ARE ALL APOSTLES? OR A FEW WORDS
ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

"ARE all apostles ?" so asks an Apostle, the Apostle Paul. Yes, he asks the question, and yet he means to answer it himself. It is a strong way of saying that all men are not apostles. All men are not apostles; all men are not presbyters, nor deacons; but there are certain men called to the office of apostles, to the office of presbyters, to the office of deacons in the Church of Christ. This is what we are taught in the Word of God, though so many men fancy now, that whoever chooses to teach and administer sacraments, has a right to teach and administer sacraments, especially if he seems to be a good man or a clever man.

Only search the Scriptures and you will see that men did not choose themselves or set up to teach of their own accord. No, it was not so. While our Saviour was in the world He chose certain men to be the teachers and guides of others; He sent them forth; they had power from Him; they did not go of themselves; they

were His servants whom He ordered to go forth. Thus at one time you will recollect that He chose twelve men to be His apostles, to have the highest place in His ministry. At another time He chose seventy men not to be apostles, but to fill a lower place in His ministry, and these seventy He sent forth. He did not let all His disciples teach; He did not send them all forth; but He picked out some for the holy and awful work of teaching others.

But if this was His will while He stayed on earth, you may be anxious to know what He did when He ascended up into heaven. Well, then, I will tell you; He then gave His apostles power to ordain other apostles and other ministers. Thus we find them acting on the belief that Christ gave them this power, and meeting together to choose an apostle in the place of the traitor Judas. At first, two men were chosen out of the rest as being best fitted for the work; and then, after they had prayed, one of them was appointed to the vacant place. The other one, Joseph, did not attempt to act as an apostle, or take the office, though he was a good man, though he had " companied" with the rest "all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out" among them. He submitted at once to their de

cision as though they had power given them by the Lord in this matter. Again, Again, we find that as the Church increased in size, and the toils of the apostles increased beyond their strength, they even undertook to make a new order of ministers; they acted as if they had power from Christ to do So. "The twelve," it is said, "called the multitude of the disciples unto them," and said, "look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business ;" and when the people had fixed on seven, they set them before the apostles; "and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them." After this manner was the order of deacons made, and we find St. Philip, one of the number, exercising his office afterwards in instructing the eunuch and in baptizing him. Though among that multitude of disciples there were of course many other good men, many able men, many full of zeal and love towards souls, yet the apostles only appointed seven, and the whole body of the disciples submitted to the apostles.

Weigh then what I have said so far. First, you see that in the Church of Christ all men are not empowered to teach; all are not apostles or other kinds of ministers, but there is a certain

reased so much and in such various parts, at they could not always be present where new inisters were needed. Thus St. Paul in writ

to Titus, himself ordained by the apostle be a bishop of Crete, says, "For this cause

I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in der things that are wanting, and ordain elders every city, as I had appointed thee."

Now as I have drawn all that I have said m Holy Scripture, I want you to ponder it in ur heart. I want you to see that there is Christian Ministry, or body of men who alone empowered by Christ to feed His flock, to ch them, to watch over them, to guide them ng the way of life. I want you to feel this e ministry is "sent" by God, comes to you in is Name, is not self-called or self-chosen, is ot a thing of man's invention, or of man's ending, "Whosoever receiveth you," says our imse speaking on this very subject, h" and St. Paul speaking by the ys, Now then we are ambassadors st, a though God did beseech you by you in Christ's stead, be ye recon"I want you also, while you beChristian Ministry as one of the gifts om Christ Himself for your soul's