The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-06-29
THE NE w VERSION ON THE
TIE.


bishops, elders Cor presbyters), and dea-
cons. 1t claims that no Church is true
Church which has not maintained this
Church order, and whose ministers lack
episcopal ordination, that is, ordination
at the hands of bishop. 1t makes the
government of the Church reside in bish-
ops, who from the beginning, in an un-
broken sequence, have handed down the
apostolic succession. Accordingly, in the
English and American Episcopal Church
es Except the Reformed EpiscopalD, no
Presbyterian, Baptist, or Methodist min
lister is allowed to preach in an Episcopal
pulpit. He is not recognised as min
lister of the gospel, or as presbyter,
elder, or bishop in conformity with the
teaching of the New Testament. This is
very serious conclusion to reach, and
leads to very unpleasant state of things
In the Church of Christ, and the sincere
inquirer after truth naturally asks him
self, Can it be true that there can be no
Church without diocesan bishop, set
above the order of presbyters? Is the
Episcopal Church justified in maintain
ing this lofty attitude towards the other
Protestant Churches? Is the Church OF
England warranted in unchurching the
Church Of Scotland and the Protestant
Churches of Holland, Prussia, France,
and Switzerland?
~
These are important questions, and de-
serve to be met, The publication of the
Revised Version Of the New Testament
enables all candid persons who are unac-
quainted with the Greek, to obtain con-
siderable amount of light on the subject,
being as it is the verdict of the best schol-
arshjp of the age, and of the clergy of
the Church of England itself, on the pro-
per rendering of a very decisive passage
in the book of Acts, from which it seems
plain that Luke, the writer of that book,
and the apostle Paul, regarded the office
of bishop and elder as identical.
The facts are these: In the twentieth
chapter of Acts we are told that Pau
and Luke came to Miletus, and (verse
I'D From Miletus we are told Paul
sent to Ephesus, and called to him the
elders or presbyters of the church. And
when they were come to him. he pro-
ceeded to address them. Among other
things, he tells them, at verse %, to
take heed unto yourselves and TO all
the flock, in the which the Holy Ghost
hath made you bishops, to feed the Church
of God, which he hath purchased with
his own blood We quote from the
new Version. The authorised Version
has the word overseers" in the place of
bishops" which has heretofore thrown
considerable obscurity over this impor-
tant passage, that is, to the English read
er. The word translated bishops" is in
the Greek episkopoats.
1t seems, therefore, beyond any con-
troversy, that Paul addresses the elders
of the Church of Ephesus as bishops.
And he does not address himself to one
bishop, but to number of them. If
there be no mistake about this, it appears
to US that the Church Of England has
founded its claim to superiority over the
other Protestant Churches, or rather its
claim to erclAsivene8s as touching the
other Churches, on a mistake; and that,
In fact, the matter stands exactly the
other way: the true order of succession
in the ministry is 7reSbyteriol, and not
Episcopal The apostolic church at
Ephesus had no Bishop in the modern
sense, but it had body of bishops or
pre8byter8; and if particular number
of orders in the ministry is essential to
the being Of Christian Church, the
number is taOo and not three, and the
Church Of England will have to apollo
gise to the other Protestant Churches for
the wrong it has done them, and ash
permission to re- constitute its ministry
by Presbyterian ordination.
The church at Philippi seems to have
been constituted like the church at Eph-
esus: The first verse of the Epistle to
the Philippians reads (Revised Version f:
" Paul and Timothy, servants Of Christ