Acts 15:18 *Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world*.
*THE STREAMS IN REFORMATION: REFORMED/ CALVINIST TRADITION*(c)
Disagreement on doctrinal issues is as old as the church. The truth is that we all won't agree with one another 100% but I advocate for agreement on the essentials which are fundamental. Instead of fighting and cursing each other, love should unite us. How can we win the world while fighting?
There is a Latin maxim by Rupertus Meledenius that says, "In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas" meaning, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
The sad story about the reformation is that disagreements led to bloody killings among reformers. This is where reformation got a bad name. We shall discuss this later but let's look at the second stream.
ii.*REFORMED/ CALVINIST TRADITION*
The founders of this stream are Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich, then John Calvin in Geneva. Zwingli was a contemporary of Martin Luther but John Calvin never met him. He showed up twenty years after Martin Luther.
They rejected the title of bishop and used elders/presbyters. This is what gave birth to Presbyterianism. Their system of church government was congregationalism. This is a self-governing or autonomous system of church leadership by members through key leaders( e.g.Deacons) from within the congregation without external influence of bishops or popes.
A church system of governance where power rest on bishop is known as episcopal church leadership but in Presbyterianism, the case is different.
As regards the issue of Lord supper, Zwingli said the Lord’s Supper was purely symbolic. Calvin took a middle view - spiritual presence, but not physical. For me, both of them are right because the element of the communion is symbolic and the presence of God is with it when we gather at the communion table.
Calvinists did not separate the church from the state. Their belief is that both are under the same Lord but with different areas of jurisdiction. The church teaches doctrine and morality while the state uphold civil laws and bear the sword to punish offenders. All under the same Lord.
As a result, Geneva under Calvin became a “godly city” with strict moral laws, public education, and no images in churches.
This is a template for our generation. How we have numerous churches in our society with a high level of moral decadence and corruption in government leaves us with questions than answers. It ought not to be. The testimony in John Calvin's day about a godly city is a testimony of how the church should cleanse and impact the society.
*A church that transforms only her members without transforming the society is a church that is not fulfilling her mandate to the fullest*.
Lord, help your church.