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Berkhof Henrikus: Christian Faith (Grand Rapids MI Eerdmans 1986)
In a chapter on 'The Church as Institute' Berkhof lists seven activities of the church which he labels 'mediating' -
  1. Instruction
  2. The washing (approximately 'baptism')
  3. The sermon
  4. The discussion
  5. The meal
  6. The diaconate
  7. The meeting
He then moves on to an eighth point 'Office' -

"The office is a specific function distinguished from all other roles to which a person is called by and out of the congregation for a shorter or longer period of time either full-time or part-time. A person is called because he or she possesses a charisma which normally though not exclusively can also be effectively used in the discharge of the office." [Quote p.383]

"Speaking in general terms three views on office can be distinguished in the various churches:

  1. the Catholic or high-church type which regards ordination as a sacrament by which the bearer in virtue of a special promise of the Spirit is prominently placed not only opposite but also above the congregation
  2. the classical Reformed type which positions him not only opposite but also in the congregation and circumscribes his authority by the general office of all believers
  3. the free-church or low-church type which sees in the office-bearer no more than a functionalspecialization of the office of all believers in principle no different from that of the custodian or administrator.
[Quote pp.383-4]

Berkhof finds it 'remarkable' that all three types can appeal to the NT for their authority, and provides the references on p.384. He continues -

For the study of the faith this variety becomes problematic if it is assumed that the NT has to teach one revealed church order. THE office is not to be derived from an assortment of texts but first of all from the NT character of the church and in particular from the function of her institutional dimension." [Quote p.384]

"On the one hand [office] is itself based on a charisma or combination of charismata (provide leadership give instruction discern the spirits et al.); on the other hand it is needed to prevent the charismata from working at cross-purposes and to make sure that they serve their purpose namely the upbuilding of the one body. ... In Eph. 4:8-16 that task is particularly entrusted to what we now call office-bearers. 'Do not quench the Spirit do not despise prophesying but test everything; hold fast what is good (I Thes. 5:19f)." [Quote p.407]

In a chapter on 'The Place of the World in the Faith' Berkhof says -

"It could be argued that faith actually has nothing to do with the world. This view is so widespread that theology textbooks hardly ever devote special attention to the theme. Yet that is a fatal mistake. The God who created man created him as a human being in the world and therefore he also created the world. Theimportant thing is man but precisely for that reason the world is important as well. ... For that reason Christian conceptions of creation of renewal and of consummation are bound to remain abstract unless the world is included in the consideration." [Quote p.503]

Berkhof holds the view that 'the world' equates to its contexts and structures. He devotes significant space to the 'sanctification of structures' -

"The object is forms of government legislation forms of discussion and arbitration written and unwritten rules for dealing with one another relationships of the sexes and generations employers and employees well-to-do and poor people associations and countries etc. which as much as possible allow the transmission or at least room for the purposes of God's holy love." [Quote p.511]