The Word of God is always supreme in the church. According to God's resistible will He
allowed Adam to pick the fruit, Cain to kill Abel, millions to ignore Noah, Israel to
reject Judges, Israel to reject Him, Judas to betray Him, and His own church to crucify
Him. The clergy cannot exercise more authority over God’s Church than God.
A number of pastors question the Supremacy of the Voters’ Assembly. This writer
was stunned at how many LCMS pastors will not agree to this Biblical teaching of the LCMS
by its founder C.F.W. Walther.
The ranting against Voter Supremacy on the TableTalk mailing list runs well over 100
pages just from June 30th to July 10th. Such a revolt against the Synod’s historic
position by its clergy can only result in the destruction of the LCMS.
This writer was also disappointed that all the quotations verifying this position from
LCMS sources were completely ignored in the voluminous negative response. These quotations
are once again placed at the end of this article.
What does supremacy mean? It means that the Voters’ have the full authority of the
Office of the Keys given to them by God in Mat.18:17ff, Acts. 6:3, 1Cor.4:5. They also
have full ownership and full authority over the church property and affairs of the
congregation according to the laws of the State.
One must also ask what part of the Office of the Keys does the Voters' Assembly not
possess once they have called a pastor? The answer is: the Congregation has full
possession of the Office of the Keys and has never surrendered its possession or authority
of the Keys to anyone.
What part of the Office of the Keys does the pastor possess over which the Voters do
not maintain authority? The answer is:... none. The Congregation has the right to judge if
the doctrine taught by the pastor is in agreement with the Bible and the Lutheran
Confessions. The pastor is first accountable to God and then to the Voters. The
Congregation is not accountable to the Pastor but only to God.
Some pastors say, "I can't find the Voters' Assembly in the Bible." This is
nothing but semantics to avoid the issue. Walther described the Voters by a process of
elimination.
First: Children under age 21 were excluded from voting because they are under the
authority of their parents. God did not hold any of the children under 21 accountable for
the sins of the children of Israel for refusing to take the land according to Num 26:4.
Also, all those under 21 were not to make a sacrifice as an adult according to Exo 38:26.
The text says 20 years of age but age 21 left no doubt as to having attained adulthood by
God's definition.
Second: Walther excluded women from voting because they should not exercise authority
over any man in the church according to 1Cor. 14:34 and 1Tim.2:12. A vote is an exercise
of authority.
Third: Walther understood the Congregational Assembly or Voters' Assembly to be the
church according to these two verses because the congregation has the Office of the Keys.
Any gathering that has the authority to call a pastor must be the church or the
congregation. If the Voters’ are not the "church" none of the pastors
serving in the LCMS are really pastors because they were not called by the church but the
Voters' Assembly.
Fourth: There are also men who refuse to participate in the Voters' Assembly. The final
number of voters according to Walther are the men who choose to join and attend the
Voters' Assembly. Any claim that the Voters' are not the Congregation despises God's order
for the Christian Congregation.
Pastors who attack the Biblical validity of the Voters' Assembly as a divinely ordained
institution are negating and denying the validity of their own "calls". The
Hyper-Euro-Lutheran Pastors claim they have the Sacrament of Ordination and thus try to
prove the validity of their "calls" apart from the "call" issued by
the Voters’ Assembly.
Perhaps these pastors will need special ordination by a Swedish Lutheran Bishop to be
properly "called". Perhaps some of them are already engaged in secret
reordination rites with the appropriate "Bishop" presiding.
Others try to avoid the issue of Voter Supremacy by claiming God’s Word is
supreme. There is no question about the supremacy of God’s Word. Rather the question
is the accountability of the Pastor to the Voters’ Assembly.
Obviously the pastor does not meet with the "Word of God." He meets with the
Voters. In such a meeting, right or wrong, the Voter’s decision has authority over
the pastor. When the Voters cease to listen to God's Word the Pastor must suffer
expulsion. Can we as pastors expect a better reception than Christ received?
The Word of God is supreme but the pastor cannot compel the congregation to follow it,
not anymore than God compelled Adam not to eat the fruit. The pastor and the congregation
walk by faith. Faith is not coerced or compelled. The fruit only appears when the tree is
alive. The Word of God causes faith in the congregation. Faith causes the works that the
pastor observes in the life of the congregation. These works must be the congregation's
works as they respond to the love of Christ and not the result of the pastor's authority
or they are dead works.
The claim to possess and exercise pastoral authority is actually a cheap substitute for
the authority of God's Word. The issues that a pastor cannot deal with in the pulpit are
certainly beyond his reach in the Voters' Assembly. Therefore let the Word remain supreme
and let it rule the hearts and minds of the Voters to the degree of faith God has given.
