Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1860-04-19

rea0ily recognized It and entered IT;
and the enemies Of God had no diff.
ficulty in finding it, that they might
jpersecute it. Here was a Christian
ministry fresh from God. Here was
the seal Of the covenant direct from
| the hands of Christ. Here. then,
was The liue drawn by the finger
Of God around the kingdom of bis
son. that marked with living light
the boundaries which separated it
from the kingdom of darkness, and
from all organizations of men, for
all future ages. The hand of the
Almighty wrote over "the narrow
gate" Of that kingdom, in letters
bright and bold enough 10 be read
Of all men, the sentence: Except
a man be born of water and the
Esprit, he cannot enter the kingdom
of Christ" John III: l5.) This
language is sufficiently plain, and
exclusive. and uncompromising, to
mark the perpetual distinction be-.
tween the church aud the world.
That these three orders were to be
continued ia the church, and were
to constitute the Christian ministry
for all time to come, and we're to 60
hand in hand with the word and sac
raments, thereby identifying the
Christian church throughout the
earth is evident from the history OF
the church in the apostolic age.
J The original nuuseer of the twelve
apostles were made good by the ep.
poiatment Of MATTHIAS in the place
of Judas. (Johu III: 81 The OBJ
lection that the Office of an apostle
was temporary one, Instituted solely
for the work OF laying the founsa
ton OF the church. aud was there
fore confined to the twelve, is efec.
tually silenced by the fact that
others were added to this number,
and that, too, before the canon OF
the New Testament was completed.
Thus the miraculous conversion Of
st Paul, and his appointment to the
first order of the ministry immediate
ly, by Christ himself, proves coDclu-
sively that the order OF the apostles
was not limited 10 the college Of the
+ twelve, since he was the thirteenth b.
BARNEBAs was also set apart TO the
work OF an apostle, and he made the
fourteenth. And although one quail
ification Of the first apostles wac that
they should have seen the Lord
Jesus Christ. and SO be witness of
his resurrection, which was of neces-
sity confined to them rs the apostles,
who were commissioned to lay the
foundation Of the churcb, yet the
power Of their office, The commission
which they had received from Christ,
was transmissible, and so others
by receiving it, would be admitted
to the rank of an apostle. Hence
St. Paul ordained Titus to the Office
of ar apostle, although he had never
seen Christ, and was not therefore
a witness of his resurrection, and MS
such empowered him to ordaiu elders
in every city. Titus /: 8. He
moreover consecrated Timothy TO
the apostleship, and the churches in
Ephesus were placed 10 bis charge.
Timothy was ordained an apostle by
the laying on of the bands of ST.
Paul. 2 Tim- l: l6 Some allege
that the passage in l Tim. XII: IA
refers to Tinothy's ordination. EN-
inent authority has declared the
word {Presbytery) to mean the
office to which Timothy was ordained
not the persons who ordained him;
so the passage would read, with the
laying on of hands to confer the
presbyteriate, cor presbytersbip, or
clerical Office, in which view the OF
dsiner of Timothy was st. Paul him
self as mentioned in 2 Tim. ]: 6.
Jerome, Ambrose, and other ancients,
and Calvin, interpret presbyterian
| in that place, not an assembly, but
the office to which Timothy was pro-
NOTED. Should it be said, however,
tina: the word presbyterate or pres
bytersbip proves Timothy to have
been then ordained a prVbyter mere
ly, We would neu,ralize that argu.
ment by appealing to Thess. II: 6.
(Com with /: /. where he is called
all apostle. : Episcopacy tested byI
Scripture, PIP. 1920 Thesa
apostles thus ordained and "sent,"I
had the power to ordain and send
forth others, clothed with the like
Office and ministry. Their commission
included. of course thepower to Ordain
men to the second and third orders.