The Marks of the Church

For the Protestant Reformers there were two notae or “marks” of the church: the preaching of the word and the administration of the sacraments.

Hendrikus Berkhof, in his Christian Faith, speaks of the following notae:

(i)               instruction (i.e., catechetics)

(ii)              the washing

(iii)            the sermon

(iv)            the discussion

(v)             the meal

(vi)            the diaconate

(vii)           the meeting

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(viii)         office

(ix)            church polity (church order)

Berkhof maintains that these lattermost two serve to make the other seven operative.  [“Operative”, not “effective”:  Jesus Christ alone, in the power of his Spirit, makes (i) through (vii) effective or “effectual”.]