saw him they worshipped him; but some dou' ted, And JESUS came and spake unto them, [the Eleven Disciples] saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, thereforc, and teach all nations." By this express testimony it is decided, that the Commission was originally given to the Eleven Disciples or Apostles.

ers.

Nor does there appear to be the least evidence, that the Commission was primarily given to any othSt. Matthew clearly confines his account to the Eleven Disciples only. The substance of the same Commission was, according to St. Mark, communicated on another occasion; but it was expressly ad"Afterward dressed to the Eleven Disciples alone. he appeared unto the Eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptised, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."*

This commission is not particularly recited by the other Evangelists. They may be supposed, however, to have made allusion to the same ministerial authority. But they have said nothing to show that the Commission was given by our LORD to any one of the disciples besides the Apostles.

The Acts were evidently designed by St. Luke as a continuation of the history from his gospel. In the introduction, he clearly indicates his opinion that our LORD himself gave the Commission to none but the

*Mark, xvi. 14-16.

Apostles. "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that JEsUs began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandment unto the Apostles whom he had chosen; to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of GOD." This account surely is utterly irreconcilable with the supposition, that our LORD designated any of the disciples but the Apostles to act under this commission.

But this point is, if possible, still more clearly as. certained, by the appointment of Matthias to be the successor of Judas. In this appointment, we have not only the testimony of Peter, but of the other A. postles, and all the disciples, who concurred in the transaction. If any one of the disciples had been authorised by our LORD to act with the Eleven under the same Commission, the necessity of this appointment would have been entirely superseded. This appointment. therefore, fully proves, that no other one had been designated by CHRIST, to take part of the same ministry with the Apostles, At this time the ministerial commission was confined to them solely.

If this point required any further confirmation, it would be easy to deduce it from the appointment of deacons. Till this appointment was made, the Apostles appear to have been not only the sole ministers, but the only officers in the church. They were under a necessity of attending to the daily distribution of supplies, as well as to the ministry of the word.

But it did not appear to them reasonable that they should leave or neglect the word of God and serve tables. Deacons were, therefore, appointed. One express purpose of this appointment was to relieve the Apostles from this service, that they might have opportunity to give themselves" continually" to their appropriate duties, "prayer and the ministry of the word."*

From these considerations, it is apparent, that the Commission was primarily given to the Eleven Disciples or Apostles solely. This fact, my brethren, you are particularly requested to bear in mind, till we come to the application of these preliminary inquiries.

We may now proceed to consider,

3. The service, for which this Commission was designed.

No general commission to preach the gospel had been given prior to the resurrection of CHRIST. Before that event, he was not invested with that supreme authority as the Saviour, which was designed to precede the gospel dispensation. The mission of the seventy disciples, as we shall have occasion to show, was local and temporary. The Commission, previously given to the twelve Apostles, confined their labors exclusively to the Jews. Some of their instructions, on that occasion, might indeed have a prospective reference to their future destination. In this respect their commission differed from that of

*Vide Acts, vi. 1—6.

the Seventy. But the mission of the Apostles, at that time, was at most preparatory to the introduction of the regular economy of the gospel. A new Commission was, therefore, necessary to constitute a ministry adapted to the extensive design of the new dispensation. The Commission our LORD gave them after his resurrection. The ministry was no longer to be confined to one people to the exclusion of others. The Commission, therefore, contemplated the communication of the gospel to all nations indiscriminately. "Go ye and teach all nations."

If we attend to the import of the original language in this injunction, we shall find that their first duty was, to make disciples. These disciples they were authorized and required to "baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." By this they were to be distinguished from the rest of the world, and consecrated to the service of God. But they were not to be left without further instruction. Our LORD, therefore, added this comprehensive direction to his ministers: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." By this it is evident that he did not intend that his disciples should be deserted by the ministry. They were to be instructed to observe all the doctrines, precepts, and institutions of the gospel.

These are all the duties expressly enjoined. All other ministerial duties are comprehended by implication. They are indispensable to fulfil the design of the Commission. Thus, ordination, the formation of churches, the administration of the eucha. rist, and the superintendance of discipline, are ministerial duties and comprehended in the Commission;

because they are, in all ordinary cases, necessary, either to the perpetuity of the ministry, or to the instruction and edification of the disciples.

This leads us to inquire,

4. Into the duration for which the Commission was to continue.

We may be permitted in this place to remark, that the Commission was not designed ultimately to be confined to the Apostles alone. For, it was, in the nature of things, impossible that twelve men should, by their personal exertions solely, make all nations disciples, form them into proper societies, and perform to each of them constantly all those numerous duties, which the commission necessarily requires or implies.

For the same reason, the Commission could not expire with the Apostles' lives. The ministry is necessary, in all ages, to the order and perpetuity of the church. If then the church was not designed to cease, the ministry could not be designed to cease, with the Apostles' lives. Proper teachers must of necessity have been continued, "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the minis. try, for the edifying of the body of CHRIST,"*

But the continuation of the ministry is fully ascertained, from the promise of CHRIST in the Commission; “and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." By this it is clearly made known, that the institution was not designed to ter *Ephes. iv. 12.