The Due Right of Presbyteries, Chapter 10 · Section 1 · Objection 2 – Objection 3
Ob. 2. If Presbyteriall Elders be Elders to mary Congregations in a generall Relation, what sort of Elders are they? are they Elders ruling, or are they Elders teaching? it is unpossible that they can be Elders teaching, to so many Congregations; for teaching is a personall and incommunicable act, that m…n cannot commit to any others, they must performe it in their owne persons, a… cannot commit it to others, if they be Ruling Elders onelyonly, and not teaching Elders, this is against the Scripture; for the exten: of teaching and the extent of ruling are commexsurable in the Word, and of alike extersion, Acts 20. 28. These same whoe are to feede the fl…ck at Eph…sue, are to governe and rul…, and they are to feede the whole fl…ck…, not a part of it; so the Text sayth, Take heede to the whole fl…cke, then they are not to governe all in a presbytery, and to feede with teaching the Word, one particular Congregation onelyonly; so 1 Pe…. 5. 2. feed the flock of God which is amongst you, not with knowledge onelyonly, but be addeth their duty of governing: Taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, &c. So H…b. 13. 7. Remember them that have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God; Ergo, these same who have the rule over the flock, and governe, du also speake the Word of the Lord and teach, v. 17. obey them that have the rule over you and submit to them, for they watch for your soules as these who must give accompt; Ergo, these same who governe, doe also as Pastors watch for the flock, as those that are to give an accompt; but the governing classicall Presbytery doe rule, but it is unpossible that they can give an accompt for all the Congregations of a classicall Presbytery, for they cannot watch over them all, except every one of these must have many Eyes: Nor can they be both ruling and teaching Officers, for then they should have two Offices, if one man be both a Physitian and a Chyrurgion to two severall companies, he must have two Offices in relation to two charges which he hath to those two companies, if he practise physick to the one company, and chyrurgery to the other, this is against the order that Paul Col. 2. rejoyced to behold. Therefore the classicall Elders cannot be Rulers having the oversight of the whole c…ssicall Church, and yet every one of them must be a … and teaching pastor only to the single Congregation over which ….
Answ. As grand-Fathers and fathers doe beare a relation to these same Children divers wayes, both are fathers and may tutor and provide for the children, but both are not begetting …athers, so also doe the classicall Elders and the Elders of particular Congregations, beare divers relations to the flocks. the question then is what sort of Elders are the Presbyteriall Elders to the Presbyteriall Church? I distinguish Church, I distinguish Elders. They are Elders classicall only to the classicall Church collectively taken, and they have an authoritative care over this Church. But they are proper Elders to the classicall Church taken distributively, that is, this man is an Elder to this part, or member of the Presbytery, to wit, to this Congregation. And another man to this Congregation as the Elders; in the Court and Aslembly at Jerusalem, Acts 15. they are Elders in relation to the whole Churches of Antioch, Syria, and Silicia, and the Gentiles collectively taken in those dogmaticall poynts, with the confession of our Brethren, and these same Elders were in speciall manner Elders to the Congregations of Antioch, Syria and Silicia, and other Churches taken distributively; so also the Elders of many consociated, and Neighbouring Churches are speciall watchmen over their own fl…cks, by teaching and ruling, according to our Brethrens grounds, and also they have a Brotherly care over all the consociated Church, to Councell, …dmonrth, Comfort; seeing every man is his Brothers keeper, by a Divine Law, and the care is like as is it were authoritative, onelyonly, by our Brethrens way, it wanteth the relation of authority; vet doth it not follow that Elders this way have two Offices. but onelyonly that they performe two acts of one and the same Office; also a Pastor of an independent flocke, who writcth … B…ke for the instruction of Sister-Churches as hee preache… those same Sermons that are in the printed B…oke to his owne people and flocke, hath two Relations, one to his owne flocke whom hee preacheth unto. as a Pastor, another as an instructer of other Churches by his writings, yet for that hee hath not two Offices, as one who is a 'Physitian and a Chyrurgion to two sundry companies. if any say, hee writteth not Bookes as a Pastor, by vertue of his Office, but as a gifted man by power of fraternity, let mee deny the truth of the distinction, for this is to begge what is in question; For to teach the Churches by writing should proceede from the authoritative power of a Pastor, as a Pastor; and by that same officiall power that hee teacheth his owne flocke vivâ voce, by vocall preaching, as a Doctor hee teacheth other Churches by writing. But it was asked, whether are the classicall Elders ruling Elders, or Teaching Elders to the classicall Church?
Answ. They are both, and they are neither, in divers considerations, they bee teaching Elders in all the Congregations, distributively taken, they are Rulers in all collectively taken, they are Teachers foreign, in some reserved acts, resolving synodically some cases of conscience and dogmaticall poynts upon occasion, but they be not the constant Teachers to watch for the Soules of all. 3. The places, Acts 20. 28. 1 Pet. 5. 2. Heb. 137. 17. prove that those that rule in common many Churches should be Teachers of these same Churches distributively, and all the Eldership at Ephesus should rule the whole Churches amongst them. And there should no Pastor be a sole Ruler and not a Teacher, as the Prelate is; nor is there a Pastor who is a sole Teacher, and it is very true hee who is a ruling Pastor is also a Teaching Pastor, but not to that same flock alwayes. Neither is this true, that because power of jurisdiction is founded upon power of order, therefore teaching should be every way commensurable with ruling; for 1. The Eldership convened in Court, and onelyonly formalitèr in foro Ecclesiae, in this Court hath Church-power of Jurisdiction, in a Congregation, and in this Court they governe, but the Eldership in this Court neither doth preach, nor can preach. 2. The power of ruling is in the ruling Elder, but not the power of teaching, and the power of teaching publickly is in the un…fficed Prophet, as our Brethren teach, and yet in him there is no power of ruling.
Ob. 3. It is strange that to excommunicate agreeth to the ruleing Elder in a classicall Presbytery, which he may doe in many Congregations, and so he may performe his principall acts over thirty or forty Congregations; and yet the Pastor may not performe his principall act of teaching in many Congregations, by vertue of his office, but onelyonly in one congregation, by this frame of a classicall Church.
Answ. The ruling Elder doth onelyonly in some common cases with the presbytery performe his speciall acts, but all the ordinary acts of the spirituall Jurisdiction the ruling Elder performeth in that Congregation whereof he is an Elder, nor is this an inconvenient; but preaching which is given to unofficed men by our Brethren, should not be called the principall part of a Pastors charge.