Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1855-06-20

T. tits true, have denied the necessity O
any extraordinary, that is, miraculous quail
6cations for one to hold the office of ar
Apostle. The original twelve, indeed, ano
two or their successors, SITS. Matthias anc
Paul, did possess extraordinary or miracu
lous powers, which were necessary in begin,
ming the neao dispensation, just as. Moses and
Aaron, and their immediate successors had
miraculous influence in commencing the
former; but after that necessity passed away,
the successors of the twelve Apostles no
more retained them than did the line of sue:
cessors to Adam and his sons.
If You suppose the Office of an apostle in
the church is extinct, because their success:
sors, the Bishops, do not possess miraculous
powers, then you must also suppose there
are no "believers" in the world, sbecause
members of the Church have not the miracu-
lous powers of the first christians-laymen
and women.
In contending for your definitions, if you
will still allow me to call it such, you have
cited two instances from the bible, in which
you allege some kind Of personal acquain-
tance with Christ seems to be required to the
recognition of an Apostle. I-propose to call
your attention to several important points
connected with those instances. You have
shown from scripture that the original twelve,
to whom, in your first article you could. al.
low no successors, had really two success.
sors. beg you to examine them again.
Forty days had elapsed since the vacancy
caused by the death Of Judas. occurred.
During those forty days our Lord was ego.
ing in and out among them. speaking Of the
things pertaining to "the kingdom of God"
and if we scrutinize the nature of those in.
terviews, we find them mainly occupied with
the powers of the ministry, the sacrament,
and the church, or as St. Luke terms it,
" the kingdom Of God" Yet, all this while
that " He went in out among them" he did
not appoint a successor to Judas; but as
soon as He ascended his apostles entered in-
to the election. No believer, then. can-as.
sumo that the Lord taught them that their
number was never to be increased, or that
they proceeded on their own notion. 1t is
true that Dr.. SNoDeRAss attributed it to the
/" characteristic precipitation of Peter" as
several infdels had done before him. Mat.
thias then was chosen "that he may take
part of this ministry and apostleship," and
"was numbered with the eleven apostles -
Acts I. Here then are thirteen apostles.
But the number is increased again by your
own showing e fourteen, and on: different
the first successor from among those men
which have companied with US, all the time
the Lord went in and out among US, the
head of the church Himself chooses the se-
cond successor, or fourteenth apostle, from
among those who did not company with
them one hour Of that time. And may not
this have been to teach the apostles that it
was not necessary to con6ne themselves to
their former companions. If you allege then,
that St. Paul was miraculously called, we
answer Matthias was not so. He was called,
as was Aaron, through the agency of his
fellow man.
You might have proceeded further and
named other apostles, some OF WHOM the
bible no where records as having "compan.
led with The apostles beginning with the Bap-
tism of john as Epa phrodtus, Barnabas,
Timothy, Titus, and others, so that, your de-
finition, | submit, is in every respect detec'
tive. In my last gave, to meet the particu'
lar view broached by you,a partial definition
containing two of their powers, the third you
have mentioned. in your last quotations from
the Acts, viz: the power to confirm, so then,
the apostolic Office as always held by the
church consists, not in its extraordinary but
ordinary powers, in ordinary confirming and
ruling. Those powers, as they are and were
necessary to the continued existence OF the
kingdom of Christ, must belong permanently
to their office: the extraordinary or mlracu'
lous powers belong to them and to others, as
founders of new Dispensation, and they
who succeeded them in their office succeeded
to the powers properly belonging to the OF:
fee. and not to the incidental miraculous
powers. This is all we claim for our Bish.
OBS, and this is what the church in all ages
claimed for the Bishops. You have certain.
ly presented in ridiculous light the illustra.
ton of the learned Blackstone. But this
may well be turned over to your =" LaUyer
friend" who can but admit it to be as good
an illustration of the succession of al incor'
poration, as can be we'll conceived. The
successive individuals of no corporation are
the same in allrespects, nor is water in the
same state at all times; still corporations do
continue with the same powers and rights.
and the river Thames has continued and its
successive particles flow by London town
without abatement. This is all Blackstone
claimed for corporations, and this is all we
claimed for The uninterrupted succession o.
Bishops.
We held, then, as the doctrine Of all ages
that when Jesus Christ said to the clever
APOSTLES: "Lo ain with you always, even
unto the end of the world" he spoke to then
as a corporate body, for He knew that they a.
individuals could pot live unto the end o
the world!p To them, therefore, who belons
to that corporate body, j. 9. to them wh'
were appointed by the apostles and thos
whom Mev appointed again, on down to tn
present day, He spoke; hence these hay !,
the commission to baptize, or else, when th
eleven apostles died, the authority to preac
! and bapiize in Christ's name, died with then
Fhe only way then in which one can shos
that he has the right to baptize, H. Q. to ati
the seal Of the Gospel Covenantto individu
al TITLES, is the show that be has received hi
commission from one Of the coporate b bod &
: whom Christ appointed to act in that officls
Il Gov hin, .-