This contribution revisits the priesthood of believers. It is placed within the current discourse on relevant ecclesiologies and ecclesial praxis for 21st-century reformed churches. Luther placed much emphasis on the priesthood of believers in his rejection of the Roman Catholic differentiation between ordained clergy and laity. This was taken up by Calvin, but not to the same extent as Luther. The limited attention given to the priesthood of believers in reformed ecclesiologies, confessions and church orders is challenged in the current discourse on ecclesiology, especially by theologians working in the field of missional ecclesiology. Much emphasis is placed on the role of the ‘ordinary’ church member in terms of ministry. It is proposed that a continued reformation of the church would
The primary contribution of this manuscript contributes to the historical and systematic analysis of the concept ‘priesthood of all believers’, as well as its relevance to the current discourse on missional ecclesiology. It falls within the scope of
The priesthood of believers was a cornerstone of Luther’s understanding of the church. In Calvin’s
There are several reasons why the priesthood of believers disappeared from reformed vocabulary. One important reason for this was the proliferation of churches and sects during the 16th century. Many of the sects had leaders who claimed to have special gifts, divine knowledge through the Holy Spirit and no need of formal theological education. They were regarded with suspicion and sometimes ruthlessly persecuted, martyred and ridiculed. Some Anabaptist leaders, like Baltazar Hübmaier, were highly educated theologians who differed substantially from Roman Catholic as well as Lutheran doctrine. Hübmaier was burned at the stake in Vienna in 1528.
The Anabaptists were convinced that every church member has the same rights and privileges as ordained clergy (Jones
The neglect of the priesthood of believers in reformed circles (in theory it is somewhat different in the Roman Catholic Church after Vatican II) is quite evident in many major publications on ecclesiology. Two examples will suffice. In the 539 pages of the magisterial ecclesiology of Van’t Spijker (ed.
Over time, I believe, the neglect of priesthood of believers had a detrimental effect on reformed churches. It contributed to a strong institutional and structured ecclesiology in which the office of the minister became a dominant factor. More than often, the ministerial office limited growth instead of promoting it.
The priesthood of believers could be regarded as one of the central principles of the 16th-century Reformation. The doctrine asserts that all believers have equal access to God through Christ, the only high priest, and thus do not need any other priestly mediator. The implication of this doctrine is that all Christians are equal before God. Ordained clergy differ from non-ordained believers only in terms of function (
It is accepted by most scholars (see Voss
The diversity is evident within the same corpus. In the Pauline literature, one finds reference to apostles, prophets and teachers (1 Cor 12:28), as well as preaching, diaconate, teaching, support, leadership and support (Rm 12:6–8). It is also clear that ‘prophecy’ (preaching the gospel) is more important than the other. It is possible that texts like Galatians 6:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:12 and Philippians 1:1 give some indication of the existence of a primitive form of office. On the other hand, there is the opinion that it does not indicate the existence of ‘offices’ at all, but rather gifts of the Holy Spirit, which is more indicative of the general priesthood of believers. It is only in later New Testament material, especially the Pastoral Letters, where the
As is clear from the Pastoral Letters, the institutionalisation of the offices began quite early. The process of institutionalisation is evident in the writings of
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During the 3rd century,
The institutionalisation of the Christian churches increased dramatically after the
By the time the work of
The one voice speaking against this trend was that of
Following Augustine, the priesthood of believers became a cornerstone of the ecclesiology of
Luther articulated this understanding of the priesthood of believers in his ‘Letter to the Christian Nobility’ when he writes (Luther
[
The priesthood of believers was not so prominent in the theology of
The priesthood of believers is mentioned by Calvin (e.g. Inst. II/7/1) as an extension of Christ’s priesthood. Calvin also mentions the priesthood of believers when he speaks about Peter and the keys of the kingdom (Inst. III/4/14 and again in IV/7/4 as well as IV/19/28). It is remarkable that Calvin does not discuss the priesthood of the believers in detail, never connects it to any ecclesial office (including the elders and deacons) and places it within the everyday life of the Christian (see Pont
Calvin emphasises that Christ is the only priest. That would lead to the logical conclusion that not only is the Roman Catholic Church in error by maintaining the priestly office, but a ‘general priesthood’ in Reformed churches would also be suspect. As a result, in the Reformed tradition, there is a very strong emphasis on ordained ministry, as well as an underestimation of the priesthood of believers. The role of the ‘ordinary’ church member is articulated in terms of ‘calling’ and everyday life, whilst the ordained minister, elder and deacon have clearly defined responsibilities, the one not allowed to transgress onto the other’s responsibilities. It is, for instance, not allowed to serve simultaneously in the various offices.
