 The final book describes what he considers to be the true Church and its ministry , authority , and sacraments . He denied the papal claim to primacy and the accusation that the reformers were schismatic . For Calvin , the Church was defined as the body of believers who placed Christ at its head . By definition , there was only one " catholic " or " universal " Church . Hence , he argued that the reformers " had to leave them in order that we might come to Christ . " The ministers of the Church are described from a passage from Ephesians , and they consisted of apostles , prophets , evangelists , pastors , and doctors . Calvin regarded the first three offices as temporary , limited in their existence to the time of the New Testament . The latter two offices were established in the church in Geneva . Although Calvin respected the work of the ecumenical councils , he considered them to be subject to God 's Word found in scripture . He also believed that the civil and church authorities were separate and should not interfere with each other . 
