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1 Pet. v. 1. 2.; and they are made the fame in that precious remain of antiquity, Clemens Romanus's epistle to the Corinthians, written in the name of the church fojourning in Rome. But this is not queftioned among them with whom we have to do at prefent, who acknowledge the division of ordinary church-offices into these two, and no more, the el der or bishop, and the deacon.

And this diftinction is according to the fcripture, where we find the ministry of tables diftinguished from the ministry of the word *. In the church in Jerufalem, which was the first, and the pattern to the reft, we find elders and deacons +. And, after that example, in the church at Philippi we fee the bishops and deacons. The fame diftinction is obfer. ved in Paul's directions to Timothy about church-officers, when he lays down the characters of the bishop, and then the characters of the deacon diftinctly t. And, as was noticed before, concerning the diftinction of the deacon's work from the miniftry of the word; fo it is the character whereby the bishop is diftinguifhed especially from the deacon, that he must be apt to teach . As all the work of churchofficers is miniftry; fo we find the office and work of the deacon peculiarly called miniftry, and fo diftinguished from the office and work of the bishop or elder. Thus we find that officer, in diftinction from the bishop, called deacon, that is, minifter, or fervant. We find this fame distinction in Paul's difcourfe of church-officers to the Romans, to whom he speaks, or the Holy Ghost in him, in the prospect of that extravagant departure from the inftitution of Chrift in this matter that was to come to pass in that church. For as it is the different gifts or powers granted by Christ for doing the work of the offices that makes the offices different, fo he diftinguishes thefe gifts or powers only into two, viz. prophecy and miniftry; and there is no church-officer but what is comprehended under the one or the other of these; so that every church officer is either a prophet or a minister: "Having "then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to "us, whether prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; "or miniftry, on miniftring **." Where prophecy is not to be taken for the extraordinary gift, but, as the apostle defines it, for the gift of speaking unto men to edification, and

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are bishops *; yet we find pastors in diftinction from teachers; and where there are but these two branches in the diftinction, we must understand by paftors both them that exhort and them that rule well+: fo, though all teachers be governors, as being elders or bithops; yet where we find teachers and governments diftinctly mentioned, there, by governments, yußrpunctis, we must understand both him that ruleth and him that exhorteth, if we look upon the distinction of elders to be there full and comprehenfive of all elders. We find the bishops or elders of a church thus designed, υμιν, them that labour among you; & προισαμένως υμών εν κυρίω, and your prefidents in the Lord; & vuleturtas ‘uμas, and that admonish you. And whether the distinction of elders be here pointed at, it may be a queftion. There is another designation utterly common to all elders or bishops, and that is, DEN VIROVOKOS, the steward of God; as appears from these words of Paul to Titus: "For this caufe left I thee in Crete, that "thou fhouldft-ordain elders in every city. If any

"be blameless,

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for a bishop must be blameless, as the

fteward of God **." From what has been faid, it seems the bishop's office is one; and yet there is a diftinction in that office. The unity of the office appears from the forefaid divifion of churchoffices, and the gifts or powers given by Chrift for exercifing them, into two, and no more; and from the characters requifite in every one that is at all an elder or bifhop, which we have in Paul's directions to Timothy, 1 epift. iii. and to Titus, chap. i. as to the ordination of elders; where, befides what relates to their difpofition and conversation, there is no more required to qualify them for the highest parts of the work of that office, and no less is requifite to fit any man for being at all in that office, than this, that he be apt to teach, and that he be holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, το κατα την διδασχην πιςε λόγω, that he may ba able, by found doctrine, εν τη διδασκαλια υγιαίνεση, both to exhort and to convince the gainfayers. From this it appears, that the bishop's or elder's gift is, an ability freely granted by Jefus Chrift for opening up and applying the word of God unto And thus it is that which is called prophecy, Rom. xii. and the gift of fpeaking, 1 Pet. iv.; and is diftinguifhed from miniftry, the deacon's gift. The diftinction in the elder's or

men.

*Acts xx. 1 Pet. v. || 1 Theff. v. 12.

+ Eph. iv. 11. ** Tit. i. 5. 6. 7.

Cor. xii. 28. tti Tim. iii. 2.

bishop's

bishop's office is chiefly manifeft from these two texts, tho' there be alfo fome infinuation of it in other texts before mentioned. 1 Tim. v. 17. "Let the elders that rule well be "counted worthy of double honour, especially they that la"bour in the word and doctrine." Rom. xii. 7. "He that "teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation; ❝he that ruleth, with diligence."

How this diftinction agrees with the unity of the office, and that unity with this distinction, is a question of fome dif. ficulty, yea, and importance, to them that want to be ac quainted with the mind of God in his word, that they may not fwerve from his inftitutions, but keep them pure and entire. And fuch will not be fatisfied in any explication of the diftinction that overthrows the unity, nor of the unity that undoes the distinction: for to explain one part of the fcrip. ture in an inconfiftency with another, is indeed to corrupt the word of God, and wreft and pervert it. Thus, while men explain the unity of the godhead, afferted in the fcriptures, in fuch a manner as to deftroy the diftinction in the godhead, there also afferted, or when they explain the distinction in fuch a manner as destroys the unity, they wreft and corrupt the word of God, and make it of none effect to them. felves, while they ftudy to reconcile it to their own prejudi, ces, and do not fubject themselves as little children to the authority of God in his word. Therefore we find our Lord, when Satan tells him, "It is written," anfwering thus, "It is written again."

