A Postscript (to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and others who may benefit) on Perfecting Fellowship

John P. Galbraith

Extracted from Ordained Servant vol. 7, no. 2 (Apr. 1998), pp. 25-26

As should be obvious from “Perfecting Fellowship” [The reference here is to the ICRC address by Rev. Galbraith as it appeared in Ordained Servant Vol. 7, No. 1.] the need for the members of the body of Christ to share God's blessings of grace and understanding with one another has become a burden of the heart. The need for it was felt by our whole church through the 1960s and into the early ’70s when the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) were exploring the possibility of organic union. When discussions on that matter began, the differences in the polity of the two churches was far and away the prime concern, but that decade turned out to be a crucial time when significant doctrinal questions arose in the CRC. As these replaced polity in the forefront of discussions and began to appear as barriers, recognition—at one point—was given to the need to discuss potential differences before they would become reality. But they were never effected and the rest is history: differences became established, a chasm widened, and ultimately those who once considered union have severed their official relationship. The need for better fellowship was there then; more than ever, therefore, for both construction and prevention, should we now see the need for not only mutual concern for brothers and sisters, but also for help to each other.

Intrachurch Relations

That concern and help, however, may not be limited to interchurch relations but should apply even more so to intrachurch relationships. Woeful it is that two separate churches have been parted even further; how much more if a church that is one be divided into two because its members were content to go their own ways without the graces and wisdom that others could have shared. We should all know this; we are children of the Reformation. We are also Orthodox Presbyterians, who came through a much more recent, and similar, division, caused by people going off in their own directions. And we should know the cost to the honor and cause of Christ.

The principle that the parts of the body of Christ should go to each other to ask for or give help ought not to be limited to interdenominational matters—general assemblies or synods helping one another. It is a biblical principle designed for the whole body. It is for the church. It is just as true, just as valid, for individuals, for sessions, and for presbyteries, actively to seek help from, or to offer help to, our counterparts and those over us: persons from persons and the session, sessions from each other and from presbytery, presbyteries from one another and from sessions, and from the general assembly. Phil. 2:4, “Let each of you look out for...the needs of others,” and 1 Cor. 12:26, “If one member suffers all...suffer; if one member is honored, all...rejoice,” and Rom. 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” all direct us to a better fellowship, a oneness, so that your concerns are my concerns, and yours are mine. Orderliness is not primarily a matter of discipline but of fellowship. It can come to discipline, but first it is the parts of the body being knit together in Christ and his Word by the Spirit.

Steps

Though this subject needs a much longer treatment, we have been asked to be brief. Let it suffice, then, for now, to suggest that:

  1. Jesus prayed in John 17 not primarily for organizational unity, but for spiritual unity measured by his Word;
  2. No one person, session, presbytery, or general assembly, has a corner on graces and wisdom;
  3. If pride stands in the way we should swallow it and be willing to go to school, as it were, to be taught by others;
  4. We need the benefit of the graces and wisdom that others have;
  5. Being a presbyterian church, help from those of like faith is at hand;
  6. Our duty is to seek to preserve and enrich the unity in the faith that God has given us; and
  7. We must not let past history repeat itself.

Does your session or presbytery have a problem? Study it, but also find out who else has had that problem. Ask how they dealt with it; tell them how you have seen it. Discuss a solution together. Is your session planning some changes in your church program? Bounce it off another session or individuals who might be helpful. Basically, get out of the mindset that sets you, your session, your presbytery off as independent from your counterparts. Don't be Presbyterians at presbytery meetings only. Being a Presbyterian, what you do may help or hurt all the others of us. Be active to ask help, be ready to give help. We need to perfect the fellowship within our church. And the church of Jesus Christ will be stronger for it.

John P. Galbraith gave the opening message for the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) as it met for the fourth time in Seoul, Korea. This article, which is a Postscript to that message, is addressed to the OPC.