A Just Defense of Hearing the Sermons, Answer to preface · Section 21
Sect 21. Christ designs Officers and Offices for his Church (not as were in the Jewish) which are the same, while their work is the same, though some Titles be new.
Yea, 5. Whether he hath not now (as then) designed the several Officers and Offices, his wisdom thought sufficient for the management of the affairs of his house; so that the invention of new ones by the sons of men, is not only needless, but a daring advance against the Soveraignty, care, and wisdom of God over his Churches?
Answ. 1. God did, besides Moses and the seventy Elders, Joshuah and the Judges, David and other Kings, for the Government of the People of Israel, and Prophets raised up, as he thought good, for special purposes; design Aaron and his sons, and the Levites for the Services of the Tabernacle, and Temple. But he hath not designed such Officers or Offices, as either Moses and the Jewish Sanhedrin, David or the Judges; or as the Priests and Levites, and their Services, were for the management of the affairs of his House; that is, the Christian Church; it being Gods design not to gather this Church, or to form it in that way and Government, as he did the Jewish. Christ did not gather his Church, as the Jews were by Moses brought out of Egypt; nor were erected into the form of a Political Body, but of a School; without either infringing the power of the Caesars, and their Officers; or withdrawing the People from the Officers belonging to the Temple, though corrupt. If any advance themselves, or others into Offices, from the Pattern of the Aaronical Priesthood or Services; as the Papists, who will have their Pope to be Universal Supreme Bishop, in correspondence to the High Priest of the Jews; to be absolutely obeyed, as he was in the Synedrium; to be infallible in his determinations, to have power of adjudging to death for Heresie; to make sacrificing Priests for Quick and Dead, in imitation of the Levitical Priests. I conceive that the invention of such new ones by Papists, or any other of the sons of men; is not only needless, but a daring advance against the Soveraignty, Care, and Wisdom of God over his Churches; the Temple, and the Priesthood thereof, being now by God taken away.
2. God hath designed by his Son and his Apostles, the several Officers and Offices his Wisdom thought sufficient for the management of the affairs of his House, that is, his Church, as they are such. First, Christ Jesus called his twelve Disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all Devils, and to cure Diseases; and he sent them to preach the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick, Luke 9.1, 2. After he appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face, into every City and place, whither he himself would come; and these were confined to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Mat. 10.6. To whom (he saith) only he was sent, Mat. 15.24. St. Peter having confessed him, Christ tells him, Mat. 16.18. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church; which by reason of the repeating of his Name, and alluding to it, and thereby minding him of it, is justly to be thought to imply a promise of a special use of him, in the building of his Church; not barely as that particular man, but as a foundation of it by his Preaching; as other Apostles are called Foundations, Eph. 2.20. in respect of their Doctrine, wherein St. Peter had some work before the other in his Preaching, Acts 2. and 3. and 10. And therefore Christ promiseth to give him the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, Mat. 16.19. So as by his preaching to open the Kingdom of Heaven, first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles, when Cornelius was admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven; and therefore Act. 15.7. he speaks of it as his preheminence, that God made choice among the Disciples, that the Gentiles by his mouth should hear the Word of the Gospel, and believe; he imploying that key of knowledge, which the Lawyers had taken away; who entered not themselves into the Kingdom of God, and them that were entering in, they hindered, Luke 11.52. To him our Lord Christ assures, Mat. 16.19. Whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth, shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on Earth, shall be loosed in Heaven. Which Phrase seems by the expressions, Mat. 23.4. Rev 2.24. to import, that what he should command to be done, should be in Heaven ratified, as commanded by God; as it was Acts 2.38. Acts 3.19, 20. Acts 10.48. and what he should untie, that is, free men from the obligation of, that should be untied in Heaven; that is, God would not require the observation of it: which was performed Acts 11.3, 14, 17, 18. Acts 15.10. Which promises, though personal to St. Peter; and in respect of the first work, peculiar to him; neither imparted to any other Apostle, nor derived from him to any successour: yet this last promise was after made to the rest of the Apostles, Mat. 18.18. and performed when St. Peter, with them, decreed about Circumcision, Acts 15.24. and the Holy Ghost established it, v. 28. Afterwards our Lord Christ being risen from the dead, finds his Disciples assembled for fear of the Jews, Thomas being absent, and saith, Peace be unto you; as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained, John 20.19, 21, 22, 23. The words of salutation, of mission, the breathing on them, and imparting the Holy Ghost to them do import, that the remission and retaining of sins there promised, was a peculiar power given to them on whom he thus breathed, though also communicated after to other Apostles, who were