Let them obey God's Word and not be burdened by the obedience that the pastor imagines is
part of his office. Otherwise the pastor will be hanging fruit on a dead tree by saying,
"You must do this because I say so."
The following are some quotations that support the above position in the Redeemer Lutheran Church Constitution on the supremacy of the
Voters' Assembly.
"Finally the congregation is represented as the supreme tribunal, Matt. 18:15-18:
"‘Moreover, if thy brother.....’" ("The Form of the Christian
Congregation" C.F.W. Walther, (1866) CPH 1989, page 24)
"Though the constitution made the congregation the possessor of all church power
and the highest tribunal, it did safeguard the ministry in various ways. The tenure of
office was made permanent. No calls to pastors providing for a time limit were tolerated
in the Missouri Synod." ("Government in the Missouri Synod" by Carl
Mundinger, 1947, CPH, page 196)
"The Congregation, Not the Pastor, Has Supreme and Final Jurisdiction.--In
according with the Scriptures (see texts quoted in previous paragraph) [These passages are
printed at the end of this article after the *.] Our Confessions say:--"Christ gives
supreme and final jurisdiction to the church when he says: "Tell it unto the
church'" (Smalcald Articles, Of the Power and Primacy of the Pope. Trigl.,p.511.)
("Pastoral Theology", John Fritz, CPH 1932, page 314)
"It also belongs in the constitution that the congregation in its own circle is
the final and highest court according to Matt. 18:17. Therefore all its officers are
responsible to it and may be removed from office in Christian order. But also all
decisions and resolutions of the congregation which are contrary to God's Word or the
[congregation's] confession are to be declared in advance null and void."
("Pastoral Theology" C.F.W. Walther, Fifth Edition 1906, CN, 1995, page 47)
"For the Lord Christ teaches in Matthew 18:17 that the ban should be put on those
who will not obey the church or his congregation." Thus the church truly teaches
nothing else than God’s Word. (Luther's Works LW 34:33)
"Therefore, every Christian should hold the view that neither St. Peter nor the
apostles have in these passages been given power to rule or be on top." (LW39 page
90)
"Let this passage be your sure foundation, [1Cor.14:31] because it gives such an
overwhelming power to the Christian congregations to preach, to permit preaching, and to
call. Especially if there is a need, it [this passage] calls everyone with a special
call-without a call for men-so that we should have no doubt that the congregation which
has the gospel may and should elect and call from among its members someone to teach the
word in its place." (LW 39:311)
"The Church of God has authority to appoint rites and customs in regard to
festivals, food, fasting, prayers, vigils, etc., but not for others, only for itself;
neither has it ever done, nor will it ever do otherwise. A church is a group or assembly
of baptized and believers and under one shepherd, whether of one city, or of an entire
country, or of the whole world. This pastor or prelate has nothing to ordain, because he
is not the Church, unless it be that his church empowers him." (Pieper quotes Luther
in Christian Dogmatics Vol. III page 431)
'Thus writes St. Paul (1 Cor. 3:21-23): ‘Therefore let no one glory in men. For
all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or
things present or things to come-all are yours. And you are Christ's and Christ is God's.'
From this [passage] we learn that all things that even Paul and Peter had were only
treasures from the jewel room of the believing Christians or of the church."
("Church and Ministry" C.F.W. Walther, 1851, CPH 1982, page 50)
"However, this equality of believers is abrogated and the church is changed into a
secular organization if a minister demands obedience not only to the Word of Christ, his
one Lord and Head and that of all Christians, but also to what his own insight and
experience regard as good and suitable. As soon, therefore, as adiaphora or things
indifferent, that is things that are neither commanded nor forbidden in God's Word, come
in question in the church, a minister may never demand absolute obedience to what merely
appears to him to be best" ("Church and Ministry" C.F.W. Walther, 1851, CPH
1982, page 312)
"It follows from these statements of Scripture that the congregation of believers
enjoys a sovereignty under Christ which are not to be restricted or limited in any way.
Christians may not be made subject to a minister or a priest, because they are all
ministers and priests in their own right who have the privilege of approaching God
directly. " ("The Abiding Word", Alfred von Rohr Sauer, Volume III, CPH
1947 page 306)
"As such they (congregations) possessed all the gifts and rights of the Church
which Christ has bestowed upon it. Specifically, the function of the Christian
congregation is to administer the means of grace in its midst and to serve in this world
for the conversion of the sinner to God. This is nothing else than the administration of
the keys of the Kingdom. (Matt. 18:17-20; "Tell it to the church"; Matt. 16:19,
John 20:22-23, "Whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.")....The church, therefore functions as the administrator of the office of
the keys of the Kingdom." ("The Abiding Word", Richard Klan, Volume III,
CPH 1947 page 383)