new doctrines found expression, including the doctrine of the invisible and visible church. The brothers and sisters saw that the membership of the Roman Catholic Church and the state churches included the whole population of the state or territory in which they were found, since membership went along with citizenship, i.e., to be a member in the church one was only required to be a citizen in that country or state. This meant that many in the church were not real believers. Being bothered and troubled by this situation, some developed a doctrine saying that within the visible church there is the invisible church. Even Zinzendorf felt this way. He spoke of an ecclesiolae, saying that within the church that we can see, there is a church that we cannot see which has the real essence of what the church should be.
For support of this view reference was made to the parable in Matthew 13 in which the wheat and the tares were to grow together in the same field, not being separated until the time of the harvest (vv. 24-30). In this passage, however, the field is the world, not the church (v. 38). There is no hint in Scripture that there should be both wheat and tares in the church, but rather, only wheat.
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2. “Spiritual” Fellowship
Another outgrowth of the Reformation was the concept of “spiritual” fellowship. Many of the believers within the denominations, recognizing that the denominations were not the true church but divisions of the Body, saw the need to maintain fellowship among all believers. Although not willing to relinquish their doctrinal differences, still they desired to maintain their fellowship with one another on a spiritual basis. They had a spiritual oneness among themselves, but neglected the fact that not only is the oneness of the Spirit needed but also the ground of oneness; the practice of oneness as well as the spirit of oneness.
3. Congregationalism
A third consequence of the Reformation was congregationalism. Under this principle every independent congregation is recognized as a church. Thus, any gathering together of the saints would constitute a church. This is different from the state churches and the Roman Catholic Church. Those are extra-local, going beyond the locality to include a much larger sphere of influence, whether it be an entire state, or, as in the case of the Roman Catholic Church, the whole world. But congregationalism is sub-local, less than a locality, so that within a single locality there could be a number of congregations, each being independent and self-governing, having its own elders.
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But in the Scriptures the churches did not follow this principle. In Jerusalem, due to the size of the church, there were many home meetings but still only one church rather than many small, autonomous congregations.
Without the governing principle of one church in a city, division is uncontrollable. With congregationalism, one church could be on one street, a second on the next street, and still another on the next. There is no end to the number of divisions which will result if this principle is adopted.
