ABSTRACT
English Calvinists in the latter part of the sixteenth century and in the seventeenth century developed significant differences in ecclesiology. Congregationalists meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1648 and in London in 1658 were satisfied to accept the Westminster Confession of Faith; but they were not satisfied with Presbyterian polity. Neither were they satisfied with Brownism or Separatism. Many factors contributed to these ecclesiastical developments, but certainly some of the factors are inherent in the Calvinist theology itself with its emphasis upon the sovereignty of God and the disciplined life of the Church. The New England Calvinists were free to develop their own polity in their new country, and the Cambridge Platform reflects this experience. Ecclesiastical Polity or Church Government, or discipline is nothing else, but that Form and order that is to be observed in the Church of Christ upon earth, both for the Constitution of it, and all the Administrations that therein are to be performed.
