"Our second remark is, that the office is of divine appointment, not merely in the sense in which the civil powers are ordained of God, but in the sense that ministers derive their authority from Christ, and not from the people"
About this Quote
The careful comparison does the heavy lifting. By nodding to Romans 13-style logic - civil powers “ordained of God” - Hodge grants a familiar Protestant premise, then tightens it. The state may be permitted by Providence, but the ministry, he insists, is commissioned by Christ in a more direct, sacramental sense. That distinction shores up clergy authority precisely where 19th-century American Protestantism was most volatile: revivalism, populist church governance, and denominational fragmentation that treated doctrine like a marketplace and pastors like hires.
The subtext is defensive and strategic. If authority comes from the people, it can be revoked by mood, faction, or fashion; theology becomes customer service. If authority comes from Christ, discipline can withstand backlash, and continuity can outlast cultural churn. Hodge’s Princeton-era Calvinism is also audible between the lines: a suspicion of emotional democracy in religion, and a desire to anchor the church in an objective order rather than the charisma of the crowd.
It’s an argument about power dressed as ecclesiology, and it works because it makes legitimacy feel like something you receive, not something you negotiate.
Quote Details
| Topic | God |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hodge, Charles. (2026, January 18). Our second remark is, that the office is of divine appointment, not merely in the sense in which the civil powers are ordained of God, but in the sense that ministers derive their authority from Christ, and not from the people. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/our-second-remark-is-that-the-office-is-of-divine-9810/
Chicago Style
Hodge, Charles. "Our second remark is, that the office is of divine appointment, not merely in the sense in which the civil powers are ordained of God, but in the sense that ministers derive their authority from Christ, and not from the people." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/our-second-remark-is-that-the-office-is-of-divine-9810/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Our second remark is, that the office is of divine appointment, not merely in the sense in which the civil powers are ordained of God, but in the sense that ministers derive their authority from Christ, and not from the people." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/our-second-remark-is-that-the-office-is-of-divine-9810/. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
