membered, that the distribution of alms was a work which the Apostles had publicly renounced, and for which they had distinctly instituted the office of Deacons; that these alms were collected for the especial use of the Churches of Judea; that the appropriation of them did not belong to the Apostolic College, but to the Presbyters, who presided over the several congregations; nor does it appear that any Apostle was present when they were delivered. When Paul was introduced to the brethren at Jerusalem, and James and all the Elders were present, it may certainly be questioned, whether the council consisted of no more than the Twelve, whether indeed any of the Apostles was present except James, who constantly resided, and held supreme authority in the Church of Jerusalem. Mention is also made of the Apostles and Elders; and there is a sense of the copulative conjunction, by which it connects two words in such manner, that they denote but one person or thing; and thus, the Apostles and Elders may mean no more than the Apostles, the Elders. This expression however occurs only on one important occasion, on an extraordinary convocation of the Church, when a difficult question was to be debated, and an interesting report was to be received, and would not have been repeated so frequently in one chapter, if a single expression could have adequately expressed the meaning of the writer. When two or more of the Apostolic body are mentioned, the single word, Apostles, is used, and is sufficiently explicit; as when St. Paul speaks of the Apostles, who were in Christ before him. The

dActs xxi. 18. - Acts xv. 1, 4, 6, 22, 23. f Acts viii. 18.

title of Apostle is never applied abstractedly and without addition, to denote a person not possessed of the Apostolic character. Paul and Barnabas are indeed called Apostles, but without referring to the common form of speech, by which the title of one person is indiscriminately applied to another acting in company with him, as Saul is included among the prophets and teachers of Antioch, it is a very probable opinion, that Barnabas had been raised to the Apostolic office, and supplied the vacancy, occasioned by the martyrdom of James'. St. Paul recommends Epaphroditus to the Philippians, as his brother and companion in labour and fellow-soldier, and in a peculiar manner their Apostle or messenger; as one impressed with the deepest interest in their welfare, as one whom they should receive with gladness and hold in reputation; and ecclesiastical writers accordingly consider him the first Bishop of Philippi. When St. Paul, anticipating the inquiries of the Corinthians, informs them, that Titus is his partner and fellow-helper concerning them, and that the brethren are the messengers, or Apostles of the Churches, and the glory of Christ', it is probable that he uses the term to recommend the Apostolical authority, with which Luke was afterwards invested; or he may apply it in its ordinary sense, and represent Luke as the messenger or person deputed to convey the bounty of the Churches: and if the title of being the glory of Christ shall seem too elevated for so inferior an office, the words may be translated, according to some copies, messengers of the Churches and of the glory, or, which are the i Acts xii. 2. * Philip.

8 Acts xiv. 4. ii. 25, 26, 29. iv. 18.

h Acts xiii. 1.

1 2 Cor. viii. 23.

glory of Christ. The translators of the Bible indeed, by the difference of their version in both of these texts, seem to have understood the word not in its specific but in its general sense of an envoy or messenger. In this sense the word was familiar to the Jews, who applied it to "such persons as were sent by the high priests and heads of the people, to collect the tithes and other dues belonging to the Temple or Synagogue, or to convey their orders and mandates to the cities and provinces, when any affairs relating to religion were transacted: to this custom St. Paul alludes, when he indignantly declares, that he was an Apostle not of men";" and our Saviour, who preferred to the invention of new terms, the adaptation of those in common use, and the application of them in a higher and peculiar sense, may have denominated the Twelve emphatically Apostles.

It is curious to observe the distinction in the designation of the Twelve, before and after our Lord's ascension. In the Gospels, their usual denomination is the Twelve, or the Disciples; John never calls them by any other title; Matthew and Mark use the term Apostles once only"; Luke uses it but on very few occasions, when he records its appropriation to them at the time of their election; when he relates, that the Apostles made their report to Jesus; that the Apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith; that the twelve Apostles were present with him at the celebration of the Passover; and that after the resurrection, the women communicated their discovery to n Matt. x. 2. Mark vi. 30. • Luke vi. 13. 9 Luke xvii. 5. Luke xxii. 14.

m Galat. i. 1.

P Luke ix. 10.

F

the Apostles and on one occasion our Saviour refers to the prophecy of sending Prophets and Apostles, where both words must be understood in their general, and not in their specific sense. It cannot be

supposed an idiom of the writer of the Acts and of the third Gospel, as he continually refers to them under the name of the twelve ", the disciples *, his disciples', the twelve disciples, and even of the eleven 2, in the interval between the resurrection and the ascen-. sion. In the succeeding events of their history, they are constantly designated by the name not of Disciples, but of Apostles. They are advanced to a higher. office, and distinguished by an appropriate name. The Disciples implied their subordinate, the Apostles their independent authority: and it is a powerful confirmation of the argument, that the Evangelists, Luke and Mark, that Timothy and Titus, Epaphroditus and Clemens, and even Ignatius, though not of the Apostolic body, are by Ecclesiastical writers denominated Apostles, when they were invested with Apostolical authority over the Churches, and with power of raising others to the ministry.

Since therefore the title of Elders is not used to designate the Apostles individually, except by accommodation; nor collectively, except in one instance, when James was probably included among the Presbyters of Jerusalem; since Apostles and Elders are not convertible terms, or indiscriminately applicable to

u Luke viii. 1. ix. 12.

s Luke xxiv. 10. t Luke xi. 49. xxii. 3, 47. * Luke ix. 16. xvii. 1, 22. xviii. 15. y Luke viii. 9, 22. ix. 18, 43, 54. xix. 29. xxii. 39, 45. z Luke ix. 1. a Luke xxiv. 9, 33.

the same persons in the same sense; and since there is a marked alteration in the designation of the Apostles, when they acted under and without the Lord; we draw the conclusion, that Apostles and Presbyters are not one and the same order, but possessed of distinct and separate authorities; and consequently, that there are not less than three orders of the Christian ministry, denominated in the Scriptures, Apostles, Presbyters, and Deacons. But, though even in the science of demonstration, when a vessel is proved to contain neither more nor less than a given quantity, the negative argument is held conclusive, nor is it necessary to produce positive proof of its actual capacity, our Ecclesiastical reasoning is not exhausted; and as it has been shewn, that there are neither more nor less than three orders of the Christian ministry, it remains to be proved that there are three orders by a distinct consideration of the offices and privileges, severally assigned to the separate orders of Apostles, Presbyters, and Deacons.

The powers possessed by the Apostles, and from them devolving on their successors, the Bishops of later times, related to the government of the Church 1; the trial and excommunication of offenders; the ordination of ministers; the visitation of Churches; and the confirmation of persons previously baptized; and these powers they exercised not locally, or over separate congregations, but generally over all the Churches. within a peculiar district.

A RULING power was vested in the Apostles; and it has been shewn, that St. Paul uses the expressions,