The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-01-08

1lt PROPOSITION
Chusrs Church. with tho power and
constitution given to.t by Dos founder.
win endure to tho end of Time
f 81 De- once established chat Christ
I has founded "a church. given DO "a cone
suutIon. and invested 81 with certain
/ powers. the only just reason that could
/ Doe assigned for its future dissolution
would Doe The positive assurance OF
Christ for society, unlike individuals,
/ is of itself imprerishable. provided Sos
end is perpetual one. II therefore
/ there is DOB the teaching of Christ no in-
timauon To- the contrary, such as exist
cd in the Mosaic law concerning the
/ Synagogue. we must conclude that
/ Christ intended His church TO be perpo-
/ tual But far from finding any such i'm
| dication, we have the strongest positive
proofs of the perpetuity of the church,
! With an its institutions and preroga-
tives
The end of the church is, by the main
/ tenance and the dispensation OF the
! Christian religion 10 sanctify her chill
dren and bring them TO life everlasting.
/ The church is a means TO this end; so
are also it's authority and its constitu-
! ton, means Of discharging this mis-
/ sion. The end proposed to the church
viii continue. therefore, as long as the
/ Christian religion exists, as long as
! there are souls to save. But the reli-
giOn Of Christ will continue to the end
Of time as by him and the apostles the
Idivine revelation was brought to a close
] & fe
Of religious development; II is rather
the completion or the sum of the reli-
gious truths and institutions destined
| by God for mankind. Also there Will
always be souls to save. Consequently
the means to this end, !. e. the church
! with it's constitution and authority, will
continue to exist unless God intends to
substitute other means. But God has
given no indication TO this effect; on the
contrary, He has expressly assured US
that the church will continue to the
end Of the world.
After Christ had founded His church,
given it a constitution, and invested
His apostles with authority, He COM
manded them to go forth and exercise
| their sacred ministry, and added the
words: Behold / am with you all days
even to the contamination Of the world"
! (Math. XVIII 2O) BY the consumma-
ton Of the world is not meant the death
I Of the apostles, but the end Of time, the
end Of the human race on earth; for
! Christ elsewhere Identifies the end of
ifle world with the last judgment (Math.
XIII 49), Christ will therefore be all
days, I. G. without interruption, to the
end Of time, with His apostles in the
| discharge Of that Office with which He
! invested them; for it is to those same
apostles thus invested and organized in
one body, that He addressed Himself
when He promised His perpetual assist
ance. But the apostles died; that pro-
mise Of perpetual assistance was, there
! fore, not given them personally but to
| their successors as well; It was given to
the church in it's rulers generally, and
consequently the rulers of the church
II. e. its authority and constitution in the
concrete, as they then existed, will con-
tinue to the end of time. How are we
otherwise to understand those words?
| our Lord certainly does not address the
apostles here as private persons, but
precisely as the rulers and representa-
tives Of His church, as are moral per-
sons with their successors. But as a
moral person does not die, the words
addressed to the apostles must be ex-
tended also to their successors. Thus we
are also to understand the words: II
| will ask the Father and He shall give
you another Paraclete, that He may
abide with you forever, the Spirit Of
Truth John XIV 16, II CT. John XIV 26)
Not as to private persons therefore,
4 but as to the preachers of the gospel,
was the Holy Ghost promised to the
apostles. But the Holy Ghost can abide
With the apostles as the preachers Of
the gospel forever only in their success
sors, who discharge the same duty.
Neither can the Church lose the doc
trine intrusted to It, for the religion Of
Christ is to last forever; but the church
IS that institution by which the Chris
tan religion is to be preserved; whence
the doctrine Of Christ, being an essen
tial part Of His religion, will remain
I'm His church forever. Furthermore,
the church received it's perpetual con-
bstitution and power for the continuance
Of Christs religion and, consequently,
of His doctrine. Therefore Christs doc
trine Is no less imperishable than the
church itself or its constitution and
! prerOgatiyes.
~ PROPOSITION.
st. Peter was designated and con-
/ stituted by Christ the supreme head Of
His church.
Since the apostles were the subjects
Of that power conferred by Christ on
His church, the question next arises:
whether they all held an equal share Of
this power, and thus governed the
church collectively; or whether they
were subordinate TO one who was the
supreme head Of the APOSTLES as well
as Of the faithful, and, consequently in