Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

whom only, the office of teaching and preaching was committed; which the Apostle here calls “ being sent."

In pursuance of this design, it shall be my business,

1st. To inquire, what it is to be sent as a teacher or minister;

2dly, To shew, that such as are not sent, may not lawfully preach; and,

- 3dly, That such as are sent, both may and ought to preach.

[ocr errors]

In answer to the first enquiry, what it is to be sent, I cannot speak more satisfactorily than in the words of the 23d Article of our Church, which says; "Those we ought to judge lawfully called " and sent, which be chosen and called "to this work (that is the office of public. "preaching and ministering the sacra❝ments),

"ments), by men, who have public au "thority given unto them in the congre "gation (that is, the Church; for so the “word congregation signifies in that article), to call and send ministers into "the Lord's vineyard." And the same article says, "That it is not lawful (that is, by the law of God, on which the

66

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

articles are supposed to be grounded,) "for any man to take upon him that of "fice before he be lawfully called, and "sent to execute the same." e la m

And this has in fact been verified from the first appearance of Christianity in the world. For even Christ himself assumed not this office without a public commission from God, by a visible descent of the Holy Ghost upon him, and an audible voice from Heaven proclaiming him to be the Messias: "He glorified not himself "to be made an High Priest, says the

66

Apostle, but he that said unto him, "thou art my Son, this day have I be66 gotten thee." Nor did any of his

[blocks in formation]

Apostle's presume to take the work of the ministry upon them, till he gave them particular commission to do so. Thus he first ordained twelve, whom he also named Apostles, and sent them to preach the kingdom of God. And afterwards he ordained seventy others to be assistant in a subordinate station. But we may remark, that during his continuance upon earth, none besides himself ordained ministers of either of the foregoing orders: but he only, who was "Lord of the harvest, sent forth labourers into his harvest."

f

A

But after he was risen from the dead, he enlarged his commission to his Apostles and their successors for ever; giving them a power (besides that of ministering his holy word and sacraments, which they could do before) to ordain also gospelministers in his place and stead.' “ Aš my Father has sent me, says he, even

John xvii. 18. xx. 21-24,

ઃઃ

ᏚᏅ

66

so I send you. And lo, I am with

[ocr errors]

you alway, even unto the end of the "world*." And accordingly we find the Apostles ordaining such of all orders; the lowest, that of Deacons, to take care of the widows and poor, and also to preach and to baptize: above these they ordained Elders, that is, Presbyters or Priests, in every city (and who are also sometimes called Bishops), to feed the flock of Christ, which he had purchased with his blood; and these had a farther power of administering the sacrament of the Lord's supper and absolving penitents; that is, authoritative benedictions and absolutions. And lastly, for a supply of their own absence or mortality, they ordained others of an order superior to the two former, whom they then called their partners, and fellow-helpers, and companions in labour; such as Timothy and Titus, Sosthenes, Sylvanus, and Epaphroditus; that is, Apostles, as they themselves were; by which name the last of

*Matt. xxviii. 20.

+ Acts i. 20. xiii. 2-6.

them

them is expressly called in Holy Scrip→ ture, and which is equally applicable to all the rest. And these had yet a farther power of laying on hands, that is, to con firm and ordain: upon which account we find St. Paul cautioning Timothy to "lay "hands suddenly on no man.

دو

Against this it has sometimes been urged, that Timothy was ordained, as St. Paul acquaints us, "with the laying on "of the hands of the Presbytery." Admitting this to be meant of his ordination, which, however, many learned men question; yet the Apostles being sometimes called Presbyters, and even sometimes Deacons, in the Scriptures (which even our Saviour himself is sometimes called, as well as Presbyter or Bishop, 1 Pet. ii. 25.), they might be the persons intended by that names. Or, if more Presbyters

*Philip. ii. 25.'

I

[ocr errors]

Vide Hammond on this subject, p. 512.

Dr. Hammond confines these words to the absolu tion of penitents; but see Whitby in locum, 1 Tim. v. 21.

§ So Ignatius calls the Apostles expressly, ixxanoias geoCurégion. [Epist. ad Philadelph.]

be

« ElőzőTovább »