The fear of sectarianism did not prevent the authors of
In Question 32 the
‘Q. Why are you called a Christian?
A. Because I am a member of Christ by faith and thus share in His anointing, so that I may as prophet confess His Name, as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and hereafter reign with Him eternally over all creatures’.
In the German and Latin texts of the
as prophet I am called to witness;
as priest I am called to give myself as a living sacrifice (
as king I am called to conquer in freedom and good conscience all evil.
This formulation is still of fundamental importance to our understanding of what it means to be the church of Christ in the 21st century. The origin of the threefold office of the Christian as articulated by the
Similarly, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church (Ac 2) is regarded as the anointment of all believers and the church collectively to the offices of priest, prophet and king.
The
It is also clear that the Synod of Dort had a somewhat elitist understanding of ministry. Only those who are educated and studied are suited and qualified to be called to ministry. This is especially clear in articles 8 and 9 of the Church Order:
8. No schoolmasters, artisans or others who have not followed the prescribed course of study for the ministry shall be admitted to the ministry, unless there is assurance of their singular gifts, godliness, humility, modesty, common sense, and discretion, together with gifts of public speaking. When such persons present themselves for the ministry, the classis shall (if the synod approves) first examine them, and after the classis by the examination finds them acceptable, it shall allow them to exhort for a time, and then further deal with them as it judges shall be edifying.
9. Novices, priests, monks and those who leave any sect shall not be admitted to the ministry except with great care and caution after they have also first been tested for a certain time.
In the following years and centuries, formal theological education became an undisputed prerequisite for ordination and ministry in reformed churches. Church members were excluded from formal ministry, especially ministering of sacraments. The role of ‘ordinary’ church members was limited to the spiritual formation of children, maintaining a Christian household and attending Sunday service. In closely knit communities, mutual support of fellow Christians was expected and almost mandatory.
For many, the local minister became the epitome of learning and as a result the only one qualified to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The period after the Second World War was a time marked by a growing sense of ecclesial and spiritual crisis. This revitalised the interest in ecclesiology (Kärkkäinen
Van Ruler (
Van Ruler follows Bouwman in using the term ‘office’, but if we read Bouwman’s
Kraemer’s approach is quite different. He delivered a series of lectures at Cambridge University during February 1958 on ‘A Theology of the Laity’ (Kraemer
Kraemer refers to the large number of publications that emphasise the responsibility of the congregant/church member, but at the same time the lack of a proper theological understanding of the issues at hand. He laments the fact that these publications almost exclusively attend to some practical issues, without systematic theological reflection. The one exception (in that time) was the work that had been carried out in Roman Catholic theology by Yves M.J. Congar (Kraemer
Kraemer (
In Kraemer’s chapter on a ‘
We now turn to a more recent example of a church that intentionally included the priesthood of believers in a church order as part of a process of transformation and reformation.
The NHKA is a South African church with roots in the Dutch Reformed tradition. It could be regarded as a church in transition, as probably all South African churches. The changing sociopolitical context of South Africa, as well as rapid change within the church (such as a severe decline in the number of church members), necessitates change in ecclesial praxis and ministry. Since 1990, it became clear that these changes could not be superficial or cosmetic, but should be part and parcel of a fundamental shift in ecclesiology. Substantial and lasting transformation could only be achieved through systemic change, if the system story changes. It became clear that if the church is to reform, a shift in ecclesiology is required.