in like manner sent, and received the Holy Ghost as they did. Which remission of sins was accomplished, when by their preaching, persons repented, and were Baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for remission of sins, Acts 2.39, 41. When Aeneas was cured by St Peter, Acts, 9.33. For healing is by remission of sins, Mat. 9.6. James 5.15. John 5.14. Or by taking off the sentence of delivering to Satan, by which the Apostles had power to retain sins, as appears by that speech of St. Paul, 1 Tim. 1.20. That he had delivered Hymenaeus and Alexander unto Satan, that they might be instructed, or corrected, foreign, so as either to be afraid or disabled from blaspheming any more as they had done, when Satan should chastise them with bodily punishment, St. Paul also had determined by his Spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Christians were gathered together, that they might be witnesses, to deliver him that had his Fathers Wife unto Satan, for the destruction of the Flesh, that is the wasting of his body, that the Spirit or Soul being sensible of his sin and humbled for it, might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus, 1 Cor. 5.3, 4, 5. Which had been his comming to them with a Rod, 1 Cor. 4.21. and the retaining his sin, had not his after-sorrow caused S. Paul to forgive him in the person of Christ, 2 Cor. 2.10. which was the remitting of sin, confirmed in Heaven. Other instances there are of the retaining of sins by Apostolical power, when St. Paul smote Elymas the sorcerer with blindness, Acts 13.11. and St. Peter inflicted death upon Ananias and his wife Sapphira, for lying to the Holy Ghost, and keeping back part of the price of the Land which they had sold, Acts 5.3, 5, 10. After this mission, commission, and breathing of Christ on the disciples, to reestablish St. Peter after his fall, Christ injoynes him to feed his Lambs and his Sheep, thrice charging him, that he might shew his love to him, whom he had thrice denied; whereby he doth not make him universal Bishop, or Monarch of the whole visible Church (as Romanists impiously pervert the Text) but requires of him diligence in testimony of his love to him, by doing that work which is expressed in words, which signifie teaching (one of them foreign signifies not ruling) and that Ministry which is common to other Bishops, Acts 20.28. and Elders, among whom St. Peter termes himself a fellow Elder, and Christ the chief Shepherd, 1 Peter 5.1, 2, 4. But then Christ did most design the Officers and Offices, he thought requisite for the management of the affairs of his house, when being to ascend into Heaven, not long after, in a mountain of Galilee Jesus spake to them, saying, all power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth, go ye therefore, and teach all Nations, or rather Disciple or make Disciples all Nations, or, of, or, in all Nations, not the Jewes, only, as formerly, (Mark 16.15. Go ye into all the World, and preach the Gospel, to every creature, or, to all the creation) Baptizing them, thus discipled, (Mark 16.16. He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved) into the name of the the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world, Amen. In which instruction of the Apostles, is founded the function of the Evangelical Ministry, as Pareus speaks in his Commentary, consisting in Preaching the Gospel and Baptizing and teaching the obserservation of Christs commands; which Offices, the promise to be with them all dayes to the end of the World, shewes to be perpetual till Christs second coming. Who the Officers are of Christs designing may be best gathered from, Ephes. 4.11. Some of which are undoubtedly to continue. And that there should be a succession by ordination of some for the Churches is apparent from, 2 Tim. 2. 2. Tit. 1.5. and that they should be ordained, may be gathered from, Acts 13.2.3. and 14.23. 1 Tim. 4.14. and 5.22. that there should be some, who should have inspection over others, that they do not sow errours, or otherwise corrupt the Churches, may be granted from, 1 Tim. 1.3, 4. Tit. 3.10.11. and by the things charged on the seven Angels of the seven Churches, Rev. 2.2, 6, 14, 15, 16, 20. Rev. 3.2, 3, 15, 16, 19. To set down the History of Officers and Offices in after-ages, to determin the disputes, about their several degrees or orders is full of difficulty, and to our present business unnecessary. This only is sufficient for present, to say in answer to the question now under hand, That such as do these works which Christ or his Apostles have appointed to be performed for his Church are Officers designed by Christ, and their ordination thereto agreeable to his design, nor are those Officers or Offices an invention of new ones by the sons of men, not only needless, but a daring advance against the Soveraignty, care and wisdom of God over his Churches, though they have other names, and titles, and maintenance, and immunities, and dignities, and additaments than the Scripture mentions. They that are called Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Canons, Prebendaries, Parsons, Vicars, Curates, Chaplains, Masters of Colledges, Hospitals, Wardens, Fellows, Clerks, Priests enjoy emoluments by Tithes or other revenues, may be truly Officers of Christ; if they be ordained to, and do the works or Offices appointed, by Christ and the Apostles, to the Ministers of the Church of Christ, as well as they who are termed Presbyters, Presbyteries, Teachers, Pastors, Lecturers, Itinerant Preachers, gifted Brethren, whether they be chosen by a particular Congregation, and ordained by an Eldership, and receive maintenance by Collection, augmentation, stipend or other waies.