The opinion, of a ruler, or ruling elder, that has no power granted him by Jefus Chrift for teaching and preaching, or adminiftrating baptifm or the Lord's fupper, that pleads a foundation in the forecited texts, establishing a diftinction in the elder's office, seems to overthrow the unity of that office. For fuch an officer must be of another kind than thofe elders or bishops whose commiffion we have Matth. xxviii. 19. 20. there being no authority granted there to rule without teaching: "Teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I "command you; and lo, I am with you alway, to the end of "the world.” And truly, if we confider the nature of the rule and government of a church, as diftinguished from the government of the civil magiftrate, and as it touches the confciences of men, and as it is the government of Jefus Chrift among his willing people, who has afforded the overfeers of a flock of his no other inftrument of government but his word, we will eafily fee, that a ruler that is not capable to. teach or preach, or to open up and apply the word of God

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unto men in a conftant way, is indeed a very inconfiftent piece of work, and an idol fhepherd. Neither is there any authority granted in that commiffion to any to teach and preach God's word, or to teach his people to observe all that hè has commanded, without an authority to baptize the difciples. So, if there be fuch a bishop as rules without a power of teaching and baptizing, he must be of another kind than that bishop whofe commiffion is in that text. 2. Such an officer must be of a kind different from him that is defcribed and characterised Tim. iii. and Tit. i. For that officer is the fleward of God, and fo the difpenfer of the ordinances of Christ to the flock that officer is apt to teach, and holds faft the faithful word, as he hath been taught, so as to be able, by found doctrine, both to exhort and convince the gainfayers. And if this be not the qualification of a minister of the word, or of him that bears the commiffion Matth. xxviii. where are we to feek his qualification in the New Testament? But this is the qualification of every elder, as is manifeft in thefe paffages. Therefore he is no elder that is not qualified for the miniftry of the word, and is not a steward of the my. fteries of God. 3. This officer feems to be of a different kind from the elders or bishops whom Paul exhorts, Acts xx. and Peter, 1 epift. v.: for these were all paftors or shepherds, feeders of the flock of God. For as Peter, who was an elder of the church in Jerufalem, received commandment from the Lord to feed his fheep and his lambs, fo he gives the fame commandment to all the elders, and exhorts them to feed the flock which is among them; as Paul exhorts the elders of the church in Ephefus, "to take heed to them"felves, and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost "made them overfeers, to feed the church of God, which "he hath purchased with his own blood." And from Paul's fetting himself before them as an example in his teaching, and the reafon he gives, y 29. 30. for his charging them to take heed to themselves, and the flock, to feed the church, it is moft evident, that the feeding there fpoke of cannot be but by men to whom the word of God is committed, as able to teach others: for he speaks to them of a feeding of the flock, in oppofition to falfe teachers, and to fome of themselves that might arife, fpeaking perverfe things, to draw away difciples after them. And as there must be two kinds of rulers or feeders of the flock, the one ruling by the word of God, committed to him as able to teach others, and the other ruling without having that word committed to him as able to

teach

teach others; so this last is not among the paftors exhorted by Paul in that paffage, and must be a strange kind of a ruler of a flock of Chrift, or of his sheep, that hear his voice, and follow him. 4. The manner wherein the inftitution of this ruler, that has no ability to teach or preach, is fought in the texts that speak of the diftinction in the bishop's office, feems to cut off the minifters of the word, acknowledged to be elders and bishops, from ruling. For as to Rom. xii. by that fame rule by which he that ruleth is faid neither to teach nor exhort, it must be faid, he that teacheth is not an exhorter, and he that exhorteth is not a teacher, and neither of them rules. And as to 1 Tim. v. 17. by the same rule by which it is afferted, that there is a ruling elder that is not a minister of the word, it must be also afferted, that the minifters of the word are not rulers, or that the elders that teach and preach do not rule. For the text makes them one in this, that they are elders; but diftinguishes these elders, by afcribing ruling to fome of them, and the word and doctrine unto others: fo that ruling is hereby made as much the property of the one elder as the word and doctrine is made the property of the other elder. But the text only diftinguishes the elders that rule well, xanws xpsweis, from the elders that labour, XOITE, in the word and doctrine; and it it does not diftinguish elders merely by ruling on the one fide, and by the word and doctrine on the other. And if it should be alledged, that especially as, which imports the diftinction, reduplicates not merely upon elders, but upon elders that rule well; fo that the text cannot be understood to run thus, "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of "double honour, efpecially the elders that labour in the "word and doctrine;" but thus, "Let the elders that rule "well be counted worthy of double honour, efpecially the "elders ruling well, that labour in the word and doctrine :” then it must be manifefted, that the text is not capable to be taken the first way, but must be understood as running in the second manner; and if it should be taken that way, then we shall be to feek as to the neceffity and use of the mere ruling elder. For if the ministers of the word, notwithstanding their labour in the word and doctrine, do not only rule, but rule well, then the work of ruling may not only be done, but well done, by the elders that labour in the word and doctrine and fo the need and ufe of mere ruling elders, to affift the minifters of the word in ruling, that it may be well done, without taking them off too much from giving them.

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