One of the reasons for this is the fact that church polity and church orders are based on ecclesiology, on our understanding of what the church is and should be (Koffeman
Initially, it was not clear what such a shift in ecclesiology would entail. The growing prominence of missional ecclesiology within South African reformed churches had some influence in the NHKA, but it needed further development and some sense of its practical implications. The process of transformation started out with the approval and implementation of new liturgical formularies, greater liturgical diversity, a new hymnbook, new mission strategies, extensive ecumenical collaboration (including theological education at the University of Pretoria) and models of ministry adapted to smaller congregations. As the process of transformation continued, the rallying cry of
self-centredness to God-centredness
the congregation to the kingdom of God
civil religion to genuine Christian faith
linear thinking to systemic thinking
institutional culture to a ministry-based culture
programmes and actions to people and relationships
members who are consumers to members who are co-workers in ministry (the priesthood of believers)
a ‘maintenance’ model of church to a missional lifestyle.
Flowing from this, the General Assembly passed a resolution which asked for a complete revision of the Church Order with a strong emphasis on the missional calling of the NHKA, as well as the responsibilities and calling of church members. This in itself was quite remarkable, because just 10 years earlier (1997) the General Assembly approved a completely new Church Order, after 14 years of preparation (1983–1997).
In terms of this contribution, it must be noted that the 1997 Church Order barely mentions any responsibilities of church members and accepts attending catechesis and Sunday service. The 1997 Church Order was a classic example of a reformed church order, with the emphasis on the offices of minister, elder and deacon, as well as the assemblies of the offices (a presbyterial-synodal system of church governance). The 1997 Church Order permeated with reformed ecclesiology, to be more precise, the three
The 71st General Assembly of the NHKA (
The nature of the church is not determined by the challenges of our time, but by the nature of God.
The church is an eschatological community, living between the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church is
The church lives organically as the people of God, the household of the Father, the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The NHKA is a visible manifestation of the one, holy and universal church. The church lives in community (
The church is called to proclaim the gospel to the world. The church is missional. In other words, mission is not just one activity amongst many, rather the church is by its very nature missional, corresponding to the nature of God (
Diversity in unity is important, both in ministry and liturgy.
Against the backdrop of Resolution 1 the revised Church Order was submitted to the General Assembly and approved unanimously. The priesthood of believers received specific attention in articles 4 (NHKA
In Ordinance 4, the priesthood of believers is mentioned explicitly in relation to the female members of the NHKA, who, on the basis of the priesthood of believers, form branches of the women’s association (
In Ordinance 6, the priesthood of believers is mentioned
preparation for baptism and/or Communion
preparation for confirmation through catechesis
preparation for marriage
formation of elders and deacons for official duties
adult catechesis
church publications
spiritual formation of young people in terms of discipleship
family guidance in terms of personal devotions, prayer and Bible study.
In Ordinance 7, the church as a missional community is addressed. In Ordinance 7.1.1. (p. 77), it is stated that the congregation is called to ‘live as a missional community, as a witness to God’s love with the purpose to teach people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ’. In Ordinance 7, specific attention is given to the responsibility of all church members to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in various ways in the world and everyday life.
In comparison with the 1997 Church Order, the 2016 revised Church Order reflects a fundamental shift in ecclesiology, which includes the priesthood of believers and the responsibility of church members to live as disciples of Jesus Christ. This ecclesiology was presented to the church in visual form and with a very simple motto:
Going forward, it seems to me important to clarify terminology if the priesthood of believers is to receive its proper attention. One obstacle is the use of the term ‘office of the believer’ or when the priesthood of believers is regarded as an ‘office’ in the sense of a priest or a minister, even contrary to ordained ministry with the danger of sectarian sentiments. Two things could assist us in avoiding some of the pitfalls surrounding the priesthood of believers:
In the New Testament, the term ‘office’ is never used or intended in connection with the priesthood of all believers. When the New Testament (e.g. 1 Pt 2:5) speaks of the holy priesthood, the whole people of God is implied who are responsible to serve God through spiritual gifts. The priesthood of believers is a general term and not an indication of a specific office.
The
With all this in mind, I am of the opinion that we should not think of the priesthood of believers in terms of an office (
Hans-Martin Barth (
The author declares that no competing interests exist.
I declare that I am the sole author of this research article.
This article followed all ethical standards for a research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, in the public, commercial or non-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable as no new data were created or analysed.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency.
NHKA, Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika, is one of the Dutch Reformed churches in South Africa.
A digital copy of Ursinus
See