Theology of Presbyterians– What Makes Us Different?

At the core of Presbyterian beliefs are the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, justification by grace through faith and the priesthood of all believers. What these tenets mean is that God is the supreme authority throughout the universe.

Presbyterians confess their beliefs through statements that have been adopted over the years and are contained in The Book of Confessions. These statements reflect our understanding of God and what God expects of us at different times in history, but all are faithful to the fundamental beliefs described above. Presbyterians understand that God alone is lord of the conscience, and it is up to each individual to understand what these principles mean in his or her life.

The church confesses the Scriptures to be the Word of God written, witnessing to God’s self-revelation. Where that Word is read and proclaimed, Jesus Christ the Living Word is present by the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. For this reason, the reading, hearing, preaching, and confessing of the Word are central to Christian worship.  Session members (elders) are elected to lead the congregation, not the pastor. Ruling elders are to rule, but pastors (teaching elders) are to teach. Pastors are to “discern the mind of Christ and to build up Christ’s body through devotion, debate and decision.” Pastors are also to “participate in governing responsibilities, including leadership in the congregation” and guiding the church’s witness. (Book of Order)

If we know anything that is distinctively Presbyterian, we know that God’s grace extended to us in Jesus Christ is prior to and calls forth our own response of faith. We know our relationship with God depends primarily on what God has done and only secondarily on what we may or may not do. As Presbyterians practice it, baptism is a powerful sacramental enactment of this truth. And because God’s gracious call precedes and evokes the human response of faith, it is normal for Christian parents who are active church members to present their infants, or young children, for baptism.

The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of continuous growth, nourishment and new life. Just as humans need food and drink for nurture and sustenance, Calvin wrote that the Holy Meal is God’s way of providing for our maintenance during the whole course of our lives after we have been received into God’s family. Both sacraments provide a visible, in fact a graphic, way of presenting God’s promises. In the Presbyterian Church all those who profess their belief in Jesus Christ or those who desire this relationship may participate in the Lord’s Supper.

It is our understanding of the church as the body of Christ that has led the Reformed tradition and the PC(USA) to develop some of its core values:

The lordship of Christ — Everything that we do is centered on Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and Savior and the Head of the church.

Honoring diversity — Just as the body celebrates its diversity, we celebrate, affirm, and welcome the rich diversity of all of God’s people in our common life.

Shared leadership — There can be no authoritarian leadership in a Presbyterian church because all parts of the body have gifts that must be honored. That is the basis of the Reformed conviction that the spiritual leaders (deacons, ruling elders, and teaching elders) are to be elected by the people of God.

Being one church — Just as there is only one body of Christ, there is only one church. Each of our congregations is an organic part of the broader PC(USA), and the PC(USA) is just one part of the church ecumenical. To be Presbyterian is to be ecumenical!

A holistic ministry — Our mission in the world — our ministry — is the ministry of Christ. Just as Christ was called “to bring good news to the poor . . . to proclaim release to the captives and . . . to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18), so are we.

Discerning the mind of Christ — The purpose of our governance, which on the surface has many parallels to US political institutions, is not to balance political interests in the church, but to enable elected spiritual leaders, together in prayer, dialogue, and reflection on God’s Word, to best discern the mind of Christ.

In many ways, our culture is pulling our churches away from these values. In a time when there is a “consumer mentality” about religion, when individual mega-churches rise in popularity, and when “interest groups” seek to shape the church’s life, this vision of the church as the body of Christ can seem very countercultural. That was also true for the New Testament church. However, that church, like our own, found that when the church centered itself on being the body of Christ, God richly blessed the church—and through the ministry of the church, the world. Let us live with confidence that the same will be true in our time!

If paradox is the essence of truth, we are there. Session members are elected to lead the congregation, not the pastor. Ruling elders are to rule, but pastors — also called teaching elders — are to teach. Teaching with authority, though, is not always easy, especially when the pastor is new to a church or younger than most of the elders. Studies show that the saints in the pews keep getting older, while the saints in the pulpits will likely keep getting younger. Still pastors, with many of the tough decisions that needed to be made, are finding themselves compelled to stand their ground. And they must do so with this caveat: The stand must be based in prayer, Scripture, and a commitment to faithfulness to God and not just one’s self.

