COMMITTEE ON CHRISTIAN EDUCATION FEATURE

Guy Prentiss Waters has ventured before into the doctrine of the church with books on the Sabbath, the Lord’s Supper, and particularly How Jesus Runs the Church (P&R, 2011). With his most recent title, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church: The Biblical Doctrine of the Church, he launches himself into the deep, as the book’s subtitle suggests. In this volume, Waters unpacks the scope of ecclesiology in the categories of systematic theology, while grounding his principles in Scripture and honoring the contributions of notable Reformed theologians from the past. The work divides into three parts—“Biblical Revelation,” “Doctrinal Construction,” and “Truth for Life and Mission”—and a conclusion. Each chapter is appended by an annotated list of suggested further readings.

“You Will Be My People”

Part 1, “Biblical Revelation,” establishes the foundation for the church as the “people of God” by examining creation and Eden, showing that God intended his image-bearers to live in community, not in isolation. The following chapters compose a succinct survey of covenant theology as Waters discusses the successive covenants God made with Abraham (an “ecclesiastical covenant”) and Moses (an extension and expansion of the Abrahamic covenant). In chapter 5 the Davidic covenant is taken up along with the prophets. David and Solomon inaugurate Israel’s peace and prosperity, while the prophets bemoan Israel’s subsequent decline. Nevertheless, God promises a remnant, through whom he will bring to pass his promises in all the covenants: “I will be your God and you will be my people.”

The “climax and culmination” of the prophets and the Law is John the Baptist, whose calling is to prepare the way for the Christ, who ultimately transforms the conception of the “people of God” in ways that revolve around Christ, Christ’s work, and Christ’s teaching on the kingdom of God. This section closes with a study of the apostolic church, showing how the New Testament writers demonstrated the continuity between the church and the people of God in the old covenant, along with the transformation they had undergone in light of Christ’s finished work. The author explores five New Testament metaphors for the church (vine, sheep, temple, body, bride), which all underscore the point that the new covenant people of God are one and the same with Israel. The chapter concludes with discussions on what the New Testament unfolds regarding the government, worship, and mission of the church.

Classic Ecclesiology

Part 2, “Doctrinal Construction,” presents the topics that one most often associates with the classic categories of ecclesiology, beginning with the church’s attributes and marks. Distinguishing these categories and then defining their respective terms is an important task for a proper view of the church. Historical works on ecclesiology have often used the materials of the church’s attributes (one, holy, catholic, apostolic) to construct a theology of the church—even Reformed theologians have done so (e.g., G. C. Berkouwer’s The Church). The author does not disappoint in his treatment of the attributes, cleansing each term with the waters of the Reformed faith. He then visits the discussion of whether the church has two marks (Word and sacrament) or three marks (Word, sacrament, discipline). He states that Calvin affirms the two marks position. This statement could be nuanced. Tadataka Maruyama makes a convincing case that although Calvin saw Word and sacrament as the two marks of the church with respect to its “title,” discipline is an additional mark with respect to the church’s “form” (see his Calvin’s Ecclesiology: A Study in the History of Doctrine, 388).

Next, Waters addresses the government of the church and begins with its cornerstone doctrine: Christ as the king and head of the church. The church derives its power from the mediatorial reign of Christ, not from its officers (contra Episcopacy) or its members (contra Independency). Thus, the church’s power is spiritual in nature, as it is ministerial and declarative, and manifests itself under the three branches of doctrine, order, and discipline. This authority may be exercised “severally” (by an individual elder) or “jointly” (by a plurality of elders). Speaking of elders, when it comes to the classic “two office” versus “three office” debate, Waters throws in his lot with the two office view, believing that there are “two orders” (elder and minister) in the same office. (It does come as a surprise that the entire defense of this view is comprehended by a single sentence.) The chapter ends by an exposition of the courts of the church.

As the author turns his attention to worship, he offers a clear statement of the regulative principle of worship, in both its prohibitive and positive forms, along with material on the elements of worship (Word, sacraments, prayer). The concluding topic of the chapter is a fine defense of the Lord’s Day as the biblical day of worship. Chapter 12 introduces the doctrine of the communion of the saints, which naturally leads into the gifts of the Spirit and the mutual responsibilities of church members. No Reformed treatment of the gifts would be complete without discussing whether the gifts associated with the apostolic church have ceased. It is pleasing to see that Waters has profited from his former professor, Richard B. Gaffin Jr., and has adeptly applied the high points of Perspectives on Pentecost. Since Scripture emphasizes edification when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit, this provides a logical transition into church discipline. Here, points are made about the lawful exercise of “the keys,” the different types of offenses and censures, the necessity for orderly process, and the need to keep the ultimate goal in view: repentance and restoration.

The Church’s Mission

The third part of the book deals with the church looking outward toward the world and the state. The church’s mission in the world has become one of the most lively topics in ecclesiology, particularly due to the missio Dei movement and its prominent champions, like Christopher J. H. Wright. Waters answers Wright’s core ideas and then sets forth an alternative view of the church’s redemptive purpose in the world. The same principle guides him as he takes up the relationship of the church and the state. Here he does not stray from the well-worn path of previous Reformed thinkers who have seen the two institutions as equals and free from intrusion by the other. To use Thornwell’s image, they are like “planets moving in concentric orbits.” Waters makes a quiet case for the principle—in its best form—that is known as the “spirituality of the church.”

With this book, Guy Waters continues to undergird our confidence in him as a trustworthy guide of biblical doctrine. This particular contribution will benefit students who seek an introduction to a Reformed and Presbyterian theology of the church. Those undergoing officer training will appreciate the clarity of the material on the attributes and marks of the church. Any reader concerned about contemporary ideas of the mission of the church will value how Waters addresses the missio Dei project, and by implication, other transformational projects. Similarly, his comments on church and state suggest how he would engage the current trend of Christian nationalism (but some direct analysis here would have been worthwhile). Last of all, given the influx into Reformed churches of believers coming from family-integration churches with their patriarchal practices, this reviewer would have warmly welcomed Waters’s insights on the nexus between the institutions of the family and the church.

The author is an OP minister and professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary California.