IN TWO FORMER Numbers we considered the two inferior orders of the Christian priesthood, deacons and priests. We now approach the highest, the apostolic or episcopal order, which in the body or Church of Christ answers to Aaron, and the line of his descendants, who were the high or chief priests in the body or Church of Moses. Although Moses was faithful in all his House or Church; yet he was but a servant and a member of that House of which he was the builder and governor, and therefore he was inferior to that "Prophet," whom he predicted the Lord would raise up from the midst of his brethren, to fulfil all that he, the prophets, and the psalmist should write concerning Him. In the fulness of time the everlasting Son of the Father came to build God's house; and He is "counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who hath builded the House hath more honour than the house itself." Now the apostle expressly declares that we are that house whose builder and maker is God, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope given at baptism to the end1. AT THE TIME When the silent expectation of the creature anxiously waited for the manifestation of that Prophet who should redeem Israel, He sent his messenger to prepare the way before Him, and to be the harbinger of the Sun of Righteousness. Accordingly John came preaching, baptizing unto repentance, and declaring that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Whilst the Baptist was thus engaged, Jesus came to him on the banks of the Jordan to be baptized. No. 3. 1 Heb. iii; Numb. xii. 7. D Although He knew no sin, and therefore had no need of repentance, yet as He was made sin for us and suffered both its shame and its punishment, it was necessary that He should do that which it was required of other sinners to do. It matters not whether or not the Baptist understood the full import of our Lord's words when He said, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness;" but he did suffer it. The Holy Spirit discovered to John that this man was the long expected Messiah, and he proclaimed Him accordingly as "the Lamb of God," which was as much as to declare Him to be the Redeemer of the world. JESUS went down into the water, and so He sanctified water to the mystical washing away of sin; and John having poured it on His sacred head, He "went up straightway out of the water;" and whilst He prayed the heaven was opened, and John with all the people that had been baptized, saw the Holy Ghost in the embodied shape of the innocent and loving dove, descend from heaven and light upon our Lord's head, in the same way, perhaps, as He afterwards did in a lambent flame upon the heads of the apostles. After this occular exhibition of two of the Persons of the ever-blessed Trinity, the voice of the third Person, God the Father, was heard from heaven, who declared the man Jesus to be His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased. This was Christ's anointing to His priestly, prophetical, and regal office, according to the word of all the holy prophets since the world began, but in particular of Isaiah who says, "Behold my servant whom I uphold; mine elect in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged; till He have set judgment in the earth and the isles shall wait for His Law?" IT IS SOMEWHAT strange that so clear, so explicit, and so awful a manifestation of the Holy Trinity, seems to have made but small if any other impression on the multitude, than that of passing wonder. Perhaps they made a similar listless obser 2 Isaiah xlii. 1.-5. vation that the "much people," assembled at the porch of the temple did, when "there came a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it, [the name of the Father,] and will glorify it again.” Some of the people only remarked that it thundered; whilst others said, perhaps an angel spake to him. But as upon that occasion, so upon this on the banks of the Jordan, this voice came not on account of Christ; but for our sakes, that we might believe and obey. THIS HIGH-PRIEST of our profession was taken from among men; was subject to all the infirmities of men, with the single exception of sin, and therefore He was touched with a feeling of our infirmities, miscarriages, and sufferings. Although He was equal with God, the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person;" yet He made himself of no reputation, and condescended to take upon Himself the form or office of a servant. To show the beautiful regularity and order in which all God's works are conducted, He did not take the apostolic office on Himself. "He glorified not Himself to be made an high-priest,” but as we have already seen, He was audibly commissioned, and visibly anointed to His office in the presence of the people. Although the Jewish priesthood performed to Him all the rites of their religion, yet no mere man could confer on Him the office to which He was now commissioned. God the Father inaugurated and commissioned the Incarnate God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost anointed Him with the oil of gladness above his fellows. So that in this act the whole blessed Trinity condescended to transact in the salvation of fallen man. "This," says Bishop Taylor, was the greatest meeting that ever was upon earth, when the whole cabinet of the mysterious Trinity was opened and shown, as much as the capacities of our present imperfections will permit; the Second Person in the veil of humanity; the Third in the shape or with the motion of a dove; but the First kept His primitive state, and as to the Israelites, He gave notice by way of caution, "Ye saw no shape, but ye heard a voice,' so now also God the Father gave testimony to His holy Son, and appeared only in a voice, without any representment." OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST was now "the messenger of the covenants," "the apostle and high-priest of our profes 3 Mal. ii. 1. sion," the chief pastor, "shepherd and bishop of souls"," who was to "give his life for the sheep"," and to "sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.... to purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness"." Notwithstanding, the kingdom of heaven, that is, the Christian Church was not then come; it was "only at hand." Christ was the head of the Church, and came to save and redeem it; but He was not the Church itself. He was still a member of the Jewish Church, conformed to all its rites, was obedient to all its ordinances, and He never separated from its worship or communion. OUR LORD commenced His ministry by a fasting that lasted forty days. On his return to the same place where John was still baptizing the people, the Holy Spirit communicated to him our Lord's name and office; when he immediately pointed Him out to the assembled multitude and proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." At this time "Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age;" "and from that time Jesus began to preachR.' Then He called the twelve apostles, whom He chiefly kept about His own person, teaching them in all things pertaining unto the kingdom or Church of God, against the time that it should actually come. A short time afterwards He selected seventy disciples of an inferior order and with smaller powers, and sent them out to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God. DURING all the time of His ministry on earth, our Lord kept the twelve apostles, with very little interruption, about His own person. He taught them all the doctrines and showed them all the discipline of His Church, He promised to send them the Comforter, that is, the Holy Spirit after His ascension to bring all things to their remembrance that He had personally taught them and to guide them unto all truth. The apostles were His family or household; and as such they ate the Passover with Him. After celebrating the Paschal supper, He offered Himself up to God as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world past and to come; and he 6 John x. 11. 4 Heb. iii. 1. 1 Pet. ii. 25. 8 Luke iii. 23; Matt. iv. 17. empowered the apostles to offer up the commemorative symbols of His body and blood in perpetual remembrance of His meritorious cross and passion. 66 AFTER HIS second birth-His resurrection from the grave,"in the regeneration"— when He had overcome all the power of the enemy, and had triumphed over death and hell, and all power had been given to Him both in heaven and in earth, His first solemn act of authority was to fulfil His promise of the gift of the keys of heaven. He was now about to leave them, and as He was to give them the same powers to govern His Church which the Father had publicly conferred on Himself, so the authority must in some degree be proportionable to His own ministration. It was conferred too before they were elevated to the supreme dignity of the apostolate. It was the same day [on which He arose] at evening being the first day of the week," "Jesus stood in the midst of them," 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 saith unto them, Peace be unto you, AS [or in like manner as] my Father hath sent me EVEN SO [with the same powers, and the same authority,] SEND I YOU. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained"." As He breathed the breath of life into Adam after his creation; so He now breathed divine life, the Lord and giver of life into the Church universal. St. Paul assures us that the supreme dominion given to Christ in heaven and on earth was for the sake of the Church; for "God hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." He now transferred His own universal authority to His apostles, whom He made the fathers and governors of the Church under Himself. He gave them His own authority, promised to vindicate it, and to ratify their sentences of excommunication and absolution in heaven. Their sentences of excommunication and of absolution are therefore judicial and effectual, and are not merely declaratory. • John xx. 19-24; Mark xvi. 14; Luke xxiv. 36. 10 Eph. i. 22, 23. |