A statement issued by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Theology and Worship at the start of the recent pandemic also states that at a time of high anxiety “pastors and other congregational leaders have an important role in setting an appropriate tone for the church’s response.” The statement continues: “Leaders can model a response that is faithful, gracious and wise — trusting God in all things, remaining calm in a time of distress.”

One of the main reasons for the lively discussion that surrounds the doctrine of baptism among contemporary Presbyterians is the historic Reformed conviction that “the Holy Spirit claims us in the waters of baptism” (“Brief Statement of Faith”). In an age when serious Christian commitment is less and less in step with our society’s changing values, it is not easy to understand the precise nature and implications of God’s baptismal claim on us. Most of us no longer have any illusions that we live in a “Christian culture.” But that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve embraced a new understanding of what it means to be God’s people that is adequate to the new situation in which we find ourselves.

A brief return to our Reformed roots helps clarify what is at stake. Centuries ago John Calvin identified God’s baptismal claim on Christians with his stirring words “We are not our own, but the Lord’s.” The crucial factor in the Christian life, he said, is that “we are consecrated and dedicated to God.” This means that “we may think, speak, meditate, or do anything only with a view to [the divine] glory.” That is what the Second Helvetic Confession means when it explains that in baptism “the elect are consecrated to God.” More recently, that is also what “A New Brief Statement of Faith” means when it begins with the phrase, “In life and in death we belong to God.”

For Presbyterians this divinely initiated meal is one of two sacraments of the church, instituted by God and commended by Christ. We are following in the tradition of the early church when we affirm three primal material elements of life — water, bread and wine — as the primary symbols of offering life to God. Being washed with the water of baptism, we receive new life in Christ. In eating the bread and drinking the cup offered by God, our memory of the promises is made present by the Holy Spirit.

In the words of John Calvin, sacraments are “a testimony of divine grace toward us, confirmed by an outward sign, with mutual attestation of our piety toward [God].” A sacrament is a testimony of God’s favor toward the church, confirmed by an outward sign, with a mutual testifying of our godliness toward God. It is a primal, physical act that signifies a spiritual relationship between personal beings.

The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of continuous growth, nourishment and new life. In our Reformed tradition participation in this sacrament should follow the sacrament of baptism. Just as humans need food and drink for nurture and sustenance, Calvin wrote that the Holy Meal is God’s way of providing for our maintenance during the whole course of our lives after we have been received into God’s family. Both sacraments provide a visible, in fact a graphic, way of presenting God’s promises.

For Presbyterians this divinely initiated meal is one of two sacraments of the church, instituted by God and commended by Christ. We are following in the tradition of the early church when we affirm three primal material elements of life — water, bread and wine — as the primary symbols of offering life to God. Being washed with the water of baptism, we receive new life in Christ. In eating the bread and drinking the cup offered by God, our memory of the promises is made present by the Holy Spirit.

In the words of John Calvin, sacraments are “a testimony of divine grace toward us, confirmed by an outward sign, with mutual attestation of our piety toward [God].” A sacrament is a testimony of God’s favor toward the church, confirmed by an outward sign, with a mutual testifying of our godliness toward God. It is a primal, physical act that signifies a spiritual relationship between personal beings.

The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of continuous growth, nourishment and new life. In our Reformed tradition participation in this sacrament should follow the sacrament of baptism. Just as humans need food and drink for nurture and sustenance, Calvin wrote that the Holy Meal is God’s way of providing for our maintenance during the whole course of our lives after we have been received into God’s family. Both sacraments provide a visible, in fact a graphic, way of presenting God’s promises.

For Presbyterians this divinely initiated meal is one of two sacraments of the church, instituted by God and commended by Christ. We are following in the tradition of the early church when we affirm three primal material elements of life — water, bread and wine — as the primary symbols of offering life to God. Being washed with the water of baptism, we receive new life in Christ. In eating the bread and drinking the cup offered by God, our memory of the promises is made present by the Holy Spirit.

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2016 issue of Presbyterians Today.