The Church of Christ, by James Bannerman, published by the Banner of Truth Trust, hardback, 1009 pages, £20.00, obtainable from the F P Bookroom.
This monumental work, which has recently been republished in a one-volume edition, is rightly regarded as a classic statement of the Scottish Presbyterian view of the doctrine of the Church. It surveys the whole field of ecclesiastical theology with a penetrating and comprehensive grasp of the issues at stake, subjecting the main alternative theories of Popery, Prelacy and Independency to a searching scrutiny which, in our opinion, cannot be contradicted.
Having first identified the nature of the Church as constituted to maintain the truth of God, Bannerman then comes to the heart of his treatise in a masterly discussion of the power that Christ, the Head of the Church, has given to His body on earth. He shows how, in doctrine, in the provision of ordinances and in discipline, the Church is vested with a real spiritual power as distinct from that which exists in merely-human societies such as the state. Church power is spiritual and is always limited by Christ’s own headship over the Church through the teachings of His Word, and the lawful rights of Christian people. He then advances through the field of the ordinances and officers appointed in the Church and in so doing makes some very helpful points and observations. His discussions of infant baptism and of the Roman Catholic theory of the mass, to give just two examples, are most useful and enlightening. Bannerman supported the proposed union between the Free Church and the United Presbyterians in the 1860s but we believe that the subsequent history of Scottish Presbyterianism clearly vindicated the position of James Begg, John Kennedy and others, who strongly opposed union at that time.
This fine reprint contains an introduction by Professor Carl R. Trueman of Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. Though there are a good number of points we would agree with in Professor Trueman’s remarks, we must strongly disagree with his negative characterisation of the Establishment principle. He suggests that, while “Churches are Christian; it is hard to see how a nation might qualify as such”.
The concept of a Christian nation is biblical, however, just as the concept of the Christian family is biblical; and nations – as such – have a duty to serve Christ and recognise His Church. This can only be done through adopting Christianity as the public religious profession of each country, “for the nation and kingdom that shall not serve thee shall perish” (Is 60:12). Certainly Bannerman draws a distinction between the recognition of the Church by the state, on the one hand, and the endowment of the Church by the state, on the other. His basic position, however, is that “to avow the truth of God, and to render the homage of a formal and public recognition to that Church which He has established on the earth, is a duty, as we believe, of universal obligation, to be discharged by a Christian state at all times and under all circumstances” (p 133). Evidently, we are very far from the implementation of this principle in our generation but we must never lose sight of the promise to the Church that, during the best days of the gospel on earth, “Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and their queens thy nursing mothers” (Is 49:23).^9^
^9^For an extract from this volume see page 81.