(1 Pet. i. 1.) That he had authority in all those Churches, is evident from what he says in the same epistle:* " The Presbyters which are among you, I, who am a co-Presbyter, (sumpresbuteros,) exhort." Hence it follows, that Peter not only had general authority over all these Churches, but also, that he had authority in each particular Church; and, consequently, was entitled to exercise jurisdiction over them. For if he had no authority in particular Churches, he could not have been a co-Presbyter. But this point is more fully illustrated in the history of St. Paul. To the Romans, he writes, (Rom. xvi. 19, 20,) “For I will not presume to speak of those things which CHRIST hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of GOD, so that from Jerusalem, and round about Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of CHRIST. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where CHRIST was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation." These verses, in the language of Mr. Locke's paraphrase, read: "For I shall not venture to trouble you with any thing concerning myself, but only what CHRIST hath wrought by me, for the bringing of the Gentiles to Christianity, both by profession and practice, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the HOLY GHOST, So that from Jerusalem and the neighboring countries, all along, quite to Illyricum, I have effectually preached the gospel of CHRIST; but so as studi ously to avoid the carrying of it to those places where it was already planted, and where the people were already Christians, lest I should build on another man's foundation." This principle is still more fully illustrated in his second Epistle to the Corinthians. As the figurative language of the original, the imagery of which was borrowed from the technical lan * 1 Ep. v. 1. Rob: 783, and Geis. Ecc. Hist. p. 59. OVER A PARTICULAR PORTION OF COUNTRY. 235 distinct guage of the Grecian games,* prevents the mere English reader from obtaining the full import of the language, we shall give, on the authority of Professor Robinson, a modified translation, to which will be subjoined Mr. Locke's paraphrase. From these, we trust every reader may obtain a very idea of the meaning of the passage. "We will not boast of things without our allotment,† but according to the limit of the allotment which God hath distributed to us, an allotment to reach even unto you. But we stretch not ourselves beyond our limit, as though we reached not unto you; for we are come as far as to you also, in the gospel of CHRIST; not boasting of things beyond our limit, that is, of other men's labors; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our limit, abundantly, to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, but not to boast of things made ready to our hands, in another man's limit.”‡ In the paraphrase of Mr. Locke, the same passage reads, "But I, for my part, will not boast of myself in what has not been measured out, or allotted to me; i. e. I will not go out of my own province to seek matter of commendation; but proceeding orderly in the province which God hath measured out and allotted to me, I have reached even unto you; i. e. I have preached the gospel in every country, as I went, till I came as far as you. For I do not extend myself further than I should, as if I had skipped over other countries in my way, without proceeding gradually to you; no, for I have reached even unto you, in preaching the gospel in all countries as I passed along; not extending my boasting beyond my own bounds, into provinces not allotted to me, nor vaunting myself * Adam Clark, in loco. Rob. pp. 415, 515, on metron, and kanon, and Locke on ametra, and note on the passage. 2 Cor. x. 13-16. in any thing I have done in another man's labors; i. e. in a Church planted by another man's pains; but having hope, that your faith increasing, my province will be enlarged by you yet further; so that I may preach the gospel to the yet unconverted countries beyond you, and not take glory to myself from another man's province, where all things are made ready to my hand." In this language of the Apostle, the principle is most fully recognized, that to him a particular portion of country was allotted or assigned; that his labors were mainly confined to this territory; and if we take the trouble to examine the various epistles of St. Paul, we shall see that all of them are directed to some Church within this territory; except that to the Hebrews, which is general in its direction. This construction makes the meaning of the Apostle's language evident; while on no other hypothesis can it be made intelligible. To this we may add the express declaration of this Apostle, that upon him came "the care of all the Churches," (2 Cor. ii. 28;) that is, as the Corinthians would understand him, "of all the Churches within his limit," and to which he had preached the gospel. In accordance with this conclusion, is the testimony of the primitive historians, who uniformly assign the several Apostles to different countries. Thus Origen tells us, "That according to tradition, Thomas received Parthia, as his allotted region; Andrew received Scythia; John, Asia."* Other historians inform us to what places others of the twelve were sent. From these facts, and from the admitted uniformity of the Apostolic Churches, we are authorized to infer, that to each Apostle a particular portion of country was assigned, in which he preached the gospel, and over which he exercised jurisdiction. 9. The country thus allotted to the Apostles was divided * Expos. Gen. L. III. in Euseb. iii. 1. APOSTOLIC ORGANIZATION PERMANENT. 237 into several districts, and Apostolic authority committed to particular individuals in each of those districts. In order fully to appreciate the evidence on this point, it is necessary to bear in mind, that the Apostles were not permanently located in any particular place; that they went to one place, gathered a Church, appointed officers, and established laws for its government, and then proceeded to still other places. Indeed, their character seems to have been almost precisely like that of our present Missionary Bishops. It is not probable, however, that every Church was completely organized at once. Suitable persons might not have been procured, or the Churches might at first have been so small that no Bishop was appointed. Among these smaller districts, we have already enumerated the following places, where we have proved the existence of an Apostolic Bishop: (1,) Jerusalem; (2,) Corinth; (3,) Ephesus; (4) Philippi; (5,) Crete; (6,) Rome; (7,) Smyrna; (8,) Pergamos; (9,) Thyatira; (10,) Sardis; (11,) Philadelphia; (12,) Laodicea; (13,) Antioch; (14,) Alexandria; (15,) Magnesia; (16,) Trallia; (17,) Colosse; (18,) Hierapolis; (19,) Parthia; (20,) Scythia, and other places. It devolves, therefore, on those who deny these conclusions, to prove, either that we have entirely mistaken the nature of the evidence, or, that the Churches in other places were differently organized. And if they can not do either, our conclusions must stand. CHAPTER XVI. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH DESIGNED TO BE PERMANENT. HAVING ascertained what the organization of the Apostolic Church was, we are led to inquire, whether it was designed to be permanent or temporary? In answer to this inquiry, we observe, first, it is admitted by all, that Christianity was designed to be permanent, and that its requirements are of perpetual obligation. The only natural and obvious inference, therefore, is, that those institutions which were formed for propagating and preserving it, should have the same perpetuity. Indeed, in the absence of all opposing evidence, we are compelled to believe, that this inference is the true one. This follows from the principles on which we have shown all argument in this case proceeds, and which, for the purpose of illustration, we shall here repeat. Thus, in the case we then supposed, the bare mention of any custom, regulation, or practice of the American army, in one of the letters before described, without any intimation of its being either unusual or extraordinary, would be conclusive evidence, that it formed a customary regulation. Now every customary regulation is supposed to form a part of the practice or discipline of the army, and hence, unless expressly countermanded, continues while the army exists. The same reasoning, as we have seen, must apply to the organization of the Apostolic Church, or else it is fruitless to inquire concerning that organization. The fact, therefore, that numerous things are mentioned in the letters of St. Paul to his friends, concerning the practice and discipline of the Church, without any intimation of their being unusual, extraordinary, or temporary, makes this case precisely parallel to the one supposed, and hence, what would be conclusive in that, must be final in this. Whatsoever things, therefore, we find existing in the Apostolic Church, unaccompanied by any intimation that they were temporary, we must reckon among the customary regulations of that Church. And these, of course, must continue while the Church continues, unless countermanded by some authority equal to that by which they were established. Upon every principle of sound reasoning, therefore, it is not necessary |