Ordination

The nature and practice of ordination by the laying on of hands is potentially a complex issue in Scripture. The complete absence of direct teaching on the subject means that we are left with the few texts where ordination is described together with broad theological trajectories arcing throughout the whole Bible. 1 Thus, in one sense the ground to cover is small and, in another sense, it is vast. Additionally, ordination comes deeply embedded in the larger issues of church authority and models of church government which different Christian denominations have practiced and even defined themselves by for centuries—and all claiming biblical support. In general, these models for ordination are two: (1) Ministry and authority that comes from " above " or outside a local church body—the Word of God for a local congregation comes by means of a hierarchical system in which ordination grants status to those in the system; and (2) Ministry and authority from " below " where the Word of God resides fundamentally in the membership of the local church and ordination is a local church's recognition and commission of its members into particular aspects of Gospel ministry in their midst. It is the conclusion of this essay that the biblical, theological and historical evidence strongly calls for the second view of authority above as the context for understanding ordination. In meaning and practice our understanding of ordination must reflect the new condition of the Church under the New Covenant where matters of form and mediation are second or even non-existent by comparison to the believer's own faith in Christ and filling with the Holy Spirit. It is by means and authority of the Gospel itself that the Church of Jesus Christ remains itself through time. In the pursuit of this thesis we will consider first the biblical passages that address ordination explicitly. This part will also briefly consider the variety of applications in Scripture for the act of laying on hands as it accompanies the modern and ancient biblical practice of ordination. From these relatively few and concrete examples and the larger concept of holiness, in part two we will move more broadly into the new covenant reality of the Church of Jesus Christ to press into the proposal that ordination creates a mystical union between the church and its ordained. 2 The forms and practices of the Church follow its nature. Thus,

Priscilla Papers, 1990

Author: Berkeley Mickelson Publisher: CBE International Some lay persons have been surprised when they look in their concordances under "ordain" or "ordination" to find nothing helpful in their search for a biblical basis for the ordination of ministers. A biblical basis for the ordination of ministers involves the interpreter with a lot of inferences and assumptions. Although we do not need to make as many assumptions as with church membership, ordination is not at all in the same category as water baptism or the Lord's supper.

There have been few serious attempts to develop theologies of ordination. This essay considers whether ordination lies within or outside the boundaries of Biblical theology. It analyses the topic of ordination from the perspective of Biblical theology. This essay demonstrates that it is not possible to argue for our contemporary concept of ordination from the Old Testament, that the Old Testament concepts of priesthood do not transfer to the New Testament (unless one adopts a sacramental theology), and that the term and the concept of ordination do not appear in the New Testament at all as we might recognize them in our contemporary setting. While arguments may be made for ordination from administrative necessity, tradition, and other theological systems, ordination must be understood as lying entirely outside the boundaries of Biblical theology.

Journal of Asia Adventist Seminary 15.2, pp.221–224, 2012

2009

This study is premised on the discussions relating to biblical ordination. The issue of ordination has long been debated on all fronts, especially within Evangelical circles including the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This study seeks to provide three parameters that will help identify elements that should be present in order for a particular installation into office to qualify as ordination.

Ordination is a significant concept in the history of the Christian Church. The urgency for denominations to formulate a theology of ordination shows that the issue has gone beyond scholarship and becomes a matter crucial to faith. In the absence of a biblical systematic theology of ordination, the quest to know what ordination confers to the ordained person remains problematic. It is in this context that should be understood the functional-ontological dilemma posed by the act of ordination. Through a theological survey, however, this study claims that ordination per se bestows nothing supernatural susceptible to change the ontological make-up of the recipient. Said differently, ordination is a human recognition of the calling of an individual through the laying on of hands that grants more prerogatives and thereby enables the beneficiary to function as an authorized representative of the Church.